July 5, 2000 Bot Minutes

Approved

Minutes

Board of Trustees

Mount Vernon Unitarian Church

July 5, 2000


	Trustees Present	Also Present
1	Scott Shepard, Chairman	Kenn Hurto (ex-officio)
2	Oma Elliot, Vice-Chairman	Linda Olson Peebles (ex-officio)
3	Carrie Alexander	Joan Wamsley, Treasurer
4	Ron Brandt
5	Al Erickson
6	Nancy Fox
7	Ken Grabowski
8	Bob Kuhns
9	Carl Lohmann
10	Robby Tinker

	Trustees Absent	Also Absent
1	Leila Goodman
2	Bill Clontz


Call to Order	The meeting was called to order by the Chairman at 7:05 PM.

Acceptance of June 2000 BOT Minutes	*It was moved, seconded and passed that the June 6, 2000 BOT minutes be accepted as corrected* (with corrections of capitalization of Jay on page 2, change of ‘controversial’ to ‘complex’ regarding parking spaces on page 3 plus period at end of sentence, deletion of extraneous last line of liaison reports, and change of ‘March’ to ‘June’ on minutes title).

Opening Words	Opening words were read by Nancy Fox.

Concerns	1 - Ron Brandt asked if there would be a report on the letter of reprimand. The Music Director has not received it yet. The Chairman indicated he would have something to say about the letter under his report. 2 - Al Erickson inquired about the status of the response to the Holmes’ letter on rental space.

Agenda Adjustments	1 - Kay Sargent would not be attending meeting. Al Erickson would handle LRP Survey Item. 2 - Bonnie Brandt would not be attending meeting. Bob Kuhns would handle Personnel Item.

ACTION (Old Business)

Mid-Year Budget Adjustments	No report provided. Kenn Hurto is working on a 3-year budget plan. The Chairman will give a recommendation at the next meeting.

LRP Survey Summary	Al Erickson reported on the Survey. We heard back from about 80 respondents. Generally they were neutral on the growth issue. Nobody opposed to the growth issue; about as many neutral as there were for growth. Almost everyone was for accomplishing those things that could be done by BOT action and that did not require expenditures or contributions. We got about a 50/50 split on whether we go with Phase I of the building and not that many people wanted to implement Phase II. As far as appointing the groups for guidance of the LRP, quite a few people were opposed to the capital campaign committee. Guidance for implementation of the LRP was generally accepted. There was a lot of reluctance to spend money. Generally favorable responses were received on having an office manager subject to the availability of funds. Kay Sargent is planning on wrapping this all up with some very specific recommendations to the BOT.

2000 Canvass Preparations	Need a person to run canvass. Still do not have. A lengthy discussion occurred regarding a change of the budget cycle and pledging. A special congregational meeting in the Fall to change the fiscal year and adjusting the pledge year accordingly were considered. A motion made by Oma Elliott and seconded by Ron Brandt to schedule such a meeting was approved unanimously.

MVUC Rental Policies	No report.

Insurance for Use of Hollin Hall	Nancy Fox reported that a certificate of insurance had been obtained by the Music Director and it listed MVUC as also insured. She indicated she would follow-up on this issue.

DISCUSSION (NEW BUSINESS)
Personnel Policies and Handbook	Bob Kuhns reported on the last meeting of the Personnel Committee. A draft Personnel Handbook has been developed and will be presented to the BOT in the near future. The Personnel Committee would like to improve the connection and communication with the BOT and would like a member of the BOT to be a member of the Committee. It was suggested that the Personnel Committee be represented at the next BOT meeting to discuss the Handbook and improved BOT relations.
21^{st Century Ensemble Report}	^{Nancy Fox presented a written report regarding the status of activities.}

Letter of Reprimand	^{The Chairman has submitted a draft letter to the church lawyer’s for review and is waiting on a response. Ron Brandt indicated that it is unfortunate that it has taken this long. He indicated that the Music Director could be asked to come to this meeting and discuss the issue with the BOT. The Chairman indicated that he thought it was prudent to take the advice of the lawyer and when the lawyer has approved the letter, the Chairman would share it with the BOT. Linda Peebles indicated that she would like facilitation from the Alban Institute. A portion of a draft reprimand letter has somehow gotten into the Music Director’s hands; it was intended to go to the Chairman. After discussion, a vote was taken on whether to invite the Music Director to talk to the BOT for a few minutes (moved by Ron Brandt, seconded by Carl Lohmann): 4 affirmative, 2 negative, 3 abstentions. Carl Lohmann agreed to contact the Alban Institute to set up a mediation process.}

BREAK

BOT Retreat Assessment	^{Comments regarding the BOT Retreat were made: no real goal setting was conducted; would have liked to see more BOT interaction rather than leader to listener interchanges; would like to see follow-up quarterly meetings to discuss health of church as per retreat survey documents; and thought birth order application was healthy.}
Minister’s Report	^{General Assembly was wonderful. Will be providing report after Sunday services. Going to Romania at the end of the month representing Ministers association at their General Assembly. Gave Joan Wamsley two budget projections to review. Finishing up staff reviews. Working on calendar planning.}

MRE’s Report	^{Linda Peebles referred to her written report.}

Treasurer’s Report	^None.

Chair’s Report	^{No additional info than previously reported in meeting.}

Liaison Reports	^{Oma Elliott indicated that there will be a Program Council meeting this month and will addressing a standardized format bur budget submissions and annual report fundamentals. Al Erickson is waiting on a proposal from Bill Means regarding designating parking spaces for older members of the congregation.}

Sharing Information with Committees and the Congregation	^{Assignments: Mid-year budget adjustments - Chairman and Joan Wamsley Jay/Bea’s letter on rental - Kenn Hurto Canvass Preparation - Canvass Subcommittee (BOT Chair, Ron Brandt, Wendy Burns, Kris Rosenthal) Written report on rental policies - Kenn Hurto Alban Institute - Carl Lohmann Employee Handbook - Ken Grabowski}

Sharing Our Appreciation with others in the Congregation	^{Windows - Pat Jackson Book drop - Terry Patterson and Russ Stump}

Sharing Our Sense of Tonight’s Process	^{Brief comments provided by members.}

Sharing Other Issues	^{Brief comments provided by members.}

Closing Words	^{Ken Grabowski presented closing words.}

Adjournment	^{The meeting was adjourned at 9:21 PM.}


	^{Respectfully submitted,}


	^{Bob Kuhns}