Board of Directors Meeting - La Montanita Co-op Food Market

Directors Present:
Marshall Kovitz, Kyle Harwood, George Schroeder, Cheryl Plum, Kevin Keene, and Tracy Brown.

Management Present:
Michelle Franklin, Ahmed El-Maghalawi, Robyn Seydel, and Edite Cates.

Also Present:
Pat Janney, Mary Grube, Jim McKenzie, and Clarke Conde.

Minutes:
David Lusby.

Facilitator:
George Schroeder.

Timekeeper:
Kevin Keene.

Board Officer Election:

Action Taken:
Marshall nominated George to serve as President; Kevin seconded the nomination, and George accepted the nomination.

Kyle nominated Kevin to serve as Vice-President; Marshall seconded the nomination, and Kevin accepted the nomination. Tracy and Cheryl agreed to remain Treasurer and Secretary, respectively. Cheryl moved, and Kyle seconded, to accept these nominations as appointments for the coming year.

The motion passed, 6-0.

Interim Team Report:
Robyn Seydel noted that she had sent out an I-Team Report and a set of financial reports as well.

The Directors present acknowledged receiving these materials. Robyn summarized these reports aloud and asked for discussion.

Issues Raised:
George asked for a summary of issues raised by the I-Team's efficiency consultant.

Ahmed summarized these as falling into three areas: membership relations, internal management structure, and systems: i.e., purchasing, inventory control, product tracking and business planning.

There was also some discussion of the relationship between the Co-op culture and the changing marketplace.

Board Role in Grievances:
Marshall, referring to his recent e-mail to the Board of Directors, noted that the I-Team is reviewing personnel policy, including the grievance procedure/policy for staff.

He moved that the Board direct the I-Team "to remove from the Personnel Manual all references to the Board of Directors being involved in grievance procedures."

Kevin seconded the motion, and discussion began.

Issue Raised:
Kyle and Pat both commented that this issue is directly involved with La Montanita's business liability insurance.

Kyle noted that action on the issue would be premature without careful consideration of the liability issue.

Issue Raised:
Tracy asked if anyone has researched how other co-ops address this issue. No one was aware of such research.

Issue Raised:
Michelle noted that the draft document is complete, and both STLs support the idea of removing the Board from the grievance process.

The draft will now go to the I-Team for review; then to two lawyers, one selected as being pro-labor, for legal review, then to the Board of Directors for final review, presumably with at least two lawyers present, the Board's and the management's.

Action Taken:
Kyle asked Marshall to revoke his motion, and Marshall agreed. Kyle moved, and Tracy seconded, to remove the motion pending further research.

The motion passed, 6-0.

Action Required:
Tracy will research what other co-ops do on this issue.

Kyle will speak with the Board's attorney and lay the groundwork for the review process.

Edite will consult with Michelle and the management attorney. All will report back to the Board at the November meeting.

Executive Session:
The Board and I-Team went into executive session at 8:00 p.m.