of the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Columbia SC February 11, 2002
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Members Present:
Dave Dickey, Kevin Meredeth
Joe Long, William Meller
Morgan MacLachlan, Christina Pandimos
Members Absent: Andrea Derrick, Amy Grimm, Joan Watterson, Margaret Weck.
Guests Present: Carita Barr, Gertrude Edge, Tootsie Holland, Heather McCalman.
Call to Order: Dave called the meeting to order at 6:40 p.m.
Opening Words: Joe Long read the opening words.
Minutes of Previous Meeting: The minutes of the previous meeting were read and corrections were suggested. Dave made a motion to accept the minutes as amended; the motion was seconded and passed unanimously.
Canvass Committee: Heather stated that the member names were divided up the previous Sunday. She said that invitations to the Canvass Dinner will go out on February 23rd. There will be a leadership reception that will include members of the Board and contributors of large amounts at the house of Don and Pat Mohr. Heather has in mind the goal of having as many members of leadership as possible in the sustaining category. Members will have the opportunity to post their names on a board in the social hall under the contribution category that applies to them.
Treasurer’s Report: Joe explained that we are currently under budget on income and expenses. The question was raised as to why we are lower than the budget on salaries. It was suggested that it could have something to do with the timing of checks, but Joe will check on this. There was also a question about when the accounting software will be changed. Joe said that Jill would like to change the software at the end of the fiscal year. Peter will set up a table of accounts. Kevin mentioned that he has a client who does church-specific software. Joe said that he would be willing to take a look at the literature regarding the software and the cost.
Old Business: Dave reported that the foundation has been fixed thanks to Peter Kandis’ efforts. The cost of the repair came to $121. Joe made a motion to formally thank Peter from the Board. The motion was seconded and passed unanimously. Dave will draft a letter and Kevin will put something together for the Unigram. Kevin stated that he got two estimates for repair of the furnace -- $5000 and $3975. It was suggested that the canvass not be disrupted for this purpose. Kevin mentioned that Susan offered Coffee House funds. Kevin will ask Susan how much money is available. Kevin stated that he would have a quote for the roof by the next Board meeting.
New Business: Dave stated that Margaret is resigning from the Board for personal and health reasons. Dave will send out a formal thank you to her from the Board for her time and effort. Dave also brought up the issue of Laura’s resignation and the need to convene a search committee. He said that Mark Tompkins suggested that we move forward with the goal of having a new person by May. We should have a short list ready for Patrick when he returns from his sabbatical. It was suggested that we not accept applications until April. Laura provided a job description, but it was suggested that the Board might need to re-work it due to the fact that it was created before the position of bookkeeper existed. The Board will review the job description at the next Board meeting. Tootsie suggested that the Board should go back to Laura and let her review the Administrator’s job description. Dave stated that Mark will move forward on his work on the employee handbook. He will need assistance with the review process. Dave will email names of willing reviewers to Mark (Tootsie Holland, Mary Herriot, and Pat Mohr). Dave said he would like to have the employee handbook complete by the time Patrick gets back. He suggested that at the April Board meeting Mark be present to address the handbook and issues such as evaluation, grievance procedures, etc. Dave also mentioned that a job evaluation tool needs to be developed.
Finance Committee Issue: Joe explained that a person approached him with a gift for the Fellowship – it was a direct ongoing contribution for a specific purpose. This person is a friend of the Fellowship and stipulated that the funds be used only for music in the service. Morgan expressed the concern that contributions like these will result in an unbalanced budget. Bill suggested that we take the donation as a gift. As the funds would not be supporting any controversial budgetary items, the Board came to the consensus that it would fine to accept the contribution, and to address further such contributions on an ad hoc basis.
Member Concerns: Dave brought up concerns from members of the congregation.
- Communication – Dave suggested that we display information better. It was suggested that there be a section to hang information for each committee on the wall by the door to the RE hallway in the social hall. Two cork strips could be attached to wall to hang posters and other information. Dave will check into the cost of the strips and feasibility of hanging them. It was suggested that there be Board Member profiles in the Unigram. Dave said he would do the first. To further promote communication, minutes from the Board meeting will be posted the first Sunday after the Board meeting and the Board will publish the Agenda for upcoming Board meetings in the Unigram.
- Audit – An audit of the Fellowship has not been done. Dave will talk to Joe Usatine about who did the last audit. An audit is not required in the by-laws, but it would be wise to do an audit as good stewards of the Fellowship’s money. Morgan brought up the issue of the potential cost of an audit. It was suggested that we look for a pro-bono audit involving someone not connected with the organization. Two suggestions were made – a UU organization in Florida and Audrey Muck’s father-in-law.
Staff Reports: The Administrator and Director of RE Education reports were read. Morgan made a motion to accept the reports; the motion was seconded and passed unanimously. It was suggested that these reports be posted each month.
Office issue: The office that was used for the Youth Director is currently being used as a storage room. Morgan suggested that since it is not being used for a Youth Director that it be used for another purpose. Dave mentioned that he would like to see a map of how the current space is allocated for RE. Morgan suggested that part of the office was designed as a display space. Dave suggested that the matter be discussed with Susan.
Adjournment: The meeting was adjourned at 7:45 p.m.
Christina Pandimos
Secretary, UUFC Board of Trustees
Motions passed:
- The minutes from the previous meeting were accepted as amended.
- The Board will formally thank Peter Kandis for single-handedly fixing the crack in the foundation of the RE wing.
- The Administrator and Director of Religious Education reports were accepted.
Action Items:
- Joe will check on salaries with regard to the budget.
- Dave will draft a thank you letter to Peter Kandis and Kevin will post a thank you in the Unigram.
- Kevin will ask Susan how much Coffee House money is available for repair of the furnace.
- Kevin will get a quote for the cost of repair of the library roof.
- Dave will send a thank you to Margaret for her time on the Board.
- Dave will email the names of members willing to review the Employee Handbook to Mark.
- Dave will check on cork strips to post information on the wall.
- Dave will prepare a Board member profile for the Unigram
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