The monthly meeting of the Nauset Fellowship was held on Sunday, October 9, 2016 with President Bob Seay presiding. There were 8 members present.
The minutes of the previous meeting were read and accepted as amended contingent upon the approval of an absent member who also has a copy of the minutes. The approval was given to the secretary by phone on October 10, 2016, thus making a quorum.
Judith Terry gave the Treasurer’s report. There is $14,755.41 in the checking account and $28,980.21 in 5 CD’s for a total of $43,6755.62. There is $3,200 in the Restoration Fund:$1552 was paid to the architect in September.
Regarding building and grounds, there will be no landscaping except occasional mowing until after the restoration project is complete. We will continue to have the carpet cleaned every 3 months and general cleaning inside by Sue Brady 3 times per month.
Bob gave an update on the restoration project. We are still waiting for the plans to be completed. Peter Wade of the CPA committee has requested that the steeple be restored without the copper cap and weather vane. This could possibly be funded by the MA Historical Commission. The weather vane could be sold to raise more funds. Bob has looked into applying for a grant from the MA Cultural Council. since the Chapel is also a performance venue such a grant could be used to fund work on the electrical system, improving the lighting and bring it all up to current code. This would benefit the Coffee House and any other performance group. As for the MA Historical Commission, Bob would like to request funding rather than reimbursement. The fact that the project will begin soon should be in our favor.
We may be able to hook up to town water soon. We will need to have a plumber connect the new service to the existing pipes. It may not be possible to have it done before the restoration if it turns out to be a complicated procedure. Current estimates of cost are about $2500 – $3000.
Laura Roskos gave a website update. She has made a few changes separating information about the building from information about the Fellowship. She is still using Dreamhost, but may want to change to Go Daddy when the current contract expires. Bob suggested we use the description of the fellowship written by Judy Harris based on Russ Chenoweth’s article in the Cape Codder published in 2006.
Nancy Munger presented a report on Long Term Strategic Planning. She distributed a guide defining Strategic Planning and listed steps to achieve it. Basically there are 3 phases: 1) Defining the issues; 2)Holding planning sessions; 3) writing up the plan and approving it. There should be a definite timeline and purpose. It is necessary to define the stakeholders, establish a time frame, choose a location for the planing meetings, choose a facilitator to run the meetings and choose someone to write up the achieved goals and plans.
Bob pointed out that the group changes about every 40 years. The Nauset Fellowship has been in existence since 1979 so it’s time, especially since we are embarking on the restoration project and changes are happening. With diminished membership the Fellowship needs publicity through building use by outside groups such as the First encounter Coffee House. Part of the purpose of the Fellowship is maintenance of the building. Strategic Planning is a way to leverage the relationship with the building to build a sustainable membership. We also need to define who we are as Unitarians.
After a lengthy discussion, Bob suggested that we all spend some time thinking about possible answers to the questions posed on Nancy’s Phase 1 list and bring our answers to the next business meeting for discussion. this list should also be sent to all members and friends of the Fellowship via email, with replies sent to Nancy.
Shirley Weber asked if we want to have our usual pot luck Thanksgiving dinner. Bob pointed out that it’s become an Eastham tradition and brings in people that don’t join us otherwise. We agreed that we do want to continue this tradition and the dinner will be held on Friday, November 17. We also decided not to have a meeting on the Sunday after Thanksgiving.
The meeting was adjourned at 11:50 A.M.
Respectfully submitted,
Nancy Chenoweth, Secretary (signed)