UKIAH NATURAL FOODS
(A.K.A. THE HOMESTEAD EXCHANGE)
MINUTES OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS
The regular meeting of the Ukiah Natural Foods Board of Directors was
convened on Monday, October 8, 2007, 6 PM, at the NCO Meeting Room, 481
South State St, Ukiah CA.
Call to Order President Terry Nieves called the meeting
to order at 6:06 pm.
Board Members
Ross Beck, Secretary
Adam Gaska
George Gibbs, Treasurer
Dan Hamburg, Vice President
Jacquie Lee,
MaryLou Leonard
Terry Nieves, President
Don Sanderson
Joe Wildman
Staff Babs Verenis, Susan Grelock, Lori Rosenberg.
Member-owners Marcela Ries.
INTRODUCTIONS
None.
MEMBER COMMENTS
None.
APPROVAL OF AGENDA AND MINUTES
No additions were requested.
Approval of 8/13/07 Minutes M/S/C (Leonard, Sanderson) to approve the
minutes from the August 13, 2007 Board Meeting.
Approval of 9/10/07 Minutes M/S/C (Gibbs, Hamburg) to approve the minutes
from the September 10, 2007 board meeting.
SECRETARY’S ANNOUNCEMENTS
None.
GENERAL MANAGER’S REPORT
Monthly Activity Lori sent out her report electronically.
The following topics were addressed:
• The survey went well and the results will be available by the
end of October.
• Back to School week was extremely successful; over $10,600 dollars
was raised for local schools.
• September sales figures were passed out for the board for review.
• At the NCGA meeting Lori attended in September, Ukiah Natural
Foods was ranked number one out of 112 co-ops based on financial stability.
• Sutti & Associates needs to hire someone to provide some additional
information so the parking lot recalculation can be completed.
ACTION ITEMS None.
BOARD COMMITTEE REPORTS
Board Education/Outreach & Membership The committee
met and discussed the following:
• The next Membership Gathering is being planned for Wednesday,
October 24, a stew will be provided, and the topic for discussion will
be how to recruit more local food suppliers and other topics related to
local sustainability.
• It was noted that there would not be adequate time to advertise
the Member Gathering with either a postcard mailing or an item in the
newsletter. The committee will consider whether the meeting date should
be changed to November or December in order to get the word out to the
membership.
Donations & Grants None.
Elections & Nominations None.
Finance The committee met and reported the following:
• The committee discussed the NCGA report and looked over the latest
sales figures.
• August sales growth was up 12% over last year.
• Anne has moved some money around into new accounts in order to
get a better return.
Governance None.
Human Resources The committee met and reported on the
following:
• MaryLou will be emailing a copy of last years General Manager
Evaluation form, as well as a blank copy for this year’s evaluation,
to the board soon.
• MaryLou will also be sending an evaluation form to the store managers
and Lori will also get a copy.
• The committee is hoping to get the evaluation forms back by Friday,
October 19 in order to complete Lori’s evaluation on time.
Local Food Security The committee did not meet since
the last board meeting. Jim is still working on the farming project.
NEW BUSINESS
Merchandising policy & DonSanderson’s proposal
The following items were discuss:
• This proposal put into words many peoples’ concerns
• It is good for the board to have a conversation about the future
of the Co-op and work on a shared vision for the store. Once there is
a cohesive shared vision for the future of the store, then we can move
forward.
• A resolution to stop the discussion of store expansion would “tie
our hands” and would contradict the intention to improve and upgrade
the store’s facilities.
• This could be an opportunity for the Co-op to take a leadership
role in helping to change the consciousness of the community
• The board needs to find a balance between promoting local goods
while still giving consumers a choice in what they purchase.
• Affordable local products should continue to be made available
• The Co-op has an opportunity to do a lot of education; we need
to find a way to educate the membership while still allowing them to make
their own food choices
• The board needs to address if we are staying at our current location
or expanding; we need a comprehensive plan for the future before we consider
installing solar panels or otherwise “greening” the building.
• Reviewing and possibly revising the merchandising policy and exploring
ways to make the Co-op more energy efficient and reduce its carbon footprint
are both good suggestions.
• The merchandising policy should continue to be reviewed and revamped
as necessary, specifically whether the section on social responsibility
of our vendors was being met. Lori is willing to be a part of another
small, ad-hoc committee that would review, and if deemed necessary revise
the existing policy.
• More education should be done to help members make mindful product
selections and understand the benefits of supporting local food production.
• An excellent place to educate members and have a discussion like
this would be the next Membership Gathering.
• It is fine that the board wants to put time and energy into member
education but there is no facility to do it in. The current store is so
crowded on a fundamental level, it is barely functioning; we need a functioning
store before we can talk about educating members.
• It is good to stir the consciousness of the board. The board must
appreciate the diversity of the Co-op’s consumers; you can’t
educate faster than the “student” can learn.
• Three resolutions should be rewritten to reflect the consensus
of the board and can be presented as an Action Item for the November board
meeting. Don, with input from Joe, will formulate something for the next
meeting.
DIRECTOR COMMUNICATIONS
Director Reports None.
Board Agenda The following items will be discussed at
the November board meeting:
• Lori will have an update on what is going on with the remodel
plans from Sutti & Associates in her General Manager’s report.
• Don’s revised proposal will be presented as an Action Item.
• The general manager’s performance goals will be discussed
in Closed Session.
MEMBER COMMENTS
None.
ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 7:30. The next
regularly scheduled board meeting will be November 12, 2007, at 6 p.m.
at the NCO meeting room.
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