Temple Beth Shalom
Space Needs Assessment
Co-Presidents Joel Kent and Miriam Siegfried have been working with the Board of Trustees and several task force groups to evaluate our congregations short and long-term space needs. Short-term solutions that have been enacted include the utilization of leased space at the JCC-New Albany for our religious school program and implementation of alternative services at All-Saints for main High Holy Day services. Our current rental agreement with the JCC-NA is for the current school year; they have agreed to a one-year extension of this agreement with future rental costs to be determined in 2012.
In October 2010 a Religious School Space Needs Task Force was formed headed by Steve Herman. This group investigated many options including the initial negotiations with the JCC-NA for leasing their space. In addition, the group met with the architectural firm Rogers-Krajnak (this firm prepared the TBS Master Plan) to discuss the option of building a classroom addition. At that time, the architects were asked how many classrooms could be constructed for $500,000 and the resulting schematic design was for a four-classroom addition. The Co-Presidents felt it was important to evaluate all of the congregation’s space needs before moving forward with a classroom addition.
In February 2011, a Long-Term Space Needs Task Force was formed, which was headed by Sean Silver. This group formed several subcommittees and met over many months. One of several items evaluated was the proposed classroom addition. The final report from this task force was presented to the Board of Trustees at its September 2011 meeting; that 25-page report is available for members to review here. The board discussed the report at length at the September and October board meetings. One of the primary recommendations of the task force to the board was to construct the classroom addition. After much deliberation, the board determined that any addition should be a multi-purpose space that could be used for other temple functions in addition to classroom space. The other conclusion of the board was that four classrooms would not be sufficient to return the religious school to TBS. The conclusion was that six additional classrooms would be needed to meet today’s requirements and that eight additional classrooms would better suit our needs.
At the October 2011 board meeting the board voted to authorize an expenditure not to exceed $6,000 to enlist Rogers Krajnak Architects to prepare schematic design of a congregational space addition that would include moveable walls to form 8 classrooms, and that would be in alignment with the Fall 2008 Master Plan. Two additional task force groups were formed an Architectural Review group headed by Don Feibel to meet with the architects to discuss the schematic design and a Financial Feasibility group headed by Michael Rothstein to evaluate the feasibility of funding a potential addition. Both of the groups are continuing their work with the intent to report back to the board in early 2012. In addition, the Co-Presidents directed Adam Inlander to negotiate with the JCC to determine if a longer-term rental agreement can be secured.
The board is still in an informational gathering mode. No decisions have been made on the feasibility, cost or timing of constructing an addition. Once the board has gathered sufficient information it will be presented to the congregation to gather input on how to move forward. Look for updates as we more information is available. If you have questions, or want to submit some informal comments, please send email to the Co-Presidents at presidents@tbsohio.org
