Minutes
Board of Trustees
First Unitarian Society
Madison, Wisconsin
December 6 , 2006
7:00
p.m.
Anderson Home
Present:
Officers:
Laurie Joiner, President-Elect
Pat Anderson, President
Tom Detmer, Secretary
Sue Radtke, Treasurer
Alan Knox, Past President
Council Trustees:
Kathy Luker
John Mathis
Nancy Kosseff
Jim Christensen
Barb Avery
Ministers:
Michael Schuler, Minister
Kelly Crocker, Associate Minister
Staff:
Susan Koenig, Church Administrator
Observers:
Visitors:
CALL TO ORDER
The meeting
was called to order by Pat Anderson at approximately 7:00 p.m.
APPROVAL OF MINUTES
Several members of the Board had not had a chance to review the minutes of November 15, 2006 so the approval of those minutes was deferred until the January 17, 2007 meeting.
BUSINESS ITEMS
Financial Statements
Sue Radtke reviewed the financial statements for the end of November 2006. One observation was made that it is hard from month to month to know what is good or bad. Susan Koenig pointed out that the staff will let the Board know if there is a 15% or greater variance in any category from one month to the next. It is not unusual to have variations up or down that are less than 15%. That is point at which the Board should ask harder questions about changes in the statements. A MOTION to approve the financial statements as presented was made and a vote to approve CARRIED.
Further updates from Susan are that we need officers signatures for the New Glarus Bank and also we have not yet hired an auditor but we are working on it and will have accomplished that before December 31, 2006.
Journey Towards Wholeness
The Journey Towards Wholeness is slowing progressing.
The Journey Towards Wholeness will sponsor workshops on Martin Luther King Sunday recognizing Martin Luther King individually and considering the need to improve our racial consciousness. In addition to this there will be staff training in March for the Board and others to help the Board support our Journey Towards Wholeness efforts and to lead by example in getting this training. Michael has prepared a draft of a letter inviting people to participate in the leadership training. The feasibility of various dates was discussed and it was decided that Friday and Saturday, March 30 and 31 are the dates for this training. Contact Michael by tomorrow if you cannot make that Sunday. No other direct follow up is required at this time.
Flex Plan Update
We have done some initial investigations into creating this type of plan and into who could administer it for us. The eFlex Group is spoken of highly. We will have a recommendation for the Board in the near future.
Canvassing for the Capital Campaign
This has been accomplished.
Children’s Religious Education
The Religious Education Council is continuing to look into how we can best support intergenerational programming within our community. We need the support of all of our members and others within our community to achieve this effort. A policy is being prepared for approval in January. The religious education committee feels there is a lack of Board support for their efforts. We need a statement of principle from the Board supporting the vision of the committee.
Construction Transition Planning
An update in the planning for construction planning was given.
Ministerial Search Profile
There was discussion about how much weight should be placed on supporting MUYACM. This partly depends on the effectiveness of the support. A concern was expressed that the connection with the campus community has almost totally disappeared. The steering committee has gone and other aspects of the relationship have changed. We need to develop articulated goals for our campus connection.
One way to do this is to ask for a self-assessment by Scott Prinster and Karen that would be done by May 2007. We should ask for suggestions for self-improvement and possible goals we want to accomplish.
A MOTION was made to assess the effectiveness of the support we provide. A vote on the motion CARRIED.
A MOTION was made to approve the profile. The motion CARRIED.
Facilities Issues
We have hired an owner’s representative, David Weber.
We have a possible grant for $95,000 that we might obtain and Alan Knox and Morris Waxler are looking at that possibility. There would be some restrictions and those need to be examined carefully.
An Annex task force has been appointed and it is examining the possibilities for the Annex. We have to decide how we want to manage the building. Sue Radtke and Nancy Kosseff are working on this. The goal is to have this done by the February board meeting.
Operating Personnel
A group of staff has started looking at this issue and will report back to the board on January 17, 2007.
Board Meetings
A proposal was made to add a second board meeting for the next six months because of all of the work the board must accomplish with the construction and finding a new minister. The board unanimously agreed that we should do this.
Exit Interview Process and Discussion
The Board entered a closed session to discuss how to handle the exit interview with Scott.
Meeting was adjourned at 9:00 p.m.
Minutes by, Tom Detmer, First Unitarian Society Board Secretary
