By Vernon Robison

Moapa Valley Progress

The LDS Logandale Chapel lot awaits for construction of a new building to begin. Photo by Vernon Robison.

Members of the LDS Logandale Stake who have been waiting, somewhat patiently, for construction to begin on the new Logandale Chapel, unfortunately, have some more time to wait. Logandale Stake leaders as well as general Church officials have decided to make significant changes to the site plans which will, more or less, require a reset to the extensive approval process.

In an interview with the Progress, Logandale Stake President Matthew Messer said that all the permits had been approved and issued for construction on the new chapel to commence when a new wrinkle was thrown into the works, just within the last couple of weeks. The old Mills property, which lies adjacent to the church lot at its northeast corner, suddenly came available for purchase by the Church, Messer said.

The church had tried to purchase this parcel early on in the process but was unable to reach an agreement with the owner at that time. So the plans and designs were simply developed around the privately held parcel.

Acquiring this property would allow the building to be better centered on the lot, placing it a little further north than the former chapel building was located, Messer said. The change will also allow for more convenient parking areas and better access to those parking areas from the highway, Messer said.

“We knew in the long run, it would just be a lot better,” Messer said. “Having the additional space would make it easier for people to get in and out of the parking lots.”

But Messer and other church leaders also knew that making such fundamental changes to the site plans would set the project right back in the que for approvals and permits and would certainly bring additional delays.

Though there are no changes being made to the floor plan of the proposed building, adjusting its location further to the north will require full plan reviews from County officials again, Messer said.

In addition, the new plans call for three access points from the State Highway instead of the two access points proposed in the previous plans. This will require approval from Nevada Department of Transportation (NDOT) officials as well.

“We don’t know at this point just how much of a delay this will mean,” Messer said.

Messer explained that Stake leaders have learned some things in recent months about getting through the approval processes. He hopes that this experience will allow them to expedite things faster this time.

Messer recognizes these delays will mean a significant inconvenience to many Logandale church members. Since a fire destroyed the historic Logandale Chapel in February of 2009, local congregations have had to keep tight schedules in remaining area chapels to accomodate all of the membership. Many members on the northern end of Logandale have had to travel to the Moapa chapel on Sunday mornings for meetings. But despite the inconvenience, Messer said he felt strongly that this was the best course to take.

“When the property became available, my first impulse was to say: No, lets just get the thing built!” Messer said. “It was frustrating that it would take even more time than it has already taken. But then I realized that the building will be there long after I am Stake President and long into the future. It was clear that we’d better just do it and get it done right the first time.”