Board of Directors
MEETING MINUTES
June 1, 2022- 5:30 pm
Hosted in EFC Community Room**, 1341** W. 26th
Attending**:** President - Shari Gross, Vice President - Alison Kaminski, Secretary - Kevin Schaaf, Treasurer - Michael Barron, Directors: Derek Golembeski, Liz Bugbee, Amanda Gates, Joelyn Bush, Chauncey Dumbuya Brown
Staff Personnel**:** General Manager - LeAnna Nieratko; Marketing Manager - Heidi Yeagle; Ben Bowman
Guests**:** Marnie Foss
President Shari Gross welcomed everyone by allowing introduction and opening the floor for comments from those Member/Owners present to the board.
Comments**:** Marnie did not have any comments, other than to say that she hadn't been to a board meeting in quite some time and was attending because she wanted to stay involved.
AGENDA:
Shari Gross called the meeting to order at 5:30
Review of Last Month's Minutes**; K. Schaaf**
No comments/questions were raised regarding last month's minutes.
Motion was made by Liz Bugbee to accept April 2022 Minutes as written. Derek Golembeski seconded. All were in favor. Motion passed.
CEO/GM Reporting
LeAnna informed the board that there was an issue related to the QuickBooks desktop to online changeover, which resulted in some delays in reporting. Some data was lost in the changeover & is not currently available online. It still exists in the desktop version & just needs to be entered in the online version so the reports can be created. Ben has been in communication with the co-op's accountants and they are working on our financial reports. They just need the data added to Quickbooks in order to finalize.
Food service sales saw a noticeable increase - from $9K to $15K. Sales at the downtown store have continued to be soft. LeAnna is targeting $2K/day at this time. Despite the softer sales downtown, the co-op's cash position is still good.
The new member-owner goal for the month was exceeded, with approximately 10 new members joining at the downtown store.
LeAnna discussed the upcoming bulk sale ("Squirrel it Away"), saying that it's normally a good sales driver.
Mandatory masking for staff has been reinstituted at this time, due to the rising number of Covid cases in the community.
Michael asked if the board feels we really require a full financial report from LeAnna monthly, or if we can extend to a quarterly review. Many other organizations follow a quarterly schedule. We could keep cash balance, labor, and sales reporting on a monthly basis and move the full report to quarterly. Both the board and LeAnna were in favor of trying this approach.
Derek Golembeski proposed that we should boil a frog. No one seconded. The motion did not pass.
B1 Financial Condition
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LeAnna reported that B1.1 (Sales Growth) is currently non-compliant. This is due to sales at the downtown store being softer than were projected by the pro forma. All other points in B1 are compliant.
Derek asked if direct mailers had been sent to residents living near the downtown store. LeAnna said that mailers had not been sent directly, but that the Marketing team has been working with the EDDC and other groups downtown in an effort to further publicize the store. Heid stated that direct mailers are extremely expensive and any that the co-op has sent in the past have been paid for by NCG. Joelyn mentioned that ValPak is an inexpensive mail advertising method. Alison asked if the EDDC would be willing to pay for direct mailers. LeAnna and Heidi thought that they probably would and said they would look into it.
B2 - Planning and Financial Budgeting
LeAnna stated that, relative to the topic of inflation, a thorough review of all pricing had not been completed yet, and thus prices have not been raised at this time.
Overall, produce sales have been very good but bulk sales have been slow. The team is looking into reasons why that may be. The 26th street store has been doing very well. The bakery and the meat and cheese department, in particular, have seen significant sales growth. As mentioned previously, downtown sales continue to be slow.
Labor numbers were not great for the month, exceeding plan by a few points (25.6% actual vs. 23.0% planned). Turnover has continued to be good, particularly when compared to the industry standard. Cash on hand has remained good.
LeAnna has changed the sales projection for 26th St. to an 8% decrease from last year, versus the 14% decrease projected by the pro forma.
LeAnna also asked that the board reinstate the Product Policy Committee. Relative to "Working Toward Our Ends*,"* LeAnna expressed that she feels that this may be a good time to reevaluate the Product Statement to best serve the needs of the community. The board agreed that this should be looked into.
Motion was made by Derek Golembeski to accept the GMs Reporting and compliance with Policies B1 & B2 - Financial Condition, Planning and Budgeting. Chauncey Dumbuya Brown seconded. All were in favor. Motion passed.
Board Policy Evaluation**;** K. Schaaf
C8 - Governance Investment
All board members expressed that the board is in compliance with Policy C8.
Motion was made by Alison Kaminski to accept the Board Policy Evaluation review of Policy C8 - Governance Investment. Derek Golembeski seconded. All were in favor. Motion passed.
Board Retreat
It was discussed that the next board retreat will be held over the summer and will be a full day event. There was discussion about possibly including some (or all) department managers, which will be decided at a later date. Shari asked Alison to create a doodle poll to determine the best date, anticipating a Saturday or Sunday, between July 16th and August 20th. Shari suggested that the education center at LEAF might be a good location for the retreat, as it offers a mix of indoor and outdoor access. Kevin volunteered to check with LEAF to see what dates may be available.
New Business**:**
Staff Appreciation party update - the staff appreciation party will be held on July 10th, from 4:00 to 6:00 PM, at Presque Isle Skating and Events Center
Committee Reports
Nominating Committee Update - the nominating committee was not able to hold a meeting prior to this board meeting, but Kevin said that one would be scheduled in the coming days & a report would be provided during the June board meeting
Closure:
Next board meeting is June 22, 2022 at 5:30pm.
Next PG reviews:
1
CEO/GM B6- Staff Treatment and Compensation
Board C6- Officers' Roles
Michael Barron made a motion for the meeting to adjourn. Derek Golembeski seconded. Meeting adjourned at 6:55 PM.
Minutes respectfully submitted by Kevin Schaaf, Secretary