Building Renewal Implementation Committee
BRIC Updates
President's Letter
Posted November 15, 2011, Letter
Rosh Hashanah 2011 Address
Posted September 30, 2011, Letter
Posted May 27, 2011
Dear Temple Israel Congregant,
The Building Renewal Implementation Committee invites you to a meeting of the congregation on June 9, 2011 at 7:00 pm.
As you know, there are three parallel processes underway towards relocating Temple Israel to a new building on the Jewish Community Campus. All three processes must be completed before a business plan is presented to Temple Israel members for approval. These are three processes are:
(1) Negotiating a conditional sale of our current properties at 1295 and 1301 Prince of Wales Drive,
(2) Negotiating a conditional purchase or lease of land with the Jewish Federation of Ottawa, and
(3) Confirming that adequate funds for construction and operation of the new building will be raised through a capital campaign.
We are pleased to advise that progress is being made on all three fronts and would like to share this important information with you.
While we are progressing well, prudence continues to be foremost on our agenda. A conditional offer for the sale of our properties to the Hellenic community has been initialed. However, several issues remain to be clarified with the Jewish Federation of Ottawa regarding the conditions of us joining the other agencies on the Soloway Jewish Community Campus. Consequently, our intended date of a congregational vote will likely be delayed until the fall.
Finally, as we would like the voting procedure to be as inclusive and representative of the community as possible, we have asked the Temple Israel Board of Directors to examine the governance surrounding community voting.
Please join us and share your thoughts about these important developments.
B’shalom
Paul Lyons and Debra Viner Lorne Rachlis, President
Co-chairs of BRIC Temple Israel
Building Renewal and Implementation Committee (BRIC) Congregational Update Meeting
Posted on May 3, 2011
Temple Israel
Thursday June 9,
7:00-9 pm
This meeting is NOT a vote, rather an information update before the summer months. The BRIC committee will give an update on the activities of the last few months, and will be happy to answer questions, and continue the Renewal conversation with the Temple community. If you have any questions or comments you wish to have included in our discussions, please contact BRIC at: bric@templeisraelottawa.ca.
Paul Lyons and Debra Viner
Co-chairs, BRIC
April 14, 2011
Our planning discussions with the JFO regarding the acquisition of land on the JCC campus are continuing, and the issues surrounding the decision are proving to be more complex than originally thought. We are hopeful that a response will be available in May as promised.
Although we had hoped to be able to vote on the project in June, this no longer appears likely. A new timeframe for congregational meetings and vote will be announced as soon as possible.
A facebook event has been created to follow "BRIC News", please "friend" the facebook user "Bric Member", if you would like an invitation to the "BRIC News" event.
March 24. 2011
BRIC Committee members including Rabbi Garten and President Lorne Rachlis met with JFO board members as well as representatives of the other agencies on the campus (SJCC, Hillel Lodge, The Ottawa Jewish Community School, and Tamir) on March 1rst. The JFO will continue to meet and understand the process required to sell or lease property on the campus. We anticipate a decision by the JFO about land acquisition in May.
BRIC continues to prepare the business case for presentation to the Temple Board of Directors, and the Temple community. The committee will discuss the business case with Temple Board members and the Temple community at a future meeting, after the work is completed.
The proposed relocation of Temple Israel to the Campus was featured in a recent article of the Ottawa Jewish Bulletin. BRIC has received many positive comments, and continues to move forward in this direction.
February 9, 2011
Article that appeared in the Ottawa Jewish Bulletin.
Recommendation to the Board for a Decision-Making Process:
Given that past studies and consultations have shown that the current building does not meet our present or future needs and that a new or expanded building (on our current site or on a new site) needs to be actively pursued, subject to funding availability, the committee recommends that:
I Develop a business case that recommends a preferred option;
II Continue regular communications with our members;
III Develop a mechanism for consulting and engaging members;
IV. Approach potential funders inside and outside Temple to establish a base level of funding for the project (including capital and ongoing operational costs);
V. Update the proposal given the reaction of members, community leaders and funders;
VI. Present the business case to the board of directors, for their recommendation and subsequent presentation to the membership for a congregational referendum to approve the decision to proceed; and,
VII If the congregation approves the proposal, once the funding has been solidified to an appropriate level an architect and development or Construction Company should then be contracted to complete the project.
BRIC News
Your Building Renewal Implementation Committee (BRIC) is full of excitement these days. We are thrilled to be helping design and create a vision for the future home of our Temple Israel Community. We feel some of the same excitement that must have driven our founding members in the 1970’s when they undertook to build our present home.
BRIC was given the task of recommending a best option for Temple’s future home. The job proves to be full of challenges and rewards. We struggled with important questions such as “Should we redevelop or rebuild on our present site or find a new location?“ ”What will our membership numbers be like in the future?“ “Are there any potential partners to share the cost of a building and increase its utilization?“ These questions and many others pushed us to define the criteria by which to evaluate possible choices. (For more on these criteria, please see the FAQs at http://www.templeisraelottawa.ca/About/BRIC_FAQ.html)
So far we have reviewed the recommendations made by previous committees and have selected what we believe is the 'best option' for a location at the SJCC campus . Our technical subcommittee is now building on previous studies to define the physical components needed in a new building. As a community we have taken on various leadership roles within the Jewish Community of Ottawa and are recognized as providing an important link to Jewish continuity for the ever increasing numbers of intermarried families. Our vision is to provide an exciting and welcoming home for an increasing number of non-traditional Ottawa Jewish famililies.
There are still many questions to explore such as the various opportunities to share educational space for our learners, the possibility of including a kosher kitchen as well as our kosher-style kitchen in the design,and our ability to fund such a major undertaking.
We look forward to presenting a detailed proposal to the congregation within the coming months.
Our committee is always happy to hear from our Temple community: please feel free to ask questions or send comments to : bric@templeisraelottawa.ca
You can find updated FAQ’s on the Temple Website.
Paul Lyons and Debra Viner
Co-Chairs of BRIC
