Answer:   The proposal from the developers is to buy our current property, including the church, school, parish center, and rectory. In exchange for the money we would receive from the transaction, we would construct new buildings on property located at a site near Jay Road and 63rd Street.

The Finance Council and Building Committee have determined that the transaction is financially feasible. It should be noted that both committees have members with numerous years of professional experience in financial analysis, architecture, and construction. In particular, the Building Committee has a high degree of confidence in the model it used to predict construction costs.

At this time, we are limited in our ability to reveal more specific details about the proposal because of confidentiality obligations. We recognize that there is some frustration with the lack of in-depth information and ask for your patience. We anticipate that we may be able to release more specific information in future updates. In the meantime, please be assured that all members of the committees have absolutely no personal interests, financial or otherwise, in the transaction. We are all volunteers that truly have the best interests of the parish at heart.

Answer:  No, although we have had long and intense negotiations about proposed terms. At this point, the proposed buyers have committed, in writing, to an offer with the terms we requested. One of the terms includes receiving the necessary Church approvals as outlined above. Therefore, the proposed contract (which would need to be signed by the Archdiocese) contains numerous contingencies that would protect us during the due diligence phase of the evaluation.

Answer:  The proposed property is located on 6655 Twin Lakes Drive and was purchased by the Archdiocese in the late 1960s when the original farm was subdivided for the housing developments that surround it. . It is approximately 6.8 miles away from our current location, approximately at the demographic center of our parish (Note: the current demographics of our parish are that approximately 2/3 of parishioners and 75% of our school families live east of 28th street). The property is slightly less than ten acres, or about three times the amount of land we currently own. The transaction does include compensating the Archdiocese for the property.

Answer:  Yes, the Finance Council and Building Committee did consider and rejected the option to market our current property. The estimated cost to market our property, including realtor fees, exceeds one million dollars. The committees determined that these funds could be put to better use either renovating our existing property or constructing a new church and school. However, we can and will use independent appraisals to make sure that if we proceed, we are appropriately compensated for the best value of our property.

Additionally, we are happy to talk to any bidders interested in the property. In fact, five other developers have approached us. However, none of the other developers have been able to match the current deal or accept the restrictions that we have set forth.

Answer:  Yes. At the end of the summer, we will have a professional survey done of all parishioners. The survey will give each of us an opportunity to express our thoughts on what future direction is best for our parish. If there is significant support for the re-location, we will recommend to the Archdiocese to proceed (additional Church, City and County approvals as outlined above would still need to be obtained). Otherwise, we will remain in our current location.

We will continue to provide information so that you may make an educated decision about the implications for staying or re-locating. If you have a particular question that you would like to have addressed, please contact the parish center.

In the meantime, we request that everyone please pray for guidance, faith, and mutual trust. We will have exposition of the Blessed Sacrament on Tuesdays from 7:30 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. Please come and spend some time in Adoration and ask God to help guide us in the right direction.

Answer:  Yes. Unfortunately, based on our current level of giving, we cannot sustain all of our existing parish programs. For the past several years, we have not been able to set aside any money from the budget for needed capital improvements to maintain our facilities or to replenish funds that we used to make necessary repairs to our buildings. This cannot continue. We will need to adjust our budget accordingly to have funds that can be used to make up for shortfalls from the capital campaign pledges and necessary work that must be done to keep our facilities functional and to have funds for future maintenance and repairs. Over the upcoming months, the Finance Council and Pastoral Council will be studying this issue in detail. The Finance Council will determine the amount of funds that need to be set aside to assure the future viability of our parish at our current location. The Pastoral Council will provide a recommendation to Father Bill as to which programs should be cut to obtain these funds. We will provide this information to you so that you may use it in your decision-making process.

Answer:  Our initial plans are to build a state-of-the art school with facilities and space equal to or exceeding our current buildings, a church with more seating capacity, and a parish center with more meeting space to accommodate the many groups in our parish. However, our modeling indicates that we may have approximately a three million dollar shortfall between funds that we would have for building these facilities and the projected costs. To make up for the shortfall, we may use a phased approach to the construction in which some spaces may not be fully completed until after the re-location. We may also change some of our choices (based on your input) and/or hold one or more special fundraisers for designated purposes.

At this time, the design of the buildings is in the early concept stages. If we proceed with the re-location, you will have the opportunity to provide input and help make choices for the final design of the facilities. You will also have an opportunity to make priority recommendations for a phased construction approach.

Answer:  We anticipate that we will continue to support and provide the same parish outreach programs as we do in our current location, including the food box program and support of Boulder Carriage House.

Answer: If we sold the land the school and parking lot are on, we might be able to build much or some of a new school in Gunbarrel. However, there are two drawbacks: We would have no parking at all for our church in downtown Boulder; and we would have a separation between the church and the school, possibly unsettling the Catholic identity of the school. A very expensive possibility would include a parking structure, costing perhaps as much as $30,000 per parking space.

Answer: No. We would not have enough money from such a sale to build a new school.

Answer: Because ours is a commuting school with three-fourths of our present enrollment commuting in from the area we would relocate to. That’s where families with children live.

Answer: Our parish is at a turning point in our parish’s history. We have a $4 million puzzle to solve. Our buildings are 40 to 50 years old and in need of major refurbishing; our offertory income has been flat for 5 years; and our expenses have skyrocketed with alarming increases in such costs as utilities and heath benefits, to name just two items. We have spent $1.5 million in the last three years on repairs; and we can no longer take care of all of these expenses by using up our savings. Unless we see a very large, sustained increase in income, the simple truth is that we cannot afford to live in downtown Boulder without our collectively deciding how we can do it. In addition, the investment group that has presented us with this opportunity has also agreed to all of the requirements that we have imposed, such as allowing us to stay in our present location until the new buildings are completed, providing us with the money interest free to build at the new location, and complete salvage rights.

Answer: The simple answer is that only a small number of families have provided an outpouring of financial support whenever fiscal problems arise, and those families have been very generous indeed. There are also a solid number of elderly who donate “the widow’s mite” and whose donations are precious indeed. Unfortunately, the majority of our parishioners do not pledge or donate to the parish on a regular basis. It might be more accurate to say that many, but not all, of the parishioners of Sacred Heart of Jesus are not hurting for money. Catholics are at the low end of donors to charity nationwide, and the level of generosity here is lower than the national average, despite the fact that the Zip codes around the church are among the most valuable property values in the whole state.

Answer: Absolutely not. The parish portion of the decision will be made by the parishioners of Sacred Heart of Jesus. That decision has not already been made. To presume so is unfair to all the volunteers who have poured out their energies to help the parish solve the problems before us.