Present: Judy Hanson, Craig Collins, Greg Andrews, Rob Blount, Chad Carlson, Pete Elza, Michelle Kovar, Cheryl Martines, John Volkening
Absent:
Staff: Pastor Sarah Rhode, Deacon Heather Feltman, Pastor Paisley Le Roy
Meeting called to order at 06:30 PM
Meeting closed at: 8:27 PM
Council Reporter:
Open Forum:
Discussion:
Follow-up Items:
Agenda Item #1: Roof and Mechanical Update
Discussion:
Susan Maish from JNKA joined the council meeting to review the current status of the roof and HVAC mechanical replacement projects.
Susan shared the summary sheet of the mechanical bids. In November, Service Mechanical was brought in to review the mechanical and discuss what would need to be done to replace the existing system. As part of the discussion, it was confirmed that the mechanical would not need to be performed in conjunction with the roofing project.
There are concerns that the old HVAC system is near the end of its useful life. Since the system has been repaired a number of times and parts of the unit are no longer functional, there is a concern that there may soon come a time that we will be unable to properly repair the HVAC unit.
Three companies were invited to bid on a design/build project to replace the mechanical system.
Two of the bids recommended replacing the existing 3 unit system with a single larger, variable air system. This will allow the system to start up slower to lower the volume.
The third bid recommended replacing all three units with new units. Based on discussion, the third bid did not offer any advantages over a single unit system.
The bids will need to be reviewed to determine the variances between the bids and ensure that comparisons are equal. (For example 3 wireless controllers versus 4 wired controllers)
The capacity of the proposed HVAC solutions will need to be reviewed to ensure that it is properly sized and works efficiently for the amount of space and the number of people in our building.
A question was asked if the updated mechanical would provide any cost savings. Hill provided some preliminary numbers that they would expect to see a reduction in energy costs of > $5,000.
A question was posed, would a three unit system offer any redundancy? Per Susan, all the units are independent and would not provide any redundancy.
A question was asked about Test and Balance and would that be included. The committee has recommended that Test and Balance should be performed by a Third Party.
A question about the load calculation. Hill did a load calculation based on 300 people.
A question was asked about bid expiration. If there is a bid expiration, could there be a shift in labor or material costs.
Are there any concerns about the ability to deliver due to lack of materials or labor? Per Susan neither has indicated any issues or concern with delivery.
Susan shifted over to present an overview of the roofing process.
BLC received a roofing report that indicates there were a number of issues with installation and venting that are causing issues with our roofing.
Susan presented a comparison of Asphalt shingles versus Synthetic slate. No official bids have been submitted. JNKA is waiting for a decision on whether to go with asphalt shingles or synthetic shingles.
If asphalt shingles were chosen, venting would need to be added as it does not exist in our current roof. Synthetic slate would not require venting.
Snow guards are normally required with synthetic shingles, but, due to the unique slope of our roof, they may not be useful or necessary.
Question, can additional findings during the bidding process increase the cost? That is always a possibility.
Question, would the venting required by the asphalt shingles affect the HVAC. Answer: Since it is above the installation, it should not affect the HVAC.
Question whether synthetic would have a different insurance coverage. Heather will investigate.
A question was asked if the insurance company could deny a water damage claim due to the known condition of the roof. Heather notes that the insurance company is aware, but can not state with any certainty at this time.
Heather: Still some open questions for the mechanical and roof. The team may want to bid for both asphalt and synthetic shingles with hope to present Council some recommendations by the April council meeting..
Conclusion:
Action Taken:
Motion:
Made By:
Second:
Result: Passed
Follow-up Items:
Agenda Item #2: Approve Minutes from Jan and December Financials
Discussion:
Conclusion:
Action Taken:
Motion: Approve the minutes from Jan. 19th and December Financial Finals
Made By: Rob
Second: Michelle
Result: Passed
Follow-up Items:
Agenda Item #3: Resolutions certifying Housing Allowance for Pastors
Discussion:
Judy read the resolutions regarding the allocation of Pastoral salaries between regular salary and housing allowance.
A question was asked for more information about the resolutions and how they were calculated. Pastor Sarah provided an overview about how the split between base salary and housing allowance was calculated.
Conclusion:
Action Taken:
Motion: Approve the Housing Resolution for Pastor Sarah
Made By: Council
Second: Chad
Result: Passed
Follow-up Items:
Action Taken:
Motion: Approve the Housing Resolution for Pastor Paisley
Made By: Council
Second: John
Result: Passed
Follow-up Items:
Agenda Item #4: Congregational Meeting Update
Discussion:
Judy shared that she has heard very good feedback from members of the church. They liked that we focused on Vision and Values instead of strictly budget focus.
Conclusion:
Action Taken:
Motion:
Made By:
Second:
Result:
Follow-up Items:
Agenda Item #5: Update on Congregational Goals
Discussion:
For the past few months, the goals have been used as the framework of the Rostered Leaders report.
Sarah shared that the goals have been very helpful in establishing the priorities and have encouraged the rostered leaders to reach out to the congregation and encourage discussion and care. There is a group that is craving interacting with others and will respond positively to any activities that we provide.
However, there is a large position of our community that needs some connection. They are looking for pastoral leadership. The pastors are diligently working to ensure that the needs of all our community is met.
Have made a few proactive changes. For example, the Lenten worship has been scaled back. The rostered leaders, along with others involved in our weekly services, have been continuously working to improve all aspects of our worship.
Based on the response of the forums, there appears to be a lot of energy around the goals from the congregation.
Goal Update:
All the bids are in for the streaming equipment. Heather will provide a summary for review in April. Question regarding including a High School member of the team.
This Sunday will have a game night for High School Youth
Adult forums have started with the two Rostered Leaders forums. Have had several members reach out on how they can help
Response to the Homeless and Food Security ministries has been strong. Several new members have engaged.
Working on ideas to meet this goal, but no update at this time. Supporting the plastic bag collection to be used for recycled material.
Conclusion:
Action Taken:
Motion:
Made By:
Second:
Result:
Follow-up Items:
Agenda Item #6: New Council Member Recruitment
Discussion:
Greg and Michelle will be ending their terms at the end of the Council year. The goal will be to identify new Council members by April to allow them to come up to speed.
We need to determine the characteristics of the potential new Council members. Council members are requested to send their ideas of council member demographics to Judy over the next couple of weeks. .
Conclusion:
Action Taken:
Motion:
Made By:
Second:
Result:
Follow-up Items:
Agenda Item #7: Debt Reduction Update
Discussion:
Deacon Heather presented an update on how we are doing with our Debt reduction. We are currently receiving enough money through the debt reduction campaign to pay our current mortgage payment, plus some additional payments. However, to pay off the mortgage within 10 years, as the congregation had set as a target, we would need to nearly double our current monthly payment.
For our operation budget, revenue has been very positive in both January and February. Heather is tracking trends in giving throughout the year. Future budgets may be adjusted to show increased giving early in the year and less giving in November and December.
Heather has received 1 new pledge and 3 increases to existing pledges since the Jan. 31st meeting.
Conclusion:
Action Taken:
Motion: Adopt the resolution “BLC Endowment Fund in the amount of $200 for Budget Year 2021”
Made By: Cheryl
Second: Rob
Result: Passed
Follow-up Items:
Agenda Item #8: Rostered Leaders Report
Discussion:
Was highlighted in Agenda
Conclusion:
Action Taken:
Motion:
Made By:
Second:
Result:
Follow-up Items:
Agenda Item #9: Congregational News
Discussion:
Conclusion:
Action Taken:
Motion:
Made By:
Second:
Result:
Follow-up Items:
Agenda Item #10: Adjourn
Discussion:
Conclusion:
Action Taken:
Motion: “Motion to adjourn”
Made By: John
Second: Greg
Result: Passed
