ASLC Council Meeting
August 20, 2020
7:00 PM
Attendees: John Barnes, Robert Blankenship, Beverly Byers, Richard Giltner, Patti Scott, Elizabeth Lindstrom, Mary Rosas, Pastor John Scheusner
Absent: Evelyn Gorman
Guest: Karolyn Havener
Opening Prayer: Pastor John
Devotional: Peacemakers Chapter 5 – Libby lead a discussion of the content of the chapter. She suggested that the book would make a great Bible study. Chapter 6 will be reviewed at the September meeting.
Approval of Minutes: Minutes of the regular Council meeting on July 20, 2020 were presented for approval. Mary indicated that the online discussion of the use of the facility by Santisima Trinidad (NALC) in Irving was added to ensure full disclosure of the approval. Beverly motioned to approve the minutes as presented. Bob seconded. Motion carried unanimously.
Reports:
Children’s Learning Center
Karolyn reported that the fall session was fully staffed. The program is in its second week and running smoothly. There is a waiting list for the toddler class.
Pastor’s Report
Highlights:
· Convocation
Three motions were made at the meeting regarding holding the national convocation every other year, mainly due to costs, burden to subsidies paid by churches, and expenses of travel for attendees. The first motion was to make the scheduling change, the second to change the governing language to cover the change, and the third was to allow the executive council to adjust office terms to align with the change. The Council will need to ratify these motions at the November congregational meeting. The information is available on the NALC website. Pastor John asked for help in pulling together a local convocation.
· There is no active Dean for the NALC in the 3-year term position. Pastor John has been the Dean but has notified leadership that he will not re-up for this position. He has agreed to fill the position until the end of the year or until a successor is elected.
· The full report will be included as an attachment to the transcribed minutes in the official minutes book.
Treasurer’s Report
· Beverly reported a deficit of $49K for the month of July and a year to date deficit of $211K.
· Affiliated Bank has done software updates. Beverly will attend a training class and will let us know if anyone else needs to take the training.
· Beverly asked for input on how to better communicate finance information to the congregation in a timely manner. Council discussed options including a quarterly capital projects report.
· The budget vs. actual report for 2019 will be added to the current financial spreadsheet for comparison purposes. Positive entries indicate spending was over budget, negative indicates under spending.
· Goal is to simplify the financial details for monthly reporting.
· Credit Cards – currently we have a $10,000 limit. We have requested an increase to $15,000. We currently have 5 cards in use – Karolyn, Beverly, Mara, Julia and Pastor John. The cards are used to pay monthly expenses. The balance is paid off every month. We earn significant rewards through use of the cards. Beverly reviews expenditures on all five cards to ensure there is no personal use of the cards.
· Patti Scott inquired about the $10,200 budget for Arlington Charities. Spending on this account is managed by Joy Hilts who makes the contributions to this account.
· A total of $3,658 was sent to San Miguel to help pay off their debt to the ELCA.
· PPP Loan – It appears there will be a delay in the payback date. Beverly feels the entire loan will be forgiven.
· Benevolence will be adjusted in the next period. It was over-calculated last time around due to restricted receipts being included in the calculation.
· The current health plan does not meet the needs of Karolyn and Jackie (CLC). New plan is being researched by Beverly.
Board Updates
Communications – John Barnes
Work continues on live streaming of the Sunday worship services. WiFi has been upgraded.
Property – John Barnes
Parking lot repair bids are still being gathered. Beverly has contacted all three vendors who had previously bid. One of them has bowed out. Patrick of VIP Roofing will provide a bid on this project. H&H Skylight was out to troubleshoot the sagging skylight panels. They are sourcing a new vendor for the panels. This repair will be covered under warranty.
The alarm system equipment belongs to All Saints. We need to locate a new vendor to monitor and keep up with repairs. Customer service by Johnson Controls has been unsatisfactory. Betach is not licensed for fire; therefore, they are not an option. We are waiting on a letter from Johnson Controls regarding services. Beverly will follow up on that letter. John Barnes is the point person going forward.
Sanctuary roof repair bids are still being gathered. VIP has submitted a bid. Still waiting on bids from Rocky Baires and PAQ. Mary suggested we contact a fourth vendor as several contacts with Rocky have been met with no action on providing bid. Beverly will create a spreadsheet to compare bids received.
Douglass Air was out twice to replace a fuse on an air conditioner that serves CLC classrooms. After the fuse failed the second time, the electrical box on that air conditioner was repaired. Dennis (Douglass Air) indicated that if the fuse blew again, we may need to consider replacing the compressor at a cost of $2,000. He suggested that may not be the most prudent action since that unit was installed in 1998. Replacing the entire unit would be around $13,000. Libby indicated that the cost of replacing her unit was around $15,000 but was reduced to around $12,000 through rebates.
Dissatisfaction with our current cleaning crew has been expressed related to unreliability, insufficient sanitization and idle workers. Bids will be sought for replacement supplier.
Playground remodel plans have been completed by Marc Funderburk. Mary will seek bids for the work in the next few weeks.
Motion was made by Libby, seconded by Patti, to accept all reports. Motion carried unanimously.
Online Motions –There were no online motions to report. Libby asked Richard to accept responsibility as Secretary Elect to collect any online motions for submission at Council meetings. Richard accepted. Responsibility will fall to next Secretary Elect.
COVID 19 Update – No change in status or procedures
Review of Special Congregational Meeting
General consensus was that the meeting went well. Mary will provide minutes for review prior to the November congregational meeting.
Rework Boards
Monthly board meetings will begin again in January 2021 depending on the status of COVID 19 at that time. A new date to meet for review of board policies and procedures was set for September 14th at 7:00 p.m.
Safe Workplace Training Course
Current practice has been to have new members of Council or Staff take the course when they begin their position, and staff retake the course again every three years. Beverly moved to establish a policy whereby new Council and Staff be required to take the course upon starting their position and that staff also be required to take the course every three years of service. Libby seconded. No discussion; motion passed unanimously.
Audit Committee
Only two members remain of the original three who had volunteered. New members for this committee will be sought at the November congregational meeting.
Nominating Committee
The committee has only two voting members. The Constitution requires three. The Constitution does not define how to replace members who have resigned. The consensus was that the Committee should continue to carry out its duties to provide a slate of officers for next year.
Constitution Review
Council discussed Marty Schardt’s offer to review the constitution.
· Review previously identified problem areas for his rate of $125/hour with a maximum of $750.
· No payment is required until and only in case of approval,
· If we are not satisfied, there will be no charge.
Discussion followed regarding the need to address other areas that have been identified relating to no provision for replacement of nominating committee members when a vacancy has occurred and ambiguous verbiage on what constitutes “member in good standing.” Pastor John suggested we raise the cap in lieu of coming back for another vote. Beverly motioned that we reach out to Marty Schardt to assist with revision of the Constitution for a cost not to exceed $1,000. John Barnes seconded. No discussion. Motion passed unanimously.
Scholarship Account
There is still $171 in the dedicated scholarship fund. Finance would like to disburse this money. Kaitie Bessler and Garret Shimek are both college-age members. Richard offered to contribute an additional $29 to make it an even $200. The general consensus is that each of these individuals qualify for the funds due to their continuing service to the church. Beverly motioned that an additional gift from Richard for $29 be accepted into the scholarship fund in order to give the two candidates each $100. Mary seconded. Motion passed unanimously.
Branding/Re-branding
Pastor John clarified that the goal was not to change the church’s name, but rather to move the denominational indicator to subtexts. We would still adhere to our Lutheran heritage in liturgy and practices. Libby requested that we send our ideas on how to accomplish this through the usual communication channels.
Sandwich Ministry – Tabled until next month’s meeting.
Closing Prayer – Patti Scott
Adjournment
Libby motioned to adjourn the meeting at 9:15 p.m.. Patti seconded. Motion carried.
Respectfully submitted,
Mary Rosas
Council Secretary