January 2021 Minutes

​TRINITY UNITED METHODIST CHURCH
Governing Board Meeting
January 26, 2021
 
In Attendance: Chair Savannah Jewell, Frank Cederquist, Allegra Smith, Claudia Alenduff, Steven Flowers, Lisa Nielsen, Susie Riley, Mary Jo Risk, Pastor Suzanne Clementz, Kathy Young, and Pastor Tracey Leslie.
 
Opening prayer from Savannah 

​Meeting minute review: Oct. 27 - Susie was not present at the meeting; Reading the October minutes, the last Miller distribution of $13,693.96 was split 50/50 between Dream Fund and operating budget. The minutes mention splitting with Program Endowment, but that is not the split that occurred.
Savannah motioned to approve previous minutes with corrections, Claudia seconded →  approved by the board
 
Confidentiality Agreement Updated (Savannah):

• There is an update from last year’s document. 
• Board members need to sign it and email to Savannah or drop it off to the church 

 
Second PPP Application (Susie):
Trinity does not qualify for the second PPP application - would have to show a 25% decrease in gross receipts for 2020 (we are at a 1% increase); therefore we will not apply. 
 
Vision Update Summary from the last few years (Tracey):

• We are continuing to prioritize safety for many reasons, but we want especially to focus on families with small children. 
• Trinity’s 2015 church growth consultant advised us to focus on recruiting young adults because most of our members were “seasoned disciples”. 
• Trinity sold the Education Building, moved children’s worship to the basement, and added a youth room upstairs. 
• We recently added the Young Adult Outreach position. 
• We sold the Education Building to eliminate the debt. 
• We sold the Graves House to do brick work on the 6th Street side of the church
• We started working on small groups. 
• We have started to curate the Care Fund to become a Caring Ministry. 
• Ruth helped build community partnerships. 
• Fusion emerged with help from Morris and use of evangelism and story.  The discernment process and Ruth’s work with us were funded by grants through the conference and Center for Congregations.
• The discipleship tenet was developed. 
• Living Stones was initiated. 
• The community garden was established. 
• Pastor Suzanne has helped deepen connections to community groups. 

→ The Visioning Team will reconvene in the next few months to revisit vision goals that were established in January 2020 and negatively impacted by COVID. 
 
Possible Dog Park (Tracey):

• Trinity has the largest green space in the Centennial Neighborhood. A dog park could be a great thing to have to help engage with the community, especially since there are several people moving into this area of downtown. 
• The City of Lafayette is dialoguing with us. 
• We can invite someone from the City to the February board meeting to discuss it with us in more detail.
• The previous plans for outdoor events (with fruit trees and a walkway) could still be implemented except for the extensive walk way. We already have most of the fruit trees in place. 
• (Susie) Most people already use the green space for their dogs and they usually clean up after the dogs (or they are about average). However, we should consider if there is a need to make the space an official dog park. 
• (Tracey) If we have an official dog park, people would have to provide proof of dog vaccination to get the code to enter the fenced area. The fenced area would be great for people to allow their dogs to run off-leash, which creates a nice place for people to connect with others. Small groups have formed at other dog parks because of people tending to be there at the same time and sharing a common interest. 
• (Susie) We would need to get alot of insurance due to increased liability, but the City can help us address this. 
• (Kathy) The dog park would be a free option that would not be a fundraiser for the church. However, upkeep costs may be something to consider due to the thin grass, as well as lighting. 
• (Steven) Recommendations were given for a team or 2 - 3 people to collect our questions for the city and then after they discuss details then they can get the city involved. Decisions to include would be aspects like fence sizing, lighting, and turf. 
• Savannah motioned to have a small group investigate the options and details for the Dog Park possibilities. Lisa seconded → Board Approved 
• The Dog Park Team will include Steven, Kathy, and Savannah, and Savannah and Jamie will also start a list of questions. 
• Tracey will check with the Conference to make sure that the Dog Park idea will be okay with them. 

 
Annual Conference at Indiana Wesleyan University (Tracey):  

• June 10 - 12, 2021
• The UMC General Conference has been postponed till August. The two delegates from Trinity will likely be called upon to vote on LGBTQ+ decision for UMC in October. 
• Savannah is willing to go, and Lisa is highly interested. 

 
Caring Fund (Suzanne):

• If the Caring Fund dips below $3,000, we could make an announcement to the congregation  (congregational appeal) to make them aware that donations are especially needed. 
• Suzanne will create a Caring Ministry Team to consider the responsiveness of significant financial need requests and how post-COVID Trinity can help further develop the Caring Ministry and integrate people into the congregation from the community. 
• The Caring Fund updates would still be communicated in the newsletters regularly. 
• The $3,000 cut-off is based off of how funds have been distributed over the last few months and the year to year averages. $3,000 is a nice buffer that will allow time to help build up contributions again before depletion. 
• Pastor Tracey recommended amending the motion that, if it dips below $3,000, the board will develop a funding plan - perhaps a general appeal, funds from Program Endowment, etc. - whatever they consider best at the time.
• Steven moved to approve the $3,000 benchmark strategy for the Caring Fund and the creation of a Caring Ministry Team and Claudia seconded → Board Approved. 

 
South Lawn Project (Steven): 

• Difficulty getting lawn care companies to respond, so Steven divided up the project into smaller parts. 
• Steven proposed stump removal estimate from Krintz Lawn Care for $625 for three stumps, roots, and bushes on NW side of the lawn from funds allocated specifically for the lawn (not from general funds nor building endowment), Savannah seconded → Board Approved 

 
Endowments (Savannah standing in for Ryan)

• Discussion: For many years, we have been taking a Smith scholarship distribution with few, if any, requests. Consequently, we have $13,419 sitting in Regions. By transferring $10,000 back to the endowment fund, we will see better returns on our investment but still have plenty on hand at Regions should we have a request in the coming months. Remember that the guidelines have been updated to include professional development costs for staff and members pursuing education in ministry.
• Motion: Ryan moves to transfer $10,000 from the unused Smith Scholarship funds in our Regions Money Market account to the Smith Education Scholarship endowment fund at the United Methodist Foundation, Mary Jo seconded → Board Approved

 
Building Trustees (Frank): 

• Moved to approve the following expenses from the building endowment → Steven seconded → Board Approved: 
  • Repair HVAC Leak: $1,008.73 to Anderson Heating and Cooling
  • New AED: $838.75 to SOS Technologies
  • Monthly Property Management: $672.00 to Link Management 
• Bills that do not need board approval: 
  • Security System monitoring: $135.00 to All Star Security Monitoring Systems 
  • Reimbursement to Frank: $11.16 for dumpster padlocks 
  • Reimbursement to Frank: $25.32 for postage for sending the old AED
• Steven, Pastor Tracey, Steve Ash and Frank met with Sean from the Lafayette Historic Preservation Commission to see if Trinity wanted to consider being a part of the Historic District. 
• The only difference for us would be that Trinity would have to promise not to change the church’s exterior (such as if we wished to add an awning, we would have to get permission from the commission) and we could do whatever we wanted with the interior without issue. 
• Most exterior request changes are approved by the Historic Preservation Commission, so we do not have much to worry about for our building decisions. 
• The goal is to preserve the architecture to preserve historical buildings, and our church is on board with that and we would like to be on board with their goals. 
• Steven moved that Trinity join the Centennial Historic District → Frank seconded → Board approved

 
Finances (Savannah standing in for Eric): 

• Finances are doing well right now. 

 
Staff (Allegra):

• Staff check-ins were conducted in December. Most staff challenges were due to the pandemic, conducting ministry from a distance. Most staff are doing well with self-care and continued learning.