St. Hubert Parish has issued an update with details about the results of the Historic Church Survey. According to the update from Fr. Talbot, there were 1,289 total responses.
Parishioners accounted for 785 of the responses, with 52.48% supporting razing the church and preserving historic items, and 47.52% supporting restoring the church (24.7% support restoring the church and adding bathrooms; 22.8% support restoring the church with no addition).
Non-parishioner community members made up the additional 504 responses, with 25.2% supporting razing the church and 74.8% support restoring the church. No breakdown was provided between those supporting restoring the church as is versus restoring it with additional bathrooms.
Although not included in the update, the majority of the 1,289 total survey respondents indicated they would like to see the church restored in some fashion. Approximately 58% of respondents indicated support for restoring the church, while 42% support razing the building.
Those in support of restoring the church indicated a willingness to contribute $2.14 million. Those supporting the razing of the church indicated they would contribute $530,000 to the demolition of the building and repurposing of sacred items from the church.
The results also reveal a slight schism between the community members and the parishioners who participated in the survey. This is unfortunate, but may be due to the other projects the parish has to consider when deciding how to allocate financial resources.
The update indicated that the results will be taken into consideration while the church leadership consults with members of the parish council and finance council. The parish will also consult again with the City of Chanhassen and with the Archdiocese. A decision is expected in the coming months.
The results are somewhat discouraging for those of us in the community who would like to see the church restored, as the $2.14 million figure falls short of estimates to restore the church. However, we are heartened by the number of people who committed to financially supporting the effort.
Thank you to everyone who participated in the survey. Know that we at the Chanhassen Historical Society will continue to do what we can to save the Historic Church of St. Hubertus.
The update also included a link to a video about the historic church. We appreciate the opportunity for Paula Atkins, Chanhassen Historical Society President, to take part in the video.
