Whole Foods Erie Co-op
Board of Directors Meeting
December 23rd, 2020, 5:30-7:30pm
*Online Zoom meeting***; *LeAnna Nieratko (Hosting)***
Attending: President - Cole Schenley, Vice President - Shari Gross, Secretary - Alison Kaminski, Treasurer - Michael Barron Directors; Derek Golembeski, Freda Tepfer, Kevin Schaaf, Amanda Gates, Allison Jones
Staff Personnel: General Manager- LeAnna Nieratko, Human Resources & WFC Finance Officer - Natalie Conway, Marketing Manager - Heidi Yeagle, Technical and Financial Operations Manager - Ben Bowman, Board Assistant - Alethea Bodine
AGENDA:
Owner Forum; No owners present had any comments
Consent Agenda
Motion was made by S. Gross to approve the Nov. Minutes without edit. M. Barron seconded, all were in favor. Motion passed.
Treasurer Report; M. Barron
The Treasurer reported there was one member that was refunded equity for the month of November due to moving from the area.
D. Golembeski motioned to approve the Treasurer's Report. S. Gross seconded. All were in favor. Motion passed.
GM Reporting; L. Nieratko
FYIs
● Signed on to a letter from PennFuture for the PA legislature to prioritize the environment in their budget
● Hosted Erie Moms group ‘Soup on a Budget’
● Posted COVID tracking blog on the web
● Friend of the Arts Sponsor for Erie Arts & Culture Variety Show
● Cafe expanded hours to store hours
● Notified of PPP Loan Approval
● Passed Health Dept COVID Inspection
B4 - Financial Condition
M. Barron asked when the policy register was updated. S. Gross replied with a date of 2002. After learning of years of non-compliance and much discussion, he felt the verbiage of Policy Register be addressed and updated for B4.4. Motion was made to work on Policy Updates. S. Gross stated that the template from Columinate and content would be a long process. M. Barron felt an existing template used by other Cooperatives could be an easy step to employ. C. Schenley added that the Policy Committee would have to remain on task beyond their term in order to see this process to its end. L. Nieratko suggested a brief
discussion prior to the meeting to review the new Executive Limitations Policy (before review for compliance). F. Tepfer expressed caution before adoption. S. Gross asked that the new Policy template be distributed so that BOD can read. C. Shenley asked that this discussion be tabled until the BOD can move on adoption of changed Policy.
D. Golembeski motioned to approve the GM as compliant for Policy B4. C. Schenley seconded. All were in favor. Motion passed.
Updated (6 month) Business Plan; L. Nieratko
1) Continued focus on stabilizing departments in the wake of COVID
2) Focus on our Ends within the context of the new normal
3) Focus on financial health and stability
Sales continued to be a challenge for the first half of the fiscal year 2020/2021.
Some contextual information that relates to sales:
● The store operated on reduced hours: 9am-7pm
● The café operated on reduced hours, 10am-4pm, through early December
● The café ran with a limited menu, and no self-serve soup wells
● Bulk remained pre-packed
● Inventory constraints impacted wellness, grocery, perishables and bulk
● The Food Truck ran significantly fewer events
● The store did not run planned promotions including the always successful Bulkamania. ● Curbside was conducted through a Google Form which comprised 3% of our total sales
Planning Assumptions:
Sales
● Pandemic will continue to constrain inventory and make purchasing and traffic patterns unpredictable.
● ECRS and webcart will increase sales across Grocery, Perishables, Wellness, Bulk and Produce. It will likely have limited impact on café.
● Perpetual inventory and suggestive ordering will help us ensure we have best-selling items on hand.
● The café and store will resume normal hours in early 2021, with the food truck launching in May to limited events.
● Core sets will have modest sales increases for perishables (and other impacted categories). Labor
● Increased labor costs due to stringent sanitization, strict sick leave policies and anticipated turnover.
● Balance existing labor needs against the training and implementation costs of ECRS and Webcart. ● Monitor store performance and adjust staffing size through attrition unless it becomes clear more aggressive measures are needed.
● Because the raise period is in October, wages will remain consistent through this time period. Other Expenses
● Targeted expense reduction will begin in supplies and contracts
● Margins will likely be stable to low as we bring in more Co-op basics and WIC compliant foods as the café picks up a larger sales share through re-opening.
● Monitor grants and programs that may support our organization - there may be need of purchasing of a generator.
Promotional Calendar (Subject to change)
● February: We Love Our Members; 20% off a single purchase for member-owners ● March: Member-owner drive
● June: $10 off of $50 single purchase for member-owners
L. Nieratko also mentioned after a question regarding the Food Truck, the possibility of recommissioning its use to Marketing. The Downtown space proved to be the most profitable, but there is no sign of businesses reopening to 100% capacity anytime in the near future.
S. Gross motioned to approve the Jan. - June 2021 Business Plan. C. Schenley seconded. All were in favor. Motion passed.
Board Policy Evaluation
A. C4 - Monitoring General Manager Performance
B. D3 - Agenda Planning
GM Evaluation Committee met and created a report for BOD to fill out a report and return. S. Gross noted the updated information for C4 was not changed in 2013 ByLaws. She asked that the Policy be updated in this listing of the ByLaws.
C. Schenley motioned to approve the GM as compliant for these policies. F. Tepfer seconded. All were in favor. Motion passed.
Board Learning; VP & Treasurer Reporting
Fiduciary responsibility - S. Gross reported there are three specific legal responsibilities.
1. Care; taking the time to actively be involved in duty.
2. Loyalty; placing the well being of the organization above the individual.
3. Obedience; one should be held accountable - using factual data, following the Policy and ByLaws in governance.
These responsibilities ensure the members know that BOD are following their duties. All should be encouraged to keep one another responsible.
Other Board Discussions:
Timeline for presenting and adopting EDDC Offer
L. Nieratko and M. Barron spoke with John Persinger about clarification on the offer. She agreed to pass along any information that will be shared. The BOD will be discussing this again in January 2021.
**Benchmarks for Strategic Planning; C. Schenley**
This portion of the meeting was discussed in a private session. Next Meeting; January 27, 2021 at 5:30 pm - Virtual Meeting Meeting Adjourned at 6:54 pm
Minutes respectfully submitted by Alethea Bodine, Board Assistant