At the October meeting, the Board listened to Paul Fate report on the current status of the HVAC work group discussions. Members of the work group include Carolyn Bernemann, Jean Chagnon, Paul Fate, Kris Felbeck, Amy Fredregill, Greg Hubinger, Tom Lincoln, Jane McBride, and Linda Valerian. Paul reminded us that our efforts to replace our current HVAC need to strike the right balance between preservation of our building and the physical requirements of upgrading our HVAC system. He reviewed the overall goals of the project, including: (1) we need to replace an aging heating system; (2) we want to lower our carbon emissions; (3) we want to select something that is affordable, over time; (4) we want to add cooling; and (5) we want to demonstrate our commitment to sustainability.
The HVAC work group decided that it was necessary to obtain additional detailed information beyond what was learned in our initial study in terms of analyzing the installation, operation, and replacement costs of several options for a new HVAC system. To achieve this goal, the HVAC work group engaged in comprehensive research and review of three firms that do this work, including interviewing churches that had retained these firms to update their HVAC systems. As a result of this research, the HVAC work group highly recommended we contract with Minify Energy to give us an objective, independent assessment of the options before us in replacing our HVAC system, keeping in mind our goals, the preservation needs of our building, and the financial health of our congregation.
After hearing Paul’s presentation and discussing the issues involved, the Board unanimously approved accepting the proposal of the HVAC work group to engage Minify Energy to produce this report and approved the allocation of approximately $10,000 from undesignated funds to cover the fee for their services.
Treasurer Xan Laurence then led a discussion regarding the issue of undesignated funds. Currently, First Church has approximately $97,000 in undesignated funds in a savings account. The undesignated funds include some memorial funds plus budget surpluses from previous years. Xan reported that the Finance Committee decided to move some of this money to our Fund, leaving a percentage of the amount available to pay for nonbudgeted expenses. The Board then reviewed and approved our stewardship letter for 2024-2025.
Jane and Linda reported on the nominations process for 2024-2025. Kris Felbeck agreed to be part of the Nominating Committee, and she, Jane, and Linda met to consider Board vacancies for 2024-2025, and identify possible candidates to be presented at the Annual Meeting of the congregation in December.
Finally, Jane and Linda led an initial discussion with the Board about the Apache Stronghold matter: https://bit.ly/OakFlatAmicus. This is an issue that raises the question for our First Church community whether we are willing to stand up in support of other religions. It also aligns with our value of supporting the Native community and respect for their sacred lands. No action need be taken by the Board at this time. However, if the Supreme Court decides to add this case to their docket, we will be asked to sign on to an amicus brief supporting the Apache Peoples’ suit. The Board agreed that it will be necessary to provide information to the congregation about this issue, through the Justice League, so that everyone can be fully informed on the matter.