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Minutes of Parish Council Meeting Dennis Irwin called the meeting to order at 6:30 p.m.
Present: Father Bob Betz, Father Ron Gramza, Joe Amrhein, Tracey Borzick, Joe Dulka, Gary Hamilton, Dennis Irwin, Dean Kick, Jerry Kromraj, Chris Kujawa, Rich Lussier, Sean Nuyda, Steve Raflik, Dave Spitzenberger and Joe Zolecki
Guests: Alice Berezinski, Josh Borzick, Larry Haskin, Judy Kromraj, Gregory Meka and Elaine Tessmer
Opening Prayer: Steve Raflik offered the opening prayer.
Open Forum/Guest & Visitor Comments:
The above guests were welcomed to the meeting. Statements from Josh Borzick included comments heard at the last town hall meeting wherein many of the “older” crowd (35- to 85-year-olds), which he believes is the bulk of the parish, are not willing to contribute to any major changes for the parish; he believes we must somehow encourage the younger set of people (18- to 35-year-olds) to become involved and active in the parish before grander plans for the future can be attempted and accomplished.
Review of Agenda:
Dennis reviewed the agenda for this meeting. Additions under “Old Business” include: “Approval of Budget” as the first topic, and “Proxy Letter to Archdiocese” as the second topic. Under “New Business” is the topic “Purchase of Truck.”
Approval of Minutes of the April 2007 Meeting:
There being no additions, corrections or deletions to the proposed minutes, upon motion duly made and seconded, the minutes of the meeting of April 26, 2007, were approved as prepared.
Pastors’ Reports:
Father Ron expressed his gratitude for the support he has received during his years in South Milwaukee, especially from the Council and other lay leaders of the parish.
Father Bob spoke of Father Ron’s reassignment to St. Richard’s Parish in Racine, and the reassignment of Father Steve Varghese from Holy Rosary Parish in Kenosha to Divine Mercy. Father Steve is 36 or 37 years old, born in India, ordained eleven years ago and is in this country for about four years. Father Bob also mentioned the previous evening’s celebration of Chris Sepersky’s father’s funeral and the many leaders who had attended
Contemplative Break:
The question of the week appearing in the bulletin was: “Who is a “Witness” of Jesus’ work in your life?” The discussion was conducted by Steve.
Committee Reports and Comments: Copies of minutes of the following committees were made available to council members prior to this meeting: Building & Grounds dated 5/11/07 and Human Concerns dated May 3, 2007. Tracey Borzick of the Building & Grounds Committee said that committee is in the process of organizing many storage rooms which are cluttered with outdated materials and other items at the Christian Formation Center on 16th Avenue. She distributed a survey/list to be given by each council member to his/her group requesting the completion of the list and indicating what particular materials are to be saved. Every group should clean out their “stuff” and each one will be assigned a particular room for storage. The end result will be either the disposal of all “junk” or the transferring of materials to be saved to a particular area. The Building & Grounds Committee will have a workday on Saturday, June 16th and further information will be in the bulletin. On behalf of the Prayer & Worship Committee, Sean Nuyda mentioned that people are still talking about the moving and inspiring Easter services that were held. He also said evangelization needs to become our focus. Jerry Kromraj of the Parish Life Committee said at this time about 325 people have signed up for the potluck supper for Father Ron. Jerry also requested that any stories about Father Ron be given to him prior to the date of the supper and they will be included in the farewell program. Joe Amrhein, on behalf of Human Concerns, said there would be a collection in July for a scholarship fund for the children in Guatemala, grades K-12. There will be a basket donation for the Interfaith at the Heritage Days. He also mentioned that at prior meetings there has been some talk about the need for Spanish-speaking people; he said the Human Concerns Committee had a member who can teach Spanish. Father Ron stated that there were a few people from the parish who had volunteered to be translators of Spanish/English when our guests from the Dominican Republic were visiting here. Joe Dulka of the Finance Committee had no report regarding finances for this year because Patti Bollis has just recently begun her new Financial Administrator’s position.
OLD BUSINESS:
Approval of Parish Budget. In a brief statement about the proposed budget, Joe Dulka stated that based on what he has observed so far this year, he believes that the ending figure “in the black” as listed on the proposed 2007-08 budget can be reached. After a short discussion, the proposed Divine Mercy 2007-08 Budget was approved, by consensus, by the Council.
APC Critical Planning Issues. The ten critical planning issues as delineated by the archdiocese and studied by council members subsequent to the April meeting were then discussed. As stated at last month’s meeting, Dennis Irwin was to report to the APC District meeting at St. Veronica’s Parish on June 6th which three of those listed by the archdiocese would be considered of most importance for our own parish. Each of the council members selected three issues and the reasons for those selections. After lengthy discussion and agreeing that all were important and many were interwoven, the three selected most often by all were: #6 on the list - supporting families in faith education; #7 on the list – evangelization; and #1 on the list - support for and equitable distribution of parish priests.
Long Range Planning Update Meeting. It was stated that the committee reviewed the statements from the town hall meeting and said the overriding consensus was for a one site plan. Some participants at the town hall meeting wanted plans to move forward and others not; some people were thinking of a long term goal and others of a short term; the matter of a gathering space at Marquette was brought up; it was agreed that there were no negatives from the meeting. Father Ron stated that we all have ideas but nothing concrete, there are no numbers. Therefore, it was suggested that a proxy be obtained from the archdiocese that would permit the parish to contact architects to get bids; we cannot discuss anything unless we get the bids. One set of preliminary drawings and costs would be for a “super site” at College – build a church, develop a gym, ADA updating of the school, and the addition of offices and a narthex; the second set of drawings and costs would be for demolishing the rectory at Marquette, constructing a narthex to lead into the church, updating the church, developing a gym at College, and updating the school for ADA compliance. The Council approved, by consensus, that the long range planning committee seek a proxy from the archdiocese for the foregoing plans. One member commented that this committee seems mainly concerned with buildings and not evangelization, but another said evangelization would be a further result of these long range plans.
Parish Council Nominee and Trustee Update. Sean Nuyda advised that there is a new timeline for the election of the new trustee. Pictures of the two nominees were in the bulletin the previous weekend. Ballots for the election will be in the pews the weekend of June 2nd and 3rd and boxes for the completed ballots will be in the lobby of the church. There may be some notation at the top of the ballot that would indicate something to the effect that the elector is a registered member of the parish.
Referring to parish council nominees, Sean said because there are four positions open and four nominees for those positions have agreed to accept them, a formal discernment process is not necessary. Each of the candidates was requested to introduce him/herself, present a short biography of his/her personal life, and include any involvement in the parish, organizations or ministries, and to state that person’s vision for the parish. Elaine Tessmer, Larry Haskin, Dennis Irwin and Chris Kujawa complied with those requests.
Following her self-introduction as a new council member nominee, Elaine mentioned that Kris Nowak has started a new parish committee called “Welcoming Committee” where members of the committee, now consisting of only Kris and Elaine, call new registered members to welcome and acquaint them with the various ministries available or organizations which may be of interest to them.
Sean also advised that he, Elaine and Larry had attended the last parish council orientation meetings with Mark Peters held at St. Alphonsus Parish, and many new ideas were gleaned from that meeting.
After agreeing to accept the parish council nominations, all nominees were welcomed to the Council, and a Prayer of Thanksgiving was recited for these new council members. The meeting for the transition of council members will be held on June 21st.
NEW BUSINESS:
Proposed Purchase of Truck. Rich Lussier referred to the letter of Cathy Wendt, pastoral administrator, to the Council seeking permission to purchase a truck capable of plowing sidewalks at 13th, 16th and Marquette and accessible areas at the school, as well as hauling equipment and materials between sites. The truck would be used for business purposes only and operated by our two maintenance men only, or other designated persons in an emergency situation. The Finance Committee has agreed to this capital purchase. Up until this time, our maintenance personnel have been using their personal vehicles for our business purposes, and the parish is very appreciative of their cooperation in that regard. The maintenance men were, of course, reimbursed for their mileage. After discussion, the Council, by consensus, granted Cathy approval to purchase a truck for the limited uses as contained in her letter.
OTHER NEWS, NOTES, COMMENTS AND/OR ANNOUNCEMENTS:
A sign-up sheet for presentation of the monthly Council’s report to be given at all Masses in June was circulated before and during the meeting.
A note of thanks was received from Adrienne Frey for the plant and basket of fruit sent to her by the Council following Chuck’s death.
In recognition of Father Ron’s service to Divine Mercy, the Council presented him with gifts of a blanket with an embroidered wish from the Parish Council, an antique ice cream scoop for his personal collection, and a gift certificate for a restaurant. A short social with cake and ice cream sundaes would follow the meeting.
Closing Prayer: Steve presented the closing prayer.
Adjournment: The meeting adjourned at 8:30 p.m.
Respectfully submitted, Marcy Gramza, Recording Secretary June 14, 2007 |
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