UKIAH NATURAL FOODS
(A.K.A. THE HOMESTEAD EXCHANGE)
MINUTES OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS
The regular meeting of the Ukiah Natural Foods Board of Directors was
convened on Monday, January 14, 2007, 6 PM, at the NCO Meeting Room, 481
South State St, Ukiah CA.
Call to Order
President Terry Nieves called the meeting to order at 6:06 pm.
Board Members
Adam Gaska
George Gibbs, Treasurer
Dan Hamburg, Vice President
Jacquie Lee
MaryLou Leonard
Terry Nieves, President
Don Sanderson
Joe Wildman
Staff
Lori Rosenberg, Anne Wright
Member-Owners
Marcela Ries
INTRODUCTIONS
None.
MEMBER COMMENTS
None.
APPROVAL OF AGENDA AND MINUTES
Agenda Approval
Joe requested Action Item 4.3, the acceptance of Ross Beck’s resignation
letter and declaring a board seat vacancy, be added to the agenda.
M/S/C (Hamburg, Gibbs) to accept the agenda with the addition of Action
Item 4.3. The agenda included a closed session for a discussion of personnel
issues.
The agenda was approved unanimously.
Approval of 12/10/07 Minutes
A number of board members had either not received the minutes or had not
had time to properly review them. The approval of the December minutes
will be postponed until the February board meeting.
SECRETARY’S ANNOUNCEMENTS
None.
GENERAL MANAGER’S REPORT
Lori sent out her report electronically. The following topics were discussed:
• All board members were given a copy of the 2008 Marketing Plan.
• A part-time Marketing and Outreach assistant has been hired to
work with Susan Grelock.
• Management will be meeting with Charlie Stump before the Airport
Commission Board meeting to discuss how the meeting will be structured,
protocol, etc. The Co-op will be represented by staff as well as Mike
Brown from Sutti & Associates.
• The Airport Board already has copies of the plans, all pertinent
documents, and a recommendation from the city.
ACTION ITEMS
Accept resignation of Ross Beck and declare a vacant seat
M/S/C (Wildman, Hamburg) to accept the resignation of Ross Beck and declare
his seat vacant.
Elect a new board secretary
Joe volunteers to serve as board secretary until the new board members
are elected in April.
M/S/C (Hamburg, Lee) to elect Joe Wildman as board secretary.
Review and approve 2008 budget
The following budget-related topics were discussed:
• Growth for 2008 is expected to be about 10%.
• The average wage paid at the Co-op appears to be on the low-end
of the pay scale because there have been numerous new hires at the store
recently.
• The living wage has been budgeted higher than average, but is
still not enough for major purchases such as a car.
M/S/C (Gibbs) the Finance Committee recommends the 2008 Budget is adopted
by the board. The board votes unanimously to accept the budget as presented.
BOARD COMMITTEE REPORTS
Board Education/Outreach & Membership
The Committee reported on the following:
• The Committee discussed the last Member Gathering.
• There will be only two or three Member Gathering scheduled for
2008. The upcoming gatherings will have a more focused topic, such as
local food.
• The next Member Gathering is tentatively scheduled for May and
will be used as a kickoff for the introduction of Renegade produce at
the Co-op.
• Mendocino Renegade is a certification program for local farmers
who are using organic methods but can’t afford or don’t want
USDA organic certification. Mendocino Renegade utilizes peer-evaluation
and the maximum fee for certification is $200.
• The Co-op will have to keep the “Renegade” produce
out of physical contact with other organic produce.
• The Co-op will no longer be certified organic; we can not keep
our certification if we want to sell renegade, uncertified produce.
Donations & Grants
The committee met and reported the following:
• The committee hopes to have updates from the 2007 Grant recipients
to discuss and display at the next Member Gathering.
• The 2008 Grant applications should be available in March or April.
Elections & Nominations
The Committee reported the following:
• The election will be carried out the same as last year’s.
• If there are only three candidates running for the three open
seats, there is a possibility of using a “white” ballot. This
would essentially inform the members that the three candidates are running
unopposed and would therefore be seated to the board. Joe will investigate
whether this is allowable under the bylaws.
Finance
Finance Committee minutes were sent out electronically. The following
topics were mentioned:
• Our labor costs are lower than other Co-ops because we don’t
have a deli and also we do not have enough space to hire some desired
administrative positions.
• The average employee turnover rate is between 45%-68%.
Governance
The committee did not meet; Joe will research the possibility of a White
Ballot.
Human Resources
This report will be given in Closed Session.
Local Food Security
None.
NEW BUSINESS
Presentation by Mendo Grow Fund
Frieda from Mendo Grow Fund made a presentation to the board. The following
topics were discussed:
• The Mendo Grow Fund, an initiative of the Cloud Forest Institute,
is a new organization that is being developed to encourage local philanthropy.
The group hopes to officially “kick off” in August, and is
looking for local businesses to offer sponsorship in exchange for advertising
on their website.
• The Grow Fund has been developed as a way to provide start-up
funding for local non-profit groups who are not yet stable and/or developed
enough to apply for grants.
• All participants in the Mendo Grow Fund must be all-volunteer,
non-profit organizations and be located in Mendocino County.
• Donors can pick the organization they wish to support from a list
on the website. One third of the money goes to the chosen group, one third
is divided amongst all the other groups, and the remaining third goes
to a community grant fund.
• The Mendo Grow Fund would like the Co-op to be a business sponsor.
The amount they are asking for is $500 or less (sliding scale). In exchange,
the Co-op will have ads on the website. They would also like to place
literature at the Co-op in August when the group is officially ready to
“kick-off”.
• This sponsorship fee would come out of the 2008 operational budget,
and is therefore not a matter for the board to vote on.
• Frieda will write an official sponsorship request letter and bring
it to Lori for consideration.
DIRECTOR COMMUNICATIONS
Director Reports
• Dan compiled the notes from the last Member Gathering taken by
Marlene Sanderson and Diane Nelson.
• Dan will write something for inclusion in the next newsletter
about ways in which to move some of the ideas expressed at the Gathering
into action.
Board Agenda
The following topics will be on the next board agenda:
• The December minutes will be voted on.
• The board will consider whether to appoint someone to fill the
seat left vacant by Ross.
• The Annual Meeting will be discussed.
MEMBER COMMENTS
None.
CLOSED SESSION
The board adjourned into Closed Session at 7:25.
There was no action taken in the Closed Session.
The next regularly scheduled board meeting will be February 11, 2008,
at 6 p.m. at the NCO meeting room.
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