Irvine United Congregational Church
Administration Board Meeting Minutes
May 18, 2015
Attendance:
Board: Anne Rosse, Martha Selby, Tricia Aynes, and Jerry Price
Committee/Task Force Chairs: Wayne Banwell, Lyle Norton, Laura Long, and Dave Schofield
Staff: Pastor Paul Tellström and Matthew Redrich
Visitors: Tommie Kozlov, Pat Sauter, and Howard Emery
1. Call to Order: The meeting was called to order at 7:02 p.m. by Chair Martha Selby.
2. Opening Prayer: The opening prayer was led by the Rev. Paul Tellström.
3. Approval of April 20, 2014 Minutes: The Minutes from the April meeting were approved as
presented.
4. Task Force on Bylaws, Policies and Procedures Report: Bylaws Task Force Chair Dave Schofield
presented the following proposed amendments to the Policies and Procedures:
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1.02 Use of Mailing Labels - Updates language on mailing label usage to specify they can be
requested for celebratory purposes if person making the request pays the cost associated with
producing labels.
1.07 Pilgrim Pines Camp Use - Changes format to specify responsibility for planned
use/reservations of Pilgrim Pines facilities.
1.15 Childcare Policy – Updates language for when we provide child care for events at the
church. Policy was approved in September 2013, but there have been certain word changes
since then, requiring re-approval.
2.01 Authorization to Use IUCC – Updates language on what events facilities can be used for,
who can use them, and references 2.02 rentals and 2.03 short term rental. Specifies we only
rent to non-profits.
2.02 Using IUCC – Adds two appendixes: One a hold harmless form and one a nonmember user
form. Updates language concerning areas we will rent out and what we want for safety and
janitorial services.
Appendixes – Provides short term rental agreement and/or use documents. Specifies that
renters are to provide their own insurance.
2.03 Short Term Rental of IUCC – Specifies what policies and procedures are. Outlines rental
responsibilities and rental fees.
3.05 Finance Committee – Adds a section on newly created Finance Committee – maps out who
are members and what their responsibilities are.
Approved Policies and Procedures are being posted to the IUCC website for easy access. Lyle Norton
asked Dave to provide a list of our Policies and Procedures for the upcoming leadership retreat.
MOTION: It was moved by Anne, seconded by Jerry, to approve the amended Policies and Procedures.
Motion carried.
5. Treasurer’s Report: Treasurer Mark Allen was ill, so Martha presented the report in his absence. She
wanted us to know the names of our wonderful ECC teachers who have moved heaven and earth to get
their training and coaching done. Three teachers have been with us for 9 years: Rose Gonzalez, Melissa
Thompson, and Mary Tomlinson. All three went through a lot of effort to increase enrollment and did
wonderfully well. The two newer staff members are also quality teachers doing phenomenal work with
our preschool children: Katrina Marquez and Robert Armstrong. The ECC Director, Irma Rosales, is a
very determined woman who has worked hard to increase enrollment. The congregation is now more
engaged in the ECC, and preschool parents are very supportive. We did a mailing to targeted business,
which helped only slightly to increase enrollment. It is really the parents who have been helping with
referrals. We are hovering around 50 children in enrollment. Since our goal was 39, we are doing well.
Laura Long, Chair of the IUCC Child Care Committee, has been a great leader throughout this process.
There was some discussion about giving a monetary award to the three teachers and the director who
had gone through such challenges. It was agreed by consensus to refer this to the ECC committee to
discuss and get back to us.
Overall IUCC expenses are lower, and we are doing well. We have spent $108,000 on the building
project so far. We have made some improvements in ECC, and board members are encouraged to check
out the new sandbox and shade. We owe $161,000 on our loan. Our cash condition is $311,700. We
are going forward with the planned additional 1% COLA on July 1 for all IUCC and ECC employees (as
budgeted) at a cost of $3,200.
Anne reported that the budget was created to have the first 6 months of 2015 with rent relief for the
ECC, with a 2 month payback later in the year. Mark has said he felt the ECC position was such that we
should start collecting rent as of May 1 with no payback – rent should be reinstated from May to
December 2015. There are enough cash reserves for the ECC now that rent can be met. Laura Long,
Chair of the Child Care Committee, agreed with this recommendation. Since this involves an adjustment
to the budget, a motion was deemed necessary.
MOTION: It was moved by Anne, seconded by Jerry, to start collecting ECC rent as of May 1 with no
payback. Motion carried.
6. Building & Grounds Report: Co-chair Wayne Banwell reported that he is working with Church
Administrator Michael Spindle on an air conditioning contract. We are pricing the cost of repairing the
flooring in the ECC girls’ bathroom, and the quote we received to repair the subfloor was $600. We are
still checking into replacing the flooring and expect it will cost $700-$900 to replace it with vinyl. It
would be best to do both projects the same day for minimal upheaval at the ECC. Last year, we spent
$8,000 on termite control. However, we hadn’t spent anything on termite control for the 10 years
before that. We have been offered a $2,000 one year contract to check for termites. B & G
recommends we not pay this annual fee.
MOTION: It was moved by Anne, seconded by Jerry, that we take no action at this time to spend money
for termite abatement until there is another issue. Motion carried.
Co-Chair Lyle Norton reported that we received an $800 estimate to fix the sprinklers. Working with
Terry LePage, the newly created gardening group made a map to show where all the sprinkler stations
were and checked them all to see if they were working properly. There were many problems, and Terry
made a $150 gift to have individual sprinklers repaired. All seem to be working fine now. Pat asked
about doing something about the dead flowers under the entry sign. Lyle will pass the request on.
7. Fund Development/Stewardship Report: There was no one from the committee present to make a
report. However, it is our understanding that the All Church Bon Vivant at the end of this month will
include a fundraising component. We are collecting wine for a silent auction.
8. Child Care Committee Report: Chair Laura Long submitted a written report (see attached), the
highlights of which are as follows: enrollment continues to be stable at the ECC, as new enrollees are
roughly keeping pace with expected withdrawals; at the end of last week, enrollment was 53 children,
with 39 enrolled in the full-day program and 14 in the half-day; the new playground installation is
complete; we are still waiting for contractors and estimates to complete repairs to the girls’ bathroom;
all ECC staff members attended a daylong training in the Desired Results Developmental Profile (DRDP)
child assessment; and we will host a BBQ on the playground on June 12.
9. Technology Committee Report: Chair Matthew Redrich reported that everything is working still. He
and Michael will need to talk about getting bids for screen installation when Michael feels better. Pat
Sauter said that choir members have difficulty hearing the sermon and announcements. Matthew
responded that the speakers to the choir loft are turned down during the sermon to avoid feedback,
which makes it hard for the choir to hear. The closer the speakers are to the microphone, the more
feedback there is, so there is no real solution to the problem.
10. Ministries Chair Report: Dawn Price was unable to attend, but sent her report (see attached), the
highlights of which are as follows: the Green Faith Committee is a new environmental issues group that
will operate under the auspices of the Advocates Ministry; please plan to attend the All Church Bon
Vivant on May 30; and the Vacation Bible School will be July 6-10, 2015.
11. Moderator’s Report: Moderator Anne Rosse submitted a written report (see attached), the
highlights of which are as follows: thanks to everyone who was involved in preparation for yesterday’s
congregational meeting - it was a pleasure to be able to share how much has been accomplished; kudos
and appreciation for the hard work of the Nominating Committee in preparing the slate; please
welcome new leaders and thank departing ones; we finally have approval for the required traffic study’s
scope of work and the counts were submitted this past week; our architects are in correspondence with
the City about filling out additional paperwork; and the Capital Campaign Pre-Planning Committee met
and decided to use the second half of 2015 to make sure we have CUP approval in place and start
providing the congregation with information about what a capital campaign would involve toward a
probable vote at the Winter Congregational Meeting in January 2016. The leadership retreat is July 1719, so please calendar the dates.
12. Pastor’s Report: Pastor Paul submitted a written report (see attached), the highlights of which are as
follows: Church Administrator Michael Spindle has been very ill, and Matthew has stepped in to assist;
the Spring Congregational Meeting was superbly handled by Anne, Dave, and Mark, with help from
other leaders; he and Matthew are delegates to General Synod; he received a response from Gordon
Gilles at Cornerstone that said, in part, “Unfortunately, we have no documentation that states that the
property will be transferred to the church from the conference at some specific point in time”; we will
be providing a “neutral pulpit” when a church is seeking a new pastor and is down to the final
candidates; and he was approached by a member of the Women’s Retreat about amending the Worship
Leader instructions to make it clear that we should steer clear of bashing more conservative traditions.
Some discussion ensued on this past point, as follows: We need to be respectful in our dialogue (Anne).
We need a small tweak in the instructions to be more respectfully of other points of view (Laura).
Everyone assumes we are all liberal [in the congregation], but not everyone is (Jerry). All agreed that it
is important to discourage disparaging comments. Paul will work with Michael to tweak worship leader
instructions.
13. Old Business
Update on Deed Discussions: Martha says she, Mark Allen, and Rob Thornton have been meeting to look
at alternatives. They will look to see what the deed says. 20% of deeds for churches in our Conference
are held by the Conference, so we are not the only ones. The Conference will not divulge the names of
other churches where they hold the deeds. We’ve been assured that the Conference is doing its best to
reorganize to become more fiscally sound. Rob’s law partner, who specializes in bankruptcy, has
suggested possibilities in the event of Conference bankruptcy even though we have been assured it
won’t happen. We have done our best to be prepared by looking at Rob’s alternatives. The Conference
has assured us they are working on it and we need not be concerned. We have done all we can at this
point in time.
Proposed purchase of coffee urns: In Dawn’s absence, Anne reported on the cost of purchasing coffee
urns. At a previous meeting, there was interest shown in getting coffee makers that are not giant urns.
The one Dawn showed us earlier is not the one we are looking at now. The cost for a potential brewing
system breaks down as follows: brewing unit $600; five urns $250; electrical work $800; dedicated water
line $325; and $175 carpentry work. Total cost would be about $2300 for this coffee brewing system. It
is estimated that this new system would shorten brewing time to 10-15 minutes. Rationale – as Sunday
schedule has changed, we need coffee in three locations simultaneously. It is noisy for Adult Sunday
School. Current method intimidates volunteers and takes too long. One urn has died and would cost
$150 to replace. This is a one-time investment for smaller, lighter urns that will be more practical. This
is an unbudgeted expense, but there is room in the budget to cover it. Pat says the new medium-size
coffee maker has been working well and she would prefer to get another one of those instead of
investing in a new system. Tommie says this is a solution for a problem that doesn’t exist, and she
thinks it is not fiscally responsible. Hospitality does not support this. Given the objections, Anne
recommended that we table this discussion pending further conversation between the Hospitality
Committee and the Ministries Board Chair. We still need new electrical because circuits will not handle
the microwave if we turn anything else on. Lyle says B & G can do the electrical work. Anne will circle
back with Dawn.
MOTION: It was moved by Anne, seconded by Jerry, to authorize $800 to improve circuitry in kitchen.
Motion carried.
14. New Business
Proposed Green Faith group: Vivian Johnson would like to create this group and chair it – the group
would be housed under Advocates. There is a potential B & G component to it as well. The board
encouraged Vivian to be in contact with Wayne and Lyle to coordinate efforts. No further action is
needed from this board.
Advocates request: Advocates for Peace & Justice Chair Howard Emery presented a request from the
Advocates for Peace and Justice ministry to purchase a banner from the Churches for Middle East Peace.
The banner is 3’ x 6’ and would cost $95. It says WE SUPPORT PEACE AND JUSTICE FOR PALESTINIANS
AND ISRAELIS. Discussion points included: It could be seen by some as critical of Israel and its policies;
we can’t display it out on Alton due to City restrictions, but it could be hung inside the patio area on
Sunday morning; and it may be a congregational decision rather than a board decision. Per Howard,
Advocates usually make a point of wording advocacy letters so they come from the ministry rather than
IUCC. By the same logic, Advocates could pay for banner and use it for advocacy. We need more
understanding among ourselves about this issue. The organization producing the banner may back
divestment and boycott. It sounds benign on the surface, but how and where would we use it – putting
it up implies endorsement and this could be an issue with members of the congregation and/or
University Synagogue. If we are going to raise the issue, we need to be prepared to understand and
defend it. Pastor Paul said it is already endorsed by the UCC denomination under the Just Peace
designation – the Synod will shortly be considering whether or not to take actions with regard to Just
Peace as it applies to the Israel-Palestinians conflict. Jerry added that perhaps we should pursue it as
part of a larger process. Matthew suggested we create our own banner with a link to their website
together with an education piece. It would give us more ownership.
MOTION: It was moved by Anne, seconded by Jerry, to endorse creation of a banner with the same
wording to include a unique URL to us; to pay for it as long as there is context on our website and a
commitment from Pastor Paul to work with Advocates on a launch date, sermon, and educational event
around this topic. Motion carried.
15. Adjournment/Closing Prayer: It was moved by Anne, seconded by Jerry, to adjourn. The meeting
was adjourned at 9 p.m. The closing prayer was led by Paul.
Our next Administration Board meeting will be June 15, 2015.
Respectfully Submitted,
Tricia Aynes,
Clerk of the Administration Board