Hello everyone!
As promised in last weekend’s bulletin, I would like to provide answers to some of the questions that were brought up at the recent set of town hall meetings that I organized in order to gather feedback regarding what would be best for our parish’s future in light of the immense amount of ongoing capital maintenance projects that need to be completed. This will be especially helpful for those who were not able to attend.
How is a final decision made? As we plan for the future, what does this process look like?
Ultimately, it is the pastor’s responsibility to make a final determination as to what will be the best for our parish in the long run. However, this means that I also have the responsibility to seek as much input from as many parishioners as possible. In order to accomplish this, I assembled our long-term planning committee, comprised of parishioners from all three campuses. This committee is an advisory committee to the pastor, and is not an executive board. The committee and I will continue to do research and then continue to present our findings at town hall meetings, at which I encourage all parishioners to come and offer their input. If we, as a parish, come to a consensus that we want to change our current operations (e.g. build a new church or consolidate to one existing campus), then we will need to do a feasibility study to determine how much money we can actually raise, and then we would need to present our plans to the Bishop. At that point, the Bishop would need to approve our plan before we could move forward at all.
How long will it take to make a final decision?
This depends on how long we want to continue discussing the issue as a parish; there is no set deadline reaching a consensus as a parish. However, the longer it takes us to make a decision, the longer the list of capital maintenance projects will continue to grow.
If we want to build new or to consolidate to one campus, does the Diocese help with the cost?
No. It is the sole responsibility of the parish to pay the cost of whatever projects we decide to take on.
If we build new or consolidate, what happens to any profits from selling our properties?
If we do the work of selling the properties, the profits will stay here at the parish.
Does the $1.7 Million of needed projects include normal operational costs?
No. The $1.7 Million pertains to capital maintenance projects that go beyond our ordinary operating expenses.
What does fundraising look like if we want to build new or consolidate?
In either case, the feasibility study will help us determine how much we can realistically raise. This will be a fairly accurate guide to formulating exactly what we want to do. After the feasibility study and approval from the Bishop, we would then hire a fundraising company to carry out a capital campaign. For whatever project we decide to take on, diocesan policy is that a parish needs to have received 65% of the total project amount “in hand” before any construction work can begin.
As always, if you have any questions, comments, concerns, and/or feedback, please feel free to contact myself or Dianne at the parish office.
Blessings to you all!
Fr. Ammanniti
