|
|
|
Coop'ers OK budgetby
Deborah Trupin At the
annual January member meeting, Coop members approved the budget for
2006. The budget
includes funds for capital improvements to the store. Some of these
improvements will allow for an expanded Farm Direct program, as passed
by the
members in October 2005, while other improvements will address existing
equipment and space that are badly in need of upgrades. The capital
improvements will also let Honest Weight begin to use the 4,500 square
feet of
additional space in the building that has just been leased (with Board
and
budgetary approval). Once this new space is adapted, Honest Weight will
use all
of the building behind the Family Dollar! In general,
the plan for 2006, as explained by Cindee Lolik, HWFC’s operations and
administrative coordinator, is to make some basic improvements to the
area now
used for cheese, specialty foods and other sales. This area was once
the
warehouse area, and it still looks like a warehouse It will receive a
new
floor. The new space will become the warehouse area, permitting some of
the
present warehouse area to be used for sales. Specifically, members
approved
funds to replace the bulk cooler and to move the dairy and freezer
walk-in
coolers. These are the coolers that store food before it is put out on
the
retail shelves. A small cooler and a small freezer, both for retail
use, will
be purchased for the Farm Direct poultry and the Farm Direct meat,
respectively. The budget also includes funds for larger retail coolers
and
freezers for prepared vegetarian and vegan foods, to allow HWFC to
expand the
offerings in these areas. There are also funds for ergonomic
improvements to
the front end (check out areas), and upgrades for the coffee maker and
soup
station. All of the funds to do these projects are in-hand; no
financing is
required. While these
improvements (most of which are moveable) are going on, HWFC continues
to
explore further improvements in the current space and to look at other
spaces —
both in addition to and instead of The Site
Search subcommittee of the Strategic Planning committee continues to
work with
a realtor to find appropriate locations in and around Albany, although
(as
reported at the April 2005 Annual Meeting and in the October referenda)
this
search is proving to be extremely difficult. Thus, this year’s budget
also
includes money to begin working with an architect to redesign the
current
store, which we are committed to for five years. The Collective
Management Team
(CMT) has met with architect Marty Dion, of Sage Associates, to give
him ideas of
what they would like to see in the new store. He will take these ideas,
meet
again with individual CMT members, and begin to re-design 484 Central.
Included
in the wish list are an improved Community Room, a smaller meeting
room, a
break room, a teaching room with kitchen and more space for almost all
departments. Once Dion and the CMT have developed a plan that works,
the CMT
and Board will develop a business plan to see how HWFC can fund the
project. At
that point, the proposal will go to the membership for approval. Thus,
as always
at HWFC, the members will be the ones who decide. This would also be
the time
to commit to keeping the Meanwhile,
the Strategic Planning committee held a retreat in January, attended by
the
CMT, the Board and about 10 members at large. In addition to covering
some of
the things described above, the group reviewed the ideas concerning a
possible
second store and agreed that: any second location should be within 15
miles of
484 Central Avenue, that it should be to the north of our current
location,
that it should have access to a highway and bus transport, that it have
adequate
truck access, that zoning be appropriate, and that it have community
(i.e., the
community where the location is) support. Based on these decisions, it
was
decided to continue exploring the Latham site previously discussed. The
CMT has
thus asked Dion to do very general design of space needs. This will be
given to
the owners of the location and they will, in turn, give HWFC a price —
for
renovations and for leasing. Once HWFC has those figures, the CMT and
Board
will develop a business plan. Again, that plan would be put to the
membership
for approval. |
CoopScoop Home
|
