CMM 2008-06-08
Minutes of Meeting for Worship for Business
Concord (NH) Monthly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends
6th Month 8, 2008
Concord (NH) Monthly Meeting gathered for a called Meeting for Worship for Business at the Merrimack Valley Day Care Center in Concord, NH. Friends present were Alisa Barnard, Don Booth, Lois Booth, Susan Chambers, Graham Peters Chynoweth, Emily Cook, Kate Daniels, David Freeman-Woolpert, Ruth Heath (treasurer), Greg Heath, Rich Kleinschmidt (recording clerk), Grace LeClair, David Mills, Sara Smith (clerk), Kathy Urie.
The meeting was opened by the clerk with a period of worshipful silence.
6.1 Minutes. The minutes of 4/13/2008 were approved as circulated. There was no Meeting for Business held 5th month because there were no items on the agenda.
6.2 Housing. For nearly a year, the committee has worked with Michael Bruss and Brass Construction to evaluate designs for the Meeting House, [see minute 2007.7.5]. Based on advise from members of meeting and from Michael Brass, the committee decided that we would be better served if we proceeded into actual construction with a smaller firm with lower fixed costs. The committee has interviewed four builders, and recommends that we work with Bob and Kathe Tortorice of Building Alternatives Inc. (http://www.buildingalternatives.com/) to design and build our new Meeting House. The committee will need authorization to sign a letter of intent with BAI (Building Alternatives Inc.) and a target price as they work with BAI to develop firm plans for the project.
6.3 Meeting House Fund Report. Our treasurer reported the following receipts and expenditures:
| Income | Expense | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Foundation Grants | 13,000 | Government Fees | 205 |
| Private Contributions | 17,540 | Septic Design | 1,600 |
| Old Housing Fund | 1,096 | Contractor Payments | 5,500 |
| Interest | 377 | Architect | 7,651 |
| Fund Raising Expense | 930 | ||
| Total Income | 32,013 | Total Expense | 15,886 |
| Current Housing Fund Balance: $16,126 | |||
6.4 Fundraising Committee. So far, the committee has identified about $350 available for the project. This includes the Eunice Smith Endowment (about $45,000), pledges and donations (about $268,000) and grants. The committee is working to raise more funds.
Should our Meeting wish to finance some of the project, the FGC Friends Meeting House Fund has funds available at 7% interest.
6.5 Building Decisions. After hearing the reports from the Housing Committee and the Fund Raising Committee, we prayerfully considered what action we should take. We reached unity on the following decisions:
- We endorsed a target for our fundraising of $ 175,000 in additional pledges and donations.
- We endorsed a target construction cost for the new building of $450,000. The Housing Committee will work to the Tortorice’s to design a project that will cost no more than that target.
- We authorized our Clerk to sign a Letter of Intent to work with BAI.
- We authorized our Treasurer to pay BAI a $3,000 retainer to be applied to the construction management fee for this project.
6.6 Finance Committee. The Finance Committee recommended a budget for the 6/1/08 – 5/31/09 fiscal year of $11,189. This represents an increase of $191 over our expenditures in the previous fiscal year. We approved the budget as proposed.
6.7 Nominating Committee. Acting upon the recommendation of the Nominating Committee, we approved the following appointments for 2008-2009:
| Role | Nominee Name(s) |
|---|---|
| Clerk: | Sara Smith |
| Assistant Clerk: | (vacant) |
| Recording Clerk: | Richard Kleinschmidt (for now) |
| Treasurer: | Ruth Heath |
| Interfaith Council Representative: | David Freeman-Woolpert |
| Care of the Meeting Committee Convener: | Kathy Urie (We ask everyone to attend a COM Meeting at least once.) |
| Finance Committee: | David Freeman-Woolpert, Rob Spencer |
| Fund Raising Committee: | Kathy Urie (convener), Sara Smith, Greg Heath, Lois Booth |
| Housing Committee: | Rich Kleinschmidt, Ruth Heath, David Freeman-Woolpert |
6.8 Memorial Minute. We asked Lois Booth and Linda Peters to work with Roberta Nichols to write a memorial minute for Adelaide Nichols.
Our meeting ended with a period of worshipful, grateful silence, purposing to meet again on the second First Day of Seventh Month or at the call of the clerk.
Respectfully submitted,
/s/ Richard Kleinschmidt, Recording Clerk
Accepted as the approved record,
/s/ Sara Smith, Clerk
