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Our Lady of the Lake

Minutes of the Administration Commission Meeting

September 21, 2023

The meeting was opened with a prayer. Attendees includedFr. Penn, Jason McKenna, Frank Stipanitz, Luke Graessle, Tom Ziegler, John Riley, and Susan Spica.  Pat Dulle was not able to attend.

Fr. Penn lead the meeting and started by introducing new members Jason McKenna and Frank Stipanitz.  Pat Dullewho was not present is also a new member.  Fr. Penn provided Jason and Frank with copies of the charter and advised that it is being revised because Human Resources is done by the Diocese and so Human Resources will be removed from the charter.

Fr. Penn said he wants to refocus the Administration Commission on a few important items that need to be addressed.

Stained Glass Window Maintenance:  Fr. Penn provided contact information for Mike Bovart, from Bovart Studios.  Bovart Studios does maintenance on stained glass windows and has done work for other churches in the Diocese.  Luke agreed to contact Bovart Studios 641.233.7829 and ask for them to come to our church and look at the windows and provided a scope of work and bid to do what needs to be done to preserve our windows.  Luke will provide the church address and contact information for John Riley who will provide a walk down of the windows.

Tuckpointing:  Fr. Penn asked that both Karr & Company 319.472.5561 and TJs Tuckpointing 877.894.7281, be contacted and ask them to come to our church and look at the brick and provide a scope of work and bid to do what needs to be done to preserve our brick.  Jason McKenna will contact both of these tuckpointing providers and will provide the church address and contact information for John Riley who will provide walk downs of the brick buildings.

Leak in Ceiling in Fellowship Kitchen:  This has been an ongoing issue.  John Riley has coordinated with a couple of roofing providers and some work has been done but has not been fully successful in stopping rain from entering.  The leak is dependent on the wind direction during rains so sometimes it leaks and other times it does not.  Tom suggested that John cut a hole in the drywall in the ceiling near the leak and look into under the roof to determine where the water is entering.  John was to meet Tom in the kitchen for direction after the meeting.  Once we know where the leak is, we can get a roofing company to seal the leak.

Stairs on the North side of the Church:  Several of the steps on the north side of the church need to be repaired and have become a safety concern.  There is some history of different solutions.  Tom will get an updated bid to repair the steps.

John mentioned that some trees may need to be removed at the Rectory and John will call Four Seasons to look at the trees.  If they need to be removed John will contact Curt Liebel to remove the trees.

John also mentioned that some boards on the deck and stairs at the Rectory need to be replaced.  Tom will look at the deck and stairs to see what needs to be done.

Fr. Penn asked if anyone present is interested in being the Chairperson of the Administration Commission.  Tom advised he will be on the Commission until August of next year and does not want to be the Chairperson.  Fr. Penn said he will talk to a person about the Chairperson position and asked Tom to be the vice chairperson.  Tom said he would do that recognizing that he will step down from the Commission in August of 2024.  Fr. Penn said he will provide an updated letter to Tom stating his term will end in August of 2024.  Fr. Penn asked Luke if he would continue with the Secretary duties and Luke advised he would until August of next year as he is in his sixth year on the Commission.  Fr. Penn said he will provide an updated letter to Luke stating his term will end in August of 2024.

In the interim, Fr. Penn asked Tom to lead the next two meetings until a Chairperson has been identified, and Tom agreed to do that.

How often we have the meetings and the day of the meeting was also discussed.  Fr. Penn suggested we meet every other month, unless more frequent meetings are needed and everyone agreed.  Also, in the future the meetings will be on Tuesday allowing any decisions made to be able to be presented to the Finance Commission on the following Thursday.

The next meeting will be held on November 14, 2023 at 5:30 pm.

Minutes submitted by Luke Graessle