In The Diocese Of Springfield – Cape Girardeau, no two building projects are quite the same. However, the process described below is typical.

1. Parish Council and pastor determine that a building or renovation is required to meet the needs currently not being met by the parish.
2. Pastor writes to the bishop explaining their needs, asking permission to begin a building or renovation planning process.
3. Building Committee (BC) (7-12 members) is selected and authorized to develop a written program of needs based on information solicited from all parish groups or individuals. One of the first meetings should be with the diocesan Director of Properties.
4. BC develops a broad idea of what type of building/renovation best meets the needs of the parish.
5. Pastor asks permission from the bishop to hire an architect. Upon receiving permission, BC and the pastor interview and hire an architect. BC should also decide whether it will use construction management or a general contractor method to build.
6. Architect and BC develop preliminary plans for the building that best satisfy the program of needs and submits it to necessary groups for review, comments and approval. (May be repeated more than once.) (May also choose to involve the diocese informally at this point if unusual circumstances exist. E.g. second floors or basements)
7. Once the parish decides on its preliminary design, BC has the architect forward a copy of the preliminary site plan, floor plan, and elevations to the Diocesan Office of Development & Properties for review. Besides the architect used by the diocese as consultants, the plans may be reviewed by one or more offices as appropriate. (Worship – School Superintendent – Religious Education.)
8. Diocese returns comments/suggestions/questions to BC for review and response by the appropriate committee(s) and the architect. The architect and building committee normally make changes to the plans and re-submit a copy to the diocese. (Repeated if needed.)
9. Upon receiving diocesan approval of the final preliminary plans, the architect enters the design development phase. Communication with the Office of Properties during this period often allows for seamless movement into the preparation of the construction and bid documents and specifications.
10. During this planning period, as the estimates of the project’s total cost (including architect’s fees and cost of borrowing) become more defined, the pastor and finance committee determine how they will pay for the building. This usually involves meeting(s) with the Diocesan Director of Finance to determine the amount of the loan and the parish’s ability to repay it over a period of time. If a capital campaign is indicated, permission is requested from the bishop and a capital campaign is organized.
11. When the construction documents and specifications are finished, they are submitted to the Diocesan Director of Development for a final review.
12. Once the review is finished and all outstanding issues resolved, a date is set for a meeting with the bishop and appropriate diocesan personnel for final review and approval of plans and financing. The pastor, the architect of record, and members of the parish building committee that are able to do so usually attend this meeting

Any contractor or other organization doing work for the Diocese or for a parish, school, or other Diocesan organization must have comprehensive general public liability insurance at a minimum of $1.0 million. The contractor or organization should furnish to the Director of Development and Properties a complete certificate of insurance.

• Except for the first three, the following items are not “cast in concrete.” They may be used as guides during the planning process. Generally speaking, however, a parish would need to provide sound reasons for choosing a different course of action.
• The diocese functions under Missouri state law as a corporation. Accordingly, contracts must be signed by an officer of the corporation (usually the bishop) to be legally binding.
• Missouri law requires that an architect and/or engineer, licensed in Missouri, design plans for buildings used by the public. Plans must be signed and dated.
• Contracts with the architect and the contractors must be approved and handled through the diocese. The diocese has an addendum for both the AIA (architect’s) and the contractor’s contracts. Change orders must also be approved and signed by the bishop.
• National building codes are followed if no building regulations are in place locally.
• Americans’ with Disabilities Act (ADA) regulations are generally followed.

• Understand the dynamics of change. Change is not easy for most, extremely difficult for some, and threatening for a few. Be pastoral. Take the time to help everyone deal with the changes in understanding and thinking that will accompany a building process.
• Progress is impossible if you always do things the way you have always done things. As long as you are willing to stay only with the familiar and not take risks or find new things out, it is by definition impossible to grow, to have progress, or anything else.
• Build consensus. A parish community is not the U.S. Congress. It is a community of Christians discerning the will of God as spoken through the collective wisdom of the community. Developing this collective wisdom is called consensus building and is much to be preferred over the typical “majority rules”vote(s) we may be accustomed to. A consensus decision for a course of action may take much deliberation if the community is initially divided. Applying the following principles is important:
  • Respect others and their opinions at all times. Maintaining this atmosphere will allow open discussion in an atmosphere of mutual respect based on a desire to understand the meaning and the feeling of the issues discussed.
  • Educate yourselves and others. Learn all you can about the parish needs (educational, social, or liturgical) and how you can best meet them.
  • Consider all the options. Carefully. Thoughtfully. Respectfully. But be aware that this is  fertile ground for rumors and misinformation to breed.
  • Communicate! Often. At all levels. From the beginning. Consider using a newsletter rather than depending on the church bulletin. People need facts to combat the rumor mill that is started during the option consideration process.
  • Cultivate the virtue of patience. The planning and building process will take longer than you want.
  • Don’t worry about the cost during the early stages. It will hinder your ability to dream the big dreams necessary to meet your parish’s needs.
  • The parish chooses its own architect. The diocese can provide you with names of architects that other parishes have used in the past.
  • One story buildings are preferable to multi-story buildings.
  • Once the construction starts, the parish should appoint one person willing to serve as the point of contact between contractor, architect, pastor, and diocese. This can be the pastor but it can also be someone familiar enough with construction and the project to know when he/she can make a decision and when the decision needs to be referred elsewhere.

It is most important to select an architect who is capable of assimilating current theological and liturgical principles. These principles must be expressed when planning a new church building or renovating an existing church building. The architect should be of outstanding competence in the creative skills of his/her field. He/she should also be familiar with liturgy. He/she must possess an understanding of Catholic worship. Even if the architect is Catholic, this may not ensure that he/she is knowledgeable of the current state of the church’s liturgy. The bishop, pastor, and the Diocesan Director of Worship should provide theological and liturgical guidance to the architect. Under most circumstances, it is advisable to hire a liturgical consultant to work with the parish.

Once the program of needs has been defined for the proposed construction, the pastor and his council and/or building committee can begin to pre-select those architectural firms they feel are worthy of an interview as a result of their past work performances for the parish or other parishes. Once pre-selected, then they can be invited by letter for an interview at a selected date and hour. Include a copy of your program of needs with your letter so that each prospective firm may study them before the scheduled interview date. Also include a copy of the Owner/Architect Addendum the diocese uses. This allows the architect to come to the interview with the ability to talk more professionally and intelligently about your particular building design program.

Request that each firm send a company resume at least one week ahead of the interview date. This will allow the pastor and prospective interviewers to become acquainted with each firm who elects to accept your invitation. Advise each firm that this resume should include answers to the following questions.

• Identify the business, services available, number of principals and employees, and how long the business has been active.
• Identify the number of projects they now have under contract and are working on at this time. Identify each of these projects as to the type of building, owner, location, and estimated construction cost.
• Identify the number of church and/or church buildings they have completed over the past 15 years, owner, location, and final construction cost.
• Identify, if they wish, any other buildings they have completed over the past 15 years, owner, location, and final construction cost.
• Identify a particular individual’s name, address, and telephone number that may be contacted on each completed project submitted in their resume.

The pastor should indicate in his letter to each firm that the architect is welcome to phone or meet with him or the chairperson of the building committee at any time before the interview date to clarify additional information needed.

The pastor and interview committee should review and compare all resumes submitted. In addition, contact people who may know these architects and can give insight on the firm’s ability and creative skills, and execution of  both a functional and aesthetic design.

One of the best questions to ask a former client of an architect is:

If you were planning another building project would you employ the architect again? If the answer is “yes”, then you can assume that the client/architect relationship was successful. If the answer is “no”, then you should probably not give that particular architect further consideration.

By the day of the interview, information should have been collected on each firm as well as opinions from others who know the architect and/or have employed them in recent years. Each firm should have studied the program of needs.

During the interview, ask the architect questions that may have arisen from the review of his/her resume or from other individuals. You should ask:

• If you were awarded a contract within the next two weeks, when could you begin work on our project?
• After your design development plans have been approved, how long will it take before you can complete the final construction bid documents for final review and approval, thence to be released to all interested contractors?
• How often will you inspect the project while under construction?
• Would you or your representative be willing to meet with our parish council and/or building committee once a month to report on progress of the construction work and answer any questions concerning the project? Is this considered a part of your basic services?
• Who designs and provides the plans and specifications for plumbing, HVAC, electrical, and structural divisions of work? Do you have mechanical, electrical, and structural engineers on your staff, or do you broker out this work to engineering firms in private practice? If you do broker out this work, what firms do you normally use? Why? Do these firms also inspect their work during construction?
• (If a church): Are you willing to become familiar with Catholic liturgy to a degree that allows you to properly assimilate current theological and liturgical norms in a way that they are reflected within the building’s design?
• What is your fee or charge to provide all architectural and engineering services required by this project?  How is this fee or charge paid out during the time involved from the design stage through completed construction?
• Are there any special consultant fees that you feel would be required? If so, define the need and possible additional cost over and above the basic fee.
• Are you willing to work with a liturgical consultant?

After all interviews are completed, the committee should discuss the strengths and weaknesses of each architect and invite the one selected to submit a contract for approval by the parish and the bishop. In some cases, it may be necessary to conduct a separate interview between the top two architects.

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Springfield-Cape Girardeau is a Missouri Not-For-Profit Corporation, and, among other things, owns the legal title to all of the real estate of the diocese, such as the parish churches, schools or other entities or institutions making up the diocese. A parish is not a legal entity for civil law purposes and, therefore, cannot enter into a legally binding contract. The bishop is the president of the corporation, and he or other authorized officers are the only persons who can enter into contracts that are binding on behalf of the corporation. Pastors and other parish personnel, not legally officers of the corporation, cannot act on the corporation’s behalf by signing contracts or entering upon other legal undertakings on its behalf.

Contracts for the purchase or sale of real property must be signed on behalf of the diocesan corporation by the bishop or another corporate officer. Pastors or parish council representatives authorized by the pastor may be in a good position to negotiate or assist in negotiating such transactions in the preliminary stages but are not authorized to sign the final contract. Attorneys, real estate agents, or other qualified persons familiar with a particular situation may prepare proposed contracts for transactions. Such cooperation is welcomed by diocesan representatives. However, because of the need for meeting diocesan corporation requirements, it is necessary that any such contracts be presented to the Diocesan Director of Development and Properties for review. In many instances, the Diocesan Director of Development and Properties will obtain assistance from the diocesan attorney. No real estate contracts or agreements can be entered into without approval at the diocesan level.

To protect the diocese from the acts or omissions of contractors working on diocesan projects, diocesan policy requires that contractors carry a minimum of $1 million dollars general liability and auto insurance, and that they carry workers’ compensation insurance. Therefore, contractors on parish renovation and building projects are required to provide a certificate of insurance naming the diocese as an additional insured to their policies before the work is begun. Here’s how you can help:

1. Notify contractors about this requirement in your first conversation with them.
2. Ask the contractor who is finally selected to contact their insurance agent to provide the Diocese Office of Properties with a certificate of insurance. This should be done before or at the same time the contracts are forwarded to the Office of Properties for the bishop’s signature. Delay in providing a properly completed certificate can result in delay of the project.
3. Tell the contractor to inform the agent that the certificate of insurance:
   1. Must contain language that names the Roman Catholic Diocese of Springfield-Cape Girardeau as an additional insured;
   2. Names the Certificate Holder as: Diocese of Springfield-Cape Girardeau, 601 S. Jefferson, Springfield, MO 65806;
   3. Contains a reference to the parish where the work will be performed.

If time is important, the insurance agent can fax a copy of the certificate to the Office of Properties at (417) 866-1140 and then mail a copy.

Requests to use parish facilities, especially meeting spaces and gyms, often present thorny issues for parishes. The following paragraphs attempt to clarify diocesan liability insurance issues. Parishes are encouraged to develop facility use policies and procedures consonant with diocesan insurance requirements.

The following information and suggestions have come from dialog with Catholic Mutual and are not intended to be an exhaustive treatment of the topic. There is no diocesan-wide policy at this point.

In general, if the event is a “parish sponsored event,” where the event is undertaken as a parish activity with volunteers providing most of the labor and the food, etc., the insurance carried by the diocese through Catholic Mutual will provide the necessary liability coverage to the individuals and the church. Examples might be: home festival, parish picnic, or ladies’ auxiliary pancake day.

1. If a parish facility is not being used under the general description above, then it is considered to be rented or used by a third party, e.g. a wedding reception. This individual is not covered by Catholic Mutual’s policy in this situation. To reduce the church’s liability exposure in these cases, the third party should furnish to the parish a certificate of insurance from their homeowner’s or renter’s insurance company naming the Diocese of Springfield/Cape Girardeau as an additional insured.
2. Alternatively, since obtaining the certificate can be a problem, the parish may elect to purchase from Catholic Mutual a package of five or more “event coverage” policies. As of 1995, this package is charged at the rate of $95 per event for $1 million liability coverage.. The parish may wish to include the charge for this coverage in the hall rental price, or it may choose to absorb the cost if the policy of the parish is to provide the facility to parishioners free of charge.
3. If the third party wishing to rent the space is a business not sponsored by the parish, e.g. gymnastics, tae-kwan-do lessons, etc., the business’s insurer should provide a certificate of insurance showing that it carries $1 million liability coverage and names the Roman Catholic Diocese of Springfield-Cape Girardeau as an additional insured. Rentals of this type often provide income to the parish and may even be allowed by the parish for other reasons. When they don’t have their own insurance coverage, however, their activities could expose the parish and the diocese to liability issues if an accident occurs.

Risks cannot be eliminated, only managed. Ultimately, each parish must decide what level of risk is acceptable. Since the diocese automatically assumes that risk when the parish does, communication with The Catholic Center will be appreciated.