Task Force Minutes
ASC Reopening Task Force – Notes from Meeting July 9, 2020
TO DO’s: posted at the top so they are visible
All: mark calendars for next meeting, 4:00 Friday July 31 .
Shayna & Leslie: present Phase 1 proposal to board at the meeting on Mon July 13
Karen: write up a short synopsis of Phase 1 proposal to aid in presentation to board
After board meeting, update Phase 2 proposal and share with Task Force with aim of largely finishing it via email etc. prior to our next meeting. Edits include clarifying that Minister and Admin, when present, count towards the limit of 10 people, like anyone else.
Work on communicating situation to congregation, both regarding current Phase status and the UUA-recommended path of planning for the possibility of staying in pandemic mode until autumn of 2021.
Attendees: Rev. Shayna Appel, Peter Gibbons, Jamie Gibson, Leslie Kinney, Steve Squires, Karen Tyler
We clarified that we are in Phase 1 right now (up to 4 people in building, not counting Miss Martha’s). The Phase 1 plan has not formally been submitted or approved by board, but we’ve been essentially operating as if it were. Shayna and Leslie will submit it at the board meeting on Monday July 13. Karen will write up a shorter synopsis to support the board presentation.
A Phase 2 document has been drafted, which is targeted at how to safely allow outdoor meetings of up to 10. We clarified that the 10 person limit includes Minister and Admin, if present (Karen will update the Phase 2 proposal on this point). Also, members of the same household can collectively count as 1 person, assuming they stay together. Peter expressed a strong preference for groups of that size using a more open area such as the parking lot; the stone patio may be too enclosed for groups as large as 10 to meet safely.
We did note that members are free to use their own discretion regarding gatherings not on church property. While we certainly hope safe practices prevail, church leadership has no authority beyond church grounds.
We decided the Phase 2 document is not ready to go to the board. Work on it will resume after board meets to decide Phase 1.
Discussed how to communicate current status to congregation, especially the general consensus that the UUA recommendation to plan for a long disruption. Shayna recommends referring to or using the very well-written letter the UUA president sent out early in the pandemic. Karen will work on this. Shayna sent some link info to Karen to help find the letter.
Karen has met with Miss Martha, who is very cooperative. With no competing interests at present, they are using the entire church grounds, but are rarely outdoors after 1 PM (and the kids are gone by 4:30). They are happy to work around any daytime ASC usage of the grounds, provided we give them a day’s notice for their planning.
This led to a discussion of exactly how such communications would work, since lots of ASC people could potentially schedule outdoor meetings. Shayna notes that having multiple random people communicating directly with a renter is generally a bad idea, which Steve seconded from past experience with another renter. We all prefer to not add new responsibilities to the Admin. The leading suggestion is that any meeting’s convener would be expected/required to post it on the church website calendar, which would hopefully avoid double-bookings, and that Miss Martha’s would be expected to check that online calendar as part of their daily routine. To be worked out.