Minutes February 9, 1916

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 1/12^th 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 17^th 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