of the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Columbia SC January 14, 2002
Summary of Minutes
Motions passed:Action Items:
- The minutes from the previous meeting were accepted as amended.
- The UUFC will report 161 members to the UUA.
- Those that elected to be friends during recommitment will be referred to the Membership Committee.
- Staff reports were accepted.
- The Board reaffirmed the building rental policy for members.
- The UUFC will participate in the Bilo Boosters Program.
- Peter was authorized to repair the crack in the RE foundation.
- Morgan and Don will review the old visioning materials and will report back to the Board.
- A.G. will follow up on the Feedback form.
- Dave will start the application process for the Bilo Boosters Program.
- Peter will begin work on the crack in the RE hall.
- Kevin will get estimates for the furnaces and the roof of the library.
Members Present:
Andrea Derrick
Dave Dickey , Kevin Meredeth
A.G. , William Meller
Joe Long, Christina Pandimos
Morgan MacLachlan, Joan Watterson
Members Absent: Margaret Weck.
Guests Present: Carita Barr, Don Cooper, Gertrude Edge, Tootsie Holland, Laura Ingram, Peter Kandis, Manuela
Kress-Shull, Dwight Pregler, Don Mohr, Sarah Williams, Judy Gelinas
Call to Order: Kevin called the meeting to order at 6:45 p.m.
Building Issues: Laura Ingram discussed building safety and maintenance issues, such as locking doors, turning
off lights, air conditioning/heating, and generally ensuring that the building is safe and secure when the last person
leaves. She asked members to ensure doors are locked when leaving the building, that the heat/air conditioning is turned off in the sanctuary and RE wing, that lights are turned off throughout the building, that coffee urns and stove are turned off, and that candles and the chalice are extinguished
Opening Words: Bill Meller read the opening words.
Minutes of Previous Meeting: The minutes of the previous meeting were read and corrections were suggested. Joe made a motion to accept the minutes as amended; the motion was seconded and passed unanimously.
Canvass Committee: Heather discussed issues related to the canvass. She asked Board members to act as captains
to keep in contact with canvassers. Each canvasser would meet with 4-5 people. At the time, Heather had recruited 19 people to act as canvassers. With 176 members, Heather envisioned having 44 canvassers. She outlined the following Canvass dates and asked that there be no pledges taken during the Kickoff and Dinner: On January 26th Andy and Alice Reese will conduct Canvass training, on February 9th there will be a second training to complete planning, on February 17th there will be a Kickoff Service and on February 23rd will be the Kickoff Dinner. Every Sunday through March 24th there will be a Canvass testimonial during the service.
Fresh Look Committee: Peter Kandis distributed and discussed the Fresh Look Committee Report. He stated that the Fresh Look Committee will be getting the survey out soon and that results will be out within three weeks of getting the results. Morgan asked about what action should be taken regarding those that had shifted from members to friends. He asked if the Membership Committee needs to look at the list before the Board moves on it. Don stated that it is up to the Board to go ahead and act on it. There was some discussion of membership and how it affects dues and the number of delegates that should be sent to GA. Dave read a paragraph from the by-laws regarding membership. Morgan made the motion to 1) thank the Fresh Look Committee for compiling the information and 2) to remove from the membership list those that wished to be removed from the list per the report. Don mentioned that he heard that there were members that felt they were forced out because they were not able to make contributions. Carita suggested that when the announcement is made regarding who was dropped from membership that someone call or write to those who were dropped, stating that we are sorry that they left. There was some discussion about who should write the letter – whether it should be the membership committee or a joint letter from the Board and Membership Committee. Joe was concerned about the implication that we have driven people out. Sarah suggested that a sensitive group go to the 60+ members who moved to change their status or did not respond. Dave stated that it has to be clear to everyone that a financial contribution is not a definition of membership – a contribution of note can be a contribution of time. Morgan reiterated that a revised count needs to go the UUA, and stated that he thought it was reasonable to give a number to the UUA based on the Fresh Look Committee Report. Joe made a motion to use the report to generate a number to turn into the UUA. Kevin calculated 161 members. Don stated that as one who didn’t respond that he has been bothered by this thing (recommitment). He felt he committed when first signed the book as a member. He expressed concern that there are studies that show that the people who report themselves to be UU are 2-4 times more numerous than actual members and that churches are failing because they are not reaching out to these people. He stated that this issue of talking to people who did not respond be taken up with the Membership Committee -- this can also be accomplished during this year’s face-to-face canvass. Kevin stated that he felt that those switching from members to friends and those not responding should be treated differently. Joan seconded Joe’s motion to report 161 members to the UUA (133 members and 28 non-responding members). The motion was passed unanimously. Morgan made a motion to refer the others on page 2 to the membership committee. The motion was seconded and passed unanimously.
Visioning: Don Mohr discussed the visioning process that began about four years ago. People were brought together to see what their visions were – about 35-40% of members responded. The responses were divided into long and short-range categories and given to committees. Since that time, several efforts regarding visioning have been going on including a Board Retreat and Sej Harmon’s work a vision statement. Before Patrick’s sabbatical, he stated that he would like to see a congregational vision statement when he comes back. Don stated that the Fresh Look Committee Report may have implications for the long-range future of the congregation. Don asked for guidance on how to proceed. He felt that the Long Range vision process needs a committee of 4-5 people other than himself to do the work. There was some discussion of what to do with the old information and whether there was even a need to ask the congregation again for their ideas. Given that there are many new members, Don felt it was important to let the new people respond. Morgan suggested that we go over what we have, and then go from there. He asked Don how he would like to recruit new members. Morgan suggested a brief pulpit editorial to be read by Don. After some discussion, Morgan volunteered to sit down with Don to review the materials. They will review the materials and get back to the Board.
Feedback form: is working on the form, but is holding off until she speaks with some other churches about what types of forms they use.
Nominating Committee: Viron Jones was contacted and said no when asked to be on the Board. Yvonne Chick seemed very interested, but has to check with her sister about childcare.
Staff Reports: The Administrator’s report was read. Laura discussed issues regarding the charge for renting fellowship space to members. The current policy the Finance Committee wants to maintain is that for members, there is no charge for rental for congregational events, but for private events there is a charge. Joe made the motion to reaffirm the current policy. Exceptions would be made on a case-by-case basis. The motion was seconded and passed unanimously.There was a motion to accept the Administrator’s Report. The motion was seconded and passed unanimously.
Co-Council Reports: The Council did not meet due to the holidays.
Staff Bonuses: The issue of amounts for staff bonuses will be discussed over email.
Bilo Boosters Program: Dave discussed an idea brought to his attention by Manuela involving the Bilo Boosters Program. After enrolling in the program, members would get "credit" on an account for the UUFC whenever they shop at Bilo. There would be no additional cost or effort involved. After some discussion, Kevin made a motion for the UUFC to participate in the program; it was seconded and passedunanimously. Dave will start the application process.
Building Rental Issues: Sarah brought to the board two building rental issues. One involved her daughter’s birthday party. She stated that she was given conflicting information – one member of the fellowship staff told her that she did not have to pay and another member of the staff said she did have to pay for the rental of the space. Given the miscommunication, the Board allowed free rental on this occasion with the understanding that there would be a charge for future events of this nature. Sarah also asked about whether she would be charged for rental of space for a Women’s event on February 15th. After some discussion, Christina agreed to incorporate the event into the Women’s Spirituality Group meeting schedule, as the event is in keeping with the spirit of the group. There will therefore be no rental charge for this event.
Treasurer’s Report: Per Joe, UUFC finances are in reasonably good shape – we took in more than the budget for December.
Building Concerns: There is a crack in the RE foundation. The estimate for a permanent jack is $1700. Peter and Dave looked at the crack over the weekend. Peter said we could put a jack in ourselves and it could be done for about $200. Dwight said that a 6-8 foot hole would be needed. A.G.made a motion to authorize Peter to solve the problem. The motion was seconded and passed unanimously . The board will allow repairs up to $300 – if the amount increases, Peter must come back to the Board to have additional expenditures approved.
The furnace is also in need of repair. It was not operational when the other unit was put in recently. Kevin stated that we will get a quote by tomorrow on repairing it – it will probably cost around $5000. In addition, Kevin will get a second estimate.
The roof in the library also needs to be repaired. Dave asked whether we need to get an estimate on the roof. Kevin will check into this.
Adjournment: The meeting was adjourned at 8:45 p.m.
Christina Pandimos
Secretary, UUFC Board of Trustees
In the event of discrepancies the paper copy of the minutes as contained the the board minutes binder shall be the official version. This binder is maintained by the administrator in the congregation office.
Your comments/corrections are welcome. Email to Donald Griggs at dgriggs@chaliceweb.org