On Tuesday, Dec. 5th, a Special Church Conference approved, by unanimous consent, plans to proceed with the building of The Fountains new Connection Center.
“I move that the Building Team of The Fountains, in cooperation with and supervised by the Church Council and Trustees, be authorized to proceed with the construction of a new Connection Center as described in plans presented on December 5th, 2017 — financing to be provided by funds from Now is the Moment campaign, a construction line of credit, and additional funding as it becomes available.”
The floor plans and drawings on display that night are available for your review, along with samples of materials, surfaces, and other construction details, through December in the back of the Sanctuary. Details of the final estimates on demolition, site preparation, and building expenses are also available. You can also click this link for a pdf of renderings and floor plans: [pdf-embedder url=”https://thefountainsumc.org/LUNAR/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/12.05.17-CHURCH-CONF.pdf” title=”12.05.17 CHURCH CONF”]
Including contingency fund and all the elements of a move-in ready building (including new furniture, A/V, etc.) the cost estimate for our new move-in ready Connection Center will be approximately $810,000. After paying off the Sanctuary mortgage in July of 2018, there will be $550,000 left in the “Now Is The Moment” fund to put toward our new facility.
There are multiple options for funding the additional $260,000 (estimated) needed to complete the campus renovation:
- A number of “Now is the Moment” pledgers and Church Council members have already indicated that they intend to extend/increase their capital pledge.
- Plans are already in the works for an appeal to new members who have joined after our NITM campaign and missed a chance to subscribe to the campaign. Our Horizons Stewardship strategist, Don Smith, will be returning to Fountain Hills to assist us in this effort.
Wells Fargo has already approved a low-interest construction line of credit (with no pre-payment penalty) to fund anything over our funds on hand (which is presently estimated, before further fundraising, to be $260,000)
Art Endres, chair of our United Methodist Building and Location Committee for the East District was present at our Church Conference and affirmed the outstanding work and attention to detail demonstrated by our Building Team. The District Building and Location Committee is currently reviewing our site plans, construction plans, and finance plans to provide objective evaluations and redundancy in making sure we’ve covered all the bases. Once approved, we will have the green light to proceed.
If all goes according to plan, demolition and site prep may be underway as soon as mid-to-late January 2018. Whenever we begin, our new Connection Center should be completed within six months. If you have any questions, concerns, or suggestions, you are welcome to reach out to Sue Nelson (our Building Team chair), Hunter Lott (our Church Council chair), or Pastor David.
Thanks again to everyone for your generosity and support. Your investment in “the campaign for our future” is coming to fruition in wonderful ways! Together we can continue to impact our community and world for the better as we reach, touch, and teach by living and sharing the stories of Jesus!
