LEADERSHIP

BOARD MINUTES 2006

Minutes Table of Contents January 12, 2006 February 16, 2006 March 9, 2006 April 13, 2006 April 30 Annual Congregational Meeting May 11, 2006 June 8, 2006 July 13, 2006 August 10, 2006 Board Priorities 2006-2007 September 7, 2006 October 12, 2006 November 9, 2006 December 14, 2006

Board Members Committees Committee Manual Reimbursement Request form (PDF) Vanco Authorization form (rtf) Bylaws Policies RE Policies Safe Congregation Policies Personnel Policies Web Policies Non-Board Policies Organizational Chart ARCHIVES of BOARD MINUTES Minutes 2001 Minutes 2002 Minutes 2003 Minutes 2004 Minutes 2005 Minutes 2006 Minutes 2007 Archives of REPORTS .....accompanying Board Meetings Annual Reports

NOTE.  There are references to "attachments".  To avoid clutter, attachments are not normally included with the Minutes, though they do become a part of the official church records in the office and in the Secretary's files.  Copies can be viewed in the office or obtained from the Secretary.  Also, Board information, including minister's report, DRE's report, complete Minutes, the current Treasurer's report, are all posted on the "Business Board" in the hall between the rest rooms (across from the coat rack).

UNITARIAN UNIVERSALIST CHURCH IN EUGENE
Board of Trustees Meeting
MINUTES
December 14, 2006

Present: Patricia Christgau, Candee Cole, Anita Cowling, Sally DeCou, Pam Dillehay, Sarah Hendrickson, Michael Mattick, Patrick Phillips, Marta Powers, Judy Sawyer, Olga Turner

Visitors: David Atkin (new board member to begin as voting member in January 2007)
District Executive Janine Larsen and Rev. Margaret Keip

Following an executive session called by the board with PNWD Executive Janine Larsen, the Rev. Margaret Keip, members of the board, DRE Candee Cole, the Interim Committee on Congregational Ministry & Safety (COMS), and the Ministerial Search Committee—a meeting convened to deal with Interim Minister Jeanne Melis Mills’ resignation—Board President Olga Turner opened the board meeting at 7:15 pm.

Proposal from District Executive. The first order of business was to discuss the action steps the board needs to take in the wake of Interim Minister Jeanne Melis-Mills’ resignation and announcement that she would be vacating her apartment by the end of December, which she reported to the board and the district by e-mail on Thursday, December 7.

In the interest of respecting confidentiality, details have been removed from this report. Full information is available at the church office along with the other attachments mentioned above.

As reported in the December Executive Committee minutes, the following board business was done by e-mail:
The Board declined to accept the offer of a Wurlitzer organ for the following reasons: Tom Sears said he didn’t want it, we don’t have an organist, and Kathy Dillon for the Library/Gallery admitted that there was no place to store it.
The board voted to approve David Atkin as a board member to take Patrick Phillip’s place as a board-member-at-large, effective as of January when Patrick leaves for Portugal. The board also voted to approve Jeanne Flink as a member of the Nominating Committee when Kay Crider leaves in January to accompany Patrick. Robbie McCosh, the senior member of the Nominating Committee, will replace Kay as chair.
The board also approved John Clay as the new chair of the Archives Committee.

Calendar Revisions & Scheduling.
• The Committee Fair has been rescheduled for February 11.
• The Stewardship Meeting was postponed to January 5 and 6th (and subsequently postponed again to January 26 and 27 because of the need to reschedule Cecilia Kingman-Miller’s time with us, given her new role as part of our interim ministry team).
• The board will need to hold a mid-year retreat to process the changes resulting from Jeanne’s departure. This will need to be held as soon as possible after the holidays.
• April will be ministerial candidates month.
• The Coordinating Council will hold its next meeting from 9 am to noon on January 27. A book sale will take place at the church that same day.

Chairs Report. Given the overflow crowds we’ve had in church on Sunday, especially for the second service, it is clear that we need more sanctuary chairs. Also, Sue Craig says we’ll need more for the upcoming auction. Marta said we still have $500 in the chair fund and she is willing to earmark cash from the sale of stocks donated by her family to the church to supplement that if necessary. Judy checked with the chair manufacturer and they still have enough material to produce 50 more chairs of the same kind that we ordered. However, it is likely that 30 more chairs would be adequate. The cost per chair is $55.49 when the order is for less than 100 chairs, and the flat shipping rate is $300 no matter how many chairs we order. Judy will check to see how many new chairs we can set up for church services and send the board an e-mail proposal for ordering more chairs.

Religious Symbols in the Social Hall. Facilities Council has taken these down, but wants to know if anyone wants them. The Archives Committee has said they don’t want them, but would like to keep the frame to be used later, perhaps for a new set of symbols cast in ceramic. Gil has found a place to store the frame in the kitchen closet in case someone wants to design new symbols and hand them up within the frame in the future.

DRE’s Report. Candee reported that she wants all UUCE’s youth to go to General Assembly in Portland this year and she’ll need to fundraise, with an Art Gallery Show and a general luncheon to get them there.

The meeting adjourned at 10:00 with check-out.

Respectfully submitted,
Judy Sawyer, Secretary

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UNITARIAN UNIVERSALIST CHURCH IN EUGENE
Board of Trustees Meeting
MINUTES
November 9, 2006

Present: Patricia Christgau, Anita Cowling, Sally DeCou, Pam Dillehay, Sarah Hendrickson, Michael Mattick, Rev. Jeanne Mills, Patrick Phillips, Marta Powers, Judy Sawyer, Olga Turner

Participating Visitors: Laura Adams, Committee on Congregational Ministry; Patti Hansen, FAB Committee; Jack Stevens, Insurance Liaison; Jake Walsh, Worship Committee
Other Visitors: Mary Otten, Jeff Wright, COCM

Absent: Candee Cole

The meeting opened at 7:00 pm with chalice lighting by Olga Turner and good words—and song!—by Pam Dillehay.

The minutes of the October meeting were approved.

Business done between board meetings: The Ministerial Search Committee’s Letter of Intent, presented at the last meeting, was approved by the board through e-mail.

Additions to Church Insurance. Jack Stevens reported that he had reviewed the church’s insurance policy with Church Mutual insurance, for which we get a discount by being part of the UUA, and he described the “package deal” that we currently have. That consists of liability, building and contents, crime, and medical coverage. (A copy is on file in the church office.)

Pat Christgau had contacted Jack and our agent, Janet about directors’ and officers’ insurance. Jack said we have liability insurance but no indemnity insurance for board officers. Both Jack and our agent recommend that UUCE indemnify its directors and officers and add this insurance to our policy. The recommendation was made in light of a capital campaign in the foreseeable future to finance a building/site expansion. As the Board of Trustees is the responsible governing body representing UUCE, it is prudent to insure them against a possible lawsuit in connection with the campaign.

Marta said that our current insurance package costs about $2,400 per year, which is actually a $100 reduction over last year, as we were over-insured in some areas. However, Janet recommended to Jack and Pat that we increase our medical insurance from $5,000 to $10,000 per year (for a cost increase of $100 per year), add one million dollar’s worth of indemnity coverage for board officers (for a cost of $205 per year, with a $1,000 deductible), and add earthquake insurance for $20 per year. That would result in an increase of $325 per year for a new annual insurance package of $2,725.

Pat asked about a timetable for making the change in payment and Marta said minor adjustments are normal during the year, so we don’t have to redo the budget to accommodate the change.
It was moved and seconded that we accept the proposal as described, with the possible caveat, raised by Michael Mattick, that the dollar figure might need to increase if it seems prudent to have even more medical coverage, with any such increase capped at $450 per year. The board voted unanimously to accept the proposal and caveat.

Committee on Congregational Ministry (COCM) Update on Procedures. Laura Adams of the COCM reported that this new committee, which is a merger of the former Committee on Ministry and the Safe Congregation Committee, was begun this interim year at the suggestion of Jeanne Mills, based on the model presented in Robert Latham’s book, Moving on from Church Folly Lane: The Pastoral to Program Shift. She explained that this overarching committee will serve the entire congregation in developing and executing procedures for conflict management rather than just acting as a liaison to the minister. The group will still preserve the safe congregation measures that are already in place.

She said the COCM was also researching “where we are going as a growing church,” the many issues emerging as we grow, how things get done in RE and other programs, committees and councils, how we minister to each other, and how all facets of the church relate to each other. Within that all-church context, she explained, conflict management—not conflict resolution or solution—is what COCM does, creating a safe space for everyone to work with each other directly and well.

She said the COCM is working on policies and procedures to flesh out the committee’s charter, but they are not finished yet. They have also benefited from speaking with Robert Latham and learning what he has achieved with other UU churches in developing step-by-step approaches to conflict management. They found that Oakland, CA and Urbana, IL had two of the best models—both are large, complex churches with 500 to 600 members with whom Latham has worked—and a lot of elements in common. Reviewing these and other models, the COCM is moving toward defining a charter that will bring people together to create a healthier, more open congregation.

Also in process are a couple of specific issues between church groups that the COCM is working on, but Laura was not in a position to reveal these right now.
Overall, however, the final outcome of their research and discussion will be a set of procedures for managing conflict that will become policy in which the particulars of any given conflict will remain confidential to protect the integrity of the process and inspire trust in the participants. Laura said the COCM will soon present their recommended procedures to the board for approval, then educate the congregation about them.

Pat Christgau pointed out that all members of the Strategic Planning Committee had read Latham’s book and she hoped that all board members would read it as well.

Olga asked Laura if the COCM had looked at UUA and PNWD guidelines for managing conflict. Laura replied that they had, but the language they use is a little difficult because it is “imbedded in history.”

Sarah Hendrickson pointed out that part of the reason we have been “functioning so archaically” (i.e., not having an overarching COCM with policies governing conflict management as well as safety) is because UUCE was one of the first UU churches to have a Safe Congregation Committee.

It was then re-emphasized that the Safe Congregation Committee is not being dissolved but is now a subset of the COCM, with the same protocols we already have in place.

Anita mentioned that we probably need to create a “covenant of right relations” to post on the website and in the newsletter. This would be part of a paradigm shift in which all church members learn to think of themselves as ministering to one another.

FAB Charge. Patti Hansen, chair of the Finance, Audit, and Budget Committee, read the recommended charge for that new entity, as follows:
The Finance, Audit and Budget Committee of the UUCE is a standing committee reporting directly to the Board of Trustees, with accountability to the congregation. This committee is charged with advising and consulting with the Board of Trustees on all affairs that require financial or business expertise. The committee recommends and maintains all financial policies and procedures, and reports annually to the congregation. Committee functions also include responsibility for budgeting, financial reporting, annual auditing, pledge record-
keeping, and bookkeeping.

There was some question about the appropriateness of the above language stating “all affairs that require financial or business expertise” when we also have Endowment trustees and a Planned Giving Committee, but Patrick pointed out that the FAB directive is to consult with the Board, which doesn’t rule out separate or consultative input from the other two financial groups.

It was moved and seconded that the board approve the FAB charge as written. The charge was approved unanimously.

Patti then spoke about the FAB’s plans to educate all church committees on the church budget process and the elements that each committee needs to think through before they submit their budget needs each year. She will begin by conducting a one-hour “seminar” at the next Coordinating Council meeting to walk everyone through that process. She also plans to provide the budget history of each group in detail, explain the big picture of the church’s finances and how each group fits in with it, describe how a Profit and Loss Statement works, and explain the various line items in the church budget. The budget process itself will begin in December.

Olga asked whether Patti would provide a “how to create a budget” template to help every group standardize and streamline its budget submissions. The answer to this was “yes,” along with a timeline for information to be submitted to the FAB.

Marta said that if any committee has not sent its budget request in by January, the FAB will be knocking on their door to get it. Olga commented that this process should encourage the committees’ involvement as never before.

Patti said she was also creating a template to help staff and committees estimate program expenses. Also, in response to a question about fundraising, she said she would explain to committee reps the difference between a committee’s possible need to raise extra funds and their line item in the General Fund. She will also soon be able to produce a monthly financial report so every committee will know where it stands. The FAB will audit that detail monthly to take the pressure off Marta to answer every question that comes up with regard to finances.

Treasurer’s Report. Marta Powers said she hadn’t had a chance to bring the improved budget format to the board yet. She plans to introduce a report giving a comparative snapshot between where we were last year at this time and this year to date. She said ‘this year feels different” in terms of cash flow. She’s had to pull more money out of the Schwab account to pay expenses. She said that part of the reason for that might be that we received several stock donations instead of money. Also, our expenses are a lot higher this year because of the increases in payroll.

Patti remarked that the FAB will be helping the treasurer with trend analyses such as this. Patrick reminded us, too, that another reason might be that the pledge total this year is lower than the budget total. Marta said her hope is that we get a bookkeeper by January.

Patti suggested that we might print the current pledge level in the Order of Service every week to remind people where we stand. She also asked if the board would like any other reports. We will consider that.

Changes to Worship Associates & Creation of Worship Committee. Jeanne Mills & Jake Walsh asked that the following be the charge of the UUCE Worship Associates and Worship Committee:
The Worship Associates and the newly formed [ad hoc] Worship Committee are extensions of the Minister’s role as director of worship at UUCE.
The Worship Associates are a knowledgeable and experienced resource for
1) Assisting the minister during Sunday services
2) Mentoring and training individuals new to worship leadership who have been invited by the minister to share the pulpit when that individual’s life and experience relate to that morning’s service
3) Proposing, researching and, when given the go-ahead by the Worship Committee, implementing services when the minister is away as well as during the summer schedule of worship services.
The Worship Committee is the “exec” of the worship program and consists of the minister, the DRE, the Music Director, a representative of the young adults, and lay [committee] leadership [drawn from the Worship Associates.]

With the Worship Committee resides ultimate responsibility, authority, and accountability (including financial) for providing the highest quality worship services throughout the year.

Jeanne explained that both the Worship Committee and the Worship Associates now meet once a month. She also said that, although this arrangement is more hierarchical than before, with the Worship Associates hand-picked by Jeanne, it also has the virtue of spreading the input among the paid program staff as well as the lay Worship Associates, whose role she hopes to expand over time. Jake also estimated that 40 percent of our services each year are led by lay members.

Patrick said he saw the new arrangement as a good balance between the professional minister and the lay leadership.

After some discussion about whether the word “authority” was appropriate in reference to the Worship Committee, and some concern about who “owns” the Sunday services, raised by questions on UUShare and UUChat, the board voted unanimously to approve the charges as amended, with amendments indicated in brackets and boldface above.

Worship Committee Chairs. It was then moved, seconded, and approved unanimously that JakeWalsh be approved as chair and Dianne Watson as chair-elect, of the Worship Committee.

Church Security Issue. Kathy Dillon reported in an e-mail that the church had been left unlocked and the coffee pot and lights on after the recent Halloween party. Therefore, as she recommended, we will alert all committee heads and other event organizers that they are responsible for designating someone to turn off all lights and appliances and to lock the church before leaving. Judy Sawyer has asked Kim, in consultation with Matt Kosanke, to create a checklist that will be posted by all church exit doors, and Judy will write an article about that responsibility for the December newsletter and the church website. It was also suggested that this be included in the inserts to the Order of Service on Sunday.

Fundraising Committee. Olga brought up the need for a fundraising committee to approve group and individual fundraising requests, as well as to coordinate church-wide fundraising efforts. She said the Executive Committee, or she herself, had been doing this and it was a tremendous and time-consuming burden in light of the many other things the EC must deal with. Furthermore, there were no clear and fair guidelines about what should, or should not be, approved.

Patti Hansen said she saw no problem with the FAB being the “gatekeeper” for fundraising requests. Judy Sawyer said she and Pat Christgau are still looking for a chair or co-chairs for a new Fundraising Committee.

Meanwhile, it was clear that the church needs to have a clear fundraising policy that everyone can understand and follow. Pat Christgau said she and Sarah Hendrickson would draft a new fundraising policy that will expand, refine, and clarify competing issues. They will send the new policy to the EC, then the FAB, and then to the board for approval.

One suggestion was that once a year we have a Fundraising Fair to bring together the large number of small fundraisers that individual church members and groups ask for.

Postponed until the December meeting for lack of time:
• Review of the Purpose of the Interim Year & of Congregational Ministry
• UUShare & UUChat – Policy on Right Relations for E-mail

Minister’s Report (attached)
DRE Report (attached)

SPC Report. Pat Christgau said that Robert Brendle of William Wilson Architects will present the results of their three-month-long study of the feasibility of growing on our present site. Working with the program needs expressed by our congregation, they have explored our space and parking needs, local zoning and building code, impacts on the natural setting, construction cost comparisons of new construction and renovation, and more.

EC Minutes (attached)
Facilities Council Report (attached)

Patrick Phillips will bring good words to the December meeting. As there were no other announcements or assignments, the meeting was adjourned after check-out at 10 pm.

Respectfully submitted,
Judy Sawyer, Secretary

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UNITARIAN UNIVERSALIST CHURCH IN EUGENE
Board of Trustees Meeting
MINUTES
October 12, 2006

Present: Patricia Christgau, Candee Cole, Anita Cowling, Sally DeCou, Pam Dillehay, Michael Mattick, Rev. Jeanne Mills, Marta Powers, Judy Sawyer, Olga Turner

Absent: Sarah Hendrickson, Patrick Phillips

Visitors: Suzanne Reynolds, Ministerial Search Committee; John Wagner, Budget Committee Chair; Linda Anson, Strategic Planning Committee

The meeting opened at 7:00 pm with chalice lighting by Olga Turner.

Ministerial Agreement Draft. In deference to our visitors, we postponed “good words” and check-in to review a draft of a “Letter of Call and Ministry Agreement” presented by Suzanne Reynolds of the Ministerial Search Committee (MSC). A lengthy discussion followed, with disagreement over the necessity of including under professional expenses a laptop computer that would belong to the minister rather than to the church. Eventually it was moved and seconded that the board approve the draft in principle, subject to the MSC’s verification that the language of the agreement under professional expenses was what the UUA suggests. The board, with one abstention, voted to approve the draft, subject to a final board vote by e-mail once the language is verified.

Revised Budget. John Wagner, representing the newly named and formatted Finance, Audit and Budget (FAB) Committee, reviewed highlights of changes in the 2006-2007 budget. He was happy to say that this year the budget has gone up rather than down, and that therefore, the board is empowered to make adjustments to it throughout the year. He pointed out that, although the pledge total is 7 percent less than the original goal of $300,000, the church received $20,000 this calendar year in additional gifts, beyond the $45,000 gift received in 2005. In part because of all of these anonymous gifts and in part because of expense savings, $27,766 was rolled over, to make up the new budget total of $361,606. Given those examples of generosity, he said the FAB retained Line #11, budgeting $7,500 more in anticipated gifts as well.

Line 20, Ministerial Search Special Gifts, projects an anticipated $5,000 in income for ministerial search expenses, under the assumption that there will be those who would like to contribute to this purpose.
The downward revisions in Minister and Interim Minister expenditures came about because all the money allocated for those purposes wasn’t spent.

An increase of the Administrator’s wages to 35 hours per week @ $14.50 for 47 of 52 weeks, along with a corresponding increase in benefits, is recommended as an excellent investment.

Another recommendation is that we include a “space saver” line for the affinity group Interweave, without allocating an amount to it this year.

Line #69 allocates money to hire a bookkeeper beginning January 1, 2007 at $25/hour to serve half the church year.

Jeanne questioned why there was no budgeted amount for the Small Group Ministry. John explained that it had been a self-supporting group and therefore not an operating expense of the church. However, Jeanne proposed that, in order for them to afford good new UUA materials to support that program in the future, that they add a line item for it next year.

It was moved and seconded that the 2006-2007 Budget be accepted as revised. The board voted unanimously to approve it.

Additional Monies Needed for Feasibility Study. On behalf of the Strategic Planning Committee, Linda Anson spoke about the SPC’s weekly meetings with Robert Brandle, the architect working on the feasibility study to expand our building on site, and why they favored adding one more element to that study: to give a rough idea of what it would cost to build on a new piece of land. The SPC believes that this will help the congregation compare the options of expanding on our present two-acre site with that of building on a four- to six--acre site elsewhere, to come to a decision more quickly, and to do so at a lower cost to the church. She asked for board approval to spend another $2,200 for this estimate in addition to the $11,900 already approved for the original feasibility study.

In December, she said, the architect will be ready to demonstrate to the congregation what can be done on this site, in comparison with what might be done elsewhere. What’s more, the latter information will be transferable to future feasibility studies, in the event that we decide not to expand on site. Meanwhile, she said the SPC continues to look at other properties.

It was moved and seconded that the board approve the additional $2,200 expenditure from the Future Expansion fund, which is held in a Schwab account, for the comparison study. The board voted unanimously to so approve.

Financial Matters & Treasurer’s Report. Marta Powers reported that when we increased Carolyn Colbert’s salary last year, we failed to allocate the $24,990 increase to her housing allowance, thereby enormously increasing her income tax liability. Therefore, she asked the board to retroactively approve the reallocation. The board voted unanimously to so approve.

Pat Christgau praised Marta for creating such a clear and useful treasurer’s report, which now includes an “Organizational” section in addition to “Programs.”

Marta said that Bob Taylor had asked for money to pay for coffee on Sunday mornings. She told him that the money will have to come from the custodial funds until the budget committee figures out whether there will be a Kitchen Committee budget and whether it will be used for coffee. She also said it seemed ridiculous that the church was paying full price for the Fair Trade Coffee we sell. That they should get it at the wholesale price for church use.

Request for Bee Sting Medications at Church. R.E. and Facilities Council had requested Sarah Hendrickson, in her capacity as a medical doctor, to address the need for emergency medication in the event someone had an allergic reaction to a bee sting on the church property. (Several people were stung this year on the church grounds.) In an e-mail to the board (see attached) she explained that insect stings are rarely life-threatening, but that in the case of allergic, anaphylactic reactions, early treatment with epinephrine injection can be life-saving.

She said, further, that there is a provision in Oregon Law that allows non-licensed folks to possess and administer epi if they have been trained to do so. She said the law specifically limits liability if administered in good faith following the state-authorized training. As a Lane County Health officer, Sarah said she has supervised this training for school districts through the Lane Educational Service District and she offered to provide such training on a Saturday or some evening to interested folks who would be at church during RE and facilities/landscape maintenance projects, or who might accompany RE field trips. She offered to personally donate the cost of the Epi-pens.

In Sarah’s absence, Anita Cowling asked the board for approval of Sarah’s proposal. It was moved and seconded that we do so. The board voted unanimously to approve the proposal.

Sarah wrote that her plan is to announce the possibility of training at the next Coordinating Council meeting and perhaps at the RE and Facilities Council meetings.

Coordinating Council Meeting. Anita reported that the committees were asked to respond to the committee survey questions that Sarah sent out, and that Sarah is compiling their answers as they come in. The CC will hold its November meeting after the board meeting so Patti Hansen can do budget training for all the committees at that time.

Task Force on Board Bylaws & Policies. Ken Ross passed on his list of policy and bylaw changes for review to Sarah Hendrickson, who said she is interested in being on the task force to review these, as many changes will have to do with revised charges to committees resulting from the committee survey.

Recruitment Task Force Report. Judy Sawyer reported that the Recruitment Task Force, comprised of herself, Al Landy, and Kay Crider, has found six members to serve on the Stewardship Committee for this year. They are Daniel Blades, Marilyn Mauer, Robbie McCosh, Lynn Stearney, Suzanne Whaley, and Ed Zack. Al still has several calls to make, so we hope to find at least two more people to round out this important committee.
Judy suggested that the next important committee to recruit was the Fundraising Committee. Pat Christgau said she had someone in mind for the Fundraising Chair and will help Judy with that recruitment effort.

President’s Report. Olga Turner passed around a flyer about a workshop on Leading with Courage scheduled for November 18, 9 am to 4 pm, in Edmonds, Washington. The cost is only $100 per congregation, no matter how many from a single congregation attend. Home hospitality will be provided. She encouraged board members to attend.

Olga also reported that she had completed the Annual Report for the Board, covering the last two years. She also reported that the Executive Committee had rejected a suggestion from Ann Fuller that the board approve the creation of a Hospitality Committee (for which she had already solicited members) to provide refreshments for church events. EC said that such a committee is not needed and is possibly redundant, given that those who run special events handle their own refreshments. However, EC said that if those Ann had recruited were interested in helping with hospitality for any event, they could offer their help to the event organizers on an ad hoc basis.

Minister’s Report. Jeanne Mills reported that she had met with the Endowment Fund Committee and was pleased to learn that their efforts have borne fruit and that there is now $60,000 in that fund. The Planned Giving Committee was invited to the meeting but they didn’t show.

She also met with the new Caring Committee, led by Kathy Dillon and Sue Craig. They are beginning to compile a file of records of members’ end-of-life directives. These files will be kept locked and secure in the minister’s office. On October 29, Monica Frank will show a DVD on the importance of people preparing such directives to make things easier on their family members when they die.

Jeanne then passed around copies of “The Real Rules: Congregations and IRS Guidelines on Advocacy, Lobbying, and Elections,” from the UUA Advocacy and Witness Programs for our information in this election year.

Further, she reported that our church had received an Honor Congregation certificate for paying our fair share of per person dues to the UUA and that a new directory of UUCE members will be coming out soon.
Finally, she reported that she had created a new Worship Committee that is functioning as the planning arm of the Worship Associates. This group, which consists of Tom Sears (for the choir), Candee Cole (for RE), Jake Walsh (for the Worship Associates), and Jeff Wright (for Personal Reflections), is meeting with her once a month to plan and coordinate services. She said the Worship Associates still function as a resource pool to help with Sunday services.

Olga said that Jeanne should have submitted a proposal to the board in writing before she launched such a group, because people were confused about what had happened to the Worship Associates, and Sarah Hendrickson is working on the charges to all church groups. It was pointed out, however, that Carolyn had created the Worship Associates to help her run the services and that the change that Jeanne had instituted was within the minister’s prerogative to make.

Olga asked that we allocate about 30 minutes on the November board agenda to review how congregational life and our shared ministry is going.

Board Members Participation in Sunday Services. Sign-ups for board members to greet the congregation, recite the church’s mission statement, and say how they became a UU at both Sunday services during the rest of the year are as follows: Judy Sawyer, November; Patrick Phillips, December; Sally DeCou, January, and Michael Mattick, April. [Are there others yet? Sarah, Patricia, Pam? Marta?]

DRE Report. Candee Cole reported that she had received lots of help from church members when she moved into new living quarters recently. However, as a result of the move, she said she is a bit behind in developing the R.E. curriculum for the year. Nevertheless, the R.E. Committee is helping her and it is getting done. She is also taking a vacation in Florida, then will attend an R.E. Directors’ conference in Orlando, where she has enrolled in the Special Education track—her special interest.
On October 27 the ritual for Samhain and Halloween will be celebrated at the church. She encouraged everyone to attend.

Small Group Meetings. Pat Christgau reported that members of the Strategic Planning Committee will be taking notes for the Ministerial Search Committee’s upcoming small group meetings.

Assignments: Pat Christgau will send a thank-you to John Wagner for the Men’s Group’s donation of a $400 microphone to the church.

The meeting adjourned at 9:30 with check out.

Respectfully submitted,
Judy Sawyer, Secretary

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UNITARIAN UNIVERSALIST CHURCH IN EUGENE
Board of Trustees Meeting
MINUTES
September 7, 2006

Present: Patricia Christgau, Candee Cole, Anita Cowling, Sally DeCou, Pam Dillehay, Sarah Hendrickson, Michael Mattick, Rev. Jeanne Mills, Patrick Phillips, Marta Powers, Judy Sawyer, Olga Turner

Visitors: Patti Hansen, Finance Chair; Jeff Wright & Dennis Reynolds, Committee on Ministry & Safe Congregation Committee

The meeting opened at 7:15 pm with chalice lighting by Olga Turner, followed by “good words ” from Sarah Hendrickson and check-in. The minutes for the August board meeting were approved.

Finance Committee Recommendations. Patti Hansen, Finance Committee Chair, asked the board to approve the following:

1. Change the name of the Finance Committee to Finance, Audit and Budget Committee.
2. Change the UUCE Organizational Chart to show the Finance, Audit and Budget Committee in a “direct consulting/advisory relationship” to the Board of Trustees.

As it was her first meeting with the board after being approved as chair of the Finance Committee, Patti described her professional experience, including 28 years in banking, serving as an expert witness in banking and financial practices for Lane County, and running a corporation.

As the new Finance Chair, she also plans to sit down with DRE Candee Cole, Office Manager Kim Harris, and Treasurer Marta Powers to learn what they do and how they do it. On the basis of what she learns, she will offer her recommendations about the budgeting process. She is also planning to conduct an internal “audit” of the various committees, including their policies and procedures, so she can understand their needs for cash flow. By the beginning of next year she hopes to bring in an outside auditor to conduct a “functional audit” or an “internal control audit,” rather than a full financial audit.

She then explained her reason for asking for the name change: To put the “financial cluster” of the church together to ensure better communication and efficiency and to avoid duplicating functions. At appropriate times of the year, the new committee would break down into subgroups to address their more specific tasks.

Patrick Phillips expressed some concern that introducing an entirely new system would disrupt or negate the budget process that had organically evolved through so much effort over the last few years. He wanted to know just how the budget process would work.

Patti said she would be having preliminary discussions with John Wagner and Jeanne, among others, so none of the good work done in the past will be undone, only enhanced.. For instance, she plans to give each committee a report to show how they are doing and to standardize financial policies and processes for all committees. Part of her process will be to cross train others on the FAB Committee, involve others in decision-making so they will have ownership of their decisions. The idea is to put the responsibility on the committees to come up with realistic and appropriate budgets. Also, mentoring their successors in this process will be built in.

Patrick asked for an example. Patti said that it should be part of the FAB’s committee’s written charge to write down how the budgeting process would work. She said she would write their charge and bring it to the board in October.

Anita asked Patti to position the FAB on the organization chart so we can see where their lines of authority go. Patti said she would, and said that as she sees it, the FAB will function as the go-between between the committees and the board. In her professional experience, she noted, her practice has been to establish and write down standard procedures for all to follow, so when groups change leadership, they won’t forget or abandon those standards.
After considerable discussion, the board voted unanimously to approve the changes as presented.

Merger of the Committee on Ministry & Safe Congregation Committee. On behalf of both committees, Jeff Wright asked the board’s authorization for the creation of an Interim Task Force on Congregational Ministry and Safety. As Jeff explained, the task force will be made up of the combined membership of the Committee on Ministry (COM) and the Safe Congregations Committee (SCC). The COM currently consists of Laura Adams, Sandy Moses, Jack Stevens, and Jeff Wright. The SCC consists of Dennis Reynolds and Sally DeCou.

The task force’s charge would include the following:
1. Continue to perform the existing functions of the two separate committees.
2. Review the policies and procedures of COM and SCC and similar processes at other UU congregations.
3. Explore options for combining the functions of the two committees and other initiatives aimed at enhancing a positive climate and right relations, and expanding comprehensive congregational ministry.
4. Propose policy revisions and updates as appropriate.

During discussion of this proposal, Jeff pointed out that merging the two committees will create a larger committee of a more appropriate size, allowing it to have a wider scope as they function to address right relations throughout the congregation, and not just as an advisory group to the minister. As a broader group they will proactively address all issues that might come before it, including sexual harassment. This, he said, “feels right to me as an appropriate next step.”

The group plans to set up a process that will give them the authority to deal with inappropriate behavior, and clarify what the consequences of such behavior would be.
Sally commented that she saw this combining of committees as a step in the right direction; that the present committee is too small to be making such potentially big decisions.

The board voted unanimously to approve the task force as described.

Treasurer’s Report. Marta Powers described and highlighted the new format she has created for the Treasurer’s Report, although she said there still needs to be more clarity under the Programs (or “Organizational”) category for committees. In future reports she will also include comments drawing attention to anything unusual.

Patrick was concerned that what is missing from this presentation is where we should be now in terms of our budget. Marta pointed out that this report will make more sense as we move ahead. She said is was hard to make comparisons vis a vis former years because our budgets have increased so dramatically. Marta also said she would like to see each committee being responsible for its line items. Furthermore, she would like to review our Schwab portfolio to see if we can get a better return for our money.

Leadership/Coordinating Council. Sarah Hendrickson has been working with Anita Cowling to create a task force to review all church committees and assess the need for, and create if necessary, new charges or restructuring before the Committee Fair in January. It was agreed that that task force should include someone from the Membership Committee, Nominating Committee, and a board member.

Recruitment Task Force. Anita Cowling pointed out the need for a Recruitment Task Force to staff critical committees that currently have no leaders. Stewardship and Fundraising are the immediate needs. Judy Sawyer agreed to head the Task Force, with the immediate assignment of finding a Stewardship Committee. In exchange for doing this, she will be exempt from participating in this year’s canvass. She will meet with Kay Crider, head of the Nominating Committee, and Al Landy, follow-up chair from last year’s Stewardship Committee, to come up with a prospect list for Stewardship. Patrick reiterated his commitment to be Co-Chair of the Stewardship Committee for next year.

Anticipated change to Sunday worship service’s candlelighting ritual and the sharing of Joys, Sorrows and Milestones. Olga Turner reported that several members have expressed unhappiness to hear that Jeanne Mills may eliminate, change, or explore other options for this standard ritual of our Sunday morning services. She explained that, as part of our need to grow more fully into a program church during this interim year, Jeanne and the Worship Associates will be exploring new ways to build community in our services and yet put aside some practices that only work well in a smaller church. The candle lighting ritual falls into this category. Yet any changes will be gradual and worked out with the cooperation of the Worship Associates. The Executive Committee brought this to the board’s attention so that the board could speak “with one voice” of understanding about this process.

Planned Giving Committee Request: That the line item for the committee in the 2006-07 budget be brought back to the amount for last year: to $500, as in '05-'06.This year’s budget cut it back to $250. Budget Committee Chair John Wagner told our committee this would be remedied and we hope it will be, when the next budget planning session meets. (Per John Wagner: This adjustment will be included in the budget revision that will be presented to the board for approval at the October board meeting.)

Religious Education Needs & Priorities. Candee Cole reported that she attended the Facilities Council September meeting to establish better communication and interaction with them to ensure that needs for R.E. repairs and maintenance are met. She delivered (and read) to FC a list of R.E. priorities, which she said they were receptive to, and told them she would have someone from R.E. act as a liaison to FC to keep the communication clear and open. Apparently the FC has been operating on more of a crisis management approach rather than a needs assessment—at least in regard to R.E.

This led to a board discussion of the need to ensure that when a staff member needs something for their program, that their requests be respected and acted on by FC or whatever committee the request affects. Candee also mentioned that last year she spent a good part of her R.E. budget on new tables and chairs because there was no procedure in place to cover expenditures for new furnishings and equipment. The board concurred that we do need a Furnishings Fund (and we do have one that was created with the surplus of monies raised to buy the chairs), but the board took no action to approve money from that fund for R.E. (As of June 30 there was $367 in the fund.)

Feasibility Study Contract. Patrick Phillips reported that the Strategic Planning Committee has chosen William Wilson Architects to conduct a feasibility study on the expansion of our present church building, or the creation of a new church building, on its present site. The contract has been reviewed and approved by the SPC and Olga. Now he asked the board to authorize $12,500 be spent from the Future Expansion Fund to proceed with the study. The board voted unanimously to approve the expenditure.

Board Members To Open Worship Services. Jeanne Mills’ has asked that, during her interim year, a board member open each Sunday service with a greeting, statement of our church’s mission and some personal words. The schedule for the next three months is as follows:
October: Anita Cowling
November: Judy Sawyer
December: Patrick Phillips

REPORTS
DRE’s Report (attached)
Executive Committee Minutes (attached)

Appreciations: Pat Christgau will send notes of appreciation to Dave DeCou and Ed Zack, Brian Lewis, Amy Raven and George Koris for their various contributions to the church.

Assignments. The schedule for Good Words for the rest of the church year is as follows:
Oct – Pat Christgau
Nov – Pam Dillehay
Dec – Patrick Phillips
Jan – Sally DeCou
Feb – Olga Turner
Mar – Judy Sawyer
April – Sarah Hendrickson
May – Marta Powers
June – Anita Cowling

The meeting adjourned at 9:45 with check-out.

Respectfully submitted

Judy Sawyer, Secretary

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RETREAT: BOARD PRIORITIES 2006-2007

Themes: “Celebrate continuity, embrace change; shared ministry in action”

1. Lay Leadership Development for Committee Sustainability

• Hold a Committee Fair in January to recruit new leaders and committee members
• Conduct educational workshops, create mentors to develop leaders
• Support regional and national training: AGM, GA, etc.

2. Create Support Structures to Fit Our Growing Ministry

• Conduct an infrastructure audit to review committee structures, charges and authority. Clarify their roles and authority and restructure, revamp as necessary.
• Re-structure Stewardship Committee as year-round standing committee. Continue to educate congregation about the importance of stewardship as a commitment to, and an attitude of, generosity and connection to community
• Restructure Social Action Committee for total church involvement/community impact, even as we honor ongoing social concerns.

3. Communicate Regularly and Consistently to Inform, Build Trust, Ease Change

4. Support the work of the Ministerial Search Committee as a whole, as well as its individual members.

5. Continue to Support Strategic Planning, as integral to both current and future actions

Other needs and comments:

• Review and update specific policies throughout year as needed
• Learn to talk about money matters reasonably, civilly, respectfully—not disconnected from resources that provide value. Create positive stewardship experiences
• Create a community of generosity and connection to broader community
• Employ rituals that recognize and honor life passages
• Continue to create a culture of incorporating, welcoming
• Provide pastoral care when it’s needed; be responsive to individual needs
• Provide more entry points for new members through small groups
• Cultivate friendliness, right relations, non-violent communication
• Communicate respectfully and work collaboratively
• Stay our present course with constructive changes
• Emphasize peace and justice
• Continue growth
• Engage in more interaction with the community
• Conduct more intergenerational activities that elders attend

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UNITARIAN UNIVERSALIST CHURCH IN EUGENE
Board of Trustees Meeting
MINUTES
August 10, 2006

Present: Patricia Christgau, Anita Cowling, Sarah Hendrickson, Michael Mattick, Patrick Phillips, Marta Powers, Judy Sawyer, Olga Turner

Absent: Candee Cole, Sally DeCou, Pam Dillehay
Visitor: Karen Gaffney, Ministerial Search Committee

The meeting opened at 7:15 pm with chalice lighting by Olga Turner, followed by “good words ”from Michael Mattick and check-in. The minutes for the July board meeting were approved.

Ministerial Search Committee. Karen Gaffney reported that the MSC had held its initial retreat and had elected her as chair, Ken Ross as secretary, and Suzanne Reynolds as treasurer. She said they also need to identify a negotiating team, comprised of someone from the MSC, a board member and someone from the Finance or Budget committees. Sarah Hendrickson agreed to serve on the negotiating team for the board; Karen will ask John Wagner, Budget Committee chair to serve on it as well. Suzanne Reynolds will be the third member and will convene the team. A draft agreement and salary range for the settled minister are needed before the end of October.

Other highlights of the retreat were as follows:
• The MSC will meet every Tuesday until their work is done.
• The MSC will survey the congregation to gain their perspectives on various aspects of church life. The survey results will become part of the packet that will go to ministers interested in UUCE. They should help describe the congregation to prospective ministerial candidates.
• In October the MSC will begin holding a series of about 15 small group meetings to give everyone in the congregation a chance to review the survey results and provide any additional input into the material to be distributed.
• A packet detailing our congregation’s profile and needs must be ready to go out in the fall, so the MSC would like to have all congregational input completed by then.

Karen asked for a copy of the exit interview with Carolyn. Olga will send it to her and to the board members as well. Karen already has a copy of the Interim Search Committee’s notebook.

A three-hour workshop called “Beyond Categorical Thinking” will be conducted after a Sunday service sometime in November or early December. It is critical that all church leaders attend, and all church members will be encouraged to do so as well. The UUA will send a team to facilitate this. The aim of the workshop is to encourage church members to think inclusively, without fear or prejudice, in choosing a new settled minister, thus ensuring that we have the best and widest field of ministers to choose from in our selection process. The cost of the workshop is $250 and will be paid for by the funds allocated for ministerial search expenses. The UUA will cover all other expenses.

Of three possible Sundays on which to hold the workshop, the board agreed that November 5 would be best. Second and third choices are November 19 and December 3, in that order.

Patrick Phillips suggested that the MSC include an overview of the above meetings to come—a timeline—in the September newsletter. Karen agreed to do so. In addition to the plans mentioned above, the MSC plans to contact neutral pulpits by September 2006, come up with pre-candidates (finalists) by mid-January and arrange to hear the final candidate in April or May.

Someone then asked: How often does the board want to hear from the MSC? After some discussion, in which Karen pointed out that the MSC is responsible to the congregation as a whole rather than to the board, it was agreed that the MSC will communicate with the congregation at large regularly by newsletter, website, and posting the congregational survey, and by e-mail reports to the board as needed.

The MSC’s UUA contacts throughout the search process are Rev. Weston at the national level and Milly Mullarky at the PNWD level.

CUUPs (Community of UU Pagans) and Interweave. The board unanimously gave its blessing to both organizations as official affinity groups of our church.

Kitchen Committee. The board unanimously approved that the Kitchen Committee be given official status as a committee of UUCE. Current members are as follows: Lynn Jackson, M.S., Jean Coberly, Barbara Greenley, Dorothy Mitchell, Amy Raven, Sylvia Taylor, Kathleen Dillon, and Rachel Cummings. In an e-mail Kathy Dillon reported that the committee is sharing the roles of chair and scribe. Sylvia Taylor will serve as its contact person.
The committee plans to:
> inventory the contents of the kitchen & storage area
> sort and dispose of those things that are unnecessary through donation and recycling
> make a list of needed supplies
> reorganize the kitchen
> make signs to make it easy to find needed items and to figure out where things go when cleaning up
> make clear instruction sheets for the coffee system and dishwasher
> create guidelines for kitchen use, including the refrigerators and storage area
> develop a roster of volunteers to handle Sunday morning, regular cleaning of the refrigerators.

Rev. Jeanne Mills Arrival & Reception. Although Jeanne Mills will attend the August 20th service at church, she will not officially begin her duties in the pulpit until Sunday, September 10. The board agreed that the Worship Associates should introduce her at the August services, and the Committee on Ministry and Pat Christgau (for the board) will be part of a task force to organize a reception for Jeanne on September 10th.

Board Retreat Update. Anita affirmed that Jeanine Larsen will facilitate the retreat and that she has received notes from Jeanne Mills regarding the agenda as well as the board’s priorities, as recapped from the June 2006 board meeting:
~ How to deal with congregational concerns about upcoming changes and develop a process for congregational conflict resolution. (per Olga)
~ Examine our church’s organizational structure to see whether it is working for us. (Olga)
~ Is the board doing what is necessary to provide support and/or oversight of the many volunteer committees, such as the Strategic Planning Committee, annual Stewardship team, Planned Giving Committee, etc., and is it fulfilling the congregation’s expectations and needs? (Olga)
~ Have we met last year’s retreat goals? (Olga)
~ Address problem of volunteer recruitment
~ Look more critically at our committee structures and clarify lines of authority. Do an analysis of how we communicate: what works and what doesn’t
~ Examine how we are using the Leadership Council and whether they are serving the board and vice versa
~ Leadership development

Anita said she hoped that we would emerge from the retreat with two or three priorities to work on for the next year, as we did last year. Also she would like to see some time set aside to discuss the Strategic Planning Committee’s Five-Year Plan.
Patrick agreed to purchase the food we need for Saturday, rather than have another potluck. He will be reimbursed by the treasurer for his expenses.

Stewardship Update. According to Olga, the pledge total for 2006-2007 remains at $278,840. She reported that the Executive Committee agreed that the Stewardship Committee, Cecilia Kingman-Miller and Jeanne Mills should meet with the board to evaluate the 2005-2006 campaign, prepare for the 2006-2007 campaign, address the problem of recruiting people for the stewardship effort and come up with a five-year stewardship plan. That meeting should be held as soon as possible—either in September or October. Olga will contact Cecilia to find out when she is available.

The board discussed the need to have a standing Stewardship Committee with members serving a two-year term. Judy suggested we put an article in the newsletter calling for volunteers to staff such a committee. Patrick said he would write an article for the September newsletter. Patrick also volunteered to be the Stewardship Chair for the 2007-2008 campaign, which might be a helpful tool in recruiting a chair for the 06-07 campaign—knowing there is already a chair to follow the next year

Board Policies. The board unanimously agreed to accept the following policies as revised below:

NOMINATING COMMITTEE

NOM.1 The Nominating Committee shall provide the congregation slates of officers and at-large members of the Board of Trustees, as outlined in bylaws 080.1-080.6. The Board of Trustees may also ask the Nominating Committee to provide similar slates for key church committees such as the Strategic Planning Committee and for ministerial search committees.

NOM.2 In determining slates of nominees, the Nominating Committee should consider criteria beyond basic eligibility, for example: problem-solving styles, prior experience, balance in gender and age, term limits, and potential conflicts of interest. Potential nominees should be made aware of time and attendance requirements (e.g., the importance of board members attending the Board Retreat)

NOM.3 The recommended procedures for the committee may include:
(a) Announce the opening of nominations via newsletter, Sunday service announcements, and invite interested candidates to contact Nominating Committee members.
(b) Meet with the Board president and the Minister regarding potential candidates and the Board’s needs, as specified in bylaw 080.4.
(c) Consult Board members and committee chairs concerning potential candidates and specific talents needed.
(d) Prior to interviews, review job descriptions and consult with officers whose terms are ending regarding specific requirements for their key positions. Also review and update prospective candidate questionnaire, which forms the basis of the candidate interview.
(e) Set up information table in the social hall to increase dialogue about the nomination process and to encourage candidates. Also, use the church website to explain the process and invite candidates to apply.
(f) Consider holding an open forum so that anyone can speak directly to members of the Nominating Committee about its process.

STEWARDSHIP COMMITTEE

STEW.1 The Stewardship Committee is responsible for an annual canvass of all church members and friends. This shall be a standing committee with a chair and co-chair. The co-chair will become the chair the following year.

STEW.2 The Stewardship Committee will organize the canvass campaign, including the creation of a canvass team. Members of the team may include a communications chair, canvass chair (person who recruits and follows up on canvassers), events chair, advanced gifts chair, kick-off event chair, follow up chair, and a pledge secretary (see STEW.3).

STEW.3 There shall be a Pledge Secretary who assists the Treasurer in managing the pledges of the congregation. He or she will serve as an ex officio or regular member of the Finance Committee and make timely reports to that committee. The Pledge Secretary is responsible for keeping track of pledges and payments on pledges and for sending statements to pledge units on a regular basis.

STEW.4 The Stewardship Committee and Pledge Secretary are responsible for designing pledge cards for each annual canvass. All members of the congregation will be invited to sign a pledge card reaffirming their membership. The pledge cards should provide the opportunity for members to pledge their support of the church, including both a financial pledge and a commitment of time and service for the year. In addition, the pledge cards should include a brief statement of reaffirmation of membership, as described in Bylaw 040.2.

Patrick Phillips pointed out that we also need a board policy defining the SPC’s charge, how its members are elected and for how long. We will discuss the content and wording of such a policy at the September board meeting.

Congregational Meeting. The board agreed that the October Congregational Meeting will be held between services on Sunday, October 15. The meeting agenda will be shared by the SPC and the Ministerial Search Committee. One item will be to vote on the slate of new SPC candidates. The other will be to hear from the MSC.

Treasurer’s Report. Marta Powers reported that we had received an anonymous gift of $10,000 from the Oregon Community Foundation. It had been sent to us in November 2005, before we received another anonymous gift for $45,000, but it had gone astray and only came to the OCF’s attention when they were closing out their books for the fiscal year and saw that the check hadn’t been cashed. So they issued another check. This money is designated for our operating budget and will be factored into the 2006-2007 budget along with the roll-over amount from 2005-2006. Although the donor was thanked for this new gift in the August newsletter, Marta felt we should somehow acknowledge to the donor why there was such a delay in our thanks. After some discussion, we agreed that Pat Christgau will send a letter to the foundation asking them to convey our thanks to the donor and letting them know the reason for the delay.

Marta also reported that she has issued her final treasurer’s report for the fiscal year 2005-2006 and has created both an income account and a fund to hold the excess 2005-2006 income that she has rolled over into the operating funds for our 2006-2007 fiscal year. (Marta will have a final report on the exact amount of this at the next board meeting.) Marta is also working on a new format for her monthly financial reports, to make it consistent with the way the budget is shown in Quickbooks. Accounts will be given 4-digit numbers instead of 3 to create room to add others if necessary. The Finance Committee has approved these changes.

Marta also said that the Finance Committee needs to get together with Personnel Committee to come up with guidelines for a reimbursable plan. As Marta explained: “The budget, finance, personnel and all committee heads agreed to go to a ‘reimbursable professional expense plan’ as of this fiscal year. This means that any professional expenses will not roll over into another year. Staff must submit requests for reimbursement for professional expenses they incur. In the past people have not had guidelines and the balance left over for professional expenditures has often rolled over or been given to staff as income. With a plan such as this, we need quidelines for what constitutes a professional expense.”

However, Personnel is in transition right now and Jeanne needs to be in on this conversation.

Patrick suggested that, in the future, the Treasurer’s Report be earlier on the board agenda because of its importance and because we are more alert at the beginning of our meetings.

Strategic Planning. Patrick reminded the board that that RFPs had been sent out to 30 architectural firms (in Eugene, Portland and Seattle) to bid on the feasibility study for the expansion of our present building. (Meanwhile, Betty Hosokawa completed a building needs assessment indicating how much space we need for our programs.) The SPC has received two responses and will interview both firms before choosing one. However, SPC needs to sign a contract with the chosen firm and needs board authorization to spend the money on the study. Patrick said the amount needed will likely be $18,000 to $20,000, but they will try to talk them down in price because the SPC has already done some information gathering of their own re: zoning and other matters that would be part of such a study.

The board voted unanimously to authorize the expenditure needed for the study. The money will be taken from the Future Expansion Fund.

Patrick said the SPC will get a detailed budget and work plan from the firm selected as part of a standard architectural contract for Olga to sign. Gretchen Miller has agreed to look over the contract to make sure there is nothing objectionable in it. The board will be asked to vote approval of the contract by e-mail, unless there is disagreement, in which case we will have to call a special meeting to review and approve it.

The SPC will have its orientation meeting for new committee members on September 13. They are inviting Jeanne Mills to attend.

Executive Committee Minutes (attached)

Sarah Hendrickson agreed to provide Good Words for the August meeting.

The meeting adjourned with check-out at 9:30 pm.

Respectfully submitted,
Judy Sawyer
Secretary

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Board of Trustees Meeting
MINUTES
July 13, 7:00 pm

Present: Patricia Christgau, Candee Cole, Anita Cowling, Sally DeCou, Pam Dillehay, Sarah Hendrickson, Michael Mattick, Patrick Phillips, Marta Powers, Judy Sawyer

Absent: Carolyn Colbert, Olga Turner

The meeting was opened at 7:00 pm with a chalice lighting by Anita Cowling, followed by “good words ”from Judy Sawyer and check-in. The minutes for the June board meeting were approved.

Board Retreat Update. Anita reported that Judy Sawyer and Dave Franzen had agreed to host the Aug. 25, Friday evening potluck at their house (712 E. 39th Place, corner of Hilyard and E. 39th Place) at 6:00 pm. The retreat itself will be held from 9 am to 5 pm on Saturday, August 26 at the Trude Kaufman Center on the corner of 10th and Jefferson. Charge for use of the center is $175 in advance. It was noted that a shared ministry group provided the food for Saturday breakfast and lunch last year. However, that option is probably no longer available, as all groups have already chosen their service projects. It was suggested that we put an appeal in the August newsletter and on the UU chat list for a group to sponsor a “Retreat Feed” for us. Judy Sawyer will write the appeal and send it to Martha for the chat list as well.
Jeanine Larson will facilitate the retreat—or provide us with a facilitator. As co-chairs of the retreat, Anita and Patrick will meet to fine-tune the agenda and planning. They will also connect with Jeanine for her input as well as that of our new interim minister, Jeanne Mills.
Stewardship Update. Anita said that the Stewardship Committee will reconvene soon to debrief and follow up on the Stewardship Campaign. They also will invite Cecilia Kingman-Miller back—probably for a visit in September or October—to help us to evaluate this year’s campaign and to help us come up with a five-year stewardship plan. Suzanne Whaley, our pledge secretary, sent out a draft of the most recent pledge figures, but Marta said there are big discrepancies between Suzanne’s report of moneys received this year and the actual amounts received—about $20,000 more than Suzanne has recorded.

Gallery Upgrade Decision (information only). The EC voted to support the Facilities Council decision NOT to create three 4' x 7' moveable, carpeted panels that Don Durland asked for in addition to the shelves and carpeting already planned and approved. The FC recommended—and the EC concurred—that the Inner Space Gallery's display space be pared back and limited to the carpeted wall areas only, and that the glass-topped display case and old display boards be removed.
Judy Sawyer will contact Ann Fuller, Communications Coordinator for the Facilities Council, to be sure she checks with the church staff before disposing of the display case and old panels elsewhere. Also, to be sure to thank Don Durland for his work, while letting him know why we decided not to have new display panels made.
Recruitment Issues. With at-large board member Patrick Phillips leaving in January, midway through his last year on the board, and Nominating Committee Chair Kay Crider leaving then as well, the board agreed to ask the Nominating Committee to make replacements to fill out the terms of both Patrick and Kay.

The Strategic Planning Committee also needs someone to fill out the second year of Vern Cedarland’s two-year term on the committee. (Vern is going to Poland to teach for two years.) The board agreed that Linda Anson, who has been working with the SPC ex-officio, could fill that slot.

Leadership Council Agenda. Anita asked the board to help her come up with agenda items for the LC’s next meeting on Saturday, August 19. Suggestions were as follows:
~ Create a preliminary church calendar for the fall. Have Kim send a postcard to all heads of committees, notifying them that LC will be “calendaring” and asking them or a representative to attend the meeting.
~ Ask LC members what their hopes and concerns are for the coming year. Sarah Hendrickson agreed to facilitate this brainstorming session.
~ Define the LC’s mission. If its mission is to communicate, define what it should communicate about and to whom. If its mission is to develop programs, then create a 5-year plan and conduct Dreamweaver-style sessions to get congregational input.
Informed that the Leadership Council’s priorities for the church (solicited during the search for an interim minister) were different from the Board’s, Pam Dillehay wanted to know what they were. Sally DeCou said she would send them around again. Meanwhile, Sarah said that in general the LC wanted more visioning work and work on how to get people to volunteer for leadership positions. The board’s emphasis seemed to be more on maintaining the status quo during a time of transition.
LC will meet again in October.

Transition to Interim Minister. Anita called for a discussion about how we can best work with Jeanne Mills. Michael Mattick said that we should be conscious of the things that Carolyn has done that Jeanne might not want to do. Patrick felt it was good that we have a strong board that could counter any tendency that some ministers might have to think of themselves as “chairman of the board.” He encouraged the board to not be too sensitive about changes our new interim might put forth, but to differentiate between which things should be a collaborative effort between her and the board and which are within her administrative purview.
Pat Christgau was concerned that right off the bat Jeanne saw a problem with our organization chart. Michael suggested that we keep an open mind to give new viewpoints a hearing before we react to them. Sarah remarked that Jeanne has lots of good ideas regarding how to make our church more efficient. She said, “That’s her strength.” She suggested that the board have two major roles in helping Jeanne to help us: 1) to provide complete and clear information for her to understand what we do and why and 2) If she has a good idea, be brave enough to give it a try, though we need not embrace change just for the sake of change. This would move us from a consensus to a programmatic church. Sarah also felt we should be willing to make some mistakes as we try new approaches. That maybe “we might find ourselves dancing.”
Candee also suggested that we be brave enough to say “no” to an idea if we don’t think it will work. In the next breath, however, Candee gave an example of a change in the past that was resisted but needed to happen: the move to a second service.
Someone else pointed out that if there are any “scary” issues of change, it is best that we bring them up now, with our interim minister, rather than waiting for a settled minister to have to deal with them.

REPORTS

Strategic Planning. Patrick Phillips reported that Pat Christgau will now become the board liaison to the SPC, as Patrick’s term ends in October. Betty Hosokawa and Bonnie Phipps have completed the space needs audit, paving the way for an architect to conduct a feasibility study on the expansion of the church on its current property. He said they had very good buy-in from the staff and other church groups.
On Monday requests for proposals (RFPs) went out to 30 architectural firms (in Eugene, Portland and Seattle) to bid on the feasibility study. He anticipates they will have all bids in by August 4 and will choose one by mid-August. He is then hoping for the architect’s report no later than mid-October. Meanwhile search for land to build on is ongoing
We will need a congregational meeting in October to fill four slots on the Strategic Planning Committee. The SPC will also give the congregation an update on their progress at that time. SPC is already working with the Nominative Committee to select those to fill the slots.

DRE’s Report. Candee Cole delivered a comprehensive written year-in-review of RE program highlights, challenges, accomplishments and hopes (see attached). She also said that she plans to meet with the Facilities Council to lay out her needs for maintenance and repair. She wanted to know how she could get needed improvements and furnishings beyond RE “materials.” If the staff needs furniture, where does the money come from? Sarah suggested that special fund raising appeals for RE would be a good way to fund such needs.
Candee also asked the board to help promote congregational involvement at GA, which will be held in Portland next year in June. Her goal is to get at least half of the youth there and is looking for a place for the youth to stay that will keep costs down.
In addition, Candee reported that her advisory committee had revised her contract, primarily to deal with the 80-20 medical benefits adjustment. Olga is looking it over and will sign if she approves.
Finally, Candee outlined several goals for next year:
1) To develop greater resources for RE
2) To improve professional boundaries by respecting confidentiality
3) To spread world of UU opportunities at camps and conferences.

Assignments and Apprecations

Michael Mattick agreed to provide Opening Words for the August meeting.

The meeting adjourned with a brief check-out at the record time of 8:50 pm.

Respectfully submitted,
Judy Sawyer
Secretary

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Board of Trustees Meeting
MINUTES
June 8, 2006

Present: Pat Christgau, Carolyn Colbert, Candee Cole, Anita Cowling, Sally DeCou, Pam Dillehay, Sarah Hendrickson, Michael Mattick, Marta Powers, Judy Sawyer, Olga Turner

Absent: Patrick Phillips

Visitors: Erik Fisher, Amy Raven & Chuck Wagar from the Green Sanctuary Committee

The meeting opened at 7:10 pm with chalice lighting and good words by Carolyn Colbert and welcome to new board member Patricia Christgau. The minutes for the May board meeting were approved and two items were added to the agenda to deal with if we had time.
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Green Sanctuary Proposal. Erik Fisher, co-chair of the Green Sanctuary Committee (GSC), spoke about the work that the GSC had done over the past several months to prepare for our church to become a candidate for the UUA’s Green Sanctuary program. He reviewed the committee’s letter to the board (attached), the results of the committee’s environmental audit (attached), reviewed and explained the proposed Green Sanctuary Action Plan (attached) and requested $100 in funds to join the UU Ministry for the Earth (MFE) and achieve status as a member church and another $100 to fund our application for Green Sanctuary status. These monies will accompany the Action Plan once it has been finalized and approved by the board and the congregation.

Erik further explained that the Green Sanctuary program mandated an Action Plan that included two items under the category of Worship and Celebration, two items under Religious Education, two items under Sustainable Living and two items under Environmental Justice, as well as an additional two items under any of those categories. The committee chose two additional items that fell into the category of Sustainable Living.

Erik said that Eldon Haines presented the Action Plan and Environmental Audit to the Leadership Council a couple of weeks ago and they liked what they heard. He also said that about 40 UU churches are already accredited as Green Sanctuary congregations and that several more will be accredited at this year’s General Assembly.

Olga Turner asked, if we became certified as a Green Sanctuary congregation, whether we would need to be re-certified if we moved to, or constructed, a different church building. Erik thought that would not be the case, but that he would check into it. Judy Sawyer pointed out that Green Sanctuary certification was just the first step to setting in motion an environmental justice program that would continue after certification as long as there are any such issues left to address.

Sarah Hendrickson said she thought the whole idea of doing this was wonderful. However, she expressed concern about the Action Plan item involving the Baxter Neighborhood Project because she said it had not been proven that the Baxter plant’s emissions had created a toxic problem—only bad smells in the neighborhood. She felt we should go where the environmental needs are, not where the “noise” is. Erik pointed out that the committee had not had time to complete its investigation of the matter, but that the situation was being explored and that there was a lot of “energy” among committee members on this item. Judy suggested that the committee amend the Baxter item to address toxic problems in the community, with the Baxter plant as one possibility, subject to further investigation.

Erik pointed out that the Action Plan is a work in progress and a guideline for positive actions, not a document cast in stone. He also said that the committee plans to define more clearly what is meant by environmental justice and, using that guideline, to make refinements in the Action Plan as necessary.

Other questions from the board concerned how we will communicate this plan to other groups in the church, because the Action Plan is an “idea-generating” document that needs discussion. It was pointed out that Rudy Berg is the Strategic Planning Committee’s liaison to the GSC, Judy Sawyer is the Board’s liaison, and, once again, that Eldon Haines has presented these documents to the Leadership Council, which represents many groups in the church. Nevertheless, Olga Turner asked whether the committee had considered holding Town Meetings like the SPC did to inform the members of the congregation at large. Erik replied that that would be a possibility, and that the UUA specifically requests that the congregation approve any Action Plan put forth.

Asked when we would apply for Green Sanctuary candidacy, Erik said that could be at any time (like matriculation at a college) and that it could take from one to two years at the outside to complete the necessary work to become accredited (like graduating from college). Once we send in our application for accreditation, the UUA has committees that meet virtually and can give feedback in a matter of weeks.

The board unanimously approved the expenditure of $200 to join the UU MFE and to fund our application for Green Sanctuary status. The board also approved the Action Plan, with a directive to the GS Committee to reword the language of the Action Plan to show that it will be a work in progress and that individual items may be subject to amendment by the various stakeholders in the congregation.

Carolyn encouraged the committee members to hold a luncheon to raise the $200 that the board authorized the committee to spend, as it is not in either the present budget or the recently approved 2006-2007 budget.

Olga suggested that the committee develop a budget for its work so we can include it as a line item in next year’s budget.

Scheduling. The board approved the following schedule for EC and Board Meetings for the 2006-2007 church year:

Exec Committee (first Thursday of month) July 6 August 3 September 7 October 5 November 2 December 7 January 4 February 1 March 1 April 5 May 3

Board (second Thursday of month) July 14 August 10 September 14 October 12 November 9 December 14 January 11 February 8 March 8 April 12 May 10

Committee Approvals. The board unanimously approved the following committee positions:
* Archives Committee—Kathy Dillon and Bob Taylor as co-chairs
* Finance Committee—Patti Hansen as chair
* Committee on Ministry—Jack Stevens as continuing member and Sandy Moses as a new member

Carry-over Fund. Marta Powers requested board approval to roll over the excess funds (which were largely the result of an anonymous gift designated to be used for operating expenses) from the 2005-2006 income into the 2006-2007 budget, as approved by the congregation on June 4 as part of projected income. The board voted to so approve. Any other pledge money that comes in after the end of the church fiscal year in June will automatically go into the Stability Fund as usual.

Board Retreat Report & Priorities. Anita expressed her concern that the board articulate definite goals for the upcoming retreat on August 25 and 26. The first question was whether our incoming minister, Jeanne Melis Mills, wants a facilitator for the retreat and the answer is “yes.” Anita said that Janine Larson of the PNWD will find one for us.

Olga had submitted in writing the following suggestions and questions to address at the retreat:

1. How to deal with congregational concerns about upcoming changes, especially as they relate to our tendency as a church community to be “conflict averse.” Also, how best to develop a process for congregational conflict resolution.

2. Examining our church’s organizational structure to see whether it is working for us. Also, to see whether the board is doing what is necessary to provide support and/or oversight of the many volunteer committees, such as the Strategic Planning Committee, annual Stewardship team, Planned Giving Committee, etc.

3. Is the board fulfilling the congregation’s expectations and needs?

4. Have we met last year’s retreat goals?

Anita mentioned that two goals from last year’s agenda were to form a Social Justice Council and a Strategic Planning Committee. The SPC has performed brilliantly this year. Social Justice was put on a back burner because of the committee’s time constraints, but Judy pointed out that the Green Sanctuary Committee is addressing many of the concerns that Social Justice would have, so that goal has not been set aside, but pursued in a slightly different manner.

Other suggestions for this year’s retreat agenda included:

• Address problem of volunteer recruitment
• Look more critically at our committee structures and clarify lines of authority. Do an analysis of how we communicate: what works and what doesn’t
• Examine how we are using the Leadership Council and whether they are serving the board and vice versa
• Leadership development

Anita expressed a desire to emerge from the retreat with clear goals and to know what kind of outcome we would like to have. Olga then asked each board member to state what they would like to happen at the retreat:

Michael Mattick: Likes group visioning
Sally DeCou: Would like to see us come up with a short mission statement for the board to use, as Janine suggested last year
Sarah Hendrickson: Wants to look at how we’re doing the business of the church and how we can do it better. Explore ways to facilitate change. How we might work more efficiently. If that means tweaking our committee structure, then we should do so.
Olga Turner: Wants to hear Jeanne’s ideas (before the retreat)
Pat Christgau: Echoes what Sarah said
Carolyn Colbert: Wants to see us get acquainted with each other as partners with the minister and each other.
Pam Dillhay. Nothing to add.
Judy Sawyer: Does not want to spend time trying to come up with a board mission statement. Thinks it is more important to see what is getting in the way of volunteer recruitment and how to remedy that.

Olga added that she would like to see the board work on the stewardship model for next year and suggested we have a second retreat later to focus specifically on that.

Board Policies. The board unanimously approved the following board policies as revised (changes underlined) or new, as in the case of Volunteer Policies (below):

FAC.3 The Facilities Council has the authority to approve essential work for the church. By "essential work" is meant work needed for safety or to maintain the integrity of the building and grounds. Non-essential work may include, but is not limited to, work that would improve the church aesthetics and work requests received by the Facilities Council from other groups in the church.

The Leadership Council has the authority to approve non-essential changes after all stakeholders have been consulted. Non-essential work should be prioritized jointly by the Facilities Council and the Leadership Council. Projects that cannot be done within the Facilities Council budget need to be taken to the Executive Committee. Projects approved by the Facilities Council and the Leadership Council, whose costs will exceed $500, should be taken to the Executive Committee for approval; the Executive Committee may take them to the Board for approval. (adopted by the Board on February 10, 2005)

LEAD.2 The Leadership Council shall have the authority to review changes in aesthetic elements or fixtures of the church suggested by committees or individuals. The Council may approve or deny the change, or it may choose to allow the congregation a comment period, or other process for approving or denying the change. The Leadership Council will work with the Facilities Council on non-essential changes to the building. As in FAC.3, costs exceeding $500 should be taken to the Executive Committee for approval; the Executive Committee may take them to the Board for approval.

VOLUNTEER POLICIES
VOL.1 Appropriate tools, materials, and a safe work environment should be provided, along with guidance, direction, and training for assignments. Volunteers should be treated as colleagues.

VOL.2 It is the responsibility of volunteers to respect the confidentiality of staff and other church members.

Interim Ministry Update. Sally DeCou reported that Jeanne will be here to look for housing from June 20-23.

Stewardship/Canvass. Olga Turner reported that we have received about $275,000 in pledges—representing a $70,000 increase above pledges received by this time last year. She said we want to have a debriefing on the stewardship campaign with our consultant, Cecilia Kingman-Miller, in September. She would also like to have stewardship on the retreat agenda. Olga further stated that some people had found the pledge card and pledge statement confusing, so they need to be revised for next year. Although the last follow-up letters have gone out, she said the Stewardship Committee may follow up with phone calls for those who have previously pledged $800 and above. Finally, she thanked everyone who worked so hard on this year’s campaign.

Board Recruitment Issue. Olga reported that Patrick Phillips will be leaving in January 2007 for an overseas destination as part of a sabbatical funded by a Guggenheim Award. As a result, the board has several options: Choose to not replace him; replace him now with someone who will take over his entire last year term, or let him serve through December and have someone fill in for the last six months of his term. If we replace him, for either a year or six months, the feeling is that we should do so with someone who has served on the board in the past and is already familiar with our board policies and processes.

Sarah suggested that we might want to find a replacement from a group that is currently not represented on the board. In any case, Judy will check with Patrick before the next meeting to see what he wants to do. We agreed to resolve the matter at the next board meeting.

REPORTS
Strategic Planning Committee. In Patrick’s absence, Pat Christgau reported that creative and imaginative things are happening through the Strategic Planning Committee. She said Linda Anson has consulted with Jean Tate about what to do and not to do in looking for new sites for building or buying. One suggestion is that the church find a developer willing to donate land as a tax benefit. Linda has also been talking to city planners about possibilities.

Treasurer’s Report (attached). Marta Powers reported that the Stewardship Committee’s follow-up letters to non-pledgers has been bringing in pledges. Marta will be out of town from June 23 to July 9, so Olga will need to sign any checks that need to go out.
She also reported that there are now over 40 pledge units who have signed up for automatic deposit through Vanco versus 30 last year. That represents over $45,000 in pledges, which helps even out the income stream over the year—a great advantage for our operating budget.
Sarah expressed appreciation for the much clearer profit and loss statement that Marta has created each month.
Olga asked if anyone had any concerns about the budget that was passed at the congregational meeting on June 4. No one did.

Minister’s Report. Carolyn said she will be traveling for a few weeks—to General Assembly in St. Louis and to a training in Nashville to prepare her for her next assignment as an interim minister in Los Gatos. For that reason she will not be at the July board meeting. She also reported that Rachel Cummings has agreed to serve as anchor for the Outreach Committee.

DRE’s Report. Candee Cole said that three members of the RE Committee are stepping down and will need to be replaced. Also that Jennifer Sorenson will be leaving as head of the infants and toddlers program because she will be too busy with her upcoming senior year course load. She will be greatly missed. Candee has mailed a letter to the RE families with preschoolers to find a replacement for Jennifer.

Staffing Update. Carolyn reported that they had to let Sean, the office assistant, go, but they will give him a positive reference and two weeks notice. The staff is now clearer about what they need to ask in terms of getting a future office assistant with a personality and skills to better match the needs of the position.

Gallery Upgrade. The Facilities Council submitted a memo to the board the day before the board meeting asking that the board rule against Don Durland’s direction to create 3 solid, 4'x7' separate, moveable, carpeted panels in addition to the shelves and carpeting that were initially planned and approved—at an extra cost of $500. The FC recommends that the InnerSpace Gallery's display space be pared back and limited to the carpeted wall areas only. Further, the FC recommends the removal of the glass-topped display case.

However, given that the Executive Committee did not have time to consider this and get feedback from all stakeholders, the board asked the secretary to e-mail all the stakeholders and ask them to meet to resolve this issue before the next EC meeting. Meanwhile, the board advised the FC to carpet the walls and install the bookshelves as planned. The board also advised the FC in the future to bring such concerns to the board in time for the EC to consider them, and not ask the board for a last-minute ruling on matters that are sensitive and involve other stakeholders.
Executive Committee Minutes (attached)
Facilities Council Report (attached)

Appreciations. Sally DeCou said she would like someone else to take on the task of sending thank-you notes of appreciation, as she has done this for two years. Pat Christgau said she would be happy to do so. Pat will send an appreciation to Rev. Dana Worsnop for the great job she did with us on the exit interview.

Assignments. Assign opening words for several months. We forgot to make these assignments. Therefore, the secretary will ask board members to sign up for the months ahead by e-mail.

The meeting adjourned after check-out at the late hour of 9:45 pm.

Respectfully,
Judy Sawyer
Secretary

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Board of Trustees Meeting
MINUTES
May 11, 2006

Present: Carolyn Colbert, Candee Cole, Anita Cowling, Rachel Cummings, Sally DeCou, Pam Dillehay, Sarah Hendrickson, Michael Mattick, Patrick Phillips, Marta Powers, Judy Sawyer, Olga Turner
Visitor: John Wagner, Chair, Finance and Budget Committees

Olga Turner opened the meeting at 7:00 with the chalice lighting, followed by good words from Anita Cowling. The minutes for the April board meeting were approved. Olga asked that the Treasurer’s Report be given before the presentation of the budget draft by John Wagner. The agenda was adjusted accordingly.

Treasurer’s Report. Marta Powers again reviewed the new template she created to present the monthly treasurer’s report. She reported that we are currently $44,268 in the black, but that doesn’t mean we’ll have that much left at the end of the church’s fiscal year. She said we tend to be “front loaded,” in pledges and income generated in the earlier months of the fiscal year. Furthermore, several expenses are still due: several thousand dollars to pay for the All-Church Brunch (a stewardship event and part of the canvass), up to $1,000 for a new vacuum cleaner, and another $1,000 for a new office computer. The current surplus also includes the $20,000 gift we received from an anonymous donor earlier in the year.
Attempting to predict a possible (though unlooked for) deficit at the end of this fiscal year, she reviewed treasurer’s reports to see if she could find a pattern in the latter months of the last five fiscal years. She found no pattern. Therefore, given the current surplus, and projected anticipated expenses, she estimates that we will have an excess of $20,000 at the end of the fiscal year.
Patrick was still troubled by the fact that we are still down $47,792 in pledge money received, but because of gifts, fundraising, offerings and other income received, we are down only $23,096 from our annual budget of $312,638. Marta said she received $6,000 in unpaid pledges in just the last month, so given that kind of influx, she said she would be surprised if we ran into trouble.

Meanwhile, Marta has added the following:
• The $8,500 allowance for unpaid pledges is not part of the Profit and Loss statement. So the beginning point of the excess is the $8,500.
• Payroll taxes are down by about $2,000 because we have entry-level child care and the new custodian’s wages were lower than expected or overestimated a little.
• Health insurance is down slightly.
• We transferred about $3,000 from the custodial medical account expense line to income. This had a double impact because we took $3,000 out of expense plus added $3,000 to income. Therefore about $6,000 in additional funds.
• As identified in the meeting, Carolyn's professional expenses are underspent by about $4,000 at this point in time.
Finally, she reiterated, we are not lacking in income. In fact we will probably go over in total projected income.

Contingency Fund. Marta then explained that the Executive Committee approved the creation of a Contingency Fund to allow us to roll over any excess income left at the end of this fiscal year. (See EC minutes, attached.) The money in the Contingency Fund is then available to be used in the next budget year. However, the board will need to approve that rollover at the end of the fiscal year, in June.
By contrast, the Stability Fund, into which we put any pledge money from the previous fiscal year after that fiscal year closes, can only be used at the end of the next fiscal year to pay off a deficit.
In response to a question from Michael Mattick about the propriety of putting excess income into a Contingency Fund instead of the Stability Fund, John Wagner had this to say: If we foresee a budget deficit, as we did toward the beginning of the June 05-06 fiscal year, that requires that the congregation approve a reduced budget. If, however, we have too much money at the end of a year, our bylaws don’t say what we must do. As the entity charged with fiscal responsibility, the board gets to decide where to allocate that excess money.
Patrick pointed out that the amount we will have to spend for the overlap between our incoming and outgoing ministers ($9,900) and expenses for the search for a settled minister ($10,000) equals what we will have in the contingency fund, and that makes him nervous.
John pointed out that our “interesting challenge” this year in creating a balanced budget was putting money into the income area rather than whittling it down in expense areas as we did last year. He said we had done an excellent job of maintaining expense lines.

Community Outreach Fund. Marta mentioned that the EC created an “in and out” Community Outreach Fund to provide a record of moneys received and dispersed for special charitable outreach in the community. (See EC minutes, attached.)

Budget Draft 2 for 2006-2007. John Wagner explained that the $306,000 pledge figure seemed reasonable, given that we already have $254,000 pledged and that the more than 100 pledge units that still haven’t pledged have a history that should bring us close to $300,000. And that doesn’t account for new members over the course of the year, which should bring us to the $306,000 total.
He then highlighted the following income line items:
• #9 – Offering line increased because it has been trending up over the last several months.
• #17 – Ministerial Search Special Gifts line was added because there are always those who like to contribute to special offerings. John said a basic exhortation to remind people that this exists should generate contributions here.
• #18 – Contingency Fund income added here.

Expenses highlighted:
• Two months of the new minister’s salary will come out of next year’s budget. Therefore, we can bring the minister’s professional expenses back up to the original amount projected.
• Because the UUA lowered the salary range back to the former geo-index category for our area, the DRE and Music Director’s salaries are at a lower level than we had thought they had to be. Yet, the budgeted salaries still represent a raise from the 2005-2006 year. Historically, we have used the DRE’s salary as the parity point for the Music Director’s salary (i.e., the Music Director would receive half of the DRE’s salary). In the future, these salaries will be calculated on an individual basis.
• John described Expense Line #114, the projected pledge deficit of 3% as “the softest line in the budget.”

Overall, given that personnel costs increased substantially, John said he was pleased with what he called this “growth budget.” As for the use of the Contingency Fund, he thought priorities would be to use it to meet the moving and other expenses for the new interim minister, and to cover the pledge deficit line. He said the Budget Committee will meet once more before the Congregational Meeting to approve the budget on June 4.

Interim Search Task Force Update. Sarah Hendrickson said they did a reference search on three of the candidates and the task force made a unanimous recommendation of two. She said both were very strong, capable, experienced people, who differed mostly in matters of style; that is, the first choice was extremely direct, forceful and dynamic. The task force will make an offer to the first choice tomorrow.
Judy Sawyer asked how long the task force will give that candidate to respond before extending the offer to our second choice. Patrick said it was very important that the task force know what their response will be if a candidate refuses to give a response right away. The consensus of the board seemed to be that the task force should give the first candidate no longer than the weekend to accept or reject the church’s offer.
Sally DeCou asked for clarification on a couple of things in the interim minister contract. She will circulate it to board members by e-mail when it is finalized. Olga will sign the final document.
Sarah said the Task Force will help prepare the congregation for the interim minister by sharing what they have learned about that person, from the pulpit and in the newsletter. They also may become the Committee on Ministry during the interim minister’s tenure, because they already know that person well. The new interim will begin working with us on August 1 or 15, depending the minister’s preference
Olga expressed her profound appreciation for the work that the task force has done. The board concurred.

Stewardship/Canvass Status. Anita Cowling reported that two follow-up letters will go out to all those who have not sent in their pledge cards. One in a day or so and one two weeks later. Given that quite a few of those who haven’t sent in their pledge cards usually give quite generously, the Stewardship Committee is predicting a high level of response to the remaining effort. Michael’s prediction is that we will receive $311,000 in pledges. They want to have the final number before the Congregational Meeting on June 4. The Budget Committee will meet the week before that meeting.
No one has stepped forward to lead the Stewardship campaign for next year. A debriefing is scheduled, perhaps with Cecilia Kingman-Miller to advise and help them develop a five-year strategic plan. Olga said she thinks we were more successful this year because we took a lighter, more positive approach.
Patrick was concerned that we don’t chew up the board with this responsibility again.

Debrief of May 6 All-Church Brunch. Judy Sawyer reported that the brunch went very smoothly, that people seemed to enjoy themselves. Initial sign-up was 202, including children, no-shows numbered 30. Still, it was a good turn-out. Others pointed out that the program seemed to be just the right length—not too long or too short—and the news from the Interim Minister Task Force was very exciting, as was the surprise presentation of the “Many Hands” quilt to Carolyn.

Calendaring.
Board Retreat. The board unanimously approved two possible dates for the board retreat with Janine Larsen: August 25 and 26 or September 8 and 9.

Exit Interview. The board chose Tuesday, June 6, as the date for the exit interview re: Carolyn’s ministry with Dana Worshop. We will invite the chairs of other church committees to attend. The meeting will be held from 6:45 to 9 pm in the Social Hall.

Outreach Committee. Carolyn has not had time to put together this steering committee to research and select charitable enterprises for which we will solicit offerings each month. However, she asked for suggestions from the board of people who have knowledge of local programs.

REPORTS

DRE (report attached) Candee Cole said her big news is that we will be offering four weeks of UU Summer Day Camp. (See attached.) Originally, they had planned to do just one, but the interest has been so high that four have evolved. These are important to keep the youth and children connected to the church, to provide childcare for parents and to continue to inculcate UU values. She anticipates they will have 10-20 kids on site for four weeks, four days a week. Church membership is not required of families whose kids participate.
June 21(?) there will be a special coming of age ceremony for the youth. Will be very important to support them as they describe their experiences with the ropes course and their vision quest, and give their vision statement. She hopes everyone will attend.
The young adult class is going very well, with 11 to 12 attending regularly.

Reminder that on June 4, the new board will be installed. We agreed that would be the right time to install the Settled Minister Search Committee as well.

Strategic Planning. Patrick Phillips said the Congregational Meeting on May 7 went very well, but that we learned valuable lessons in running such meetings as we move forward. The congregation voted to allow the board to approve expenditures out of the future Expansion Fund on behalf of the Strategic Planning Committee, as they explore our growth options.

Executive Committee Minutes (attached)

Facilities Council Report (attached)

Appreciations. Sally DeCou was asked to send notes of appreciation to the Events Committee, c/o Judy Sawyer; to the Quilters Committee, c/o Lynn Frost, to Al and Norma Landy for the John Crider trio, Mercury Rising. Michael Mattick will thank Marilyn Junkins for the Roots & Wings Banner and discuss with her where in the church that might be hung.
This was Rachel Cummings’ last month on the board, so she brought cake and beverages for everyone. Thank you, Rachel, for your thoughtfulness, and for all your good work with us!

Assignments. Carolyn will be responsible for opening words at the June meeting.

Following check out, the meeting was adjourned at 9:45.

Respectfully,
Judy Sawyer, Secretary

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Sunday, April 30, 2006
Annual Congregational Meeting

Board President Olga Turner opened the meeting at 10:15 am with chalice lighting and greeting. Ballots for all agenda items were passed out and lists of all church members were passed around for members to initial. The secretary confirmed that we had a quorum of considerably more than the 20 percent required by our bylaws. Given our current membership of 341, the quorum required was 68. Attendance confirmed by initials on membership list was 113.

Olga then turned over the presentation of the nominees for Board of Trustees, Nominating Committee and Settled Minister Search Committee to Kurt Engelmann, chair of the Nominating Committee.

I. Nominees for the Board of Trustees. Kurt explained that, in accordance with church bylaws and to ensure continuity, half of the Board of Trustees’ officers and at large members come up for election every year. He then introduced the nominees for the Board of Trustees, to serve a term of two years, beginning June 1, 2006: Olga Turner for President, Marta Powers for Treasurer, and for Members-at-Large Sally DeCou, Michael Mattick, and Patricia Christgau. In the interest of ensuring continuity at a time of impending change, most of the nominees had been asked to sign up for another year. Patricia Christgau is the only new candidate on the slate. Members continuing on the board are Anita Cowling asVice-President, Judy Sawyer as Secretary, and at-large members Pam Dillehay, Sarah Hendrickson and Patrick Phillips.

Kurt then asked if there were any other nominations from the floor, provided that those so nominated had agreed to the nomination. There were none. It was moved and seconded that we vote on the nominations as presented. Those present voted aye, and the members were instructed to circle or check those listed on the ballot to indicate their approval.

Olga also expressed thanks to Rachel Cummings, who was retiring as an at-large member, for her service on the board.

II. Nominees for the Nominating Committee. Kurt then introduced the nominees for the Nominating Committee, whose terms will be for one year, beginning June 1, 2006. They were Kay Crider, Robbie McCosh, Ruth Nelson, Julia Knowles, and August Sabini, with Julia and August the two new members and the others providing continuity on the committee, as specified in the bylaws.

Kurt asked for nominations from the floor. There were none. It was moved and seconded to close the nominations and vote on the nominations as presented. Those present voted aye, and the members were instructed to circle or check those listed on the ballot to indicate their approval.

Olga expressed her thanks to Kurt Engelmann and Eve McConnaughey for their good work on the Nominating Committee as both are retiring from that committee.

III. Nominees for the Ministerial Search Committee. Kurt explained that the Nominating Committee had conducted an open application process that allowed any church member to apply to be on the Ministerial Search Committee, for a term of one year, beginning May 1, 2006. There were many more applicants than slots on the committee. Kurt then introduced the following slate of seven people who were chosen by the Nominating Committee after extensive interviews with all candidates: George Carroll, Julia Clark, Karen Gaffney, Gil Osgood, Suzanne Reynolds, Bonnie Romane, and Ken Ross.

Martin Lewis questioned the wisdom of limiting the term to one year and introduced a motion to eliminate that language. maria seconded it. However, after some discussion, including the caveat that those on the slate had already agreed to serve for one year only, he withdrew the motion and maria withdrew her “second.” A motion was made and seconded that we vote yea or nay on the slate as presented. Those present voted aye, and the members were instructed to indicate their vote on the ballot.

IV. Minister Emerita for the Rev. Carolyn Colbert. Jeff Wright then took the podium to introduce the following resolution:

“Be it resolved, that the Unitarian Universalist Church in Eugene, in gratitude and appreciation for the Rev. Carolyn Colbert’s extraordinary and visionary service, reflected in outstanding membership, religious education and financial growth, and in innovative programming from Worship Associates to Shared Ministry Groups, is hereby awarded the title of Minister Emerita of our church, and is afforded all the rights and privileges therein.”

As one of the members of the Committee on Ministry, including himself, Laura Adams, Jack Stevens and Dianne Watson, Jeff explained that the committee requested—and Carolyn concurred—that Carolyn not be present for the voting and discussion on this matter. Jeff gave a history of what was involved in this proposal: The title of Minister Emerita is granted to honor long and meritorious service to a UU congregation where the minister has given devoted and competent ministerial leadership. With the Board of Trustees' endorsement, we are recommending that the congregation confer emeritus status upon Carolyn in recognition of her exemplary service these past eight years. The emerita designation is an honorary title that implies no financial relationship between the minister and congregation. So what would Carolyn gain from such an honor? She would be allowed to vote at all future UUA national General Assembly meetings. She would be allowed to use the designation on her personal correspondence. Most important, she would know that we believe she has earned such recognition through her extraordinary work on our behalf. The designation requires a simple majority vote. If the congregation decides to confer the designation, a presentation will be made at Carolyn's final worship services on June 11. Jeff then read the resolution again and asked for discussion. John Wagner rose and affirmed his enthusiastic support for honoring Carolyn in this way