3 Rivers Food Co-op 1612 Sherman Blvd.  Fort Wayne, IN  46808  (260) 424-8812 Public Welcome!     Hours Monday-Saturday: 8:00am-8:00pm, Sundays 10:00am-6:00pm

Board of Directors Meeting Minutes
November 18, 2002

• Call to order at 7:15 PM by Kathy Roudebush, President.
  
• Declaration of Quorum:
  * Board members present: Cathy Blyth, David Hessey, Eldon Horner, Janelle Martin, Steve Miller, Kathy Roudebush, John Young
  * Board Members Absent: none
  *Staff members present: Rosemary Mausser, Joanne Young
• A motion to accept the amended minutes of the meeting was made by Eldon Horner and seconded by Steve Miller. Vote passed unanimously.
• Old Business
  • Update on Walgreen's location
    1. Lease
       -Kathy has the execution copy of the lease. The latest letter from Walgreen's did not include approval for the requested changes.
       -We have 30 days after signing the lease to back out if sufficient funds have not been raised. However, the 4 month rent abatement period will start upon signing.
       
    2. Hoffman Plans
    3. Sources and Uses
       -Rosemary and John put together the sources and uses budget. Included is the money we will be receiving upon liquidation of Blooming Prairie assets. This should occur in early January or February.
    4. Inspection
    5. Costs of Project
       -Cost for the cash register was not filled in as a decision regarding a point-of-sale system is still pending. Total use (without the registers) is $493,250. Payroll costs for the actual move have not been added either. Loss of sales numbers need to be calculated for the days we will be closed while moving to the new store.
       -The monthly budget for the new store is 38% higher than currently. Janelle suggested a call to Bill Gessner to obtain a median number from which to work. She reminded the board that a loss for the first year is normal.
       -Jon Bomberger has offered to pay for a board "field trip" to Wild Oats in Indianapolis.
  • Equity Membership and Member Loans
    1. Meeting with Karen Fraser, NIPR Development Director
       -Karen Fraser has advised us to quietly solicit member loans but push in the store for equity members. We should ask current equity members to solicit others. The board needs to be behind this and make a monetary commitment.
       
    2. Discussion
       -Kathy has spoken to Beth Miller of HPN about targeting new shoppers. She is a coop shopper and will be willing to help with a campaign.
       -A member letter pleading for member loans and equity needs to be drafted. What can be raised? Investigating this with a 30-day drive should give more information.
       -Joanne has begun writing two pamphlets about equity and membership-one for members, the other for non-members.
       -Each board member should take a look at the member list. We need 60-70 people to solicit. A draft of a personal letter and mini-script for a phone call should also be written. Kathy will draft this letter before the end of the week.
       -In the move 10 years ago $116,000 in loans were raised as part of the capital campaign.
       -Janelle asked the management to give a commitment as well. Once in the new store we will need new staff including a marketing director, a professional board recorder, management classes and a full-time bookkeeper.
• New Business
  • Architect
    -An architect needs to be procured out of current reserve funds. Dennis Kim has offered to do the project for $5000. He would get exact measurements to allow completion of our plans. PJ has completed preliminary plans. If we would want more planning from PJ (i.e. exact measurements, redrawn plans, further selection of equipment, etc.) would cost between $3000-$4000. Cathy Blyth moved to finalize blueprints with the architect. The motion was seconded by Janelle. A full vote was unanimous.
    
  • PJ Hoffman
    -Rosemary & John will find the best way to do equipment procurement.
    
  • Signing the Lease
    -Eldon Horner moved the lease be signed after all approvals are given by Walgreen's. Two board members must be present to do this. David Hessey seconded the motion. A full vote was unanimous.
• Old Business
  -Website: Steve reported that Sara Patalita has begun design of our website. It should be up and running by the end of the year.
• Motion to adjourn made by David Hessey and seconded by Cathy Blyth. Vote passed unanimously.
  Meeting adjourned at 9:10.
  Minutes respectfully submitted by Heather A. Grady.
  The next board meeting will be Thursday December 12 at 7 pm.

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