HTCC Special Board Meeting Minutes November 23, 2008

HTCC Special Board Meeting Minutes

November 23, 2008

 

Attendees:  Nitya Niranjan, Hima Bollineni,  Vishwa Gaddamanugu, G. Krishnan, , Virinder Duggal, Pramod Gupta, Arun Sharma, Shyam Oberoi, Sunil Shah, Umesh Amin  

 

Attendees on Conference call: Lakshmi Shankar, Sunil Ummat (part time), Suri Raman (part time)

 

 

Excused Absentees:  Dev Manhas, Hema Marreddy  

 

Unexcused Absentees: Virender Sodhi

 

Invitees:  Shrish Kumar (member planning Committee), Michael Maestro (Architect and Vaastu Shastra expert with some experience of designing temples), Sanjeev Sharma and Neetha Rao (Architects for HTCC).

Other attendees:  Bhargavi Kumar, Dev Raj Sharma, Gopal Ayengar   

 

AGENDA:

1.      Prayer

2.      Call the meeting to order

3.      Placement of Deities for Phase II

4.      Compensation Policies for HTCC Employees

5.      Prayer

 

MEETING NOTES:

 

1.      Meeting started with a prayer. 

2.      Meeting was called to order at 9:15 AM.

3.      Placement of Deities for Phase II

A.     On inquiry from Krish, Sanjeev stated that HTCC is not bound to submit the Deities plan by April 23, 2009.  There are some submittal requirements by the county and they will work on those.

B.     The plan showing the placement of deities as agreed by Sri Vaidyanatha Sthapati Associates on Oct. 30, 2008 and approved by planning Committee was presented for discussions.  Reservations were expressed by some members about the adoption of the present plan. There was general consensus that Planning Committee has a much wider role including placement of duties.  The planning Committee should form a team exclusively for the task of placement of deities.

C.     Sunil Ummat made the motion "Planning Committee should revisit the Deity plan and come back with a comprehensive balanced plan by January 15, 2009".  Pramod seconded the motion.  It was approved unanimously.

D.     Suri Raman made the motion "Planning Committee Chairman should send biweekly updates to Board".  Arun seconded the motion.  It was approved unanimously. 

 

 

 

E.      Board collectively formulated the following assumptions and guidelines for designing the deities' placement.

1.     Size and expression of shrines should be identical

2.     Temple be continued to be called Hindu Temple and Cultural Center.

3.       Thirteen Approved deities:  1. Sai Baba 2.  Ganesha 3. Subramaniam 4. Shiva 5.  Durga 6. Mahalakshmi 7. Venkateshwara 8. Ram Parivar 9. Radha and Krishna 10. Jain Digamber 11. Jain Shwetamber 12. Navagrah 13.  Jagan Nath. (Hanuman, Parvati and Andal not approved)

4.     No presiding deity (Vishwa would have preferred Shiva and Vishnu)

5.     Qualification of Sthapaty(s).

6.     Logical grouping and positioning of deities per Vaastu and Vedic Principals.

7.     Shrines need to have ample space in front for about 35 devotees

8.     Slots for five future deities

 

F.      Umesh made the motion"Above eight assumptions and guidelines be used by the Planning Committee for designing the deity placement and will be used by the Board for final decision".  Nitya seconded the motion.  It was approved unanimously.

 

4.      Compensation Policies for HTCC Employees:  No discussions took place.

5.      Meeting adjourned at 12 noon with a prayer.

                 

 

 

Recorded by

Shyam Oberoi

Secretary HTCC Board of Trustees

Nov. 23, 2008

 

 

HTCC Board Meeting Minutes November 8, 2008

HTCC Board Meeting Minutes

November 8, 2008

 

Attendees:  Dev Manhas,  Nitya Niranjan, Hema Marreddy, Hima Bollineni,   Vishwa Gaddamanugu, G. Krishnan, , Virinder Duggal, Pramod Gupta, Arun Sharma, Shyam Oberoi, Sunil Shah, Suri Raman

 

Excused Absentees:  Umesh Amin, Virender Sodhi

 

Unexcused Absentees: Lakshmi Shankar, Sunil Ummat,

 

 

AGENDA:

1. Prayer
2. Call the meeting to order
3. Minutes of the Sep. meeting
4. Minutes of Oct. meeting
5. EC Committee Report
6. Fund Raising Committee Report
7. Planning Committee Report
8. Discuss and Vote on whether we can vote on new business.
9. New business
• Multiple office bearers as well as other position(s) in the Board as well as EC held by the same person.
• Publish all the established committees (Board as well as EC) so that every one knows.
• New fund raising proposal.
10. Prayer
11. Meeting Adjourned

 

MEETING NOTES:

 

1.      Meeting started with a prayer. 

2.      Meeting was called to order at 9:15 AM.

3.      Minutes of the Sep. meeting: Suri Raman made a motion to approve the minutes.  Pramod seconded it.  The motion was adopted.

4.      Minutes of Oct. meeting:  Dev Manhas made a motion to approve the minutes with the following changes.  Suri Raman seconded it.  The minutes were approved with changes.

 4.  Vishwa raised the issue that the board circumvented processes by not informing some members of the board about buying the property in item 1. Vishwa will bring to surface other issues where processes have been circumvented.

9.   Financial team was formed to streamline the HTCC finances. The plan must have principal preservation clause. The team members are:

                                                                i.      Hima

                                                              ii.      Dev Manhas

                                                            iii.      Suri Raman

 

 

 

5.      EC Committee Report – Virinder reported that:

A.     The North Indian priest (Mr. Jha) to whom the offer has been made has an appointment with the US consulate on Nov. 21, 2008.

B.     The South Indian (Telugu) priest (Mr. Upendra) who has been offered the job is not responding.  Communication with him is difficult because of his lack of English speaking skill.  Vishwa and Virinder will together call him and find about his plans.

C.     Priest Lakshmi Naraynan has applied for vacation from Jan.11, 2009 to Feb. 16, 2009.  Dev Manhas stated that a priest from another temple is available on temporary basis.  Virinder will get the details from Dev Manhas.

D.     Percentage of fee for outside poojas to the priest(s) and Dakshina amount to be suggested need to be reviewed.  General consensus was to have a special Board meeting to discuss priest(s) compensation.  The meeting has been scheduled for Sunday, Nov.23^rd. 2008 at 9 AM in the temple.

E.      Diwali celebration was a great success.  Some lessons were learnt for improvements in the future.

F.      Yoga classes are conducted every Sunday from 8.00 AM to 9 AM.

G.     Bids have been received for interior painting.  These vary from $8,500 to $23,000.  General consensus was that painting should be done by volunteers.  Vishwa has offered to lead this effort.  He will organize this task and get it executed by Dec.31, 2008.

H.     Virinder made a motion to hire a part time manager with flexible schedule to fill in when the volunteers and /or manager is not available as well as to help the manager whenever needed.  Hima seconded the motion.  The motion was adopted.  Virinder will prepare a note detailing the need and justification for the part time manager for the purpose of record. 

I.        New computer has been installed and is in the process of being made functional.

 

6.      Fund raising committee report:  The Manjunath Brothers concert was a break even event.  The Bhairav Se Bhairavi Concert resulted in a net gain of $ 10132.  Hema has a target of raising $20,000 from Lakshmi coins which is the present campaign.  Hema has a plan to raise $40,000 from sponsorship of Venkateshwara Padukas.  She requested a budget of $2,500 for the effort.  Nitya made a motion for approval of $2,500 for the Paduka campaign.  Arun seconded it.  The motion was adopted.  All Board members appreciated the fund raising efforts of Hema. 

7.      Planning Committee Report:  Dr. Manhas presented the deities' plan suggested by the Planning Committee to the Sthapaty as well as the revised plan recommended by Sthapati.  There were detailed discussions.  General consensus was that the Planning Committee should meet again and make a presentation in the special Board meeting scheduled for Nov. 23^rd.

     Treasurer's Report:  Hima provided the following numbers as balances:

                 US Bank:           $72,462.10

                 MSDW Bank:    $561,982.23

                 Van Guard:       $1,160,000.00 (approx). 

 

8.      Discuss and Vote on whether we can vote on new business:  Discussions were deferred.

 

9.      New business

A.    Multiple office bearers as well as other position(s) in the Board as well as EC held by the same person.

B.     Publish all the established committees (Board as well as EC) so that every one knows.

C.     New fund raising proposal.

            Discussions were deferred.

 

10.  The meeting ended with a prayer

11.  The meeting adjourned at 11.45 AM.

 

 

Recorded by

Shyam Oberoi

Secretary HTCC Board of Trustees

Nov. 9, 2008

 

 

HTCC Board Meeting Minutes July 19, 2008

HTCC Board Meeting Minutes

July 19, 2008

Attendees: Dev Manhas, Shyam Oberoi, Virinder Duggal, Nitya Niranjan, Hema Marreddy, Umesh Amin, Suri Raman, Hima Bollineni, Vishwa Gaddamanugu, G. Krishnan, Virender Sodhi

Excused Absentees: Sunil Ummat, Sunil Shah, Lakshmi Shankar, Pramod Gupta, Arun Sharma

Unexcused Absentees: None

AGENDA:

1. Prayer

2. Approval of minutes of Board meeting of June 7, 2008.

3. Vision for 2008 presentation (Krish)

4. Approval of Exec Committee (Virinder Duggal)

5. Update on Lakshmi Narayanan Visa – (Virinder Duggal)

6. Proposal on Website (Arun Sharma)

7. Proposal on Processes (Shyam)

8. Planning Committee Report (Dr.Manhas)

9. Fund Raising Committee Report (Dr. Sodhi)

10. Backend Automation (Raman & Hima)

11. Fund for helping distressed families - (Need someone to lead this – Nitya?)

12. Development of a privacy policy

13. Any other business with the permission of the chair

1. Meeting started with a prayer. Meeting was called to order at 9:15 AM.

2. Approve minutes of Board meeting of June 7, 2008: Minutes approved unanimously

3. Vision for 2008 presentation: Chairman Ganapathy Krishnan presented the vision for the year 2008. The vision document is on record.

4. Approval of Exec Committee: EC chairman Virinder Duggal presented the list of EC members for approval. Dev Manhas made a motion for approval. Nitya seconded the motion. The list was approved unanimously. The list is on record.

5. Update on Lakshmi Narayanan Visa: Virinder Duggal brought to the notice of the Board that the response to the questions raised by INS on Lakshmi Narayanan’s Visa transfer application was sent by HTCC attorney on June 18, 2008.

6. Proposal on Website: This item could not be discussed as Arun Sharma was not present.

7. Proposal on Processes: Shyam stated the following in regard to processes:

A. House rental agreement for priests; Completed and implemented.

B. Code of Conduct for the priests: Completed and implemented.

C. HTCC personnal policy: Completed and is under review by Chairman EC Virinder Duggal.

D. Other processes will be developed as needed.

8. Planning Committee Report: Dev Manhas presented the revised Phase 2 Temple layout and a write-up prepared by Sthapati R. Selvanathan of Sri Vaidyanatha Sthapati Associates, Chinnai. These are on record. Work on relocation of the creek will be initiated after getting specs from the architect. Dev Manhas also stated that the ground breaking date could be announced in the month of Sept.

9. Fund Raising Committee Report: ViIrender Sodhi stated that effort will be made to come up with attractive broachures with information about the new temple and its drawings. Major donors will be identified and approached for funds.

10. Backend Automation: The Board authorized to open an operational account. The Board also asked treasurer and Joint treasurer to come up with a proposal on other issues such as debit/credit cards and which financial institution to use.

11. Fund for helping distressed families: Not discussed.

12. Development of a privacy policy: Not discussed.

13. Any other business with the permission of the chair:

A. Virinder Duggal highlighted the need for a third priest. Dev Manhas stated that the third priest should be from Andhra Pradesh to cater to the needs of large Telugu population in the area. Vishwa Gaddamanugu made a motion for approval of the proposal. Umesh seconded the proposal. The motion was approved unanimously.

B. Ganapathy wants all Board meetings to start at 8.55 AM because Rahu Kaal sets in at 9.00 AM.

14. The meeting adjourned at 11.15 AM.

Recorded by

Shyam Oberoi

Secretary HTCC Board of Trustees

July 19, 2008

Revised on Aug. 9, 2008

Shyam Oberoi

HTCC Board minutes June 7, 2008

HTCC Board Meeting Minutes

June 7, 2008

 

Attendees:  Dev Manhas, Shyam Oberoi, Virinder Duggal, Pramod Gupta, Nitya Niranjan, Hema Marreddy, Arun Sharma, Umesh Amin, Suri Raman, Hima Bollineni,   Vishwa Gaddamanugu, G. Krishnan, Sunil Shah, Virender Sodhi  

 

Excused Absentees:  Sunil Ummat, Lakshmi Shankar,   

 

Unexcused Absentees: None

 

AGENDA:     

  1 Prayer

  2 Minutes of the last Board Meeting of April 12, 2008

  3 EC report

  4 Treasurer's report

  5 Election of the Office Bearers

  6 New Business

  7 Meeting Adjourned

 

1.     Meeting started with a prayer.  Meeting was called to order at 9:15 AM.

2.     Approve minutes of Board meeting of March 12, 2008:  Minutes approved unanimously

3.     EC Report:  Vishwa presented the EC report. 

4.     Treasurer Report:  Hima stated that the report will be presented during next meeting as the records are to be updated.

5.     Election of Office Bearers: 

A.    Nomination for position of Chairperson

      Ganapathy Krishnan:  Nominated by Virinder. Seconded by Nitya, Ganapathy accepts and is declared elected.

B.    Nomination for position of Vice Chairperson: 

      Nitya Niranjan: Nominated by Pramod.  Seconded by Virinder, Nitya accepts and     is declared Vice Chairman

C.    Nomination for the position of Secretary

      Shyam Oberoi:  Nominated by Ganapathy Krishnan.  Seconded by Hema Marreddy.  Shyam accepts and is declared elected.

D.    Nomination for the position of Joint Secretary

      Sunil Shah:  Nominated by Umesh, Seconded by Pramod.  Sunil accepts and is declared elected.

E.     Nomination for the position of Treasurer

      Hima Bollineni:  Nominated by Arun.  Seconded by Dr. Sodhi.  Hima accepts and is declared elected.

F.     Nomination for the position of Joint Treasurer

     Vishwa Gaddamanugu:  Nominated by Dr. Manhas.  Seconded by Pramod.

     Suri Raman:  Nominated by Sunil.  Seconded by Hema Marreddy

      Vishwa withdraws.  Suri accepts and is declared elected.

 

G.     Nomination for President Executive Committee

      Virinder Duggal:  Nominated by Sunil.  Seconded by Pramod.  Virinder accepts and is declared elected.

H.    Nomination for election Committee chairperson

      Om Deepak:  Nominated by Nitya.  Seconded by Pramod.  Om accepts (by phone) and is declared elected.

I.       Nomination for Ethics Committee Chairperson

      Umesh Amin:  Nominated by Dr. Ganapathy Krishnan.  Seconded by Hema       Marreddy.   Umesh accepts and is declared elected.

J.      Nomination for Audit Committee chairperson

      Pramod Gupta.  Nominated by Dr. Sodhi.  Seconded by Arun Sharma.  Pramod        accepts and is declared elected.        

K.    Nomination for Planning Committee chairperson

      Dr. Dev Manhas.  Nominated by Ganapathy Krishnan.  Seconded by Vishwa       Gaddamanugu.  Dr. Manhas accepts and is declared elected.

L.     Nomination for Fund Raising Committee Chairperson

      Dr. Virender Sodhi.  Nominated by Arun Sharma.  Seconded by Nitya Niranjan.  Dr. Sodhi accepts and is declared elected.

M.   Nomination for Communication Committee Chairperson

      Arun Sharma.  Nominated by Pramod.  Seconded by Hema Marreddy.  Arun       accepts and is declared elected.                    

6.     New Business:

A.     Nitya requested for a budget of $5000.00for repairs and upkeep of the new residential property and the existing property used as priest residence.  Virinder made a motion to approve the budget.  Sunil seconded it.  The budget was approved unanimously.  Dr. Manhas will provide to Nitya the details of a roofer and a handyman who are good and reasonable.

B.    Dr. Sodhi made a motion proposing a vote of thanks for the outgoing Chairperson Dr. Dev Manhas and President Executive Committee Vishwa Gaddamanugu.  The motion was seconded by Nitya.  It was adopted unanimously.

7.       The meeting adjourned at 10.30 AM.

 

Recorded by

Shyam Oberoi

Secretary HTCC Board of Trustees

June 7, 2008