Renovation & Maintenance Committee
| Jim Lenzo | Fr. Wayne Herpin S.J. | Craig Clark |
| Francis De Lage | Dan Gilliland | John Merrigan |
| John Miller | Dawn Santiago |
Proposals for St. Jude Mission's Multi-Phased Renovation Project
Renovation Update - August 15, 2005
Fellow Parishioners:
In 2005 we will be celebrating our fortieth anniversary. Since 1961, we have indeed come a long way. From our humble start in our first church, which also served as our bingo and meeting hall, we have progressed to an infrastructure consisting of a beautiful, full-sized church; a rectory; life center; columbarium; parish hall; and well-kept grounds. Our first forty years have been good to us. We can be proud of St Jude Mission. However, forty years have also taken their toll. We have been diligent in keeping our facilities in the best condition possible. However, there are many maintenance and renovation projects that must accomplished in order to maintain our facilities and bring them up to code standards.
Our oldest building, the hall, is in need of renovation. The restrooms are inadequate. If we are to use this building for our gathering place and social events, and hope to rent it out for additional income, the restrooms must be enlarged and, above all, made handicapped accessible in accordance with ADA standards. Rooms are to be incorporated into the hall to accommodate additional classes. Additional lighting, heating and air-conditioning must also be included, along with a new metal roof.
Other areas needing attention are a new roof for the church, repairing and sealing the parking area, repairs to the rock walls, and repairs to the rectory and life center. These projects have been estimated to cost in excess of $150,000.
The Renovation Committee considered several options to fund these efforts. We looked into having a campaign to ask parishioners to contribute. Initially, this seemed to be a viable option. However, this method has certain drawbacks that limit its effectiveness. Any monies contributed, regardless of its intent, must be considered income as per direction from the Diocese of Las Cruces. Therefore, any renovation funding would be taxed 9 % by the Diocese. As income for the parish increases, so does our obligation to the Diocesan United in Ministry Campaign (UIM). Another option, the most viable and cost effective, is to use the UIM Campaign as the vehicle to fund our renovation efforts for the next few years. Any money contributed to UIM over and above our yearly goal set by the Diocese is returned to the Parish tax-free as a rebate. This rebate is not considered income and will not increase our UIM goal for the following year. The drawback is that we would not have this funding available to us until the completion of the yearly DIM campaign, sometime in January of the following year. However, this will provide the largest return on any money contributed toward our renovation efforts.
The Mission of St Jude belongs to each and every one of us as members. As we approach our upcoming UIM Campaign, which kicks off in January, we urge each family to make a generous commitment to our church's renovation through UIM.
For more information, please contact the church office at 437-0238.
Sincerely,
Renovation & Maintenance Committee-Jim Lenzo, Father Wayne Herpin S.J., Craig Clark, Mary Cronin, Francis De Lage, Dan Gilliland, John Merrigan, John Miller, Dawn Santiago