Update from the Board-May, 2019

On May 16, your Board held its regular monthly meeting at Frasier Meadows. All six members were present as were Reverend Lydia and Ministerial Intern AJ van Tine. At that meeting, we:

  • Approved a number of proposed revisions to the Bylaws to be submitted for congregational approval at the June 2 Annual Congregational Meeting
  • Approved a 2019-20 budget also to be submitted for congregational approval on June 2
  • Approved an updated credit card policy recommended by the Finance Committee
  • Received information on the new Director of Lifespan Faith Formation (DLFF)
  • Approved the transfer to the School of the Spirit Fund of $5,362 in unspent funds designated for the DLFF search and authorized using $2,500 of those funds to offset moving costs for the new DLFF 
  • Approved a Consent Agenda that accepted/approved:
    • April Board Minutes
    • April Treasurer’s Report
    • April Building Project Finance Report
    • Construction Management Team Report 
    • LDC’s Slate of Nominees for Elected Positions
    • Revisions to Remodeling & Building Policies
    • COSM’s Proposed Reporting Format on Use of Funds
    • 1-Year amendment to Rev. Lydia’s Letter of Call (Re: Professional Expenses)
    • Appointment of Nancy Di Laura and Wendie Highsmith as BVUUF delegates to Mountain Desert District Annual Meeting (at General Assembly on June 19)
    • Waiver of bylaws congregational meeting voting requirement of 30 days of membership for Annmarie Jensen and Erin Zekis, who joined BVUUF on May 5.
  • Continued our discussions of The Tao of Leadership
  • Agreed to change June meeting date from June 20 to June 13
  • Reviewed progress toward Board’s 2018-19 goals

On May 8, four members of your Board also participated in the first Quick Response Team (QRT) meeting via Zoom.  This process was initiated to allow the Board to respond quickly to Change Orders large enough to require Board approval so that the building process would not be delayed.  It requires participation of any four Board members and will be used throughout the construction process.  At this first meeting, the Board approved “a change order moving an amount not to exceed $20,000 from the contingency fund to the Construction budget to cover the additional cost of routing HVAC ducts” to allow the Building Committee/Construction Management Team to choose the most desirable of three options.  The final Change Order amount is likely to be low enough that Board approval is not required.

In addition to the regular May meeting, the Board (with the exception of Vice President Nancy DiLaura) met via Zoom on May 29 to handle several time-sensitive issues.  At that meeting, the Board:

  • Approved minor rewording of the Minister’s Letter of Call and Ministry Agreement and two related sections of the Bylaws.
  • Approved a contract with Equalized Productions in the amount of $59,963.42 to buy and install a sound and visual-display system for the new sanctuary.  
  • Approved using a portion of the cost savings resulting from the delayed start of the DLFF to give our Office Manager an additional salary increase to offset the negative impact on her income resulting from the new BVUUF process for providing health care benefits.
  • Authorized a one-time grant of $1000 from the Stoner Fund to provide additional support to LUUP during FY 2019-20.