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Vestry Minutes
R. E. Lee Memorial Episcopal Church
May 18, 2009
The regular monthly meeting of
the Vestry of R. E. Lee Memorial Church was held Monday, May 18, 2009,
at 5:00 p.m. in the Parish Hall of the church.
Present: The Rev. Tom
Crittenden (chair), George Brooke(Senior Warden), Judy Glick (Junior
Warden), Molly Brown, Jay Crawford, Susan Cross, Punky Dod, Timothy
Gaylard, Elizabeth Harralson, Sarah Lanford, Julia Littlefield, John
Milford, Dick Rathmell, Woody Sadler, Don Whittington, and Gail Dick,
clerk. Absent: Mary Doyle
Lesson and Eucharist: The
Gospel appointed for the Sixth Sunday of Easter (John 15: 9-17) was
contemplated and discussed. Tom asked for any prayer requests and
celebrated the Eucharist.
Approval of April Minutes:
Accepted as published.
Committee Reports:
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Finance:
Woody reviewed the church’s monthly
financial reports (the year through 30 April) and reported that its
finances are all on track. The plate offerings and the Easter
offering were down for last month from what had been projected;
however, the prepaid pledges are keeping the financial situation
balanced.
George had four items to
bring before the Vestry, two of which will need the Vestry’s vote:
a.
Dane Boston, the
seminarian sponsored by our parish, is required to make six trips from
Yale Divinity School in New Haven, CT, to Lexington for the purpose of
discernment evaluation. He has already made two of these trips, which
were paid for out the Rector’s Discretionary Fund. Normally, payment for
these trips would come out of the Gilliam Fund. However, currently, the
fund only has $8954 and it is not certain if the money should be taken
out of this fund to pay for Dane’s remaining four trips. Tom said he
would be able to cover Dane’s next trip and would investigate more
thoroughly as to when these trips have to be taken. The Finance
Committee has proposed the idea that parishioners might be asked to
contribute funds for this purpose. This is an information item only and
does not require any action from the Vestry at present.
b.
Raetz and Hawkins, the
local CPA firm which has done our annual financial audits in the past,
has declined to undertake the job this year. As an alternative, Anita
Ramp, the church financial secretary, will ask another local firm,
Swisher and Davis, to do a “formal review” instead. The Diocese has
approved this change in procedure. The objective is to have the “formal
review” completed and the results received by the church no later than
the end of June.
c.
The third item was
moved up on the agenda from “New Business”. The Finance Committee had
recommended to the Vestry that the church checking account be
transferred from Stellar One Bank to CornerStone Bank. The church
treasurer, Buddy Atkins, was present to help explain the rationale for
the recommendation. The primary advantage that the church would gain
from the transfer would be that its funds would now be deposited in a
community bank. Furthermore, the benefits currently afforded the church
by banking at Stellar One would remain the same at CornerStone, no
additional fees would be assessed to the church as a result of the
transfer, and CornerStone is FDIC-insured (the church checking account
never exceeds more than about $50,000-$70,000 anyway). George moved that
the Finance Committee recommendation be approved by the Vestry. Tom
noted that when a committee’s report is a recommendation it does not
require a second. In the discussion which followed, most Vestry members
looked favorably upon the move, although it was noted that the argument
that the move was being made to support a locally-owned bank could be a
red herring, since if CornerStone expanded it could be bought up by a
larger bank. This is exactly what had happened to Stellar One, once
Planter’s Bank. The view was also expressed that it was silly to move
our assets around unless there was really a sound financial reason for
doing so. Action: The Vestry voted unanimously, with two abstentions,
to approve moving the church’s bank account from Stellar One Bank to
Cornerstone Bank of Lexington.
d.
The final Finance
Committee item pertained to a recommendation which that committee had
made to the Vestry. At its May meeting Finance considered a request made
by the Property Committee to identify funding for all the capital
improvement/repair items that it is working on this year. These include
the repair of the Parish House roof, the re-paving of the Parish House
front sidewalk, electrical repairs to the entire church facility, work
in the church undercroft (pending a later major upgrade), the purchase
and mounting of a church sign, and the re-pointing of the west side of
the church building. (This list with the appropriate costs was
distributed to the Vestry as an attachment to the agenda.) The total
needed to fund all of these items was estimated at $31,607, but reduced
to $24,607 when the two re-pointing grants the church has received are
included. The Finance Committee noted that the entire list could be
supported from the “Vestry Designated Capital Fund”. This fund, separate
from the operating budget, consists of accumulated unused depreciation
money rolled over from the existing budget at the end of each year.
Currently this fund has a balance of $30,570.50. Since this fund does
not include the current year’s depreciation, at the end of this year, an
additional amount of approximately $12,000 should go back into the fund.
The Finance Committee therefore had recommended to the Vestry that funds
to accomplish the repairs on the Property Committee’s list be taken from
the Vestry Designated Capital Fund. George made a motion to this effect.
Here was no dissension in the brief discussion which followed.
Action: The Vestry voted unanimously to approve the Finance Committee’s
recommendation to use the funds in the Vestry Designated Capital Fund to
pay for the repairs as noted by the Property Committee.
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Green:
Elizabeth reminded the Vestry that on the last Sunday of April,
Rogation Sunday, Tom had announced that June would be ride a
bike, walk, or carpool to church month. To assist in this
effort, the Green Committee has prepared a map of Rockbridge County,
which will be mounted on the bulletin board in the Parish Hall, and
a large number of pins, each of which has a pennant affixed to it.
Each family will be encouraged to put a pin/pennant with their name
on it on the map showing where they live, the thought being that
each parishioner will be able to see who their neighbors are and
might be able to work out a carpooling arrangement. Elizabeth
observed that the committee has been very pleased with the outcome
of the mug intake. In fact, so many mugs have been received
that there was currently no need for any more. Finally, on
Wednesday, June 24 at 7:30, Rockbridge Grown will be making a
presentation at R.E. Lee Church in the Parish Hall. This is a
local organization trying to connect local producers of locally
grown food--lamb, beef, chicken, vegetables and fruits with local
consumers. The group will be giving a presentation which promotes
the concept of growing one’s own vegetables. Molly mentioned that
after the program in June, it might be nice to have a parish supper
where everyone brings in something they have grown.
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Property:
John Milford reported that the
south wall of the Parish House wall has shown no displacement
since last month. He also noted that Bill Reid of Largent Roofing
had told him that since dry weather had been forecast for the next
few days that the work on repairing the Parish House roof
could hopefully begin during the upcoming week. It was estimated to
take 2-3 days. George noted that once the roof work has been
completed and there is no more leakage, the water damage to the
ceiling on the top floor of the Parish House will have to be
repaired. The church sign has finally been cut and the
Property Committee has approved this stage of the work. Andy Wolfe
will now paint and finish it. The sign is to be presented in its
finished form to the Property Committee for final approval at its 1
June meeting. The energy audit presentation on 22 April
(co-sponsored by the Property and Green committees) was well
attended and very informative. Several recommendations produced by
this audit, such as adding insulation to the Parish House attic, can
be readily adopted by the church and help it become more energy
efficient. The cadre team will undertake implementation of as many
of the recommendations as it can. A copy of the final written report
on the energy audit has been placed in the Parish House library for
parishioners to read if they wish. The cadre team is
organized now and starting to work on projects. Finally, John noted
that progress on getting the electrical work done has
progressed more slowly than desired. The estimates received have
been both inconsistent and incomplete. The Property Committee hopes
to be able to award a contract at its next meeting.
Old Business
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Parish House Sidewalk Repaving/Safety
Improvements: John Milford said that the
Property Committee has awarded a contract to John Friedrichs for
replacing the sidewalk and steps. He made an extensive report to the
committee and they are confident that Mr. Friedrichs will do a good
job. His cost estimate ($9774) fell in the middle range of the
estimates received. He has already committed to another project at
the Cyrus McCormick House that will take about ten weeks so he will
not be able to start the sidewalk project until about the 1st
of August. He will tear out the old sidewalk, remove tree
roots under the sidewalk, and put in a reinforced sidewalk. This
should take him about one week. Once he has completed this project
he will begin the re-pointing of the west side of the church.
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Columbarium: In advance of the Vestry meeting Dick sent out a revised niche
policy document via e-mail in which he tried to incorporate the
majority of comments and recommendations that he received from the
version presented to the Vestry in April. The revised version notes
that the $1000 which is paid to reserve a niche in the columbarium
is non-refundable. If a person moves away and/or wishes to surrender
his/her niche, the money he/she has paid for their niche will be
considered to be contribution to the church. The policy (and the
cost to reserve a niche) will be reviewed periodically as needed.
Dick said that the revised written policy had been reviewed by a
lawyer. George raised the question as to whether someone should be
specifically identified to maintain the records to ensure that there
is no confusion or dispute about a niche reservation. Tom said that
this should be the responsibility of the Columbarium Committee and
that there should be a Vestry requirement for an annual report by
that committee to the Vestry regarding the status of the records and
funds. Julia asked if there was a separate policy for the Memorial
Garden. Dick said that there was, and that the Memorial Garden
policy had been approved by the Vestry last year. Tom said the two
separate policies, one for the niches and one for the Memorial
Garden but pulled together into one Columbarium document. Tom
said that he, Dick, and Kay would get together and try to produce
this document in time for presentation to the Vestry for approval at
its June meeting.
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Undercroft Project Update:
Elizabeth said that despite his promise to do so, Tom Hart had been
unable to provide the VMDO estimate for the renovation of the
undercroft in time for the Vestry meeting. Tom was very apologetic
and had told her that he had simply been unable to get around to it
because of a sudden increase in his commitments. He would try very
hard to have it by the June Vestry meeting. Tom also said he would
be willing to remove the rails IF he had the time. As the rails
are now more properly a Property Committee issue (funding having
been approved) the Vestry agreed to turn coordination of the rail
removal project with Tom over to the Property Committee.
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Status Update on Parishioner Gift for
Interior Church Improvements:
Tom passed out a written proposal for
the renovation of the interior of the church. He noted that it has
been very difficult to get estimates for some items from vendors.
For example, despite his strenuous efforts, only one estimate has
been received for installing a hardwood floor in the chancel area
and that estimate seemed to be very expensive and out of line;
however, currently there were no other estimates to compare it to.
Tom has broken down the restoration projects according to cost. It
has been a month and a half since the donor has offered the gift of
$50,000 and a decision needs to be made so this gift is not lost.
Tom proposed accepting the gift of $50,000, and propose to the donor
that we proceed with the majority of the work (rewiring the
chandeliers, refinishing the floors, placing new nave carpet
runners, retiling the narthex and bridge, reconditioning the pews,
and ordering new pew cushions) but that we await final decision on
the chancel hardwood/carpeting as we get more estimates and see how
that element project fits in with the $50,000. Action: Woody
moved that the Vestry accept the gift of $50,000 and proceed with
the work as proposed by Tom. Elizabeth seconded. Motion passed
unanimously.
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Pew Cushion Purchase:
The sub-committee of the Vestry
working with Judy (Julia, Sarah, and Virginia Dabney) on the
purchase of new pew cushions recommended that they be purchased from
Waggoners, a Kansas-based company which has been in business since
1968. Waggoners is a family-owned business, does all work onsite,
and only makes cushions. Judy showed Vestry members a pew cushion
sample made up in the fabric that the sub-committee had selected.
The color is a dark red, which has been matched to the carpet color
in the church, and is made of a highly durable fabric. The cushions
will also have buttons and be tufted. Waggoners will guarantee the
cushions for five years, and is the only company which Judy found
which would do so. In addition, the Waggoner cushions have a sound
reflective insert which improves acoustics, and is the only company
making pew cushions to offer this feature. Sam Sanders, the East
Coast representative for the company, visited the church and met
with Tom, and Judy and her committee on 6 May. He noted that it will
take Waggoners about 8-10 weeks to make the cushions once they
formally receive the order. He would also personally deliver the
order to us when it is complete. While he was here, Mr Sanders
measured all the pews for cushion size (all other companies
contacted require the church to do the measuring themselves and send
them the individual pew measurements). Despite its obvious
advantages, Waggoners’ estimate was not the most expensive one that
Judy received. Pending receipt of the aforementioned donor gift
(out of which the cushions fee will be paid), the Vestry authorized
Judy to proceed with ordering new pew cushions from Waggoners.
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New Worship Committee Mission
Statement: In January of
this year, the Committee on Committees had voted to reconstitute the
Worship Committee as a Standing Committee of the Vestry and directed
that it develop a new mission statement. They have done that under
the leadership of Mary Doyle and the rector. In the absence of Mary
Doyle, Worship Committee chair, George presented the committee’s
proposed new mission statement. Action: George made a motion that
this committee’s mission statement be accepted as the Worship
Committee’s mission statement. Woody seconded. There was no
discussion. Passed unanimously.
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Report on Gadsden Committee Tax
Status: Following up on a
tasker from the April Vestry meeting, Woody reported that he had
spoken with Greg Raetz about the church and its tax status vis-à-vis
the Gadsden Committee and the latter’s role in the management of
Gadsden Endowment outreach grants. Greg said that if all the monies
from Gadsden came through the church there would be no problem.
However, since Gadsden currently disperses monies directly to
different outreach groups there could be a problem because Gadsden
is not a not-for-profit according to recent Internal Revenue Service
regulations. That is, it might not properly be a 501c3 organization.
Greg agreed to review the documents which established the committee
and give us an opinion on whether we need to change how the church
manages the Gadsden monies in order to fit within 501c3 rules.
Woody was directed to follow up with Greg and report back in June.
New Business
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Finance Committee Recommendation to
Move Church Account from Stellar One Bank to Cornerstone Bank:
This was addressed under the Finance Committee above.
Comments by the Wardens:
Senior Warden: George reported
that the by-laws are still on hold pending a response from Alan Boyce
at Diocese. He asked that the Vestry committee liaisons remind their
respective committee head(s) that they should let him know when their
committee(s) is scheduled to meet. In addition to the energy audit
report, a copy of the Aulbach general inspection report has been placed
in the library for parishioners to review. The iron bench (a gift from
the Gilliam family) that has been on the church patio is at present in
Stuart’s Draft being sandblasted and painted; it should be back during
the week of 25-29 May. Finally, George noted that he will be away on
Thursday and Friday and may not be able to get the draft Vestry minutes
out for review before Sunday.
Junior Warden: Judy had no
comment.
Comments by the Rector:
Tom noted that he and his family will be
away from 5-14 June. There will be supply clergy for Sunday, 7 June (The
Rev. John Lane) and Sunday 14 June (The Rev. Bob Copenhaver). In July
the Crittendens will spend a couple of weeks at Goshen Pass. Bob
Copenhaver will preach on Sunday, 5 July. During this coming winter, the
Crittendens have been offered the use of an apartment in Oxford,
England. Tom will go for two weeks and his son Joseph will go for one
week. Tom has not heard back from Theresa Brion regarding the
possibility of her interning at R. E. Lee this summer. He is hopeful
that Dane Boston will be with us in July.
Dick Rathmell closed the meeting with
prayer.
Meeting adjourned at 7:15 p.m.
The next meeting will be at 5:00 p.m.
Monday, 15 June 2009 in the Parish Hall.
Respectfully submitted,
Gail G. Dick, Clerk
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