Future Building Plans
By Brett King, RMCA Principal
Did you know that each year RMCA must turn away
dozens of families who desire a classical and Christian education for
their children? Each week Rocky Mountain Christian Church (RMCC) must
limit their programs and turn down requests from new community groups
who need space to meet. In fact, RMCC schedules over 5000 events in
their building each year. And this number doesn’t include weekend
services or RMCA’s daily use of the facility!
There are literally thousands of kids and adults who experience
God’s blessing in our church building every week. And there is
no sign that the need for space will diminish in the years ahead. No
doubt that the building is used well. Unfortunately, it’s used
up!
As a result, the RMCC leadership commissioned the design
of a final master-site/building plan for the remaining area of the 54
acres we own. Over the past two years, I have been very involved in
both the design phases and the political processes that have preceded
this dream. It’s been a real delight to see how the plans address
RMCA’s needs and desires, and a real eye-opener to how the local
political wheels turn.
The plans are inspiring! They call for the updating of
much of the existing facility, the construction of a new children’s
building, the building of a larger gymnasium, and the addition of a
beautiful indoor/outdoor fellowship atrium that connects the existing
building with the new ones. There is no doubt that this design would
enable us to continue to bless the broader community, as well as enable
the entire ministry to better meet the needs of our current and future
families.
The benefits for RMCA are many. We would move all the
early-childhood and elementary programs into the new children’s
building—designed specifically with kids and school in mind—and
relocate our current middle school program out of the temporary modular
and into the existing elementary classrooms. This additional classroom
space and other rooms such as a larger library, science labs, art and
music rooms, an indoor playground and a dedicated gymnasium would give
us the opportunity to respond to the demand for our programs and further
strengthen our ability to minister effectively to students.
This is, of course, no small dream. It will require dedication
and commitment from all of us, including the Boulder County Commissioners.
Because RMCC is located in an area of the county zoned “agricultural,”
any development of our site requires a special-use agreement. Securing
this agreement is time-consuming, costly, and political. And at the
end of the process, there is no guarantee that we will ever be able
to lay another brick!
We were scheduled to have the final hearing before the
commissioners for the approval or denial of our plans last December.
After careful consideration, the RMCC leadership determined that we
did not have adequate time to carefully respond to the unexpected issues
brought to our attention at the last minute by the Boulder County Planning
Staff. We therefore requested that our application be tabled. Since
that time, RMCC has been actively engaged in getting our plans ready
to again bring before the county commissioners.
That’s where you come in. In the weeks ahead, you
will be receiving more detailed information from RMCC about these plans.
We will be asking Boulder County residents (and Niwot residents especially)
to take a more active role in helping us communicate the merits of this
plan with the commissioners and to RMCC’s neighbors. Your support
for the future plans of RMCA needs to be heard.
Throughout RMCA’s brief history, I have been grateful
for the support of RMCC, the community, and our parents. We desire to
be a blessing to all these groups. And with God’s blessing, the
years ahead promise nothing less!
Watch for more information coming your way, including
a website dedicated to answering questions about the building plans.
