Thirteen Friends gathered both in person and by Zoom connection and entered into quiet worship. We accepted the minutes of Fourth Month [1] as posted on our website.
We opened with a brief period of Worship.
05.01 Treasurer’s Report: We received our financial report as of the end of April from the Finance Committee. We have one month remaining in our budget year and expect to remain on track, having some budgeted money left over in unrestricted reserve cash. The full report is attached.
| Total Income: | $26,992 | |
|---|---|---|
| Total Expenses: | $25,368 | |
| Net Income: | $1,625 |
Finance committee is considering opening a brokerage account to receive gifts of stocks at the urging of one of our members. We will hear more about this next month, as well as more discussion on whether the meeting is interested in investing some of our funds in a vehicle that might generate more income for us.
05.02 Proposed Budget: The Finance Committee offered the 2nd draft of our proposed budget for the coming fiscal year. The primary change from last year’s actuals on the income side is a $500 increase in contributions over last year; the committee believes this increase is attainable. We have an $1,800 increase on the expense side over what was actually spent last year. Because we actually spent less than what we had budgeted last year, that is actually only a $300 increase from last year’s budget. Most notably, we have a $1,000 projected expense for website development. We budgeted a 3% increase to the organizations that we support. We are budgeting $29,350 for income and the same amount for expenses, however we do have cash reserves in the event that our expenses exceed our income. Friends approve this budget. The 2nd draft is attached.
05.03 Nominations for FY2023: The Nominating Committee presented the slate of nominations for all committees with initial conveners. There remain a couple of positions on the slate where more discernment is ongoing. We heard a concern that the two co-clerks act as full members of the Ministry and Counsel Committee rather than just “ex officio,” as the committee requires at least six working members. We also heard a recommendation that in some cases Nominating Committee should consider appointing a clerk rather than an initial convener. Website is now a committee in its own right rather than a subcommittee; an initial convener was not named due to the small size of the committee however that is now corrected. We approve this slate of nominations. (Attached)
05.04 “Media Committee” Proposal: The Nominating Committee heard a concern during its conversations with Friends that it was hard to know where to go when they wanted to share information with the meeting. Nominating Committee proposes that we create a new “Media Committee” which would be comprised of members or representatives from the Website Committee, social media administrators, and the email announcement administrator. We do not anticipate that they would need to meet regularly but would work together when discernment was needed. We heard a suggestion that they might consider how to better leverage our FaceBook platform by having various committees post on it. The committee proposal is attached.
05.05 Our Annual Spring Party is scheduled for June 19th.
05.06 Property Committee offered a report on its work and some future plans. The committee is looking forward to installing the sound mitigation panels in the fellowship room, to see how we like them before adding them to the meeting room. A sound study was done (gratis) and we are receiving a generous discount from the vendor. A conservative estimate for this project is $1,600. The white panels stick on the walls and ceilings and should make a huge difference in the acoustics. We approve this project and ask the Finance Committee to arrange the accounting details for payment.
Some key points of the attached report include that the Landscape Subcommittee will be replaced by a “landscape manager” under the Property Committee with the work being done by the entire Meeting. We encourage this committee to remain aware of the commitment we made in our land acknowledgement regarding shared stewardship of the land. This committee also recommends that we create ad hoc committees to deal with future land-use issues such as green burial or right relationships.
05.07 Outreach Committee shared a newly updated welcome statement. The committee will resend it for thoughtful consideration in the weeks leading up to our next meeting. We heard encouragement from one friend to consider strengthening the statement as regards our affirmation of gay marriage. Outreach is eager for feedback and welcomes suggestions.
After a brief time of quiet worship, Meeting adjourned, purposing to meet again on the Second Sunday of the Sixth month.
| Submitted by, | Accepted as the Approved Record, | |
| /s/ Heidi Babb, Recording Clerk | /s/ Mark Barker, Presiding Co-Clerk |
| Concord Monthly Meeting Budget vs. Actual | 2021-06-01 – 2022-04-30 | Budget – FY 2021-22 | Budget $ Remaining | % of Budget |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Income | ||||
| Contributions | $25,218 | $25,672 | $454 | 98% |
| Interest Income | $789 | $810 | $21 | 97% |
| Prior Year Funds | – | $723 | $723 | 0% |
| Rental Income | $745 | $300 | ($445) | 248% |
| Solar Roof Lease | $240 | $240 | $0 | 100% |
| Total Income | $26,992 | $27,745 | $753 | 97% |
| Expenses | ||||
| Program | ||||
| Finance Committee | $37 | $30 | ($7) | 125% |
| Hospitality | $54 | $100 | $46 | 54% |
| Library | – | $140 | $140 | 0% |
| Ministry & Counsel | $221 | $400 | $179 | 55% |
| Outreach Committee | $20 | $475 | $455 | 4% |
| Peace, Social & Earthcare Concerns | – | $150 | $150 | 0% |
| Right Relations | – | $500 | $500 | 0% |
| Website Expense | $308 | $300 | ($8) | 103% |
| Youth & Religious Education | $21 | $300 | $279 | 7% |
| Total Program | $561 | $2,395 | $1,734 | 9% |
| Property | ||||
| Data Usage | $980 | $1,000 | $100 | 98% |
| Debt Service | $3,806 | $3,805 | ($1) | 100% |
| Donation in Lieu of Taxes | $500 | $500 | $0 | 100% |
| Electricity | $916 | $1,000 | $84 | 92% |
| Grounds | – | $100 | $100 | 0% |
| Insurance | $2,270 | $2,200 | ($70) | 93% |
| Maintenance | $1,129 | $500 | ($629) | 226% |
| Replacement Reserve Expense | $3,493 | $3,810 | $318 | 92% |
| Snow Removal | $1,695 | $1,700 | $5 | 100% |
| Supplies - Bldg. & Maintenance | $142 | $300 | $158 | 47% |
| Wood Pellets | $1,360 | $1,300 | ($60) | 105% |
| Total Property | $16,290 | $16,215 | ($75) | 100% |
| Support | ||||
| AFSC [3] | $1,467 | $1,600 | $133 | 92% |
| Dover Quarterly Meeting | – | $10 | $10 | 0% |
| FCNL [4] | $153 | $153 | $0 | 100% |
| Friends Camp [5] | $306 | $306 | $0 | 100% |
| FWCC [6] | $66 | $66 | $0 | 100% |
| Interfaith Council [7] | $50 | $50 | $0 | 100% |
| NEYM [8] - Equalization Fund | $306 | $306 | $0 | 100% |
| NEYM - General Fund | $5,758 | $6,334 | $576 | 91% |
| NH Council of Churches [9] | $75 | $75 | $0 | 100% |
| Woolman Hill [10] | $235 | $235 | $0 | 100% |
| Miscellaneous Expenses | – | – | – | – |
| Total Support | $8,416 | $9,135 | $719 | 92% |
| Total Expense | $25,368 | $27,745 | $2,377 | 91% |
| Net Income | $1,625 |
NB. The Income & Expenses Sheet was created with two decimal points, which were removed for readability, the cents being unimportant to the overall understanding. This can have the effect of throwing off any given sum by a dollar due to compounded rounding. — Prepared by Greg Heath and Chris Haigh.
| Concord Monthly Meeting Budget Comparisons & Proposal | 2021-06-01 – 2023-03-31 | Budget – FY 2021-22 | Projection – FY 2021-22 | 2nd Draft Proposal FY 2022-23 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Income | ||||
| Contributions | $23,008 | $25,672 | $26,900 | $27,400 |
| Interest Income | – | $810 | $810 | $810 |
| Prior-Year Funds | – | $723 | – | – |
| Rental Income | $705 | $300 | $825 | $900 |
| Solar Roof Lease | $240 | $240 | $240 | $240 |
| Total Income | $23,953 | $27,745 | $28,775 | $29,350 |
| Expenses | ||||
| Program | ||||
| Finance Committee | – | $30 | $30 | $30 |
| Hospitality | $42 | $140 | $50 | $100 |
| Library | – | $140 | $140 | $140 |
| Ministry & Counsel | $140 | $400 | $300 | $400 |
| Outreach | $20 | $475 | $75 | $175 |
| Peace, Social & Earthcare Concerns | – | $150 | – | $150 |
| Right Relationships | – | $500 | – | $400 |
| Website Expenses | – | $300 | $300 | $1,000 |
| Youth & Religious Education | $13 | $300 | $100 | $300 |
| Total Program | $215 | $2,395 | $905 | $2,695 |
| Property | ||||
| Data Usage | $900 | $1,000 | $1,060 | $960 |
| Debt Service | $2,855 | $3,805 | $3,805 | $3,805 |
| Donation in Lieu of Taxes | $500 | $500 | $500 | $500 |
| Electricity | $833 | $1,000 | $1,000 | $1000 |
| Grounds | – | $100 | $100 | $100 |
| Insurance | $2,035 | $2,200 | $2,504 | $2,890 |
| Maintenance | $1,182 | $500 | $1,182 | $1,180 |
| Replacement Reserve | $3,175 | $3,810 | $3,810 | $3,810 |
| Snow Removal | $1,345 | $1,700 | $1,700 | $1,600 |
| Supplies - Bldg. & Maintenance | $118 | $300 | $200 | $250 |
| Wood Pellets | $1,360 | $1,300 | $1,200 | $1,200 |
| Total Property | $14,303 | $16,215 | $17,061 | $17,295 |
| Support | ||||
| AFSC [3] | $1,333 | $1,600 | $1,600 | $1,640 |
| Dover Quarterly Meeting | – | $10 | $10 | $10 |
| FCNL [4] | $153 | $153 | $153 | $157 |
| Friends Camp [5] | $306 | $306 | $306 | $314 |
| FWCC [6] | $66 | $65 | $66 | $68 |
| Interfaith Council [7] | $50 | $50 | $50 | $50 |
| NEYM [8] - Equalization Fund | $306 | $306 | $306 | $314 |
| NEYM - General Fund | $5,182 | $6,334 | $6,334 | $6,492 |
| NH Council of Churches [9] | $75 | $75 | $75 | $75 |
| Woolman Hill [10] | $235 | $235 | $235 | $241 |
| Miscellaneous Expenses | – | – | – | – |
| Total Support | $7,707 | $9,135 | $9,135 | $9,360 |
| Total Expense | $22,225 | $27,745 | $27,501 | $29,350 |
| Net Income | $1,728 | – | $1,674 | – |
We have the information we need on the Armstrong Lyra PB Direct product that comes in 42” by 70” sheets. It is very light weight with a matt white finish. It is reported to be very easy to install with a product-specific mastic. It costs $10/sq. ft. The Armstrong modeling of our Fellowship Room recommends an application of 160 to 180 sq. ft. to be placed high on the walls over the mechanical room door and on the ceiling. Elaine B will make a specific recommendation for placement with a 2” spacing between panels. We would like the Meeting’s approval to go ahead with the project and to find the funds, perhaps referring to finance committee. We would like to install the panels ourselves, perhaps borrowing scaffolding from Steve Booth. Elaine will draw up a specific plan and budget. She receives a 25% professional discount from Armstrong. The budget would look something like this: $1800 – 25% ($450) = $1,350 + mastic at $250 = $1600. Elaine will also find out how the product is batched for sale to see how many panels we must purchase and delivery cost. This might cause us to have some product remaining for use in the Meeting Room under the assumption that we are pleased with the result in the Fellowship Room. We want to await the fellowship being done before deciding what to recommend for the Meeting Room.
Painting handicap-striping on parking will get done in the near future, by committee members without hiring a contractor (very expensive quote).
We discussed cleaning needs that Friends can do at other times than every other month after fellowship. There are three items that we see as needing to be done soon:
Friends are always welcome to give us suggestions of needs that may have been overlooked.
We will look into building a little shed roof against the shed’s north wall so that the generator can be stored there, out of the way. Though it is on loan at present, we may want to buy it since there is no near term prospect of adequate battery backup to keep the building warm in the event of a prolonged winter outage.
The committee will organize a group to clean up mechanical room. One suggestion is to get the chairs out of the room and stored elsewhere. [attic? Folded and leaning against Fellowship Room window wall?] Possibly other items in the mechanical room can be moved to the shed or disposed of. Thoughts on this are welcome and can be directed to Greg H or Jennifer S.
We understand that the landscape committee should report to and consult with the Property Committee. As work continues to finish the south and west areas, we place a high priority on low maintenance. We wonder if a committee is best and believe that work may move ahead more easily with a landscape manager consulting with us. The actual work of landscaping would be done by the entire Meeting rather than by the committee.
There has been some renewed interest expressed by Meeting members in using our new undeveloped land. The committee discussed whether we needed to help plan specific activities but did not feel it was something we wanted to take on at present. At some future time, the committee may respond positively or may not. Such plans and implementation may be best accomplished by ad hoc committees. We view taking care of the presently developed spaces as our primary function.
Jennifer Smith, Clerk of property committee
The committee will present its nomination slate for 2022-2023. This slate also lists persons nominated by other committees within the Meeting or from other Quaker organizations, for information purposes.
We heard a concern that there are several people responsible for various pieces of our electronic communication, both within the meeting and outward to the greater community. We would like it to be easier for committees/members of our meeting to get their information sent out as well as for the various communication groups to find ways that the work of one might enhance or support the others.
Proposal for a New Committee
Nominating Committee suggests that we create a Media Committee to provide:
This committee would not necessarily meet regularly but could work through informal channels or call a meeting if needed. The committee would be comprised of the following:
Co-Clerks Heidi Babb
Mark Barker
Recording Clerk Jennifer Smith
Treasurer Chris Haigh
Recorder Paula Werme
Bookkeeper Greg Heath
Email Announcements
Finance Committee
Library Committee
Ministry and Counsel
Nominating Committee – (initial year)
Outreach Committee
Property Committee
PSECC (Peace, Social & Earthcare Concerns)
Asylum Seekers Fund Working Group
Right Relations Working Group
Solar Committee – Ad Hoc
Technology Committee – Ad Hoc
Website Committee
Youth Religious Ed Committee
Clerks Consultation Committee
(discerned by Clerks)
Child Care Assistants
(Discernment by YRE & NEYM
background check)
NEYM Hospitality Hosts and Helpers
First Day School Teachers
(Discernment by YRE Committee)
AFSC Corporation (at-large member)
(Discernment by AFSC–SNC & AFSC Board)
AFSC-NH Support Committee
(Discernment by AFSC-NH Program)
AFSC-Northeast Region Executive Committee (NEREC)
(Discernment by AFSC-NEREC & AFSC Board)
Beacon Hill Friends House Dover Quarter Representative
(Discernment by Dover Quarterly Meeting)
Greater Concord Interfaith Council Representatives (GCIC)
(Discernment by Ministry & Counsel – up to 3 reps.)
NEYM Permanent Board Representative
(Discernment by NEYM Permanent Board)
NH State Prison Ministry
(Discernment by M & C)
|
Canterbury, New Hampshire 03224-2043 USA
Links:
[1] https://www.concordfriendsmeeting.org/2022-04-10_CMM_Minutes
[2] https://www.concordfriendsmeeting.org/sites/all/files/documents/CMM-IncomeExpenseFY2022asof2022-04-30-forMay08.xlsx
[3] https://www.afsc.org/
[4] https://www.fcnl.org/
[5] https://www.friendscamp.org/
[6] http://fwcc.world/
[7] https://www.greaterconcordinterfaithcouncil.org/
[8] https://neym.org
[9] http://nhchurches.org/
[10] http://woolmanhill.org/
[11] https://www.concordfriendsmeeting.org/sites/all/files/documents/CMM-ProposedBudgetFY2023Worksheet-Draft2.xlsx
[12] https://www.concordfriendsmeeting.org/sites/all/files/documents/2022-05-08-CMMPropertyCommitteeReport.docx
[13] https://www.concordfriendsmeeting.org/sites/all/files/documents/2022-05-08-NominatingCommitteeReport.docx
[14] https://www.concordfriendsmeeting.org/sites/all/files/documents/2022-05-08-Nominations2022-2023.docx