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Mr. Hanson June 9, 2000 Page Four Aid normally may be thought to have a primary effect of advancing religion when it flows to an institution in which religion is so pervasive that a substantial portion of its functions are subsumed in the religious mission or when it funds a specifically religious activity in an otherwise substantially secular setting. Hunt v McNair, 413 U.S. 734, 743,93 S.Ct. 2868, 2874, 37 L.Ed.2d 923 (1973). St. John's Catholic Church must be considered pervasively religious. Furthermore, the proposed community space win not be placed in a secular setting but will be attached to or part of St. John's Catholic Church property. The third part of the establishment clause analysis is that the action must avoid excessive government entanglement with religion. Excessive entanglement arises when the state's involvement with a religious institution creates a need for comprehensive, discriminating, and continuous state surveillance, to be sure that. the aid is used only for secular purposes. The question of whether there would be excessive state entanglement in this case would have to be answered in the affirmative. Since the community space would be part of St. John's Catholic Church, there would arguably have to be state supervision to ensure the public funds were only used for secular purposes. In summary, Mnnesota Statutes permit cities and nonprofit organizations to act in cooperation in establishing and maintaining recreational facilities. Two questions must be asked regarding whether the city may cooperate with St. John's Catholic Church in regards to building and operating a recreational facility. The first question is whether St. John's Catholic Church meets the statutory definition of a nonprofit organization as opposed to a religious association. If St. John's Catholic Church meets the statutory definition Of organization, the constitutional question of whether the state providing aid•violates the establishment clause of the United States Constitution and the Minnesota Constitution arises. As discussed, there is a three part test to determine whether a government act violates the establishment clause. There is not a great deal of Minnesota case law on this specific issue. However, a case fairly close on point is In the Matter of the Condemnation by the Minneapolis Community Development Agency, 439 N.W.2d 708 (Munn: 1989). The Court found that a city's development agency condemnation proceeding did not violate the establishment clause of the First Amendment even though public funds were used and the condemnation involved building a structure for an organization with religious aspects (Y'.M,C.A). Page 6D