The HWFC Board of Directors met on Wednesday, April 28.

This was the first formal Board meeting after the General Membership Meeting and the election of new Board members. The annual Board retreat to orient new directors and plan for the coming year was scheduled for the following week. The Board agreed to continue with the same officers for this meeting and to decide on officers at the retreat. One item for discussion will be the Board liaison’s role in keeping committees functioning.

The team will have a representative come to Board meetings. Team members will take turns attending.

The Finance committee and the Collective Management Team approved a policy that allows staff to apply for short-term, interest-free loans (i.e., an advance on salary) using accrued vacation and personal time as collateral. The Board had already discussed such a policy and agreed to it in principal. The employee cannot use the accrued time or request another advance until the loan is paid in full. Each advance will have a written agreement that includes a statement of the policy.

Recent repairs were made to the warehouse floor and the produce cooler.

The electrical contractor has been completing work on air conditioning for the store, since summer will be here soon.

The question of who has the authority to create new departments or programs and to determine the use of store space was discussed. How should these matters be decided? Day-to-day management is the responsibility of the staff, but at what level does Board or member input become essential? The consensus of the discussion was that if there are major financial considerations or if policy issues are involved, the Board must make the decision. The Collective Management Team has the responsibility to run the store, but also to make sure space is used efficiently and meets various needs.

The Board president thanked the Governance committee for their suggestions on the conduct of the Annual Meeting.

The committee raised the question of having a quorum at the time of voting (as opposed to having a quorum to convene the meeting as is currently the formal requirement of the bylaws). The merits of full discussion before voting versus time constraints for attendees and the possibility of absentee voting were also noted. The Governance committee will consider these issues and make formal proposals.

The Board met in executive session at the end of the meeting.

Minutes of all meetings are available at the Coop. Minutes of the most recent meeting are posted on the bulletin board.