Keep community informed on its “House”

During the past week we could almost feel a collective sigh of relief in Birmingham when the city commission announced, following a closed door session allowed under the state Open Meetings Act, that the city would be involving itself in the issue of the day – the proposed sale of the iconic building known as The Community House on Bates Street in the downtown area.

The Community House on November 3 had announced plans to evolve into the Birmingham Area Community Foundation to carry on the original nonprofit mission of the community group, and the closure and sale of its iconic building in the city effective July 1 of 2026. The new foundation would provide grants and mentoring to nonprofits within a 10-mile radius of Birmingham, along with scholarships to students. 

The announcement by TCH Board President Camille Jayne and Alison Gaudreau, President of The Community House Association, caused considerable concern in the Birmingham community.

TCH officials conceded that the former business model for The Community House Association was no longer working in terms of generating revenue through events and classes to underwrite the costs of operating both the building and creating profits with which the association could help fund other local nonprofit groups, which is a critical part of the original mission established by its founders many years ago. Even before the pandemic several years ago, attendance at events and classes had started to decline, and COVID-19 only worsened the situation, something that other nonprofits are experiencing nowadays. Revenue from outside contributors as sponsors of events had also become a tougher row to hoe.

As a result, The Community House financial situation became more bleak.

Creation of a community foundation, seeded with funding from sale of the building after debts are cleared, TCH officials said, would allow the original nonprofit mission to still be followed and flourish.

But here’s the hitch.

Original founding documents and deed restrictions for The Community House Association provided that if the association was ever dissolved, the building and land had to be donated to another nonprofit group or leased at a nominal amount to the city itself.

Technically speaking, the association is not being dissolved but merely renamed so TCH officials’ legal counsel said the sale of the building can be allowed.

But that is where the legal issues and the spirit of the founders may conflict.

Many in the community have an emotional connection with the familiar site of the building in the downtown, even if they have not entered the building since years past, but still wish that it can be preserved.

So the entrance of the city in this debate is a welcomed event as all-cash buyers are lining up to tour the building. City legal counsel has the wherewithal to get to the bottom of this issue. And, as some have suggested, the city may be in a financial position to become involved somehow in the sale.

But here’s what the city must do in the coming weeks. If city officials and the commission are concerned about the future of what some refer to as the community’s “House,” then transparency must be the order of the day. Yes, you are the elected and appointed representatives of local residents, but the community must be given a constant update of what the city is doing on this issue, even if it means just a sentence or two every couple of weeks at a city commission meeting.

We recognize that some sale negotiations are better off not being discussed publicly but in general local residents must receive ongoing, regular updates on what progress is being made on this community issue, which means city officials will have to reorient themselves to a new way of doing business as opposed to conducting business in private and just making a public announcement when all is said and done.

A new sense of transparency must be embraced by the city to keep its clients – local citizens – updated every step of the way on the effort to retain the “House.”