Diocese of Rhode Island
Commission on Finance
Meeting, February 9,
2016
St. Luke’s Church,
East Greenwich
Present: Robert Batchelor; Sarosh Fenn; The Rt. Rev.
Nicholas Knisely; Michael Lofaro; Stephan Sloan; David Terry; The Rev. Joyce
Thorne.
Also present: Dennis Burton; Joan DeCelles; The Rev. Canon
Linda Grenz; The Rev. Edwin Hallenbeck.
Guests: The Rev. Bettine Bessier, Vicar; Mary Hafey, Sr.
Warden, St. Thomas Church, Alton.
The meeting was called to order at 5:00 pm by Chair Lofaro.
An opening prayer was offered by Bishop Knisely.
The Minutes of
the meeting of January 12, 2016 were approved as distributed.
Financial Report
for January 2016 was reviewed by the Treasurer. It was noted that the DIT year
end data has not yet been stated at 12/31/15 which will be updated. All
outstanding bills were paid at year end. Some major items are being prorated
for timing adjustments, others continue on a 1/12th basis. There is
nothing unusual reflected in this statement.
Apportionment Aging
Report. Only one church remains unpaid for December. A number of churches
have yet to pay for January.
Chief Financial
Officer’s Report and Agenda matters:
• Church of the
Advent, Coventry. Both boilers have been replaced and are working. A snow
blower has been purchased and will be hiring a contractor to remove old wax and
refinish the floor.
• Next DIT meeting
is February 17th at noon. Both the Treasurer and CFO are unable to
attend. Mr. Sloan agreed to represent the COF.
• ECC has
initiated a planning process for facilities and future needs. It is noted that
this will result in requests for as yet identified projects.
Accessibility Grant
Application, St. Thomas, Alton (Guests joined the meeting)
Ms. Hafey, SW reviewed the project request for tree trimming
and a new bulkhead access door to the basement. There was a general discussion
about the parish and the grant request. Noting the tree damage in a storm did
damage to the roof it was suggested that the insurance company be notified. It
was noted that developing a parking area on church property is in the planning
stage. The COF Chair reviewed application ground rules stating that this
request does not appear to qualify as a code violation. It was agreed to look
for other funding sources. (Guests left the meeting). Following additional
discussion it was Moved, Seconded and
Voted to not grant funds for this application from St. Thomas Church. It
was also agreed to clarify the language on the website to avoid further
confusion.
• Major Gifts Policy.
This new policy continues in process, has been reviewed by an attorney and a
markup copy with suggested changes was distributed for review. A Form has been
added for donors or estates to specifically state their wishes at the time of a
gift.
• Line of Credit Project.
Several developments since January. An attorney with experience in such loan
documents has been retained. There is an awkward pause with the lender. COF
wishes to see a draft Agreement for the loan arrangement and the bank will only
provide this after a formal application is submitted. It was agreed to discuss
the matter further with bank representatives before moving to the formal stage.
It was suggested that with two loan categories, there needs to be carefully
prepared documents and procedures for each, including loan limits and
requirements. 1) Revolving Loans will remain essentially as they are, with
total loan commitments up to the balance in the RLF ($1,600,000). 2. Companion
Loans materials and limits need to be developed and spelled out in detail.
Following
additional discussion it was Moved,
Seconded and VOTED to authorize up to $7,500 in legal fees to review an
Application and Draft Agreement with U.S. Trust for a Line of Credit with a
tentative limit of $10,000,000.
•
Thrivent Marketing Agreement. Following consideration at the January
meeting additional discussion and review indicates that additional study and
development of working plans is needed. Further consideration of the draft
agreement is deferred until fall.
•
Auditors Management Letter. Several comments and suggestions were stated in
the 2014 Audit Management letter. All have been reviewed and responded to,
however the Audit Committee and COF need to review the actions taken to this
point and include any comments in appropriate minutes.
The meeting was adjourned at 6:39
p.m.
Respectfully submitted
Edwin F Hallenbeck
Secretary
Next meeting: Tuesday March 8, 2016, 5 p.m. St. Luke’s Church, East
Greenwich
