Guests: Karen Bergener, Eric Hutzel

DECISIONS:
On the day of the member meeting, the store will be closed from 5 to 7 p.m., then reopen from 7 to 8 p.m.

Bylaw changes to be voted on will include the following:
Article 5, #1: Add “and four non-staff Member-Owners” to the statement about the Board make-up.
Article 5, #2: Take out “beginning” and replace it with “end” to the statement: Nominations will close at the beginning of the May/June Member Meeting.

Personnel was given the authority to hire one regular staff member.

The Board recommended unanimously that staff discuss opening and closing procedures and clarify that they must be followed precisely.

MINUTES: Approval of the minutes was proposed by Josh, seconded by John and approved with one exception from Sheila related to Sunday’s opening time.

AGENDA: The agenda as stated was proposed by Josh, seconded by Anne and unanimously approved.

REPORTS

Treasurer/Financial: John reported that for the month of April, 2013 sales were up by 15.8% in contrast to a year ago. While sales were good, expenses are growing faster than sales, resulting in a loss of $6500. Part of this was caused by the purchase of a new $5000 cooler; however the ratio of costs of goods to sales were a quite high 80.72%. In addition, payroll costs grew twice as fast as the increase in sales, and is above the 15% of sales that is ideal. If the trend continues in both areas, the prospects for expansion will be dim.
The question was raised related to getting the cost of goods under better control; John suggested that one answer might be a more usable POS system that both generates better reports and communicates with Quickbooks. The finance committee will analyze shortcomings of the present system and clarify if the present system can present them or if we need to purchase a new system.

Outreach: Anne commented that the first newsletter looks very good. Sheila announced that during the Folk Alley Round Town event in September, Nate Clark will play at the store.

Staff Meetings: Staff is currently working to fill shifts because of the leave of absence. The product review committee will be meeting to help clarify the policy related to expiration and “best by” issues. The issue will be first referred back to the staff for more discussion.

Membership: John and Anne met to begin a discussion of membership issues related to our expansion campaign. Staff must help by doing a better job of encouraging customers to become members, though it is also important to get a better picture of the financial impact of higher membership. We also must identify those members who shop at the store the most, and spend the most, as a beginning of identifying prospects for donations.

Facilities: Jexo and John met with Bob Cohen from the Ohio Employee Ownership Center about fundraising. He suggested that we identify other fundraising ideas beyond tapping the membership; e.g.,
benefit concerts; using membership to help develop fundraising ideas.

Website/IT: We asked Fred to set up Coop e-mail addresses for staff with a general inbox for departments (eg, vitamins@knfc.org). This means taking another look at what departments should be called to increase clarity. We also discussed ways to streamline the checkout process, including moving the scale so both people have equal access to it.

NEW BUSINESS:

1. Member Meeting/Potluck Agenda: We discussed closing the store at 2 p.m. on the day of the meeting. Jexo proposed closing from 5 to 7, and then reopening from 7-8. Anne seconded, and the motion was approved. We’ll have displays of the drawings and information tables. The agenda for the meeting itself will be: Welcome, John’s presentation about the expansion, State of the Coop, Bylaw change vote, Presentation of the Candidates. We discussed the possibility of eliminating paper announcements but decided that we would send postcards to lifetime members and e-mails to annual members. Ashley suggested that the postcards include a personal message.

2. Bylaw Changes: Anne proposed two changes to bylaws. The first
adds the statement “and four non-staff Member-Owners” to Article 5, #1, statement about Board makeup to ensure there are always at least four non-staff members of the Board to be officers. After a discussion of this, Anne moved approval, Josh seconded the motion and all voted approval with the exception of an abstention from Elizabeth.

Jexo moved approval of the second change, which would take out the word “beginning” and add the word “end” in Article 5, #2: “Nominations will close at the beginning of the May/June member meeting.” Fred seconded the motion, and it was approved unanimously.

3. IT Issues related to member mailing: Anne rescinded this item as it was no longer needed.

4. Personnel/Hiring Recommendations: Ashley reported that staff has asked for someone to be hired to permanently fill Cindy’s shifts. The personnel committee recommends hiring one regular staff member and two additional fill-ins. Josh suggests that if we are hiring,
a new regular staff member, we make sure that the person can fill all open shifts rather than hire new fill-ins. Staff says that the two fill-ins most lately hired are limited in when they can work, and this means
open shifts, eg, Saturdays. After more discussion, John makes a motion to hire one regular and two fill-in staff and Jexo seconds the motion. Josh suggests a friendly amendment of dividing the motion into two parts; John accepts this amendment. The motion to hire one regular staff member passes, Josh abstaining. Jexo moves to proceed with hiring two additional fill-ins; Sheila seconds the motion. It is not approved. Jexo proposes adding one fill-in; Sheila seconds the motion. It is not approved.

5. Opening and Closing Issues: John reports anecdotal accounts of opening and closing procedures not being followed; these include things like $150 in the register when the store is open, deposit in the night drop every night, cash sheet filled out each day, etc. The board recommends that staff go over procedures for opening and closing and make sure they are followed each day. John proposed this as a motion, Fred seconded it, all voted approval.

6. Tabs Policy: Ashley described the tabs policy for all staff and the board affirmed that tabs must be paid off completely at the end of each month (or at the next pay period after the end of the month); if tabs are not paid off in this manner, no more tabs may be accumulated.

The meeting was adjourned at 9:45.

Guests: Eric Hutzel

DECISIONS

Sunday hours will be extended by four hours, changing from 10-6 to 10 to 8; this will be reviewed in six months.

We clarified hours for closers in this way: closers are expected to complete all tasks by 9 p.m. but may work as late as 9:30 when necessary.

MINUTES: Approval of the minutes was proposed by Josh, seconded by Jexo, and approved with the exception of Elizabeth, who abstained.

AGENDA: The agenda was approved with the addition of Amber’s proposed guidelines for the personnel committee’s handling of incident reports.

REPORTS

Treasurer/Financial: For the month of March, 2013 growth continued to slow with sales before discounts up only 0.23% compared to March of 2012; the same period from 2011 to 2012 sales were up 25%. Costs of goods sold as a percentage of sales were 74.54% compared to 63.83% in March, 2012. If we had maintained the same ratio as last March, we would have seen a profit for the month of $4300 rather than a $1,388 loss. Part of this is due to funds needed for equipment and building repairs and a tax bill higher by $1000.

Sales for the first three months of the year were up by 5.10%; we had a loss for the same period of $3, 246. This was in part due to payroll costs that exceeded the 15% mark by a but more than 3%.

Outreach: Josh has now created a rough draft of a newsletter. He will send out a digital version of it to us for feedback. Josh asked that information about the June 23 member meeting at the Kent Stage be included in the text.

Website/IT: No report

Staff Meetings: Nicole and Christina have been doing Aurelia’s shifts.
Staff discussed the importance of establishing more continuity in the ways procedures and policies are implemented, especially related to
employment issues.

Mary Jane is now the staff person on the Personnel Committee. Also, a staff member has announced that she will be taking a leave of absence for medical reasons. Jen and Jexo have taken over her shifts. There was also a request from staff that buyers be given better autonomy over their own departments; this request includes not rearranging stock or buying items for their own departments.

Volunteer Committee/Personnel Committee: no reports

Facilities: We had to replace one of the coolers for $4900 after the previous one could not be repaired. An insurance claim was filed.

Website/IT: Buyers have asked for e-mail addresses associated with the coop; computers have been updated for security. We have not yet had the POS training workshop; Fred and Josh will organize it.

Membership: Staff are adding new members to the POS system on the same day that they sign up and also filing paper cards into the files. We must tie the membership roles and the POS system together as part of a membership drive. We want to create a list of the top 50-100 members in terms of money spent in coop; these members may be considered to be among the best prospects for fundraising. John and Anne will serve as the core of a membership committee to help contact people.

OLD BUSINESS:

1. Facilities/Expansion Project: John, Sheila and Jexo attended
a conference at the Ohio Employee Ownership Center and presented our expansion plan. As a result, we won a $350 award, which we will use to rent the Kent Stage for our membership meeting.

John reported that we will need approximately $83,000 between construction and equipment costs. We will pursue a loan from Home Savings, perhaps a loan from CAC and also a grant for the façade restructuring. We also would like to raise funds from our membership and in particular get buy-in from them related to the project.
If we can get a $60,000 construction loan, we can raise additional funds as the construction is occurring. Important will be to develop different options for people to help support the project; eg, lump sum donations or small sums per month for one year or two years. Also, Amber suggested at the last meeting that we might ask members for consider forgoing their discounts for a fixed period as a way off offering support for the expansion. We also had a discussion of whether it would be practical to hire someone to help with fundraising, as well as whether we should consider using a Kickstarter account to help us raise part of the funds.

2. Store Profitability and Efficiency: This is to be a monthly item so long as there is time for it; this month there may not be enough. Josh: a particularly important efficiency concern is getting through the lines quickly, which does not occur now; also, we need to keep the aisles clear for safety reasons.
Fred: also important is consistently pulling items forward on the shelves.
Elizabeth: when items get sparse on the shelves, it’s important always to look at the bottom shelf since items are often there. Also “best by” does not mean write off.
John: important to rotate products on the shelf
Josh: we need establish clear policies related to expiration dates and best by dates; we are missing the big picture at times.

NEW BUSINESS

1. Closing Time Scheduling: Ashley proposed that we extend hours on Thursdays and Sundays. After some discussion, Jexo proposed that we extend Sunday’s hours to be from 10 to 8, resulting in 4 more staffed hours per week, and this will be reviewed after 6 months. Ashley’s analysis suggests that these extended hours would be profitable. Ashley seconded Jexo’s proposal and it was approved with two abstentions from Josh and Fred.

We also discussed whether evening shifts extended to 9 or 9:30.
Evening staff reported that because customers often come in a few minutes before closing, additional time past 9 p.m. is often needed to complete all tasks. Jexo’s proposal was that closers are expected to complete all tasks by 9 but may work as late as 9:30 if necessary.
Elizabeth seconded the motion and it was approved with a no vote from Josh.

2. Annual Member Meeting: We should start putting up signs announcing the time and place of the meeting because people have been asking about it. We should also be encouraging likely candidates to run for a position on the board. Josh will help Anne export names of members from the POS system to an excel file so that labels can be created; we’ll work with Wordsmith for the mailing.

3. Bylaw Revisions: Anne encouraged members to come to the next meeting with any suggestions for bylaw changes. She suggested one change: there must be a minimum of four non-staff Board members, since officers should not be on staff because of worker’s comp costs. We must consider any changes at the next meeting since they must go out to members in the meeting mailer.

4. Hiring Question: Anne asked that a recommendation from personnel related to a staff members shift from fill-in to regular staff be brought to the next Board meeting.

5. Meeting Time: We explored changing the day and time of meetings; for now we will stay with Sunday evenings.

6. Amber’s Communication Document: Amber began a presentation of a document designed to help improve communication among various groups within the coop; we will have a fuller discussion of this at the next meeting.

The meeting was adjourned at 9:45.

Absent: Elizabeth Ryan, Fred Pierre

Guests: Roger Muzia, Karin Bergener

Decisions:
To hire as new fill-ins Christina Woodson and Nicole Miller

To approve the plan for the mural proposed by Athen Murray, contingent upon his raising funds for the project, identifying and complying with signage regulations and completing the work

To authorize up to $600 for two small desks for the office

Reports were initiated first because there was not yet a quorum of members.

REPORTS

Treasurer/Financial: John reported that for January we are showing a greater loss than reported last month because taxes had not been paid. For February, sales decreased by 6.61% compared to January, although a small slowdown after a period of great growth is probably natural. The cost of goods as a percent of sales was 76.35%, a good improvement over last year’s 85.46% ratio. We experienced a loss of $ 640 this year compared to last year’s loss of almost $6,000. Included in these figures, though, is a property tax payment which is usually spread out over a six month period. John says that it is crucial that we grow our savings accounts as much as possible in preparation for our expansion, particularly since for the past 9 months sales are up 8% over the same period last year; this adds up to almost $ 100, 000. Without the unusually high tax payment, that makes us quite close to breaking even.

John suggested that in order to increase our income, it may be necessary to get a better POS system, one which will communicate more smoothly with our Quickbooks system. Without having that functionality it will not be possible to have an inventory system which provides the level of detail that we need. He also reported that payroll expenses as a percent of sales were close to 19% for the month; the need to be closer to 17%. February payroll expenses grew by 24% while our sales growth was 6.61%; this trend is not sustainable.
We had a good year, though the taxes are showing a $13,000 loss; part of this is a result of Linda not subtracting the ending inventory when she prepared them.

Outreach: Josh talked about the progress of the planned newsletter and reported that he has received some submissions as well as feedback from people who would like to contribute. He also has been working with Alyssa on developing a template for it. It is important to have a centralized KNFC e-mail address for folks to submit articles.
It was suggested that we use the newsletter to help us recruit potential board members, particularly those with skills we need, such as fundrasing. Josh also suggested that we have another member potluck a month or so before the annual meeting (e.g., around mid-May) in order to have an open dialogue about the expansion and other plans for the coop’s future. He pointed out that need to keep in clear focus our role in serving our members, not often kept in the forefront in the store. Quarterly potlucks could help us move in that direction.

Website/IT: We discussed the importance of each buyer having an individual e-mail address associated with KNF domain. We will bring that up with Fred at the next meeting. Also, Jexo signed a contract for two additional yeas of Roadrunner for both phone and cable lines; the result of this is that we now have the same service for both.

Staff Meetings: The staff approved a donation, worked on placement of new shelving, and discussed fill-in staff. They need to identify a new time for staff meetings; as always, it’s difficult to find a time that everyone can attend. We discussed new ways of making sure that the disconnect among staff is reduced.

Personnel Committee: Ashley reported that the personnel committee is recommending that we hire all three people who have applied for fill-in positions. This will both give us flexibility and smooth out conflicts related to this hire. This item will be decided under new business.

Facilities: The committee will recommend that we go forward with a scaled-down expansion which does not depend on the side expansion since timing for the sale of the next-door office is uncertain. Also, Jexo reported that we have received a list of recommendations from the Health Department related to repairs. These are being attended to.

Membership: Anne described the procedure that she and Elizabeth have been using to investigate membership appeals.

MINUTES: The minutes for February were approved; before the meeting John suggested changes now reflected in the current copy. Josh moved approval, Jexo seconded, they were accepted unanimously.

AGENDA: The agenda was approved unanimously with the addition of “ergonomics and order processing”, which was added to the item titled “increasing store profitability”. Josh moved approval and Jexo seconded.

OLD BUSINESS:

Facilities/Expansion Project: Roger presented new plans, downsizing the original to one story and eliminating the side expansion for now. Both the bathroom and office are moved into new space and the entrance is flipped to the west. So far the counter will be left in place. We discussed possible alternatives to this since it is now difficult to check out more than one person at a time. The budget is also reduced by 25%. Roger asked for folks to look over the new plans, share with staff and members and get any feedback to him within the next month.

John described a conversation he had with Dan Smith, Kent’s Economic Development Coordinator. He told John that plans for the city to buy and then tear down the optometry office next door will in all probability not happen for a “very long time”. In the meantime, we want to proceed with an expansion plan which is fiscally practical, gives us more space and helps us make better use of existing space.

We discussed the need to plan for appropriate new equipment and fixtures which will work with the newly configured space. Included may be a cooler in front of the kitchen with prepared products and a new walk in cooler with more display capacity than we have now.

The current design will mean an outlay of approximately $75,000.
John suggests that we plan on 50% raised through fundraising and 50% through financing a 20 year mortgage. We are waiting for an answer about a grant proposal to provide funds for altering the façade.

NEW BUSINESS

1. Hiring of new fill-in staff (Personnel): The recommendation from the committee was to hire all three candidates: Nicole, Christine and Raleigh. Josh suggested that hiring three people is not practical because their time in the store will be watered down and therefore their training will be weak. Other concerns about hiring three people were raised. Ashley moved that all three candidates be hired; Anne offered a friendly amendment that each candidate be voted on separately; this amendment was accepted. The vote was to hire Nicole and Christine as our new fill-in staff members. The vote on the final candidate was four in favor and three abstentions.

2. Increasing profitability/Ergonomics and order processing (Josh):
We opened this item with a discussion of whether we need to purchase a new POS system better suited to our business, able to produce reports and align with Quickbooks in a way which would better enable us to keep track of inventory and identify best selling items in each department. The new Product Review Committee will address this; also, we suggested that Fred be contacted to set a buyer-specific in-service to help us use the tools available in the current system. Bulk-ordering could more easily be done by creating buying sheets for each department. Quickbooks has its own POS system which we may consider. Karin suggested that if we need a new system she will help identify options.

We also discussed looking into a new credit card processing system.

Josh suggested that we begin what should be an on-going conversation about overall store profitability and efficiency. Examples of issues to explore include deliveries which remain on the sales floor and interfere with buying, volunteers in the office causing bottlenecks, and delivery sheets and products on the counter interfering with checkouts. Anne suggested we add this topic to each agenda and have a short discussion at every meeting

3. Athen Murray Mural (Jexo): Elaine created an idea for the implementation of Athen’s mural; it would be painted on individual panels and then mounted at the back of the store. Athen mustcomplete the work. Josh moved to accept this plan; Anne seconded the motion; the motion was unanimously approved.

4. Office furniture request (Sheila): Sheila suggested that we buy two smaller desks for the office and get rid of the huge desk now there. Her proposal is to buy two refurbished desks at approximately $300 per desk. Her motion was to allocate up to $600 for two desks; Jexo seconded the motion; it was approved unanimously.

5. Staffing Issue (Anne): Anne suggested that the personnel committee consider a plan to resolve a staffing issue in a way which would meet the needs of all concerned.

Absent: Elizabeth Ryan

DECISIONS:

A new four hour shift was authorized; the time for the shift will be allocated by staff.

A reimbursement of $30 was approved for Anne for funds spent on plants for the Volunteer Potluck.

The meeting was called to order at 7:45.

Minutes: Some minor changes to January’s minutes, including revisions to the financial report, were proposed and approved by all.

Agenda: The item which had been proposed by Elizabeth was removed; one item related to an additional reimbursement for the Volunteer Potluck expenses was added.

REPORTS

Treasurer/Financial: John reported that for the month of January we showed slightly under an $800 loss, due to larger than usual payroll expenses. John believes that the loss is understated, as it appears that the January taxes were not paid. He will make the necessary adjustment to Quickbooks to include the taxes. Had the payroll figures been the same as the previous month (17% of sales) there would have been a profit of $800. Between January, 2012 and January, 2013 sales were up by 9.96%. Cash balances continue to rise.

He will adjust our practices to fit more precisely with proper accounting methods; eg, delivery charges will be added to cost of goods. We are in the process of creating a routine and a finance calendar which will help better systematize finance processes.

Outreach: Outreach addressed under a new business item.

Staff report: Jexo reported that staff is working on ironing out difficulties and concerns about shifts, special orders and hiring new fill-ins.

Personnel: The committee has interviewed four people to fill
fill-in slots; they will come back to the March meeting with recommendations for hiring.

OLD BUSINESS:

John met with Ron Burbick and David Ruler since the last board meeting. They talked again about the advantages using the space to be eventually available from the Reeves optical office for part of our expansion. They discussed the possibility of using that space for a vegetarian café. Although this is not something which will happen soon, we can nevertheless begin the project by pushing out the back and by restructuring space. The facilities committee proposes combining this year’s membership meeting with a kickoff of our fundraising effort, to be held at the Kent Stage. Jexo will identify a Sunday in June for this event, which will include the meeting, a potluck meal and music.

NEW BUSINESS

1. Meat Department Report: Amber reported that since September of 2012, we have made a profit of $1900 on meat sales. Our main distributors are Breakneck Acres in Ravenna Township and Salt of the Earth in Atwater. About 43 different members have purchased meat as well as a number of nonmembers. Special orders have been high.

2. Volunteer Recognition Potluck: By and large, the potluck was a good first effort and a success. Food worked out well, the music was great, and the room looked good.. On the minus side, we were at or a bit above capacity and there were not enough chairs for everyone. It would have been a plus to have some casual discussion about the state of the cooperative. Also, organization was not strong. For the next one, perhaps between now and the annual meeting, we might have a vision potluck, focused on the expansion and the future of the coop. Although we are always welcome at the gallery, it might be wise to identify a larger venue for the next one.

Meeting was called to order at 7:45.

Some changes to the minutes were made and approved by all.

Agenda: take out Elizabeth, put in Anne’s request for reimbursement.

3. Reviving the KNFC Newsletter: Josh reported that he and his friend Alyssa are interested in working on a monthly newsletter. The
format would be simple and include sale info, a column or two as well as features such as a call for volunteers and a focus on “volunteer of the month. Josh asked staff and other board members to contact him with their ideas about what should be included in a newsletter and for the next meeting he will put together a template. He also reminded staff to be sure to get e-mail addresses for new members.

4. New Shift Proposals: The personnel committee is recommending that a new shift be added on Sunday from 10-2 for back-stocking and cleaning. There was discussion about whether that is the best time for adding a stocking shift and concerns voiced about adding shifts rather than correcting fixable problems with existing shifts. Josh pointed out that existing payroll is at 17.2% ; pushing it higher would be problematic. The proposal was altered to add one four hour shift to be allocated by staff as needed. Fred made the motion and John seconded it. The motion passed with one abstention by Josh.

5. Policy Manual: Fred proposed that the policy manual be streamlined and put onto the web site. Anne said she would work on it, focusing on those in place during those years that the Board has been active.

6. Reimbursement Request: Anne asked to be reimbursed for
$30 spent on plants given to volunteers at the potluck. The motion was passed with one abstention by Anne.

The meeting was adjourned at 9:25.

Absent: Anne Reid

DECISIONS:
Bonuses were approved as follows: $200 each for each regular staff member and $100 each for fill-in staff, excepting Heidi who will receive a $50 bonus.

A $100 allocation was approved as a budget for the
Volunteer Recognition Potluck

Two weeks severance pay and a $200 bonus was allocated to a former employee.

The minutes were approved with one revision; John moved approval and Sheila seconded. One abstention from Amber.

The agenda was approved with two revisions: Amber asked for the meat department item under new business to be pulled. Ashley asked to add an item related to store hours. Both changes were accepted.

REPORTS

Treasurer/Financial: John reported that December was a very strong month, generating almost 15% more in sales compared to November. In addition, the ratio of cost of goods to sales fell to 48.8%. We consequently generated a surplus for the month of $5200.
Year to date our sales are up 18%. Many new people, coming to check out the changes to Kent, are finding us, and the store looks very good.

Outreach: Sheila has ordered coupons to help bring people into the store. Also, the potluck will be an excellent community outreach effort.

Staff report: Jexo reported that a new honey tin is being delivered.

The duties of the former employee are being divided as follows: Sheila is doing some of the financial tasks, Amber is taking care of snack and cookies, Sheila is handling beverages. We need help with taxes. John will talk to Linda about that.

Personnel: Ashley reported that a former employee chose not to have a hearing to appeal her dismissal. Nine outstanding incident reports from the last months will consequently be considered resolved. She reminded both staff and non-staff board members not to discuss matters related to sensitive issues on the store floor but rather go to the office. Currently Aurelia is filling most of the employee’s former shifts; there was concern that a new fill-in is needed soon.

Facilities: Roger was unable to come to the meeting tonight. John
suggested we consider developing a vegetarian restaurant or café if we are able to take one half the space of next door’s office.

Web Site/IT: No report from Fred on the web site. Jexo would like to see an in-service on the POS system, particularly focused on the types of reports we can generate that we are not yet able to get.
The suggestion was made to aim for later this month.

Membership: Elizabeth reported that most of the outstanding membership questions have been resolved by Elizabeth and Anne.
One which has not yet been settled is the question of Kabir Syed’s membership; no evidence that he has a paid membership has been found. Anne will talk to him about paying a $45 fee to be grandfathered in as a lifetime member.

NEW BUSINESS

1. Staff bonuses: John proposes two hundred dollar bonuses for each regular staff member and one hundred for each fill-in because of
the financial growth this year. This adds up to $1700, representing one-third of our profit. John proposes to put the rest of the profit directly toward the expansion project. John moved the proposal and accepted Josh’s friendly amendment that Heidi’s bonus be $50 since she has not worked as much. The motion was approved by all non-staff board members.

2. Store hours: Ashley’s analysis of store hours and income shows the following: during the last half hour he store is open, there has been a minor increase in income on Mondays and Tuesdays, a minor loss on Wednesdays and a major increase on Thursdays. There has been a minor loss on Saturdays and big increases on Sundays. Ashley suggested that we might want to add another hour on Thursdays and on Sundays. No action will be taken right now on this.

3. Volunteer Recognition Potluck: Elizabeth has hand-written all the volunteer names; Amber will e-mail it to Anne. The event will be at the Kluth gallery Feb. 10 at 6:30. A $100 budget was approved for the event.

4. Pay for former employee: John makes two motions; one to pay two weeks severance and one to include the departed employee in the regular staff bonus of $200. The first motion was seconded by Ashley and approved with one abstention from Josh. The second motion was seconded by Jexo and approved with Josh abstaining.

Store will close on January 6 for inventory.

Minutes

Members Present: Amber Myers, Ashley Hendricks, Elizabeth Ryan, John Gargan, Josh Goran, Sheila Harko, Fred Pierre, Anne Reid, Jeff Ingram

Guest: Roger Muzia

The meeting was called to order at 7:40.

Anne suggested that the agenda item related to the facilities project be discussed first; this was moved by John, seconded by Josh and approved unanimously.

Facilities/Expansion: John opened the discussion by reporting that the focus of the city right now is on approval for building “C”; our own project will not get much attention for the present. Roger showed us his current drawing of a new plan with includes a walkway along what will become our western wall and preliminary drawings of a one-story expansion. We discussed some of the features we’d like to see, including space for a larger walk-in cooler, office space which is not also storage area for goods and a higher ceiling to provide for more storage. Roger also reported that Ron Burbick has offered us the use of office space in Acorn Alley for meetings.

Roger will develop more details as part of a Phase I proposal and recommended that members send him suggestions about their priorities.

The minutes were approved with a number of changes.

Fred moved approval of the agenda, Jexo seconded and the board
unanimously agreed.

REPORTS:

Treasurer: John announced that November was a good month, up about 24% over a year ago and up almost 20% in a year to date comparison. The cost of goods ratio was about 68%, much closer to a desirable level than it has been in the last few months. We must show the strongest year possible in order that the meeting with Home Savings to discuss financing for Phase I of the expansion goes well. John said in general we must do a better job of inventory management, getting a clearer picture of what inventory we have that takes up space better to be used by goods that turn over more quickly. We need to make better use of the resources we have and to have QuickBooks connected to POS. This needs to be addressed by the Product Analysis committee.

For the month, payroll costs in relation to sales was up to 21.5%; an ideal figure is no more than 17%. Cost of goods was down 5% but payroll up 5%.

Sheila reported that we had our biggest sales day ever on the day of our Open House at $4660. Even though we doubled the discount, we still had a $4100 day.

Volunteer: This report will be under new business.

Outreach: No report

Staff: There is an issue related to verifying memberships that staff would like the board to address in more detail. Buzz magazine seems to be producing good results in store traffic. Staff would like to see better attendance at meetings.

Personnel: Ashley reported that there are currently nine incident reports outstanding; by the next meeting there should be a clear response to this. More research needs to be done. Fred suggested that conflicts are best handled by people sitting down together, possibly using mediation. John’s opinion is that in these cases this may not work.

Facilities: No additional information presently; the next meeting has been set up.

IT/Website: Fred and Anne met for training about posting minutes on the website. Staff reports that there have been problems related to Merchant OS going down; Josh suggests that if any two computers are logged into the same account, that may cause the problem. Josh suggested a couple of things to try.

NEW BUSINESS:

Volunteer Recognition Potluck: Anne reported that a number of staff members have suggested holding a potluck to recognize volunteers active within the last year. A tentative date is set for February 2 and place the Kluth Gallery. A committee consisting of Amber, Anne, Jexo and MJ will meet to work out details.

Membership Issues: Elizabeth and Jexo described problems that have been occurring with membership cards; staff would like a somewhat clearer policy related to membership when customers insist they have lifetime or family memberships but no documentation can be found to support it. After some discussion, Josh proposed and John seconded a modification to the membership policy established in September as follows:

A couple or domestic partnership or other family group who believes that they have a family membership or customer who believes they have any type of membership but cannot verify it, may fill out an appeal form, which will be handled on a case by case basis by the board of trustees or a committee appointed by the board.

The board voted approval unanimously.

Anne said that she would ask a staff member to help form a committee to look at existing appeal forms and report back to the board.

We also developed what we are calling a “strongly recommended
procedure” for all staff to follow related to membership problems.

1. Each staff person should ask every patron for their membership card.
2. If the patron believe they have a membership but have not been given a card, ask about when they became a member and if they have an old card.
3. Check for their name in the computer and/or card system if there are no other customers requiring assistance.
4. If they appear in neither place, or if there are other customers waiting, give them the Membership Appeal form to fill out (but not at the counter) and tell them we’ll check on it and let them
Know.
5. In the meantime, give them the discount. Do not argue with them.

The reasoning behind our approach to this issue is as follows:
Because our bookkeeping and receipt system has been fallible, and because our loss from a 5% discount is minimal compared to losing a repeat customer, it is beneficial to have a lenient and gentle approach
to the appeal process. Options that we suggest as part of the appeal may include: allowing someone with a documented lifetime membership to include a spouse for $30; allow a switch of spouse to lifetime membership; allowing a long-term customer have a life-time membership card without documentation.

Inventory: We discussed pros and cons of closing the store for inventory; suggested date if we close is Sunday, January 6.
Jexo moved that we close on that day for inventory, Josh seconded.
The motion carried with abstentions from Josh and Ashley and a no vote from Sheila. We will ask if volunteers will help on that day.

Customer Rewards: Elizabeth recommended we develop a reward program for customer/customers who spend the most shopping at the store. Staff will bring a specific recommendation about this to a future meeting.

The meeting was adjourned at 9:20.

A holiday bonus of $50 for regular staff and $20 for fill-in staff was approved.

The personnel committee was authorized to begin the process of recruiting, interviewing and hiring up to two new fill-in staff members.

Members Present: Amber Myers, Ashley Hendricks, Elizabeth Ryan, John Gargan, Josh Goran, Sheila Harko, Fred Pierre, Anne Reid, Jeff Ingram

Guest: Roger Musea

The meeting was called to order at 7:45.
The minutes from the October meeting were approved.

The agenda item listed under Old Business: Facilities Committee/ Expansion project was moved to first because of
Roger Musea’s attendance at the meeting. Roger and John described a meeting they had with Ron Burbick, Kent Economic Development Director Dan Smith and Kent City Manager Dave Ruler. Ron Burbick described a potential plan in which the western half of the space now occupied by the Reeve Optometrist’s business would become a walk-way between the parking lot north of Main Street and Main Street/Acorn Alley businesses; the eastern half would become space for the store expansion. We discussed some of the advantages of moving the expansion from vertical to horizontal, including better accessibility. Roger has begun a revision to his plans based on these new ideas and will return to show us his progress in December.

The rest of the agenda was approved as listed.

REPORTS

Treasurer/Finance Report:
John Gargan presented the Finance Report for October, 2012. Growth in sales were again up, 25.6% for the month compared to
October, 2011; however, because the ratio between sales and cost of goods was 85%, we carried a $3,000 loss for the month. Similarly, though we have sales growth of 18.24 % for the first 9 months of the year compared to 2011, we are nevertheless carrying a loss of $9,753 for the year. John emphasized that such figures have a clear implication for the expansion; without better numbers, no bank loan is likely to be forthcoming. Consequently, cost of goods and inventory management must be a much stronger focus of store management.
Josh pointed out that if we spend 86% of money from sales for buying things, that leaves only 14% for everything else. If we are ever to pay a living wage, we must have more margin to work with.

Volunteer: no report

Outreach Report:
Sheila reported that the Coop Open House will be December 1 and asked folks to signup to bring a food item; food will be available at about noon and music at 1. Also, Amber designed an ad which will be part of a folder/handout for high school and college students.

Staff Meeting Report:
Jeff described several items of discussion including the need to hire new fill-in staff, issues related to proof of membership and buying issues. Also, we provided a donation to the Unitarian Universalist auction.

Personnel Report:
Personnel will begin process of hiring new fill-in staff.
Also, an incident report was files and the committee found that it did not rise to the level of a disciplinary action.

Web-site/IT Report:
There have been a couple of requests for training. Also, there is a problem with the front computer and printing; Josh will check it out.

NEW BUSINESS

1. Communications:
There were a number of items forwarded to the meeting from staff related to communication problems, many of which will be part on-going discussions within both staff and board meetings. Anne suggested that many of them are not solvable through policy initiatives and may be more amenable to resolution through problem solving within staff meetings, the personnel committee and board meetings.
Fred opened the discussion with a dual focus on staff book protocol and efforts made previously in the history of the cooperative to encourage civil communication. Among recommendations he sited related to right relations within the staff book are:
• Before you jump to a conclusion, ask questions, be aware of and value others’ needs
• Ask what you might do differently, especially related to one’s own tone and demeanor.
• Refrain from personal attacks
• Address problems within staff meetings in a depersonalized way using data driven, fact based decision making
Fred also described decision-making and conflict during early periods in the coop’s history, citing growth and improvements in our process.
Elizabeth suggested that we need to use consequences to encourage right relations and take better advantage of the progressive discipline policy we have recently developed.
Josh noted that there are chronic issues in the coop and in most other workplaces similar issues are dealt with by a manager or coordinator. If we are to have a successful expansion, we need to find a way to make more progress solving some of the chronic problems.
Ashley suggested that the personnel committee may have an important role to play in these changes; staff evaluations may help, but not if they focus on negative feedback. She suggested developing a draft of personnel committee roles, particularly for the staff member on the committee.
Other items within this agenda item included: guidelines for filling shifts, attendance at staff meetings, and staff consistency in
asking for membership cards. Josh suggested that formulating board policies for items such as this would probably be ineffective at making change and that they are the kind of items we do not necessarily want the board to address. It may make more sense to address these kinds of items in a more holistic way within the store rather than inch toward making the board fill a managerial role.

Amber suggested that we move the item related to buying issues to last in order to vary the weight of various agenda items; this suggestion was moved, seconded and approved.

2. Exception to Tabs Policy (Amber):
Amber asked for an exception to the tabs policy for herself.
With the approval of the exception, the amount of the tab she may run is flexible and the whole tab amount must be paid before the end of the month in which the tab has run or the next paycheck after the end of the month. The exception was moved, seconded and approved.

3. Holiday Bonuses (Personnel):
Holiday bonuses in the amount of $50 for each regular staff member and $25 for each fill-in was approved; John moved approval, Anne seconded and the motion was approved, Fred and the staff abstained.

4. Authorization to Personnel to Hire Fill-in Staff (Personnel):
The Board authorized the Personnel Committee to interview and hire up to two new fill-in staff because of losses of current fill-in staff. Jexo moved approval, Fred seconded the motion, the motion was approved.

5. Discounts for Fill-ins:
The question came up at the latest staff meeting related to discounts for current fill-in staff. Fred referred to Board minutes which clarify that only during a month that a staff member works is the store discount in effect.

We approved 15 minutes to be added to the meeting time.

6. Buying Issues (Elizabeth):
Elizabeth voiced a concern about items which were bought at a recent trade show for a number of departments without consulting individual buyers about the purchases. We encourage consultation with buyers, particularly at a time when the cost of goods is too high.
Another buying issue is the overall matter of healthy vs unhealthy ingredients in store items; a particular focus of the discussion is sodium nitrates and nitrites since they are allergens for some people. Josh suggested that this concern should be handled in a comprehensive rather than piece-meal fashion. A committee will be formed to discuss an approach to be used to handle such issues.
The committee will include Josh, Amber, Sheila, Elizabeth and Ashley with Jexo as a consultant. It will be called the Product Analysis committee and will also address the issue of the ratio of cost of goods to sales.

The meeting was adjourned at 9:45 and included the suggestion that members make a better effort to be at the meetings on time.

October 21, 2012    Kluth Gallery

DECISIONS:

• ·ADDITIONAL THURSDAY SHIFT
• ·CLARIFY HOURS ALLOCATED TO MAINTENANCE/FACILITY ROLE
• ·LEAVE OF ABSENCE POLICY
• ·FILL-IN STAFF HIRING AUTHORIZATION
• ·GIFT CERTIFICATE AUTHORIZATION FOR NANCY GRIM THANK YOU

Members present:  Elizabeth Ryan, Amber Myers, Josh Goran, Jeff Ingram, Sheila Harko, John Gargan, Anne Reid, Fred Pierre.

Absent:  Ashley Hendricks

The meeting was called to order at 7:40; we began with item 1 of Old Business, membership issues, because we did not yet have a quorum.

The discussion concerned establishing  an appeal policy for people  who believe they have an individual or family membership but who have no membership card or evidence of membership in our records.

Customers raising this issue will fill out an appeal form; appeals will be handled on a case by case basis.  This process was moved, seconded and approved unanimously.

Minutes from the September meeting were approved.

A number of items were added to the agenda, which was then approved.

REPORTS:

Treasurer/Finance Report

John Gargan presented the Finance Report for September 2012.

Growth in sales was up an impressive 24.8% compared to September of 2011.  However, growth in sales was offset by a 34.81% increase in Cost of Goods; as a percent of sales, COGS was 77.24 compared to 72.24 in September of 2011.  This lead to a loss for the month of $2354 compared to a $380 loss in September, 2011.  If the ratio had been the same as last year, we would have had a profit of $200 for the month rather than a loss.

For the year to date, sales were up 18.24% compared to the same period in 2011.  Because of the ratio of cost of goods to sales for these 9 months, our year to date loss is $9,753 compared to $8,857 the year before.  Without outlays for bulk bins and electrical upgrade, we would have had a profit of approximately $2,000 for the year to date.

In summary, if we are going to move forward with the expansion, the ratio of COGS to sales must be lower than 77%.

Fred commented that we must make sure that what is purchased sells quickly; Jexo added that we must begin to think in a more market-oriented way and better focus on margins rather than mark-ups.

Volunteer Report

Anne reported that a number of volunteers have been referred to her by staff and she talks through with them their availability, skills and interests and she then sends them to appropriate staff.  She also

suggested that at a future meeting we plan for volunteer needs related to the expansion.

Outreach Report

Josh suggested that we need to start thinking about store identity and widening how we define outreach, including developing an on-going critique related to how the store looks and feels. Amber’s sales table has improved the aesthetics and works better for customers, for instance. Amber also reported that she has visited two coops in order to gather ideas for space use.

Staff Report

Jexo described a donation to the UU service auction. He reported that the last staff meeting was very tense and there was a short discussion about how the tone might be improved.

Personnel Report

John reported that an incident report has been filed and is now under investigation.  Jexo said a pipe ceremony was held to ease tension which developed as a result of the incident and that this has helped.

Facilities Report

John has been meeting with our intern and they are preparing to take our blueprint to funders, including the Community Development department and Ron Burbick’s foundation.  The suggested timeline for breaking ground is March.

IT Report

Fred described a glich with Quickbooks which is being looked into.

Fred will train Amber, Sheila and Elizabeth to put specific items on the website.  Josh asked if we could use specialized functions on Easy Tree to track product sales and identify top sellers more systematically.

OLD BUSINESS

1. Membership:   We will use Amber’s membership form as a way of decompressing tense questions about membership questions.

2. New shift proposal:  John described a proposal from personnel which will add a partial shift on Thurdays to help with the processing of the UNFI  order.   The proposal reads:   WE WILL ALLOCATE UP TO THREE HOURS ON THURDAY AFTERNOONS TO PROCESS THE UNFI AT THE TIME IT COMES IN.  The proposal was approved with abstentions from Sheila and Josh.

NEW BUSINESS

1. Expansion/Fundraising Campaign:  John explained that the discussion of the expansion must be limited because Roger cannot be at the meeting. He said we need a major contribution by everyone to

help communicate our fundraising needs.  One contact will be the Ohio

Employee Ownership Center, others include Kent Community Development and the Ron Burbick Foundation. An estimate of our share is approximately $20,000.  Jexo asked about a program which would allow us to gather all member e-mail address into a mail program for a fundraising request. Fred talked about identifying grants, matching-fund offers and potential donors.

John explained that one goal is for Natalie to put a sales pitch together by the first week in November.  While we have loan money available through the Bill Schultz funds, it would likely cost more than a refinancing of our mortgage because of the time-frame for paying the funds back.  Crucial is to identify how much we can afford to pay back per month based on projected rise in revenue and our ability to increase profitability.  Fred commented on how much work John has done on this already and thanked him for his good efforts.

2. Maintenance/Facilities Department:   Jexo reported on the process he has used to address the pest problem and how he will proceed.

He also asked the Board to clarify the number of hours he as Maintenance/Facilities coordinator is entitled to. THE BOARD PROPOSED TO ALLOCATE UP TO TWO HOURS PER WEEK FOR THE POSITION OF MAINTENANCE/FACILITIES DEPARTMENT DUTIES.  Jexo recused himself from the vote; the rest of the members present approved the motion.

3. Leave of Absence Policy, Personnel:  Amber described a personnel proposal related to Leave of Absence policy for staff. Such a leave must be approved by the personnel committee, with specific terms based on the particular circumstances of the request. The proposal is:  LEAVES OF ABSENCE MAY BE GRANTED FOR CAUSE UP TO ONE YEAR BASED ON SUCH CIRCUMSTANCES AS MATERNITY/PATERNITY, FAMILY ISSUES, SCHOOL AND ILLNESS.  WE WILL DO OUR BEST TO ACCOMMODATE THE PERSON WITH AN EQUIVALENT NUMBER OF SHIFTS WHEN HE/SHE RETURNS.  The proposal was moved, seconded and approved unanimously.

4.  Meat Department:  Amber reported that as soon as possible we will relocate frozen treats and use that freezer for meat.  Josh emphasized the importance of initiating meat sales as soon as possible as part of a commitment to selling things that represent a quick turnover.  He recommended that sales commence within no more than one month from the meeting date.

At 9:20 we voted to extend the meeting time by 15 minutes

5.  Fill-in Staff:    John asked the Board to authorize the posting and hiring of at least one fill-in staff members since we have lost a number of them recently. The proposal was moved, seconded and approved with one abstention from Elizabeth.

6.  Anne asked if the Board would authorize a gift certificate for Nancy Grim to thank her for her service to the Cooperative.  Anne will write a letter of thanks to accompany the gift.  The proposal was approved.

The meeting was adjourned at 9:40.

Board of Trustees Meeting

Location: JFKluth Gallery,300 N Water Street

September 17 2012

Board Members Present: Jeff Ingram, Sheila Harko, Elizabeth Ryan,

Fred Pierre, Josh Goran, Ashley Hendricks, John Gargan, Amber Myers

Members Not Present: Anne Reid

Pretalk about the expansion drawings:

*We may want to turn the checkout counter 90 degrees.

*What should customers see when they first walk in?

*How can coffee people pay for coffee easily? In the little L?

*Can we get two linear checkouts?

*We should first dazzle people with an array of produce.

*We want to make sure the back side of the counter isn’t the first thing people see.

*Seating area for coffee might be disproportionate to aisle and checkout.

*Can we now or eventually get solar energy lights out front?

Reports:

Treasurer’s Report: John has produced the monthly financial report for September. ‘Sales for the month of 8/12 were up 7.91% compared to sales for 8/11. While the growth rate is good, it is down from the double digit growth rates we have experienced in most months of 2012. Cost of goods as a percentage of sales is 68.49% for 2012 as compared to 63.56% in 2011. We showed a net income of $3,310 for the month with no major expenses. Net income for 8/11 was 4,886. The lower cost of goods in 2011 is why net incomes is higher in 2011 than in 2012.

On a special note, our electric and gas bills totaled 685 last year in august and this year it is 243. Possible savings from the electrical upgrade.

Sales are up 17.91% compared to the same 8 month period last year. There is a net loss of 6,769 for this period, compared to 8,647 in 2011. We have spent 12k in electrical upgrade, bulk bins, and cooler. Without these expenditures factored I, we would be showing a 4 – 5k profit.

Cash balances are good, with total balances of 25,019. This is the result of a profitable august.’

Staff Report: Staff came to a consensus vote on newly arranged shifts and duties. The most recent meeting was at Jeff’s Gallery, and Jeff made pie and it was very good energy. Very successful.

Outreach Report: For the Main Street Kent event, “Discover Downtown,” we sent out 500 coupons and none came back. [At the time of writing, one has come back and was “the reason I’m in here.”] Outreach has also advertised a single ad in the Daily Kent Stater this semester, and gotten very good placement in Buzzbook, a “guide to the very best in Northwest Ohio.” On facebook we currently have 3k plus friends.

Personnel Report:  Jeff is up next for a staff evaluation. His term on the personnel committee is ending. Amber has taken up the next staff representative spot for that committee. Also, Personnel Committee will be delivering a letter soon, in regards to our progressive disciplinary policy and board discussion on personnel issues.  It is noted that we have separate policies for no call no shows and bad behavior, and shall seek to update and keep consistent with our current policies.

Facilities Report: 

• We may need to caulk flooring and other cracks for insect control.

• In relation to the loud back freezer, Toddrich says there’s a mounting problem and Liethold thinks it’s a defunct compressor. [At the time of writing, Miller refrigeration company has readjusted the mounting for 110 dollars, with much success. Wayne Lackner, member, also tried to help Jeff adjust the freezer before the latest adjustment]

• We need to keep stress off the fans in the coolers, e.g. piecrusts or bread in the front freezers. The back wall of the freezers cannot be packed because the air needs to circulate.

• Amber has found a suitable freezer for meat storage, however, the only place available for it is in the back hallway. This space is currently not suitable for general viewing. Therefore, Elizabeth has agreed to work with Amber in moving the individual frozen treats, for the sake of the meat department,  to the front or the backstock freezer. The intention of buying another freezer was to keep it throughout the expansion and use it for frozen treats later, moving the meat into the current frozen treats cooler at a later date. The freezer in mind is a sliding glass top freezer.

Web Site / IT Report:

• Fred will work on relaying information as to how to  update the website with sales.

• We may need another scanner: Some options are The Orbit and The Voyager from Metrologic.

• Quickbooks has an account service which provides multi-user hosting and payroll management. Fees are presented and decided to be minimal. The board, with Ashley abstaining, votes to put money towards these functions.

Other Business:

Expansion:

• Costs: Our costs could be somewhere around 120k. Roger has proposed that he be site manager for 50 dollars a day during the expansion. Bids have yet to be made for anything.

• Fundraiser: We should start soon, asking our members to help take a part in this project. Something in the range of 20,000. We can make bricks, totes, bags, a whole array of appreciation for donors.

• Intern: We have an intern who is a music major at KSU with an entrepreneurial minor. Her term is for 40 hours for the fall semester. She may be able to work with staff in conveying to major lenders and donors what we need, what we want, what our potential is, and how far we’ve come so far. She can work doing presentations and looking for grants, loans, and other assistance online. John has found a design grant for her to start filling out, it is for 3,500 and could be applied to Roger Muzia’s fees.

• Refinancing our mortgage is part of suiting the expansion.

Family Membership: Josh has made several points on the subject, that it may be beneficial to “have a fairly gentle appeal,” that our book and receipt keeping is fallible, that our loss from a 5% discount is minimal in comparison to financial (i.e. recurrent shopping) and other overall benefits of exhibiting leniency, and that there are few cases where this membership issue is occurring.  The policy proposal related to this, which was voted for unanimously, is stated as such: “We establish a policy that will allow a couple or domestic partnership or other family group who believes that they have a family membership, but cannot verify it, may fill out an appeal form, which will be handled on a case by case basis by the board of trustees. Josh will provide a form, and Amber will relay the policy to staff members, including that erring on the side of caution is giving the 5 % discount until the technical aspects of their membership can be established. Options may include the following and more: If one person in a couple has a documented lifetime membership, we allow them to grandfather into a family membership by paying thirty dollars for the other spouse; allow a couple to switch a lifetime membership from one spouse to another, allow a couple to add a lifetime family membership without penalty so long as one person is one file as a lifetime member.

Proposal from  Personnel: Personnel Committee has recommended adding a shift on Thursday from 4 – 8 pm to work with incoming orders. It is in the same manner as having the 10-1 Tuesday shift for Tree of Life, to process orders, thus alleviating clerking-shift workload stress and aiding the general physical function of the co-op. Elizabeth successfully makes a friendly amendment to the proposal that the shift be from 2 – 6 on Thursday, to better accommodate shipment arrival times.  Issues of personnel, efficiency, and spatial arrangement in the store are brought up. Josh, Sheila and Amber vote against the amendment, Elizabeth, John, Ashley, and Jeff, and Fred vote for the amendment. The amendment does not pass, but the same basic topic will be revisited and revised during the next meeting.

Open House: Annual Open house is December 1^st, a Saturday, approximately the same time as last year.

Josh adjourns the meeting.  John seconds.