Council Members Present: President June Johnsen, Bob Evans, MaryAnne Jordan, Carole Greeley, Justin Devine, Bette Noll, Stu Reid
Council Members Absent: Pastor Todd Bertani, Barbara Patterson, Tom Turner, Austin Jansen
Others Present: Diane Metz (Personnel Committee)
June called the meeting to order at 5:40 p.m. and opened with a prayer.
June announced that since the last monthly meeting, Justin had asked the Council to approve serving alcoholic beverages at the Grand Night for Games Shows event on May 22, and all of the Council members had given written consent to his request. MaryAnne moved that the minutes of the April 22 meeting be augmented with the consent documents (Attachment A) and that the minutes be approved as augmented. The motion was seconded and passed.
Financial Report
MaryAnne submitted a report from the Finance Committee. (Attachment B)
She reported that almost all of the $50,000 loan that we had obtained to remodel the church facilities had been spent and that we needed an additional $17,750 for work that was necessary and an additional $17,760 for other work that was being recommended. Council members agreed that it is in the best interest of the congregation to finish the remodel projects now due to the reduced labor costs and reduced loan fees at this time.
Justin reported that a screen had been set up in the sanctuary and was being used to show the words of the songs during the contemporary service on Sunday but that it would cost approximately $3,500 for parts to improve the technology for this. This would include a projector that can be mounted to a beam in the church, a larger screen, a transistor, a receiver, and a mounting bracket. Bette moved to permit MaryAnne to apply for an additional loan of $50,000 to complete the remodel and improve the worship technology. The motion was seconded and passed.
June moved that we commit the first $2,000 of monthly income from the Flames of Fire contract to repay the loan for the remodeling and that we commit the remaining $1,000 of monthly income from that contract to a capital improvement fund. The motion was seconded and passed.
MaryAnne also reported that she had been receiving invoices for expenditures that had not been budgeted or approved by Council. She advised that if any Liaison or Ministry Chair wants to spend money that is not in the budget, he or she should obtain approval from the Council before making the expenditure or risk not being reimbursed.
Reports from Ministry Liaisons
Justin submitted a report from Youth and Parish Education. (Attachment C)
Several Council members commented on how much everyone enjoyed the Grand Night for Game Shows on May 22. Justin reported that his goal had been to recruit approximately 30 people for the trip to build houses in Mexico, so they could build two houses, and this goal had been achieved.
Bette reported that the Community Concerns Committee had concluded that other churches were serving the community’s need for clothing, so St. Mark’s will not be opening a new clothing program at this time. The food pantry is being moved from the old location to the larger space where we had been operating the clothes closet, and the former food pantry area will be converted into a resource room that can be used for a classroom, a computer room, and perhaps a library.
Bette reported that she could use more volunteers for the food pantry.
Stu reported on Worship and Music. Several Council members made favorable comments about the attractive decorations for Pentecost Sunday. Stu reported that St. Mark’s had loaned the three tables that are used by the Bell Choir to a fund raiser for the Symphony, and only one of those tables had been returned. The other two tables that were given to St. Mark’s at that time were not our tables. June said that she would exchange them for our tables, and she would ensure that all of our tables are labeled.
Justin reported that the recordings that are made of our services are fine for listening to what is said during a service, but that they do not do justice to the music at the service. He said that our current sound board could be improved so that it would produce a much better recording. The cost would be $150. He did not know if this sum could be found in the budget. Carole moved that if this amount could not be found in the budget, we approve the expenditure of $150 to improve the sound board. The motion was seconded and passed.
It was announced that the next Concert on the Corner would be on June 12.
Barbara Patterson filed a report from Congregational Life. (Attachment D) Twelve had attended the vision support group, and seven had attended the bereavement group. The committee had served meals for three Family Night events. The visiting team had visited all homebound members and those in care facilities.
Diane submitted a report from Personnel. (Attachment E). She reported that an evaluation had been completed for Justin and that he had done very well. She said that she was working on a new job description for him. She plans to take a short survey during the services on June 5 and 6 in order to learn what members like about what the congregation is doing and what they would like to change. She has attended two meetings of the St. Mark’s Constitution Revision Committee since the April 22 Council meeting. She asked that the Council look into whether we should provide dental insurance for staff, and she asked that we consider giving Justin education time and funds to attend the National Youth Workers Convention in San Diego in October. She reported that we have given such benefits to staff members in the past but that we had not done so for Justin. MaryAnne moved that we give Justin this education time and that we pay for up to $1,000 in expenses for the convention. The motion was seconded and passed.
Old and New Business
June announced that Pastor Todd’s Birthday Bash would be held on August 15.
The meeting was closed with the Lord’s Prayer. It was adjourned at 7:05 p.m.
Submitted by Carole Greeley, Secretary