Holy Trinity Vestry Meeting

Thursday, November 8, 2007

Church Hall

 

Vestry Members Present: Cheryl Twiss (CT), Deb Pallasch (DP), Larry Gadsby (LG), Ed Adamowski (EA), Mark Gustafson (MG), Mike Zmich (MZ), Bill Lopes (BL), Alan Locke (AL)

Vestry Members Absent:  Steve Horridge (SH)

Others Present: Rev. Alan Gates (AG)

Opening Prayer:  Rev. Alan Gates     

 

 Meeting was called to order at 7:05 pm

 

*******Core Business*********

 

Previous Vestry Meeting Minutes:  The October 11, 2007 vestry meeting minutes were approved via email responses. 

 

Review of Current Vestry Members/Open Positions: CT reported the resignation of Mike Brogan from the vestry. All expressed their appreciation for all of Mike’s contributions and a deep regret for his resignation.

 

Finances:  LG noted that there were two additional expenses; the back payroll taxes (2003) owed to the IRS ($4,896.50) have been paid and legal fees associated with the endowment ($6,929.00) for a total of $11,825.50.  Roger Griswold will continue to look at and discuss with IRS. LG also noted that an additional $70,000 will be received from the Peck estate by the end of the month.  This money ($32,000 to operating and $38,000 to capital improvement) will be used as a part of the 2008 budget so that the endowment would not have to be touched.  A motion was made (DP/AL) and approved to accept the report.

 

 Building and Grounds:   BL summarized the activities for October and provided the report attached below.  The work on the parking lot did not start because of the weather but is scheduled to begin soon.  BL reported that he and Ray Gallant completed some maintenance and winterization such as oil tank repair and cleaning of the roof drains.  BL reported that he has not received and overwhelming response to the Space Utilization Survey but has developed some options to resolve the Trinity Trader storage issues.  BL will continue to work with a committee to incorporate the goals of Alan Gates and the Godly Play group.  DP reported that she had a discussion with Tiverton’s police chief and he did not recommend parking on the opposite side of main road due to safety concerns while crossing to the church property.

 

******* Discussion Items and New Business********

 

Stewardship/2008 Budget: It was announced that Jim Forker will take on as the chair for the 2008 Stewardship campaign.  He will receive help from Larry Gadsby.  AG will work with Jim to issue a letter to the parishioners soon.  A discussion ensued regarding an “In Gathering” day to celebrate receipt of pledges.  The initial thought was that this could happen on December 2, 2007.  EA also discussed the possibility of having a “Planned Giving” drive which was something the vestry had a positive response to but was tabled for a later date.

 

Audit:  A meeting was held with Bill Tatewosian and AG, LG, Cindy, Isabel, and Ben on October 31st, 2007.  As a result of the meeting it was determined that procedures need to be put in place to complete a balance sheet as a result there will be no balance sheet this year.  The meeting was lengthy and precise and the result was a preliminary letter and a future meeting with DP and LG.  In the next few weeks the diocese’s audit will be completed by Dave Rego, Bill Lopes, and Ed Adamowksi and should help the church determine the procedures required.

 

Office Staffing/Bookkeeping position: It was announced that Cindy Cwalina is willing to try Exec. Assistant and will begin her extended hours on November 15, 2007.  She will begin by inputting the families into the new software which it the first step of implementation.  It was decided to detail the job description/expectations so that it is clear what the church expects from Cindy.  AG and LG agreed to work together to formalize the job description, formalized the timeline for the specific tasks to implement the new software as well as define items including but not limited to days off, and hours of work.

 

Phone/Communications System:  AG reported that three bids were received to update the communications systems  the first was four (4) multiline phones from Teltech for $3,600, the second was four (4) multiline phones from Talk Switch for  $1,129 and the last was a packaged system from AT&T for $357.00.  A discussion ensued and it was determined that the Teltech was too complicated for the church’s use and the AT&T package was not much better than the current system.  A motion was made (MZ/DP) to purchase the Talk Switch package.  The discussion on what to do with the fax line was table until the December meeting.

 

Building Safety and Security: Tabled until December.

 

Nomination Process discussion: Vestry reviewed committee members to determine open positions.  The nominating committee for 2007 is Adam Jaglowski and Carolyn Swift.  A motion was made (MZ/EA) to wait to decide on the continuation of SH until the December meeting giving time for MG to approach and discuss with him his involvement.

           

To be elected:

            Senior Warden (1 year):                            Cheryl Twiss

            Junior Warden (1 year):                            Deb Pallasch

            Clerk (1 year):                                        Michael Zmich

            Treasurer (1 year):                                Needed

            Vestry Member (3 year):                Mark Gustafson

            Vestry Member (3 year):                Needed

            Delegates to the Conv.:                         Needed

            Alternates to the Conv.:                         Needed         

 

Incumbents:

            Vestry Member (1 year remaining):            Alan Locke

            Vestry Member (1 year remaining):            Steve Horridge (?)

            Vestry Member (2 year remaining):            Bill Lopes

            Vestry Member (2 year remaining):            Ed Adamowski

 

Rector’s comments:

AG indicated he would like to develop a catalog of key areas of improvement and goals for Holy Trinity Church.  He would like the goals to be based upon the parish profile and to be quantifiable as well as possibly looking 3 to 5 years ahead.  This will allow AG to properly allocate his time and efforts in the areas that the church wants to focus.  This strategic planning session is scheduled for Thursday, December 6, 2007 in the parish hall at 7:00 pm.  The session will include the vestry and one member from the following:  search committee, lay ministers, godly play, trinity trader, and the choir.

 

Next Vestry Meeting: December 13, 2007 at 7:00 pm.

 

Building and Grounds November 8, 2007 Report

 

October was a relatively quiet month from a B&G perspective, preparing for the Parking lot expansion and for the colder weather.

 

1)      A detailed review of the Parking lot expansion was conducted with the Vestry at our last Vestry meeting, and resulted in a new front boundary (less expansion) and a request to explore the potential for faux stone facing on the vertical surfaces of the cement ramp way . Weather prevented starting the excavation and stone wall construction in late October- work will begin on the next good weather weekend in November.

2)      Ray Gallant and Bill Lopes installed the Church and lower Parish Hall storm windows- carefully cleaning them prior to installation.

3)      The outside Patio water supply was shut off and associated piping was drained- both the hose and fountain were removed and stored for the winter.

4)      The outside oil tank (located near the Parish Hall Boiler room) was repaired by replacing a broken level gauge glass- the original glass was broken in a recent storm by a falling branch.

5)      The Parish Hall roof drains were cleaned in late October- additional cleanings will be needed by Ray until all the leaves have fallen.