Food Co-op BOD Minutes, February 16, 2016 528 S. Howes St.
Notes by Amber Lamb, edited by Ed Secor
Attending BOD: Steve Del Grosso, Patrick Gill, Emily Heinz, Amber Lamb, Laura Lyznicki, Grant Morgan, Ed Secor Staff: Stephanie Bublitz, Chris Coen, Jordan, Theron Welch, Tara McGuire Other: James Hale
Greetings
James Hale introduced himself—he is a PhD student at CSU studying co-ops across the nation.
Ed was approved as new board member, filling the remainder of Kris‘s term.
Staff/ManagementTeam Update
Staff reported on the condition of equipment in the store and outlined several things that need attention. Cooler compressors should be moved back onto the roof to reduce building cooling load; the produce cooler can’t keep produce cool, and the freezers are icing. The walk-in has a small refrigerant leak, which is scheduled to be fixed soon.
The BOD asked Theron/GMT to bring in a timeline for produce cooler, and other equipment needs, and costs for each.
The Management Team reported that they have cautiously increased staff hours, though some staff are still voluntarily on reduced hours. Morale on staff is up, they are feeling good about having additional responsibility. Discussion of store hours and possibility of adding back to operating hours—maybe at end of March. January saw a profit of $5,374.96. According to budgeting and projections, we should be able to remain profitable for the rest of the year. Tara offered to meet at the Co-op with board members to review financial statement formats and answer questions.
It was reported that Sherpa applied for unemployment – reduction in force, so he likely will qualify; he is entitled to $13-14000. We can appeal, but our insurance covers it and we have so few claims in our history, that we have a positive excess of whatever it is in there, so that it probably won’t affect our unemployment insurance premium.
Moved and seconded (??-by who?) not to appeal Sherpa’s unemployment claim. Motion carried.
Review of Retreat Info from Staff
Discussion covered timing of conversation about remodel/move (wait til March at least), and need to revisit vision for Co-op. In order to make sure BOD is leading in the right direction there is need to get stakeholder input, info on local and broader market conditions and trends.
It was proposed to hire an architect to draft initial plan for remodel of existing store. BOD voted against the proposal; Grant and Ed will take measurements of store and draw up floor plan to have as baseline of what store space is.
Discussed notion of policy governance when we don’t have a GM as contact point between board and staff. What issues might there be in having staff members acting as management team? What further info do we need about this kind of management style in co-ops?
Topics for upcoming Town Hall Meeting: GM/MT update, current timeline for move/remodel time decision. BOD needs to come up with ideas to present to the membership for what comes next. Give them the general options.
Board Officer Elections
Slate of officers was proposed: Ruth–president; Amber–vice-president; Laura—Secretary; Ryan—treasurer. Moved and seconded (by who?) to accept slate. Motion carried.
Action Items
**Pat and Emily will send out a doodle poll for scheduling a work session in early March.
**Emily will send doodle poll for new monthly meeting time.
**Amber will set up a google group for the board to use for emails.
**2009 bylaws were supposed to be changed to reflect that officers were up for re-election every year internally
**Tara will send out times that she can meet with us to review financial statements.
