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From Administrative Pastor Dave Kaynor:

A week from Sunday is our 1st Quarter Members’ Meeting. Of course, during members’ meetings, we take care of the financials and the motions, but we also like to provide ministry updates too. At the meeting we will be honoring the longevity of some of our staff members, learning more about disaster relief and how we can be involved, plus hearing about the progress of a new ministry at Cornerstone, UPWARD football. Plan to join us at 5:30 on April 23rd.

Speaking of motions, the Elder Board and Finance Team have proposed a large spending motion regarding the parking lot. What follows is a mailbag of questions and answers so you can be in the know. We plan to vote on the motion at the meeting. 

Does the church leadership have any plans for the surplus money we have in the bank?

Yes, they do. When a year ends and there was more money given then spent, we call that surplus funds. From the 2019-2022 budget years there was $126,000 in surplus funds. Those funds sit in our checking account.

In the last couple of months, the priority for the surplus funds for both the Elder Board and the Finance Team has been to upgrade the parking lot. We thought about other options like new carpet, but the parking lot seems the most pressing. Plus, this time of year always yields fresh pot holes due to the freezing and thawing process, but there are other preexisting safety issues that need to be addressed too.

What is the Elder Board and Finance Team proposing?

The gist is that we spend up to $197,000 to upgrade our parking lot. The actual motion reads like this: The Finance Team recommends and the Elder Board supports spending up to $83,000 from the 2019-2022 surplus funds to upgrade the entire parking lot. We plan to bring this motion for a vote at the Members’ Meeting on April 23rd.

Why the difference in dollars? 

For the last several years we have been diligently saving by placing a budgeted amount into our parking lot savings fund every month. We have tapped into this account in the past for other parking lot needs. However, at the end of 2022, the parking lot savings fund balance was $89,000. By the time we need to pay for the entire proposed job it will have $114,000, assuming we continue saving at the same rate. The difference between the total quote ($197,000) and what we have saved, is $83,000. We do not need to vote on what we have previously saved because it has already been approved in the budget.

Why did you pick BMK Asphalt?

We contacted multiple asphalt companies over the last few months to get quotes. One of the companies was ASI; they have worked on our lot in the past. We contacted them five times and could not get a meeting. We contacted two other companies and had the same result. However, BMK Asphalt was quick to call us back and came to walk the lot with us. BMK comes highly recommended as they have done work at several other churches in the area. They offer a payment plan so that the work is paid for as it is completed to make sure the customer is satisfied. BMK also offered a very economically reasonable plan for maintaining the lot going forward which I am excited about. (You would be too if you felt responsible for a huge parking lot!)

Haven’t we fixed the parking lot in the past?

Yes, we have fixed several sections of the parking lot in the past. 

·        2011, front entrance, 11,500 SF (square feet),

         $28,000

·        2014, around the garage, 27,500 SF, $70,000

·        2015, SW parking lot, 32,000 SF, $67,300

·        2020, SE parking lot, 81,000 SF, $198,000

         (not completed because of covid)

·        2021, 3 areas, 42,000 SF, $115,000

What will the $197,000 get us?

First, let me tell you what it does not include. The last few repairs from ASI have included milling of parts of the parking lot. That’s where they take all of the asphalt from a section and grind it up and then put it back down with one of those big rolling machines. That makes the section look brand new. 

We are not doing that with BMK. Instead we plan, to clean, patch, sealcoat, and stripe the entire lot, all 360,000 square feet. The SE lot will receive the most repair work, including large sections of blanket patching. See the blue sections in the picture. The entire lot will have fixes and then be seal coated. The seal coating will give the entire lot a nice uniform look. The purpose of the seal coating is to keep water out and prevent cracking in the next few years. The entire lot will be striped.

When will the process start?

We plan to bring the motion at the April 23 Members’ Meeting. We have placed ourselves on BMK’s schedule and if the members agree at the meeting, the cleaning will start that week. The process will take several months as the blanket patching needs to settle before it is seal coated.

Is there any more information? What should I do if I have questions?

If you have questions, you can ask me, Dave Kaynor, by calling or emailing me, or ask any of our Finance Team members.