HVAC Campaign
A Letter To Parishioners From Fr. Mike
May, 23, 2023 We are at 12% of our goal!
We are tracking our parish’s progress in our HVAC Campaign with two red thermometers in our narthex. The thermometers are on the two brick walls on the far right or left of the double doors that lead into our Church. As of this past Tuesday, May 22nd, we have received $31,060 in just the first three weeks of our campaign. These gifts combined with the $50,000 from our reserve fund, give us a total of $81,060 or 12% towards our goal of $630,000!
Every dollar given during this two year campaign is cathedraticum free, which means every dollar will go toward the purchase and installation of our new HVAC System. If you would like to make your contribution thru Faith Direct, you can contribute to the maintenance collection on Faith Direct. If you would like assistance in choosing this option for the campaign, feel free to call the Parish Office. Thank you for your support! May 14, 2023I share with our parish community the announcement of an important and large capital improvement that we need to make here at Holy Family. As you may know, over the past three years we have experienced numerous problems with our 32 year old HVAC system in our main church. The last major issue was on this past and very cold Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, when the HVAC System froze and left us with no heat in the church. By Tuesday afternoon of Christmas Week, we were able to have the needed repairs made. However, it has become clear that the present church HVAC system is unstable and that any future repairs made would be nothing more than postponing its inevitable replacement and it would not be a wise expenditure of our parish funds.
Over the last five years, the parish has spent over $60,000 on repairs to the existing system. These expenses were over and above what normal maintenance would require. As is the case with all older equipment, it is becoming more difficult and more expensive to find and purchase the replacement parts, if they are available at all. In addition to this growing expense, it is also clear that our HVAC system is unstable and inefficient. For example, we turn the boiler on and off only twice a year, which requires a guessing game as to when the change of the winter and summer temperatures will actually occur. Unfortunately, several times we have made the wrong decision and as a result parishioners have experienced exceptionally hot or cold temperatures in our church. Many parishioners experienced this problem recently while attending the masses on the weekend of April 15/16, when it was very warm in our church. After consultation among Archdiocesan staff members, members of the parish finance committee and pastoral council, our Parish staff, our two lay corporators, and myself, we are all in agreement that to best meet the needs of our parish now and for the next twenty-five years we need to replace the entire HVAC system that heats and cools the church. A Request for Proposal (RFP) was put out and three companies each responded with their proposal. After reviewing in detail all three proposals, we chose the one presented by Fresh Air Concepts. The cost of the new HVAC system is $630,000. The new HVAC system will save our parish money by vastly improving operating efficiency. With electronic ignition in line with federal standards, the new HVAC system will have multi zone capability and lower our energy costs. It will also give us the flexibility to switch quickly from heat to air conditioning and vice versa, whenever the need arises. The needed equipment has been ordered by Fresh Air Concepts. Our plan is to have our new HVAC System installed and operational by the end of October before the weather turns colder. Archbishop Lori has given the Parish permission to proceed with this project and has agreed to exempt all funds raised for this HVAC Project from the Cathedraticum Tax. This Cathedraticum Tax is the annual tax each parish pays to the Archdiocese to offset the administrative expense of services which the Archdiocese provides to parishes. The exemption will be effective from May 1, 2023 thru June 30, 2025. The parish corporators, parish council members, finance committee members and I always seek to be good stewards of the funds you give to our parish. Given the cost of this project, the funds in our parish reserve accounts are not sufficient to fund this entire HVAC project. We are reluctant to use all of our reserves and leave the parish vulnerable to unexpected expenditures. Therefore, I ask for your financial help. We are beginning in this month of May an in "pew" campaign second collection to fund our HVAC project. An amount of $50,000 currently deposited in our reserve accounts will serve as seed money for this campaign. All donations made by cash, or in envelopes to the maintenance collection will be earmarked for this campaign. Donations can also be given thru Faith Direct. One time gifts to the campaign are welcome. (Note that there will still be monthly Archdiocesan collections, and these will be taken up as second collections). Prayerfully, I ask you to join me by your participation in this campaign while maintaining your regular stewardship to the Offertory First Collection since the first collection pays for our liturgies, parish ministries and programs, staff salaries, regular maintenance, and energy costs. I will keep you all updated with the progress of our HVAC Campaign and the work to complete this project. In Christ, Fr. Mike Rev. Michael J. Jendrek Pastor |
