I am very excited to bring you news of three proposals that were recently approved by Council Exec, Board of Business and Church Council. Two of the motions involve new revenue opportunities to further the work of our church ministries and the third will create a brain trust to further UCG’s financial future.
Charter School Collaboration Committee
UCG has been approached by the Constellation Charter School of Gainesville to enter into a partnership to host a new Waldorf curriculum public school in our newly renovated education wing. https://www.constellationchartergnv.org/
The school is seeking a weekday home for their teachers and students in a shared campus arrangement. The school leaders and school district administration have had
preliminary discussions with the ministers and staff, toured our facilities and shared the following proposal with us: Constellation Proposal UCG
Church Council has created a committee to negotiate a potential collaborative lease agreement between the school and UCG and will have responsibility for considering the terms of any contract with the school administration. Council Exec, pending contract approval, will provide on-going relationship management with the school administration and handle any issues which may arise after a contract is executed. Any affected
Boards or Committees (i.e. Family Promise, Board of Children, Youth and Families, etc.) will be consulted for input and advice as part of the process.
The committee chair will be authorized to sign the collaborative agreement with the school following input from the congregation via listening sessions and other effective methods of feedback, a majority vote of approval by the committee for its execution and consultation with Council Exec and Board of Business. The committee will be comprised of the following members who were nominated by Council Exec:
▪ Council Exec Council-Member-at-Large: Beth Hinrichs
▪ Family Promise: Dawn Beachy
▪ Board of Children Youth and Families: Taylor Stein
▪ Board of Business: Bill Hoppe
▪ Congregational Representation with Charter School Expertise: Jenny Hill
▪ Staff, Facilities: Lisa Goldstein
▪ Staff, Children’s Programs: Keri Trosper
▪ Non-voting Ministerial Liaison: Talia Raymond
▪ Non-voting Moderator Ex Officio: Donn Smith-Lopez
The term of the committee members will be until the final contract is executed or a final decision to forego a contract with the school. Council Exec will be authorized to replace a member on a case-by-case basis if a member resigns from the committee.
Publix Staff Parking Lease
The Publix near the corner of 13th Street and University Ave reached out to the church office with an interest in leasing parking spaces for their employees. The Standard, where the current lease is held, has changed their parking policies and Publix is in need of secured spots which will be used mostly by the store’s managers.
Church Council authorized our Church Administrator, Lisa Goldstein, to negotiate and sign a lease with Publix for the use of up to 35 parking spaces in the east parking lot. Publix staff will be provided a means to identify their authorized automobiles (i.e. decal, hangtag, dashboard permit, etc.) and the designated spaces can be used anytime during Monday thru Friday. Publix will be given consideration to use the spots during weekends as long as their staff parking does not interfere with our home football game season parking agreements, services times and other church activities.
The cost per space per month will be charged at the going market rate for the area and the initial lease will be for 6 months. At the end of the lease Lisa will review the positive and negative impacts of the agreement and report the findings to Council Exec and Board of Business. With the approval of Council Exec and Board of Business following their review of the report, Lisa will be authorized to renegotiate or extend the parking lease agreement with Publix.
Financial Sustainability and Stewardship Committee
A committee has also be created by Church Council to review and advise on the longterm sustainability and stewardship of church finances. The committee’s scope of review will include, but is not limited to, annual budget process, annual enlistment pledge campaign, external/internal revenue sources (existing and potential), expense management, designated funds policy, human resources (staffing, compensation,
benefits, etc.), endowment management, and insurance coverage and costs.
The committee will not replace any work efforts by our other Boards or Committees but rather will be an advisory group to make informed recommendations to Church Council. The committee members, nominated by Council Exec, will be presented to Church Council for confirmation at their January 2022 meeting. The committee will be made up of a diverse group of church members who have professional expertise in the areas of the group’s scope. The term of the committee members will be one year and, if a member resigns, Council Exec will be authorized to name a replacement on a case-bycase basis.
The committee chairperson, or designee, will provide periodic updates and reports of the work of the committee to Council Exec, Church Council or other Boards or Committees as requested. Any recommendations of the committee will adhere to the UCG By-laws and ideas not in alignment with the UCG By-laws would require a By-law change as stipulated in the By-laws. All recommendations based on the committee’s analysis will require approval by Church Council after discussions with any affected Board or Committee, a majority vote of approval by the committee and consultation with Council Exec.