Interim Report of the Advisory Committee
27/11/2011 14:57
Interim Report of the Advisory Committee
Table of content
1. Preface
2. Background
3. The Process
4. Items Discussed
A. Terms Of reference
B. Setting the Rules of Engagements
C. Information gathering and seeking advise
D. Land, Size and Possible Ways to Acquire
E. Best Location for SMC and the Cathedral
F. Things needed for success
5. Consensus and Recommendations
6. Conclusion
1. Preface
This report is in compliance with the terms of reference that the Advisory
Committee (AC) was given at the time of its establishment. It says that all
the reporting will be done to the Church administration and Board of
directors.
2. Background:
The Advisory Committee (AC) was established by the Church administration
(CA) and Board of Directors (BOD) with the appointments of members to the
committee and assigning the chairperson, secretary and public relation
officer and members at large. Initially there were seven members and one
of the members never attended any of the meetings and thus six of us
carried with the work.
The mandate of the AC will cease once the project of building the Saint
Mary Multipurpose Faith and Cultural Centre comes to completion.
3. The process:
We conducted many meeting for the purpose of fulfilling our callings and
responsibilities. Right from the beginning we decided to focus on the most
important item on the terms of reference. It was agreed to first look ways to
acquire land for the building. We have taken various tasks to facilitate this
crucial task. Some members contacted persons with the know-how; others
contacted the city administration and offices of the councilors’ and still
others searched for appropriate / suitable old buildings and lands.
Then we have to discuss all available information and make sense out of
them. The collaboration and dedications of all the members is very
exemplary.
We have agreed to have the meetings’ minutes will be recorded and will be
available to members before the next meeting. Initially the minutes were
recorded in Amharic; however, for the purposes of external use it was
decided to have the minute be translated into English. Liqatguan Yared and
Lemma were assigned for this task.
4. Items discussed:
A/ Terms of Reference:
All members have a copy of the original Amharic version and later major
items were translated into English and were provided to all members. It was
accepted as presented. (See Appendix I)
B/Setting the rules of Engagements:
We agreed to follow what is given to us as directives. We also agreed to
present any task given or assigned to us to bring or report on it/them on
timely fashions. Discussions are welcomed but through the chairperson.
C/ Land, Size and Possible ways to Acquire
The land issue was exhaustively discussed and possible solutions were
suggested. The size of the land required between 2-3 acres. This estimate
fits with the building committee data. (See Appendix II)
The land acquisition can be done from the city of Winnipeg provided we
have a convincing business plan. The other option is to purchase land; this
option would be more costly but has its own built in flexibility in terms of
utilization. There was also discussion about expanding the current church
facility and use the parking lot for SMC. Also to look into possibilities of
purchasing the adjacent properties to expand the current church. It was
discussed to approach the province and the federal governments for
financial assistance.
D/ Best Location for SMC and the Cathedral
The generally preferred location for SMC is down town area and within 10
kilometers from Downtown. The rationale for this assessment is that most of
our parisheners live in the downtown area and its vicinities and readily
available public transportation. This is open for further discussion
E/ Things needed for success
In order to have better success and understanding of our task, we have sought and
received input from outside resources. We have utilized Ms. Randi cage and Ms Juanita
Desouza-Huletey as resource persons. On top of these members of the AC have done
research of their own.
Based on the advice of these individuals and our own research have brought us to the
following conclusion to proceed forward and have success.
In nutshell the following items are indispensable for realization of the project;
We Need: 1. The Business Plan
2. Bylaws/Constitution
3. Audited Financial reports
4. Many other necessary structural and documentary items etc.
These are the minimum required to approach officials of various level of governments.
(See Appendix III)
5. Consensus and Recommendations
I. Finalize the BP, the bylaws and constitution; financial documents should be
available in short order.
II. Look into possibilities of expanding and renovation the existing church; by
acquiring adjacent properties and utilizing the parking lot
III. Purchase bigger church with adjacent facility for SMC
IV. Conduct joint committee meetings for further consultations
V. Once item I is available approach the City of Winnipeg for land grants.
6. Conclusion
The Advisory Committee has made every effort to prioritize the tasks at hand and
the acquiring of the land for the building project has been the most important
task. Therefore most our time is invested into ways how to acquire the needed
property and also look into other possible solutions.
We are mindful that the other tasks need our attention and we will continue to
address them all.
What is needed now is to put our recommendation into action in order to proceed
forward. Our committee is more than glad to hold a joint meeting with the Church
administration and Board of directors.
Berhanu Balcha
Chair, Advisory Committee
November 13, 2011
Members of the Advisory committee
Dr. Berhanu Balcha Chairperson
Liqatiguan Yared Aschalew Secretary
Mr.Lemma Mekonnen Public relation
Mr. Mengistu Kinde Member
Mr. Netsere Zewge Member
Ms. Achamyelesh Assafa Member