TLDR: The Facilities Planning Committee has been meeting since October of 2022. Please read below for an update on their work and the announcement of an Architect Firm for the Master Plan.
Back on October 1, 2022, I announced the creation of a Vestry Committee, the Facilities Planning Committee, charged with the responsibility of studying space utilization at Saint Dunstan’s. The goal was the creation of a facilities Master Plan based on their research. The charter for the new committee was as follows:
Purpose
The St. Dunstan’s Facilities Planning Committee is a special purpose committee established by the Vestry to plan for the development of church facilities over the next 10 years. The Committee should accomplish the following specific tasks:
Review the 50 year history of the development of the existing facilities on our 10 Acre site and assemble drawings and documentation for the existing buildings.
Forecast Worship attendance for the next 10 years and determine if our existing Church building will accommodate that growth plan. Identify recommended building improvements.
Assess the Education building facilities and determine if that building could be more fully utilized in the coming years.
Assess the Price Fellowship Hall, staff offices, and other areas of the third major building on campus and identify needed space changes, e.g., the addition of a commercial kitchen and new offices for additional staff members.
Assess our 10 Acre property for adequacy of parking, lighting and safety features and the ease of vehicle and pedestrian traffic flows. Address the highest and best use of the surplus acreage on site.
Establish a strong working relationship with the Diocese, particularly the Financial Services and Mission Amplification organizations. Seek input on site planning and project funding issues for St. Dunstan’s.
Evaluate potential consultants/architects to work with the Committee in the development of a Master Plan. Recommend to the Vestry for approval the award of a contract with a specific scope of work for the Master Plan and cost structure to a selected consultant by July 2023.
Committee Members
The Committee consists of the following members of St. Dunstan’s Church: Dick Deming, (Chairperson,) Laura Gunn, Rod Leis, Manette Maddox, Laurie Riggs, Flint Risien, Catherine Jones Penco, Deena Akinrinsola, and Carol Cooper. This is a cross section of vestry, finance, administration, and parishioners at large. We were also careful to add parishioners of various age brackets and professional backgrounds.
Where We Are Now:
After six months of extensive work, the committee is happy to announce that Merriman Holt Powell Architects (MHPA) of Houston www.mhparch.com was selected in April by the Facilities Planning Committee and approved by the Vestry for the St. Dunstan’s site Master Plan project. The selection process was thorough and began with a long list of qualified architects in the Houston area that was provided by the Diocese. It ended with the selection of MHPA based on their competitive proposal, their experience in working with churches like St. Dunstan’s, the recommendations by 3 Episcopal churches in our Diocese that had recent projects by MHPA and the favorable interviews of their management team.
A kickoff meeting for the Master Plan project was held with MHPA on the Seventeen of May, at which various members of the Committee, Fr. Roldan, and representatives from MHPA were present. The Master Planning process and the schedule for the project were reviewed in this meeting. The Master Planning schedule will be posted in a large poster in both the Parish Hall and the narthex of the Church. We also discussed the arrangements for MHPA to conduct interviews with members of St. Dunstan’s who lead our Ministries. Those interview meetings will be scheduled in early June for MHPA to learn of the facility needs to support our Ministries from those involved in the Ministries. I ask all leaders of our ministries to expect a call from the office to schedule these interviews with MHPA. Please do all in your power to attend these meetings, since your input and recommendations matter a great deal to this process.
Updates on the work of MHPA and the Facilities Planning Committee will be provided to the Vestry and to the members of St. Dunstan’s over the next 6 months.
Please call us if you any questions about this Master Plan process,
Blessings to you,
The Reverend Dr. Roman D. Roldan, Rector
Grant “Dick” Deming, Facilities Planning Committee Chair
