Minutes have too much information

The Golden Hour Senior Center Board decides too much information is not a good thing. During a recent Golden Hour Senior Center board of directors meeting, members of the board discussed the minutes included in the packet. Those minutes were from a lengthy October meeting where the public tried to comment on a trespassing order placed against one of the center’s former employees.

At that meeting, numerous residents tried to address the board. The October minutes also included two presentations about Roberts Rules of Order from members of the Young at Heart Senior Center in Rock Springs. Although the public was not granted access to the minutes; a quick glance from afar could confirm the minutes were quite detailed and more than 10 pages long.

“I have never seen them detailed like this before, but due to the meeting maybe they needed to be,” Chairman Bill Thompson said. Usually, minutes from a meeting are anywhere from one to four pages in length. The board discussed how in depth the minutes were and determined that there was no need for those minutes to be verbatim.

They said it would just be a waste of time for the person taking the minutes. The minutes should reflect motions, seconds and outcomes of a motion, not the entire meeting itself. If there are board reports, such as director’s reports or activity director’s reports, those can be attached as addendum to the minutes. A couple of board members said they found the minutes helpful since there was such a huge crowd at the last meeting and they were distracted. After some more discussion, a motion was made to condense the October meeting’s minutes. One board member offered to help out with the minutes, since she was a secretary on another board and was used to doing them.

GHSC executive director Beth Whitman said they were reviewing a book on Roberts Rules of Order and will condense the minutes to reflect what they read. Other discussion The board heard a report from the finance committee representative Ann Lowe. She informed the board that they will be able to give out Christmas bonuses this year. After reviewing the numbers, they determined that all employees with the exception of two new hires will receive $300. The new hires will receive $100. The money for the bonuses will come out of the room rental income.

“We were glad that we could do these Christmas bonuses this year,” Lowe said. “All this staff works their fingers to the bone.” Whitman said Christmas bonuses are not new to the center. The center has given them for years and years.

 

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