Upcoming Meetings and Topics

April 27 -- Board elections. We will be electing four board members, and  voting on whether shareholders who do not intend to work in the store need to attend an orientation session.

Interested in joining the Board of Directors?
Fill out the application: Word or PDF

June -- voting on the cost of new shares and a preliminary design for the new store.

Directions

From the East, West or South: Take the Thruway to Exit 24.
 I-90 (Albany, Troy, Boston) east. *Exit at Exit 2 (Washington Avenue, Fuller Road, State University). Turn left onto Washington Avenue and head east toward downtown Albany. Go about 3 miles. FUUSA is on the left at the corner of Washington Avenue and Robin Street.

From the North: Take the Northway (I-87) south to Exit 1E (I-90 East). Follow the directions above beginning at the *.

Past Meetings

February, 2008
The Referenda Rules passed and the Policy and Procedures for Creating Change passed as well. The vote counts were:
Referendum procedure: YES: 82; NO: 2
Creating change document: YES: 80; NO: 5

Budget Meeting Jan 27, 2008
The budget passed 112 to 8, and the preliminary project budget for the Watervliet Avenue building passed 106-14.

General Membership Meeting
October 21, 2007
Co-op members voted 189-13 to purchase the new building on Watervliet Ave., in Albany. For more information:

Press Release: The co-op has completed the purchase of 100 Watervliet Avenue

Meeting Announcement (Word file)
Considerations for New Space slide show (pdf file)

Sunday, September 23rd, 2007

Meeting Announcement
We’ll be discussing bylaw changes that will clarify our structure and help our organization run smoothly. These items were discussed at the last meeting, but were unable to be voted upon due to a rule about bylaw and incorporation changes. There is a lot of reading for these votes.

Suggested Reading List
Current Bylaws
Proposed Bylaws revisions
Complete Bylaws, with revisions inserted
Jared King's alternative bylaws provision proposal
Current Member Manual
Proposed Member Manual

Sunday June 17th, 2007
Full Meeting Announcement (Word document).

Meeting Minutes (Word document)

Topics
- the proposed bylaws changes defining the Governance Committee and it's scope and the creation of an ad hoc Bylaws Panel for future changes to the bylaws (see the full text of the current bylaws with the proposed revisions);
- a discussion about the revised Membership Manual (also see the current Membership Manual);
- and a vote to increase the price of a share to $135.00; this will be incorporated into the Membership Manual.

Open Meeting to discuss the proposed Product Manual and Open Discussion to Consider Changing the Way We Sell Fish and Meat

These meetings have all passed, but you can read the notes from the meetings online.

Tuesday, July 12th, 2005
Wednesday, August 17th, 2005
Sunday, September 11th, 2005

October Referenda

The results of the referenda mailed out in October are now in. The questions, and the results of the vote are:

1) Shall we adopt the enclosed product manual?
 This passed 218 to 37, with 8 not responding.

2) Do you want to expand the Farm Direct program using the same strict guidelines as it has now, where the meat is: separately stocked when available from local (regional), certified organic if possible, as close as possible if not, free-range, healthily fed without hormones or anti-biotics, packaged without additives or preservatives including nitrites, and the fish is: stocked frozen or canned that is either farmed but certified organic or wild from non-threatened species, and is rated Best by Seafood Watch or other highly restrictive seafood monitoring agencies?
 This passed 149 to 99, with 13 not responding and 2 not submitted.

3) Do you want to expand the Farm Direct program using less strict guidelines, where the meat is separately stocked, local, certified organic if possible, as close as possible if not, free-range, healthily fed without hormones or anti-biotics, packaged without additives or preservatives including nitrites, IF AVAILABLE. National brands and products may be substituted to fill the stocking demand. (As with produce, we would purchase the best we can and fill in with other products so the selection remains varied and constant.)
 This failed, 78 to 181 with 4 not responding.

4) Should the HWFC board of directors and CMT begin to allocate resources to acquire a second store?
 This passed 150 to 110 with 3 not responding.