St. Norbert Parish Council
Regular Meeting August 10, 2006
In attendance: Deacon Bill Twellman, Fr. Jim Mitulski, Jill Anselm, Tom Kienstra, Pat Viets, Ken Poorman, Joe Mooney, Marty Buchheit, Fr. Rich Buchheit, Luis Martinez, Carol Schneider, Joyce Zuellig, and Peggy Scott
Absent: Kevin McMichael and Bud Alexander
Minutes of the May 11, 2006 meeting were approved as recorded.
Fr. Jim opened the meeting with a prayer.
Introductions of new council members were made and new positions accepted.
Existing council representative, Pat Viets requested assuming position of Parish Council Finance Liaison replacing Ken Poorman; Joyce Zuellig will assume Pat Viets position as Parish Council Liturgy Liaison; Marty Buchheit will replace resigning member, Joe Mooney as council Education Liaison; Luis Martinez assumes the position of Vice-chair as Tom Kienstra replaces Jill Anselm as Chairman and Jill replaces resigning member Kevin McMichael as Member-at-Large.
The Parish Council Bylaws were distributed to all those in attendance requiring a copy.
As Jill’s last order as Parish Council Chair, she encouraged new members to consider attending the Archdiocese Ministry Workshop in the fall.
Tom Kienstra officially took charge of the meeting (on his birthday) to request that the evening of September 23, 2006 be held open for a celebration of Fr. Jim’s 60th Birthday. Deacon Bill Twellman and Jill Anselm will co-chair the planning of this event.
The question of the necessity to have Parish Council meetings was brought up.
Pastors Report
Fr. Jim Mitulski reported:
NCCU is in need of representatives from each participating church – Peggy Scott and Joyce Zuellig agreed to represent St. Norbert.
A new Stewardship Chair is needed for the “Time, Talent and Treasure” program. Fr. Jim asked Joe Mooney to consider the position with assistance from the resigning chair, Ken Poorman. Joe Mooney accepted.
A meeting will be held on August 29, 2006 to address the electronic offering program. Fr. Jim asked for volunteers to attend with him. Luis Martinez agreed to accompany Fr. Jim.
The permit for Fr. Rich’s Ramp has been declined by the St. Louis County Government, the project is not presently up to building code and will need to be resubmitted.
There is a need to move quickly on the renovation of the rectory basement into office space. The living area upstairs is getting more and more difficult to use. A two-car garage needs to be added to the existing rectory building. All offices will be moved to the basement with the hopes that there will be enough space to accommodate at least one conference room. To this end, Fr. Jim has received some room dividers from Roger Dalske to assist in the quick separation of the basement space.
CHRP is moving forward. There should be no more than 20 people per group for the program to work effectively.
The parish will present a Christmas Novena at the beginning of Advent for seven nights with nightly presenters.
The Parish Mission has been postponed until 2007.
A discussion was opened about the issue of having air-conditioning installed in the school. We have received an unofficial bid of $125,000 to install central air. Portable a/c units are a possible solution for ½ the price but the electrical outlets are not up to code. The purchase of wall units is not a possibility because they are illegal. The room dividers that Fr. Jim received are a possible temporary solution to move some classes into Schaefer Hall but become impractical because of a 2-hour set up and break down time. The question of school needing to start before Labor Day was brought up but needs to be discussed with Pam Gilbert because of attendance requirements. Fr. Rich suggested that it is like the issue of a/c in church was in the recent past – it will happen sooner or later.
The school has a total enrollment of 385 students. This is the first increase in student population in several years.
There is a need to upgrade the technology in the school since most of the current computers are outdated. School principal, Pam Gilbert, was apprehensive about the possibility of leasing new computers. Joe Mooney suggested looking into the purchase of Smart Boards. Pat Viets suggested making a “Technology Fund” part of the annual auction.
Fr. Jim asks, how much does a capital campaign increase ownership in the parish? He suggests that it may increase and help build a strong community.
Fr. Jim presented the idea of purchasing a lighted sign for the property again. He would like one that would allow for more than one item to be addressed. Deacon Bill believes a sign would cost approximately $20-25,000. Joyce Zuellig suggested approaching SNAC or the Soccer Tournament Committee for the funds. Deacon Bill suggests selling monthly or weekly sign sponsorships to defray the cost of purchasing or the cost of operation. (E.g. Deacon Bill wishes his mother, Harriet Twellman, a happy birthday – September 7th.) Possible sponsorships could also be raffled or auctioned.
The parish nurse will be hired. Peggy Scott brings up a concern that the nurse should help parishioners deal with racism and classism.
The sound system has received two bids, both of which focus on placing speakers around the circle. We are awaiting another bid.
It was agreed that the question of how do we get African-American Catholics involved in mass be tabled until the next meeting.
New Business
Next meeting is scheduled for September 12, 2006 at 7:00 PM.
Jill Anselm closed the meeting with a prayer.
Meeting adjourned at 9:24 p.m.