Santa Rosa plans sewer station on site of Lutheran church

In one of the more unusual public transactions in Santa Rosa’s recent history, a house of worship on the western edge of the city is selling its property for more than $1 million so Santa Rosa can build a new sewer pumping station on the land.

The city’s Board of Public Utilities on Thursday approved the $1.1 million acquisition of the Thanksgiving Lutheran Church property at 1225 Fulton Road after meeting in closed session.

Plans call for a new lift station to be built on the southwest corner of the 3.8-acre site, which now features the church and a community garden managed ?by congregants.

Negotiations for the deal date back to January, and the two sides expect to close the deal as soon as next week. But construction of the new sewer station isn’t expected to occur for another 10 to 15 years.

The facility is needed as a result of mechanical problems at the aging sewer lift station across the intersection, at West College Avenue and Fulton Road, according to a city-funded study by the engineering?firm GHD.

Issues include an undersized well that has resulted in increased strain on sewer pump motors and grease buildup, according to the report, which also cites limited access for maintenance.

The city’s plans also call for either building about 3,200 feet of new sewer main in the area or connecting the new station to existing pipe. Environmental safeguards will include surveys to locate nests for any American badgers or western pond turtles living nearby.

The church is not slated for demolition, said Molly Maclean, an assistant city attorney. But the Lutheran congregation plans to relocate.

Sandy Koppen, president of the Thanksgiving Lutheran congregation, said mortgage payments for the church property have regularly topped $5,000 a month. The financial burden has been tough for the 30 to 35?members to shoulder and has ?threatened to become an obstacle for their ministry, she said.

“We like the building. We love it,” she said. But “we just can’t maintain that. It’s a big property, we’re a small group and it’s a lot to maintain.”

Koppen said the congregation likely will move on from the Fulton Road site in January and plans to rent space from the Knox Presbyterian church a few miles down the road. The two denominations are in “full communion” with each other and are both concerned with homeless issues, Koppen said. The Presbyterian church even has a garden of its own where Lutheran newcomers may be able to help.

Details about future services are still being ironed out, she said, but the two congregations might worship together or share a pastor.

“Theoretically, the possibilities are endless,” she said.

You can reach Staff Writer Will Schmitt at 707-521-5207 or will.schmitt@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @wsreports.