December Board Minutes 2017

Mountain Community Co-Op Board of Directors Meeting December 9th, 2017 Note: Items in bold are approved motions. Items underlined require action. Call of Order: 10:21 Roll Call: Clare Duncan McCahill, Linda Cox, Kay Kadoun, Laura Morehouse, Elizabeth Neuhalfen, Lori Markeson, Kevin Dorsey, Rick Brown, Linda Rapozo, Naomi Lindsey Approval of December Agenda: Kay motioned to approve agenda. Clare seconds. All in favor. Approval of November Minutes: Clare motioned to approve minutes. KC seconds. All in favor. Review of BOD procedures, roles/responsibilities, policies  BOD roles were reviewed and acknowledged by BOD members.  Discussion was had in regards to moving the monthly meeting to the second Wednesday of each month with the exception of February’s meeting due to the holiday. Proper notice will be given with date, time, and location of said meeting. Clare motioned to move the BOD monthly meetings to the second Wednesday at Eatonville Library. Naomi seconds. All in favor. Kay will follow up with the Eatonville Library to schedule said meetings. Financial Report: (Laura)  As of 12/05/17, Savings Balance is $10,933.09, Checking Balance is $384.98, $3,557.36 unpaid invoices and $1,784.87 in Payroll Liability and $962.50 in Employee Set Aside.  In June, we voted to fund $550 a month to new Employee Tax Set Aside that covers L&I and Unemployment Taxes. Tanya Dow has reviewed the payroll numbers over the last 5 months and says that it needs to be $750 a month to cover the payroll liabilities. Laura motions to increase the Employee Tax Set Aside from $550 to $750 a month and catch up catch amount. Kay seconds. All in Favor.  Tanya and Linda R. are working on reconciling some Community Garden payments we paid but were not reimbursed from the Community Garden Set-Aside. There is an estimate of $1500 owed to MCC’s general fund from this set-aside. They are also still finalizing the Raise the Roof funds. Once all bills are cleared, we will have some funds to go back to the general fund. By next month’s meeting, these two issues should be cleared up and will give us a more accurate view of our finances.  We will be starting a Finance Committee for all those interested in MCC’s finances. We have some members who are qualified and highly skilled in finance and business and can help firm up our finance systems and procedures. Committee will sent via email their responsibilities and scope to BOD. They will also meet prior to monthly board meeting to review and report their findings at each board meeting. Laura will head the committee. Kay will follow up with members who may be willing to be on said committee. Store Report: (Laura)  Sean’s Year In Review: “This year has been a whirlwind. I have enjoyed the experience of working with board members and co-op members immensely. First, the things that I am excited about: Sales are up from when I started. Along with sales, membership is up. I have mentioned these before in manager's reports, so I won't dwell here. There also seems to be an increase in the level of excitement and enthusiasm within the membership. Customers seem to be more excited about shopping in here and participating in events. A few events have helped to create this feeling: The improvement of the look and layout of the store. New equipment, new lighting, new layout, and an overall improvement in cleanliness have brightened the place up and make it a more enjoyable place to be for customers and for me. Expanding into new territory, with products like beer and wine, and making connections with old distributors, like Left Foot Farm, have also driven up interest. There have been a few short rough patches this year. We have had a couple of power fluctuations which stopped our coolers. Thankfully, on both occasions, the right coolers and freezers stayed on and the coolers with less fragile merchandise went without power instead. We also recently lost the produce tent, but with a little work, we adapted the back room of the co-op to take its place. We have perceived through these situations and will continue to do so in the future. Thank you so much for all of the help and encouragement that you have given me over the past 8 months. This job means a tremendous amount to me and I feel very lucky to be surrounded by your support.”  Laura’s Report: The atmosphere in the store is encouraging and exciting. Customers comment on the selection and the good prices, some even say they love “the co-op smell”. There are a lot of new customers that come in and shop often. We’ve had 40+ members since our last annual retreat. But only a very small few of those have become a WMO. An important WMO position that needs to be filled is Cashiers. We currently have 9 cashiers that are trained and active. 4 of those are BOD members. To meet our goal of having 2 people in the store at all times is far from being reached. We’ve lost a few cashiers the last 2 years but haven’t filled them with new WMOs. We are stretched thin to cover vacation days and illnesses plus the goal of opening on Tuesdays. Committee Report:  Raise the Roof update (Beth): In four months, we have been able to raise the funds to have a new roof put on MCC. $7,000 (+/-) were received via events and $3,000 (+/-) were received via donation.  Facilities (Kevin): Here is the “TO DO” list Tasks Assignee Date Status Hooks to hang employee coats and such Kevin 12/7/2017 Complete Fix pot holes on side on building Kevin 12/7/2017 City indicated they would repair next week Alcohol placement out of visual oversight, Swap with Shelves by bathroom Sean 12/7/2017 Complete Install outdoor lighting Sean 12/7/2017 Ryan has committed Repair lighting in Refrigerator Sean 12/7/2017 Checking with Ryan Scales for bulk food and produce Kevin 12/7/2017 Full Store hours sign visible from street Sand and paint side door Reverse door on storage closet in back Build shelf cover for sink area Organize and restructure Office Rebuild Picket Fence Facility asset listing, depreciation/amortization ReDo the CoOp street sign Install lighting for the CoOp Street Sign Review Generator Procedures and function Check out Inventory Scanner Wish list/ may not be practical Re-floor - uneven and mismatched Personal Food handling permit?  Outreach and Education: Discussion about giving Jane Henderson a title for the outreach portion. Education aspect point person is needed. Beth will send a Thank You email to Jane for her role in the parade. Lori is working on an ad as a Thank You to the community for helping with “Raise the Roof.” Possible “Thank You” role may need to be created. Old Business:  Black Star Feed: BTF gave a written response to the notice of lease renewal. BSF requested to keep rent at $800 for January (possible February) or be provided an additional 400 sq. ft. of storage space for $1,000 total each month. Kevin motioned to renew the lease on 128 Washington Ave N Eatonville WA 98328 with current adjustments: Rent will be $800 1st quarter, $900 2nd quarter, $1,000 3rd in continuing as well as cleanup of the grounds effective immediately. Kay seconds. Naomi apposed. Beth abstained. All others in favor. Kevin motioned for a request of a short term use proposal of 128 Washington Ave N Eatonville WA 98328. Kay seconds. All in favor. Linda will provide a cost and structural analysis of 128 Washington St. by January’s meeting. Rick will review lease with options within 7 days of meeting.  Wine and Design: This class was a great success. Both classes were full and the feedback was positive. It was noted that more supplies for possible next year’s event will be needed as well as more help gathering the natural supplies.  Chili Feed: Great turn out with smooth transitions. It was noted that next year, we should adjust our time to reflect on other community events and promotion will be done sooner. Possible tickets to hand out next year for accurate count. Beth will send out Thank You notes to members involved. New Business:  Due to changes in the board members. We need to adjust our signers for our account. Linda R. motioned to remove Clare Duncan McCahill and Margaret Franich as signers, Lori Markeson is to remain as a signer and Kevin Dorsey, Elizabeth Neuhalfen and Naomi Lindsey become signers for Mountain Community Co-Op. Kay seconds. All in favor. Adjournment: 8:29