Members Present: Regina Moody, Rusty Wenerick, Sandy Chubon, Becky Dickey, Rob Harper,

Mary McGriff, Dwight Pregler, Don Thacker, Sharyn Walters, Mary Heriot, ex officio,

Patrick Price, ex officio.

Members Absent: Joe Kyle, Jo Conner.

Guests: Tootsie Holland, Carita Barr, Nancy Boozer, Janet Swigler, Mike Paget.

Summary

Motions Passed

We will hire Isabel Oake for 5 hours/week at $10/hour out of youth coordinator funds to handle special events for the youth through the end of the year.
The coffee house committee is given full authority to make arrangements and book artists for next spring.
We will revisit the budget at the January meeting to determine whether we need to make salary cuts.

Decisions Made

Alice Leeper will serve on the Ministerial Relations Committee.
We will continue funding the youth coordinator position from luncheon funds.

Action Items

Patrick will contact SCE&G to see if they will install a light for the playground.
Rusty will provide a paper treasurer's report for board members each month.
Dwight will serve on an ad hoc committee to develop the Financial Policies and Procedures Manual.
The RE Committee will advertise for a Youth Coordinator.
Regina will contact Joe Schwarz about getting an estimate for repairs to the library roof.
Sandy will prepare a statement for the Unigram about our decision not to cut salaries at this time.

Proceedings

CALL TO ORDER

The meeting was called to order at 6:15 pm by Regina Moody. Rusty lit an improvised
chalice.

OPENING WORDS
Sandy read the opening words.

MINUTES
There was one addition to the minutes of the August 13, 2003 minutes. The following
statements were added to the Treasurer's report: :We have a brokerage account with the bank.
It does not cost us anything and we will keep it open because we need it when people give us
gifts of stock. The minutes were approved as amended.

The minutes of the August 23, 2003 called meeting were approved as circulated.

REPORTS

Minister -- In addition to his written report, Patrick announced that Mark Cotterill of Gimbrel,
Cotterill & Associates has offered to donate a landscaping design for the front corner of our
property. Mark has attended services at the UUFC. He believes there is much we could do to
enhance the appearance of our corner property. Implementing the design would be our
responsibility. Patrick is trying to arrange a meeting of Mark with Dick Moons and Kevin
Meredith.

Patrick has contacted the engineering department of SCE&G to see if we can get a light for
the playground area, similar to the other light we had installed. He is awaiting a return phone
call.

Sharyn questioned Patrick's report about the oldest deed for our property. Patrick said the
land was originally donated to the Good Shephard Lutheran Church and the donor stipulated
that the property must be used for a house of worship, otherwise it would revert back to his
hiers. If we had any plans to sell the property we would need legal advice about that issue.

Administrative Coordinator -- Regina announced that Isabel has accepted another parttime job
and will be working 8 am -- 12 noon at it. She can get to the UUFC by 12:30 pm and will be
working later in the afternoon here.
Isabel has requested that the board increase the administrative coordinator's hours. She is
only able to tread water with the workload in the hours she is currently working. There are
more tasks she could handle if she had more work hours.

Director of Religious Education -- Sharyn reported that they have a balance of $1378.22 in
their account. They owe $375 to the heifer project. They paid $60 to Laura Rich for
drumming; $54 for nursery personnel; $8 for a SLED check; and $4.50 service charge on their
account.

Rusty is now paying the nursery personnel; those costs are a separate line item under the RE
budget.

Sharyn reported that RE had difficulty getting money from the general fund for programs or
supplies last year. They did not spend their budgeted allotment. She asked whether those
funds carry over into the new year. If there is a policy to address this question, board
members are not aware of it.

A question was raised about how much families pay to participate in RE. For families who do
not pledge to the fellowship, the charge is $25 for the first child, $10 for the second child, and
$5 for each additional child up to a maximum of $45. For families who do pledge, the charge
is $20 for the first child, $8 for the second, and $5 for additional children up to a maximum of
$35. Patrick reported that a general principle in RE is that if you do not charge a fee,
attendance is lower; those who pay attend more regularly.

Treasurer -- Rusty reported that some data he gave us last month was erroneous. Due to a
glitch in Shephard's Staff, the data was from the previous year. Rusty reported that our
pledge income to date for this fiscal year is $10,023.08. At this point in the year, we should
have received about $15,000. Mary Heriot pointed out that some people paid their entire
pledge at the beginning of the fiscal year. Our expenses to date are $15,448.70. If the
expenses were spread evenly over the year, for this time period they would be about $18,000.

Sandy requested that Rusty present a written (paper) treasurer's report for board members
each month.

Rusty presented his ideas for an extensive Canvass program extending over several weeks or
longer including: a ministry fair, a recovenanting process, a budgeting event, an analysis of
giving, a kick-off event, group canvassing at the church, a phone bank follow-up, and a
celebration. He suggested a theme: Living in the Moment or Planning for the Future? The
board agreed that the Canvass Committee should be active all year; they should contact new
members to encourage them to pledge.

Financial Policies & Procedures Manual -- Rusty has begun to work on this document and he
would like volunteers and guidance from the board about how the manual should be
developed. It was agreed that an ad hoc group will be formed to work on the manual. Dwight
volunteered to represent the board. A member of the finance committee will be asked to
serve. Mary Heriot said the finance committee has a Procedure Manual. It was suggested
that the finance procedures be included in the Financial Policies & Procedure Manual.

Sharyn and Becky requested a form or procedure for reporting expenses incurred in fund
raising to assure that members who spend their own money for a fundraiser are reimbursed.

Rusty asked board members who have any suggestions about the manual to e-mail him with
their ideas.

OLD BUSINESS

MRC Report on Minister's Annual Review -- Regina announced that this report has been
postponed and will not be ready until the October meeting. Board members expressed
profound dissatisfaction at this additional delay. It was suggested that a board member be
appointed to work with the MRC on this task to move it on to completion. The majority
opinion was that it is too late in the process to add another person.

Approval of New Member of MRC -- Patrick reported he had selected Andrea Derrick and
Alice Leeper as candidates to serve and they had both consented to do so. Alice Leeper was
elected.

Youth Coordinator -- Emily Aleshire notified the RE Committee that she is no longer
interested in the Youth Coordinator position. Susan Corbett has agreed to take care of
Sunday programming until another Youth Coordinator can be hired. Isabel is willing to
take over special events for the youth through the end of December. Becky moved that we
hire Isabel for 5 hours/week at $10/hour out of youth coordinator funds to handle special
events for the youth through the end of December. Dwight seconded. The motion was
approved. The CE Committee will advertise for a youth coordinator.

Audit -- Don Thacker invited Nancy Boozer, CPA, to describe the procedures included in a
church audit. Nancy said an audit is certification by a CPA that the books are materially
correct. She would conduct tests of transactions (a sample of checks written); she would
determine whether correct procedures are being followed in handling money. She would
confirm bank records to ascertain whether our records are consistent with the bank's. She
would confirm contributions, be sure payroll reports agree with the books, review minutes of
meetings to see whether actions were carried out, etc. She would check our internal control
procedures -- how money is counted and recorded, how payments are authorized, etc. She
would also list all our assets: property, building, sound systems, computer equipment, musical
instruments, etc. Those assets are listed by their purchase price and then are depreciated over
time. We asked about the cost of an audit of this scope. She said her fee is $50/hour and she
would give a rough estimate of about $2,000 for an organization like ours.

Copier Issues -- Don Thacker reported that the contract for the copier and duplicator cannot be
canceled by us for any reason. Sandy pointed out that we must pay the lease :even if the
equipment fails or is damaged and it is not your fault. We are also responsible for all service
on the equipment. Rusty asked about the length of the contract and the cost. It is $155/month
for 60 months, a total of $9,300. Regina asked that a copy of the contract be placed with the
minutes of this meeting in our files.

Patrick vigorously expressed anger about the board's excessive attention to minor details and
expenses while we ignore important issues. He accused board members of violating his
confidentiality. He expressed anger about numerous other issues in the fellowship.

Building Repairs
Estimates:
W. B. Guimarin has given us an estimate of $3,988 to replace the furnace for
the social hall.

Roof -- Regina will contact Joe Schwarz and ask if he will either give us an
estimate on the library roof or recommend someone to do so.

Fund Raising has begun to match the donation which has been offered for building
repairs. Mary Heriot reported that $550 has been raised to date. We discussed
publicizing the fund raising effort more widely.

Coffee House -- Mike Paget presented a handout in which he addressed the questions we
raised last month about the coffee house project. Our experience has been that about
30% of artists come without a contract. We have never had any problems with contracts.
Mike listed the components usually included in a contract.

Mike reported on his research of the UUA documents and IRS Publication 598. Both sets
of documents indicate that the UUFC coffee house would not be required to pay taxes on any
income.

Mike reported that there are artists who want to come and perform at the coffee house
between January and April. There are more artists than we have available dates, but we
need to book them soon.

The question was raised of who would be authorized to sign contracts with artists. Mike
reminded us that, in the document we approved at the August board meeting, the Chairperson
of the Ad Hoc Coffeehouse Committee and the Talent Scout have that responsibility.

Sharyn moved that the coffee house committee be given full authority to make arrangements
and book artists for next spring. Mary McGriff seconded. The motion passed.

Mike will come to the board next month to tell us which artists have been booked. He will
meet with the finance committee to discuss how the money will be handled.

Committee on Congregational Leadership, aka Mission Possible -- Janet Swigler and Judy
Turnipseed are chairing this initiative and they have chosen Mission Possible as the name for
their project. The first step will be to answer the question: What is the mission of the
fellowship? They plan table talks with finger foods after the service on October 26. Each
table will be asked to reach consensus in their group. There will be additional meetings to
combine the statements and edit the wording. Judy is talking to past presidents and collecting
previous mission statements. They hope to have a congregational meeting to approve the
mission statement, probably on December 7.

Personnel Policy Manual -- Regina has been revising and updating this manual for staff other
than the minister. She used information from the UUA and from other congregations. Mary
Etta McCarthy reviewed it from the perspective of a business owner/employer. Patrick is
giving input. Eleanor Duffy Cleary will review it from a legal standpoint. Then it will come
to the board for approval. Any board member who wishes to review the manual now is welcome to do so. Regina will provide it to interested board members.

NIKE Home Schoolers -- Susan Corbett sent a note of appreciation to Regina, thanking us for
prompt action on their request to use our facility. They have found space at another church and will not be using the UUFC.

NEW BUSINESS

Budget Update & Modifications -- We discussed the treasurer's report. It was noted that our
budget includes $91,700 in pledges, but there were additional pledges made later totalling
$96,993. At this point in time, we seem to be functioning within the budget. Salary cuts
do not seem to be indicated at this time. Sandy moved that we revisit the budget at the
January meeting to determine whether we need to make salary cuts. Don seconded. The
motion passed. Sandy will prepare a statement for the Unigram to announce our decision.

We also agreed to continue funding the youth coordinator position from luncheon funds.

Singles Group -- Rusty is working to establish a singles group as a part of adult programming.
He is working on a flyer and would welcome assistance or input from other board members.

Nursery Staffing -- Alice Leeper is trying to recruit more members for the Nursery
Committee. That needs to be announced in the Unigram. Alice plans to hire Heather Leeper
and another woman she knows to staff the nursery on Sunday mornings. If they cannot come
in, it will be their responsibility to have someone come in to cover for them. Anyone who
works in the nursery has to have a SLED check. It was suggested that we identify a list of
people qualified and willing to staff the nursery to be used as backup personnel.

We are in the process of making the nursery staff employees instead of independent
contractors. They will receive pay checks on a regular schedule like the other employees,
eliminating the need for someone to write checks every Sunday morning.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Patrick is conducting an all day session on evangelism October 4 at the UUFC. UUFC
members may attend free-of-charge. He needs people to manage a lunch for the attendees.

There is an Adult Programming Committee in the bylaws. Patrick is recruiting people to get
that committee started in the next couple months. Rob expressed an interest in working on
that.

Becky announced that there is an international bazaar scheduled for November 1 at the old
Kroger/Target shopping center on Decker Boulevard. She thinks we could have a booth and
make some money and distribute literature about UUFC.

Regina asked board members to volunteer to do the worship service greeting and
announcements. Rusty will provide a reading for the next meeting, Sharyn will bring a
chalice, and Rob will bring snacks.

ADJOURNMENT

The meeting adjourned at 10:10 pm.

Minutes recorded by

Sandy Chubon