Open meeting was held at:
Auditorium of the Holy Rosary Bilingual Academy
(Scheduled for the CMC building but had to be moved because of the number of attendees.)
424 S 30 th Street
Tacoma, WA 98402
6:30 – 7:30 PM
All board members and approximately 300 other attendees were present.
The meeting was called to order at 6:30 pm. Thom led a prayer for Holy Rosary.
Jon welcomed and thanked everyone for attending. Jon explained formation and background of STLC to new members and discussed the process for appealing the archdiocese decision not to repair, but instead destroy the building.
Appealing the AD decision
- Process – The AD sent a decree to raze the Holy Rosary Church on August 26, 2019. We have ten business days to appeal the decree.
- The AD will follow canon law. The AD has 30 days to approve or deny the appeal.
- There was a petition available to sign as against the AB’s decision to sign at the meeting.
- The church will be 100 years old next year.
- Do the resources exist to maintain Holy Rosary Church?
- Saving the Church is up to us. We need money and pledges.
Introduction of Key Players at Save Tacoma’s Landmark Church
- Joy Donohue is a board member. She is our social media outreach person. Please like us on Facebook, Instagram and twitter! She discussed the history of STLC organization.
- Jonathan Carp is a board member and led the introduction. He keeps meetings on agenda.
- DC Grant is a board member and our finance person. Please see below for his finance report.
- Carmen introduced herself and explained what she is doing with the grant writing process for the National Trust for Sacred Places and the Lilly Endowment Fund. She has worked on several successful campaigns, like McCaw Hall in Seattle. It is not how much you can give, it is a matter of how many care. She thinks the 2.2 million to get us back in the church is very doable with our planned events. She encouraged everyone to take fliers and spread the word.
- Chair and Co-Chair Parish Council members, John and Shelly thanked everyone for coming.
- Melanie, Carmen, and Tami introduced themselves and fund raising activities they are leading.
Financial Report
- DC Grant discussed the financial history of STLC, starting with the initial $500 in donations.
- We have continued to scale over the past months from hundreds into thousands to tens of thousands in cash donations each month, and we have just begun to receive pledges totaling hundreds of thousands of dollars.
- The first ten percent of all cash donations is dedicated to supporting the parish.
- Three percent of any online donations pays for processing fees, so checks are preferred for large donations (of $1000.00 or more).
- We can take checks in person or at 2602 S. 38th #A-126, Tacoma 98409.
- All donations of $1,000.00 or more are guaranteed to be returned if the building is not repaired, less 10%, which will go to the parish fund (and if online, less the 3% processing fees).
- For large donations ($10,000 or more) pledges are preferred rather than checks or cash.
- Pledges of labor, materials, services and auction items are also encouraged.
- All donations are 100% Tax Deductible as we are an IRS authorized 501c3 charity.
We had several special guest speakers.
Tacoma Mayor Victoria Woodward assured us that she is standing with us to save the Holy Rosary Church building. As a Lincoln High School graduate Holy Rosary is her home too.
Reuben McKnight, City of Tacoma Historic Preservation Officer, explained the process that would have to take place in order for the building to be razed.
Holy Rosary was the fourteenth building to be put on the Historic Preservation list. There are now over 160 properties individually listed on Tacoma’s Register of Historic Places, ranging in age from the 1870s through 1940. There are several requirements that the AD must complete before razing the building. Including permits, so far the AD has not applied for any permit. There will need to be public hearing and comment sessions held before a permit could be issued for Holy Rosary.
Bill Baarsma, former City of Tacoma Mayor was also in attendance representing the Tacoma Historical Society.
How you can help
Donate Funds: $1.00 to $500,000.00, whatever you can afford. We also need auction items or pledges of services and materials, all items count / volunteer hours / equipment / tradesmen or women / architects and engineers / Spread the word!! Let us know if there is a venue that we could use for a reasonable cost for meetings and events. Pick up a t-shirt and yard sign on the way out of the meeting.
Upcoming Events
- Bells of Saint Mary’s: Carmen is organizing movies at the Blue Mouse Theater for ($10 – $15). Going my way is another movie she would like to include. She needs volunteers!
- Spaghetti Feed: This is a 2019 event that we will finalize soon.
- Auction: Melanie is the Auction Chair for this event! To be held in January 2019. She needs donated items, celebrities, services and volunteers. She also mentioned that 230,000 cars pass by the church every day. We have to do something to get their attention!
- Block Party / Battle of the Bands 2020: Tami is lead on this event. She needs volunteers and 15 to 20 people to chair the event. She would like to start monthly planning meetings now.
Questions and Answers
- We don’t want to defend the Archdiocese of Seattle’s cost estimate for repair. We’d like an independent estimate.
- The Archdiocese of Seattle no longer want us to hold meetings at Holy Rosary. We’re looking for other venues.
- If anyone wants 100% of their donation refundable, write it request in a letter with the check.
Tami shared a closing prayer. The meeting was adjourned at 7:30 pm.
Our next meeting is scheduled for September 5th, at 924 Broadway in Tacoma 6:30 to 7:30 pm.