At the January 10 meeting, Alison Kendall, for the Building Committee, explainedthat the decision of the City Council requires a written statement of the conditionsof the parking agreement by city staff and written proof of the agreement for12 parking spaces at the Seventh Day Adventist lot. Application for buildingpermits cannot be made until that is done.

Consideration of alternative parking possibilities and appearances at hearingshas required extensive time from the architect in excess of that expected andagreed. The board approved an additional payment of up to $5,000 from the capitalfund.

Marv Pulliam gave a presentation on Covenant Groups. Since the first ones wereformed in October of 2004, there have been six groups, and four of them arenow meeting. Fourteen facilitators have been trained and six are currently active.In all 34 people are now members of groups and there are 20 alumni of past groups.

The lessons learned so far are that a group can be formed with a minimum ofsix members and that groups can grow by addition of new members, though a commitmentto regular attendance is necessary for groups to thrive.

Plans for the future include training additional facilitators, adding membersto the implementation team, and developing programs in coordination with otheradult religious exploration goals.

Charles Haskell reported that the Search Committee for a new congregationaladministrator will continue to advertise the position and accept applicationsthrough January. A short list of candidates for interview will be ready by February.

Melinda Ewen said current membership is 464. Warren Mathews said he now projectsa surplus of approximately $20,000 for the budget year 2005.

Judith Meyer reported that her book, "Leave Room for Hope," is almost readyfor production. Felicity Nussbaum has served loyally in achieving this goal.Judith's major concerns at this time are seeking a prompt transition in officestaff, working with Catherine Farmer to develop a lifespan religious explorationprogram, supporting the membership and leadership group and other membershipinitiatives, and working with the young adult leadership to increase young adultvisibility and outreach, including the new group at UCLA.

Judith's December 2001 sermon, "A Season Turns," was published in Quest, thepublication of the Church of the Larger Fellowship, and the Pakistani churchhas requested that it be translated into Urdu for a wider distribution.

Catherine Farmer reported that she is working with Michele Prichard to co-ordinateSocial Justice Month in which each class explores some aspect of homelessness.Consideration is being given to realigning the lower grades' classes to geta more effective balance in class sizes. The focus of classes during the secondhalf of the church year will be Principle 5: The Right of Conscience and theUse of the Democratic Process.

Melinda Ewen reported that Chuck Craig has agreed to continue as part-timeoffice assistant, but she has been unable to hire anyone as parking attendant.Antivirus software is being updated. Additional virtual memory is being installedin several computers with the help of Shawn Kerr. A new fax machine has beenordered to replace the very old one.

Security continues to be a problem. It is not acceptable to have homeless peoplein the courtyard because of trash accumulation and neighbor complaints, andcity police report that three parolees, one a violent offender, occupied thevacant house across the street. One panhandler said he collected $100 from peopleattending our Christmas Eve service.

- Gerrie Lambson

At the meeting on November 8, Charles Haskell proposed on behalf of the Bylawsand Policies Committee that participation in governance committees be limitedto members only. (Non-members may attend congregational meetings, but only membersmay vote.) The board approved it.

Carol Kerr has reported to the congregation that Ryan Dinkane began work asoffice assistant on October 25, and has the ongoing support of Warren Mathewsand Chuck Craig.

Melinda Ewen, interim administrator, expressed appreciation for Warren's helpin getting her up to date. She is writing instructions for tasks as she learnsto do them. She said the Administration Committee has helped create a temporaryBuilding and Grounds Committee, which so far has one member, S.J. Guidotti,so the sextons have knowledgeable people they can contact. Melinda continuesthe search for volunteers to staff the office on Sunday. She reported churchmembership now stands at 463.

An Office Administrator Search Committee has been created. Proposed membersare John Fels, Personnel Committee; Melanie Sharp, Administration Committee;Charles Haskell, and Marv Pulliam.

The board agreed that the charge of the Search Committee should be to add upto three people to their committee, define the scope of the search, schedulea town hall meeting, recommend the salary range, post positions, design theinterview process, conduct preliminary interviews, coordinate with the Rev.Judith Meyer, and recommend the candidate to the board.

Charles Haskell reported that the Faith in Action program continues to supportthe hunger and the civil liberties projects and added the health insurance projectat the congregational meeting. Materials to describe these programs appear onthe church web site.

Warren Mathews reported that budgetary effects of the resignation of MarieKashmer-Stiebing and hiring Ryan Dinkane as a permanent assistant as well asa temporary assistant amount to a wash in the office staffing costs. Investmentincome is up, and expenditures will be reduced because the new administratorwill not be eligible for a pension in the first year. PSWD fair share is lessthan expected and pledge receipts are tracking the budget. The surplus is greaterthan expected.

Catherine Farmer, Director of Religious Exploration, reported that the OWL(Our Whole Lives) program will be presented at the start of the new year. TheK-1 group will meet on Sundays from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. The 5th and 6thgrade sessions will continue in the afternoon.

Our church hosted a successful Regional Campus Ministry Training on October14 and 15. Catherine is remaining as a contact and to support a group that isforming at UCLA.

- Gerrie Lambson 2005

At the September 13 meeting of the board, Alison Kendall, chair of the BuildingCommittee, presented her plans for a presentation to the Santa Monica City Councilin response to the appeal of the approval of our building permit by the PlanningCommission. The appeal was scheduled for November 8 but has been postponed.Alison pointed out that residents complain about street parking problems onweekday evenings as well as Sunday. She has a strategy to increase use of theUCLA 16th Street garage on Sundays and has contacted other possible alternativeparking resources.

Since Alison needs to be able to show good-faith efforts at the council hearing,the board voted to authorize the Building Committee to enter into agreementwith UCLA to use its garage after 6:30 p.m. on Monday evenings and on otherdays and evenings when meetings with a large attendance are scheduled. The churchwill be required to pay for the attendant at the garage; however, plans willbe made to share those costs with renters.

Costs continue to escalate for the building project. Alison presented a revisionof the phases of the plan:

At the June meeting, the board approved allowing the UU Service Committee tocontact members of our congregation to ask for funds for UUSC's worldwide projects.

It was unanimously approved that we discontinue participation in the stateunemployment program, replacing it with a severance policy and fund. As a churchwe are entitled to an exemption.

The board reappointed the Bylaws and Policies Committee, which consists ofthree board members (Charles Haskell, Carol Agate, Melinda Ewen) and two membersof the congregation (John Fels, John Agnew). Warren Mathews, who has been theinstitutional memory for the committee, has resigned, so a new member will haveto be found.

Ron Crane reported that the current Capital Campaign is at about the halfwaypoint with around $551,000 pledged. A table has been established in the courtyardfor those who have not yet pledged. It was pointed out that expenses of thecampaign are well below budget, largely because Ron's management has made itunnecessary to hire a consultant.

Alison Kendall, Building Committee Chair, said that the City Planning Commissionhearing will now be held on July 20, and that the building project target is$2 million, which is the total of the past and present Capital Campaigns.

Hillary Price has been appointed to the Finance Committee, Hillary is a financialplanner employed by American Financial Services.

Carol Agate, Treasurer, reported that the current deficit is approximately$16,550. Final figures will be available at the end of June.

The Rev. Judith Meyer reminded the board that summer services, which consistof one service at 10 a.m., begin July 3 and continue through September 3. Shetraveled to Cambridge, MA, for the ordination of Susan Conrad and will participatein the ordination of Stefanie Etzbach-Dale on June 19.

Catherine Farmer, Director of Religious Education, reviewed Sunday serviceRE Ceremonies. In the RE ceremony on June 3 each class presented something aboutwhat the Second and Third UUA Principles mean to them. The May 22 Coming ofAge ceremony was attended by a packed audience at both services. The 8th gradersparticipating were Nicky DePaul, Hannah Groezinger, Jordan Paddock, Tommy Nunan,Natalie Storey, John-Michael Lisovsky, Alyssa Wood, Karra Maas-Ruane, ConnerNannini, Casey Zierler, and Alex Rosenthal. Thanks were given to advisors BarbaraKernochan, Mel Horan, and Gary Kinsinger, as well as to the mentors. In addition,there was a Bridging Ceremony on June 12 recognizing this year's graduatinghigh school seniors and reminding to the congregation that we should includethese young people in all activities.

Catherine also described summer activities. The summer program will be on peopleand cultures of different time periods. Preschoolers will examine the five senses- seeing, hearing, tasting, smelling, and touching. Catherine has recruiteda team of RE teachers for the coming year. Annual training for teachers willbegin on Saturday, September 10.

Church Administer Marie Kashmer-Stiebing reported that we lost three memberswho moved, but gained five new members for a total membership of 467. She hiredMark Dwyer as the new weekend sexton, and she is seeking a bookkeeping firmor individual to replace Steven Andrews, who has resigned. Marie attended atraining program for our new Lanier printer/copier/scanner/fax machine.

The Music Committee reported several achievements. It presented a successfuland well-attended concert on May 21. In addition to the choir, there were performancesby Bronwen Jones, Julie Millett, and Pete Snell. June 26 will be Choir AppreciationDay, with beautiful music at both services.The last music event of the yearwas a sparkling jazz concert by the group led by our own Louis Durra. Plansfor next year include a series of jazz concerts and four "Stevenings" events.

Choir and church member Wally Giffen has been commissioned to create a piecefor the choir, which will be presented in the fall. Judy Schonebaum is workingwith others to present a teach-in at the Watts Labor Center, which will useDirector of Music Steve Wight's arrangements of anti-war songs.

At Pat Wright's request the mission and authority of the Long Range PlanningCommittee was explained: the committee's function is to make a report and submitrecommendations for board approval. Members of the committee include the Rev.Judith Meyer, Pat Wright, Rebecca Crawford, Carol Kerr, Edna and Phil Bonacich,Greg Poirier, and Laurel Bleak and Marsha Smith. Issues considered by the committeeinclude funding, increased expectation of members, increased involvement ofmembers, and increased leadership and management responsibilities.

- Gerrie Lambson and Melinda Ewen