Thanks to a loyal BJS reader for this updated information regarding the potential sale of the ULC campus property.

This FAQ document on what the issues are was posted on June 18th on the MNS district website.

A few days ago, ULC posted a commentary to the FAQ here.

It’s quite interesting reading .. a few quotes from it:

In response to the statement in 2009 that the campus property should not be sold:

The factors that lead to this conclusion in 2009 have not changed. If anything, the real estate market has continued to decline in the Twin Cities, making this a worse time to sell property than it was in 2009.

Regarding the statement that the (then) Minnesota District purchased the land and built the building in 1947/1949:

The entire purchase price for the land was paid for by designated offerings collected as part of the WWII Peace Offering.

The majority of funds used for the construction of the chapel & student center, and for the parsonage were from designated gifts and a designated synodical Centenniel Offering. We are still researching the exact amount of funding that came from the MN District’s regular funds, but at this point it appears to have been only $100,000 (an internal loan taken from the CSP Memorial Center fund drive).

Regarding the projected maintenance costs coming up in the near future:

We recognize that major capital improvements need to be done. For this reason a capital improvements fund was set up at the MNS District in 2001 according to a then-newly-negotiated 2001 Mission Understandings and Agreements document. This was to be funded by ULC’s rent payments. When, a few years later, ULC asked how much was in the fund, we were informed that the District had simply stopped setting this money aside because the auditors didn’t like the fund. Not only is this another instance of breaking agreements, but also an issue of poor stewardship on the part of the District. As of March of 2011 there was still $31,565 in this fund.

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