UUFM Board Meeting
Monday, October 26
Minutes
The meeting was called to order at 6:30 PM. Before the meeting, we were all provided with a lengthy and comprehensive packet, compiled by Suzanne, of important information for this meeting.
Present: Suzanne Teller, Ken Moore, Rev. Margo Rinehart, Dominique Bjorlin, Bettie Egerton, Kris Gabrielsen, Cheryl Martin, Nancy Schick
Absent: Lewis Brown
Chalice Lighting Bettie lit the chalice.
Board Photo Photo was postponed.
September Board Minutes
Bettie moved and Ken seconded that we approve the September Board minutes. The motion was approved unanimously. Nancy will contact Rob and make sure he has the Board minutes from February 2020-September 2020.
Financial Report
Cheryl gave the financial report.
Income for September: $1988.50
Expenses: $3900.71
Checking account balance: $47,357.95
Money MarketFund: $46,208.10
Building Fund $2034.87
Fidelity investments $372,650.21
Minister’s Report
Rev. Margo’s monthly report is posted on our website. Since this report is posted, Margo will make the decisions about when is is appropriate to state members’ names. Kris suggested that the congregation needs to know more about all of the work Rev.Margo does. Kris thinks the minister’s report should be sent in a separate email. Cheryl suggested that we should consider sending a newsletter in December with festive material.
Some members may be having a problem getting emails on MailChimp. Kris suggests that we check with all members to see if they are getting UUFM emails. Suzanne will take care of this. Rev. Margo will send out her report on MailChimp. She will coordinate with Rob to establish a link in the newsletter to the Minister’s Report.
By-Law Change
We previously discussed the need to change the UUFM by-laws. Because the Board is going to have co-chairs, every reference to the Board chair in the current by-laws must be changed. We also proposed changing references to she/he or her/him to they/their. Nancy moved that we accept the proposed changes to the by-laws. Cheryl seconded, and the motion passed unanimously. The by-laws changes will be presented to the congregation at the next business meeting.
Scheduling of Business Meetings
We discussed the terms of co-chairs and the transition to having Board co-chairs. Ken will stay as co-chair until July 1 when a new co-chair will be elected. We discussed when we will have our next business meeting. Kris believes that we should not wait until spring, as we need to maintain our sense of community. Also, we need to have the proposed by-laws in place before spring.
It was decided to hold our next business meeting on Sunday, December 6, after the service. We will also have business meetings on February 21st and on May 16th. Suzanne will send business meeting dates to Rob to be posted on the website.
Remote Access to Board Documents
Suzanne presented three options for Board access to documents: WordPress, Dropbox, Google Drive. The Board consensus is to use Google Drive.
Board-Committee Liaisons and Other Committee Issues
The Board wants to have a Board liaison for each UUFM committee. Our goal is to establish a connection between each committee and the Board. Since Rev. Margo attends Worship Committee meetings, there is no need for an additional liaison.
We are considering allowing time during each Board meeting for liaison reports.
Ken proposed two questions for each committee chair. What can the Board do to help you? What would you like the Board to know? Bettie suggested that we first need to know who chairs each committee, who the members are, and what committees are doing.
Bettie also proposed that we add a Fundraising Committee. Cheryl has talked with one members who previously expressed an interest in fundraising. Cheryl is looking into the group store.
Kris proposed a procedure: a week before each Board meeting, liaisons should contact committee chairs for information.
There is concern that there is no longer a Cares and Concerns Committee. Rev. Margo suggested that instead of a committee at this time, we could have a “team” that takes Rev. Margo’s lead. Ken and Margo will take the lead to find people to send cards and make plans for meals for people who need them. Rev. Margo will be the point person for this.
Kris would like a link in the newsletter and will talk with Rob to establish a link to the committees. Suzanne said that we need one person to collate all of this committee information to send to Rob. At this time we have neither a Communications Committee nor a Committee on Shared Ministry.
“Space Force” (a working space for us)
Cheryl is is trying to set up protocols for use of both her business space and a rental space.
We would like to have a place that we can use for small meetings, to have community visibility, and to provide a space for the minister’s office hours. Bettie is investigating grants for space for non-profits.
The meeting was adjourned at 8:30. The next Board meeting will be on Monday, November 23.
Submitted by Nancy Schick, Secretary