Menucha Commission Meeting Minutes

MENUCHA COMMISSION MEETING MINUTES February 23, 2008

Members Present: Bob Blum, Jon Clemens, Will Deming, John Eddins, George Erdenberger, John Hortenstine, Murlan Kaufman, Spencer Parks, Phyllis Whittington, Jeff Foley, Dick Malin, Erich Merrill, Kent Neff, Cynthia Winter, Amy Wood

Members Absent: Walt Meifhoff, John Eddins, Jenni Bergemann, Marlin Icenogle

The Informational-only meeting opened in prayer.

One short-term Commission goal is to cement the relationship between the Menucha and FPC. It is not us and them. It was mentioned that we change our vocabulary and say “The downtown campus and the Menucha campus.” It is the Commission’s goal to help FPC see Menucha as a vital and important ministry of the Church, emphasizing Menucha as a Ministry and Mission of FPC. Menucha has begun assuming responsibilities for some of the programs which the Christian Education committee has previously been responsible for; picking up some of the pieces for FPC that are a natural fit, such as the Memorial-day weekend workdays.

The Property Committee- Murlan Kaufman, George Erdenberger, Dick Malin and Kent Neff are on this committee. The committee is working on several projects; Beam House, downstairs and up, the land swap, the telescope, improving security, site-task force, volunteer work parties, funding and a new tractor. The committee meets every odd month. Some on the Committee volunteer at Menucha doing remodel projects. There is a long list of priorities which have been sorted by urgency and importance. The 3 main priorities are the roof on Lindsay and Boyd and the renovation of the downstairs of Beam House and the Beam garage. The roof of Wright is on the list too. We’re looking at 100K to replace that. Increase usage increases wear and tear on the facility.

The Personnel Committee- Bob Blum, Cynthia Winter, Phyllis Whittington are on the committee. The goal of this committee is to systematically put in place, fair and equitable personnel measures at Menucha. The committee is working on job descriptions, the employee handbook, the application form and the personnel action form and the hiring guidelines for the supervisors to use. Their next task will be to work on the salary schedule while talking to other conference centers. The Committee will be meeting regularly.

The Program Committee- Will Deming, Erich Merrill, John Eddins, Walt Meihoff and Scott Crane are on this committee. The committee wants to reach out to people who are “connected.” Menucha has been described as something of a bed and breakfast for non- profits for many years with no programs being offered. Now Menucha has programs and is developing the “Mission” part of Menucha. The theory is that there is a lot of need; the challenge is locating the people to come. Initially, the program committee had the job of filling up the winter season. This committee is a think tank. The committee explored having profession certification classes for professionals. The committee works to interface Menucha with FPC and the wider community and network with all sorts of churches. Menucha may also become a clearinghouse for Christian recreation where small churches can plug into our program. This committee meets each month.

The Finance and Operations Committee- Jon Clemens, Jeff Foley, John Hortenstine are on this committee. This committee has dealt with several kinds of issues such as property insurance issues, property taxes, the Gaston estate, Menucha’s liquor policy, budgets and policies.

THE COMMISSION MEETING opened in prayer. A quorum was declared.

PROPERTY COMMITTEE: Minimal effort will be used to turn the Beam House garage into a conference room. It would be a sizeable effort to take on the telescope project and the committee is recommending that no more time or resources be spent on this project.

Their resolution: The Commission regrets that the expansion of the telescope project is not feasible at this time nor is it compatible with the Mission of Menucha. It does not meet the current program guidelines. No more time or resources will be spent on this project. This resolution was passed by common consent. (I sent this resolution to Kent Neff as requested to do so.)

On March 6th, Warren Aney, Dick Malin will meet with a USFS representative to talk about the Land Swap.

The committee is looking at a proposal for security cameras and key cards.

The committee is looking at DEQ concerns for the septic system. We have a consultant to help us get this fixed if we need to.

Boyd, Lindsay roofs need to be replaced and are priorities. Long-term, the committee is looking at replacing The Barn completely, the whole building. The sidewalk in front of Ballard is a concern. We need a new cold water supply to Wright Hall. March 8th, the volunteer work party is coming to Menucha. It was mentioned that 2% of Menucha’s gross income goes into a contingency fund. Spencer met with a security company to talk about entrance and exit gates and locks for the doors. Guests are not feeling comfortable about leaving valuables in their rooms.

A volunteer work party is being planned for March 8th at Menucha from 9-3PM with lunch. PERSONNEL COMMITTEE:

Refer to notes above.

PROGRAM COMMITTEE:

Session has authorized the Commission to celebrate Communion. The Commission can authorize the Program Committee to give consent to celebrate Communion. The program committee is proposing the following resolution.

RESOLUTION: To give the Program Committee authority to authorize Communion. This was approved by common consent.

This committee wants to see Menucha sponsor programs that reflect the Mission of Menucha. Amy Wood will join this committee.

FINANCE AND OPERATIONS:

There was discussion on the proposal for 20% of Spencer’s total compensation, which includes his housing, to be paid by the Church. Discussion was brought up about the LONG RANGE TASK FORCE COMMITTEE.

George Erdenberger and Dick Malin are on this committee. Jeff Foley will be on this committee from the Finance and Operations committee. We may add two people from outside the Commission who have the skills needed. We must have a vision to begin a capital fund-raising campaign. It was suggested that the Task force include a good neighbor of Menucha’s such as Eric L. or Sarah G. This Committee will be our fifth committee, once it is established, and will be self-organizing. The committee will report back at every Commission meeting. The establishment of this committee was approved by common consent.

Agenda Item for the next meeting: The Commission was encouraged to brainstorm about the relationship of the Church and Menucha and how this relationship might improve; reminding the Church that Menucha is a mission of the Church. It was mentioned that Spencer should be visible at FPC and be referred to as an associate pastor of FPC instead of saying he is an associate pastor from Menucha. Menucha is commonly seen as a separate entity and not an integral part of FPC. We need to stress that what Menucha does is integral and complimentary to what FPC does; also raising FPC’s awareness of Menucha’s programs. Discussion continued.

The meeting was adjourned with prayer.