At February’s monthly Leadership Board meeting, members spent significant time discussing necessary improvements that must be made and strategic improvements that should be made to the church building and parsonage. For the church, the list consists of replacing the roof, repairing exterior concrete and structural items, upgrading the HVAC system, implementing handicap accessibility to the basement, restoring the historic organ, and installing a new sound system in the sanctuary. For the parsonage, there is one project, which is replacing 25 windows. The cost of these improvements—based preliminarily on estimates obtained by our Treasurer and ministry leaders—is about $370,000.
After discussing the church’s financial position, allocations already accounted for in the 2026 budget, and equity in the parsonage, it became clear to the Board that accomplishing this plan now is both prudent and feasible. As such, the Board decided to present this information to the congregation for your consideration and approval.
On Sunday, February 15, 2026, at 12:30 pm in the sanctuary, the Leadership Board conducted a Town Hall presentation for the proposal to make these improvements and obtain a Line of Credit (LOC) to pay for them. Board member Hurst Bartley led the presentation, which covered the following agenda: an explanation of the LOC; reason the LOC is needed; how the LOC will be repaid; and answering questions from the congregation.
Hurst went on to explain that the Board recommends establishing an LOC of up to $400,000 from Christian Family Credit Union (which used to be CommonRoots credit union and merged recently with another organization to form Christian Family Credit Union.) The LOC, according to Christian Family Credit Union regulations, has a five-year period to draw the funds and a 15-year total term to repay the funds. Funds are drawn only as projects are implemented and interest is paid only on funds that are drawn. Each project, before we start it, will undergo a final review, approval, and oversight from the Board.
The Town Hall culminated with a question-and-answer session, a record of which is provided below.
Q: Is the sound system improvement just for the sanctuary or will it improve on-line sound quality as well?
A: The improvement is just for the sanctuary and yes, it will improve on-line sound quality.
Q: Is the roof the number one priority?
A: Over the past year, we patched the worst parts of the roof, buying us additional time. However, the roof age is beyond its life expectancy. So, it must be replaced soon and certainly must be replaced within the five-year window of the LOC draw period.
Q: Recalling the last time the church underwent a roof replacement, it took about two years to secure a contractor and then do the work. Will it take that long to get a contractor?
A: No, we’ve already been in touch with contractors who gave us cost estimates, so we don’t expect that kind of lead time.
Q: What do you think about the accessibility project, and how will that project be accomplished?
A: Currently, there is no access to the basement from the church level. Ideally, accessibility would be inside the church, creating some way to go between floors without having to exit the church. We will be obtaining concepts for solutions and cost estimates, which we will share with you in the future.
Q: Have, or are, tariffs impacting the costs of materials? And are the estimates reasonable?
A: Material costs have been rising, so we accounted for future increases by putting a 10 percent contingency on top of the estimates we received.
Q: Will the new sound system integrate with technologies used by hearing impaired congregants?
A: Yes, we have accounted for that in our sound systems specifications and estimates, so people with hearing impairments can connect their devices right into the system.
Q: How many windows are in the parsonage?
A: 25 windows. We obtained two cost estimates that varied widely. One for $25,000 and one for $60,000.
Q: How’s the heat in the parsonage?
A: Cold.
Additional Comment from the Board: In SUMC’s 2026 budget, the Leadership Board allocated a monthly $2,000 payment for the LOC beginning in April to understand the impact that borrowing up to $400,000 could have on this year’s budget and the church’s finances.
Then on Tuesday, February 17th at 6:00 p.m. in the sanctuary, a Charge Conference was held for the sole purpose of reviewing and authorizing the LOC to conduct up to $400,000 in repairs and acquisitions of materials and equipment. Hurst Bartley made the motion to authorize the LOC. Sandra Lane seconded the motion. There were no questions presented by attendees. As such, a vote was called, which resulted in the unanimous approval of the LOC by 30 church members who attended the conference.
Pastor Hannah and Board members will report regularly to you on project progress and financial status of the LOC. If you are interested in getting into the details, you are always welcome to attend our Leadership Board meetings on the 3rd Wednesday of the month at 6:30 pm in The Patton Library. SUMC’s next Leadership Board meeting is Wednesday, March 18th.
Lynn Colosi
Leadership Board Member