Open meeting was held at:
Pythian Temple
930 Broadway, Tacoma, WA 98402
6:30 – 7:30 PM
All board members and approximately 150 other attendees present.
Meeting was called to order at 6:35 pm.
Jon led a prayer for our community and parish support.
The Appeal is ready!
- Part of the appeal was read, but not in its entirety. All were encouraged to read before signing.
- Brody Hale is an attorney specializing in saving catholic churches and wrote the appeal for us, for free. He will not take any money, but asked that we stay focused on Saving the Holy Rosary Church for now and then to support him and his cause afterwards.
- All letters brought to the meeting will be sent with the appeal.
- Please include your name (signature, and printed) and your full address. Do not include titles.
- The appeal is to first save the Holy Rosary Church as a Roman Catholic Church and then to save the church building. Only members of the Holy Rosary Church can appeal to have it saved as a Roman Catholic Church. Two lines were formed for members and community signatures.
Financial Report – Donations
- DC said that we have approximately $300,000.00 in pledges and donations.
Questions / Answers / Comments
- Board members: Jon, DC and Joy were available until 8:30 pm for questions and comments.
- An attendee said they will not send in their donations for the Annual Catholic Appeal for 2020 and beyond unless the AD supports the repair of Holy Rosary.
Building Assessment
- The decree mentioned sheet rock fell from the ceiling. The ceiling was made of plaster.
- There were past repairs made after the ceiling was built, using sheet rock.
- So there may have actually been sheet rock in the debris that fell.
- What would it take to get us back in the church in 2020?
- Three months of continual work to fix the immediate problem.
- The sooner it’s begun the sooner we can reoccupy.
- We would not be able to use the front entrance at first.
- Most feel that the church is safe to reenter now. The AD doesn’t want to take any chances.
- $18 million quote from the AD is not for church only, it’s a total renovation of all buildings.
- A full and through assessment of costs to repair the building has not been done.
- What seismic work actually needs to be done?
- There was an evaluation done in 2014 by a local engineer firm.
- Only minor work was required then. The roof structure was updated.
- The walls were not updated and have a potential for damage in a major earthquake.
- Most churches and other buildings would not meet current seismic standard building codes.
Good of the Order
- The Pythian Temple let us use their beautiful facility and provided us with excellent staff support for free. If you have time please thank them.
- T-shirts, yard signs, e-mail lists for future communication and meetings, donations, pledge forms, procurement forms and pamphlets were available at the meeting.