Gaffney, Joe Noga, Mike
Harris, Dave, Co-Chair Paxson, Anne
Johnson, John Pelland, Dave, Co-Chair
Johnston, PJ Shepela, Adam
Lynch, Diana Specht, Alan
Martin, George Theriault, Joe, Co-Chair
Maxwell, Jim White, Ed
Pastoral Planning Process Update
Members of the Pastoral Planning Committee will give parishioners an update at all the Masses in both churches on the weekend of May 19/20 with regard to the discussions we have been having with Immaculate Conception Parish, Lancaster. We are also planning to have an open meeting on Sunday evening June 17 at 7:00 p.m. to which all of you are invited. The agenda for the meeting will be printed in the next bulletin. The primary purpose of the meeting will be: to give you more detailed information about the progress we have made since the last open meeting; to listen again to your input so that we can successfully plan for our future; and to begin to make some important decisions together.
Please feel free to contact Father Dennis at any time or any other members of the PPC to ask questions or to offer suggestions. YOUR INPUT IS ALWAYS WELCOME! Email addresses and phone numbers are listed on the back of this bulletin.
A very special word of thanks in extended to the members of the seven committees which were established last fall and who have worked very hard on behalf of all of us throughout these past eight months. Thank you one and all.
We are deeply grateful to the Buildings and Grounds committee. They have done an extraordinary job, devoting hundreds of hours doing all kinds of studies and diligently reviewing all kinds of options. We are grateful for the report which is printed below. We encourage you to read this report, to ask questions about it, to offer suggestions, maybe get a group together and talk about it, whatever works for you. Committee members are more than willing to share their experience with you. The chairs of the Buildings & Grounds Committee will present a more detailed summary of their work at the open meeting on June 17.
St-Theresa / St-Francis Xavier Parishes
Buildings and Grounds Committee
Facility Expansion Options for the Churches
by Dave Harris, Dave Pelland, Joe Theriault, Co-Chairs, Buildings & Grounds Committee
The Diocese projects that in six (6) years, the Bishop of Worcester will be able to assign one priest to serve the pastoral needs for the towns of Harvard, Bolton and Lancaster. At the present time, these three towns contain three separate parishes with a total membership of 1100 registered families. One priest can say four Masses at most on any given weekend. Therefore, in projecting our seating capacity needs for a parish of 1100 families that will be served by one pastor, we chose the number 500-600 to start our planning. We realize that this number may increase or decrease as we continue our future planning.
Last fall, our St-Francis and St-Theresa Buildings and Grounds Team set out to determine how we might be able to expand the capacity of each church by answering three questions:
1. to what extent can we increase the present capacity of our facilities by reorganizing our space or by changing the way we use our space? If that does not produce enough capacity,
2. to what extent could the existing facilities be modified to meet our future projected need for a seating capacity of 500-600 people? And, finally, if neither approach produces enough capacity to meet our projected need,
3. what are our options for rebuilding a church for 500-600 people on our existing property, or to build elsewhere?
The team started out by brain-storming all possible options for increasing our capacity and then went on to evaluate and eliminate those options that were not feasible. In support of this activity, the committee took two additional actions: (1) we conducted property condition assessments of the properties owed by the two parishes (St-Francis Parish did an assessment in 2003), and (2) we requested funding from Father Dennis and the Finance Committee to do some site engineering testing of St-Theresa’s land for the purpose of evaluating the wetlands. This testing which was done in November, identified the constraints that are imposed on our ability to build on our 3.8 acres by the existing wetlands. Other possible options for accommodating our future needs were explored in meetings with the Harvard Town Center Planning Committee and the Harvard Board of Selectmen. The B&G team wrapped up its work on this task in December by preparing a briefing on all possible options for expanding our facilities. This briefing was presented in writing to our Pastor and the PPC and now we hope to present our findings in an open meeting with all parishioners in early June. In preparation for this meeting, we are sending this summary statement for your review.
The findings of the Buildings and Grounds Committee are as follows:
1. there are options to increase the capacity of the St-Theresa’s to 280 people and St-Francis Xavier’s to 215 people, by reconfiguring the interior of the churches. Unfortunately, neither capacity meet our new projected capacity need of 500-600;
2. there are options to expand the capacity of St-Francis Xavier’s church to 350 by modifying the building. There are no options to modify St-Theresa’s church because (a) any expansion would require a Title V septic system which cannot be constructed without very expensive site engineering because of the wetlands on site; and (b) the expansion would require additional parking space which is not available because of the wetlands on site.
3. there are no options to build a new church at either existing Bolton or Harvard location because there is insufficient land area. Typically, at least one (1) acre of land is needed for every 100 people of required church capacity.
The challenges that are presented by each site are as follows:
For St-Theresa’s church (from most severe to least severe):
1. the existing septic system will fail a Title V test because it is located in the water table and is undersized for its current use;
2. the southern half of the rectory lot (behind the church lot) has wetlands which limits the use of the southern half of the lot and probably cannot be used for a Title V septic system.
3. Extensive ledge on the east and northern sides of the lot would increase site engineering costs.
4. the existing town water runoff pipe must be excavated, buried and relocated to flow to the town property (Lot number 3.2.1) to the west (subject to Conservation Commission approval).
5. the current parking allows about 66 cars which translates into a church capacity of 165 (which is about our current capacity) assuming 2.5 people per car. Consultations with the town Board of Selectmen seems to indicate a willingness to allow parish use of the 2.5 acre town parking lot to the east. However, the existing wetlands presents serious impediments to using that option.
6. the natural slope of the site (30%) increases site engineering costs and building costs and creates a need for multi-story design with stairs and elevators.
For St-Francis Xavier’s church (from most severe to least severe):
1. the condition of the current septic system is unknown. The system probably would not pass Title V requirements. Site engineering is required to determine whether a Title V system could be supported on the 3 acre site.
2. the location of a 300 gallon buried storage tank for heating oil would have to be removed.
3. the location of the water well prevents any expansion of the church from the front.
4. existing ledge and a retaining wall in rear imposes limitations on any modification.
5. the current parking is very limited and the 3 acre site limits the capacity of the church to about 350 max.
Please feel free to contact the co-chairs or other members of the Buildings and Ground Committee for any
question or feedback.
DeZutter, James
Miller, Larry
Gaffney, Joe
Noga, Mike
Harris, Dave, Co-Chair
Paxson, Anne
Johnson, John
Pelland, Dave, Co-Chair
Johnston, PJ
Shepela, Adam
Lynch, Diana
Specht, Alan
Martin, George
Theriault, Joe, Co-Chair
Maxwell, Jim White, Ed
God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can and the wisdom to know the difference.
St. Theresa / St. Francis Xavier Parishes
Buildings and Grounds Committee
Remembering an old friend…
Last fall when the Buildings & Grounds Committee conducted its Property Condition Assessment (PCA) of St-Theresa’s church, one of its findings was that the heating system had deteriorated into poor condition as evidenced by the markings of soot on the ceiling of the Furnace Room and around the exhaust ductwork. The soot was a clear indication of inefficient, costly and unsafe operation. The consensus among the local Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning (HVAC) companies is that the Expected Useful Life (EUL) of a hot water furnace such as the one in our church is 20 years. Some will last longer but at the expense of safety and efficiency.
On briefing Father Dennis and the Finance Committee last January, the Buildings & Grounds Cmte was given the ‘go-ahead’ to replace the old Weil-McLain heating system. We invited bids from the local HVAC companies and later received bids from four well-known companies. In the end, Wilson Brothers from Pepperell was selected to install a new G215 Buderus commercial furnace with a Beckett oil burner for just under $8,000. On 24-25 May, Mario’s old furnace was removed and the new Buderus was put into operation. The EUL for the Buderus is also 20 years assuming annual servicing and timely maintenance.
Many of us remember Mario and Josephine Barba as long-time parishioners. In fact, Mario was a founding parishioner of St-Theresa’s. They were generous in their support of the parish. We will never forget Josephine’s wonderful cupcakes which she would whip up by the dozens at a moment’s notice. Their pew (which Josephine would quickly remind any unknowing parishioner) at the 7:30 Mass was the rear pew on the left.
In fact, Mario was raised in Harvard and often shared the early history of the parish with us from time to time. His ‘oral histories’ started from the days when he was a young boy (he was born in 1913) during the days of President Woodrow Wilson when St-Theresa’s was a mission church from Lancaster and Mass was celebrated in the Town Hall. He would also proudly tell you about the founding of our parish and later, the construction of our little church in 1925-1926 and all of the pastors and parishioners since then. We are fortunate to have had parishioners like Mario and Josephine and many other ‘old-timers’ like them. The character of the parish and the town of Harvard was defined by them.
So, this winter when you come into our warm church, remember Mario and Josephine and be thankful for the generosity of our parish which made our new furnace possible.