June 4, 2023
+JMJ
Dear Parishioners,
Last week we had another bi-monthly finance committee meeting. Here are some highlights:
- We said goodbye to Greg and Annie Cassidy, thanking them for their faithful service. Annie has taken notes for about three years. Greg has been a member for about seven years. We welcomed Dan Ritzler as a new member. I instituted term limits after arriving at the parish, so each member is asked to serve for three years.
- We looked at the normal financial reports: the balance sheet, the income and expense report, the payables report. Also, a council member reported on the internal audit (following diocesan protocol and forms) he had done covering the last couple months. Everything seemed to be in order.
- You remember that the new air conditioning coil we purchased for the church got damaged in shipping, and was repaired with new materials. The final invoice was discounted about $8000, acknowledging the damage, yet very hopeful that the coil will be like new.
- Air conditioning repairs we are still awaiting: New ice bin covers, since the current ones are broken; one of the ice bins has a coil which is not functioning. This coil has to be pulled and analyzed.
- We are still working to complete the replacement of some of the heating/AC valves, and to stop the leaking of some that have been replaced.
- Relinquishing ownership of the timeshare to Vistana has been a painstaking process! It involves the Diocese, since the Bishop is named as the owner. We hope we are very close to finalizing this transaction.
- From the Diocesan Living Christ Campaign, St Wendelin has received $80,671 so far. Many thanks to everybody who pledged and/or gave to this campaign. The campaign lasts for five years, so thanks in advance for faithful fulfillment of pledges over this time. I realize there have been some glitches on the part of the fulfillment company – some automatic withdrawals that have not happened, statements that have not arrived, etc. Thanks also for your patience! I really appreciate how generous people are in this Parish! The Living Christ Campaign money that comes back to the parish will definitely help with the capital projects we identified.
- The new storage building is the first project on that list to benefit from Living Christ funds. We had already collected about $253,000 for the building from various private sources, and from the sale of the outbuildings on the high school property. The storage building will cost $300,000. So, about $47,000 from the Living Christ campaign will fill in the rest. Finalizing the building plans has been another painstaking job. There are simply a lot of details, and the contractor, the Diocese and the engineering firm are involved. As I write this letter, I am hopeful that we are only a week or two away from signing a final building contract with Clouse Construction. Clouse has been great to work with thus far, and we are hopeful for a fine building.
- The monument in the middle of the cemetery will receive a new base in the near future, since the current base is very water-damaged. Weber Construction is handling this job. The funding came from an anonymous donation. Cost will be just over $24,000. There will be more cost for the repair of the tear in the back of the metal crucifix. That is still to be determined.
- We found rotted wood at the front edge of the rectory roof, which is affecting the way the eaves trough hangs, such that water pours straight down into the foundation of the rectory. We're going to repair this rotted wood, the shingles and the eaves trough for about $3,000. I know we're going to put a new roof on the rectory when we have the funds, but with the evident water damage, we have to do some repair now.
- To save the parish money, Rob Reinhart is taking over the lawn treatment that Deere Creek has been doing. Rob is in the process of getting certification.
- The new flooring has been installed in the Notre Dame room. Unfortunately, the first installer did not do it accurately, and we had to call in a second installer. We are only paying for one installation. (I'm sensing a theme here: painstaking projects….)
- Last month we had another leak in the fire suppression system pipes in the parish hall. You remember that we were told we should plan on $5000 – $6000 a year in fire suppression system repairs, because the pipes are corroding. The cost for this repair was $1,673.
- The wooden gates at the ice bins on the west side of the church have rotted to such a point that the wind blew out a number of the louvers. We got a rough estimate to replace those wooden gates with louvered aluminum – about $1,200-$1,400. We plan to replace the rest of the fencing in the same area eventually. It is all pretty old and weather-worn.
- We have three quotes that I believe we can use finally to move forward the church lighting project. You remember that fundraising was done for all the lighting on campus many years ago, and there remains $85,500 in savings for this project. Living Christ campaign funds will help with this project as well. The project is pretty complicated. The first company that quoted retracted its quote. Because of less energy use, and less heat produced, we estimate savings around $10,000 per year with the new lighting.
- The elevator broke down last month. Repair cost $1,317.
- Another sign of parishioner generosity: a group of parishioners asked if they could send the processional crucifix from Mass to be replated. That is why we are using a wooden crucifix right now. The Rosary Altar Society stepped up to help with this project as well.
- We are at 55.23% of our parish goal for the Bishop's Annual Catholic Appeal. Continued thanks for everybody's generosity with this campaign.
- Finally as of writing this letter, the weekend collections are $20,097 below budget; but I am still so impressed and grateful for this parish's financial generosity. The fiscal year ends June 30th; and if we end only this much under budget, that's fine. Look at everything that has been accomplished, and all that has been asked – from emergency collections to help people in tragedies around the world, to the ACA, to the Living Christ Capital Campaign, to the weekly collections at Mass, to support for our local outreach partners and other national collections in our parish envelopes. And then people have also given privately to individual projects! People have been extremely generous! Thank you!!
There are some highlights! Have a blessed week!
In cordibus Iesu, Mariae et Iosephus,
Father Poggemeyer