St. Margaret Mary

Buildings, Grounds & Infrastructure

The Building & Grounds team has started the master campus plan by conducting a detailed inspection of the entire campus. This included all buildings and rooms used by the parish. Next steps include a survey of all groups that utilize SMM facilities and determine their desired usage requirements by building, day, and hours needed as input to the Parish Space Optimization Study. SMM Parishioner Tom Crowley is currently working as the chair of the Buildings, Grounds and Infrastructure committee. Here is a short Q&A:

Summer 2023 Report: Buildings Grounds and Infrastructure Committee - A year later

Buildings, Grounds, and Infrastructure   In retrospect, the Red Dot Party turned out to be a pivotal point for the Building, Grounds and Infrastructure Standing Committee. The parish voice made clear the direction and vision for which we could aim. The establishment of a charter, leader, and team formalized the need and ensured a team of people was in place, meeting regularly throughout the year, to identify where we were and where we were going. We became a team supporting the vision of becoming a missional church.   According to Ron Kenkel, the Finance Committee sees the BGI Standing Committee as “vital to tending to the needs of the parish. No longer are we reacting to repairs and failures to drive expenditures, but are assessing past deferred maintenance, and planning outlays that will benefit the parish Mission.” This has also moved us from ‘The Flavor of The Week” syndrome as our focus has been attuned to fulfilling our parish goals.   The team results are evident as we have become a collective “brain trust” for success and knowledge. We are fine-tuning our capital plan and have removed from Father many “day-to-day” decisions and actions, allowing him to help us become missional. The team has also been a resource and support to Marc Daniels in areas of counsel, process, and recommendations. We are a band of brothers and sisters who have gotten to know each other, who have a love for SMM, and who are sharing their talents for the Good of the Kingdom.

Where are you from and what brought you to Omaha? What brought you to SMM?

"I grew up in a little town in Neola, Iowa. I lived there for most of my life. Then in 2007, I moved to Omaha, and that’s when I joined the parish. My wife, Dede, had been a member of the parish for several years, and she brought me in - she was an active member of the parish."

What drew you into your committee?

"I had been (previously) working in the Strategic Planning process last fall; my wife and I had been invited to be part of the Stewardship & Administration committee. So after that was finished, we made Stewardship recommendations for the parish. Then I received a phone call from Fr. Ralph and was asked to be the chair for the Buildings, Grounds and Maintenance committee."

What are you excited about in your committee?

"So much of what the parish needs to do involves buildings and grounds. So many of the priorities are about stewarding the buildings, grounds…and resources, and facilities that we need to help make disciples, and grow the mission of the parish. Our immediate priority will be to conduct a space optimization study. The current need that SMM has is how to make each facility better."

I’m excited about the opportunity to really showcase the beautiful campus that SMM is, but also to look ahead and think of how can we better equip the disciples of St. Margaret Mary for mission. That’s coming into clear focus, especially with the pastoral planning process, and the Archbishop’s Big Goal of forming missional communities."