Directors decide renovation options

The New Ulm Turnverein Board of Directors has identified three priorities regarding restoring and renovating historic Turner Hall. Bathrooms need to be updated, the building must be made accessible to all individuals, and increased storage space is necessary to alleviate the labor intensive activity required when the gymnasium is converted to a banquet hall/reception facility.

All Directors agree that these three needs are essential to any renovation project. I think that there is also a general agreement that whatever the Directors decide to do must be consistent with preserving the historical designation of the building.

On Tuesday afternoon, August 18, the Directors have scheduled a retreat during which only one item will be discussed: namely, how should we proceed with the renovation of the building with the funds that are available. As of July 16, the Capital Campaign had approximately $300,000 in cash and another $80,000 in pledged contributions. Those funds are sufficient to renovate two bathrooms and probably install some kind of elevator. Those projects would not, however, address the lack of storage that’s increasingly important to maintaining the banquet/reception business.

Recently, the Building and Grounds Committee has expressed concern regarding our outdated heating, air conditioning, and ventilation (HACV) systems. They were installed during the Fifties following the fire and are years beyond their useful life. If any of these systems would fail, there are no funds available to replace them. In addition, replacement parts are also limited or no longer available. The Directors intend to pursue some available grant funds that can be used for restoring HACV facilities in historic buildings, but those intentions are presently just possibilities.

In my opinion, the Directors will have to decide what action to take. Should we spend what funds we have on one or two of the priorities previously identified and hope that the building’s infrastructure holds up, or should we spend the available funds on the building’s mechanical and electrical systems and delay addressing the identified priorities? Another option is to resurrect the Capital Campaign and pursue additional contributions/pledges, but there doesn’t appear to be much support for that possibility during the current recession.

We will keep Turner members informed of what decisions are made. Another possibility is scheduling an informational meeting of all Turnverein and Turner Ladies for additional input.

The Directors will have a busy Tuesday afternoon on the 18th.

Ed Weber, President

New Ulm Turnverein