Called Congregational Meeting on May 31 – Pentecost!
Dear Friends,
Our meeting on May 31 is incredibly important! An affirmative vote will allow us to “encumber our property” with debt long enough for our pledges to come in over a three year period of time, when the money will all be spent within a few months (many of you may have used a construction loan to build your own homes until you could secure a mortgage when the construction was finished and the property assessed). Please recognize that the $600,000 loan total may never be reached, and we know the sustaining debt (if any) will be much more manageable. Presbyterian Investment and Loan Program is fully supportive of our project and actually excited for the good work our congregation is engaged in as we reach out to the community and look to a very exciting future! Sunday’s service celebrates the Pentecost Fire! We look to the ways it has touched me as a pastor in my call to preach the Word, and it looks to the ways the Spirit has moved through this whole project.
Please read this to consider and pray about before worship tomorrow and before we engage in our congregational vote on Sunday, May 31:
Project 2020: Congregational Meeting on May 31
On Sunday May 31, we will hold a very important congregational meeting and vote. Due to a lot of work by many in our congregation and others, we are now ready to start construction and bring our Project 2020 vision and dreams to reality!
At the virtual congregational meeting we will (1) provide an update on Project 2020; (2) provide information and answer questions on the construction bridge loan; and (3) ask for a vote to approve proceeding with the loan.
***This meeting will be held on Sunday May 31 at 11:15 and clicking on [Zoom link].***
Please plan to join this Zoom meeting!
Background
We have been approved and are ready to close on a flexible construction bridge loan of up to $600,000 from the Presbytery Investment Loan Program (PILP). These funds will cover costs during the construction phase of Project 2020. It allows us to pay construction costs while we accumulate pledges and other funding through December 2022. This is a typical approach to funding a construction project. We will start drawing on this loan as construction begins. The 3.6% interest rate is calculated based on only the amount we need to borrow, and there is no penalty for prepayment.
- Our intention is to pay the bridge loan back as pledges and other donations are received and convert only a manageable amount to a regular loan. Any remaining loan balance (i.e., residual debt) will convert to a 20-year loan at 3.4% interest. We consider debt service in the range of 5% of our annual budget to be manageable.
- This bridge loan would encumber our church property (that is, use church property as collateral to secure the loan) and requires a vote of the congregation. We are confident in our ability to use this loan during construction while incurring manageable residual debt. Our goal remains to manage the project to zero debt.
- There are a number of factors that will impact the residual debt, if any, including the accuracy of the initial cost estimate; actual cost of the project; pledge fulfillment rate; decisions to defer scope; and additional gifts and grants that may be received.
- Taken together, our pre-campaign gifts, pledges, and grant amount to more than 80% of our original Phase 1 construction estimate.
- Note also that the Denver Presbytery has given us a grant of $121,500 toward Project 2020 with the possibility of additional grant funding.
Action
At the congregational meeting, you will be asked to vote to approve securing a construction bridge loan in the amount of up to $600,000 from the Presbytery Investment Loan Program (PILP).
Please feel free to contact Pastor Paula, Matt Nixon, Meryl Eddy or Bob Gaskins with questions.
