CMM 2023-10-08

Minutes of Meeting for Worship with Attention to Business [1]

Concord (NH) Monthly Meeting of

the Religious Society of Friends

8^th of Tenth Month 2023

Eleven Friends gathered for meeting for worship to attend to business, in person and by Zoom. We opened with a brief period of quiet Worship.

Minutes of Ninth month 2023 [2] were approved as posted on our website.

10.01  Fundraising Committee: We received one grant from Quaker EarthCare Witness for $1,500.  We have received three gifts from individuals amounting to $6,500.  Remaining amount to be raised to avoid any loans is $22,793.  Two other grants have been applied which might bring in $17,000 but will not be known for a month or two.  It was noted that some people might rather the meeting use loans rather than asking for more funds, knowing that future income will be able to pay off those loans.

10.02  Treasurer reported on our current fiscal status.  We continue to operate on a continuation of the prior fiscal year budget.  Total income for the first 4 months of the fiscal year was $10,841.  Total expense for the period was $7,239 for an increase in our funds of $3,603.

10.03  Finance Committee: The committee reported on the changes to income and expenses that are expected as result of childcare program and new heating system. The report is attached.

New rental income is $6,400.  Wood pellet costs saving this year is $985.  They recommend that we drop the donation in lieu of taxes to the town of Canterbury (currently $500) because the childcare program will be paying taxes of $3,000.

Additional expenses are: Interest on short term borrowing ($44,000) will be $1,180; Internet cost increased by $240; Alarm costs will be $460; Extinguisher costs will be $200.  This amount to $2,080 new spending.  Net of the new income and definite new expenses is $5,805.

The committee asks us to consider how to use this income.  They recommend we add 3% to organizations with staff which we do annually ($277).  We will need money for landscaping repair which could be about $1,000.  Would we like to add a cleaning service for some of our cleaning needs?  Would we like to revise our power purchase agreement and pay more for the increased electricity we will be using?  How much might be used to pay down our debt (new and old).  Knowing the Yearly Meeting is not planning to donate to either FUM or FGC this year, would we like to donate to FGC and FUM directly or increase our donation directly to NEYM?  The committee wants to hear thoughts on this.  It was suggested we figure out the meeting’s proportional amount to replace the FUM and FGC donations that NEYM will not be making.

10.04  Solar Committee: So that it can effectively address issues arising this fall, the Solar Committee, presently Ruth and Greg Heath and Chris Haigh, is expanded to include the other members of the Finance Committee, David Woolpert and Jonah Sutton-Morse

10.05  Increased Energy Use: Due to the additional electricity usage from our geothermal heating system and the new child care program, Concord Monthly Meeting’s electrical costs to Oxbow Solar LLC have increased.  In furtherance of our Quaker value of integrity, we are led to offer an amendment or amendments to the existing Power Purchase Agreement that will take into account fair compensation for these unanticipated costs.  The Solar Committee will work out the details and bring a proposal to Meeting for Business.  (The members of the household of Oxbow Solar stood aside.)

We closed with a brief period of quiet worship, purposing to meet again on the second First Day of Eleventh month.

NB. The Income & Expenses Sheet was created with two decimal points, which were removed for readability, the cents being unimportant to the overall understanding.  This can have the effect of throwing off any given sum by a dollar due to compounded rounding.  —  Prepared by Greg Heath and Chris Haigh.