May Board Bullets

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Betsuin Board Bullets

May 08, 2014 Betsuin Board of Directors Meeting

by Joyce Iwasaki

The intent of the Betsuin Board Bullets is to highlight Board actions, decisions, special events and projects. Please contact the Betsuin Board officers, directors, or the ministers for more details on any item.

Motions

  • It was moved/seconded/passed to accept the April 2014 meeting minutes as corrected.
  • It was moved/seconded/passed to award Cody Anderson Wasney (CAW) the $292,755 Phase I annex construction proposal.
  • It was moved/seconded/passed to award CAW the $24,500 Phase II education building design proposal.
  • It was moved/seconded/passed to accept the Budget and Finance Committee’s 2013/2014 budget proposal.
  • It was moved/seconded/passed to allow a group of young adults (techoBuddha based) the use of Betsuin facilities to meet for religious and social activities for one year.
  • It was moved/seconded/passed to accept the latest version of Betsuin Office staff job descriptions as presented by the Human Relations Committee.

Ministers Report – Rinban Fujimoto

  • Gotan-e, Shinran Shonin birthday, services will be held on May 18, with Rev. Kanya Okamoto, BCA Minister Emeritus from Denver as the English language speaker.
  • The Coast District recently hosted the Federation of Dharma School Teachers League (FDSTL) Conference at the Mountain View Temple under the theme, Shinran’s Journey, My Journey, Our Journey. The conference tried to communicate that Shinran’s writings, though in a different setting from the world today, still resonates today because his focus on the human condition is a timeless and universal theme. There were about 160 participants throughout BCA and Hawaii in attendance. Many of our Dharma School teachers participated as workshop facilitators and other members assisted in the video presentation.
  • A short service will be held at Oak Hill on Memorial Day, from 9:30 am near the niche area preceding the joint service. This will give our members and others who are there an opportunity to do oshoko prior to the joint service which begins at 10:00 am.
  • The Baccalaureate Service will be held on June 1. Duane Kubo is slated as the guest speaker.
  • The 7th Annual Betsuin Golf Tournament will be held on June 9, at the San Jose Country Club. Proceeds go to the Betsuin Building Fund. Board members and Committee members are selling special raffle tickets for $50. Special raffle first prize is $4000 with ten $100 prizes. There will be only 300 tickets sold. Tournament entry forms are in the Betsuin Office.

Youth Department Report – Larry Handa

  • San Jose Jr YBA

On April 6, the San Jose Jr YBA held its annual Hanamatsuri bake sale, as well as a cabinet meeting and a general meeting.

The San Jose Jr YBA hosted a “temple visit” and a Coast District (CD) meeting on April 13. Members of the Watsonville and Mountain View temples participated in the temple visit, attended the 9:30 Dharma School service, Dharma School class, and conducted a CD meeting. A meeting agenda item was discussion of the 2015 CD conference. There is a strong possibility this conference will be held at the Marriott Hotel in Fremont.

  • Chicken Teriyaki Booth at Nikkei Matsuri

The Betsuin Youth Department participates in the Nikkei Matsuri Festival by sponsoring the Chicken Teriyaki Booth. The revenue from this effort is divided among the participating Betsuin Youth Groups (Dharma School, Jr Choir, Jr YBA and Lotus Preschool) and the Betsuin Youth Department. Larry Handa, VP of Youth, attended the monthly Nikkei Matsuri meetings, coordinated the chicken purchasing/cleaning, BBQ team, sales team, construction/deconstruction/cleanup team. This effort took over 230 volunteer hours. Total revenue was $6479. Expense was approximately $2789 with a net profit around $3690, which will be divided among the Betsuin youth groups that provided manpower. The Youth Department and the Betsuin Board extend a heartfelt thank you to the hard-working volunteers who devoted time, talents and energy to this effort.

Buddhist Women’s Association (BWA) Report – Karen Akimoto

  • At Nikkei Matsuri, BWA members sold vegetarian curry rice and smoothies.
  • For the World Buddhist Women’s Convention 2015 in Alberta, Canada, the BWA Board selected a Canadian Rockies (prior) and Eastern Canada (following) tour with Kintetsu International.
  • The BWA Board is considering alternate locations for our KeiroKai, BonenKai, February Fundraiser and CD BWL conference.
  • Members are beginning preparations for Obon manju and sushi making.
  • BWA Board has approved a pledge donation for the Generations Campaign Phase I.

Annex Renovation/Generations Fundraising Reports – by Todd Tsudama

  • Please read Todd’s renovation/construction and fundraising updates in another section of this Dharma.

Membership Committee Report – Dennis Akizuki

  • The Membership Committee developed a new membership dues structure which is set up to bring more participation, support and excitement to our organization.

Property Management Report – Steve Onishi

  • Safety Concerns

A contractor was selected to complete the concrete work on the Temple grounds as well as in front of Rev. Sakamoto’s house. The Facilities Committee is in the process of getting city permits to have the work completed.

A homeless person was discovered sleeping up on the second floor of the education building and was escorted off the property by San Jose police. A chain and “no trespassing” sign across the two stairwells has been put up. The Facilities Committee is investigating putting up a lockable gate across the stairwells instead of the chain. Also, a squatter’s camp was removed from the space between the two abandoned houses on the Fourth Street property.

  • Maintenance

Three additional lights were replaced in the gym.

  • Groundwater Contamination Abatement

The Betsuin received a notice from AWR, the company working with Roy’s Station on groundwater contamination abatement. They will be boring (drilling) twenty small diameter (2.5”) holes, 15’ deep into the education building parking lot to inject a substance that will prevent groundwater vapors from escaping into the air. The project will take two days. We are trying to schedule the best time to do this between Lotus, Japanese Language School (JLS) and the Temple.

  • Audio/Visual Equipment Transfer

The audio/visual system from the Little Chapel was moved to the first floor of the Sixth Street Building. Thank you, Shig Tokiwa, for completing this action.

  • Hondo Roof Tile Medallions

Some of the tile medallions on the hondo roof are falling off due to the rotting of the wooden pieces that secure the medallions in place. Repair companies will be contacted.

EcoSangha Report – Al Hironaga

  • The EcoSangha is continuing to recycle used and surplus unused inkjet and laser toner printer cartridges, and small electronics (cell phones, iPods, mp3 players, digital cameras, video cameras, GPS devices, radar detectors, iPads/tablets, eBook readers, PDAs, and video gaming systems/games). A collection boxes are located in the Betsuin office and near the Lotus preschool entrance.

Dana Club Report – Al Hironaga

  • On Wednesday, April 23, the Dana Club sorted and boxed pears donated to the Second Harvest Food Bank. The boxed produce along with food sorted by other groups were distributed to local families and food kitchens in need. Some of the food that is sorted at Second Harvest is distributed at the Thursday brown bags distribution in our annex.
  • On Saturday, April 26, Dana Club members worked with the Rebuilding Together organization to repair the mobile home of a 70-year old Vietnamese refugee. The work involved cleaning, prepping and painting the interior, removing old flooring and installing new flooring, repairing door framing, installing new smoke detectors and light fixtures, repairing leaky plumbing and changing out some kitchen cabinets and appliances.

Garden Committee – Al Hironaga

  • Members of the Garden Committee, Mr. Jim Sugai and Mr. Richard Otsuji, have been clearing out the weeds in the garden
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