	Ohio-Meadville District of the UUA

OMD Board Meeting Summary
February, 2008

This is a summary of the board minutes from the February 9, 2008 meeting at the UU Fellowship of Wayne County, OH. If you have questions about any of the items mentioned, please contact a board member. Please note that items voted on are led by ***

You can download a pdf copy of this summary by clicking here.

The meeting was called to order at about 9 a.m, followed by opening words and a chalice lighting.

The following reports were reviewed:

Compensation consultant: Glenn Solomon indicated that trying to be a fair compensation congregation is a moving target. Congregations will receive a compensation survey.

Staff Reports: See the written report. Additionally, Joan VB indicated that

SI and district staff meeting has been postponed.
Youth ministries in the district need to move more towards teaching people to do youth ministry rather than actually doing it, for example letting the cons run themselves instead of staff actually being there.
Chalice lighter representatives for each congregation are being sought for and get the March 16th Chalice Lighter Sunday. We now have 414 chalice lighters in the district.
The three district lifespan faith development coordinator is not longer a viable option.
Regarding Karen Lapidus’s report Joan said she is taking seriously the information that has come out of the youth summit report. She is helping to plan the four district YAC committee training.

Beth Casebolt recommends that, to reduce costs, the retreat be moved to the weekend of May 30, 31 and June 1 at Tygart Valley Retreat Center in Grafton, WV. The board agreed.

Identity Task Force: The new district slogan is “One Faith, Many Voices”. The task force plans to have a mock up of logos at the District Assembly and then have a vote. They also plan to make a district brochure.

The Long Range plan: will involve asking a randomly selected group of individuals from around the district a variety of questions regarding their views of district identify. Four questions will be asked in interviews lasting about a half hour. Each board member will do two face to face interviews sometime in March or April. Interviewees will be assigned. Phone can be used if absolutely necessary.

Board Task Force on Committee Structure Update
Joan suggested using the word “purpose” instead of “mission” because it is easier for UUs to deal with this word. Phil will change the wording to reflect that.

Policies and Procedures Update

***Lynn moved that we accept the policy and procedure changes as submitted by the staff. Kathie seconded the motion. Under events report we chose version 5.3.4 and we agreed to standardize all references to “movie” instead of “video”. The vote passed. ***

The staff will revise the committee chair guidelines in light of the policy changes which have just been passed.

The nominating committee has no report. The committee has not reported back to DZ and Beth. We decided not to fill the interim trustee position for the remaining one and a half months.

Annual Program Fund initiative update: Some ministers have asked Joan VB to lead a stewardship workshop if their churches are receptive to the idea. Joan will also take the following names to Gerry Blomgren and will try to work with some of these congregations.
The Resource Development team will recommend to the board how best to facilitate district and APF dues in the future.

2008 District Awards: The board voted to determine recipients of the following awards: Unsung Hero, Faith in Action, Service to Youth and Children, and UU Visibility. (Recipients to be officially announced at 2008 District Assembly)

By Laws Amendments:

***Phil moved that we accept recommended amendments 1, 2, 3 and 4 and submit them to the District Assembly for Approval. Lynn seconded the motion. The vote passed. ***

***Lynn moved that we recommend the amendment regarding the UUA trustee for DA approval. Kathie seconded it.
Kathie moved that we amend the bylaw by eliminating section C. Mary seconded it. The vote on the amendment passed with one abstention. The vote on the whole motions passed with one abstention. ***

UUA trustee: Beth will create a form for statement of intent to run for UUA trustee. Trustees will receive it and approve it before DA.

Budget: Discussion of the budget resulted in the decision to form a draft budget which includes:

stabilization of professional expenses to ten percent of salary
lowering the deficit to $9,497 which cuts the deficit more than half of where it was before

We decided that these expenses are reasonable given the size of the district and services offered. If we had 89 percent of fair share contributions we would have no deficit.

Association Sunday money to the district will be $7,866.

***Phil moved that $3,000 of the money go to fund the four district growth consultant. Kathie seconded the motion. The vote passed.***

We agreed to decide later where the rest of the money will go.

District Assembly update.
District Assembly will include rooms in an adjoining building. There will be four rooms at this building for workshop and also a room for celebration space.
In 2009 we need a host church. There was discussion on whether to use a hotel.

Reimbursement. The board pays all registration fees for board members. Please use the online form. If you are officially asked to present something all expenses are paid.

***Phil moved that expense reports for mileage only may be submitted by email to the district office. Mary seconded the motions. The vote passed. ***

Board Goals. All of our 2007-2008 goals have been accomplished. We are continuing the study of YA/CM hours.

Meeting adjourned approximately 3:30 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,
Linda Coulter, Interim Secretary

OMD Board Meeting Summary February, 2008

OMD Board Meeting Summary
February, 2008