A great deal of work has already occurred in order to rebuild the church. The following is a summary of the plan that has been put in place to accomplish this task.

It has been clear to the Church Council from the beginning that the additional tasks associated with the fire; i.e; demolition, clean up, contractor selection, insurance management, and public relations are too much for the present management structure of the church. Therefore the council has formed a steering committee comprised of the president of the council, the chief trustee and a church member to oversee the process of rebuilding our place of worship. The Church Council will continue to manage the everyday operations of the church.

Since these committees will be comprised of volunteers it was recognized that a real need existed for a full time volunteer coordinator to manage the large number of volunteers who have responded to the church’s needs. The volunteer coordinator is Barb Golding, assisted by Sue Manzke. The volunteer coordinator will ensure that all volunteers are assigned a committee or are utilized in some manner. In addition, the volunteer coordinator is charged with ensuring that the committees have the appropriate resources to accomplish their objectives throughout the entire rebuilding process.

Rebuilding Committees Flow Chart

The Steering Committee, as mentioned previously, is charged with overseeing the implementation of all aspects of the rebuilding project and ensuring that a timely and efficient experience is the result. The members are Rick Sasse as chair, Arlen Meidenbauer, and Jeff Barta.

The Finance Committee is comprised of the existing Investment Committee. This was deemed appropriate as these members already have a working knowledge of the church’s finances and the skills to handle new objectives.
Their responsibilities include:
1) Managing all finances and coordinating all fund raising activities during the rebuilding process,
2) Overseeing expenditures of each committee and developing spending guidelines for committees,
3) Developing guidelines for the bidding process (to include minimum of 3 bids), and giving guidance to committees in the development of bidding scopes as to insure consistent quoting.
Members include Bill Bloede as the chair, Don Kaiser, Eric Coryell, Joe Perez, Roger Stuckman, Sue Kuhtz, Steve Pagel, and Al Stippich.

The Fundraising Committee consists of co-chairwomen Janice Suchecki and Lynnette Mollet, and committee members Sue Sterner, Sandy Anderson Payne, Joe Perez, Allison Lange, and Lorie Juno.

The Insurance Committee will provide a single point of contact with the insurance company along with council representation. In so doing, this committee will be the conduit for executing church initiatives in terms of reconciling claims benefits and the Church’s needs. Their goal will be to maximize the amount of the overall settlement. Members include Ed Sinner as the chairperson and Jim McGraw.

The Temporary Site Committee has completed its work. After evaluating several sites, they recommended and the Council approved the Masonic Temple as the location to hold Sunday worship and school for the duration of our wandering. Members if this committee were DeWayne Johnson as chair and Jeff Barta.

The Building Committee will focus on the entire rebuilding process. It is recognized that this committee may need to form subcommittees to accomplish its objectives. Each stage of rebuilding will be planned, coordinated, and executed by this committee.

Stage 1 Site Evaluation
· Assess current property value
· Get a feasibility study completed
· Determine geographic location of members of congregation

Stage 2 Identification and Selection of both Architect and Contractor
· Research architects with church design experience
· Select an architect
· Coordinate interviews between architect and congregation focus groups
· Compile feedback from focus groups and present to architect for concept development
· Present architectural concepts for review and selection
· Coordinate the selection of contractor

Stage 3 Coordinate and Manage the Buiding Process
· Assign point person for main contact
· Utilize the existing committees and church groups to develop needs assessments for the various areas of the church, i.e.: kitchen, worship space, meeting spaces, choir/ music, Sunday School/youth, stained glass windows, technology (internet/ microphones/ recording equip., etc.), library, others as needed
Members include DeWayne Johnson as chair, Harry Manzke, Gene Schlieve, Greg Proffitt, Karen Olson, Pete Van Horn, Scott Lange, and Heather Heywood

The Communications Committee will be responsible for keeping the overall membership and community informed of the progress on the initiative for the rebuilding plan. This includes providing updates as needed to neighbors and media outlets. The committee will also be the conduit for all outside offers of assistance, communicating these to the volunteer coordinator. Members include Kristi Davis as chair, Ruth Aschmann, Paula Hillmann, Stacy Joseph, Kyle Juno, Don Kaiser, Bill Lamb, Erik Olson, Nancy Paquette, and Sue Sterner.

Information will be communicated as it becomes available via the Trumpet, as well as the church website at http://www.uccwaukesha.org. In addition, Sue Sterner will be accepting questions from members of the congregation about any aspect of the rebuilding process. She can be reached at 262-432-0287 (home) or 262-894-4156 (cell). Answers will be printed in subsequent Trumpets and a running list will be provided in the FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) section of the church’s website. In addition, from time to time committee chairs will communicate their committee’s status to the congregation.

For interested members of the congregation, a complete copy of the E & R Church Displacement & Rebuilding Plan is available at the church office.

CHURCH REBUILDING UPDATE

Contents of the church education building have been cleaned and are currently in storage. Any items that someone feels is needed should be brought to Jim McGraw's attention for follow up.

The following items are planned for salvage:
1. Keystone and all cornerstones
2. Concrete cross in the old entrance
3. Lifting and ringing the bell to check if tone is correct and if so repaired and used in the new church (it has a crack in the top)
4. Saving of 600-700 bricks ( this number can be changed if needed)
5. Several items in and outside the kitchen
6. Stained glass window in the bell tower
7. Salvage of 2-3 fellowship hall ceiling beams for church member woodworkers to use for making wood items as commemorative pieces for resale. They plan on donating the proceeds to the rebuilding fund.

The Steering Committee has charged the Finance Committee with identifying and quantifying all possible sources of funds, in addition to the insurance settlement, for rebuilding. These can include but are not limited to church investments, fund raising, mortgage, etc. The Steering Committee is also working with the Building Committee to develop a budget for the rebuilding including design, construction, and furnishings.

Tentative Time Line from the Building Committee:

By February 20, the committee plans to have a contract in place to remove the church building, remove the foundation to 2-3 feet below grade, and fill in the hole. This will require blocking or boarding off the education building and atrium. The issue of whether or not to keep the education building will be deferred. This could mean more demolition at a later time.