Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Columbia
Board of Trustees
Minutes of August 11, 2010 Meeting

Attendance
Members present were: Don Mohr (Co-President), Pat Mohr (Co-President), Michael Sullivan (Secretary); Members at Large: Ivy Coleman, Elizabeth Harris, Marcia Fletcher, Walter Patterson, and Andrea Pixley. Barry Ahrendt (President-Elect) and Linda Brennison (Treasurer) were absent on official business, attending the UU Leadership School (SUULE). Others present were Ann Cargill (Bookkeeper) and Jim Burton (Chair, Interior Subcommittee of Buildings and Grounds Committee).

Call to Order and Establishment of Quorum
The meeting was called to order by Pat Mohr at 7:05 PM. She noted a quorum was present.

Opening Words
Marcia Fletcher began with a reading by Carl Sagan:
The truth may be puzzling. It may take some work to grapple with. It may be counterintuitive. It may contradict deeply held prejudices. It may not be consonant with what we desperately want to be true. But our preferences do not determine what’s true. We have a method, and that method helps us to reach not absolute truth, only asymptotic approaches to the truth — never there, just closer and closer, always finding vast new oceans of undiscovered possibilities. (“Wonder and Skepticism”, Skeptical Enquirer, Volume 19, Issue 1, January-February1995).
Consent Agenda
The Minister’s Report and Treasurer’s Report were accepted as part of the consent agenda.

Approval of Minutes
On a motion by Marcia seconded by Elizabeth, the minutes of the July 14, 2010 meeting were unanimously approved.

Appointment of Ad Hoc Website Committee
Don and Pat appointed Marcia and Jim Burton to an ad hoc website committee, to work with Karl McCollester on www.uucolumbia.org content and placement.

Bookkeeper’s Report
Ann Cargill reviewed the balance sheet and year-to-date report for July 2010. For the first time the RE accounts are included in the overall reports. Pledges received in July included $11,520 in catch-up pledges for the last fiscal year which ended in June. Accounting adjustments have produced a positive change to our bottom line. We are now projecting a surplus of approximately $3,000 instead of a deficit of $2,500.
Fund-raising
Pat proposed a number of fund-raising possibilities to augment our income and provide money for renovations and maintenance/repair of the building and grounds. Garage sales have been successful fund-raisers in the past. October 16th was selected as the date for a Fall 2010 Garage Sale. Some consigning and profit sharing may be done. Ivy and Elizabeth agreed to help find a coordinator and volunteers for this event. Another proposal discussed was an auction for early next year, which Marcia Fletcher and Elizabeth Harris agreed to coordinate. The Board also discussed ways to raise capital for larger projects via a mini-capital fund campaign. Necessary improvements to the playground are expected to cost about $5,000. Involving the youth in this aspect of fundraising will be helpful, in much the same way that they played a successful role in the campaign to fund new our chairs. Adding the social hall/foyer windows, doors, and patio, part of the master plan, was preliminarily estimated to cost about $35,000. Walter Patterson will obtain 3 bids on these renovations, which will be reviewed next month. There are additional capital needs for the memorial garden. There was agreement that these would be good interim steps towards the more costly implementation of the entire master plan.
2.

Planning process
Don Mohr led a discussion of the process we will use to develop a new strategic plan to replace our current long-range plan that will expire in June 2011. As a starting point, Michael will coordinate with former President Mike Paget to generate a list of the unaccomplished goals from the current 5-year plan. Don anticipates that a Strategic Planning Committee will begin the visioning and planning process in October. The Board and the Leadership Development Committee will make appointments to it. A subcommittee can advise the Board on the goals remaining to be achieved in this last year of the 5 year plan. The guidance offered by Don Dodson at the Board retreat in July will help direct our planning efforts. Board members are inclining towards adopting a shorter time frame than 5 years for the new strategic plan.
Sign-ups
Board members signed up for Sunday Announcements and Committee Liaison assignments.

Directors, Officers, and Trustees Liability Insurance
The Board Secretary had researched our current level of liability protection ($100,000) and learned that it was far below the standard recommended by Church Mutual, our insurer ($1,000,000). After consultation, Michael had submitted our applications for increases in the D & O coverage as well as our Employment Practices Liability Insurance which is part of the D & O endorsement. Amy Radloff of Church Mutual quoted a premium of $300 annually for the increase in the policy amounts. This represents a net increase of $220 a year over the current cost of this coverage. A motion was made by Michael, seconded by Walter, to approve the increase to $1,000,000 of coverage. The vote in favor was unanimous. The coverage is claims-made and is retroactive to the policy inception date of 8/15/08.

Lexis Nexis Screening Services for RE Program
The Religious Education Committee requested approval to use this service for background checks on RE youth program volunteers. It offers national and regional database searches, unlike the state SLED background checks currently used. It also offers sex offender registry searches. We can have the startup fee waived by Church Mutual which endorses the service. A motion was made by Michael, seconded by Andrea, to approve the use of Lexis Nexis Screening Services for background checks. The vote in favor was unanimous.

Year-round canvass
The Board discussed changing to a year-round canvass model to improve communication with members as well as pledge collections. Board members liked this idea, but deferred action until the next meeting.
Bylaw clarification
The Secretary has been investigating the status of a 2008 bylaw change to the Finance Committee that was brought to our attention by Regina Moody, since it does not appear in the current posted version of our bylaws. Questions have arisen about whether or not the change was legally made due to issues of notice and missing language. A legal opinion may be necessary.

The meeting was adjourned at 9:15 PM.

Respectfully submitted,

Michael Sullivan, Secretary