St. Patricks Church at 157 Bridge St, Catskill, NY 12414 US - Parish Council Minutes 4/3/07

Church of St. Patrick Parish Council Minutes 4/3/07 Opening: The regular meeting began with prayer at 7:02 on 4/3/07 in Marion Hall led by Deacon Paul. Present: Joy Andreassen, Amy Bulich, Marcia and Sid Castle, Rosemary Dedrick, MaryAnn Kordich, Brenda Lubera, Matt Luvera, Joe Purcell, Janice Rinaldi, Cathy Trahan, and Christine Young. Guest: Glen Lubera Absent: Harry Sacco A. Approval of Agenda and Minutes Amy Bulich read the minutes. Two changes were made. 1. Write in that the $86,000.00 support from the church to the school was a planned investment. 2. The letter addressed to Rita Kunkel from the parish council was changed and read aloud. A motion was made by Christine to accept this letter and Joe and Joy seconded it. A copy of the letter is included in the binder with the minutes. B. Chairperson’s Report MaryAnn stated that she was aware that we had a difficult decision to make regarding the church’s financial support to St. Patrick’s Academy and she wanted to thank the council. She has received calls supporting the council’s decision. There have been a few negative comments, but most have been favorable. C. Committee Reports Liturgy Committee-Matt Luvera 1. Matt stated that the Liturgy committee was formed after Father Clark Arrived and he had a handout of a semi-annual report to the council, which lists events for 2006-2007 and has a tentative liturgical calendar for 2007-2008. It also states that a budget is forthcoming. This handout is included in the binder with the minutes. Mary Ann asked what the plan is for Easter. Matt stated that it is basically the same as last year. Father Lee Smith will be visiting. He is a retired priest from Brooklyn. Father Menty will be here the weekend after Easter with News for us. (April 15th) He gave no details regarding what the news would be. Building and Grounds Committee-Marty Wallace 1. Marty stated that he is in the process of trying to figure out how things are supposed to be done. 2. He is concerned that the side door of the church not be used due to safety reasons as bricks are falling off of the church randomly. 3. Marty has asked for volunteers to help with the committee. John Nickolitch has volunteered. 4. Marty is looking for people who know anything about the building to do an assessment of the property to prioritize the needs. He needs to find out how much money we can spend. 5. His first priority is to preserve the building to keep people safe. 6. Father Clark told Marty that bedrooms need to be painted upstairs for the next priest. 7. Linda Valenchis, Sharon Van Dyke and Nate Prest worked hard on some renovations in the rectory. They did a wonderful job. 8. Marty would like to find out how the diocese works with us for renovations such as the roof. He said Mid State Construction was here looking at the roof and was referred by the diocese and wanted to do the work. Marty is interested in seeking out local contractors as well. 9. Marty also stated that he is looking for someone who can spend more time on building and grounds to chair the committee. He feels that due to his schedule of FT employment and being out of town a lot, he would not be capable of responding to emergency situations. Sid stated that he felt we would have to get in touch with the diocese. The bricks are tied into the slate roof and really the whole job needs to be done. Mid State has done work here before. 1/2 of the church roof and the entire rectory needs to be done. Sid plans to speak to John Szypulski to try to come up with a figure to put into the budget. This should go into Capital Improvements to preserve the building. Matt suggested that in our monthly collection we have the debt and renovations fund. We should start a Capital Improvement fund with that money. When Father Clark was here, a Capital Campaign was started and a few people volunteered, however it is going nowhere now. We need to make a list of what improvements and renovations need to be completed. Matt will again make an announcement for volunteers. Deacon Paul asked about the church as a historical site and grant money. Mary Ann has spoken to Billy DeLuca and asked if he would be willing to write grants for us. He has done a lot of successful grant writing and is a current member of our church. He is going to begin to search the Internet and the diocese for grants available. Cathy stated that the Altar might be a separate historical designation. It was stated that grants are specific to what you can and cannot do. Christine asked who makes the decisions of construction. Matt replies that the Parish Life Director would. Brenda asked if Mid State would be forwarding an estimate for the roof and whether it would come to the diocese or us. Sid stated that the last on was sent to Fr. Clark. He got it and then he told the diocese who would do the job. Sid guesses that the last repair job to the roof was approx. $72,000.00 and this will be at least $150,000.00. Matt stated that the plaster inside the building is damaged and will need replacement as well. The stained glass windows need to be taken out and be repaired and may cost around $300,000.00. Sid will email Fr. Clark and see if he can get a handle of where prior information may be. Sid and Marty will stay in contact and Sid will call to see what is on Historical Registry. Marcia made a motion to send a letter to Nate Prest, Linda Valenchis, Sharon Van Dyke and John Nickolitch for the work they did on the rectory. D. Open Issues 1. By-laws. MaryAnn asked if there are any other changes to by-laws. Previous changes were read. MaryAnn asked if anyone objected to changing Parish Council Meetings to 6:30 pm. It was agreed next meeting would be at 6:30. MaryAnn asked that we all take a look at by-laws for next meeting and bring any changes so that we can post them in our church. 2. Furniture for Parish Hall. MaryAnn is looking for round table but has not found one. -Cathy is going to look into the furniture from the school. She also stated that these rooms will probably have to be used for Faith Formation next year and consideration has to be made for younger children using the classrooms. E. New Business 1. Parish Hall Dedication. -The liturgy committee is planning a 50th anniversary for Fr. Murphy on June 2, 2007 at noon. There will be a small reception afterwards. -Matt suggested that a mural be painted of Fr. Murphy and he has spoken to Sylvia Burgulia who cleans for the church and is an artist about doing this. -Christine and Marcia are going to check on prices of letters for naming the parish center after Fr. Murphy. (This is a surprise for Fr. Murphy) 2. CYO -John Konsul called to see if CYO would still be allowed to rent out the gym for next season. He has also called the diocese, but has gotten no response from them. -Concerns on where or not groups are covered by insurance using the Williams Street field were brought up. Matt stated that while FR. Clark was here groups had to fill out building use forms. Mary may have a file for these. 3. Parish Goals MaryAnn would like the council to set goals for the next year to 2years including an action plan for the goals, costs of projects and anticipated date of completion. -Three goals that MaryAnn has include a. Having Billy Deluca do some grant writing for the church b. Capital Campaign c. A big fundraiser for the church MaryAnn would like each council member to bring 1 member of our church to serve on a committee. (Social Justice, St. Vincent DePaul, Parish Nursing, Bingo, Faith Formation) Cathy stated that registration forms were distributed on Palm Sunday for Faith Formation and it will be held after masses April 21st and April 28th. Matt suggested that we try to get the parents of the Faith Formation students involved in the committees. Amy volunteered to write up a letter requesting their assistance and a list of the committees that need help. Matt, Cathy and MaryAnn volunteered to help with this. 4. Other Concerns of Parish Council Members 1. Brenda questioned whether Fr. Menty was coming here to tell us that they have appointed someone for a Parish Life Director without us having the chance to interview. Thoughts were that maybe a sacramental minister would be named, but Fr. Menty was very vague about what the news would be. 2. Deacon Paul handed out his resume to the council, but has not applied to the diocese. 3. MaryAnn stated that Deacon Paul did a wonderful job with the Reconciliation service and that we all thank him. 4. Sid suggested we send a thank you letter to Rita Kunkel and the teachers of St. Patrick’s Academy for all of their dedication and hard work. 5. Joy said that she has been approached about where the money came from to purchase the new organ and Matt said that it came from donations from the people of the church and that he has a list of people and what they donated. 6. Concern for the letter written to the editor of the Daily Mail was made by Matt. He feels that the parishioners need to know the facts. Fr. Clark published a financial report and Sid will publish another financial report in July this year. 7. The minutes of the Parish Council will be posted in the back of the church once approved and also on the Church’s Website. Amy will send a copy to Lou Porto and Mary in the office to have these posted. 8. Matt stated that he received information that the cemetery had been broken into and propane gas was stolen from the shed. Someone tried to break into the garage but they were not able to get in. MaryAnn thanked everyone for coming to the meeting and Chris made a motion to Adjourn. The meeting was adjourned at 8:30pm with a prayer from Deacon Paul.

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