General Meeting: 03.07.2014

Facilitator: Christina Travers
 Timekeeper: Abby

Notes: Dorothy Lawrence

Welcome/Orientation. The meeting began at 7:00 pm. All attendees were current members.

Approve Minutes. The minutes of the February meeting were approved.

Facilitator, timekeeper and note-taker chosen

REPORTS:

Membership:

Board member Nick Collins reported that the Coop now has 1,322 members, 512 of whom are active and 266 who are on Parental or General leave. Mailings were sent to deactivated members telling them about changes and improvements in the Coop and inviting them to reactivate their membership. Orientations are now held in the Coop. The next project is to present educational projects for members, for example, how to check your work hours, make schedule changes, and suggestions.  

Sunday Hours. Sunday hours are projected to begin on April 27, 2014. The survey on Sunday work hours showed some preference for 2 to 6 pm, but there was also a preference for hours beyond 6:00 pm. A motion was made and passed unanimously to schedule the Sunday hours 3:00 to 7:00 pm. Alison has a list of about 100 floaters available for work shifts. This schedule will be revisited in September.

Finance: Sean Mullane

The Finance Committee, led by Sean, Christina and Kate, has been working overtime to get solid figures on Coop finances. Basic bookkeeping is in place, which allows focus on our business model. Using Quick Books allows better tracking of inflow and outflow. Our sales average $10,000 a week on a cost of $8,000.

All vendor payments are current, four bookkeepers have been trained and cash management is regularized. Approximately 10% of weekly sales are cash. The cash management system has been regularized and can be verified with information from the POS system.

The Committee’s next step includes working with Merchandise and Design/Build Committees re installing the new POS system. This will have two I-Pad based check-out stations and the option for a third station. This new system will be faster and provide better information for ordering. It will also provide statistics on hourly sales to monitor our optimum operating hours.

Two POS systems venders were identified. A motion was made to ask Hillary to serve as Project Manager, to begin in one week, and that system requirements, as outlined by the chosen vender, will be completed the following week, with a goal to have the new system in place by May.

Other Finance Committee work includes renegotiating Directors and Officers insurance (premiums were tripled) and preparing comprehensive financial statements. Cash flow statements are ready for presentation to the Park Slope Food Coop for consideration of their Loan Committee. The members thanked Sean and the Committee for their devoted work to professionalize coop finances.

Board Elections

Nick Collins reported that there are three Board slots needing candidates now. Three potential candidates have been identified and others are under consideration. See “Elections to the Board of Directors – April 29” on this web site, published March 2, 2014. These Directors will hold office until elections at the 2015 Annual Meeting.

Open Shopping Day

The Open Shopping Day on Saturday, March 22, 2014, was a huge success, possibly due to cooperation with the milliontreesnyc program. Sales were about $3,000 higher than usual. The free trees were all taken in the first 90 minutes after the coop opened. Open Shopping Days are planned for each quarter, simultaneous with other community events when possible.

Lawrence Eichorn reported on the new Refrigeration.

The new refrigeration was installed under the $10,000 budget. Display equipment for meet and poultry will be purchased and one coolant tube will be insulated. Current options for keeping cold inside the units are solid plastic sheeting and ribbon plastic sheeting to cover the merchandise. One recommendation was to use the sheets only when the Coop is closed. It is especially important in winter months to keep food cold and the building warm. The Merchandise Committee will decide whether the old refrigerators will be sold, given away or donated, but the group consensus was that they should be removed as soon as possible.

The next General Meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, April 29, 2014, at 7:00 pm.

The meeting was adjourned at 8:50 pm.