BELFAST FOOD COOP BOARD MEETING – July 24, 2008

PRESENT: Richard Brown, Scott Giroux, Wayne Kraeger, Susan Lauchlan, Kip Penney, Jerry Savitz, Paul Sheridan, Peri Tobin, Zafra Whitcomb.
Staff: Erica Buswell, Goldy Goldstein. Absent: Allen Ginsberg, Kate Harris, Debbi Lasky, Mike Marino, Bindy Pendleton.

FACILITATOR: Susan. Scribe: Paul. Timekeeper: Goldy.
Vibewatcher: Richard.

ANNOUNCEMENTS: Customer Appreciation Day is Saturday, August 16.
Resignation received from board member Karen Aveni.

MINUTES: of June 26, 2008 were accepted (4 Yes, 3 Abs) with correction in spelling of Susan’s name: Lauchlan. No co-scribe having volunteered, Paul was willing to continue as scribe with the promise that board members will volunteer as needed. Minutes were also accepted for web content; Kip will deliver June minutes to Zafra on a flash drive, for forwarding to Paul Eagle.

COMMITTEE LIST: was reviewed for names and contact persons.

GM TEAM REPORT: written report was received. Questions on Mathews Brothers property, which may become available, relating to parking lot adjacent to co-op, and possible cooperation with city and other groups for the larger building across Spring Street. We should make our interest known to the city; Erica and Fran will follow up. Sales are still high in the Deli/Café area. Co-op now has 70 employees, a good portion working in the Deli/Café area. Issues of staff morale, being stressed by high volume; esp. Sunday brunch—physical size is a limitation, we cannot make seven omelets at once. Also a brunch helper is hard to find for Sat/Sun mornings. Discussed possibility of a dumbwaiter to basement, for production down there—Deli Committee will take this up. Port Clyde fisherman’s co-op will be selling whole fish (non-competing) in our parking lot. For Customer Appreciation Day board members are urged to sign up for one or more shifts, to ease burden on staff and minimize labor costs. This event is a mirror to the Annual Meeting, which is board organized, with much assistance from staff. Other jobs, besides those on signup sheet (passed around), are available on sheet posted in rear office. Also available is ‘floater’ work, doing whatever might be needed during a given period that day.

MEMBER COMMENTS: message brought from a member, requesting us to develop a policy on peanut allergies. This member is willing to work on a committee. Questions on the extent of sensitivities, and pathways: breathing, touching, eating? Can we get outside help from the state Health Department? Much discussion; we decided to leave it to our managers to find a solution, and be sensitive to member/customer needs. Richard is willing to continue research on
alternatives to plastic water bottles.

FINANCE COMMITTEE: we are having shoplifting problems lately; today, the police were in store three times as three youth were caught. Discussion on possibility of using cameras, and/or security personnel? This will be a management decision, with board input as needed. A note on the ‘month-to-date’ income statement: COGS is not accurate because of inventory adjustments. Several departments, including deli, have better ratios of COGS to sales over the last
several months. Tabled to next meeting: report on unclaimed patronage dividends, and Pay for Performance plan.

COOPERATIVE GROCERS INFORMATION NETWORK: has a new listserv specifically tailored for board members. Proposed: that we pay $100/year to subscribe; passed 9 Yes, 0 no, 0 Abs. Possibly add to budget as a line item.

2009 BUSINEES PLAN DRAFT: based on information from staff and board, four store-wide goals were identified for Fiscal Year 2009. Briefly: to reach out to underserved populations of our community; to increase our store-wide sustainability; to inspire in our membership an increased sense of ownership and participation; and to reduce our expenses. Discussed, especially: coordinating our recycling efforts with others, energy improvements, including adding a line item for these improvements.

BOARD DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE: board was reminded to please return questionnaire re: retreat. Committee will next meet in early September. Committee may also request increasing budget line for board training if we choose to get someone to come in and work with us, maybe every other year.

ELECTIONS: distributed again was a proposed time line for the election cycle in the coming year. As the cycle would begin in September, a formal proposal will be on the August agenda. Please review the proposal before next meeting.

CHARITABLE GIVING: Goldy distributed a list of recent gifts. Discussion and some questions: Are we giving money to the large “corporate-business” charities? No, items with those names attached were solicited by members for specific cases in the community.

Q. What is B.I.L.L.? The Belfast Little League.
Q. Bucks Mills Rod and Gun Club?
They were raising money for a child with a health need.
(reminder: page 10 of Board Handbook has our Charitable Giving
Guidelines).
Q. To the Colonial Theater? To sponsor free children’s movies during Christmas shopping season.
Q. Women’s Health Fair? Got us good recognition, and some of the $300+ went to advertising.
Q. MPBN? Went to partial sponsorship, and
Q. WERU? Went to underwriting.

ENVIRONMENTAL COMMITTEE: reports that new grocery shelving in aisle 2 is mostly finished, yielding neater conditions, easier to manage. Aisle 3 is next, after the Customer Service area work is completed. Parking lot—we got a good deal on leftover paving materials, potholes were filled; lines were painted. Some electrical work was accomplished. Problems with the new display cases are settling down.

RECYCLING COMMITTEE: recently formed. Have sent message to Roger Lee of the Belfast City Council Committee on Sustainability. One possible goal is to maximize plastic recycling. Wayne reports that Stockton Springs is looking to expand its recycling.

MANAGEMENT OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE: recently met with the General Management Team, discussing issue of peanuts, goals, property possibilities, and NCGA research.

MEMBERSHIP COMMITTEE: is not meeting until next month.

HOMEWORK: GMTs-Business plan Draft #2; Budget Draft; Unclaimed Patronage Dividends; Elections timeline.

NEXT MEETING: Thurs. August 28, 6:30 pm at Waterfall Arts, Richard facilitating.