Can you beat the rent at the Temple?

[rhitland]

I am researching the cost of a lodge owning it's own building, my Lodge is in the Ft Worth Masonic Temple and rent is pretty cheap but taxes and current market conditions leave a "?" for it's future and my Lodge is curious as to the exspenses of owning it's own building. We have to pay $25 a member to be in the Temple, which amounts to a little over $5000 for us at 148 about $420 a month and that is all bills paid, grass mowed, trash carried out, pest, maintenance, the whole nine yards is taken care for us by the Temple Com and it's trust fund, we just basicaly show up and get to work. We are in no hurry to leave (our lodge was the first there and will probably be the last to leave) just wanted to crunch the numbers for a what if sceniro. So please post any information you can, Iw ould greatly appreciate.

Does your Lodge own it's own building if so do you share exspenses with any other Masonic body?
How much are dues?
How much $$$ to keep your doors open per year? i.e. rent, electricty, taxes etc..
WHat are the benefits of having your own Lodge building?

 

[Blake Bowden]

Gonzales:
Dues: $35
The OES contributes I wanna say, $100ish?
Utilities are around $150
I do not know the taxes. We own the 3 story building so the lodge gets revenue from the first two floors. The first is business, the 2nd is residential.

For us, it would be foolish to move. Great question Brother Rhit!

 

[nick1368]

Great question...I will find out what our annual bills is. I can tell you dues are $108/yr and OEC contributes $95/month.

 

[JTM]

The best way to do it is to build a museum and rent a room from them.

The museum can incorporate as a 501(c)3 organization and the lodge funnel all the money through it to be tax free.

The IRS is a source of income for Sul Ross #1300.

 

[TCShelton]

The best way to do it is to build a museum and rent a room from them.

We've got a museum in the Temple.

 

[JTM]

Well, I'm saying if they move out of the building.

 

[rhitland]

The majority of the building is still used for Masonic stuff and not musuem and so they make us pay the taxes out the nose, we pay about 100k a year in taxes. We funnel a few things through the Temple Libary and museum to have 100% write for donations(i.e. museum stuff) but the tax man would not let us get away with the whole building being a museum.