February 17, 2007
Vestry Meeting
As Amended and Approved
Call to Order at 12:55 pm
Present: Bill Gibb, John Frye, Tom Litras, John Aulls, Dunbar Ashbury, Judy Haines, Dan Lajewski, Chuck Hedges, Fr. Philip, Michelle Leveque, Hunt Hendrickson, Waymon Wright, Fr. Tommy, Chelsea Cox, Jonathan Weber, Gary Crump, Jim Cox
Absent: Jennifer Mariano
Fr. Philip noted that the rector or interim rector chairs vestry meetings. He reviewed the agenda and how it is established prior to the vestry meeting. He reviewed some of the common “ground rules” for vestry meetings, including start and finish times for meetings and the consensus understanding for agenda management.
Confirmation of Officers
Senior Warden-John Aulls
Junior Warden-Dan Lajewski
Treasurer-Dunbar Ashbury
Registrar-Gary Crump
Approval of Minutes
The minutes were distributed by email. A motion was made to accept them; it was seconded, and approved.
Treasurer’s Report
Dunbar explained the normal procedure for reporting monthly and year to date finances. He asked for volunteers to make the weekly bank deposits. Peg Quinn’s estate gifted $5,000 of unrestricted funds to All Saints’ and those funds have been placed in a savings account pending a decision on their utilization. The estate also paid the balance of her capital campaign pledge. Peg McGreevy has volunteered to co-chair the Audit Committee, and Dunbar asked for other volunteers. The new building amortization schedule has been prepared and was signed this morning. The Financial and Budget review meeting scheduled for Community Night was cancelled because of weather, so Denise Parker rescheduled the meeting for the March 7th Community Night Lenten supper. Fr. Philip opened the floor for discussion about the narrative financial report he offered at the Annual Meeting.
Senior Warden’s Report
Chuck, as outgoing Warden, commented on the success of the Annual Meeting and the lack of angst and distress noted at past meetings. Thanks for everyone’s support over the last year.
John offered his thanks to Chuck for his leadership as Senior Warden. John also reiterated the success of the annual meeting, especially the utility of the way in which Fr. Philip explained the narrative budget.
Junior Warden’s Report
Dan met with Rick and Fr. Philip to review his responsibilities. Dan will work with the Parish Administrator on day-to-day issues as well as capital projects, but will also rely on everyone in the parish to provide eyes and ear for things that need attention. He mentioned the status of several ongoing projects, including the St. Mary’s Chapter stained glass project refurbishment. The Fire alarms detection system is being installed. Rain gutters and snow guards around the building need repair. A review of the air conditioning system is underway to determine the remaining useful life of the system in the nave.
Trees on west side of the church may be diseased or damaged and need to be looked at. Several Boy Scouts working on their Eagle project are doing repairs to the undercroft and we need to find a good use for the new space once the repairs are completed. The Court Street fire escape needs to be painted, and that may be a good project for the youth. Dan is meeting next week with the Memorial Garden committee to review projects to improve the appearance of the Garden. Dan wants to create fluid master plan for all projects that need to be done, and will provide periodic report to vestry, as well as quarterly reports in Saints’ Alive.
Reports/Requests from Committees, Teams, Departments
Stewardship/Budget Finance: Leader’s Meeting-Fr. Philip announced that on March 18th and 25th, an afternoon Leadership presentation and small group discussion will follow a food and wine event. The discussion will focus on the connection between discipleship and resources in an attempt to broaden the lay leadership of the parish.
St. Mary’s Chapter Fundraising proposal- Sara Gibson submitted a written request for St. Mary’s Chapter to hold their annual book sale. The funds from the sale will be distributed in part to the youth program as a thank you for their help with the sale. Other projects that will be funded in part by the proceeds include the stained glass window project and operating funding for outreach projects. Dunbar also noted that last year, St. Mary’s provided funding for the new blower for the nave organ and new carpet for the parish hall.
The book sale attracts many people from outside the parish, so the publicity in the community is significant. Fr. Philip summarized the background and reasons for the fundraising policy that was established in 2006. There was a motion for approval of request. It was seconded and was approved.
Old Business
Tom summarized the report of the Committee for Options for Disposition of the Rectory, including the four options that the committee submitted in the report. Tom noted that after the report was initially submitted, the Vestry instructed the Committee to submit a cost/benefit analysis based on fourth option. The Committee has asked that the vestry accept the report and to proceed with obtaining the necessary diocesan approval to place the rectory up for sale, while simultaneously communicating the recommendation and the justification for the recommendation to the parish. If the diocese approves and congregational objections are not overwhelming, wheels will be set in motion to gain necessary approvals and permits from the City of Frederick to move forward with placing the property on the market. All those variables could create showstoppers, so it’s necessary that actions begin simultaneous or close to that.
In followup discussion, it was asked if the vestry approves the sale or will it go to the parish as a referendum? The decision is the vestry’s, but there are some parishioners are tied emotionally to the rectory, even though the rectory was not part of the original church building. Dan noted the condition of the rectory and asked what repairs would need to be discounted from the proceeds of the sale. Dunbar noted that the most recent appraisal considered the condition of the rectory as is. Tom reiterated that all four options need to be presented to the congregation. Chuck noted that he had originally charged the establishment of the Committee, and he commended their efforts. He went on to note that in the scope of change, this would be one of the major events for All Saints’ and needs to be carefully considered. He emphasized especially the necessity of a clear use of the proceeds before the decision is made, specifically, paying down debt versus increasing ministry opportunities. It was noted that it is unlikely that the next rector would choose to reside in the rectory.
A motion was made to accept the Committee’s report and recommendation for option #4 (sale of the rectory), to initiate the process to gain approval of the diocese, and to begin communicating the intentions to the parish. The proceeds from the sale will be used to pay down debt.
Dunbar explained rationale for decision to pay down debt by referencing the report, noting the financial benefit of paying down debt, resulting in a significant savings over the remaining life of the amortization schedule (18 years).
Following lengthy discussion, the vote was taken to accept the motion. The vote was 9 in favor and 3 opposed.
Interim Rector’s Report
Fr. Philip asked for volunteers to conduct the monthly devotions and announcement welcome at the beginning of services. Fr. Philip, Tommy, and parishioners will attend the conference for Endowed Episcopal Parishes March 1-3rd. Fr. Philips planning-contract expires May 31st and will be month-to-month thereafter until he is called or until a new rector is called.
Yesterday, Philip and Tommy met with Connie Devilbiss who offered to assume the role of Christian Formation Director for one year, pro bono. She will apply for a $15,000-$20,000 grant from the Episcopal Church Foundation that will assist with Christian formation. This requires diocesan approval, and Tommy met yesterday with Rev. Mary Glasspool from the diocese, who is enthusiastically in favor of the plan. The contract period runs from July 1-June30th. The position will include some additional duties, and will average about 30 hours/week. There was consensus approval.
Evaluation
Following the evaluation, the meeting adjourned at 3:00 pm.
Respectfully submitted,
Gary E. Crump, Registrar |
