Listed below are common questions with answers associated with the Parish Hall Building Project.Q1. What is the St. Gertrude Parish vision?A1. St. Gertrude Parish is a worshipping community which seeks to live its Catholic faith based on

Christian values. The parish is unified in diversity, committed to community service, and called to extend God's love to everyone. Using our living faith, we will strive to motivate children and families to embrace the Catholic tradition, through excellence in education and commitment to the community, so that it might now and always enrich every aspect of their lives.

Q2. When and why did St. Gertrude church decide there was a need for an expansion to our present church?

A2. In October 2011, St. Gertrude’s Parish held a listening session where all parishioners were invited to complete a survey on the primary needs of the parish. The results of the survey concluded the physical needs of the parish, in the following order of importance, are as follows: a need for new restrooms, more parking, new kitchen, larger church foyer, private chapel, and a bridal room. The parish hall concept evolved as a result of an ongoing dialogue of these needs.

Q3. How did the concept of a new parish hall occur? A3. The parish hall concept evolved as a result of an ongoing dialogue of the above described

physical needs of the parish.

Q4. Why do we need a new parish hall when we already have access to using the school hall?

A4. There are many reasons. The parish can only use the current school hall when the school is not using it for classes,

after school care, serving school lunches, or rainy day P.E. The $$ to renovate the current hall would be better spent on a new building with up to

code electricity, plumbing, etc. and a new and larger kitchen. The sidewalk from the church to the parish hall is uneven and poorly lit. The distance from the church to the current school hall is such a distance that many of the

parishioners either have a difficult time walking or will not walk the distance required to participate in parish community events.

The parking is too minimal for parishioners to park in close proximity to the current hall.

Q5. How did the results of the parish needs assessment survey develop into a plan? A5. Father James formed a St. Gertrude Pastoral Council in February 2012. One of the purposes of

this council was to review the results of this survey and develop a plan of action to carry out the requests of the parishioners as stated in Q2.

Q6. What are the goals of the St. Gertrude Master Plan?

A6. The physical facility Master Plan goals are fluid and will change only with thoughtful consideration by the vote of the Pastoral Council as the need requires. The goals of the master plan are as follows.1)The end goal of every decision is to ensure St. Gertrude’s Parish Community continues to serve the

needs of its members in witnessing to the Gospel message. 2)Maximize the value of all the parishioners’ donations.3)Maximize the number of parishioners that will embrace and take ownership in the parish facility master

plan.4)Develop a list of the major structures that may be considered in the near and distant future.5)Define the area of the parish premises where each of these future structures will be located.6)Provide for future expansion capacity of the church.7)Maximize safety.8)Develop a plan for an organized flow of auto traffic, parking, and sidewalk traffic that will allow for a

continuity or connection among the present and future structures.9)Identify the available area and the number of future parking places that will be needed.

10) Arrange the parking in an efficient manner to allow convenience for the church, school, future chapel, future additions to St. Gertrude’s school, and future parish hall-community life center.

11) Locate the sidewalks, parking, and entrances to maximize the number of parishioners entering the front entrances of the church.

12) Preserve the grotto and large old oak trees on the east side of the church. (This has changed, as you will read the removal of some of these trees and relocating the grotto to allow a building space for a new parish hall is valued to help grow and enhance the worshipping community of our parish).

13) Preserve the historic architectural style of the Church as much as possible in the remodeling decisions.14) Sustain or enhance the present architectural design of the church through all extensions or additions

to the front or side of the church.15) Enhance the utilization of the $15,000 diocesan construction policy for necessary small projects by

planning for the future.

Q7. What is our purpose of a church foyer?A7. The foyer will provide a climate controlled area for:

Promoting and increasing awareness of St. Gertrude's ministries Reducing the amount of noise from parishioners as they enter the church Serving coffee & donuts after Mass Selling items that promote Christianity Greeters to greet incoming parishioners Pastors to greet exiting parishioners

The foyer will also provide an area for parishioner gatherings and fellowship prior to and after Mass, as well as on special occasions such as:

Sunday Masses Easter Christmas Baptism First Communion Weddings Funerals Other Special Events

Q8. What is our purpose for replacing the present restroom with new restrooms?A8. The present restroom is obviously too small for the current number of parishioners. New

restrooms give opportunity to provide large separate men and women restrooms, wheelchair accessibility, and baby changing stations.

Q9. What is the purpose of remodeling and/or building a new cry room? A9. A remodeled cry room would provide an opportunity for a sound proof comfortable place for

parents to sit with their children to directly view Mass through a large glass window. A new cry room area would also provide opportunity for an alternate place for parents to leave their children under supervision while the parents attend Mass. The supervisors of these children would offer a religious environment based on age during the Mass services. In addition, a video monitor would be available as an option for viewing Mass. This second cry room will serve as a multipurpose room, for example, a bridal room and a meeting room.

Q10. What is the purpose of having a bridal room?A10. A bridal room would provide a comfortable private area with built-in foldout mirrors for

brides and their bride’s maids to prepare for weddings. This room would also serve as a multipurpose room, for example, a cry room and meeting room.

Q11. What are the advantages and disadvantages of expanding onto the north end of the church? This type of expansion is no longer under consideration due to the many disadvantages listed below.

A11. Pictured below is a drawing of what an addition to the north end of the church could possibly look like.

Advantages of adding to the north end of the church would provide a climate controlled area for:

1) Fellowship2) Promoting and increasing awareness of St. Gertrude's ministries3) Reducing the amount of noise from parishioners as they enter the church4) Serving coffee & donuts after Mass 5) Selling items that promote Christianity 6) Greeters to greet incoming parishioners 7) Pastors to greet exiting parishioners

Caesar Street

present church entrance

bridalrestroom

cry room/multiple purpose room

restroom

restroom

choir staircase

present church vestibule

foyer

8) Parish and ministry ticket sales9) Restrooms

10) Cry room to dual as a bridal room11) Small restroom for bridal room12) Convenient area for parishioner gatherings and fellowship prior to and after Mass, as

well as on special occasions such as Baptisms, First Communion, weddings, etc.13) A drive-under cover when needed

Disadvantages of adding to the north end of the church are:1) The front of the church is very close to Caesar Street. Because Kingsville is growing,

Caesar Street may be widened, making the church addition even closer to the road.2) There are more concerns for safety of children being so close to Caesar Street.3) The front entrance could not be used as an entrance because it would be too close to

the street.4) This may entice more parishioners to park in the street areas, and any available

parking on the north side of Caesar St. which creates safety concerns. 5) This addition takes parishioners a farther distant from the parking lots, thereby

making it more difficult to have the majority of the parishioners entering through the doors in the foyer.

6) There is no area to place a handicap ramp under the drive-under cover area.7) The north addition covers the external architectural beauty of our church.

Q12. What were the advantages and disadvantages of expanding onto the east side of the church? This type of expansion is no longer under consideration due to the many disadvantages listed below.

A12. Pictured below is a drawing of what an addition to the east side of the church could possibly look like.

Advantages of adding onto the east side of the church would provide:1) An area for new men and women restrooms2) A cry room closer to the front of the altar3) A bridal room/multipurpose room4) A small foyer area

The greatest disadvantage of adding onto the east side of the church is the church roof line. Constructing a flat roof is the only way to get the necessary ceiling height. Not only would

new addition

leakage surely occur, but it would be very unattractive to the church. In addition the foundation would have to be lower than the church foundation to accommodate for an appropriate ceiling height. The lowered foundation on the addition would then require a ramp to extend from the church to the new addition.

Additional disadvantages of adding onto the east side expansion of the church would not provide:

1) A large foyer area 2) A private restroom for the bridal room3) Reduced noise from parishioners as they enter the church4) A convenient area for parishioner gatherings and fellowship prior to and after Mass,

as well as on special occasions such as Baptisms, First Communion, weddings, etc.5) A drive-under cover when needed6) A complete, unobstructed view of the entire altar to parishioners in the cry room7) The conditions for increasing the number of parishioners entering through the foyer

of the church

Q13. What were the advantages and disadvantages of expanding onto the south end of the church and therefore, “turning the interior of the church around” (moving current altar to the opposite end of the church)? This type of expansion is no longer under consideration due to the primary disadvantage listed below.

A13. ● Advantages of “turning the interior of the church around” are:1) This will allow us to add an additional 6 benches, increasing the capacity of the church

by 120 parishioners.2) Kingsville is growing; therefore, St. Gertrude’s needs to consider ways to expand the

capacity of our church in the future. The current St. Gertrude’s church design has very minimal possibilities for structural expansion. Basically, the only way to expand is by adding to the south end of the church.

3) This provides opportunity to enlarge the choir loft. This can be accomplished by removing the pillars that presently exist, thereby allowing for three rows of chairs instead of two as well as extending the floor space for the choir director and organ by an additional 1.5 feet.

4) Gives opportunity to install an elevator to the choir loft.5) Allows space (sound proof) to add the cry room upstairs because parents can then use

the elevator. 6) Elevating the cry room to the upstairs will allow for excellent visualization of the altar

and Mass.7) The current altar does not lend itself to installation of hidden projector screens on

either side of the altar. The new altar would allow for these screens. 8) The church could be extended southward to build a foyer in addition to the expanded

seating area.9) Restrooms could be built out to the east side of the church without concern of

offsetting the appearance of the church since they will be on the back end and behind the large oak trees.

10) These restrooms can now be positioned so they could serve a multiple-purpose to be used for the church, foyer, new parish offices, and the future parish life center.

11) The parking would be more centralized.12) A foyer could be extended out toward the rectory without any concerns regarding

impairing the appearance of the church. Basically it would be too difficult to see from Caesar St. to impair the present appearance of the church.

13) The church south exits can flow directly towards the parish life center.14) A drive under cover can be built to incorporate the present handicap ramp with some

modifications for use as needed. 15) The church can be extended to add more benches when necessary without worry of

building too close to Caesar Street. 16) Centralizing parking near the south entrance would draw parishioners away from

parking near and around Caesar Street, thereby increasing the safety of our parishioners.

The primary disadvantage of “turning the interior of the church around” is the load bearing structures of the church would be extremely expensive to alter to provide for this type of structural change.

Q14. What were the advantages and disadvantages of expanding onto the west end of the church? This type of expansion is no longer under consideration due to the disadvantages listed below.

Q14. ● Advantages of adding to the west end are:1) This will allow us the entrance of the foyer to be closer to the parking lot.2) It would allow for a covered area for the priest and the servers to walk from the sacristy

to the vestibule of the church. 3) Fellowship4) Promoting and increasing awareness of St. Gertrude's ministries5) Reducing the amount of noise from parishioners as they enter the church6) Serving coffee & donuts after Mass 7) Selling items that promote Christianity 8) Greeters to greet incoming parishioners 9) Pastors to greet exiting parishioners 10) Parish and ministry ticket sales11) Restrooms12) Cry room to dual as a bridal room13) Convenient area for parishioner gatherings and fellowship prior to and after Mass, as

well as on special occasions such as Baptisms, First Communion, weddings, etc.14) A drive-under cover when needed

Disadvantages of adding to the west end are:1) It would require the roof construction to be built above the present stained-glass

windows because of the present design of the church.2) It would severely alter the present architectural beauty of our church.3) It would reduce the number of present parking spaces. 4) It would be difficult provide sufficient parking to maximized parishioners to enter into

this new addition.

Q15. If the parish needs assessment survey was taken in October 2011, why is it taking so long to begin construction?

A15. The first idea for expansion was presented in 2012. The idea was investigated to determine if it was viable. It proved not to be. So the committee went back to the drawing board to come up with another idea. And so the cycle continued through a total of 5 ideas. All members of the building committee are volunteers from the parish and have full time jobs and family commitments. Any time this combination exists, time easily passes when a large group of individuals must coordinate their time to accomplish a goal. The only way to offset this situation is to hire a consultant which would have been a very expensive process and would have significantly decreased the monies available for the building project. Also, the building committee voted in mid-2014 to apply for the one million dollar grant for church building expansion projects offered by the Kenedy Memorial Foundation. After approximately 12 months of waiting St. Gertrude was informed they did not receive this grant.

Q16. Who are the individual parishioners involved in this church expansion project?Q16. Pastoral Council Committee Members, Building Committee Members, Financial Committee

Members, architect, and parishioners who attended the many open parish forums. Many sub-committees will be formed beginning early 2017 to help determine what type of Parish Hall design will work well for the St. Gertrude parish community.

Q17. How did steps unfold that brought us to our current plan of action for the expansion to our present church?

A17. First, in February 2014 the Pastoral Council initially set goals and developed a master plan in order to maintain continuity between all future physical structures on the parish grounds. Second, defined the purpose of each structure in the master plan.Third, multiple open parish forum discussions were held. During these forums the goals of the master plan and the master plan was presented. More importantly, different proposals of how to expand the church to meet the needs assessment survey were presented. Fourth, any idea presented for a way to expand the church was researched to determine if the expansion idea was viable. Forums continued to be held through February 2016 at which time a decision was made to change from building a church addition to a parish hall.The actual timeline is as follows:

February 2012 Father Stembler formed a St. Gertrude Pastoral Council. One of his request was for the pastoral council was to review the October 10, 2011 St. Gertrude Parish Listening Sessions survey results.

2012-2014 The Pastoral Council concluded, after studying and discussing the listening sessions that the following church expansion ideas were consistent with the requests of the majority of the parishioners and Father Stembler. Many parishioners attended the scheduled parishioner forums to listen and give their input to the Pastoral Council’s proposed building expansion project.

2014The parishioners accepted the proposed building project.

2014 – 2015 (a valued one year temporary delay in the building expansion process)The Kenedy Memorial Foundation offered an opportunity for parishes to apply for up to one million dollars in grant monies for church building expansion projects. Approximately 12 months later St. Gertrude was informed it they did not receive this grant.

Fall 2015Father Stembler formed a St. Gertrude Building Committee to proceed with the building of the new church expansion project.The building committee agreed to hire David Brown as the architect for the project. Members of the building committee and David Brown offered and reviewed multiple options for this church expansion.

January 2016Following this review, there is one conclusion that David Brown, Father Stembler and all the members of the building committee agreed upon. Due to the positioning of the St. Gertrude Church on the parish grounds, the architectural design of the church, and the goal to have the majority of the parishioners automatically enter the church through the new proposed foyer, this presented a very unique challenge to build onto this church. There was never a consensus among the committee members to accept any of the proposals. Although it is obvious much time has passed since the beginning of this process, the building committee agrees, quality of the final product should not be diminished by rushing the process.

February 2016 A decision was made to change from building a church addition to a parish hall.

Q18. Why was the decision made to build a new parish hall instead of just adding restrooms?

A18. The decision encompassed many things.Based on the parish needs assessment survey the decision was made to build a church foyer, a multipurpose room, and restrooms. After exhausting all the possible options of adding on the north, south, east, and west sides of the church, building it became apparent that none of these were viable options.At this point, a decision was made to add a foyer in another way, that is, add a new parish hall. Now new restrooms would serve both the church and the new parish hall. Adding a new parish hall would be possible by adding a short enclosed hallway out from the present cry room and from there, add the parish hall which would include restrooms, a multipurpose room, and also a kitchen.A decision had to be made – are we going to build church restrooms only or restrooms and a new parish hall? Adding this new parish hall would significantly increase the original budget

agreed upon for a church addition. The amount of funds collected to date are sufficient to build restrooms only. But since the torch was lit and the momentum was in our favor, now is the time to go forward to build a parish hall.If the decision was to build restrooms only, the torch would be extinguished, the momentum would be lost and someday someone else would have to light the torch, initiate the momentum, and set the stage for another campaign to raise the funds for a new parish hall. Who will this be? Recall that for the past 20 years parishioners have been commenting how nice it would be to have a new parish hall.

Q19. What will be the maximum capacity of the new parish hall?A19. The goal is to have a minimum capacity of 375 people. The parish hall is expected to be

approximately 6500 square feet. For comparison the present school hall is approximately 5000 square feet.

Q20. What is the expected cost of the parish hall addition?A20. The total cost is expected to be 1.6 million dollars. There are many factors that will decide

the final cost of a new building. Such as design, quality, size, ordinance requirements, architect fees, kitchen and hall equipment & furniture etc. The committee members will continue to focus controlling cost when ever possible.

It is estimated there are 375 families that routinely give monetarily support St. Gertrude Parish. Since the family members of St. Gertrude move away and new ones continue to arrive over the years the current records cannot accurately state how many family members currently attend mass at St. Gertrude. Recently the parish handed out registration forms for all the parishioners to fill out to help improve the accuracy of the mailing list. This, along with the recent 800 Parish Hall Letters that were sent out should give an accurate assessment of the current parish membership. In reality, our calculations of giving just under $5 dollars per day for only 375 members will total to the remaining balance needed to build this parish hall.

Q21. How confident are you that the necessary funds will be raised?A21. All of the committee members involved with this project are extremely confident that the

necessary funds will be raised. Each of the 11 individual building committee members personally signed each of the 800 parish letters that were sent out. They each took the time to sign each of these letters to show their strong commitment to this parish hall project. The "money is in the parishioners pockets to give" and this parish hall definitely has value for the parish community. It is up to each of the individual parish members to give prayerful consideration regarding their sacrificial donation. If it is God's will, it will happen!

The parish hall will provide an area for promoting and increasing awareness of St. Gertrude's ministries, for selling items that promote Christianity, for parishioner gatherings and fellowship prior to and after Mass, as well as on special occasions such as Easter, Christmas, Baptism, First Communion, weddings, funerals, and other special events, and an additional entrance for greeters to greet incoming parishioners. It will be a great addition for our parish community.

Q22. How can we be assured we will receive value from our donation?

A22. Everyone on these committees is very passionate about three things as we have traveled through this process. We want the members of the parish to know they can 100% trust that what is delivered

in the parish forums and the parish letter is what they will receive. If there are any significant changes, parishioners will be notified.

We want the members of the parish to know all the committee members are passionate about giving value to your stewardship of treasure that each member of the parish has so graciously offered. We are humbled to have this God-given opportunity to expand our church to advance the parish commitment that “The end goal of every decision should provide more opportunity for sharing Gods word both as an individual and as a parish community”.

Our goal is that the majority of the individuals of this parish, if not all of them, will be happy, excited, and will embrace and realize the value of the final product of this church expansion.

Q23. How big and how many restrooms be built and what will they include?A23. There will be separate men and women restrooms with wheel chair accessibility and a baby

changing station in both. The size and number of stalls in these restrooms will be proportional to the maximum number of occupants of the parish hall. This is regulated by state and city ordinances.

Q24. Will there be a porte-cochere included in the new construction?A24. A drive-under covered area will be built on the east side entrance of the new parish hall.

Q25. Do the plans include expanding the parking lot on the first go-round of the building project?

A25. This will all depend on the total cost of the project. We have a secondary plan in place to construct the parking lot using parishioner volunteers provided we keep our expenses below $15,000 at a time because this will not require diocesan approval.

Q26. What were the considerations that led us to the conclusion to remove the oak trees on the east side of the church and are there parishioners who are concerned about removing these oak trees?

A26. Each and every one of us will always go out of our way not to remove a large healthy old oak tree. The answer to the question, should an oak tree be removed, is always given in the word "value". Is the value to remove an oak tree greater than the value to leave it? Removing the oak trees is necessary to make room for the new parish hall. As impactful as it will be to remove large old oak trees, all parishioners at the parish forum agreed the value of removing the trees far outweighed the value future and present parishioners will receive from a new parish hall. If it is possible, part of the oak wood from the trees will be used to build a display case or something similar.

Q27. What were the considerations that led us to the conclusion to relocate the grotto?A27. Again, relocating the grotto to provide room to build a new parish proved to have greater

value. Moving the grotto is necessary to make room for the new parish hall. A grotto is built for the purpose of praying in quiet silence. This purpose will be achieved with the new location which will be located between the east church wall and the new parish hall.

Q28. Why did the committee decide not to build a chapel?A28. It was decided that a parish hall serves a greater value to the parish community at this time

compared to a chapel. The cost of building both was prohibitive at this time. Building a chapel will remain on the parish’s radar.

Q29. What will be the maintenance expenses of the new parish hall?A29. It is unknown at this time. There will be water, electricity, custodial, maintenance etc.

Expenses are estimated to be $ . The parish will also open this hall to be rented by residents or organizations in the Kingsville community. This will help offset the maintenance expenses. A parish family has offered to pay the differences of the rental income and expenses of the parish hall for the next 10 years.

Q30. Will there be a fee for the use of the new parish hall for private or parishioner use?

A30. A sub-committee will be formed mid-2017 to begin outlining a rental rate and protocol. Parishioners will be offered a discounted rate for wedding rental etc.

Q31. Do you have any visuals that will give a general concept of the placement, parking, and traffic flow of the new parish hall? This is only one example.

A31.

Q32. Who do we contact for questions regarding the parish hall project? A32. Call Kathy at 361-592-7351 or e-mail her at stgertrude@sbcglobal.net with your question.