APPROVED: St. Nicholas Finance Council Meeting Minutes 03/15/18 and 3/20/18 Location: Notre Dame Room, Parish Office Opening Prayer Roll Call Jim, JoAnn, Don, Kristin, Chad, Cortney, Mark, Fr. Walter Any additions to the agenda? - None Review minutes from 02/15/18 meeting Approved: Don, JoAnn, All in Favor Old Business: o Building for the Future Update During the last joint meeting of the Finance and Pastoral Councils, Consolidated Construction presented a design option that was close to our estimated pledges. (They were asked to design to the available funds ) This included some modifications to the previous plans and a junior high school gymnasium/community center Since that meeting, several donors have expressed concerns over the junior high size, and therefore, the Capital Campaign and Building Committee would like to try fundraise towards the larger size. In order to get firm costs of the project and in-kind donations, Consolidated needs to proceed with Phase II (complete the design and drawings) It is not effective for Consolidated to design more than one plan, as it would be multiple plans for all involved, including in-kind donors Therefore, we should decide on the size of the gym/community center so they don t have to design multiple plans Feedback from the Capital Campaign Committee that was shared: There are potential donors who are waiting for us to break ground before they donate There are existing donors who have stated they will give more with a larger community center Additional (new or increased existing) donations are also expected through a Giving Tree Consolidated phase 2 design is paused until we can answer the above Numbers at the time of the meeting:
Could we borrow/use Father Rickert donation of $130,000? o Specifically as the Contingency in the above numbers, and if it were used, seek future pledges to replenish Pledges to date have increased over the past two months and may now be ~$1,650,000. Question raised regarding the percentage of pledges that will be received, can the Diocese tell us what is a normal expectation? Question raised regarding the timing of pledges, we will need to include the cost to borrow funds in the overall project This could be in the range of $20,000 - $50,000 per year for 2-3 years Question raised regarding the cost of annual ongoing utilities (heat, etc.) for the two different sizes Motion: Don, Kristin: Based on the estimated construction cost of ~$2,100,000 (before in kind, including 10% contingency, playground, and windows; with the junior high school sized community center, excluding furnishings) and pledges to date, the Finance Council recommends that Consolidated designs to the junior high school sized community center. APPROVED. This was based on the discussion in the previous meeting with Consolidated, and the preliminary numbers above which have a shortfall of ~$250,000 and also do not include the furnishings, the portico or funds for construction loans (until pledges are received) See further notes in the appendix o Cash account updates/financial Comparison Information was reviewed o Bishop s Appeal 2018 Goal of $62,949. Currently at 68% as of 3/20. o Corpus/Cross: The Bishop likes the Corpus, but would like to see it hanging
o Fundraising Formula Chad to follow up on wording of how any fundraising over budget should be talked about, due next meeting o New Evangelization Budget The program should include all programs from birth to death In the past, adult education and other programs were included in the parish budget and not NE, we would like them all to be part of NE There is a concern that the total budget then would be used to understand the total Faith Formation cost per pupil. That is not the intent because there are multiple programs Motion to increase Parish Subsidy to New Evangelization by $8,050 to cover the budgetary items moved from general parish to New Evangelization. o Mark Lang s Report (see appendix) Fiberglass clock tower door replacement is moving forward. Motion to approve purchase of Church entry door at bell tower approved for $1,775. Motion Don, Kristin, Approved. Tower Bell striker system is broken, Mark researching options Parking lot is in need or resurfacing/repair or replacement. FC agrees with the identified need. Hold discussion until April meeting to coordinate with Building Project FC aligned with Mark moving forward with zero-turn maintenance repairs NOTE: Parish will need volunteers for snow removal next year. Add to agenda o Calling non-active parishioners Ran out of time, continue in April New Business: o One consolidated annual ask for sponsorship of SN events proposed (vs. asking each donor multiple times) Motion to approve the mailing of the annual event sponsorship form: Don, Kristin; APPROVED. Feedback that some may give less based on actual cash on hand at the time Concern that it may become impersonal, so think of ways to stay engaged and say thank you o 2018-19 Budget Reviewed both school and New Evangelization, need to formally approve both during the April meeting o 2018-19 Strategic Priorities for Finance Council: Roll out a renewed Parish Stewardship Program Support the Building for the Future expansion project through fruition Maintain and enforce best practices and internal financial controls that call for fiscal and transparent stewardship of parish resources
Father s Report Education o New Evangelization Assistant position is posted in the bulletin and the Compass o Deacon Gary, Jennifer Jochman and Marny Clark are teaching the 8 th grade Rediscover Jesus o Saint Nicholas School Budget 2018 to 2019 Finance council approved $245,140 parish investment Fundraising budget formulas and goals are in place Worship o February server of the month: Eric Wolf o Mass journals will be introduced this weekend Living Justice o 46 new sponsorships were gained from our two parishes in response to Father Jim Horath s visit and the ministry of Unbound. Holy, Engaged, Alive: o Holy Hour, Tuesday March 20, 4:45pm o I will be at USML October 29 to November 8 for continuing studies for Catholic priests Finance council o 2018 Bishop s Appeal, Bob Schommer testimony Feb. 17-18. We are at $32,126 of the $62,949 goal, (51%) Next Meeting April 19, 2018 at 5:30pm Appendix: Capital Campaign Discussion Notes: St. Nicholas Capital Campaign Project Feedback from Finance & Pastoral Councils 3/15/18 Project Status: o Consolidated Construction is looking for signed commitment for Phase II of the project (design) o The plan that Consolidated presented to the Finance and Pastoral Councils assumed a junior high sized gym/community center o Several donors have expressed the desire for a larger gym/community center This would cost approximately $150,000 more than the junior high size The current proposal does not include the cost of furnishings (~$41,000) nor the portico for the entrance (~$60,000), nor funds for construction loans (between the time bills are due and pledges are received)
o It is not efficient for Consolidated and In-Kind donors to create two designs, so one plan needs to be chosen o Given the current cost projections and current donations, both the Finance and Pastoral Councils believe that the best approach forward is the junior high sized gym/community center. Both Councils passed a motion in that regard Given the gap between pledges and cost, if the donors want to proceed with a larger gym/community center, phase II should be put on hold until enough pledges are secured Latest Financial Estimates from the Capital Campaign & Building Committees: NOTE: the cost of construction loans should be added to these costs, so the gap is larger than above, and we need to determine what % of pledges will be received in the end by asking the Diocese for other parish s history Current Parish Financial Standing: o The parish community giving is stable, but not growing materially o The parish community budgets are close to balanced, but we continue to struggle each year to deliver balanced financials o There is little if any room to cut expenses, as that has already been done. The only growth potential is increased membership, enrollment and stewardship. Potential Concerns to be aware of: o Given that pledges will continue to be received over the next 3+ years, a construction loan of some sort will be needed to pay for the project until pledges are received Is there risk of losing pledges during this time period? How would the cost of loans be covered? This could be in the neighborhood of $20,000 - $50,000 per year for 2-3 years o How secure are the pledges? Is there risk of losing some during the project and what is the contingency plan to recover?
The Diocese could provide insight as to what % of pledges are normally received during a campaign o When pledges are being paid, is there a risk of decline in normal parish giving? o Need to understand the impact to annual operating costs: building committee to work with FC and Cortney to enumerate specific/detailed impacts to annual budgets for operational cost (including, but not limited to, cooling larger/smaller community center during summer months, school year heating and cooling costs of community center, cleaning, general insurance and insurance if we hosted tournaments ) Do we need 100% pledged to proceed? o This question has been raised by the CC and BC There is belief that we can still raise funds during construction and we wouldn t want people to think we are done if we are at 100% because we still need to manage risk, construction loans, contingencies, furnishings, portico, etc. o Finance Council is NOT comfortable proceeding without 100% of the building structure pledged given the risks stated above There may be appetite to proceed with 100% of the building cost secured, excluding furnishings, portico, etc. But there will NOT be appetite to proceed if the actual structure is not funded as there is too much risk. There is a very nice donation from Father Rickert that could be discussed as a potential for funds, but the FC would not support using that to fill the gap for the structure, but would instead only consider it to help mitigate risks. This has not been discussed, but it is fair to assume that all of the donation would not be considered as there are other potentials for his legacy. Recommendation from Finance & Pastoral Councils: o Proceed with Consolidated Construction design Phase II for the junior high sized gym/community center, continue to fundraise for the gap and furnishings, portico, construction loan, etc. NOTE: we still have a sizeable gap to solve, but the FC is okay proceeding so we can get firm costs and in-kind estimates o If the donors want to try to achieve the larger gym option, phase II would need to be put on hold until funds can be raised Construction materials continue to increase, so any further delay will add more costs to the project Although not discussed, the only other concept to consider, although more costly, would be to proceed with half of the building and add the gymnasium in a construction phase II. This has a lot of issues, but if we start and run out of money it should be discussed
Building & Grounds Report: Saint Nicholas Buildings and Grounds Report Prepared 3/13/18 Meeting Date 3/15/18 Currently, this year, 45% of my time has been spent at St Edward parish, and 55% at St Nicholas. The bid to re construct our North East parking lot with a new and fresh design came in at 130000.00. The fresh look would include new sidewalks for the safety of the children and parishioners, and 0 grade entrances to our church and parish office. Steps would be eliminated, and snow removal should be a bit more efficient. Does this seem like something we will be moving forward on, or should we consider moving forward on the restoration of our existing lot as we discussed last year? If I need to hire a firm for 2018, that should be contracted by the end of April to assure good timing on our summer project. The price for the fiberglass door at the base of the clock tower, from Tri City Glass, came in at 1775.00 The clock tower bell striker system has broken. A quote to install a brand new striker system came in at 3500.00. Lee Manufacturing stated that the parts needed for this extremely old system are no longer available. They are recommending this new striker. I have met with a few people from the building and grounds committee, and we are in the process of determining if we can repair the bell in house by having a few parts machined and installing them. I hope to have more information on this situation soon. Evergreen Power has called me to inform me that we have a few longer term type maintenance issues on the zero turn lawn mower that need to be addressed. The quote for all repairs and storage came in at 910.34. Evergreen Power has agreed to donate 175.00 of that amount. This will make the total 2018 repair cost 735.34. I have asked them to move forward with those repairs. If you wish to contact me for any reason, feel free to call my Cell at 585-5291, or, Email me at mlang@stnicholasfreedom.org End of report. Respectfully Submitted, Mark Lang