Splinters From The Board Archive
New board members Charles Haskell and David Knudsenwere welcomed.
Dean Voegtlen presented a proposal to honor StuartMoore for his years of expert dedicated service to the church in maintainingand upgrading the church facilities. The board voted to adopt a resolution ofappreciation and to present a plaque to Stu to be hung in the church in a locationto be agreed by the minister and the Design and Decor Committee.
Barbara Kernochan reported for the building committee. Aneighborhood meeting was held on Sunday to introduce our plan to neighbors wholive within 500 feet of the church. (See adjacent article.) Our applicationfor a city permit is close to being submitted. The application fee is $8,000.In 30 to 60 days we may expect to have a hearing date set for public comment,which will be about 90 days after the notification. The $5,000 cost for thepaid attendant at the UCLA Hospital lot in 2003-04 has been shifted to capitalcampaign funds instead of the general fund. Charles Haskellquestioned whether the person doing this job is receiving a “living wage”since the service agency probably takes about 50% of the fee. CarolAgate will check with our insurance agent about liability coverageto indemnify the owners against loss if we were to make an agreement to useanother lot in the neighborhood instead of UCLA’s. The Executive Committeewill consider solutions to the long-range parking problem. Negotiations areongoing with Dreyfus Construction Company to “value engineer” thenew building and renovation plans to obtain a reliable cost for the project.The plan is to get the cost as low as possible without compromising the sizeof the building. The Capital Campaign has raised $1.1 million. How to coverthe reminder of the cost will be a congregational question. Options includeconducting a second capital campaign or taking a mortgage. Barbara will reportupdates to the board in approximately 4 to 5 months.
Current membership is 460.
Treasurer Carol Agate reported a substantial increase incollection plate donations since initiation of the generous congregation planin February. Higher contributions overall have netted additional money for ourgeneral funds, even after donating 15% to various charities. Collection of pledgereceipts has increased significantly during the past month, owing primarilyto resumption of delinquency notices. Collections for the year are estimatedat about $12,000 less than budgeted. The end of the year financial statementis expected to show an overall deficit of $345. We have experienced savingsin music and religious education, primarily because of the absence of personnel.Offsetting increased expenses are our PSWD fair share contribution and increasedworkers’ compensation insurance premiums.
In response to Administration Committee alternative proposals to change thebuilding and grounds function, Warren Mathews suggested thatthe Building and Grounds Committee be deleted from the bylaws, since congregationaldirection is not needed on this management issue.
Pat Parkerton presented the newly written job descriptionfor a director of religious education, who will focus exclusively on children’sreligious education and not be responsible for adult education. The RE Searchcommittee will be chaired by Karen Patch with JanetGoodwin, Victor Paddock, Diane Fletcher-Hoppe,and Karen Raiford as members. The board will be required toratify hiring of the new staff member.
Carol Kerr presented a recommendation from the Executive Committeethat a standing subcommittee be established to review the church bylaws, andpolicies and procedures. The board approved the recommendation and ratifiedthe selection of Charles Haskell as chair.
The board retreat will be held on August 9 from 9 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. The facilitatorwill be Kathy Van Tassle, with the topic being portfolio identification.
Carol Agate presented a draft of the document, “GettingInvolved,” which culminates two years of committee work. Based ona concept by Liz Fuller, it divides our programs into threecategories: activities and special interests, committees, and task-orientedvolunteer opportunities. Suggestions were to include the document as part ofthe directory, to print copies in plain text without any design so they canbe easily updated regularly, and to annotate the three major division titlesin the document.
-- Melinda Ewen
The current membership is 462.
A discussion was held about the benefits of having the amounts of new members'pledges included on the monthly membership report to the board. Concerns wereexpressed about making financial information, which has been confidential, quasipublic. Some on the stewardship committee favor a change in our culture concerningpledge information. Ron Crane will ask other UU churches howthey deal with this issue, and the stewardship committee will consider makinga formal recommendation.
Carol Kerr reported that pledge receipts are $20,000 behindwhere we expected them to be at this point in the fiscal year. Approximately80 to 90 contributing units (households/individuals) are not current and severallarge pledge commitments are among them. The financial report at the annualmeeting will reflect the board’s optimism, based on past experience, thatthe pledges will be honored.
The levels of approval of non-budgeted spending, without board approval, bythe treasurer and finance committee were increased from $250 and $1,000 to $1,000and $2,500 respectively.
Judith Meyer reported that the RE transition team has completedits work. A congregational survey showed much support for hiring a full-timeDRE, though some do not see the need for this change. The board endorsed thetransition team’s request to the congregation for budget authorizationto hire a full-time DRE. The search committee will include four people involvedin RE plus one person from the personnel committee.
Our high school group, Young Religious UUs, wouldlike a bylaws amendment to create a slot for a youth member on our board ofdirectors. There is not time for an amendment to be placed on the agenda forthe May 18 annual meeting. However, meetings are open to all members of thecongregation and youth are welcome to attend.
The ad hoc subcommittee on committees has drafted a document, “GettingInvolved,” listing our programs divided into three segments: activitiesand special interests, committees, and task-oriented volunteer opportunities.The ad hoc committee appointed by the board drafted a policy for posting thenewsletter on the web site.
Farewell and appreciation was expressed to Jim Cadwell forhis six years of service on the board, and Jerry Gates wasthanked for his two years of service as president.
-- Melinda Ewen
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Eight Goals for the Year Established
The board and nine guests met November 8 in Forbes Hall from 6 to 7:30 pm. Because of the election, the board “elected” to start and finish early. Dinner was graciously provided by Kim Miller.
Kathleen Hogue’s installation as director of religious education will be January 22, 2017. Seven new members have joined UU Santa Monica since July for a total of 344 members. The date for our Annual Meeting is Sunday, May 21, 2017.
First on the discussion agenda was a review of the goals from the board retreat, enhanced by discussion at the October board meeting. An 8th goal was added to address the impact of Rev. Rebecca’s resignation. During the 2016/2017 year, the Board of Directors will:
Goal #1: Supporting Right Relations in our Congregation: Establish, oversee, and assess the Right Relations process. (The RRTF will take the lead on initiatives to bring our community into right relations.)
Goal #2: Assessments: Assess the minister, ministry, committees, and itself.
Goal #3: Clarifying Roles & Responsibilities: Work with stakeholders to define roles and responsibilities for staff, leaders, members and others.
Goal #4: Mission and Vision: Begin the work to inspire community ownership of our congregation’s mission and vision by publicizing current Mission and Vision statements,understanding that a congregation-wide missioning and visioning initiative will occur in the 2017/2018 timeframe.
Goal #5: Leadership Development: Explore how a combination of technical training and development of soft skills, sensibilities, and internal qualities can help develop leaders who can be effective and faithful.
Goal #6: Modeling Beloved Community: Communicate in an open and respectful manner.
Goal #7: Sexually Safe Congregation: Undergo a process to become a “sexually safe congregation.”
Goal #8: Rev. Rebecca’s Resignation: Support compassionate leave taking and transition with a focus on transparency.
The board approved the goals and decided to delay the November 13 Town Hall discussion in favor of having a table on the patio after each service that day. The congregation is invited to join the board in helping to realize its goals to create a more beloved community.
Kim Miller handed out pledge letters to the board and urged board members to be generous with their pledges and to help by attending house parties, pitching, and sending thank-you notes to members who have already pledged.
The RRTF submitted its report but acknowledged that it was written before Rev. Rebecca announced her resignation and therefore needed some updates to address the needs of the congregation during this transition period. Funding for RRTF Cranemay need to be increased pending feedback from consultant Nancy Edmundson.
Some items on the agenda were tabled to the next board meeting in order to keep to the shortened time frame. They included addressing next steps to manage conflict, Facility Development Committee update, and the Communications Team motion.
Financial support for the installation ceremony of Director of Religious Education Kathleen Hogue was discussed, with emphasis that this is a congregation-wide and not just an RE event. It is also a formal affair with her minister flying out to speak at both services as well as at the installation.
Given the work that needs to be done, the board will hold a full meeting November 29 instead of an Executive Committee meeting.
During check out, Rev. Rebecca praised the work of the Right Relations Task Force.
— Patricia Wright