Last year, Saint John the Evangelist celebrated 25 years as a parish. Construction of the church was completed in 1992 followed by the Parish Life Center in 1997 and finally the Claussen Family Center in 2005. This means that the church is now 22 years old, the Parish Life Center is 17 years old and the Claussen Center is nine years old. With the aging of our facilities comes the increasing need for continued maintenance to keep them in tip top shape.
With the formation of our new Capital Budget Committee, we have identified a plethora of issues which need to be addressed sooner than later to ensure that our buildings remain fully functional. Several of the urgent items have been included in the operating budget for 2014/2015, however, there are many more on the horizon which will have to be put off until funds may be accumulated to address our ongoing capital needs.
As you know, we are currently completing the installation of air conditioning units in the Parish Life Center
. By the end of July, all of the units (13) will have been replaced and connected to our Metasys operating system. You may remember that we replaced all of the church air conditioning units in 2008 and 2009 and have since connected them to Metasys. By performing quarterly maintenance on the aforementioned AC units in the past, we were able to recognize many more years out of these units than would be expected, especially considering our proximity to the salt laden atmosphere of the Gulf of Mexico. Replacement of the Claussen Center AC units is on our three-year capital budget plan.
You may be wondering what is next on our capital schedule to address this fiscal year. The 17-year old Parish Life Center is in need of some urgent attention, especially with the flat roof and the fire sprinkler system. I am not a fan of flat roofs in Florida and would never have recommended to include such a roof on the PLC, however, the planning and construction took place before I arrived at St. John. This flat roof has been problematic since day one and is now beginning to fail. 
Over the next six months we are going to remove the old flat roof and install a new roof with the newest technology available. The cost of this project is in excess of $80,000.00 but must be done to ensure the integrity of the building. The Buildings and Grounds Committee and the Capital Budget Committee discussed the option of repairing the roof, however, it was deemed necessary to “bite the bullet” and replace the entire flat portion so that we were not addressing more problems just a few years down the road.
The fire sprinkler system is the next urgent item to be addressed, also in the Parish Life Center. There are several hundred fire sprinklers in the building and many of them are dangerously corroded and must be addressed immediately. In addition, many of these sprinklers are difficult to access and will require many hours of labor in order to do so. There really is no option here considering the possibility of one of these sprinklers failing and flooding the building with thousands of gallons of water. The cost to replace all of the fire sprinklers is in excess of $35,000.00. This work will begin in the month of July and continue until complete.
We are obviously “behind the eight ball” on many of these capital needs which leads me back to the discussion this past season of developing a capital reserve fund, which we have begun. The purpose of my comments is not to present a “gloom and doom” scenario but rather to be completely transparent by letting you, our parishioners, know exactly what is going on within our campus and what it will take to keep things running smoothly as our buildings and infrastructure continue to age.
The main source of funds for our operating budget consists of what you generously contribute through the regular offertory. Although you have been incredibly generous, these funds are intended to be used for regular operating expenses and not for capital needs. The laundry list of capital items to be addressed over the next three years (and beyond) is long at best and operating income will not be enough to get the job done.
Please know that we are working diligently to ensure that the buildings and grounds remain in great shape moving forward. With the assistance of the Buildings and Grounds Committee, Capital Budget Committee and Finance Council, we will develop a plan that will guarantee our success moving forward.
In His work together,
Scott Schlossberg, MBA
General Manager