Building Commettee at St. Basil Church
Recent Building Committee Updates
New additions were recently made to expand the building committee membership. This group was given the charge to study and develop plans for some additional classroom space and hall expansion possibilities. The committee was chaired by structural engineer, +Una Mihajlovic. Currently, Zoran Vranjes (zkvranjes@gmail.com ) is appointed chair of Building committee. This group expanded to include the expertise of engineers, people in construction, finance and commercial kitchen and food services, as well as, some who serve in leadership roles in various church organizations.
An architect was also contracted to develop possible plans for modifying the altar to increase in size and for possible modifications to the front exterior of the church to include some orthodox architectural features. An architect’s rendering of what this could look like is on display in the Narthex. Also, the expanded building committee plans are also on display and/or always available in the church office.
Special Thank You
A special thank you also, to Mr. and Mrs. + Joe and Drenda Vijuk who donated all the new chairs we currently have in the church. This generous, much welcomed and needed gift was given on their first visit to St. Basil of Ostrog Serbian Orthodox Church. Mr. Vijuk has passed away in recent years. Mrs. Drenda Vijuk continues to be a very generous steward of St. Basil of Ostrog Church.
The estate of the late + Natalie Slepceivich, of Norman, Oklahoma added a generous $67,000 donation to the St. Basil of Ostrog Serbian Orthodox Church building fund. Deborah Stokovich along with her children, Nicholas and Alyssa Marie, have donated $500,000 in memory of +Nick Stokovich of Libertyville. Nick and Deborah have been generous stewards of St. Basil of Ostrog Church since it continued its mission on the current location in Mettawa, IL
Building Committee Established
A St. Basil Building Committee was established. Milan Savic, engineer was appointed as head of the newly formed building committee.
The committee chair made a sample model of a potential new church with topographical dimension The committee has been working on a plan to provide more storage to meet the demands of the St. Basil parish. The design and permits have been approved and received. The hope is with the spring thaw, construction can begin on the project. Milan Savic along with Jovan Bulatovic were able to put to eliminate the $80,000 estimate for replacing the 9 aging church furnaces by fixing each one and bringing them back to working order. It was a miracle and what a savings. We are all grateful that monies can be now directed to other projects.
Roof and Indoor/Outdoor Improvements A roof was added to the church after an initial fundraising campaign for funds to make the improvement. A new roof was needed for the entire complex. Just in time, to prevent any new challenges with the torrential rains that followed. Thank you to everyone who helped with this project from fundraising, to donations, to supervision, etc.
The interior of the entire church, entry and social hall was painted thanks to the generosity of donors. An area color specialist was brought in to give the suggestions on how to bring out the beauty of the icons and give the feel of spaciousness. The warm colors selected more than highlight the beauty of the icons and warm up the social hall.
Church Interior and Exterior Special thanks to Momcilo Vasiljevic who donated all new lighting for the office, bookstore, classrooms, kitchen and social hall. Special thanks also to those who helped with the installation which included Ivan Kostic, Milan Savic, Mane Gavric, Angelo Arandjelovic, John Stokovich and Matija Pejakovic.
A new drainage system around the exterior was completed. The plan was designed by an Eagle Scout parishioner, Mark Edminston of Lake Forest, IL. He chose this as one of his projects as a scout. With the help of Milan Savic, Mike Kosanovich and Zoran Vranjes the project was completed and works beautifully. It make a huge difference in the drainage and usage of the property when rain and melted snow doesn’t settle near the structure. Thanks to all for this great job and improvement.
Special thanks to Kico Bozic for his support with some of the emergency plumbing needs of the church. There were about 75 very generous monetary donors who so graciously made these projects happen.
Altar Rooms Redesigned and Remodeled When Fr. Djuro assumed the role of parish priest, one of the first projects on his agenda was the organization and massive cleaning of the altar and altar storage rooms. With the help of Rade Bozic, Matija Peykovich, Zoran Bobic, Petar Roknich, Eli Rocknich, Endy Emrick, Andjelo Arandjelovic, Dragoslav Veljkovic and Goran Bogojevic, everything was removed from the altar and the rooms behind the altar. Running water was brought to the altar by Bozic Plumbing. Cabinets and new flooring were also contracted. Every item was evaluated and assessed for its purpose and need and age. Some things were properly disposed of, some donated and some kept. Now everything is in it’s place. Cabinets conceal and project items that need to be properly stored and kept. All the vestments and other fabric items that were kept were proper cleaned and hung for protection and preservation. New cabinets and a sink were purchased. The cabinets were finished in a stain and protective coating. The expenses for this renovation supplies, equipment, and some additional labor costs ($3000) were the donation of Fr. Djuro and P. Anna. The project was completed to be a lasting system of organization and order that all altars must have.
New additions were recently made to expand the building committee membership. This group was given the charge to study and develop plans for some additional classroom space and hall expansion possibilities. The committee was chaired by structural engineer, +Una Mihajlovic. Currently, Zoran Vranjes (zkvranjes@gmail.com ) is appointed chair of Building committee. This group expanded to include the expertise of engineers, people in construction, finance and commercial kitchen and food services, as well as, some who serve in leadership roles in various church organizations.
An architect was also contracted to develop possible plans for modifying the altar to increase in size and for possible modifications to the front exterior of the church to include some orthodox architectural features. An architect’s rendering of what this could look like is on display in the Narthex. Also, the expanded building committee plans are also on display and/or always available in the church office.
Special Thank You
A special thank you also, to Mr. and Mrs. + Joe and Drenda Vijuk who donated all the new chairs we currently have in the church. This generous, much welcomed and needed gift was given on their first visit to St. Basil of Ostrog Serbian Orthodox Church. Mr. Vijuk has passed away in recent years. Mrs. Drenda Vijuk continues to be a very generous steward of St. Basil of Ostrog Church.
The estate of the late + Natalie Slepceivich, of Norman, Oklahoma added a generous $67,000 donation to the St. Basil of Ostrog Serbian Orthodox Church building fund. Deborah Stokovich along with her children, Nicholas and Alyssa Marie, have donated $500,000 in memory of +Nick Stokovich of Libertyville. Nick and Deborah have been generous stewards of St. Basil of Ostrog Church since it continued its mission on the current location in Mettawa, IL
Building Committee Established
A St. Basil Building Committee was established. Milan Savic, engineer was appointed as head of the newly formed building committee.
The committee chair made a sample model of a potential new church with topographical dimension The committee has been working on a plan to provide more storage to meet the demands of the St. Basil parish. The design and permits have been approved and received. The hope is with the spring thaw, construction can begin on the project. Milan Savic along with Jovan Bulatovic were able to put to eliminate the $80,000 estimate for replacing the 9 aging church furnaces by fixing each one and bringing them back to working order. It was a miracle and what a savings. We are all grateful that monies can be now directed to other projects.
Roof and Indoor/Outdoor Improvements A roof was added to the church after an initial fundraising campaign for funds to make the improvement. A new roof was needed for the entire complex. Just in time, to prevent any new challenges with the torrential rains that followed. Thank you to everyone who helped with this project from fundraising, to donations, to supervision, etc.
The interior of the entire church, entry and social hall was painted thanks to the generosity of donors. An area color specialist was brought in to give the suggestions on how to bring out the beauty of the icons and give the feel of spaciousness. The warm colors selected more than highlight the beauty of the icons and warm up the social hall.
Church Interior and Exterior Special thanks to Momcilo Vasiljevic who donated all new lighting for the office, bookstore, classrooms, kitchen and social hall. Special thanks also to those who helped with the installation which included Ivan Kostic, Milan Savic, Mane Gavric, Angelo Arandjelovic, John Stokovich and Matija Pejakovic.
A new drainage system around the exterior was completed. The plan was designed by an Eagle Scout parishioner, Mark Edminston of Lake Forest, IL. He chose this as one of his projects as a scout. With the help of Milan Savic, Mike Kosanovich and Zoran Vranjes the project was completed and works beautifully. It make a huge difference in the drainage and usage of the property when rain and melted snow doesn’t settle near the structure. Thanks to all for this great job and improvement.
Special thanks to Kico Bozic for his support with some of the emergency plumbing needs of the church. There were about 75 very generous monetary donors who so graciously made these projects happen.
Altar Rooms Redesigned and Remodeled When Fr. Djuro assumed the role of parish priest, one of the first projects on his agenda was the organization and massive cleaning of the altar and altar storage rooms. With the help of Rade Bozic, Matija Peykovich, Zoran Bobic, Petar Roknich, Eli Rocknich, Endy Emrick, Andjelo Arandjelovic, Dragoslav Veljkovic and Goran Bogojevic, everything was removed from the altar and the rooms behind the altar. Running water was brought to the altar by Bozic Plumbing. Cabinets and new flooring were also contracted. Every item was evaluated and assessed for its purpose and need and age. Some things were properly disposed of, some donated and some kept. Now everything is in it’s place. Cabinets conceal and project items that need to be properly stored and kept. All the vestments and other fabric items that were kept were proper cleaned and hung for protection and preservation. New cabinets and a sink were purchased. The cabinets were finished in a stain and protective coating. The expenses for this renovation supplies, equipment, and some additional labor costs ($3000) were the donation of Fr. Djuro and P. Anna. The project was completed to be a lasting system of organization and order that all altars must have.