by Elayne Leonelli

At the August UUCGF Board of Trustees, the Task Force submitted a report about the work it has been doing since being appointed by the Board in April. The members of the Task Force are Pema Reed, Martha Torregrossa, Susan & Jack Abbot, Rich Myette, Jane Kana with Elayne Leonelli and Rev. Barbara Threet serving as co-facilitators.

The following are some of the topics we considered:  

• Growing our membership
• Assessing current costs of maintaining our building and grounds
• Real estate estimate of current value of property and possible salability
• Search for possible buyers
• Options for renting some of our space
• Current and future space needs
• Visibility needs
• Options for renting, buying or sharing a new space
• Purchase of solar panels and financial issues associated with it.  

Needless to say our report did not reflect solutions to most of these issues.

However, what we have found out is that there are next to no properties available, if we were to decide to move to a new location.  In order to make a move we would have to have a definite buyer available and a definite building to move to. That does not seem possible at this time.  So our next approach was to consider if there is space in our current building that could be rented, how much it would cost if renovations were needed, and if we would be able to find a reliable renter.  More details about possibly renting some space in the RE area will be available at the Congregational Meeting scheduled on Sunday, Sept. 16th following the service.  

A second item on the agenda concerns the installation of solar panels.  Since it seems most likely that we will be in this building for a while it seems to make sense for us to install them.  However, the major problem with this plan is the cost. Since UUCGF is a not-for profit organization we cannot take advantage of the 30% Federal Tax credits and the 25% State Tax credits that are available to individuals and for-profit companies.  We would have to pay the entire cost of about $27,000 (except the $3,000 NYSERDA grant we could get), unless there were one or more members or friends of the congregation who would pay a portion of that amount and then they would each get the benefit of the tax credits.

This is a lot to think about so this meeting is very important for members and friends to attend.  Only members can vote, but if friends are interested, they are welcome to attend the meeting for informational purposes.  Please plan to attend the meeting so that we can decide how we want to proceed. This is your chance to have a voice.

~ Elayne Leonelli