Dharma Rain - Board Minutes

Board Minutes - March 9, 2006

Present:, Gyokuko Carlson, Kyogen Carlson, Gary Oshiro, Kei’un Lewis, Jeanna Moyer, Kat Strieby, Sherman Coventry, Shisei Niski
Absent: Kisei Martin, Fumyo Mishaga

The meeting began shortly after 7:20.

1) Approval of Minutes from prior meeting. The minutes were approved unanimously.

2) Open Forum for Member concerns. There were no member concerns brought to this meeting.

3) Date for next meeting. The date of the next Board meeting was set for 11 May, 2006.

4) Treasurer’s Report
    Between January’s meeting and this one, Gary was able to work in all the numbers from the sale of the 20th Ave. house and the purchase of the Taylor St. house. Even though the money from the sale of the first went into purchasing the latter – including commission, fees, etc. – it shows as income on the books, giving us a net income for 2005 of $92,000. As of January 2006, the temple is $1,030 in the red, but Gary said that we are always in the red at the beginning of the year, and the number is certainly an improvement from our deficit of approximately $6500 at the same time last year. Click to see 2005 Balance Sheet. Click to see 2005 Income-Expense Report.
    Gyokuko brought up the issue of the improvements to the Dharma house. We’ve done a lot of the work so far by ourselves, whether the monks or volunteers, but at this point it’s just dragging on. Our goal is to not spend too much on improvements other than the work for the Code requirements: not only do we just want to get it done, but if we delay the process too long, we might trigger more requirements from the city. Gyokuko suggested we hire a contractor to finish up the Code work, and the Board informally approved this idea.

5) Bookstore ideas/issues (Fumyo and Joanne Sigmund). This agenda item was tabled as neither Fumyo nor Joanne Sigmund could come to the meeting.

6) Ethics Committee Update (Kyogen/Kei’un/Jeanna)
Kyogen reported that there has been a tremendous amount of movement towards the creation of the ethics policy. There will be at least one document ready for the Sangha forum in April, the one outlining Sangha connection and authority, which will cover the following topics: the Temple’s core values; ethical guidelines both for the Sangha and for Temple leadership; authority and respect for tradition; levels of temple involvement; various Temple relationships, such as teacher/student, lay member/lay member, etc.; the grievance and reconciliation process; and the formation of an Ethics Council (a standing committee). The second document will be a discussion of the Precepts and how they map onto the Temple’s ethics policy. This document will be presented at the forum in April, in draft form, so the Board can get a feedback from the Sangha.

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7) Personnel
Last meeting the Board discussed the issue of Dharma Rain’s monks, one pressing question being how many we can support. Right now, however, it doesn’t seem to be a problem, as there have been shifts and changes in the monk community. Domyo is staying on: she’s proven herself a monk and now will be working on her training as a priest.

8) Communications
The agenda for the 2 April Sangha forum has been fixed:

  • Treasurer’s report (Gary may not be there: he will provide a summary for Shisei to present)
  • Ethics Committee presentation (Jeanna)
  • Calendar Committee (Kisei)
  • Operations update (Gyokuko)

As Secretary Kat will be out of town on the day of the Forum, Kisei will be taking the minutes.

The Board then discussed the issue, raised last meeting, of the placement of DRZC and ZCO literature. ZCO’s materials are displayed more prominently and more attractively, and newcomers do get confused. New locations for our literature were discussed, but eventually the consensus was that ZCO’s literature, being on a moveable display, could simply be put away when we were using the building. To avoid similar confusion between their donation box and our begging bowl, we could just drape their box during our services and events. It was further agreed that we needed to improve our own signage. Gyokuko said that Operations would take care of rearranging the literature racks and creating a sign for the begging bowl. Kyogen will talk to Hogen in person about the proposed changes.

9) Membership Committee Report (Shisei)
Shisei reported that the Membership Committee had contacted three renewing members in Feb., and had also sent out twenty renewal letters. With Kakumyo in Japan, Kyogen is inputing the new member information into the database. He reports three new members in January and one in February.

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10) Operations Report (Gyokuko)
    Although the goal of the Operations Committee is to finish the city code work before spending large amounts on other projects, the complete demise of the Dharma House stove forced them to make an exception to that rule. The old stove, even when it worked, was unreliable and had to be patched up all the time, so Gyokuko chose a high-end Thermador – it has all the needed features, is built like a tank, will be much more dependable than a lower-end model, and will be more cost-efficient in the long run. Although large expenses are usually run past the Board, the urgency of the situation was recognized, and the Board generally approved the purchase.
    In code news, we have passed on electrical wiring and earthquake bracing. We can’t finish some of the other projects until we have a framing inspection. Anthony suggests that we get a partial pass on the outside framing and, while the inspector is here, get advice on the inside framing, which can then pass on the final inspection. We also still have the porch improvements and interior handrails to do. After the code work is finished, we’ll be free to look at other projects: finding roofers for the Zendo roof, rebuilding the garage, remodeling the kitchen, and installing double­glazed windows in the Sangha House.

11) Apprenticeship Report
This agenda item listed Gyokuko as the contact person, but she reported that she is not on the committee. Shisei said he would check on Apprenticeship with Domyo and the shuso.

12) Calendar Committee Report (Kyogen)
Kyogen reported a changeover in the committee, with Genko joining and Kisei leaving. Whatever its composition, however, the Calendar Committee has been busy and has the schedule for 2007, both fall and spring terms, outlined already. One class that especially raised interest was a Methods of Practice class, with guest speakers.
When asked if there were a Lay Disciple ordination scheduled, Kyogen said that it would probably be in May, with the ordination of six new Lay Disciples.

At 9:00pm Gyokuko moved to adjourn. The motion was seconded and passed unanimously.

NEXT MEETING: 11 May, 2006, 7pm at the Sangha House.
The meeting adjourned at 9:00pm.

Respectfully Submitted,
Kat Strieby
Secretary

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