First Unitarian Universalist Church of Austin, Board of Trustees Meeting Minutes
Tuesday, January 19, 2010 at 6:30 p.m.
First UU Church of Austin, 4700 Grover, Austin, TX 78756 in Room 13
In Attendance:
Trustees: Nell Newton, President; Luther Elmore, Treasurer; Chris Jimmerson, Secretary; Sheila Gladstone, Immediate Past President (Ex-Officio); Margaret Borden; Derek Howard; Jeff Hutchens; Aaron Osmer, Youth Trustee; Brendan Sterne; Michael West; Laura Wood.
Executive Team: Janet Newman, Interim Minister (Ex-Officio); Sean Hale, Executive Director (Ex-Officio);
Staff: Brent Baldwin, Director of Music; Lara Douglass, Director of RE
Visitors Present: Jim Burson, Transition Team; John Keohane, Chair for Denominational Affairs; Sharon Moore, Transition Team; Corinna Whiteaker-Lewis, Co-Chair for Social Action
Call to Order
The President called the meeting to order at 6:35 p.m.
Adoption of Agenda
The Trustees present adopted the agenda (Appendix A, 1 [numbers refer to page number where appendices may be found in attached supporting document]) after noting that there was no consent agenda report for the Bridge Builders Action Plan Update separate from the Bridge Builders Action Team Report.
Motion: Michael West – Adopt the agenda.
Second: Aaron Osmer
Discussion: None
Vote: All affirmative
Reading and Lighting of the Chalice
The Interim Minister read the opening words and the President lit the chalice.
Visitor’s Forum
The President welcomed the visitors listed above. John Keohane presented information to the Board of Trustees on a letter he had written to the Austin American Statesman (Appendix I, 45) and on the Great Moments in UU History Classes (Appendix J, 46) he had been presenting at the church and would repeat again in March. The President thanked him for his outstanding efforts.
Corinna Whiteaker-Lewis presented a recommendation from the Social Action Forum that had occurred on the previous Sunday. The recommendation would establish a monthly special offering (an extra passing of the plate) to benefit non-profit organizations nominated and elected by the congregation (see Appendix K, 47). This would be for 2010 only as a substitute for split the plate.
The Trustees and Corinna Whiteaker-Lewis discussed the following:
- There would be eleven recipients chosen with the first special offering beginning in February.
- If something similar to the Haiti earthquake were to occur again that was an emergency and urgent, there would be two special offerings in the month it occurred – one for the chosen non-profit and the other regarding the emergency need.
- Recipients will be selected through an appeal for nominations from the congregation and then a congregational vote, probably at a Social Action table in the Gallery during Sunday services. It is likely that organizations with long-term associations with the church will be selected through this kind of process.
- A Trustee suggested linking the recipient’s work when possible to what is being discussed during sermons.
- The Treasurer reported that the collection for Haiti on the prior Sunday had collected $4,000. He suggested moving the special collection for the UUA to February so there would not be a special collection two Sundays in a row.
- This idea will allow the selected non-profits to spend a greater time educating the church about themselves and may lead to greater connections with the church.
- It will be important to report back to the congregation on how much they gave for such special collections.
- It will be important to ask church members to make their checks for these special collections to the church so that the church can account for them and pass through the giving to the non-profit.
Motion: Luther Elmore – Approve this recommendation from the Social Action Committee
Second: Chris Jimmerson
Discussion: There was no further discussion
Vote: All Affirmative
Consent Agenda Items
Minutes from the Prior Meeting: The secretary had sent a draft of the minutes from December out by email but had accidentally left them out of the final packet of materials for this meeting. The Trustees agreed to review them at the next meeting.
New Members and Resignations: The following new members had joined since the last meeting: Anna Dossett, James Dossett and Geoffrey Lorenz. The following members had resigned: Anna Fruge, Javier Cantu, Melita Cantu and Al Rogers.
Reports: The Trustees had reviewed the consent agenda items prior to the meeting. These included:
Executive Director: Sean Hale (Appendix B, 2)
Director of Religious Education: Lara Douglass (Appendix C, 7)
Director of Music Programs: Brent Baldwin (Appendix D, 11)
Treasurer: Luther Elmore (Appendix F, 25)
BB A-team Report: Chris Jimmerson/Brendan Sterne (Appendix E, 12)
The Treasurer noted that the 2009 financials were still being adjusted and should not be considered final. He also explained some changes to investments to earn higher interest yet maintain liquidity.
Motion: Derek Howard – accept the Consent Agenda Item Reports with the exception that minutes from the last meeting will be reviewed at the February meeting.
Second: Michael West
Discussion: None
Vote: All Affirmative
Discussion and Action Items
Church Security: The President presented some work that had been done regarding security in the light of some incidents in the church where persons were either verbally abusive and/or disruptive or had engaged in physically threatening behavior. We will ask such persons to leave the premises and not return to them. If they do, we will call 911 and ask that the Austin Police Department remove them from the property. The President has also discussed this with freeze night volunteers and the Sunday Morning Services Team.
The Trustees discussed the following:
- We should adopt a zero tolerance policy for even the threat of physical assault wherein we call the police immediately.
- Trustees were concerned about vulnerability of church space with so many open entrances. The church is working toward an eventual configuration where except during Sunday services access to the building will be through only one entrance.
- There is a need to inform all of leadership about this and to develop ways that such incidences can be handled when no one in leadership is present.
Church-Wide Covenant Process and Stephan Jonasson Visit: The Interim Minister reminded the Trustees of Dr. Jonasson’s upcoming visit. Dr. Jonasson is the Director for Large Congregations at the UUA. He will be meeting with the board for dinner on January 22, conducting a workshop from 9 am to 3 pm on January 23 on preparing ourselves to call a settled minister and offering a sermon on Covenants on January 24. After this sermon, the Transition Team will begin facilitating small group sessions to gather information toward developing a church-wide covenant of right relationship.
The Interim Minister also announced that Gini Courter, Chief Governance Officer and UUA Moderator, will be visiting the church the week of March 10th. She will send specific details as they are known.
Report from San Antonio Meeting with UUA Board: The President reported that the meeting had been very informative and that persons from across the UUA had expressed their support for our church and our effort during our transition period. The UUA Board had expressly invited church leaders to this meeting so that they could engage with them to learn of their desires for the denomination (a process known as linkage) as the UUA Board begins adopting Policy Governance.
Board Covenant: The Interim Minister and President presented the Board Covenant, slightly revised after the discussion at the prior meeting (Appendix G, 40).
Motion: Chris Jimmerson – Adopt the Board Covenant
Second: Margaret Borden
Discussion: None
Vote: All Affirmative
Overview of New Financial Reporting: The Executive Director (ED) presented a draft version of new financial statements (Appendix H, 41) based upon a new chart of accounts for 2010 that simplifies expense categories and includes numbers as well as names for the chart of accounts. The ED gave an overview of the financial reports that will be possible in 2010 which both simplify the information given to the board but also make “macro-level” understanding of them much easier. Anyone wishing the underlying detail will still be able to request it.
The Trustees complemented the ED on how much of an improvement the new statements will be.
The President welcomed the members of the Transition Team who would be joining the Board of Trustees and the Interim Minister after a break for a separate meeting to evaluate the Interim Ministry.
With no further business, the President adjourned the meeting at 7:55 p.m.
Respectfully Submitted,
Chris Jimmerson
Secretary
