Lord of the Lakes Council Meeting Notes – January 17, 2017
Members Present- Pastor Kevin Heffernan, Geoff Hendren, Gail Gardner, Kerry Arent, Terry Korus, Joe Groholski, Drew Jaeger
Opening Devotion- Pastor Kevin
Team Reports-
Pastor’s Report- Last month challenging with loss Gary Gardner and busy season of Christmas. Great development of large middle school youth group presence balanced by need for more adult leaders.
Buildings and Grounds- HVAC system seems to be working ok, hoping to see some energy cost saving in coming months compared to previous years. Suggestion offered to find out from B& G committee how well current maintenance functions working without designated staff member, evaluate need for presence including recommended hours if necessary.
Worship– Meeting schedule for Jan 24th. Lent and Easter plans to be finalized. Possible addition of some highlighted themes for portions of the year to be discussed.
Youth- 8 youth currently signed up for July summer mission trip to Kansas City. Adult male leader/chaperone still needed. High School youth now removed from regular schedule, will be contacted by youth leader directly for periodic events. Large number of middle school youth, expect that high school will return to regular schedule next yea.
Finances- Amazing finish to end of calendar year for our church giving!
Gail to meet with business management committee in next couple of weeks.
The Operating Budget Total Net Profit YTD as of December 2016-17 FYE $23, 847
The Operating Budget Total Net Profit for Month of December 2016-17 $23,310
We did budget for a ($14,768) Loss YTD and our Actual Profit YTD is ($23,847).
Recommendation from council to list thrift store proceeds as separate item in future reporting.
Stewardship- Terry and Joe to examine possible options for electronic giving methods to include website options, church kiosk, smart phone or card readers. All alternate methods have some costs, whether initial or recurring. Plan is to return to council with researched options.
Old Business
Compensation Documentation- Letter outlining vacation accrual policy given to youth leader, other staff members to follow. Council to research past practice of employee raise timing. Goal to develop best practice moving forward so that raise recommendations vetted through council prior to annual meeting. Recommendation from council that we must be aware of employment law pertaining to contracted personnel vice church employees.
Mortgage Update- Mortgage refinance completed. Also secured was a 1 year line of credit for $10,000 at 4.75% in case of emergencies. Old mortgage and line of credit with Choice Bank closed. Closing costs of $3,800 were rolled into the loan balance
New loan is for $1,002,309 at 3.75%. New monthly payment is 5,943.26. Terms of loan require that we maintain a escrow savings account with a minimum $25,000 balance. If our balance is below that amount we are obligated to make deposits of $1,325/month to the escrow savings account. We can draw on the savings account for capital improvements and repairs. Our combined monthly payment to both mortgage and savings is $7,268.26 which is less than our old mortgage payment of $7,300
New Business
Credit card reader for scrip? Will be evaluated as part of stewardship research
Sunday school – Ideas for significant changes to be presented in the next couple months, would not take effect until fall if selected.
Council Members needed- Terms for Jeff and Terry to end this year, interested members encouraged to contact one of them to discuss.
Outreach to local nursing homes-Visits to local elderly housing communities planned to discuss potential outreach opportunities.
Next Meeting: February 21, 2017
Devotion for February by Ken