The Safety Team has completed a 2 year process of making recommendations for improvements around the church. That list of recommendations has been read by the Board of Trustees. Now the list must be vetted by the congregation and all comments and concerns about the policies will be read by the Board. Changes to the policies may be made by the Board after these comments have been considered and made official HVUUC policy.
Comments can also be emailed to boardsecretary@hvuuc.org All comments need to be in by January 12 to be considered by the next Board meeting January 15.
Proposed Safety Policy
Door Monitor Check List
Use the door monitoring check sheet to make sure all safety systems are secured. Pick up the Panic Button from the podium, a church key is attached to the lanyard. Don’t touch the panic button unless in an emergency.
Check the following doors before the service starts:
Music room sliding glass door. Open the blinds. The music room key is in the projection closet in front of the foyer bathrooms. This door is to monitor someone coming up from the lower parking lot. Sanctuary door, Fred Ball room door, sliding door between the library and the Fred Ball room, Office hallway sliding door, Minister’s door, REZ outside doors should be locked and blinds closed, with lights turned out and alarm activated. It is preferred that the blinds are closed on all windows on eye level in the Sanctuary, REZ and nursery.
Ask greeters about new guests and any concerns. Remind the Greeters to lock the Fred Ball room after taking the children down to the Nursery after Storytime.
Do Walkie Talkie check with the Nursery: Hold the menu button down to turn it on. Then hold the “ring” button down. The Nursery will ring you back. Visit the Nursery if the “ring” doesn’t happen.
Check the “ring” of the doorbell with cell phone. Use the doorbell to monitor late comers to the service after the service begins. Lock the front door when the service begins. Unlock the door for latecomers and use the FBE Intruder Profile to determine who to allow entrance to the service.
FBI Intruder Profile: arrives after the service stops, white male, long coat or carrying a long case of a size that would hold a gun, angry, nervous, or emotionless.
If someone fits the profile, lock the door and activate the panic button and call 911. All exterior doors remain locked. Congregation will be sheltered inside. In case of fire, all door monitors will aid in evacuation by the safest route. The door monitors will notify the Nursery that the service when the service is over, and should be evacuated using standard procedure.
At the end of the service, open the sanctuary door and ring the Nursery that the service is
over. Close the blinds in the music room and lock the door. Then take the Walkie Talkies to the
Administrator’s Office.
Church address: 136 Bob Jobe Road.
RING doorbell procedure
The RING doorbell will be maintained by the Facilities Trustee once final placement has been made. The Office Administrator will monitor the RING power supply and recharge it whenever it is necessary.
Walkie Talkie Maintenance
Walkie Talkies should be plugged into the recharging unit after use and kept in the
Administrator’s Office. Joseph Viola or his successor will be in charge of maintaining them.
First Aid Equipment
This consists of the Automated External Defibrillators (AED) and the First Aid Kits (FA). They are available for “mass incidents.” The FA kits contain bandages to treat a variety of trauma wounds. The FA kits are located on the top of the refrigerator in the church kitchen, and in the basement and in the kitchen area in the REZ. AED’s are in the sanctuary and on the first floor of the REZ. Every other year, the batteries in the AEDs should be replaced. Every 4 years the pads on the AEDs should be replaced. The batteries in the decoy safety camera on the REZ west wall and in the nursery should be replaced every other year as well.
Annual Training
Annual Training of door monitors, nursery staff, and teachers will take place. This will include orientation to the evacuation procedures in case of a fire or an emergency. First Aid training should take place as well.
Suggestions to the Board of Trustees
1. Replace the front door. Appoint a person (now Joseph Viola), who will report to the Facilities Trustee, to coordinate the maintenance of door monitoring equipment, provide the schedule of weekly door monitors, and train all door monitors.
2. Train the congregation on safety policies.
3. Replace sanctuary alarm system. Evaluate REZ alarm system and repair it. Business Systems Technologies can do this.
4. Purchase: replacement RING battery, buy second panic button, use Kauffman donation to buy second RING.
Conclusion: Every Sunday there will be a trained Door Monitor. He/she will use the Door Monitor Check List as a guide to check all the safety systems. The list of Door Monitors and their assigned dates will be kept by the Church Administrator.