Board MeetingFebruary 19, 2019

In Attendance: Mark Michaelis, Brad Whitman, Dan Burek, Greg Furer, Dr. Nairn, Ki Kim, and Terry Danko.

Attending by Phone: Marlene Jenkins, Rachelle Fritz

Administration in Attendance: George Trauner, Jerrad Rimel, Deana Burge, Chad Dickson, Rob Lewis, Marci Dickson, Amanda Shields, Al Gesler and Victoria Soff.

The bi-monthly meeting of the Bethesda Foundation for Children Board of Directors was held on Tuesday, February 19, 2019 in the board room on the Meadville Campus, the CEO being in his chair and the secretary being present.

George Trauner called the meeting to order at 12:00pm. Al Gesler offered the opening prayer.

Mark Michaelis moved to approve the minutes from the December meeting. Terry Danko seconded the motion. Motion Carried

Victoria Soff and Amanda Shields presented a power point that reviewed for the board the activities of the Development Coordinators since they were hired.

Old Business

Investment CommitteeMark Michaelis reported to the board the gift policy is in its final stages and the investment committee hopes to present it to the full board at the next meeting.

Dr. Nairn asked if Bethesda is engaged at all with Allegheny College. Jerrad Rimel responded that we have aligned with the Bonners from Allegheny for many years. Jerrad also talked about our involvement with the Lew Davies program as well as the fact that Allegheny students do many service projects with us.

New Business

CEO Report George Trauner presented the CEO report. He reviewed the progress on the board matrix that was created from the board retreat. The report included information regarding program expansion and creation. There are currently 8 Erie school districts that want Bethesda to facilitate their alternative education program. The Erie based alternative education will be based in the Trinity Center. The Alternative Education Program in Erie will begin with the 2019-2020 school year. Bethesda has also been approached about providing a partial program in Erie and to date we have 5 letters of support for that program. Over the next year the leadership team will look at using the Trinity Center as more of an education hub in Erie.

George also reported on the anticipated building project. The budgeted numbers for the replacement buildings for Unit A and Unit B are between $1.5 and $1.6 million each. Ideally those numbers would be closer to $1.5 million/per building.

The Elderton building has several renters that pay a combined yearly total of more than $23,000. At some point we may look at elder care for that building

George met with Ryan Ebner who is Bethesda’s representative from the ELCA Foundation. The board has a current contract with the ELCA Foundation that will expire soon. Ryan has been beneficial in securing some bequests for Bethesda that far outweigh the cost.

Mark Michaelis motions to empower George to sign the ELCA Foundation contract. Rachelle Fritz seconded the motion. Motion carried.

George talked about changing the day of the week the board meets to Wednesday’s. The time will remain the same.

Terry Danko motioned to change the day of the board meeting to Wednesday beginning in August. Mark Michaelis seconded the motion. Motion carried.

George mentioned that all of the money ($350,000) from the Petersen Foundation has been received. Dan Burek talked about the house, as of today, is in the $418,000 range. He is certain that we can bring the cost down but not enough to be completely under the amount of the donation. George suggests that the Bethesda Foundation for Children either gift to Bethesda Lutheran Services $50,000 or loan the money to Bethesda Lutheran Services.

Greg reminds the board that, at the retreat, the board talked about paying for the building in total. Mark Michaelis mentions that perhaps the savings on the capital plan could cover the extra money needed for the Petersen House. Greg Furer mentions that the board could empower George to move forward contingent on Mark Michaelis and Chad Dickson looking over the numbers and both giving their approval. Dan Burek mentioned the importance time and not waiting until the next board meeting based on the desire to break ground in the spring. As another option, George is talking with our attorney about beginning a “for profit” corporation to own the house. Greg mentions it is for profit because one nonprofit cannot own another nonprofit. At this time he does not have all the information but will be communicating with the executive committee to keep them updated in the interim between board meetings. Ki Kim suggests that the amount loaned should be $75,000.

Terry Danko motions to donate up to $75,000 on a project of $425,000 maximum to Bethesda Lutheran Services but empowering Mark Michaelis as the investment and finance chair to make the ultimate decision before the next board meeting. Mark Michaelis seconded the motion.

Executive Committee

George talked about the feasibility study and recommended to the board that we hire Pilot Peak Consulting to conduct the feasibility study. Greg mentions that the executive committee has talked about this and, even though they are $10,000 more than the other offer, the committee is recommending to the board that Pilot Peak Consulting run our feasibility study.

Marlene Jenkins motioned to accept the proposal from Pilot Peak Consulting. Rachelle Fritz seconded the motion. Motion carried.

Governance Committee

Brad Whitman presents 2 new board member recommendations for the board’s approval. George Trauner presented a brief review of both candidates.

Brad Whitman motioned to accept the nominations of Tye Cressman and Alan Benson as new board members. Mark Michaelis seconded the motion. Motion carried.

Brad Whitman motioned to accept the resignation of Kris Hunt effective immediately. Terry Danko seconded the motion. Motion carried.

Brad Whitman presented the board matrix and asked board members to turn it in before they leave today.

Facilities ReportRob Lewis presented the Facilities report. There was no follow up discussion.

Development ReportAl told the board he is excited about the campaign. He also told the board we received $11,250 for the Trinity Center.

Finance CommitteeThe committee met with the auditor and the audit has a clean opinion.

Mark Michaelis motioned to approve the audited financial statements and opinion as they were presented to the finance committee. Brad Whitman seconded the motion. Motion carried.

There being no more business, the meeting, Terry Danko motioned to adjourn the meeting. Brad Whitman seconded the motion. Motion carried. The meeting adjourned at 1:52pm

Submitted by Marci Dickson, Board Secretary