Last fall Fr. Joe was in his glory! He was finally getting that ride he’d been waiting for! He was driving one of Mike Runge’s monster-sized, mean-green scrapers! After the grading plans had been approved by the City, Mike and his crew were eagerly getting a jump on the spring construction preparation. Since that time, besides putting the erosion control devices in place, he has worked on grading the parking lot and has cut in parts of 26th Street and Katie Avenue.
After the Steering Committee and Fr. Joe had given final approval of the Design Development Documents last December, Architecture Inc. went to work producing the official construction documents and specs that have now been submitted to the City for approval. Sayre Associates was responsible for submitting the site development plans. According to Monte Miller, all architectural and engineering plans are now in review with the City. Once approved, the City will grant a building permit and construction may begin.
Architecture Inc. has also submitted copies of the completed construction documents to Fiegen Construction. Rusty Fiegen and his team will now gather the construction bids and should have the final, firm construction cost available by early March. Rusty will present this cost to Fr. Joe and the Steering Committee, where they will make some final decisions about building material options, before proceeding with construction.
One of the challenges that the construction of St. Katharine Drexel Parish faces is its location and lack of completed streets and adjoining developments. We are out on the very western edge of Sioux Falls, without an existing infrastructure. This infrastructure that most construction sites have along at least one side of their property includes streets, water/sewer lines and storm sewer. At this point there are no water/sewer or storm sewer lines stubbed up to our property and the closest street is Laverne Wipf. We are depending on local developers to provide this infrastructure and the good news is that an area developer has agreed to do this. We now hope that the City will be satisfied that this infrastructure will be connected to our property line before our completion date, so that we get approval and can move ahead with the project.
Despite the challenges that every building project faces, the excitement and parish fervor continues at an all-time high! On one of South Dakota’s most bitterly cold afternoons in late January, the bravest of our parish families bundled themselves beyond recognition and headed out to the building site for the Ground Breaking Ceremony. We were honored to have Bishop Paul Swain meet with each member of the Steering Committee before the service so that he could personally hear what each subcommittee has been working on. He then bundled up and came out to our site. With our roaring bon fire and cups of hot chocolate barely making a dent on the bitter cold, Bishop Swain lead these brave pioneers in prayer. With spirits soaring high, the Steering Committee, Fr. Joe and Bishop Swain gathered with shovels in hand, for a picture that would commemorate our ground breaking ceremony. It seems that there is no challenge so great that we, with God at our side, cannot overcome.
So with each step that is taken, we come closer to realizing the dream of having a beautiful worship center constructed. And with the intercession of St. Katharine Drexel, we now have the ability to add an education center too! No wonder our spirits are soaring! With every step may we continue to enjoy the guiding, loving inspiration of our Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
