As Rev. Aimée noted in her welcome, the Sanctuary "houses the stories of our lives." She described the Sanctuary this way: "This is our spiritual home because we live out our stories here. We are washed in the waters of baptism and are marked as Christ's own forever. Here we are taught the story of our faith, in word and sacrament. We're fed at the altar each week with spiritual food, to give us hope for living and strength for serving as living members of Christ's body. Here we promise our devotion to our beloved in holy matrimony. We celebrate births and joyfully offer our children at the font, that they, too, might know the saving love of Christ and join us in Christ's ministry. And in this holy place we bring the fears and grief of our lives. As your priest I can affirm that this building we love is telling us that she needs our TLC. And she needs it now, so that we can ensure that this sacred treasure is still here for generations to come to form the faithful so that we, in turn, can change the world through Christ's love."
 

 "As your priest I can affirm that this building we love is telling us that she needs our TLC. And she needs it now, so that we can ensure that this sacred treasure is still here for generations to come to form the faithful so that we, in turn, can change the world through Christ's love."

Rev. Aimee 

To read the full text of Rev. Aimée's opening remarks, just click on this link.

Chip's presentation provided a complete explanation of the following topics.

• Background: How We Arrived at this Point

• Bell Tower & West End of Sanctuary Foundation Lack Support/Reinforcement

• Parish Survey: Improve Accessibility, Lighting, Sound, Acoustics

• Master Plan v. Piecemeal Approach

• A List of All Project Elements

• Role, Work to Date From Bob Easton, AIA, Project Architect

To read his complete description of the project background and status, just click on this link. 

Noted Santa Barbara architect Bob Easton, AIA, presented the results of a top-to-bottom engineering study conducted by Parker-Resnick - which can be read by clicking this link -- that not only confirmed the instability of the Bell Tower, but established that the old foundations under the west end of the Sanctuary are in even worse condition than thought, and these vertical seismic weaknesses are only part of the challenge: the Sanctuary is not properly braced to withstand lateral seismic forces.

A highlight of the Town Hall gathering was Bob's presentation of the floor plan of the Conceptual Project.  To see this document, please click on this link.

A highlight of the Town Hall gathering was Bob's presentation of the floor plan on the Conceptual Project.

Bob also presented a slide show showing poor or missing support under the nave floor and along the perimeter walls. 

The original and very preliminary $8.5 million goal included estimated construction costs provided by local builder Giffin & Crane. The firm's estimates were based on early conceptual drawings generously prepared at no cost by All Saints' parishioner Jock Sewall. The preliminary cost estimate also incorporated an initial structural analysis of the Bell Tower and Sanctuary foundations conducted by Dalziel & Associates.

Subsequently, Bob Easton conducted significant design development work for the project's various architectural components. And as mentioned, the Parker-Resnick firm performed a comprehensive engineering study of the Sanctuary. This study confirmed initial conclusions about the severe structural weakness of the Bell Tower, established that the foundations under the old west end of the Sanctuary are in even worse condition than we thought, and reported that the Sanctuary's vertical seismic weaknesses are only part of our problem - in addition, the Sanctuary is not properly braced to withstand lateral seismic forces.

With this new information, the Easton firm engaged a different local builder, R. J. Spann, to conduct a very detailed cost analysis. That analysis serves as the basis for our new project budget of $11.6 million, of which $1.5 million is for endowment and invested reserves.

• Click on this link to see the Project Budget 

It's worth noting that to the extent the project elements did not change, the R. J. Spann analysis came out very close to the earlier Giffin & Crane cost estimates. The increase in costs is largely due to the additional seismic reinforcement required in the foundations, floor, walls and roof of the Sanctuary as called for by the Parker-Resnick engineering study. The project cost increase also reflects the greater design detail provided by Bob Easton's work, increases in construction contingencies recommended by the architect, and material and labor cost inflation.

To confirm these estimates we will soon receive two additional costs estimate reports from Frank Schipper Construction and Bob Young Construction. However, we feel very confident in our latest estimates due to the in-depth analysis provided by R. J. Spann and the generous 20 percent construction contingency that is now included in the budget. Of course, the ultimate project costs will be based on fixed-price competitive bidding by multiple construction firms. 

The Vestry authorized a feasibility study in early 2014 to determine the ability of the parish to conduct a multi-million dollar capital campaign; the answer was a very strong "yes" - if we are able to secure a few very large gifts from members of the parish. Ed Birch, co-chair of the "How Firm Our Foundation" capital campaign along with Bitsy Bacon and Sheri Benninghoven, reported that while raising $11.6 million will be a formidable challenge, "I know this parish, and together we can raise the funds." The parish-wide phase of the campaign will begin in January 2016, he announced. In the meantime project leaders will continue to organize the campaign, enlist more and more volunteers and seek the support of church members. Ed made it clear that fundraising progress will determine how quickly construction can begin and no long-term debt will be incurred (short-term construction loans are anticipated, however).

By Chip Nichols

The Vestry has determined that the danger to life and limb presented by the Bell Tower requires that it be taken down as promptly as possible, and the Vestry has authorized deconstruction and re-construction of the Bell Tower as promptly as legally possible. We had believed we would be eligible for an emergency permit procedure. The County has now advised that would not be available, but that it is prepared to process in an expedited manner a "Substantial Conformity Determination" under All Saints' existing Conditional Use Permit, which would allow this work to begin as soon as this fall, with the balance of the work to await issuance of the full building and land use permits, which will take many months and likely not allow the bulk of the construction to begin until late 2016 or 2017. Once we receive the "Substantial Conformity Determination," if sufficient gift commitments have been received by the capital campaign, the Bell Tower work would begin and should require 3 to 4 months.  However, the Bell Tower work will not require closing the Sanctuary.  The main doors will not be available during this time.