Terry opened the meeting at 5:00 pm.

Fr. Chris opened the meeting with a prayer.

Present: Terry Brennan, Eileen Grant, Brad DeSaye, Bob Dressler

Absent: Keoni Murphy, Anne Welborn, Bill Jacobs

Staff:  Jim Wren, Donna Maneely, Fr. Chris, Shelly Cooper

  Minutes Approval:

  • Eileen followed up to see if we had put anything in the bulletin about making restricted donations. Yes, messages were placed in the bulletin and flock notes. We have received donations for a used car, technology and building upgrades.
  • Brad motioned to approve the December meeting minutes; Eileen seconded it; approved.

  Financial Statements:

  • Eileen motioned to approve the November and December Financials; Brad seconded the motion; motion approved.

  Bank Statement Approval:

  • Anne reviewed the December bank reconciliation; she will report at the next meeting

Pastor’s Report:

  • Fr. Giresse has been filling in for Fr. Biju while he is on vacation.
  • The deanery meeting was today. Fr. Chris is trying to get another priest assigned to Sacred Heart.
  • Fr. Chris would like us to be more efficient to reduce expenses, such as ensuring lights are turned off after rooms are used.
  • The renovation of the confessionals will begin next week.

Parish Manager Report:

  • January Collection plate: $110k and online giving: $43k
  • The PNC Bank transition to Notre Dame Federal Credit Union is almost complete. We are waiting on 2 outstanding checks to be cashed.
  • Notre Dame FCU has been great to work with. The courier picks up deposits on Thursday which are deposited at NDFCU the following Monday. Jim spoke with the diocese about this since we are required to deposit the Sunday collection within one day. They said it is not a problem. The diocese asked that we have a written procedure in place.
  • Solutio will be our new website provider starting this summer. We will save $12,000 per year as they use advertising to generate income rather than billing us.
  • The Charity and Development Appeal kicks off the weekend of February 15th. Bishop Dolan’s video has been posted to our website and Facebook page. Our goal has been increased to $175k from $138k.

  Old Business: 

  • The PNC CD matured. We were able to cash it out.
  • All of the treasury bills matured and are sitting in the sweep account. Brad thinks that the next 6 months will be turbulent, so he suggested putting the money into a 3- or 6-month treasury bill. The council prefers IFA over BOK Financial. Fr. Chris asked Jim and several finance council members to meet with Mary Brunson from IFA to get her recommendations.
  • 233 N. Summit lease renewal: our Director of Catechesis is renting 233 N. Summit at a reduced rent. A discussion was held about how much to increase rent. The council recommended to Fr. Chris increasing it by $100 per month and the tenant would pay all utilities.
  • Eileen asked about setting up a fund for a new organ. Fr. Chris suggested looking at churches that are closing to see if they have an organ we could purchase. Brad commented that there would still be travel costs involved. Brad made a motion to set up a restricted fund for an organ. Eileen seconded the motion. All approved.
  • 25/26 Budget:
    • Should stole fees continue to be collected for funerals?
    • We will increase rents incrementally to get closer to market value. We moved reserve funds for the Atrium renovation to 229 N. Summit, which needs renovations before being re-rented next year.
    • The only salary increases included in the budgets at this point are for the teachers since the diocese has not provided salary schedules yet.
    • If we get a used car for visiting priests we will need to add the insurance cost into the budget.
    • Depreciation will need to be increased due to confessionals and rectory kitchen renovations and having parish owned cars again.
    • Capital Reserve budget: due to ongoing problems with the chiller system installed during the renovation, more repair work needs to be done to the system. Once the work is done, we need to sign a maintenance agreement for ongoing work.
    • Solar panels: Scout solar will inspect the inverters to see if they need to be replaced
    • School: raise tuition by $150 per student
  • New Business: none

Fr. Chris led the closing prayer.

The meeting was adjourned at 6:07pm.

Respectfully submitted by Donna Maneely