Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church Raleigh
Minutes of the Parish Council Meeting
Wednesday, May 14, 2014
Call to Order: President George Kapetanakis called the meeting to order at 7:00pm and led us in prayer.
Members Present: John Fakiris, George Kapetanakis, Frank Nixon, Connie Kledaras, Katerina Knezevic, Sophia Myers, Joanna Biliouris, Harry Nicholos, Toula Capetanos, Meg Economy, George Pappas, Nik Kamilaris and Greg Delage.
Members Absent: Risa Poniros.
Approval of Minutes: Joanna Biliouris presented the minutes from the April 30, 2014 meeting. Toula Capetanos requested one edit to the Debrief of Holy Week Activities to add a note that the pothole repairs of French Drive were completed prior to Holy Week. A motion to accept the minutes of the April 30, 2014 Parish Council Meeting with that change noted was made by Connie Kledaras and seconded by Meg Economy. All approved, motion carried.
Treasurer’s Report: Harry Nicholos presented the April 2014 Balance Sheet and Profit & Loss Statement. He noted that in the P&L statement now includes a comparison of actual expenses vs. 2014 Budget along with a % of 2014 Budget and a comparison of expenses during the same period last year. Harry reviewed various expenses that are running higher than last year but noted many of our expenses are likely seasonal variances but will be monitored. Toula Capetanos questioned the sales tax refund showing on the balance sheet and asked if this income should be credited to the festival budget as the majority of products purchased were for our festival. Harry Nicholos noted that this was a running balance and this amount likely included refunds from prior years. It was also mentioned that the church purchased chairs and other items this year that may be part of the refund balance. Frank Nixon asked about payroll expenses, specifically where social security and Medicare expenses were noted on the profit and loss statement. Frank will research these payroll items and report back to the PC.
Bylaws: Frances Mathes and Meg Economy presented the amended Bylaws which included edits noted in the last PC meeting. Nik Kamilaris asked if there would be working papers further detailing some of the items in the Bylaws such as how General Assembly voting list is prepared. Harry Nicholos suggested that procedures involving preparation of the voting list for General Assembly meetings and other items be documented as they occur and these procedures could serve as working papers. The PC agreed with this suggestion. A motion to approve the revised Bylaws for presentation at the next General Assembly on June 22nd was made by Harry Nicholos and seconded by Connie Kledaras. All approved, motion carried.
The Parish Council went into executive session to discuss employee benefit matters.
Insurance for Volunteers: George Kapetanakis updated the PC that the church’s insurance policy did not cover medical costs for volunteers who may be injured at the church. This was a concern due to a pending project to paint the exterior of the church utilizing volunteers. This coverage can be added to the church’s policy for a cost of $200 per year. A motion to obtain this additional coverage at a cost of $200 per year was made by Katerina Knezevic and seconded by Harry Nicholos. All approved, motion carried.
There was further discussion that a review of all of the church’s insurance coverage was needed. John Fakiris will schedule a meeting with our insurance agent, Michael LaSorsa, to review our coverage and request that Michael identify any gaps in coverage and recommend any updates to our policy. John will advise the PC when this meeting is scheduled so other PC member may attend if available.
Electrical Project Update: George Kapetanakis updated the committee that all items noted on the electrical survey had been completed by Stoner Electrical. Stoner Electrical also noted that the emergency lighting in the church needed repair as they did not work properly and would be noted on a future inspection. A motion to authorize the repairs to the emergency lighting was made by Meg Economy and seconded by Harry Nicholos. All approved, motion carried.
Stoner Electrical also noted that repairs were needed to the overhead lighting in the education classrooms at a cost of approximately $2,150 plus labor. A motion to authorize these repairs to the overhead lighting was made Harry Nicholos and seconded by Meg Economy. All approved, motion carried.
It was noted that Chris Pappas did a great job overseeing this project and Dean Economy was appreciated for getting the supplies to complete the electrical repairs.
Dove’s Nest: The church’s cleaning services are provided by Dove’s Nest. Dove Nest has an employee agreement which has a non-competing clause. It was noted that any ancillary services needed by Dwight (Dove’s Nest’s employee) must be directed to Dove’s Nest and not contracted directly with Dwight. Nik Kamilaris will clarify this with our ministries so they are not requesting services directly from Dwight and paying him directly. Dove Nest will bill the church at a rate of $17.75 per hour and will pay their employee (Dwight) accordingly.
Father Paul’s absences due to surgery: Father Christodoulos will perform services on May 18th and Father Waynick will perform services on May 25th. There is a service on Wednesday, May 21st and a baptism on Saturday, May 24th so George Kapetanakis will confirm which priest will handle these services.
ServSafe Training: Nik Kamilaris updated the PC that he has a list of parishioners who will become certified. We do not have an option to have a training class at the church so all certifications will be completed online. Nik will notify all those who volunteered to be certified of the instructions to get the certification online at a cost of $126 which will be reimbursed by the church. He will request that certifications be completed by the end of May.
Update on Old Business:
a) Toula Capetanos advised that the PC will be sponsoring the coffee hour on May 25th for the Memorial Day service commemorating those who died serving our country. Toula will provide a cake for the coffee hour on behalf of the PC.
b) Toula Capetanos advised that the PC will be sponsoring the artoclasia and coffee hour on June 8th for the name day of our church. Toula will provide a cake for the coffee hour and coordinate preparation of the bread on behalf of the PC.
c) Toula Capetanos recommended that the PC sponsor the coffee hour on Veterans Day (November 11th). All agreed with her recommendation.
d) Toula Capetanos advised that the Durham Greek Festival is scheduled for May 31-June 1. Parishioners from Holy Trinity are encouraged to support their festival.
Assisting Parishioners: The PC discussed several suggestions for addressing the need for handicapped seating in the sanctuary. A subcommittee will identify solutions for handicapped access and seating. The subcommittee will include George Kapetanakis, George Pappas, Sophia Myers and Katerina Kenezevic.
New Business:
a) George Pappas presented an update from the building committee. At this time discussions with the city regarding French Drive are continuing. Chris Pappas will be holding the next meeting of the building sub-committee May 27th. The building committee will begin the pre-selection process of architects for our project, and will be interviewing architects once options for French Drive are clear and we have established a not-to-exceed budget for our project. Penny Gallins continues to lead our capital campaign. If you are interested in serving on one of the building or capital campaign committees, please contact George.
b) Meg Economy updated the PC that our bid to host the 2015 Choir Federation Conference in July 2015 will be deferred bid to host to July 2016 conference instead.
c) Frank Nixon asked if there was interest in Adult Greek classes. All PC members felt there was a lot of interest so Frank agreed to explore how to organize this effort.
d) Nik Kamilaris presented a diagram of the church hall showing how it should be set up for Sunday services. He will share this diagram with all ministries so they will know how to set up the hall after their activities.
e) Frank Nixon inquired as to who is responsible for the soda machine in the hall. It is not working and needs to have the coins emptied. Frank will contact Kelly about this.
f) Toula provided movie tickets to all PC members to sell for the September 6th showing of “Christmas with the Karountzoses”. All PC member need to submit monies collected for ticket sales by the end of June.
Motion to adjourn the meeting was made at 9:15pm by Nik Kamilaris.
George Kapetanakis led us in closing prayer with all singing Christos Anesti.
Next Parish Council Meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, June 18, 2014 at 7:00 pm.
Next General Assembly Meeting is scheduled for Sunday, June 22, 2014
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