April 2010 finds the Board actively engaged in its responsibilities as guardians of First Church properties including our endowment funds and the Thomas Hale House. All Board members have had specific responsibilities, and have cared for them admirably. These are:

Peter Charles - Treasurer Brian Davis - Structure

Bruce Fleahman - Property Harold Parmelee - Hale House

Jim Morrissey - Human Resources Bill Geist - Grants

John Preston - Financial Jean Linderman - Recording

Greg Castanza - Investments John Reid - Legal and Vice Chairman

Rick Standish - Environmental John Dugan - Transportation

Forbes Warren - Chairman

The plan of Brian Davis for The Universal Access project from a donation by congregation member Marie Balsara in memory of her parents was completed with landscaping by Mary Gavin. Appropriate irrigation for the completed project, which includes reduced mobility parking, will be addressed in May 2010. The overall coordination of that gracious addition to the front entrance of the Meetinghouse was the able and efficient responsibility of Harold Parmelee.

The investment portfolio regained strength under the watchful eye of Greg Castanza and continues to provide some meaningful income for current expense activities. The Treasurer’s report elsewhere will give more information regarding that. Bill Geist was on the lookout for Grants and has some positive information as we look forward to the 300th anniversary of Thomas Hale’s appointment as Public House proprietor by the British Colonial Government.

The Pentecostal offering and Ruth Kazor’s Memorial Funds were used by Bruce Fleahman to begin the 10 year project of replacing windows throughout our buildings by replacing the south and west windows of the office addition. He will engage the replacement of the north side after the offering of this May. Rick Standish accomplished the steps upward toward becoming a "Green Church" and we now have reached the 2 Globe level with the UCC. Bruce Fleahman was also the Trustee overseer of the replacement of flooring material of the 2nd floor corridor, the bulletin board corridor, and outside the kitchen floor including repainting.

The transition of Peter Charles to Treasurer, and John Preston’s move to Cape Cod, provided our Board with the opportunity to offer the Transportation Trustee hat to John Dugan who immediately stepped into the hornet’s nest of ‘what to do with Big Blue?’. After many meetings, repair dilemmas, and leadership discussions, it was decided by Council to take the recommendation for keeping the bus only until the end of this calendar year (2010). John’s committee will continue to look for alternative modes of transportation, including an appropriate replacement vehicle.

Looking forward, we have engaged a Civil Engineer to assess additional parking by capturing land currently adjacent to wetlands. Brian Davis will, then, be contracted to do a Property Use Plan.

Respectfully submitted,

Forbes Warren, Chair