TRINITY EPISCOPAL CHURCH

priests, I have been around clergy and Episcopal institutions for much of my life. I can confidently say — what I am sure you already know — we are fortunate to have excellent clergy leaders and a devoted and talented staff. On behalf of the vestry and members of Trinity, thank you.

 

I also want to thank my fellow retiring vestry members — Graeme Browning, Stuart Camblos, Steven Bennett and Sharon Lechner — for their service on the vestry the last three years. They have been devoted members of our 15-person vestry, and actively participated and expressed their thoughts as we have dealt with periodic issues and challenges.

 

I also want to thank our incoming vestry class you will collectively vote on this morning — Monte Gaillard, Nancy Coffman, John Kramp, Avery Jones, and David Manly — thanks so much for your commitment to our church.

 

Downtown Asheville and our immediate neighborhood is changing. Someone once told me that most people only remember one point from a presentation. Keeping that in mind, I want to leave you with this thought. While Trinity is in very good shape and serving its members in the Asheville region today, like other organizations that operate in our growing

downtown, we face the pressures of change. And,it's important to appreciate that reality and be prepared to respond. Our immediate church neighborhood is changing, and this pace of change may very well accelerate in the near and long-term future.

 

The church currently has adequate parking, using its two lots that accommodate about 93 cars. We also have more than 20 parking spaces at Ravenscroft Suites fully available to church members on Sundays. These spaces, combined with nearby available parking have generally met our Sunday and special event parking needs. 

 

This may change as our immediate neighborhood undergoes continued development. For example, there are two announced 6 to 7-story housing complexes with limited or no parking planned on Coxe Avenue and Ashton Streets — directly across from Trinity’s smaller parking lot on Ravenscroft and Aston Streets. These projects are supported by Buncombe County and the City of Asheville, and a private developer may actively develop these parcels in the next 1-3 years. Collectively, these projects are expected to cost more than $100 million.

 

Could the projects be derailed in the near term? Of course, this is true with any large development where things like tax credits, financing, and other issues can halt or delay large projects. However, I do think that it is fair to say that eventually these or similar projects will happen in one form or another as Asheville’s downtown core gradually becomes more densely populated.

 

Your vestry has been closely following these nearby developments for the past several years. We recently decided to purchase the house and lot at 75 Church Street (today known as the Trinity Annex). Today, that property generates more than $50,000 in annual income for the church. The church also owns and leases the Trinity Place house and lot behind The Trinity

Annex. It is helpful that both of these parcels are adjacent to our smaller parking lot across Church Street.

 

I am not suggesting that the church is in a tenuous position. Quite the contrary: we are well positioned to respond with additional temporary parking and longer term ideas to keep parking readily available for church members on Sundays and special church events.

 

As I mentioned earlier, we are a healthy and growing church, in terms of both membership and resources, and we have a dedicated group of clergy and laity in place prepared to address these and other challenges that may come up.

 

Thanks so much for your dedication to our church.

 

Respectfully submitted,

Tom Williams, Senior Warden