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Over the past few weeks, elder and building committee members have been personally visiting each Sunday School class. The purpose of these visits has been to provide a building project update, answer questions, and pray for the project. However, if you missed that Sunday or are not attending a class, we wanted to provide this same information to you as well. Questions from Open Forum on March 1, 2009
Questions from the Open Forum on 3/8/2009
Below are some Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ’s) Click for Answers:
Q: What is the current status with the building project planning? A: We have finished the second set of drawings with submittals to South Park and the City of Littleton. Our team experts have expressed that this has been the smoothest process they have ever participated in with the city of Littleton. We have authorized our design team to move forward with construction documents. Q: When do we hope to break ground? A: Lord willing, we anticipate ground- breaking sometime in the spring of 2009. Q: Are we still taking faith promises toward the building project? Can we give without making a faith promise? A: Yes and Yes. Faith promise forms and building project information are available every Sunday at the “Called To Something Big” table in the lobby. If you are uncomfortable making a longer-term commitment, you can give toward the building fund on any Sunday by using the giving envelopes that are in the pew racks. Q: We have heard there is a funding gap. What is this and how do we hope to bridge this gap? Is year-end giving a part of the plan? A: Yes. There is a funding gap of approximately $4 - $5 million to begin building due to outstanding faith promises and the loan to Aspen Academy. We are hoping that some people might be able to give their entire faith promise by December 31, 2008. We are also hoping some may be able to make a first-time gift or additional gifts toward the building project. Every member and regular attendee will be receiving a letter later this month outlining ways to help bridge this gap. We are also looking at other creative ways to finance the gap before and during the construction period. Q. What happens if we are unable to meet this funding gap? A. If we do not raise the additional funds needed to start construction we will need to reduce the scope of our building project. This will mean cutting some square footage – for example: building the chapel in phase two. We are working on contingency plans that will have multiple options. Q: Is Aspen Academy paying us interest on the $2 million loan? How much is this interest currently? How does this rate change over the next couple of years? A: Yes, we receive monthly payments which go into the building fund because this is a capital receipt. They are scheduled to pay 8% this year if the note is paid in full by May 31, 2009. If not the interest for the current year is 10%. For the subsequent two years on the loan the rate goes to 12% and 14%. Q. How are we planning to finance the building and construction? A. Presently, our best option appears to be financing through church bonds. We have had an initial commitment from Share Financial for a loan of up to $19 million which will be used to start construction. This number could fluctuate until we determine the exact amount of additional giving and the ground- breaking schedule. Of course, we will provide funding information to the MHC congregation for approval before making any commitments to a lending institution, hopefully in February of 2009. Q. Would you please explain the roof structures – they seem to be flat roofs? Is there a reason for this and what about leaking? A. “Flat” roofs are technically sloped so that water will drain to pre-destined locations. Flat roofs are employed world-wide and are not a problem if designed and installed properly. The most common is a rubberize “EPDM” which is made by the same companies that make tires. Q. Would you describe “Main Street” for us? A. Main Street is intended to link the various ministry locations including the chapel, youth, nursery, classrooms and the Early Learning Center, most of which are now located in the South Wing but, in the future, intended to be relocated to the delayed North Wing. Further, Main Street, intended to offer similar features as you see in the Park Meadows Mall will also provide space for gathering, special displays, etc.. Q. How many people will the new worship center seat? Will it be expandable? A. Keith clarified that the WC will seat approximately 1,200, but I wasn’t sure the exact number. The future expansion plan was briefly described. Q. Six years from now when the energy costs skyrocket – how will the new building be energy efficient? How are we building the facility with a “green” emphasis? A. I described the beneficial orientation of the building, the solar reflectance of the roof to reduce heat island effects, and the sun-control wall feature on the west glass wall, etc. I also made the general statement that our HVAC systems were design to be as energy efficient as possible in compliance with current Codes, etc. Q. Will the worship center have any glass? A. No glass for views to the exterior, according to programmatic requirement. Q.Will the stained glass windows in our present facility be included in the new building? What about other historical pieces? A. I described the general locations of the relocated stained glass. Iwas not specifically aware of any other “historical pieces” that were contemplated for the move, but assured the individual that we were looking at all significant legacy items for relocation to the new facility. Q. Where will the baptismal be on the platform? A. Pointed to it on the plan. Q. Where will the choir be on the platform? A. Pointed to it on the plan. Q. How much acoustical consideration are we giving to the new design? A. Described in general terms the quality and nature of the AVL systems and the passive acoustical attenuation of the space. Q. Will there be space for a library? A. Mike Romberger responded no – just a small resource center in the Lobby for selected books that support the current sermon series, etc. Q. What is the cost of additional parking? How many total spaces are we planning? A. I indicated that we were going to try to keep as much of the parking as possible in Phase 1, but that budget may not allow that fully. Keith added that we plan to enter into shared parking agreements with adjacent properties. I stated that an approximate cost for the parking in question was in the neighborhood of $75K, but was not sure of the exact figures. Q. When is the projected start date for Phase One? Additional Phases? A. Phase 1 start is still scheduled for early July 2009. No schedule for Phase 2, since fund raising will be needed for that Phase. Q. Is the $29 million the amended budget? A. Yes, it has been reduced from $35mil Q. Who are the banks we have approached for funding? A. We have talked with many banks including Wells Fargo, Bank of the West, Vectra Bank, CoBank and others. As of this writing, we are still being considered by both Colorado State Bank and 1stBank. We have reason to believe that 1stBank will provide us a loan in a joint venture with our preferred bond underwriter (Share Financial). We believe that 1stBank will give us a loan, in an amount to-be-determined after Share sells a “local placement” to the Mission Hills family as stated below. Q. How will a possible bond issue work? Will the church be able to participate in this bond issue? A. Yes, the church will be able to participate. We have received some inquiries by interested people and more specifically Share Inc’s strategy is to sell bonds inside the Mission Hills family first and then outside the church. They believe that $5-8 million (of the $16million total) is a reasonable target for our participation. Q. What is our current budget? How do we plan to pay for the debt service on the new facility? A. The current budget is $2.7million. If we replaced the rent we pay for the church and offices with the new anticipated mortgage and nothing else changed the annual budget would increase to $3.3million. We will create a bridge plan to fund until we have growth and new givers. Q. Regarding the bonds – will this be a best efforts issue or a guaranteed issue? A. Right now a “Best Efforts” has been approved but we are working towards a “Guarantee Issue” option based on what portion of the pledges and assets we have in cash. Q. What’s the best financing option at this point? A. As stated above, it would be essentially a firm underwriting of bond backed up by a loan from 1stBank. The plan would be to pay off the loan in 5-7 years or sooner and therefore not be subject to interest rate risk that may lie ahead. Q. Is the church a 501(c)(3) and does it qualify for tax-exempt bonds? A. Yes, we are a 501(c)(3) but the only tax-free portion is on the Early Learning Center space because of the education exemption. Q. How many parking places do we have now? In the new facility? A. 472 now. Approximately 355 in new. We will work out parking agreements with area owners, if needed. This is also a funding issue and we might be able to add more parking once we get the final budget numbers. Keith has been in contact with area owners and they are excited to have us move in. Q. What is the interest rate on the Aspen Academy note? A. 10-12-14%, but they are paying 8-10-12%, etc. Q. Would bond companies have recourse on the property? A. Yes. Q. Did the offices in the redesign change? A. No. Q. What are monthly utility costs now, then? A. We have budgeted the same amount for ongoing operations. Even though there is more square footage in the new building, it should be more energy efficient. Q. Why are we just now talking to bond companies? A. This is not new. We have been considering this for at least two years. Banks do 80% of typical church funding; 20% comes from other sources. (Lee Architects gave this stat.) We think that the bond option is a good fit for our situation. Q. How many adult classrooms, now vs. then? A. 11 Adult classrooms plus fellowship areas in new facility vs. 7 now. This is probably where we felt the greatest impact by the loss of the chapel. Plan is to make new classrooms very flexible with moveable walls, etc. Q. What is the new worship center capacity? A. 1,200 with a plan to move to 1,800 eventually Q. Have we thought about having a shuttle to the Wincrest Facility? A. Discussions are in progress about this. Q. What will be the interest rate paid on the bonds? A. Depending on the time of maturity, the interest paid to the purchaser of a bond will range from 5.5-7.5%. The approximate rate that MHC will pay is 7.1% over a fixed 20 year period. Q. Are all the seats theater style? A. All the seats will be the same style, whether pew or theater. This has not been finally decided, but theater style is recommended because it provides for a better use of seating capacity. Individual seats are 80-85% efficient vs. pew seating which is about 70% efficient. Q. What is the project timeline? A. Trying to break ground in July, 2009, in order to meet the ELC need of fall, 2010. Please continue to partner with us in prayer, specifically:
If you have any additional comments or need more information on the building project, please contact Pastor Keith Carson at kcarson@missionhills.org. |
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