Board of Trustees December 10, 2013 Attending: Jo Ann Hopkins, Ken Priest, Dave Pentz, Al Crosby, Carol McGuire, Alfred Current, Irv Hopkins, Linda Starck, Sue Charbonneau, Ken Baus, Rick Starck, Charles and Mary Hilton. The meeting was opened with the lighting of Christ s candle and prayer by Jo Ann. The minutes of the previous meeting were approved. The trustee account balance is $4870.00. This includes the $1000 deposit held for parsonage rental and $200 held in a separate account for parsonage taxes, leaving a spendable amount of $3670.00. Old Business Sound Booth report Terry Ten Brink should be returning soon and discussion on building the new booth will begin. Jo Ann talked to Sean Priest about securing the equipment after the new booth is built and Sean suggested a roll type cover. This would secure the equipment and keep it out of sight. Painting the education hallway still on hold. Portables Jo Ann suggested that when the new board of trustees meets in January, they choose a work date to repair the rotted sections of walls on the portables. Al stated there was not enough T1-11 to complete all the repairs so more must be purchased. Carol noted that the railings need attention also, specifically the spindles. Disaster 101 Linda reported that she and Rick attended the Disaster 101 training conducted by the UMC Conference which was held in Ft Myers. One of the main points made was that we need to take care of our church members by planning ahead; who will need help securing their homes prior to a hurricane, who will need supplies, etc. The next question is how do we want our church to participate in community action; example, are we able to be a distribution center. Our church would work with the conference teams already in place to work in the area that we re best suited to handle. The conference has a ham radio team in place throughout the state and we should poll our own congregation to learn if have any amature radio operators who could help with communications if needed. The time to begin planning is well before hurricane season and the conference is willing to help. Mike Lackney Jo Ann met with Mike and toured the church building. Mike will clean on Thursday evenings and Saturday evenings. He will be paid $12 an hour for 12 hours a week. Any special work orders, repairs, etc., would be above and beyond the normal 12 weekly hours. Oaks Cove Cleaning Jo Ann reported that Mike Lackney is willing to clean Oaks Cove for $150. Ken Priest stated that the screens are missing and the carpet needs ripped up. The stove, refrigerator, and washer/dryer are gone also. Jo Ann called the conference and asked if it was advisable to use Oaks Cove for group meetings. The conference said we could not use the building for this purpose without first making it handicapped
accessible. This would include installing an elevator, widening doorways, etc. With this expense being beyond our reach at this time, the second floor of Oaks Cove will not be used for meetings. The trustees were presented with a second option for the use of Oaks Cove. Mike Lackney told Jo Ann that the time needed to drive through the church every evening to do a security check would burn up much of his 12 weekly work hours. He suggested renting Oaks Cove and he could be on site all the time and do the security checks for free. Prior to the discussion with the conference on using the second floor for meetings, the trustees determined that renting the apartment should no longer be an option. However, after learning of the conference stand on the building use, the rental option was discussed. If Mike rents the apartment, we would have security on site at all times. He will pay rent (Jo Ann suggested the amount of $700 plus utilities, if the power and water meters are separate from the church). Residents in the apartment would be Mike, his wife, and an adult daughter. All adult members of the renter s household will sign the lease agreement. After much discussion, the trustees agreed that with a background check, this option would work for all concerned parties. Ken Baus made the motion, pending a favorable background and credit check, Mike Lackney may rent Oaks Cove for $700 plus utilities per month. Sue and Dave simultaneously seconded the motion. ****December 12, 2013, Jo Ann and Irv met with Mike on this date to finalize the details. He will be paid $624 per month, based on the original 12 hour work week plan, as an independent contractor. He will pay $624 a month rent for Oaks Cove. Mike will work 20-30 hours a week, (he believes that is the amount of time needed to keep the church clean), and complete all Trustee approved work orders at no additional charge. He will do a nightly walk-through to make sure lights are off and doors are closed inside the church and outside doors are locked. He will be cleaning and repairing the top floor of Oaks Cove. All this will cost the church his utilities, (meters are not separate from the church), and real estate taxes. All supplies needed will be sent to the head trustee for approval and then given to Dawn. Dawn will in turn coordinate with Charles Hilton on the purchase of the needed supplies. The $624 rent for Oaks Cove will begin sometime in January and $624 will be held as a deposit. The lease can be broken at any time with 30 days notification by either party. Church facilities Policy the members reviewed the policy following some changes suggested by the office. Sue made the motion to approve the revised Church Facilities Policy guide. Al seconded the motion. New Business Washer/Dryer - Debbie and Rob ward are selling their old washer/dryer and offered them to the church for $50 for Oaks Cove. Carol made the motion to buy the washer /dryer from the Wards. Ken Priest seconded the motion.
Painting new Youth/Children Directors office recommended color light sand. The lock handle from the old office will be moved to the new office closet. This will be used to store electronic equipment. All agreed. Lights in breezeway the technician from Looney s Electric came by to check the broken lights in the breezeway and he does not have the parts. He recommended that we replace all the fixtures with new ones that do not need transformers. He believes it will be more cost-efficient to go with the new fixtures that use different bulbs than constantly replacing transformers. He did not have prices however. He suggested looking online or going to Home Depot to get costs. Rick said that he did a walk around the building with Konrad Bohn and discussed many of our lighting needs. Konrad agreed to start gathering information and prices on our choices for breezeway lighting, security lighting and sanctuary lighting. Konrad suggested a possibility of putting all security lighting on a dedicated panel. As Konrad is going north for Christmas we will not have the information until after January 1. Rick has suspended work on the landscape lighting pending suggestions and prices from Konrad. Matecumbe Road lot - Jo Ann reported that she received a letter from Asset Quest offering to buy the vacant lot on Matecumbe Road. The purchase price range would be $4950-$6900. Tabled. (letter attached to minutes) Who will take the trustee chair? This will be determined by the new board at the January meeting. Key Exchange Jo Ann suggested that the outgoing chairman should pass the church key over to the new chairman in front of the church membership. This will introduce the trustee chairman and board members to the congregation. Other Discussion Jo Ann reported on the accomplishments for 2013: January Sanctuary painted Lift station was repaired February Rewey Gardens cleaned by Girl Scouts March Refrigerator in Parsonage replaced at a low cost Exit lights in church were repaired April Music portable wall replaced Vents and storage room cleaned in church Chairs in sanctuary were all cleaned, thanks to efforts of John Furtado May - Septic system replaced at the Parsonage Hitch installed on church van June, July, Aug Pigs trapped and meat given to needy Girl Scouts want to plant a tree (on hold until spring) New freezer purchased for ICE only September Lift station was finally taken over by the County County will put in connection so we can water the lawn at a 31 cent/1000 rate. October - Cameras and A/C problems corrected
November Church Facility Policy was reviewed Charles and Mary Hilton agreed to be our Kitchen Gurus Fountain motor was replaced by Konrad Bohn and Al Crosby at a minimal amount saving our church thousands. December Hired independent contractor for cleaning (Mike Lackney) Lighting in walk area around the church. Jo Ann reported that the Crafty Ladies submitted a work order request to repair a flickering light in their meeting space. Al will look at it and repair it. Dave asked permission to use the small closet outside the sanctuary door for coffee hour supplies. He would like to put a lock on the door. Dave made a motion that the closet be used for coffee hour supplies and a lock can be installed. Carol seconded the motion. Sue questioned whether the blue lights should be changed. Some like the lights and some think the property is now too dark. The issues with the broken breezeway lights and problems with the security lights are adding to the problem. Rick will talk to Konrad about solutions to the lighting. Carol has heard complaints about the ice bags freezing together. John McGuire bought a mallet to help tap the bags apart. Al reported that he was still looking for a safety switch for the pond fountain. Ken Priest asked Carol to work with the girl scouts in selecting the flowering tree for their tree badge project. Ken Priest found receipts from years gone by showing the AA used to pay $20 a month to use a meeting room at the church. He said the national organization requires that the local groups pay a good faith usage fee to the hosting facility. He suggests we look into once again having the AA groups that meet at our church follow that guideline. Rick informed the members that since the church is incorporated, we should determine if we are following the laws of corporations. Annual meetings, official minutes, and elected officers should be publicized correctly to avoid any risks. Rick will investigate the correct wording and check with Englewood UMC to see how they are set up. Rick reported that the recent power outage that left the computer system down raised many questions and concerns. Bruce Halbert was the only person who could restart the system after the outage. We must have other people who can step up to this task. Where and how are our records stored? The fireproof safe is only fireproof up to a point. Much discussion and investigation upcoming. Alfred asked about the large ice bin sitting outside. Al said they will look at it Thursday and see if they can take it to the recycle facility.
Irv commented on the accomplishments of the trustees board during the year. All members agreed that we had a good chairman in Jo Ann. Jo Ann praised the board members, stating communication was the key to a successful year. Mary had a sample of the requisition form for kitchen supplies. Jo Ann and Ken put a requisition form bin outside the supply room. Jo Ann will pass on to the new chairman, the notebook that contains all the contact information, policies, trustee guide, inventory sheets, etc. She cautioned the new board members to always keep the office informed on projects. Priorities Red portables Yellow lighting Green Janitor hired. (Starts this Thursday) The next meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, January 14 th, 6:30 p.m. The meeting was adjourned with prayer by Sue. Respectfully submitted, Linda Starck