+JMJ
Dear Parishioners,
A couple weeks ago we had another finance council meeting. Here are some highlights:
– We reviewed the basic financial reports: the income and expense report, the balance sheet, the payables detail. A finance council member reported on her internal audit, using Diocesan forms, for the months of November – December.
– Since cemetery financial accounts are under our tax ID number, I'm going to include the cemetery income and expense report and balance sheet as a committee report in future finance meetings. We have only been providing cemetery financial reports to the cemetery committee.
– We are still dealing with some dysfunctional valves in the heating system. We paid $1,499 for new boiler gauges and pressure switch for a pump. There are still more repairs needed, however.
– As of the end of December, the Diocesan Capital Campaign has forwarded to the parish 103,357.33. . Additionally, there is about $8,227 in the pipeline to be dispersed from the diocese to us. Continued thanks to everybody who gave so generously to the Capital Campaign, and thanks in advance for continuing to fulfill pledges! In the bulletin a few weeks ago I covered those other projects to which the Capital Campaign funds will be applied, now that the storage building is completed.
– We have moved the storage trailers over near the new storage building. We might be able to borrow a couple forklifts to cover a few days worth of unloading, but we are actually ready to purchase a used forklift, hoping to get it for under $10,000. We received a donation to cover the cost of the forklift. The lift has to be in good enough shape to pass inspections. The forklift we had over at the high school property was too damaged to keep or repair.
– The new aluminum gates for outside the ice cooling tanks have been created, and they have been powder-coated to match the downspouts. They look great! We are simply awaiting installation.
– The cross for the refurbished monument at the center of the cemetery is still in process. The computer design for the refurbished cross looks amazing! We are eager to see the finished product.
– We are awaiting a quote for the lighting project in the church.
– In the upcoming year sometime, we hope to receive another refund from the Cares Act, which is being given to businesses/organizations that kept employees working during the last half of Covid shut downs. All of our paperwork was filed, with the help of a company the Diocese vetted to help parishes through the application process.
– We received a donation towards the completion of the memorial cabinets. The cabinets have now been contracted officially to Greg Schreiner. Lighting will be subcontracted to Frankart Electric. We are just about $1,000 short of the total needed. Lighting for the cabinets brings the total quote to about $18,000. The cabinets will accommodate current church memorabilia and school memorabilia. They will be uniform and beautiful.
– We are moving forward with a permanent pavilion over the interment pad in the cemetery. Somebody has donated $30,000 to the project. I think the project may cost closer to $35,000, since we have to include some kind of drop-down weather panels; but we are still getting quotes. The Diocese will be involved approving the project, since it will come in over $30,000.
– For a couple years now, we have heard that our fire alarm panels are outdated. Repair technicians are telling us it will be increasingly difficult to get any replacement parts, because the system is so old. We are meeting for a very initial informational session with a company called Simplex, Johnson Controls, just to see what our options are for updating the panels. We do not want to get stuck with a broken down fire notification system. That makes our life at the parish very inconvenient, because in such instances, we have to provide human fire watch guards whenever there are people in the building.
– You might have noticed that our servers are wearing new, cotton-blend albs. A parishioner suggested this change to us, given that we were seeing some servers fainting during Mass. The old polyester albs were quite warm. The set of new albs cost $1,796.
– Quarterly lift inspection cost $475. Quarterly elevator inspection cost $314.
– An electronic part for the swell pedal of the organ was replaced using the $4,835 received from the Auguste Schaffer Grant for liturgical projects. Lima Pipe Organ, as they made that repair, discovered that we also have to replace a damaged circuit board, which causes the flute pipe of the organ to fail. The new circuit board will cost $1,200.
– Here is an item I forgot to cover in the finance council meeting: John Trabbic come to mix our sound system during Masses. The sound seems to be much better now during Masses. He recommended that we install an extension mixer in the choir area, which basically transports all of the free channels from the main mixer behind the altar. This mixer is now installed, and it has already made the setup of the contemporary choir and Hispanic choir much more efficient. It will also make music setup for adoration times and other occasions much easier – basically any occasion that requires special sound setup. That extension mixer cost $4,700.
So, there are some highlights from our last finance council meeting. Have a blessed week!
In cordibus Iesu, Mariae et Iosephus,
Father Poggemeyer