Present: The Reverend Dr. Deborah White (Rector), Amy Eudy (Sr. Warden), Shannon Kleinschmit (Jr. Warden), Liz Charlton,, Ann Fisher, Dru Grissom, Sally Hanson, Bob Morano, Jennifer Sabroe, Catherine Sumner
Guests: Stephanie Ragler, Republic Services; Sidney Stone, CCH (formerly Christian Church Homes); Marj Leeds, Treasurer; Sarah Williams, Parish Administrator
M/S/C denotes motion made, seconded and carried. The names following M/S/C in parentheses denote the persons who made the motion and seconded it.
Call to Order and Opening Prayer. The meeting was called to order at 7:00 p.m. and led in prayer by Reverend Deb.
Bible Study: Luke 5:1-11 The group read and discussed the passage.
Consent Agenda. It was M/S/C (Jennifer Sabroe/Ann Fisher) to approve the consent agenda items as follows: Agenda, Minutes of the two January meetings, Rector’s report, Senior Warden’s report.
OLD BUSINESS
Ministries
Outreach (Service) Dru reported that there are no updates at this time.
Worship and Liturgy Rev. Deb reported that we are in the Season after Epiphany, and Lent is approaching fast. Ash Wednesday is February 22, and the Worship and Liturgy Committee has already planned the liturgy and the services for Lent, Holy Week, and Easter.
Welcoming Ann reported that the Faithful Forum “Coffee Hour 101” went very well and there are many people signing up to host coffee hour.
Education Rev. Deb reported that Godly Play is going well. The next Faithful Forum will be on composting. We will use the recording of Stephanie Ragler’s presentation to the vestry (see upcoming notes) and her powerpoint for that presentation. We are in need of a new liaison to help plan Faithful Forums.
Parish Life Amy reported that the St. Patrick’s Day dinner is planned for Saturday, March 18. There will be another Trivia Night soon. We now have access to a karaoke machine, so we will need to use it. There will be a pancake brunch on the third Sunday of Lent.
Pastoral Care Rev. Deb and Liz reported on recent pastoral care needs. Liz reported on the plans to organize a pastoral care committee.
Stewardship
Buildings and Grounds
Building and Grounds Committee Rev. Deb reported that an effort is being made to restart the Buildings and Grounds committee in order to assist Shannon in getting all of the work around the campus completed. The google doc of Buildings and Grounds issues has been updated. It was noted that our new member, Bob, has already jumped in and helped tremendously.
Education Building Door Rev. Deb reported that the door is stuck and shouldn’t be opened as it is extremely difficult to close. She met with Concord Locksmith who indicated that they can put a new lock on it but recommended a new door. Rev. Deb contacted three door replacement companies but has not received any responses. Concord Locksmith also looked at the front doors of the sanctuary. Replacing those locks (which are sticking) would cost approximately three thousand dollars.
Internet Rev. Deb reported that our internet is inadequate to our needs, causing us to be unable to have zoom meetings and, more importantly, disrupting our simulcast. She and Sarah are working on this.
Roof Dru spoke with two roofing companies. Cornell Roofing Company said that our tiles should last for 80-100 years if properly maintained. He counted around 40 broken tiles, and there was a lot of debris from the recent storms. He believes that fixing the tiles should fix the leak. To replace all broken tiles, and clean up the roof, he proposed $1250. He suggested that we should do a general cleanup every year.
The Mortonson Company said 300-400 tiles were broken, and our roof needed to be replaced with a different type of roof. He called back later to say that they don’t work with tile roofs.
It was M/S/C (Bob Morano/Amy Eudy) to approve the expenditure of $1250 for roof work by Cornell Roofing Company.
Parking Lot Lights The company has agreed to save us the cost of renting a cherry picker through the following plan: the next time they have a job that involves a cherry picker, they will come by Grace to reorient the lights.
Landscaping The Landscaping Committee plans to replace some dead plants with new, drought-resistant plants in the two areas: the borders around the quad (under the Education Building windows) and in the bell tower garden.
Driveway Eruption Bob has a plan with Shannon to fill the hole in the driveway. They are currently waiting for the material to become available but hope to fix it before Sunday.
Labyrinth We are leaning toward the purchase and installation of a paving kit. We need to find a landscape/paving contractor to install it.
Upper Lot Update There was a presentation by Sidney Stone of CCH (Christian Church Homes)
Sidney spoke about the organization and its history of developing low-income housing, often in cooperation with churches, over many decades.
He discussed the types of funding they usually have, and what populations they house. Most of their developments are independent-living apartments for older adults; some developments include a portion of units for people with greater needs.
After construction, CCH manages the buildings and provides services to residents. This is important, because we do not have the capacity to provide maintenance or security for a development.
He says that our location has some challenges (such as making sure first responders could get in and around the facility if needed) but many good features as well.
CCH is interested in either purchasing or signing a long-term lease to put low-income senior housing on our property (the upper lot). There was discussion about what constitutes “low income” housing, how the development might be configured, and our relationship with the city, which would need to grant us a zoning change and a variance to build enough units to make it worthwhile for CCH.
Vestry members asked several questions.
After Sidney left, the vestry held a discussion about the proposal. Rev. Deb answered further questions. We are interested in the long-term lease. If we simply sold the land we would not be fulfilling the missional purpose for the development as stated in our original planning. The diocese would need to approve a long-term lease, but that is our protocol anyway.
It was decided that Rev. Deb would initiate a follow-up call with Christina Alvarez, Executive Director of Episcopal Impact Fund, who has been working with us on this for her advice. Several vestry members asked to be included in the call.
NEW BUSINESS
Green Waste Collection in Martinez
Stephanie Ragler of Republic Services gave a presentation on the new composting capabilities of the City of Martinez. Food goes into the green can, either loose (if the organization can keep the green can clean) or in compostable bags. Paper cups and napkins also should go in. Not all products sold as “compostable” or “biodegradable” can be composted by the City of Martinez.
(As Stephanie explained: “If you can rip it, it is probably compostable. If you cannot rip it, it is probably not compostable.”) As noted in the Education report, the recording of Stephanie’s presentation and her powerpoint will be used as a Faithful Forum so that more people can be made aware of the information.
Treasurer’s Report
Treasurer Marj Leeds presented the Treasurer’s Report, the Parochial Report, and the 2023 Budget. She explained the way she calculates the budget and noted a few important items on the report for vestry members to be aware of. She also indicated that Bob Morano will be working with her as the vestry liaison to finances.
Parochial Report
Marj provided an overview of what the parochial report is and what it includes. It was M/S/C (Ann Fisher/Amy Eudy) to approve the Parochial Report.
2023 Budget
The budget had been reviewed by the vestry in January and at the Annual Meeting. It was M/S/C (Amy Eudy/Bob Morano) to approve the final 2023 budget as presented by the Treasurer.
Vestry Liaison Assignments Rev Deb explained that vestry members serve as liaisons to the various ministries at Grace as represented in the “SWWEPPS” acronym. After discussion, new liaisons were assigned as follows:
Outreach (Service) Dru Grissom
Worship and Liturgy Sally Hanson
Welcoming Ann Fisher
Education Catherine Sumner
Parish Life Amy Eudy
Pastoral Care Liz Charlton
Stewardship Bob Morano, Jennifer Sabroe
Vestry Retreat March 4 It was decided to hold the retreat at Rev. Deb’s house in Alameda. Rev. Deb gave a brief overview of why we have a retreat and how it works. It is likely to be a half (or three-quarter) day event. Rev. Deb will provide more information as the day gets closer.
DISMISSAL Rev. Deb thanked the vestry for their patience, noting that meetings are not usually this long. She dismissed the meeting at 9:46 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Sarah Williams, Parish Administrator
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