Minutes of the Vestry Meeting -- July 31, 2017

Formation

Evening Prayer and Thanksgiving & Prayer Requests
The vestry met in the Guild Room at 7:00 PM starting with Evening Prayer and followed by prayers of intercession and thanksgiving.

Attendance
Present at the meeting were the senior warden, Greg Lawrence; the junior warden, Steve Hofer; vestry members Mike Bond, Bob Burgwald, Randy Oyster, Shirley Reilly, and Mary VanSwol; the treasurer, Debbi Huggett; and the clerk, Susan Marquis. Absent were vestry members Rob Carrier, Alice Creason, Cynthia Turnquest, and Zoltan Sziky. Members of the Search Committee joined the vestry for only the evening prayer session before leaving to conduct their own meeting.

Parish Stewardship

Minutes
Shirley Reilly moved to approve the minutes from the July 17th vestry meeting, and Mary VanSwol seconded. The motion was approved.

Treasurer’s Report
There was no formal treasurer’s report since the report for the month of July was covered at the meeting on July 17th, but Debbi Huggett noted that she has created two additional accounts to cover the Search Committee and Interim Priest categories.

Information

Wardens’ Reports and Reports from Parish Organizations
—Steve Hofer is looking into re-working the sign on the lamp post that should say “Parish Office” but is missing some letters.
—Also missing are the leaving dates on the plates attached to the photos of two rectors on the guild room wall. Steve has been researching the costs of engraving these dates.

Discussion and Decisions

Landscaping
The vestry discussed various landscaping needs around the church, excluding the columbarium area. There is overgrowth of plants around the entrance by the parish office, the hedges around the sidewalks and alley on the south lawn need to be cut low or removed, there are some high limbs on trees that are dead and need to be removed, and the trees around the flagpole may need to be removed. Greg Lawrence has received one bid on the hedge work. Mary VanSwol moved to enable Randy Oyster to get estimates for the above-mentioned landscaping work with the help of Harold Keene and Lynn Ruschhaupt. Steve Hofer seconded, and the motion was approved.

Carpets and Stairs
Steve Hofer received an estimate of $241.50 for carpet cleaning in the guild room and carpet and furniture cleaning in the rector’s office. The guild room cleaning would involve lifting the carpet and cleaning the pad underneath in order to prevent the stains from rising up through the carpet again. Mary VanSwol moved to have the cleaning done as proposed, and Bob Burgwald seconded. The vestry approved the motion. Steve also got an estimate for repairing the stair treads on the north staircase to the undercroft. Depending on the quality of materials used, the cost would run between $2,800 and $3,800. The vestry decided that at least one more estimate is necessary before making a decision.

Office Manager
The last day that the office manager, Betsy Sloan, will work is this Thursday, August 20th. Last Wednesday, Sarah Lawrence, daughter of Greg Lawrence, started training to take over the job. Because of Sarah’s family relationship with the senior warden, Shirley Reilly made a motion that junior warden Steve Hofer would be Sarah’s supervisor. Bob Burgwald seconded, and the motion passed with one abstention from Steve Hofer.

Parish Photos
Greg Lawrence suggested that parishioner photos in a directory would be a good idea since we will have new clergy and since we have not had a photo directory for some time. The vestry discussed compiling the directory soon or waiting until a new rector is in place. No decisions were made.

Columbarium
Debbi Huggett reported that the columbarium construction project is underway. She has done a census and discovered that 134 people are interred, and 22 more have reservations. The four teak benches have arrived, and the vestry will need to determine whether or not to make them available for memorial naming rights, and if so, how much to charge. Debbi will determine with the contractor how far the aggregate walkway will extend toward the public sidewalk.

Opening and Closing the Church
Greg Lawrence distributed a three-page checklist of items to do when opening and closing the church on Sunday. Vestry opening and closing volunteers have signed up for dates through the end of August.

Interim
Greg Lawrence spoke with Director of Ministries Andrea Mysen, who suggested that we offer an interim priest a salary of $45,000 to $55,000. Greg Lawrence spoke on the phone with one of the interim candidates and discovered that there would be timing difficulties for him in taking this position. Greg is continuing to set up interviews.

Convention Delegates
St. John’s must submit the names of three delegates and three substitutes to the diocesan convention by September 30th. Greg will ask former delegates and substitutes if they are interested in attending the convention again this November.

Closing

The meeting ended with prayer at 8:55 PM. The next meeting is scheduled for August 21st.

Respectfully submitted,
Susan Marquis
Clerk of the Vestry