Riverwest Co-op Board Minutes 1/18/12 

Present: Sandra, Tom, Erin, Chris, Jake, Lisa, Nichali, Vince, Paula, Karen, Carolyn, Dawn

Minutes from Board meeting 12/21/11 approved.

Workers' Collective:

Welcome to new worker Nichali.  Discussion of belligerent neighborhood character who has been in the store frequently.  Phone numbers for the beat cops are by the register now – call them if you need them.  Nichali will draft a policy for what to do in case of customers who are harassing workers/other customers. 

Cafe:

Two reviews are coming up in February.  Staff are doing well.  Cafe has been generally up from last year's numbers.  Mia, Tess, and Nichali are collaborating on getting a new menu out.  Mia and Dawn will collaborate on the catering menu.  Cafe is pushing the bulk items – a new board is up with prices by the pound.  Mia and Dawn are working with Nichali to get a volunteer schedule for the cafe.  Kathy has been helping Dawn look at the Cafe's finances.

Inventory/Merchandising:

Cooler is almost all set and getting the final touches.  Still needs mats and shelving (probably wire bakers racks).  Shelly is watching purchasing and making smaller orders.  Physical inventory is high.  Sales are still strong.  Shelly, Paula, and Sandra will look into moving things around within the store. 

Finance:

December numbers – cafe is down $4,600; store is up $21,900.  Overall, we are up $17,000 in December and positive by $13,000 for the year.  Still need to meet with Communications to discuss Cooler fundraising plans.  Budgets are requested from all committees so that Finance can factor that into 2012 budget.

Vince points out that we should optimally be netting at least 5% of total sales – this would be ~$40,000 on our $840,000 annual sales.

Tom and Sandra report that after a year of monitoring the 3:00 drawer, we have no theft problem whatsoever.

Communications:

Discussed fundraising options including: Kickstarter, microlending, member loans, Paypal on our website.

Spaghetti dinner netted $700 after all expenses paid.  Good event.

Chili cookoff is coming up February 19 at Linneman's.

Events is proposed as a subcommittee of Communications to free up Communications Committee to do actual communications activities – approved.  Carolyn is on this subcommittee now – she would love more members/help.

Building/Maintenance:

Broken window – Window was broken for a while, but recently broke more.  Vince has fixed it up for now; will replace glass with Plexiglass in the spring.  We'll add a bar to protect the window from Dumpster lids.

Cooler – There are 2 steps up to get into the cooler. The cooler has an alarm; we should add a thermometer and track the cooler temps.  Light is in place, need to look into shelves.  Peyton suggests putting up gates between the buildings on both sides to protect the cooler from scrap thieves.  A compost bucket with lid will be added to the walk-in cooler for kitchen.

Inside coolers and freezers – We need a cushion for freezer repair and replacement at some point.  Also need additional freezer space so that we have somewhere to move product when the freezer breaks.  Vince will talk to Cafe and Store staff and bring plans to a future meeting.

Rainwater drainage system – Water is now being diverted towards Fratney as well as Clarke.  Still needs to be checked with first thaw/rain.

Other – Need a moisture-protected light switch in the mop closet (it is currently on a GCFI).  The building needs a new roof, in longer-term planning.

Volunteer:

Hello to new Volunteer Coordinator Nichali.  Nichali is getting to know people, updating the volunteer manual, creating a culture of respect, commitment, and responsibility.  He is also stabilizing the volunteer schedule and working out a new cafe volunteer schedule.  A series of volunteer activities are being planned, including field trips to suppliers (Sweetwater, etc) and projects for co-op values.

Membership:

Updates to the instructions for how to enter member info are living in the binder in the Membership mailbox.  Kendra has been entering and filing with Shelly.  Had a semi-formal meeting to solidify instructions and other stuff.  Need to start thinking about April Annual Meeting.  Sandra will ask Clark Graphics for help with the mailing.

HR:

Working on write-up policy.  Looking into format and protocol for better reviews.  There is a national co-op resource center, and we are considering becoming a member.

Other business:

- Brunch at Riverwest Public House is going well.

- Tech budgeting and planning group proposed, to be a subgroup of the Building and Maintenance committee.  Carolyn would lead.  This group would focus on updates and fixing broken tech things (phone, computer, internet, etc).  COPOS computer needs an upgrade, but that is supplied by COPOS, and we are due for a full COPOS upgrade coming later this year.  Carolyn will draft an outline of what this group would do, including: recycling old computers and parts, serving as a contact point when things break, and keeping the office technology updated.