Administration Ministry Team
Meeting Minutes by Moderator Newman McAllister.
The Administration Ministry Team met on June 30, 2022.
Those present were Pastor Darlene Avery, Moderator Newman McAllister, Treasurer Sunde King, Member Linda Seger and guests Jeff and Carla Chapman (via ZOOM). Member Vaughn Drinen was excused.
Pastor reported that all the memorial services that were postponed because of Covid are made up. She has been visiting the summer residents, most of whom have arrived. The Green Box festival is working smoothly. Pastor has been able to slow down a bit lately. She will be on vacation from September 6 - 12. She may also take some time off during the week before then to visit a friend who is suffering.
The church has been certified as a Red Cross Emergency Shelter. Pastor is going to become an emergency response team member and also has volunteered to be on the Town of Green Mountain Falls’ opioid response team. This will also assist in her LCSW licensure requirements.
Pastor supplements the income from the church by being on call at hospice but has not received many calls lately. She would like to increase her income from the church in two ways: by acting as the conference coordinator when events or conferences are scheduled at the church, for which she will be paid, and to receive a percentage of the church’s income from events or conferences, in return for booking them. As to the latter she will present the team with a proposal but her goal is to get through the summer with October 1 as a beginning date.
The AV system doesn’t always work smoothly in worship – the slides for songs or prayers are sometimes late in being posted.
The Kirkpatrick Foundation has approved a grant for a handbell conference in October at the church. Pastor and Teresa submitted the proposal.
Sunde reported the May financial results. All income was $8,671.05 and all expenses were $10,078.84, leaving the church with a negative balance of $1,407.79 for the month and $17,447.96 for the year. The income from the Green Box Arts Festival arrived in June. Sunde is finalizing the Evolv platform to make it easier for the donor or renter to designate the category for the payment.
Linda demonstrated a sample nameplate for the Polly Lamb room and the team approved. She will work with Heidi to order the plates and attach them.
Linda worked extensively with Jeff since our May team meeting to finalize rental fees
for conference space, event space, memorial services and weddings. She presented four separate schedules. The wedding schedule would replace the one adopted by the team in December of last year.
There was discussion about whether there should be a discount for non-profits but it was thought this should be left to determination at the time of rental. AAA and TOPS, current bi-weekly and weekly rental groups, are contributing $5.00 per person per meeting and 20% of yearly dues, respectively.
There was also discussion about the difference between an event and a conference. The role of the wedding or event coordinator versus the role of the building host was discussed. Linda likened the wedding coordinator to a stage manager in a play, in which case it would seem the Pastor, as the officiant, would be the director of the play.
Currently Lolita Hilbert does not receive the amount charged for custodial services in rentals. She keeps track of her cleaning time and bills the church. It was decided that Lolita should receive the quoted fee and therefore would not charge the church for the time cleaning up from that event. That should increase her income.
The team was duly grateful to Linda for producing the fee schedules, which have been months in the offing. There was discussion about using Excel or MS Word to develop a spread sheet for listing the various charges in a format to be passed to renters. It was thought MS Word was easier to work with. Linda will coordinate with Heidi. Upon final formatting the team should formally adopt the rates.
The switches in Tatter Hall and elsewhere in the church for the AV system will be upgraded and the cost will be paid from the renovation grant. There is also landscaping
and other work, including resetting the pavers and flagstone, and replacing the fluorescent lighting (e.g, the Rockwell Room) with recessed lighting, all to be paid from the renovation grant. Carla reported that there has been a delay in building the new wooden sign that is to go in front of the church. She will check with the fabricator.
Jeff has been working with Chris Ruccius. One concern has been to make certain every PC in the church “wakes up” when Chris does his work, so that he can do it remotely. Jeff doesn’t yet have a contract for the church to sign with Chris.
Carla explained the rationale for repainting the far end of the sanctuary a soft white. It is so the flower decorations in that area would display brighter. Some people on the team don’t like the red border in that portion. Carla said she would hang some white sheets in that area to better demonstrate what the change would look like.
Laurie Guido has completed the church directory.
A Church Mutual representative came to the church on June 3 to gather data for an estimate of church value for insurance purposes. That representative will send a letter to the church which should arrive in July.
The conferral about repairing the downspout drainage that freezes in the parking lot has
not occurred. Newman has a contact who will clean the gutters and downspouts of the church. The church windows also need cleaning. There are certain items that can be done by volunteers. Newman will prepare a list and ask parishioners to sign up for a particular job. It was decided not to give the church’s pest control company a key to the
church for its quarterly service.
Parishioners have suggested that there should be a donation box in the church, just
inside the main doorway, for folks who tour the church. Sunde said there was one before the renovation but its whereabouts are unknown. A new box, to be attached to the wall, will be ordered.
There will be an offering on Aug 7 for Our Church’s Wider Mission. The Rocky Mountain Conference keeps 80% of the offering, and the other 20% goes to the national UCC.
Pastor and Newman will give a new member class on July 9.
Pastor’s evaluation is in December and Newman is in contact with the conference about procedures to engage the HR Team (Laurie Guido and Carrie DeValk) to prepare for the evaluation.
The next regular meeting is on Thursday, July 21, 2022, at 3:30 p.m.
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