Irene Stewart, Laurie Ullman, Donya VanBuren, Mark Sisson, Peter Young, Sherry Smith, Suzette Reiss, Beth Peterson

10 minutes were set aside for our guest, Jack Speyer.  He spoke of the following:

-He distributed a draft of a “proxy declaration” intended for the membership vote about the building proposals.

-He mentioned his visit to the Bridgehampton UU Fellowship and how their building is an interesting interpretation of space.

-He noted his opinions of the Building Team’s Pro/Con list (note: Mr. Speyer was referring to one of the Team’s original drafts of the list.)

–Under Marren/Gorman:

-He felt noting that appliances were not included was irrelevant.

-He felt noting “the building may be smaller due to budget restraints” was not needed.

–Under East End Construction Services:

-He felt the note of it being “less expensive” was irrelevant.

-He questioned the use of the term “environmentally friendly materials.”

-He questioned the description of “less debris.”

-He has reservations concerning the 10 year warranty; during his investigation, he found that Icon Legacy will advocate for their own warranties versus industry standards.

-He feels that noting paving and kitchen appliances are included is irrelevant.

-He feels that the architects/engineers of Icon Legacy will be more interested in maximizing their profits versus having the best interests of the Church in mind.

-He noted the conflict between Ms. Bishop and Doug Gregg is a question of temperament and should disallow contracting with Ms. Bishop.

-He noted the apparent NYS tax difficulties with Ms. Bishop and East End Construction Services.

-He noted the reinstatement of the EECS website without updates.

The Team thanked Mr. Speyer for his interest, concern and efforts.

Minutes of the meeting of 9/22 were accepted with changes.

It was noted that there has been no known contact with the Church’s insurance agent for some time.

A discussion was held for the final edit of the Team’s Fact Sheet. (note: “tax warrant” was defined as “an unpaid tax amount,” versus an actual arrest warrant.) Peter noted that Bill Moore, the Church attorney, discovered that the tax issue with EECS was a result of a clerical error, and there were two significant liens against New England Barns and Fine Homebuilding.

Members of the Team expressed reservations with both proposals about to be submitted to the membership. A discussion followed about our next step. The Team decided, in a split decision, to submit the proposed Fact Sheets as corrected and be prepared to address new choices if the Board and/or the congregation reject our proposals. In the interim between now and the membership vote, the Team will investigate further the other options we have examined previously.

The Team read and accepted the cover letter composed by Donya and Irene (thanks!) to be included with the Fact Sheet.

It was with deep regret that the Team accepted Donya’s resignation from the Team. We thanked her for all her efforts on our behalf. She noted she would still compose the August Key Points.

There was a brief discussion of the responsibilities of the Team for the Congregational Meeting to be held October 16. Irene proposed we have images of completed works from each party on a tri-fold display. Mark will be the representative of the Building Team. Each Team member will be allowed to speak if they want, either as a Team member (to clarify a point) or member of the Congregation (to express an opinion.)

The Team discussed Sherry’s letter dated 9/25/2016. (note: see copy below.) The concerns she voices are valid and the Team will continue to address them as diligently as possible, including vetting proposals held in reserve and asking the Board be open to a wider range of proposals.

It was noted that our minister, Kimberley Debus, is still considered an ex officio member of the Team and would like to be included emails containing notes or minutes.

Our next meeting will be October 6 at 7:00.

Meeting adjourned at 8:53.