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Minutes of Parish Council
Meeting Sean Nuyda called the meeting to order at 6:30 p.m. Present: Father Bob Betz, Father Ron Gramza, Carol Anger, Joseph Dulka, Charles Frey, Leslie Henry, Dennis Irwin, Noreen M. Klopp, Jerome Kromraj, Dan Lentz, Rich Lussier, Sean Nuyda, Dave Spitzenberger Excused/Absent: Ken D’Alessandro, Don Slomski, and Tom Wisniewski (Excused) Guests: Alice Berezinski, Chris Frymark Opening Prayer: Father Bob offered the opening prayer. Sean welcomed the guests present for the meeting and pointed out that Chris Frymark would address the school’s hot lunch program. Approval of Minutes of November 2004 Meeting: There being no additions, corrections or deletions to the previously proposed minutes, the minutes of the meeting of November 18, 2004, were approved as prepared. Pastor’s Report: Father Bob’s report included how proud he was of the manner in which the Council handled and discerned the school issue at the November 2004 meeting. He mentioned that the Capuchins moved into the 16th Avenue rectory earlier today (December 16th). It had been thoroughly cleaned and necessary repairs made prior to their arrival. A two-year lease has been entered into with them. Answering an inquiry as to whether our parish would derive any services from them during their stay, it was stated that they travel quite a bit, consider this as a home base, and are also attempting to get into another type of ministry. Providing services to our parish is not part of the agreement with the Capuchins, however, if at some future time the parish is in need of their services, that topic will then be broached. Father Ron remarked that some “tough” issues were brought up, discussed and resolved during his absence, including the school issue. He brought for all the council members key chains that were blessed by the Holy Father during a papal audience the day before he left Rome. Father Ron also said he had occasion to be with the Holy Father four times during the sabbatical and that a group picture of him and his classmates with the Holy Father had been taken. He will bring in a copy of the photo for all to see. Committee Reports: Building & Grounds. Minutes of the committee were provided to all council members prior to the meeting. A council member asked about the status of the pipe organ at the Marquette Avenue site. The installer, Dave, has been working on it for a long time. Father Bob has attempted to call him at the phone number he has for him for weeks but never receives an answer. Another member commented that although the progress is very slow, the work is good. Referring to an inquiry about the Facilities Usage Policy, Father Ron reminded everyone that the proposed policy was sent back to the committee in about August of 2004 for some reason [in fact, July 2004, with a request for the inclusion of additional topics which he had requested]. This issue will be checked into further. Human Concerns. Jerry Kromraj advised that the committee held a meeting the first week in December, and everything was going well. Parish Life: Minutes of the committee were provided to all council members prior to the meeting. A definite date of April 9, 2005 has been set for the Late Night Catechism play to be held at the new South Milwaukee High School auditorium. Jerry mentioned that Judy Kromraj has already received the contract for the play and has an appointment with the high school representative relative to specific needs for the play and other provisions. Joe Dulka suggested that each of the parish societies underwrite a portion of the $1,500 deposit for the performance and possibly the rental of the auditorium. Following discussion, it was decided that the Finance Committee will advance these costs but will also write letters to the societies seeking donations to offset the costs; any sponsorship(s) would be listed in the evening’s playbill. The net profit from this venture remains with the parish. Prayer & Worship. Minutes of the committee were provided to all council members prior to the meeting. Many parishioners are commenting about the short supply of missalettes. Father Bob indicated that 200 copies are supplied at each site, and that a note was placed in the bulletin recently indicating that people should listen attentively to the word rather than reading it from a book unless, of course, a person has a hearing impairment. He also said if people do require a missalette for this type of reason, the parish could subsidize the cost of them for the individuals. It was pointed out that most people do not really need a missalette, that many people through force of habit just take one as they walk into church but don’t really follow along. Another said people would get used to not having missalettes provided for each individual, and that the present pattern should continue. Christian Formation. The UPDATE with attachments was provided to all council members. It was mentioned that the people who run this program or committee meet about once every two months or so. There will be further discussion as to its existence and the need for a more active Christian Formation Committee rather than just the administrative aspect. A council member reminded others that at a recent potluck dinner for the Guatemalan visitors that a suggestion was made to have a second or special collection taken on the second Sunday of each month for the Guatemalan sister parish, part of the Human Concerns Committee. A reply was that Sharing Sunday, also a part of Human Concerns, is on the third Sunday of every month; two second collections two Sundays in a row would not be wise. Another member said an action on the second Sunday was suggested more to perhaps sell something, e.g., coffee, from Guatemala or remember Guatemalans in prayer at the intercessions. Long Term Planning. Minutes of the committee were provided to all council members prior to the meeting. Also given to the council members was a parish survey summary prepared by Dave Malek listing the first twelve questions with responses and the percentages of parishioners agreeing or disagreeing; the last four pages give a summary of the questions and all the responses, also with percentages. Each committee will receive a copy of the questions, responses and percentages that refer specifically to its particular committee. The Council must study the survey results and decide what could be or should be done for each. One said that because certain questions contain the most negative responses, those matters should probably be addressed more quickly then the others. Plans, rather than the actual change, regarding each issue should be made within a certain time frame. Another said, similarly to the school issue -- until all the students are at one site there will be no unity, some action must be taken soon with other issues because the longer we stay with what we have, the longer it will take for the parishioners to adjust to changes. Dave Spitzenberger indicated that at the next long term planning committee meeting would be an independent planning group from the archdiocese, Fred Bartkowski, a finance committee representative, and a member from each committee. Discussions from this group can lead to recommendations to the Council because it is the Council that will make the decisions based upon the parishioners’ responses to the survey and also what is the best solution for the entire parish faith community. The bylaws should be checked to see what the goals, visions or mission statement of the parish contain. The mission statement will be e-mailed to the council members. Further discussion will be conducted at the January meeting. If anyone has any questions regarding the survey summary, they may contact Dennis Irwin, Dave Malek or Tom Wisniewski. OLD BUSINESS: School Hot Lunch Program. Chris Frymark of the school board appeared at the council meeting to determine whether or not the Council supports the hot lunch program as outlined at a previous council meeting and, if so, which of the three models would be supported. Chris chaired this committee but will no longer be involved because her son will graduate from grade school, however, Mike Roubik would be willing to continue in this role. Chris talked with Judy Kalinowski today who advised her that she highly supports a hot lunch program and that she, Judy, recently had met a nun from St. Louis Parish in Caledonia who likes to cook and expressed an interest in starting a hot lunch program if that was offered. Judy would pursue that offer if the self-funded program is approved, and also said she would interview any person interested in that position. The first model would be to have a caterer bring in the food; the TOTs would be interested in this program also; there would be approximately 35 children there. The second model would be the piggyback plan with a public school where the meals would be prepared and then brought into our school. The third model would be a self-funded program with our own cook to be subsidized by the State, with food to be discounted in price, and we would develop our meals based on the commodities available. Parents would pay perhaps $35 or $50 per month; there would be accounting done for each child; and when the account would become low, the parents would be so notified. They were hoping to keep the lunch at $2 or under per day. If a parent could not afford the cost of the meals, a form would be filled out for the State and the State would then subsidize that child’s meals; this would be done on a strictly confidential basis. This would involve hiring one full-time and one part-time person to handle all the paperwork for the State. In response to a question regarding health standards, Chris said the health department has certain requirements that must be met regardless of the type of program selected. An inspector had previously checked out the College Avenue kitchen and had indicated certain repairs to be made at a cost of approximately $600. When other individuals who had hot lunch programs in existence checked the kitchen, their concerns were more for rubber mats to prevent slipping, metal sheeting, and painting. Initial costs would be for trays, disposable or non-disposable plates, silverware, and additional garbage pickup. Delivery of food to the TOTs site must be provided, so we would have to have some van or delivery truck available, and there are strict guidelines for temperatures of foods being delivered. After Chris had talked to numerous representatives of schools already having hot lunch programs and hearing their comments, it was the recommendation of the committee that the self-funded program would be in the best interest for our school. As result of a survey taken some time ago, 85% of school parents were interested in a hot lunch program three to five times per week. There would be some initial costs in getting the program started. That amount is undetermined at this time. It may be that fundraising could be done to raise money. If the self-funded program is implemented, it must begin at the start of the school year. If the Council supports the program, there are people willing to start working on it. Chris repeated that the Council had previously agreed to lend money to implement this program, and once the program is running and is financially successful, that money would be returned to the parish. As stated by a council member, and agreed to by the others, if the money is going to come back to the parish, then we should put forth that $1,000 or $2,000 requested money for the program. NEW BUSINESS: Finance Committee Day School Tuition Proposal. A chart with the proposed day school tuition for the next school year as compared to the present school year, including the percentage of increases, was distributed to the council members. Rich Lussier pointed out that other schools had been contacted regarding charges for tuition and our tuition was constantly lower than theirs even with the increases. Parents will be strongly urged to contribute a minimum of $10 per week in their church envelopes. Discussion included statements regarding a possible reduction in enrollment due to the one school site, that a reduction in enrollment would result in a reduction of staff, whether the increased tuition payments would contribute to the lessening of the budget deficit, that the proposal for the second and third child is too low, a recitation of higher tuitions of a few neighboring schools; that the parents agreed to an increase of eight percent in their survey, that a note could be placed in the bulletin about possible sponsorship of a child, and a suggestion that the tuition for three or more children be raised. The final increases in tuition as agreed to by all the council members were 6% for one child, 9.5% for two children, and 12% for three or more children. Council Nomination Process: Handouts for the parish council nomination/ discernment process and timeline were distributed. Dennis Irwin reviewed the schedule for the nominations and each succeeding page, and stated that according to the bylaws the selection committee consists of the Council and two independent members of the parish. Nomination forms would be located in the lobbies of all the sites, the nominees’ names and short biographies would be published in the bulletin, they would attend an orientation session sponsored by the archdiocese (Mark Peters of the archdiocese advised Dennis that a separate date for our group could be scheduled). The selection of new members, from any of the four sites, would then be held per our bylaws. The second page of the handout entitled Who is a good Parish Council member? could probably be printed on the reverse side of the actual nomination page. Dennis suggested a mini-retreat of four hours or so, with all council members, trustees and pastors present, and Mark Peters to facilitate the discernment process. Because all of the council members (excluding Leslie Henry and Rich Lussier who succeeded original members who had resigned) were selected on the first day of the transitional council meeting, no council member has a specific term of office. Two of the present council members, Noreen Klopp and Ken D’Alessandro, have volunteered to resign by July 1, 2005. Two others will be eliminated by the drawing of their names from a hat. The names were picked by impartial observers or guests at the meeting. Those whose terms will expire in two years (July 2007) are Charles Frey, Dennis Irwin, Jerome Kromraj and Tom Wisniewski. Those whose terms will expire in one year (July 2006) are Carol Anger, Leslie Henry, Sean Nuyda and Don Slomski. In addition to Noreen and Ken, those whose terms will expire by July 1, 2005 are Dan Lentz and Rich Lussier. No person can serve more than six consecutive years on the council. It was also pointed out that after the new council members are installed, there should be a discernment of officers. The parish leadership day which is for everyone in leadership and ministry chairs is set for April 2nd. The orientation session for nominees with Mark Peters is set for Thursday, April 14th, from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. Sean will select two people from the general population of the parish to serve on the Selection Committee for new council members. As an aside, Sean mentioned that the Divine Mercy bylaws had never been filed although they were signed in October of 2003, and he will take care of that matter. Other News and/or Announcements: Dave Spitzenberger attended a school board meeting recently and said that that board will also need some ground rules developed for their incoming and outgoing members. That matter will be taken up at their next meeting. Sean announced that articles for the bulletin for the weekend of December 25-26 are due in the parish office by Friday, December 17th. Articles to be included in the bulletin for the weekend of January 1-2, 2005 are due by Tuesday, December 21st. Dennis stated that trustees are governed by state law, that more stringent rules govern them, and basically they can serve two-year terms forever. He asked whether his nomination committee for the council should develop a process for the election of parish trustees similar to the one developed for the council. After a short discussion, he stated he would have a planned process for the election of trustees by the January 2005 meeting. The next committee meetings will be held on January 6, 2005 at 6:30 p.m. at the College Avenue site. The next regular council meeting is scheduled for January 20, 2005 at 6:30 p.m. at the Divine Mercy Parish Office Building. Closing Prayer: Father Ron offered the closing prayer. Adjournment: The meeting adjourned at 8:50 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Marcy Gramza, Recording Secretary January 6, 2004
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