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News at a GlanceNancy
Ellegate Note: News at a Glance is a
summary of the
meetings of the HWFC Board of Directors. The HWFC
Board of Directors met on Thursday, December 8. Budget A draft
budget for 2006 was presented and Board members asked questions on
various
items. There were no major concerns. One issue discussed was how to
make new
equipment purchases environmentally friendly. Another item discussed
was the
possibility of subsidizing certain products — a “market basket” of
essential items.
It was explained that since there is no across-the-board mark-up
(mark-ups vary
according to department and product), this could be accomplished
without a
particular budget line. The Board suggested increasing the amount
allocated to
the Membership committee by $1,500 to cover the cost of printing and
distributing the new membership manual, provided this is approved by
the
membership. The Board decided to add an additional column, comparing
projected 2006
expenditures with actual 2005 expenditures, to the budget document
presented at
the January membership meeting. The Board thanked the Finance committee
for its
work on the budget. Nutrition The Board
considered a request for a substantial increase in funds allotted to
the Nutrition
committee — from $1,020 to $5,320. The reason for this change was that
funds
are needed for lobbying against genetically modified organisms (GMOs)
in food,
and for two community educational events on this topic. (It was noted
that the
Coop’s lawyer has confirmed that such lobbying is legal.) The committee
presented an anticipated cost breakdown for these events. The Board
agreed to
this increase. Donation
Policy Not all
money allotted for donations in 2005 was spent. It was recommended that
20% of
the remaining funds go to the Community Loan Fund and 80% to the fund
the Coop
is setting up with the Community Foundation of the Capital District.
(The Coop
controls disbursements from this fund; the foundation administers the
distribution.) The Board agreed. Profits The Finance
committee recommended that profits for the year be allocated as
follows: the
first $99,000 would be kept as retained earnings; up to $75,000 would
be
distributed as membership coupons and bonuses; any sum beyond this
amount would
be kept as retained earnings. This recommendation was presented to the
membership for approval at the January membership meeting. February
Membership Meeting A
membership meeting on the relationship of the Board and the Governance
committee
will be held in February. The intentions and process of the meeting
were
discussed at length. The Board would like the meeting to be a
discussion of the
overall role of the Governance committee for the Coop as a whole. In
order to
have a productive meeting, a summary of issues and questions to be
addressed should
accompany the announcement of the meeting. The Governance committee was
to
provide a draft for the Board to consider by the January Board meeting. Summary
of Discussion A Coop
member had planned to call a referendum over several issues. After
discussion with
the Board about how these concerns could be otherwise addressed, the
member
decided not to do so. A summary of the results of this discussion are
included
in the minutes. Briefly, issues regarding substantive awards to Coop
members
for extraordinary service were to be considered at the January
membership meeting;
the role of the Governance committee in initiating by-laws changes will
be
considered at a February membership meeting, although determination
will not be
settled at that time. On a third issue, the posting of minutes and
reports on
the Coop’s website, the Coop will seek to do this in a
password-protected area
so that these documents are available only to members. The Board plans
to
confirm the formal summary with the member. Planning Board
members were assigned various tasks for the January membership meeting.
Preparations
were made for the February retreat on strategic planning. A visioning
document
for this is in the works and a draft was forthcoming. Minutes Minutes of
all meetings are available at the Coop. Minutes of the most recent
Board
meeting are posted on the bulletin board. Upcoming
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