Trustees Hear Progress On Leasing Preschool Space

The Preschool Rental Task Force reported the progress toward identifying a new tenant to the Trustees at the October Board meeting. Carrie Steere-Salazar (chair), Carl Cade, Linda Enger, Kathleen Quenneville, and Galen Workman are leading the effort to find a suitable renter.

The Task Force reported that Kidder Mathews, the Society’s broker, is in the process of identifying preschools that may be interested in our space. Kidder Mathews is conducting tours and discussing the property with the goal of identifying top organizations to negotiate with by mid-December in preparation for a lease that would result in a preschool opening by June.

Anyone who knows of potential preschool tenants should refer them to Cameron Baird of Kidder Mathews at 415-229-8888.

Trustees gratefully acknowledged and accepted a restricted gift of $75,000 for Sanctuary cushions honoring Trudy Lionel from Stephen Gerard. This generosity makes the successful funding of the Sanctuary upgrade project a real probability.

Acting on the request of Rev. Southern, Trustees agreed to be the sponsoring congregation for two seminarian students, Mari Magaloni Ramos, who started at PSR in Berkeley this fall, and Wayne Hsiung, who started at Union in NYC. The vote to sponsor passed with Trustee Ramos abstaining.

The Board authorized the opening of a temporary account at the Parnassus Fund in order to obtain access to the legacy gift from Larry Danos. Rev. Southern will discuss with the family the intended use of the gift to honor Larry’s memory.

Director of Operations Laura Ludwig reported on the year-end financials. The overall situation was colored by the failure of the Montessori House of Children to pay agreed-upon rent, utilities, and property tax. However, other financial areas were generally positive, with room rentals and pledge collections running above budgeted amounts. Operating reserves were sufficient to cover the shortfalls due to nonpayment for preschool use, but Laura noted that the lack of rental income cannot be sustained over a period of years without reserves being depleted.

Treasurer Diane Allen supported Laura’s financial overview. She also reported that the Investment Committee continues to work with the outside financial advisor to gradually increase our participation in the equity markets.

Trustees were informed that the Montessori House of Children (MHOC) has filed for bankruptcy protection. Trustees went into Executive Session with Kathleen Quenneville to discuss her work with attorneys who are helping the Society deal with the MHOC situation.

The reports of the Senior Minister, Minister of Congregational Life, and Director of Operations all showed a lot of beginning-of-the-year positive activity. The Board appreciated the community engagement described in the updates.