Master

Plan For
Church of God National Camp Meeting
2016

I. Objectives

As the need arises for improvement and additional facilities on the campground it becomes
necessary to have an overall plan to work towards so our facilities can be as useful, efficient, and cost
effective as possible.

As this plan was developed for the Camp Ground there were certain priorities foremost on our minds:

What is this meeting held for?
The Justification of Sinners
Sanctification of Believers
Healing for the body through faith in God
Encouragement and fellowship of the Saints of the Evening Light Reformation
What are the future facility needs?
Feasibility of present and future utilities such as electric, water, and sewer
Access and usability of all the facilities, present and future
This is a 10-day camp meeting. The trustees endeavor to keep the three following things in mind
when considering new construction and expansion:


Make any new construction straight forward and simple
Make any new construction and expansion cost effective
Ensure any future construction is as maintenance free as possible

II. History

The Church of God National Camp Meeting was started 1938

Purchased the original property in 1939
Built the tabernacle in 1940
The dining hall was built in 1946
Built the girls dorm and the main rest rooms in 1956
Purchased the East half of the main property, along with the caretakers house in 1974
Built the elderly Sisters dorm in 1987
Family Unit built in 1997
Purchased North-West 12 acres in 2007
Purchased the East 9 acres in 2010

We thank the Lord for those that had the vison and the strength to start the National Camp Meeting and
for those who helped keep it going the past 78 years. It has served us well and many souls have been
blessed. We look forward to the Lord blessing these grounds for another 78 years if the Lord tarries.

We do not believe that those who started this meeting in 1938 could have envisioned what things would
be like today. It is just as difficult for us to know what the next generations will face. We believe,
therefore, that it is necessary to have a prayerfully laid out plan for the future of the camp ground.

The need for a new tabernacle was brought up in the general business meeting in 2003. Since that time
there has been a continuous effort to bring this about. Several different plans have been discussed and
other needs have come to light as well.

With the purchase of the new property in 2007 we had to take a new look at the overall priorities of the
grounds and facilities. In conjunction with the annual business meeting that year and input from the
Saints we arrived at three priorities for construction on the grounds. In order of importance they are:

New tabernacle

New dining Hall

Development of the new property

This Plan will also address other needs such as:
Family units
Handicap facilities
Additional RV spots
Parking
Open areas for people to congregate and for children to play

III. Concerns
A. Tabernacle
The hearing of Gods word and worshiping together is the main focus of the camp
meeting and the tabernacle is what facilitates that. The following are the current
issues we are dealing with:
Deteriorating structure
The tabernacle has some serious stress on the old wood structure and if
we intend to use it much longer it will require major repairs and bracing.
Larger capacity
The current capacity is approximately 400-500 people, depending on
how closely folks are sitting. In the past several years there were times,
mainly on the weekends, when there was a large crowd setting around
on the outside. It was observed that some folks even walked away
because there were no seats at the back of the tabernacle.
B. Dining Hall
Larger Kitchen
Our current facilities make it necessary to have some of the food
preparation done outside. A larger kitchen would allow all food
preparation to be kept inside. A proper kitchen layout would decrease
food preparation time and help meet current sanitary codes.
Additional and better designed serving lines.
At the present the food coming from the kitchen to the serving lines has
to be carried through and around the crowd waiting in line inside the
building to get to the serving area. The entrance and exits of the dining

C.

D.

E.

F.

G.

hall are also very congested because of incoming and outgoing foot
traffic.


A larger dining area would accommodate the larger weekend crowds.
A Totally enclosed dining hall would help in the cleanup before the meeting.
Childrens meeting would have adequate room in a new dining hall.
Handicap Facilities
Our present handicap dorm is not handicap compliant and is only for Sisters.
There needs to be an adequate handicap rest room for men and women close to
the tabernacle and dining hall.
Paved walk ways to and from any future handicap dorms, dining hall, and
tabernacle would allow for wheel chairs and safer walking.
R.V. spaces
Currently we have 34 spaces that were designed for small and medium size
trailers. They are supplied with one 20 or 30-amp breaker panel that is shared
by two trailers. This does not provide enough power for newer and larger
trailers, resulting in some of the spaces being left vacant. We also have a
problem with breakers tripping repetitively during the camp meeting.
Family Units
All of our units have been full for most of the meetings.
We also need smaller units for couples.
Utilities
The electric grid in the old part of the grounds is maxed out and only allows for
20 amps per cabin.
Our water supply is from two wells. This is adequate at our current usage but
future expansion could require an additional well to be added.
The septic systems have several issues. In 2015 the Handicap dorm septic
system became overloaded the last weekend of the meeting and had to be put
on limited use for only those staying in the handicap dorm. There is not enough
lateral line on this septic system for the load it receives. There are two other
systems that give cause for concern - the dining hall septic system and the main
rest rooms / girls dorm septic system. There is not room to put in new septic
system at these locations if the existing systems fail. The county regulations for
any new facilities will require considerable more room to install septic systems.
Open areas for people to congregate and children to play.
At the present we use the park across the road for a place for our children to
play. Future road traffic will increase causing a greater safety concern. Also, as
we see the world around us changing, how much longer will we be able to use
the park?
One of the important aspects of the meeting is to allow people to visit and
interact with each other. As we move forward we do not wish to lose that
benefit.

IV. Recommendation
A. New Tabernacle
Steel clear span construction 150 ft. x 80 ft.
Seating will be arranged in a semi-circular sloping floor and designed so that the
back row of benches will be within 75 feet of the speaker. The benches would
be made on an as-needed basis from year to year to help keep most of the
crowd closer to the front rather than spread out.
Capacity approximately 1000 people when full
At some point after the new tabernacle is in use the existing tabernacle needs
to be taken down to reduce maintenance and liability.
B. Dining Hall
I.
Kitchen
Size arranged and designed to meet current sanitary
recommendations.
All food preparation would be done inside.
II.
Dining and Serving area
4 serving lines
Air conditioned
Accommodations for childrens meetings
Outside shaded dining area / picnic benches
C. Handicap Facility
Handicap accessible restrooms close to the tabernacle
Dorms for elderly men and women with easy access to the rest rooms
Small rooms for handicapped and elderly couples located near the rest rooms
The restroom could be built first with the dorms and rooms added later
D. RV Spaces
Build 10 new spaces with 50 amp electrical hookups to accommodate large
trailers and RVs. The RV spaces will be built five at a time.
Redesign old RV park to have some large spaces (make two into one)
E. Family units
The size and plans have not been fully developed yet, but the location would be
on the East side of the new Eastern property. This would allow us to use the
existing well and have room for a conventional septic system downhill from the
family units.
There have been inquiries regarding new cabin lots on the new property. The
trustees have come to realize that making the new property available for
private cabins is not advisable for several reasons. Some of the existing cabins
are being used very little and some not at all. There is also various levels of
maintenance and upkeep on the existing cabins for numerous reasons, and we
would like things to look more uniform. The trustees have come to the
conclusion that family units would be a better use of the space, would minimize
the number of electrical lines and poles, and help with the overall maintenance
of the property. Finally, the current county septic system regulations for any

new septic systems requires a substantial amount of open land, much more
than the current septic fields presently in use.
F. Utilities
Electric
Reduce load on the old 1200-amp service by bringing in a new
service from the electric company for power to the new buildings
being planned.
Upgrade the existing electric system to allow 30 amps to the cabins
Water
Of the two new properties purchased only one has a usable well.
This well can be connected to our existing water system.
For future needs, there needs to be a spot designated for a new
well.
We can reduce water consumption by replacing old stools with
more efficient ones. The reduction in water usage would also
decrease the load on the septic systems.
Sewer
The handicap dorm will need a new lateral field soon. There are two
locations under consideration. One location is South of the existing
tabernacle and the other option is to pump the black water to the
new property and install a lateral field there.
The main restroom / girls dorm and the existing dining hall will
need areas reserved on the new property to install lateral fields if
these buildings remain for other uses in the future.

V Options

In consideration of the many concerns and needs and in the effort to come up with the best
workable layout for the future, the trustees presented in the 2015 general business meeting, three
options for the future layout of the camp grounds. The trustees recommended option #1 (see attached
options 1, 2, & 3.) A few details have been added to option #1 since the business meeting.
The pros and cons are listed on the different option layouts below. We would like to highlight some of
the more important ones.
Options # 2 &3 have no room for a conventional septic. The proposed dining hall
would interfere with the existing septic system of the private owned RV spots.
In option #2 & 3, the dining hall would be in a low area and could have water
issues during a heavy rain.
In option #1 the Tabernacle and the restrooms would need to be constructed to
make things functional. And the dining hall and elderly dorms would need to be
constructed shortly after to make things convenient.
In all the options, the cost of construction for the new structures would be about the same. The main
difference in cost would be in the different types of sewage treatment systems, power line extensions,
road improvements, and site work.

Our main goals are to replace the old tabernacle, replace the dining hall and kitchen, and build a facility
that is truly handicap accessible. We feel it would be best to have the three new facilities close together.

The main reasons for relocating the tabernacle and dining hall to the new property are:

Reduce the load on the existing septic systems, and have room to install new septic
systems for the new facilities.
Reduce the load on the existing electrical system.
Allow the construction of the new building in stages which would allow us to have the
camp meeting without interruption or be pressured to complete a lot of construction in
a short amount of time.

VI Cost

Tabernacle

Site work

Building removal
Building construction
Road improvement

$ 5,000
7,000
300,000
8,000
o

$320,000

$70,000

$348,000

$150,000

Rest rooms

Site work

Building Construction
Electrical Service
Sewer system
Water

6,000
44,000
5,500
12,000
2,500

Dining Hall

Site work



Building Construction

Kitchen appliances and fixtures
Tables and chairs


Electrical service


Sewer system


Water

12,000
258,000
45,000
12,000
5,500
13,000
2,500

Dorm (would be added on to the Restrooms)
Building cost

150,000


RV Park (10 new spaces)
Site work
Elect. service
Elect.
Sewer
Water

$ 4,000
6,500
14,400
13,000
4,000
o

GRAND TOTAL

$41,500
$929,500.00