Maryland Council Meeting Minutes 01-18-2013

Members Present: Arthur Herstein (Acting Chairman); Christoph Wilkening; Beverly Berndt; Jim Boothby; Gary Rowe; Dinshaw Dadachanji; Miilhan Stephens (pastor in training)

Community Guests: Joanne Parrish

Call to Order and Prayer

Topics of Discussion

Chairmanship

Discussion: Jim Boothby prefers to not resume his duties as chairman, possibly as a permanent decision. Arthur Herstein has agreed to continue as Acting Chairman pending further decisions.

Resolved: Council will draft a statement to explain to the congregation how the council works, including a brief recent history of how the council came to be reinstated. The purpose is for them to understand the reasoning of why we are holding council elections in April.

Motion Tabled: Council will recommend holding elections with the process beginning sometime in March and voting concluding sometime in April.

Property Search

Arthur brought the council up to date on this issue.

 Susan F. has started to get pledges from individuals and families to support the idea for a new facility.

 Brenda/Arthur found a site in a Bowie industrial park, Melford. A site visit is planned.

 A site visit is planned to re-visit 6000 LB Road

Discussion: Growth of our community may not be only about getting a larger building, but also about starting new church and community centers in the area. This is a strategy question: how do we grow?

Towson Property

Background: The Towson property is owned by National HQ. National HQ assessed the property and determined that the Towson property should be sold because the District / Local Church had seemed to not care for the property and National HQ did not have the management capabilities to properly manage it

without local support.

The building is in disrepair. James Stewart and family lives there rent free under an agreement with the former District Pastor to act as caretakers.

In Fall 2012, the Maryland Church finance team along with the Pastor, determined that this asset was worth taking responsibility for and petitioned the District Pastor and National HQ to take responsibility for the property.

The Maryland Church (Maryland Council) was recently asked by the District Pastor to take financial responsibility for the property and help in deciding the best disposition of the property.

Discussion: A suggestion was made to sell Towson and use the proceeds to buy another property in Bowie, such as a large house, that could house activities, especially for youth and young adults.

The conclusion of the discussion is that there are basically two alternatives regarding Towson: a) Sell (as is or fixed up). b) Use as a rental (fixed up)

Resolved: Council will commission a fact-finding team to: a) evaluate the current state of the property; b) get estimates for repairs and improvements: from most serious to less serious; c) get an appraisal for the current sale value.

Assignment: Christoph will lead a team with Miilhan & Jim B. helping. They will work on figuring out what the best course of action will be: to sell it as is (or with limited repairs); or to fix it up and generate income ($1000-2000 per month). Jim Howell, Keith Cooperider have visited there and have information they can share. Questions to be answered: How could we come up with the money to fix and rent? Who will manage the property? How much do room rentals go for? We must decide or recommend something quickly.

Arthur brought the council up to date on this year’s income and expenses report from Kyoko Betancourt. Total income exceeded expenses by about $4000.

Discussion: Pastor compensation. What should the compensation be? Should money saved through pastor reconfiguration be earmarked for facility rent or remain for pastorship purposes. This discussion was tabled for future meetings.

Discussion: Defining the role and authority of the council. We have not defined the role of the council, especially in terms of finances. We need to define the authority of the council as well as the authority of the pastor. It needs a discussion and decisions. We need a clear delineation.

Resolved: The council should communicate to the District Pastor that, based on both the charter and precedent, decision-making oversight of financial matters of the Maryland church rests with the Maryland Council, with the help, support and advice of the Maryland pastor and the District Pastor, especially regarding important issues such as budget allocations, major purchases or long term commitments. The council’s role should be clearly defined.

Discussion: Relationship between the Finance Team and the Council. Relationship is not yet been defined, since the transition back to the council

system. There is an immediate need to discuss the proposed budget with the team. Suggestion made to invite the team or a representative to meet with the council for general talk and specific budget.

Gary Rowe agreed to be the point person to communicate with the financial team. Miilhan will help by following up with the finance team.

Decision: Next meeting will take place on Tuesday, Jan 29, at 7 pm at the Herstein’s (unless another venue is determined)

Motion was carried to adjourn the meeting.