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To: Pastors, Parochial Vicars and Parish Administrators
From: John Schiavone, Director of Real Estate Development, Catholic Construction Services, Inc.
Catholic Construction Services, Inc. (CCSI) wants you to be aware of two changes to the Large Capital Project Process (LCPP) approved by the Archbishop after the recommendation of the Archdiocesan Project Review Committee.
The LCPP, established in 2009, standardizes the process and communication between parishes and the archdiocese for projects that involve a parish’s capital assets.
An overview of the LCPP as well as other useful project information is available on the archdiocesan website.
The first change to the LCPP is that capital project costs requiring approval by the Archbishop have increased and are now consistent with the spending limits requiring the Office of Finance approval as outlined in the “Compiled Policies of the Archdiocese of Atlanta.”
Large capital projects typically involve design consultants (architects, engineers, mechanical engineers) while maintenance is typically the repair and replacement of building elements (carpet, HVAC, painting). Projects whose costs do not exceed the limits set forth above may still warrant review by CCSI (often at no cost to the parish or school) to make sure contracts and insurance certificates are enforceable and that best practices are followed.
The second change involves the timing for submitting the financial application for projects that will be funded by capital campaigns and/or borrowing.
Previously, the parish would submit the financial application with their third and final letter to the Archbishop requesting permission to start construction of a project. Now, if you are planning to pay for the project using capital campaign funds or are requesting a loan from the archdiocese, which will be repaid by future parish cash flow, you are required to submit a financial application along with your first letter to the Archbishop requesting permission to investigate the project.
Please share this information with appropriate staff and committees. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact me at jschiavone@archatl.com or 404-920-7873.