COUNCIL MEETING
April 15, 2021
7:15 pm – 8:45pm
Attendees: Bob Blankenship, Beverly Byers, Richard Giltner, D J Schoneweis, Kenny Lee, Stacey Welch, Pastor Baker, Mary Rosas
Absentees: David Gorman
Guests: Mara McGee, Karolyn Havener
OPENING BUSINESS
Bob Roll Call: Quorum
Pastor Baker Opening Prayer
Mary Approval of Minutes for January and March: Motion- Beverly, Second- Mary; motion passed.
Bob Devotion: “The Peacemaker”, Chapter 4
Discussion points: Focusing on the good; acknowledging one’s own faults before considering the faults of others.
REPORTS
Mara Youth and Family Ministry:
General: There is no place to host activities at the church due to construction, so during May and June there will be off-site activities for Junior High and High School, an opportunity to ‘hang out’ two or three times.
Mission Trip to Louisiana: We are still awaiting information on sleeping arrangements. We would like to have the spaghetti dinner before the mission trip but are not sure how that is going to look (prepackaged, social distancing, etc.).
Pastor Baker Eggstravaganza: It was a great success with a good crowd of people from the neighborhood. Beverly commented that since it is held at the same time each year on the day before Easter, it draws people who know it is coming.
Karolyn CLC:
Construction: Painting will be finished in the next few days. Staff was brought in for three days to move items to allow flooring to go in. Texturing was finished today and is excellent so that it looks like the damage never happened. When Karolyn checked tonight there were 35 gallons of paint ready for the painting. Flooring work will begin Monday in the CLC area.
Insurance: Two payments have been received, but the fund account has been frozen. Richard mentioned that he and Beverly went to Chase bank to sign the release form and those have been submitted to the bank. Beverly clarified how Rocky is paid.
Staffing: CLC has lost one afternoon worker, a younger person returning to school. CLC needs a summer infant teacher and has three excellent resumes for it.
Enrollment: CLC will reopen June 1st and there are 34 enrolled so far, with an estimated $16,000 per month based on enrollment of 34. I have been calling families to ask for their commitment plans. We are also getting calls from out of town and online inquiries as to how to enroll.
Cleaning: Good news. Since the closure in February, the team did not come to clean so we are attempting to renegotiate the contract and Tuesday CLC received notice by email that it has been credited $716 for the end of February and more than $2,600 for March. CLC is not being billed for April nor any other months until fully reopened. This adds about $6,000 back into the CLC budget.
Pastor Baker Pastor’s Report:
Health: A heart failure incident required stints and resulted in 50% heart capacity and rapid heartbeat. Repeated shock paddles stabilized heart rhythm. A pacemaker has been implanted and now he is back at work, continuing to improve. The doctors called it a ‘close call’.
Other items: He plans to attend the pastor’s conference in May. First communion was planned for May but since it must be done in person, the event will occur when our facility is open to allow it. He expressed appreciation to Mary and Richard for the work that they did at the apartment while he was in the hospital.
Beverly Treasurer’s Report:
Bonnie was not available to present the management report. Everyone received a copy before the meeting.
Balance: There is $100,000 in the main account, $800,000 in the investment account.
We have a second PPP loan of $120,000 for a total of $240,000. Forgiveness paperwork for the first one is in progress.
Restricted funds: Mara’s questions about hers are being looked into, but, generally, account levels are in the proper place.
Balance to Actual: There was no tuition during the month. March income was $5,000. Holy Week income will be in the April report given next month. Expenses have been kept low due to construction except for teacher pay for 24 weeks, but loan money will be used to cover that. For lawn care, an invoice will be submitted to Julia’s email.
Administrative: Beverly has moved the check processing machine to her home to allow checks to be deposited in a timely way. She noted that this did not include our usual procedure of having two people involved in all counting and handling of funds. She does not object if the council wants her to wait to submit checks until Mary could be present to verify amounts. Richard suggested that there be a motion to allow Beverly to continue doing this alone until the church facility is restored and we can reasonably resume our usual procedure. Bob agreed and asked Richard to make the motion.
MOTION: Richard made the motion that Beverly be given temporary authorization to process deposit checks in a timely manner until we are able to reasonably resume our usual procedures. Mary seconded the motion. Motion carried.
Pastor John was being paid only through February so now we are paying only one pastor; now there is only one salary payout.
Month to Month Reports: Bonnie included the following in compiling her reports –
. For February, a February / March comparison report
. For March, a comparison of March 2020 to March 2021 report
. For the first quarter, a comparison of first quarter 2021 to first quarter of last year. The variance in the report indicates a tuition drop.
Finance Committee Meeting: Tuesday during the day was the staff meeting then Tuesday night was the finance committee meeting. Some very good suggestions came out of the two meetings.
Ministry / Trustee Team Reports:
D J Mission Monday:
.Water to Thrive – We are half way to our goal to finance one well.
.Cowtown Brush-up – The house painting was completed in only 2 ½ hours.
.Garden of Hope – Marc is working on getting an irrigation system for the garden. In the meantime, John Barnes and Mary are watering the garden while Marc is out of town.
.The Oaks – The cottage is not open yet but they are most grateful for the donated supplies. The cottage will open in May.
Saturday evening services – The services will continue on alternate Saturdays.
.Mother’s Day Service – An outdoor service under the porte cochere is planned for Mother’s Day.
Mary Property Report:
A copy of the property report has been sent via email.
The back door by the prayer room was left open, discovered on Gopher night. Karolyn will remind the construction team to lock up and check lights before leaving.
Roofing project is complete. There is, however an additional roof leak over the cry room. Eagle Roofing looked at it and determined that a temporary fix will cost about $450 and a permanent fix will be about $16,000. Mary and Beverly are to get additional bids.
OLD BUSINESS
Stacey Online Motions: There were no online motions.
Karolyn CLC COVID: Karolyn stated that we should be encouraging people to get their vaccinations. Mask / distancing rules are still good. These rules are set to expire April 20; we are waiting for the licensing people to give us new orders. Texas Department of Health and Human Services and the Health Department input to licensing who make those decisions.
Pastor Baker Constitution: Nothing has been done this month on this issue.
Beverly Signage: No update.
Storage shed: Mary Bates met with Beverly and Mary. She indicated that they were now interested in parking a tool trailer on their portion of the shed site. This will change the dimensions of the building. She will provide new plans to help us with the design.
Beverly also noted that during a conversation Mara had with the folks from Pastor Galvez’s congregation in Houston who came up to hand out disaster supplies last month, they are prepared to contribute money and supplies for our Mission Trip.
Pastor Baker Communion: Mother’s Day service will include communion at the porte cochere rather than across the parking lot due to possible weather issues, running wiring and WIFI, etc. In case of bad weather, it was suggested that the construction dumpster be moved to allow better traffic movement.
NEW BUSINESS
Beverly Outdoor Structure: Mission Monday suggested a more permanent structure for holding outdoor activities more often. We are gauging interest. Structure similar to that in the CLC area was suggested. Parking conflicts were discussed. Mary is to meet with Belton Electric about electric power to the shed area. A larger conduit may be needed to run other connections in the future. We need more information and suggestions from Belton regarding capacity / amperage / connection methods. Beverly confirmed that ‘as built’ drawings are available so bids can be based on the schematic.
Next Meeting: Third Thursday meeting is scheduled for May 20th.
Bob Closing Prayer
MOTION TO ADJOURN made by Bob at 8:45. Beverly seconded. Motion passed.
Respectfully submitted,
Richard Giltner
Council Secretary