St. Timothy’s Episcopal Church Vestry Meeting

Tuesday, 5/24/16 at 6:00 P.M.

Attendees: Rev. Rebecca Nickel (Rector), John Prey (Rector’s Warden), Scott Trauscht (People’s Warden), Mikki MacDonald (Co-Treasurer), Maria Granato (Clerk), Edith Collins, Margaret Cook, Charles Park, Marge Summers, and Carolyn Williams

Excused: MaimaDahn, Karsor Dennis, Hal Olsen (Co-Treasurer), and Marcelle Randolph

Guest: Audrey Corne (Property Manager)

  1. Call to order and opening prayer by Rector Nickel at 5:59 P.M.
  2. Signatures of more members were added to the Vestry Covenant.
  3. Vestry education: Chapter 1 of the Vestry Resource Guide was reviewed and discussed.Chapter 2 was assigned as reading for the June meeting.
  4. No minutes from April were presented, because the clerk’s hard drive crashed. 
  5. The April Finance report was reviewed. Equity is slightly higher this year. The parish is still ahead in pledge income for the year, currently at about 125%. Some expenses are over budget for the year and some are way under budget. In total,expenses for the year are at 88.5% of what was projected. A large portion of the Building Improvement fund is going to finance the sewer connection; we are finally connected. About $7,000 of the Building Improvement fund will go to the contractor, which will leave about $3,000 left. The food pantry continues to have a sizable balance. A motion to accept the report was made by Edith and seconded by Margaret. The motion passed.
  6. A visual presentation for the landscaping proposal was made. Some grass needs to be killed for the garden beds. A motion to accept the proposal was made by Margaret and seconded by Charles. The motion passed.
  7. Rector Nickel proposed two donation Sundays for need plants, on the feast of St. Francis in the fall and Pentecost in the spring. The specific plants needed will be posted in the hall. A motion to accept the donation dates was made by Edith and seconded by Charles. The motion passed.
  8. A motion to make a one-time exception of the gifts receivable policy regarding the microphone and sound-system (sound-boxes, mixer in sacristy, and over-ear microphone) was made by Margaret and seconded by Edith; the gentleman with the sound company assumed we wanted the system and ordered it before the Vestry voted. The motion passed.
  9. The Vestry is considering a new microphone for the pulpit, which can be gotten used for $170 or new for $255. Scott raised the possibility of going wireless and having two microphones: one for the pulpit and one for the lectern. For anyone who wants to make a donation to the new sound system, a note should be placed on the memo line.
  10. Mikkihas researched a United Thank Offering hearing-impaired grant for the system, and isgoing to draft a grant proposal. Amotion to authorize her to start that process was made by Margaret and seconded by Charles. The motion passed.
  11. Godly Play room expansion update: the Betts family wants to paint classroom, and David Nickel has selected the paint. Scott is going to remove the wall. A motion to start the expansionwas made by Edith and seconded by Charles. The motion passed. A request will be made for financial donations for the Ikea bookshelves.
  12. St. Timothy’s is going to formally adopt the diocesan alcohol policy. The policy requires that someone host the alcohol table. It also requires that the serving of alcohol not be published in advance as an attraction, or be the lead for an event.We have been in compliance for past 5 years, but this is the formal adoption of the policy so it can be added to the website. A motion to accept the policy was made by Margaret and seconded by Carolyn. The motion passed. On May 24th, 2016, the Vestry of St. Timothy’s adopted the general convention’s alcohol policy.
  13. Indiana Landmarks does have grants available and would be happy to consider St. Timothy’s if the building or landscape were on the Indiana historic registry or national historic registry. Mark Dollase advised talking to the Division of Historic Preservation at the Indiana Department of Natural Resources (IDNR). They will tell us if we are eligible to apply. The application can be submitted by email, and must describe the property and history, as well as include sufficient interior and exterior photos. Thesanctuary will be 50 years old, and the architect passed away on 5/17/16. Addition to the registry would ensure that the sanctuary would become protected. EdChampa or Steve Polston might be asked to take the photographs. Once the application is submitted, it can take a month to be reviewed to see if it’s worth pursuing. If the commission says we could be on the registry, we would have to hire an official consultant, who would facilitate our addition to the registry. The consultant would write a narrative of why the building should be on the national and/or state registry. Indiana Landmarks will give a grant of $1,500 to pay consultant the consultant. Ratio Group is Evans Woollen’s old team, and they have no blueprint files on project 2892, which is the sanctuary. A motion to continue pursuing this was made by Margaret and seconded by Charles. The motion passed.
  14. A motion to collect used books and sell them to Half Price Books for revenue was made by Carolyn and seconded by Marge. The motion passed. If Half Price Books rejects any of the donations, we will donate them to Goodwill or Indianapolis Marion County Public Library.
  15. Property report: several bricks have fallen from the northwest corner of the building. We currently have 2 estimates. One company will replace bricks where needed for $1,200. The check from the insurance company was for $2,216 to make the repairs. All estimates say that we need a cap on corners to prevent future brick loss. The brick style is Chicago Adobe, which shouldn’t really be used in this climate unless it is sealed, because it is soft and soaks up water. The needed caps can be copper, cement, etc. They are ornamental, but they also keep water away from the brick. F.E. Moran says we need one more person to be an authorization person for the security system, and Scott volunteered. A duress code is needed in case of intruder.Vents need replacing, and Scott has volunteered. The pest inspection yielded no termites on the property.The old termite prevention cylinders to attract and trap termites are filled with dirt and no longer of any use; they can be removed. Wecan have a free annual inspection for termites. There arenogroundhogs on the property. The exhaust vent in the kitchen was cleaned this time last year. It is going to be cleaned every two years, because it is not used very often.Audrey, Dennis, and Bess investigated a gas smell on 5/23. They turned everything off. Work had started on the sewer hookup, and the contractors had hit a gas line. Citizens will charge the company that marked lines, because they were not marked correctly. Citizens immediately repaired the break. All appliances automatically turn off except for the stovetop.The Vestry will explore labelling rooms above the doors, in a way that will allow paper inserts. Audrey plans to put a rubber piece over the cord that runs across the doorway in Williams Hall. Nothing can be painted until the water damage is repaired. Laura Hestonhas volunteered to repaint the women’s restroom.
  16. Volunteer are needed for June planting dates.
  17. A team is needed for the annual giving campaign. Edith volunteered, and Charles is considering it.
  18. Marge offered to collect book donations and drive them to Half Price Books at the end of the year.
  19. New policies and procedures will be placed in binders on the front table, so that they will be available for parishioners.
  20. David Hon and Rick Cuneenare both involved with the Boy Scouts, and proposed a possible Eagle Scout project to build bridge over the creek. Scouting bridges cost between $8,000 and$20,000 dollars. A counter-proposal was made to ask them to clear and dispose of the creek logjams, because the bridge would be too expensive. Steve Polstonis very invested in the ecological health of the property. This would need to be done in the early spring to avoid disturbing wildlife. Raspberry plants would not be cut down. The scout would need to fundraise to rent a wood-chipper and make mulch.
  21. One priest has been scheduled for pastoral needs when Rebecca is off. Supply priests are lined up for 2 Sundays.
  22. Closing prayer offered by Rector Nickel at 7:50 P.M.

Respectfully submitted by,

Maria Granato, Clerk

Next Vestry Meeting: Tuesday, June 28, 2016 at 6:00 P.M.