St. Mary/St. James

Planning Advisory Committee

Minutes of March 28, 2005

 

The meeting was called to order by Gary Loertscher at 7:05 p.m. Attending were:

Gary Loertscher, Kay Parish, Steve Rohde, Bob Hoffman, Pauline Fahey, Barb Wachter, Sheldon Hollis, Jerry Remy, Harold Nolden, Roger Zweifel, Jim and Carol Kramer, Ruth Francois, Carol Eberhardy, Jim and Martha Kniffin, Paul O'Connor, Bill O'Connor, Jr., Steve O'Connor, Carla Wolf, Joe Donlin, Maralee Gabler, Dan Edge, Russell Cichy, Tim Blair, Don and Audrey Johnson, Jim Fahey, David Fahey Jerry Jansen, Jerry Richardson, Ken Klink, Jerry Zieler, Mike Warmuth, Jerry Rabas, Tim Stadelman.

 

The minutes of the March 6, 2005 meeting were accepted.

 

Carla Wolf distributed the building fund summary dated March 27, 2005. It shows the total value of cash and land at $1,265,862.12. Total value including pledges is $2,544,531.14.

 

Mike Warmuth presented an analysis of "giving patterns" and a projection for the monthly cost of operating a new building and paying off the construction loan. "Giving patterns" would have to be at least tripled in order to support operating and paying for the entire new complex. Discussion included the following:

  • "giving patterns" for the parish are considered to be very low; a primary reason for this is that more has not been required in the past
  • Constructing the entire project would cost considerably less than phasing it in; however, building the entire project could only be accomplished through a large loan; it is doubtful any lender or the Diocese Building Commission would authorize such a loan based on the relatively small amount of revenue that is generated annually
  • In the past year, the estimated cost of the project has increased considerably due to a 10% increase in construction/materials cost, a 10% increase in square footage for the project, and projected increased site costs based on the findings of the soil borings. The total cost is now estimated to be $5.8 million.

 

Tim Stadelman presented a projected operating cost statement for the next 10 years. It shows that annual revenue must be tripled in order to build, maintain, and pay off loans for the entire complex.

 

Ken Klink reiterated the need for the new building and emphasized the following points:

  • Our parish population is growing steadily and rapidly
  • Our plan is an excellent one; not fancy, but nice, and practical
  • Without moving ahead, St. Mary/St. James will not survive because we do not have adequate worship space for the future
  • 800 people attend Mass per weekend; most Masses have people standing
  • Not as visible, but just as much of a need is the religious education/hall/office facilities; present facilities are very overcrowded and out of date; before long this will have an impact on attracting religious education teachers and on being able to offer religious education at all levels

 

Paul O'Connor stated that before moving ahead, we must see a commitment from the membership of the parishes to increase "giving". This financial support must be "over and above" what people have pledged or given to the building fund campaign. If the increase in support is high enough and sustained over time, we can move ahead with the entire project. If the support is not there, the plan will have to be done in phases, altered, or put on hold.

 

The consensus of the committee was that the message for the need for building and for a substantial increase in giving has to come from Ken Klink. kk agreed. He will address the issue at all Masses within a week or two. After that an ongoing monthly campaign will take place encouraging increased levels of financial support, monitoring the results, and reporting the results.

 

There is no need for the planning committee to meet again until results of the "financial support campaign" are analyzed.

 

The meeting was adjourned at 9:25 p.m.