Charter Grounds
MOUNT VERNON UNITARIAN CHURCH
Charter of the Grounds Committee
1. Purpose
The purpose of the Grounds Committee is to maintain MVUC’s property, other than major buildings, in an attractive and safe manner. The Committee is responsible for landscape maintenance, landscaping plans, and has oversight on changes to the landscaping proposed by others. The “Grounds” include all that land designated on a plat in Fairfax County as belonging to the Mount Vernon Unitarian Church, or 7.9 acres.
2. Type of Committee and Program Area
The Grounds Committee is a standing committee serving a continuing purpose, in the Program Council area of Property.
3. Membership
The Grounds Committee is open to anyone. A requirement of membership is a willingness to participate in a support or hands-on work basis. Meetings are usually ad hoc when work tasks are done. Communications between members include email, telephone, Sunday morning coffee hour, or other church functions. There are no scheduled business meetings. Many others besides the Committee work on the grounds under the Site Keepers program and in annual Workenannys. Persons may also do self initiated grounds projects, with Committee approval, and as such may be considered as friends of the Committee.
4. Chairperson
The chairmanship is recommended by the Property area Representative of
the Program Council, for approval by the BOT,
5. Activities, Duties, and Responsibilities
The Chair negotiates contracts with commercial firms for lawn care, tree pruning, boxwood health maintenance and other services as needed. Such contracts are required to stay within the budgets allocated by the Finance Committee. Grounds Committee members plan and organize work projects and assign jobs to church-member volunteers; they plant flowers and shrubs and supply labor to weeding and cleanup tasks. The Committee is responsible for the water sprinkler system and the health of lawns, shrubs and trees. A New Trees Subcommittee is a subgroup of the Grounds Committee.
6. Authority Delegated or Retained
The BOT has delegated authority to this committee to commit church funds up to a specified limit set annually. In emergencies (such as storm damage), the committee may spend over the limit. There in no income stream through the committee, but successful committee performance, or lack thereof, affects the income produced in church rentals.
7. Annual Assessment
A proposed change has been recommended to the BOT is that a-tenth share of the annual rental income be allocated to the Grounds Committee to help defray expenses and make landscaping improvements. It is further recommended that the BOT periodically rotate the Committee Chairmanship, as the concentration of institutional memory in one person is risky.
Primary author of this charter: Alvin Macomber, Chair
Date approved by the BOT: Scheduled for Review FEB 2009
