Planning Committe, Annual Report dated 4/19/20
The newly formed Planning Committee evolved from an ad hoc committee which was chartered with devising a strategy to execute the findings of our strategic planning session held in 2019. The committee was officially established by Meeting in early 2020.
In very broad terms, the Committee's purpose is to take the "sense of the Meeting's" long term vision for the future and analyze the existing property and grounds to see how well they support the Meeting's vision. Having done so, the Committee would then create a plan to make any changes to the property in support of the vision, and ultimately, execute the plan.
The strategic planning exercise made clear that Friends are in close alignment with a vision of Third Haven functioning well as a spiritual sanctuary, effectively supporting community goals, and enjoying an active and growing First Day school. The Planning Committee accepted these premises as a starting point, and began to analyze how well our property and grounds supports this vision.
There are some significant issues. We are utilizing two meeting houses half the year, are running out of dedicated meeting space for various committees and acknowledge that the current accommodations for the First day School present significant safety and access risks. The Committee quickly realized that achieving a solution to these issues was well beyond the capabilities of Friends in the Meeting and proceeded to solicit outside professional advice.
Based on the responses to our seven requests for proposal, we have selected four architectural firms whom we believe capable of helping us to generate a master plan for the property and grounds. We have drafted letters of inquiry and an agenda for a charrette* with each of the four firms, inviting them to come to Third Haven to present their observations and suggestions. In return, we will offer each firm recompense of $1,200 to cover travel and preparation expenses. At Meeting for Business last month, Meeting agreed to allocate $5,000 from cash on hand to cover the charrettes, with the observation, but not an authorization by Meeting, that there will likely be an additional $10-20,000 required to complete the Master Plan. Funds necessary to execute the Master Plan (construction) will be determined once the Master Plan is approved by the meeting. The Covid 19 environment led the committee to decide to assemble packets and requests to the 4 candidates next month with in- person meetings to be held once distancing restrictions are lifted.