Florence Baptist Church in court battle
over liens from contractor’s unpaid bills

By Drew Nichter
News Director

Florence—It was less than a month in their new facility that staff members at Florence Baptist Church at Mount Zion realized something was amiss.

“We started trying to get people back in here to take care of issues that any new building has,” Pastor Tim Alexander recalled. “And when we contacted these people, they began to tell us, ‘Hey, I’ve not been paid.’”

It was then Alexander and his ministry team discovered the contractor they had hired to build Florence Baptist’s $12.3 million, 95,000-square-foot facility still owed more than $1 million to subcontractors.

Now, those companies are trying to collect.

Nine subcontractors have filed liens against Florence Baptist, seeking a total of $1.18 million in unpaid bills.

The companies were hired by Charlotte, N.C.-based Kodiak Constructors for the Florence Baptist project.

The church now is in a legal battle to see that the subcontractors get paid—and to avoid foreclosure on a building that opened less than a year and a half ago.

Pastor Alexander insisted the church is in the same boat as the subcontractors.

With the exception of a small amount of money held back as retainage, Alexander said the church has paid Kodiak Constructors every dime of the $12.3 million it owed. Kodiak, he explained, did not pass that money along to the subcontractors.

“We’re as much a victim as the subcontractors,” the pastor claimed. “I understand how they feel.”

Even with the threat of foreclosure, Alexander said he is confident the process will never reach that point. “That is an extreme result of all of this which nobody here, honestly, has given a second thought.”

Florence Baptist began its building project in 2007, moving from its previous location to a 67-acre site along I-71/75 in Northern Kentucky.

The congregation began meeting at the new facility in March 2009. The 95,000 square feet of space includes a worship center that seats 1,400 people and multi-use and classroom space. The church is due to host the Kentucky Baptist Convention annual meeting in 2011.

In the meantime, Florence Baptist’s legal team is working to get the lien situation resolved.

Alexander said he understands the frustration of the subcontractors who filed liens against the church, noting it really is their only recourse to get their money.

“I want to see them paid, but of course, they’ve got to get their money from Kodiak,” he noted. “I stand with them.”

The pastor said the objective at this point is to keep the focus on Kodiak Constructors, which has been “very unresponsive to the process,” Alexander explained.

Despite the distraction of the legal battle, Alexander said the church still is carrying on with its day-to-day ministries. “We’re moving along; our attendance is good, our offerings are good. We’re continuing to have people saved almost every Sunday,” he noted.

“It could certainly have been different, but it hasn’t been—and I’m grateful to the Lord for that.”

Alexander said he had reason to be concerned after a “sensationalized” article was published in the Cincinnati Enquirer detailing the church’s legal woes.

The report focused a great deal on the liens the subcontractors had filed, but failed to mention that the church had indeed paid all of its money to Kodiak Constructors, Alexander pointed out.

“I don’t feel we got a fair shake out of it,” he said.

The church could have taken a public-relations hit, but Alexander said he thinks the community understands the congregation has merely been “victimized” by a big-time contractor.

“In every way we would measure whether it was affecting us or not, we’ve seen no negative things,” the pastor said.

As for the legal battle, Alexander said the church’s attorneys expect the process to drag on for as long as six months to a year.

As for how to ensure the subcontractors get their money, the pastor vowed he would not ask the congregation to pick up the tab.

“All these people have labored and sacrificed and have given their money to make this facility that we’re enjoying now a possibility,” he said. “I don’t feel that they should have to pay this again.”

Western Recorder issue date: July 20, 2010