(a) to deal with all matters relating to Plans, Buildings, Sales, Purchases, Loans, Grants, Lettings, Insurance, Transfers and Appointment of Trustees, Organs, Circuit Visitations, Deeds and Documents, Inspection of Manses, District Prop- erty Reports (where structural alterations are involved).
(b) to consider applications to initiate legal action, and applications for permission to negotiate bank loans and overdrafts, and to submit its recommendations to the General Committee for decision.
(c) to receive from the General Committee any policy recommendations regard- ing new churches, manses or other buildings. To proceed with such building plans to such cost limit as the Conference approves. If the estimated cost ex- ceeds such a figure, to proceed until the scheme is ready for implementation and then to submit it to the General Committee for final approval.
(d) to be responsible for the erection, repair, purchase, sale and letting of manses. Such negotiations will be initiated at Circuit level and will be transmitted to the care of the Property Board by the District Superintendent.
(e) to administer the Chapel Fund and the Property Board Development Account. Two Treasurers (a minister and a lay person) shall be appointed. They shall keep the accounts in a bank which, after audit, shall be presented annually to the Conference.
(f) to nominate to the Conference annually, a Registrar of Deeds and Documents who shall report each year to the Conference.
(g) to appoint a Secretary who is responsible for plans and contingent matters. (h) to nominate to the Conference a Secretary of Visitation Commissions, who will
arrange the Commissions and report on them to the Property Board, the Home Mission Department and the Districts and Circuits concerned. (i) to receive and disburse monies received from allocations from sales of prop-
erty, donations, legacies, grants from the Connexional Assessment Fund, and other sources.
(j) to be responsible for keeping under review the matter of compensation for church property and to report where necessary to the General Committee. (k) to convene at least twice in each connexional year.
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(l) to delegate its functions, or any of them, to an Executive of not less than six members. When business is being transacted at an Executive meeting, the Su- perintendent of any District from which business has come will be invited to attend, and all present will be voting members of that meeting. In the event of a District Superintendent being dissatisfied with the decision being reached by the Executive in respect of any item of business from their District, he/she shall have the right to have the business deferred to the next full meeting of the Board.
Erections, Enlargements, Purchases, etc.
29.06 (a) Before engaging in the business of building, or buying, a Circuit shall make certain that its contemplated plans are in line with the Mission of the Church. (b) Every application for permission to erect, enlarge, improve, purchase, demol-
ish or sell a church, school, hall, manse, lands, or any other buildings used for Connexional purposes, to introduce a heating apparatus or to install, enlarge, rebuild an organ in Trust property (where structural alterations are involved), shall be made with the consent of the Church Council and Circuit Executive. It shall be presented on the prescribed form, signed by the Superintendent and by the Circuit Steward or by one or more of the acting or proposed Trustees, through the District Superintendent to the Property Board.
(c) The sanction of the Property Board shall be obtained for:
(i) all cases of erection, purchase or structural alteration of Trust premises. (ii) all minor cases of improvement of any sort where a debt is likely to occur,
or a loan or grant be required.
(d) Before sanctioning any scheme the Property Board shall be satisfied either that the entire outlay will be met, or that at least two-thirds of the money has been promised or subscribed.
The sanction of the Property Board is required for any additional expenditure which may be ten per cent beyond the amount of the scheme originally sanc- tioned.
The Property Board shall also be satisfied that all land required for the purpose of the scheme has been or will be legally secured to the Connexion for the in- tended object, and duly vested in Trustees.
(e) In applications to build, alter, repair, enlarge Trust premises no stipulation for any particular amount of grant shall be entertained.
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(f) Where the Property Board has purchased a site the ground shall be vested in the Statutory Trustees.
(g) The Property Board may acquire by mutual agreement with the Circuit con- cerned the site of any strategically placed property, the development of which would be of benefit to the Connexion. The property so acquired shall be vested in the Statutory Trustees.
(h) The provisions of sections (a) to (h) above shall not apply to Wesley College, Dublin, Methodist College, Belfast, Edgehill College and Gurteen College. Grants and Loans
29.07 (a) Applications for grants shall be made on the prescribed form when the work has been completed. Grants cannot be given where the rules have not been observed.
(b) Where a grant is authorised, an audited statement of income and expenditure in connection with the scheme shall be presented before the grant is paid. (c) A grant shall not be paid in respect of any building that is not adequately in-
sured with the Methodist Insurance Company, or that is not secured to the Connexion.
29.08 (a) A Loan Fund being in existence within the Property Board for the relief of causes where large bank interest charges would have to be borne, the Prop- erty Board is empowered to make loans, as far as the Fund will permit, subject to the conditions specified.
(b) Applications shall be made on the prescribed form and shall be approved by the District Superintendent before being presented to the Property Board. (c) In each case a loan can only be granted where a satisfactory security for pay-
ment within the prescribed time has been given on the proper form. (d) Loans shall be subject to an agreed rate of interest. The period of the repay-
ment of such loans shall not exceed five years. Sales or Lettings
29.09 (a) Trust property held upon the Statutory Trusts may in whole or in part be mortgaged, granted in Fee Farm, demised let or sold by the Trustees, or the majority of them, with the sanction of the Conference subject to the limita- tions, restrictions and provisions (if any) contained in the Lease, Deed or Grant, under which the Trust property is held.
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(b) Pursuant to the provisions of Section 6 of the Methodist Church in Ireland Acts, 1928, the Conference delegated its powers affecting or relating to the sale or letting or other dealing with Trust property to the Standing Committee; and by resolution of Conference, 1971, further delegated those powers to the Property Board with full powers of the Conference between its sittings in all of the said matters which the Property Board shall deem to be matters of ur- gency.
(c) Sales of Trust property involving questions of policy relating to the mission of the Church shall be initiated by the Conference or the General Committee. (d) Applications for permission to sell, let or mortgage churches, halls, schools,
manses, houses, grounds or any other property held by the Connexion, shall be made through the District Superintendent, on the prescribed form, signed by the Circuit Superintendent and a Circuit Steward, having been approved by the Trustees concerned, the Church Council and Circuit Executive.
(e) All sales of property shall be subject to:
(i) The approval by the Property Board of the terms of sale.
(ii) The prior agreement between the Circuit concerned and the Property Board as to the allocation of the proceeds of sale.
(iii) Certification of the sale by the President and Secretary of the Church. Cer- tificates of Sanction are printed as in Appendix 6.
(f) Sales of property shall be deemed to include compensation or insurance mon- ies received for replacement of Church property.
(g) All sales of Church property sanctioned by the Conference or Property Board shall be printed in the Report of the Property Board and in the Minutes of Con-
ference, together with the directions of the Conference as to the allocation of
the proceeds of sales.
(h) Before sanction is given to the sale of any place of worship bearing an inscrip- tion such as “Methodist Church,” a promise shall be given by the Trustees or vendors to have the inscription removed before parting with the property. Where sales have been effected and old inscriptions allowed to remain, friendly efforts shall be made to have these inscriptions removed or effaced. (i) In all sales of Trust property the Superintendent concerned shall at the time of
such sale inform the Secretary of the Property Board regarding the custody of the records and vessels belonging to the property.
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(j) Final negotiations for sale or letting of any Trust property shall not be under- taken until the Property Board has given its approval.
(k) It is a condition of all grants for the purchase, enlargement or structural altera- tion of property for Connexional purposes, that if and when it is sold or let or transferred to other use, the funds from which the grants were made shall be recouped for their expenditure.
(l) In all lettings of Trust property there shall be an Agreement, properly exe- cuted, safeguarding the Trustees against any liability for rates and taxes in- curred through such lettings, and against claims for accidents during the ten- ancy. Such Form of Agreement must be obtained from the Secretary of the Property Board (See Appendix 7).
Allocation of Proceeds of Sales
29.10 (a) Subject in certain cases to the approval of the Conference the purposes to which proceeds from Trust property are to be applied are laid down in the Statutory Trusts and must be strictly observed. Where the Statutory Trusts have not been adopted powers of sale or letting may vary considerably. Trus- tees contemplating sale or letting are advised to read the Deed carefully be- fore taking any decision.
(b) Circuits which have received permission to effect sales of property and which have completed such sales shall without delay send that part of the proceeds of these sales which is to be allocated by the General Committee, to the Treas- urer of the Statutory Trustees who shall receive these monies in accordance with the relevant provisions of the Methodist Church in Ireland Acts, 1915 and 1928.
The Joseph Rank Trust
29.11 All applications for financial assistance from The Joseph Rank Trust must be made through the Property Board.
All schemes for which assistance will be sought shall seek the guidance of the Property Board before an application is submitted to the Trust.
Should the Property Board be unable to approve an application to the Trust, the Circuit concerned shall be advised accordingly and the decision of the Board with a full report shall be brought to the General Committee for review and final decision.