PIEDMONT UNITARIAN UNIVERSALIST CHURCH BOARD OF TRUSTEES BOARD MEETING REPORT THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 2010

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1 PIEDMONT UNITARIAN UNIVERSALIST CHURCH BOARD OF TRUSTEES BOARD MEETING REPORT THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 2010 The Board of Trustees met on Thursday, September 16, 2010 in the meeting house. Tom Cutilletta, president, presided. The following voting members were present: Tom, Lou Gardiner- Parks, Krissa Palmer, Alan Davis, Melissa Dancy, Helen Patil and Robin Mara. Also present were: Rev. Robin Tanner, Mimi Davis, Lisa Dickinson, Erik Dutton, Liz Grimes and Wally Kleuker. August Board Minutes: Approved Motion to approve the August board report as written Lou; 2 nd Helen. All Request to Approve Susan Balk as RE Co-Chair: Approved The Religious Education Council requested the Board approve Susan Balk as RE Co-Chair. Motion to confirm Susan Balk as Co-Chair of the RE Council Krissa; 2 nd Helen. All Acceptance of Revised July Financial Report: Approved Alan presented a revised financial statement for July 2010, in which corrected previous discrepancies between the June and July statements and left a small remaining difference (about $130). The amended statement now indicates a negative cash flow for July. Total operating funds for the amended July report were: $24,205. Motion to accept the Treasurer s report for July, as revised Lou; 2 nd Krissa. All Second Mortage Update Closing scheduled for Sept. 17 Tom said the closing is set for tomorrow (Sept. 17) at 2:00 at the lawyer s office where he will sign the loan documents (the closing was delayed and took place Sept. 23). Member loans for the Melton property will be repaid by check as soon as the bank loan funds are received; Tom expects member payments to be made in advance of their October 1 due date. He said church property was appraised at about $600,000 for buildings and land, down from the previous $660,000 appraisal, and added that PUUC has paid $728,000 for church property and buildings. Financial Report Alan ed the August financial report and discussed these highlights: Operating Fund: $27,521. Income: $15,337. Expenses: $12,311. Cash flow: $3,026. Cash flow YTD: [$457.] As expected, a $7,000 designated donation was received for the music director fund, and previous Building & Grounds expenses for July were moved to the Building & Capital fund account. Rev. Tanner asked if new members were making significant pledges. Alan said he will review new pledges from the last six weeks and include them in future estimates. He will add new pledges for the month into future monthly financial reports. Helen said that as a previous treasurer

2 PUUC September 2010 Board Report 2 she used to report the number of pledges at the beginning of the year, the number of pledges that were coming in, and the number of those who had not yet made payments. We should also track whether new members are fulfilling pledges. Aikikai Rental Tom said PUUC received a request from the Charlotte Aikikai non-profit martial arts school to rent space in the sanctuary or classrooms 2 nights/week. A yearly contract would bring in $6000 to the church. Rev. Tanner recommended Monday and Thursday nights to best accommodate the church calendar. Lisa will discuss liability issues with PUUC s insurance agent as well as details regarding an umbrella policy which Liz said was recommended by the agent during discussions related to Safe Congregations policy development; the umbrella policy is especially important since we rent the building and have a preschool onsite. Lisa will also communicate with Charlotte Aikikai to determine their insurance coverage and ask them to consider a six-month lease as a trial period. She will also update Joan Thieda on the board discussion. Lisa may do a site visit of Aikiai s present facility. If they do rent they must agree that the piano is off limits; the sound system will be stored in the closet. The Board decided to defer decision on this rental until October. New Minister s Discretionary Fund Policy Approved Rev. Tanner reviewed changes made to the policy she first introduced at the September Board meeting. Changes included restricting funds to members only and requiring that payment be made to a third party if the amount exceeds $50. Motion to approve the new Minister s Discretionary Fund policy Helen; 2 nd Alan. All Rev. Tanner will ask Deb Develka about posting policies on the PUUC website, and will date this new policy to this Board meeting when it was adopted. Board members will check policies currently posted at the Yahoo site to be aware of what is there and be sure everything posted is current and Minister s Report Rev. Tanner discussed highlights from her report ed to Board members: 15 people attended the most recent new member orientation, with 12 now signed up as new members; 11 PUUC volunteers visited about 100 people in the PUUC neighborhood to introduce them to PUUC and invite them to our Revival-themed Ingathering Service (Fox News covered the event but did not air it); she has been working closely with Membership chair Bernadine Cutilletta and they anticipate another 5 new members joining Sunday current adult membership is 139 members. Rev. Tanner plans to meet with Canvass Co-Chairs soon to jumpstart that committee. Krissa said Chair Michael Johnstone travels a great deal and will miss the first Business Council meeting and maybe others; she urged that a recognizable member who is able to attend Business Council meetings and Sunday services is needed to co-chair this committee; other Board members concurred and agreed that the Board agreed that the Board should help Mike Johnstone find a canvass co-chair. Amendment to DRE Contract Language The Board recommended revising contract language to state: the DRE is supervised by the minister; the DRE s corrected annual salary of $9610; and the DRE should be present 36 Sundays per year to provide greater flexibility and bring the contract in line with professional standards for

3 PUUC September 2010 Board Report 3 DREs. Start and end dates will be added to employee contracts which will be reviewed annually. The updated DRE contract will be backdated to 7/1/10. Minister s Publicity Update Robin Mara reported the Communications Committee is working on updating the media list and Melissa Dancy is writing a press release to announce our new minister s arrival. Rev. Tanner will make follow-up phone calls to key media contacts after press releases are mailed. RSC Needs -- Request for 20 Additional Hymnals: Approved After consideration of the Board s suggestion to look at alternatives such as projecting hymns on a screen during services, the Religious Services Council again asked the Board to purchase hymnals at $36 each including shipping; Erik said Sam Treadaway used projection at a recent service and it was not well-received. The Board agreed on a campaign to have members sponsor hymnals with the treasurer starting a discretionary fund for this which will begin with a negative balance, and the RSC accepting responsibility for raising and reimbursing the funds. Motion to approve the Board buying 20 hymnals with the RSC raising funds to reimburse the purchase Helen; 2 nd Alan. All Krissa reported she is coordinating the ushers schedule; ushers will take attendance and include this information on the ushers deposit report; Deb Develka will share attendance with Rev. Tanner each week. Additional chairs are still needed for Sunday services. The RSC/Chalice Guild should coordinate with Deb to get pricing on suitable new chairs. Rev. Tanner said seating has been revised to allow better access to exits and comply with fire codes; more information is needed about fire code regulations regarding building capacity. Request for Kitchen/Coffee Cart Other Alternatives Recommended The Fellowship Committee requested the Board authorize purchase of a $375 kitchen cart for use during coffee hour since the large table that was previously used has been moved away from the coffee area. The Board recommended first using a folding table to assure the proposed system will work in the available space and also recommends Fellowship check for less expensive carts on CraigsList or other sources. PP Preschool Storage Shed Placement Approved The Preschool requested approval for its own purchase of a Suncast Horizontal Utility Shed and placement of it near the playground. Motion to approve Piedmont Progressive Preschool s placement of the specified storage shed near the playground where it will not be seen from Sanctuary seats during Sunday services Helen; 2 nd Alan. All Expansion of Handicapped Parking Spaces Approved Asking for Bids on Concrete Spaces Tom reported we now have more disabled members and guests so there is an increased need for safe Handicapped parking. These parking spaces should include concrete pads since gravel presents accessibility problems for many. Motion to authorize the Building & Grounds Committee to investigate adding more Handicapped parking spaces and getting competitive bids on concrete construction Robin M.; 2 nd Krissa. All Start-Up Weekend Outcomes

4 PUUC September 2010 Board Report 4 Rev. Tanner shared concern that anticipated Congregational and Board Covenants were not developed during Start-Up Weekend. Discussion included the possibility of the Board activating a Long Range Planning or Strategic Planning committee to revisit the PUUC covenant and to make plans for needed leadership development within the congregation. Krissa will write a report about Start-Up Weekend for the newsletter. Board Visibility Initiative Nametags for Board members Tom said colored nametags are ready for Board members to wear at services and other church events and asked Board members to be proactive in greeting new members. Discussion included having a bulletin board with Board member and Council Chair photos and also the need to guard against any semblance of elitism regarding church leadership. DRE Report RE Special Collection Sept. 26 (No second collection for SJ) Liz discussed highlights from the DRE report ed to Board members: A variety of RE programs and social justice activities for children and families (including raising $148 for A Child s Place with the RE children s crafts sale); a paid child care provider is scheduled for choir practice and Wally Kleuker will coordinate this with a choir member; new playground rules are posted on the door to the playground and will be included in the newsletter; a new Youth and Young Adult Recreation Area will have swings and chairs not visible from the sanctuary -- a dead tree will need to be removed. It is becoming more difficult for Liz to work within the allotted hours as PUUC grows, and the number of hours allotted is low in relation to the number of hours recommended for an RE program as large as PUUC s; the Board should take this into account in planning future budgets for our growing RE program. Her work time for August totaled hours. The RE Special Collection will take place Sept. 26. Rev. Tanner recommended one platepassing and the Board agreed there will be no second collection Sept. 26 and any unidentified funds will be assigned to RE. Liz will discuss this with Social Justice Council Chairs Anne Laukaitus and Barbara Wade, and will provide information to Deb Develka for the Order of Service. Music Director s Report Wally discussed highlights from the Music Director s report ed to Board members, guided Board members through the new Music webpage at puuc.org, and discussed the growing number or music groups and opportunities he is organizing at PUUC. He has begun applying to be a candidate for the UUMN Music Leadership Credentialing Program and will request a a letter of support from the congregation to accompany his application. Wally s work time for August totaled 60 hours. By-Laws Committee: Recommendation for Revising Treasurer Position Lou said the By-Laws Committee is recommending an additional change to the By-Laws regarding the position of PUUC Treasurer. They now recommend the Treasurer serve a three-year term with the first year as Treasurer-Elect, the second as Treasurer, and the third as Past-Treasurer. This structure would promote consistency, reduce work and provide for on-going training. The Treasurer-Elect would serve as a non-voting member of the Board, and the Past-Treasurer would serve as Chair of the Buildings & Operations Councils. Executive Session

5 PUUC September 2010 Board Report 5 Tom requested voting Board members remain after the meeting for a discussion in executive session. Meeting Adjournment Motion to adjourn the meeting Krissa; 2 nd Tom. All Next Board Meeting: Thursday, October 21, 2010 Respectfully submitted, Robin Mara