Did St. James really take its architect's advise on planning a new church?

This posting is also available at: http://www.boonecountycatholics.blogspot.com/ More postings regarding St. James are available at that site.

Quite obviously it is difficult (if not impossible) to know what the “renowned Classical architect”, Duncan G. Stroik, told the parish officials on how to plan for its new church.  However Mr. Stroik has written extensively on church architecture and in this 2002 article (listed on his website), Mr. Stroiks advises priests on the many phases of the process. Did St. James follow this advise?

See Page 1:  As expected, Column 2 :  “The most important decision you will make is on the choice of the architect”.

Page 2: Column 2  “an architect’s fee can run anywhere from eight to 14 percent of the construction cost of the church”

Page 3:   Columns 2 & 3  “I suggest that priest try to involve the parish in the project early on”

“Consider creative ways for your parish to have imput on the project early on, whether this is with public discussion, filling out questionnaires or more casual discussion amongst the community.  One priest I know spent a couple of years holding lectures, prayer services and putting inserts in the bulletin to prepare the faithful for their new church.”

“Listen to all reasonable requests whether they are calling for a specific heating system, architectural style, flooring material or a shrine to a particular saint.

Page 4:  1st Paragraph, Column 3 “ …it is in-style to build churches that are too large.” ….”pastors are being encouraged by their bishops to build parishes of 1,000 seats or more.  I ask if they are aware that this is larger than most of the seating capacity of our Cathedrals in this country. “

“I ask pastors to try to determine what is the smallest seating capacity they could live with so they can use the limited budget to its best ability”

Page 5:  Column 2 “One of the nicest American traditions is the ethnic parish with the parish hall in the basement which can even be finished later.”

 

The article is available on the internet at:  http://www.stroik.com/pdf/publications/advice_to_priests.pdf  The article is from the July 2002, Our Sunday Visitor’s The Priest.

Click on the photocopy to enlarge:

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Sneak Preview: Letter to Editor of BCJ on the new St. James Church

 

Dear Boone County Journal Editor 6/27/2011

What is the true reason for destroying the historic St James Catholic church in Belvidere? Sure, the Catholic community has grown in Belvidere and Boone County. St James Church is full to capacity on occasion. Parking and traffic patterns are difficult, especially for local residence. Let’s examine another local community and how they dealt with growth. Belvidere has roughly 26,400 residences, Freeport has roughly 25,000. Freeport now has three Catholic churches: St Joseph, St Mary, and St Thomas Aquinas. The St Joseph church just celebrated 150 years and is a similar design to Belvidere’s St James church. To accommodate growth Freeport built the more modern St Thomas Aquinas church rather than tear down their history.

St James received a donation of 22 acres to build a new church on the intersection of Squaw Prairie and Town Hall. This generous offer yielded a perfect opportunity to build a 2^nd Catholic Church in Boone County, preserve the historic existing church and the surrounding community, and provide for future growth flexibility. Yet the current plan is to sell the 22 acre property, tear down the125 year existing church for a parking lot, and build a massive 70 ft tall structure on a lot adjacent to the school that is just too small to accommodate it. The new structure will be 30 feet from the school on one side, and just 4 inches from the sidewalk on the other. The height, setbacks, and parking are significant variance issues that the Zoning and Planning Commission have already given an approval recommendation. The Belvidere City Council has scheduled a meeting on July 5^th for a potential final vote and the meeting is open to the public. If approved, and the massive structure is built on the proposed lot, traffic patterns and parking will be a nightmare due to a reduced mass schedule and seating capacity expanded from the existing 350 to 850. What’s wrong with this picture?

Why did Father Geary and a small group of appointees choose this path rather than build on the 22 acres donated for the express purpose of building a new Catholic church? Some say the infrastructure costs (sewer and water) were too expensive. Others have said that building on the 22 acre site will draw parishioners and their money away from Rockford’s Holy Family Catholic church, whose boundary ends right at the Boone county line. When the Historic church is gone, and the massive new church is operational, most will look back and regret the decisions a few made for the majority. There is a growing concern that politics and a false sense of urgency have overridden good judgment.

This is a call to action. If you are troubled by St James’ current direction and would like to preserve Belvidere’s historic St James Church and prevent the impact to the surrounding neighborhood please:

• Call and write your alderman to voice your opinion before the July 5^th meeting, www.ci.belvidere.il.us
• Contact Father Geary or Bishop Doran and request an explanation
• Contact “Concerned citizens to save St James Church” and get involved
  • Robert Casey (racskc007@aol.com) 815-540-8655
  • Michael Mattus (magneticmike1@yahoo.com) 815-985-5560
  • Dan & Jean Christenson (Jeanchristenson@Live.com) 815-543-4179

Listen to Committee of Whole meeting of the City of Belvidere Regarding St. James Church Zoning

The Committee of the Whole meeting from Tuesday, June 27, 2011.

Click on the following to listen to the entire meeting click on the following: http://www.radiop1.com/mediacenter.aspx?stationid=16

THEN Go to the black box area of the screen (as shown below). In the line under Welcome to Belvidere, click on City Council.

The next screen is shown below.  Click on the Committee of the Whole in the bottom left listings.

The St. James Church portion begins at 1:56  The quality is not always the best.

Though not moneymaker for restaurants, BYOB draws some interested diners

DeKalb and Sycamore have a BYOB license, which allows restaurants to permit patrons to bring bottles of wine or beer to drink with their meals. Each city’s license sets rules, such as when beer or wine can be consumed at the restaurant or the requirement of a meal being purchased to drink alcohol at the establishment.

Mediterraneo Grill owner Omar Musfi said it saves his customers money, but it’s not cheap for the restaurant. He had to pay the license fee, change his insurance and train his staff. The restaurant charges a $5 corking fee per table to recoup some of those costs.
According to DeKalb’s municipal code, those seeking a Class BY license must pay $250 for the initial issuance fee and $220 annually for renewal.

“The point is to bring more people to try the food,” Musfi said, mentioning that most customers who take advantage of BYOB do so with dinner and on weekends. “... It’s not making money, but it’s helping with business.”

Click on the following for the rest of the story:  http://www.daily-chronicle.com/2011/06/22/though-not-moneymaker-for-restaurants-byob-draws-some-interested-diners/apgmhew/

District 100 Education Tax Rate still lowest

The following tax rate comparison was presented at the June 22, 2011 District 100 school board meeting. Belvidere has the lowest rate in Winnebago-Boone Counties.  Is District 100 Board of Education thinking about asking for an increase in the education tax rate?

Click on the photocopy to enlarge: 

Belvidere’s 4.59702 rate is a substantially higher rate than the prior year’s 4.06682 and is projected to be up to 5.22190 for next tax  year See the document shown below from the May 16, 2011 District 100 board meeting. In percentage terms this year’s tax rate went up 13.04%; next year is projected to increase 13.59%.  An individual home’s tax increase should be somewhat less because assessed values (EAV) are projected to decrease 10% for 2011-2.

Assuming the projected 5.22190 rate to be correct—Belvidere will still have the lowest rate in 2011-2 but the gap maybe narrowing.  Also note the largest increase is in Bond Taxes (17.3% for 2010-11).  Much larger increases in Bond Taxes will occur in upcoming years not yet shown in 2011-2.

Here is proof that other districts are thinking of increases.

California Legislature to forfeit pay

State Controller John Chiang has decided to deny California lawmakers their pay for failing to produce a truly balanced spending plan, infuriating legislative leaders but pumping new life into budget negotiations just 10 days before the start of the new fiscal year.
Indignant Democratic lawmakers, having passed a budget on the June 15 deadline without input from Republicans or Gov. Jerry Brown, said the controller, who issues state paychecks, was engaged in an illegal power grab. Chiang said in his announcement Tuesday that aspects of the Democrats' budget — which Brown had swiftly vetoed — were incomplete and the plan therefore violated a new law that punishes the Legislature for late spending plans.

The impact on legislators' wallets could be severe. Until they approve a budget that Chiang deems balanced, rank-and-file lawmakers, who are paid at the end of each month, will be docked about $400 a day. That sum is the daily portion of their $95,291 salary plus a $142 per diem allowance.

Click on the following for the complete LA Times story:  http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-lawmakers-pay-20110622,0,5154346.story

Rep Paul Ryan and his in-laws

The following is taken from:  http://www.wallstcheatsheet.com/stocks/take-a-look-at-paul-ryans-personal-payday.html/

according to the congressman’s mandatory financial disclosure report to Congress, Ryan and his wife own stakes in four family companies that lease land in Texas and Oklahoma to energy companies that benefit from the tax subsidies Ryan advocated.

Ryan’s father-in-law runs the companies that are currently leasing land for mining and drilling to Chesapeake Energy (NYSE:CHK), Devon (NYSE:DVN), XTO Energy, and a subsidiary of ExxonMobil (NYSE:XOM). Ryan’s stake in these companies immediately poses a conflict of interest, especially when Ryan is lining his pockets with big oil money while expecting senior citizens, children, and the disabled to endure cuts to already underfunded programs.

Of course, Ryan’s office says he hadn’t even considered his own interests when drawing up the budget plan, overlooking the $117,000 the properties earned him and his wife just last year, as well as the $60,000 from the year before that. According to Ryan’s financial disclosure, he has assets worth somewhere between $590,000 and $2.5 million, and he owns minority stakes in four of his wife’s family companies, including Ava O Limited Company, which holds mining and mineral rights, and Little Land Company, which is an oil and gas corporation. While Ryan only has a 0.8% stake in Little Land Company, it is still one of his most valuable assets, generating nearly $50,000 last year.