Phoenix Earth Food Co-op (PEFC)
Minutes, Board Meeting 09/25/2013

Location: Third Space Community Center, 137 N. Michigan St. Toledo; Present: Shelly Boraby, Thomas Fine, Sean Nestor, Hermann von Grafenstein, Lisa Blake (General Manager, GM). Absent: David Bohon, Sandor Halasz, Anita Levin, Resolutions are numbered R1-R3.

The meeting was called to order at 5:44 pm.

1. Minutes

   The minutes of the 8/28/2013 board meeting were approved (R1, 4/0/0 for/against/abstention).

2. Floor and gutter repairs
   • Board and staff members expressed their appreciation when Sean announced that his friend West Barabash had promised to help with floor repairs for free.
   • Sean and Hermann stated that they would like to be part of a group raising funds for repairs of the gutters. Repairing the gutters would significantly improve the moisture problems in the basement. Lisa asked for help transporting gutters currently in her possession to the store.
   • Sean announced that he had established a WePay.com account to raise money for the Co-op’s infrastructure. $200 had been raised so far.
3. General Manager’s (GM) report

   NCGA meeting: GM Lisa Blake reported on a meeting of the NCGA in Seattle she had attended.

   • Co-ops were actively advocating for legislation requiring the labeling of GMO food (food derived from genetically modified organisms).
   • Large Co-op’s with cash reserves were willing to lend to other co-ops. The rate would be ~5.3%.

   Huntington Loan: Huntington Bank has reduced the yearly fee for renewing and maintaining the $17,500 credit line from $150 to $75. Although the interest rate was not set, it would be expected to be approximately 5%.

   New electrical contract: Lisa reported having signed up for a 3 yr contract with DTE, an Ann Arbor Utility company. This company provided cost savings ($700/yr or ~8%) compared with alternative companies adhering to a stricter clean energy policy.

   Financials: Lisa presented her financial report. Payroll costs were up 9.3% during a one year period ending in August compared with the same period last year. Turnover number was 7.3, down from 8.2 previously. Tom suggested considering gross profit as weekly guide for planning purchases and payroll expenses.

4. Finance committee report

   Member equity: Tom expressed concerns about the accounting of member equity. It was unclear what Escrow - Transfer to Operating versus Transfer from Member Equity meant. According to the Transfer to Operating we have to repay ~$26,000 into the equity account. Tom suggested that a regular payment mechanism be installed to pay back membership equity on a regular basis. Sean and Lisa suggested re-introducing a regular membership fee in addition to the one-time equity payment.

   Storage of coolers: Lisa asked for the board’s guidance whether or not to continue payment for the storage of produce coolers ($179/month for a ~$400 cooler). Sean suggested discontinuing those payments.

5. Outreach committee report
   
   • No formal report was made although Lisa reported that Sasha Hulisz and Sean Fitzgerald had attended the Harvest Festival for Toledo Grows.
   • Hermann reported that Kris Johnson had agreed to help with the website.
6. General Manager evaluation
   This agenda item was deferred.

7. Annual meeting
   A vote was passed to delegate the planning and organization of future annual meetings to the vice president. This would include finding a location and a date (R2, 4/0/0).

   Proposed agenda items for the upcoming annual meeting:

   1. Potluck / call to order
   2. State of the Co-op address by the president
   3. GM report
   4. Current Board members introduce themselves
   5. Board candidates introduce themselves
   6. Board election
   7. Announcement of the new board
   8. Membership drive

   Lisa suggested making GMO labeling an agenda item. Tom and Shelly argued that the focus should be on developing the Co-op.

8. Adjournment
   The meeting was adjourned at 7:42pm (R3, 4/0/0).

Date of next meetings: Annual meeting Sunday Oct 6. Next board meeting after that: Wednesday Oct. 23, if not decided otherwise.

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Submitted by Hermann von Grafenstein, Secretary