MC Meeting Minutes Wednesday March 26, 2008
Meeting opened: 7.10pm

Attendance
MC: Gemma Beall, Nassim Arrage, Genevieve Derwent, Cecilia Jensen, Linda Grkinic
Others: Warren McLaren, Lisa Durante, Dominika Grossy, Monika Baumann, Gareth Elliott, Gab Nicholson
Apologies: Lara Daley, Jann French, Anika Vinson, Lisa McIntosh, Lisa Durante
Chair: xxx Minutes: Gemma

Confirmation of previous minutes
That the February 2008 meeting minutes be accepted. Genevieve/Gemma CARRIED

Election of new MC member(s)

That Nassim Arrage be elected to the Management Committee of Alfalfa House. Gemma/Genevieve CARRIED

That Linda Grkinic be elected to the Management Committee of Alfalfa House. Cecilia/Genevieve CARRIED

Business arising from previous minutes

MURAL
• Jann not here but gave proposal to staff, feedback is collated, Jann had meeting with artists, they were happy with some ideas, not with others, accepted basic premise of staff ideas, waiting for them to come back with revisions, Jann is looking at previous scaffolding, materials etc quotes. Project is coming together.
• Timeframe: depends on time of year, supply of materials, 3-4 weeks if all artists are available at time we go ahead.

Membership

• 43 new members this past month

That new members #4804-4847 be accepted. Genevieve/Cecilia CARRIED

• Resignations: One (1), member moved interstate
• Forfeitures: N/A

Reports

FINANCE
• Interviews for bookkeeper were successfully carried out by Warren, Cecilia and Anika.
• P&L: last month's profit was bigger than the previous month, on track, no more detail at this moment, more later when Cecilia receives detailed figures
• Genevieve: at AGM it was noted we are accumulating money; as we are a co-op that needs to go back to members, need to have a conversation about that.

That the report be accepted. Gemma/Genevieve CARRIED

CO-OP COORDINATOR
• Genevieve: have vollies who responded to Warren's email been absorbed, started volunteering?
• Warren: yes, eg. gardening, writing, website, MC, shop re-stocking, events
• Cecilia: meeting event vollies on Sunday to formulate events kit.
• Cecilia: counter top issue (replacement/raising etc) needs to be resolved
Proposal: Approving Option 3 in quote with proviso it can be oiled off-site and installed.
Nassim: If this can't be done and will cause disruption, we'll assign a sum of money so at next staff meeting it can be decided, delegate to staff meeting to spend the money, if that doesn't work it needs to come back to MC.

That AH approve option 3 in Jason Davern's quote for modifications to the counter area. Nassim/Genevieve CARRIED

• New Groceries Coordinator contracts will be sent to MC before Stephen signs

That the report be accepted. Cecilia/Gemma CARRIED

STAFF MEETING
• Dom: not enough minutes taken, Gareth should have asked for assistance
• Gareth: my apologies, got verbal responses back but in terms of writing it down it didn't happen, before next Tuesday I need written amendments so minutes can be properly revised.
• Gab: I asked for them to be amended
• Monika: can they be amended at next meeting and be resent, emails were sent yesterday to ask for a chair/sec for next meeting?

STOCK COORDINATOR (F+V)
• Q: $800 approx stock loss? A: kept ordering unusual stuff (eg. quinces) that have been spoiling, have tried recipe ideas etc but hasn't been quick enough for stock. For farmers to send stuff it needs to be a sizeable order
• Q: could loss figure be given as a % of produce ordered? A: could be done from P&L
• Genevieve: loss was spoken about at last MC meeting; what has been lost in real terms not what has been lost financially.
• Dom: if it isn't a huge financial problem, the loss isn't going to waste as the worms are coping with it.
• Monika: shop co-ordinators also give little stuff to regulars so it gets used.
• Gab: some “only cost price” buyers could go on a mailing list, offering spoiling stock out via email, find eg. chutney makers, kitchens etc who could use the lost stock, could turn into a regular thing
• Nassim: agree with the spirit that food shouldn't be wasted, working toward using it constructively.

That the report be accepted. Gemma/Cecilia CARRIED

STOCK COORDINATOR (GROCERIES)
No report this month

Current Matters

GENERAL CO-OP COMMUNICATION
• Gab: (as a background to why this issue is on the meeting agenda) AH currently has a lack of communication, the policy of conflict resolution hasn't been working, communication between staff and MC felt like it was stopped in Dec-Jan, one-on-ones with Warren occurred, bitching happened, Warren sent an email asking for staff appraisal of his work practices but it was beyond breaking point then.
• The conflict resolution process is working in some ways (see Conflict Resolution Policy):
*People could stop and reflect (Step 1)
*Aggrieved people felt they couldn't talk to MC in Dec-Jan so spoke to other staff
• Then at the last staff meeting (Feb), Gab told Warren he was difficult to work around, all staff ended up sharing/venting
• Dom: staff don't get the essence of communication, communication isn't happening, how can it move forward?
• Gareth: many concerns have been raised but there have been no resolutions which affects the co-op climate. Roles are changing, I feel the Shop Co-ordinators are getting only some views not all. Communication needs to be structured into specific Q&A so it doesn't turn into grievances in the absence of solutions.
• Monika: how about sharing communication responsibilities? Balancing the knowledge of staff who go to MC meetings with other staff who don't go. I propose to have 2 staff at each MC meeting to report back to other staff at every staff meeting.
• Cecilia: it has been mentioned many times but it isn't clear to me – where is the communication blockage? We need to specifics rather than rhetoric.
• Dom: staff complaining but not acting (eg by going to MC to change stuff), MC decided staff should be on bookkeeper interview panel but with low recompense rather than making staff feel worthy and wanted, the intentions of MC and staff can get lost at times as information is given but minus the sentiment . . . but I'm letting go as I'm leaving.

CLARIFICATION OF THE ROLE OF CO-OP COORDINATOR
• Gab: having looked through it again, the Co-op Coordinator job description really reflects Warren's decisions
• Dom: it stipulates “in consultation with” many times in his contract and this hasn't been happening
• Gareth: receiving the job description is great, puts all staff on the same page with their understanding of the co-op and its roles.
• Monika: now we are all working on the same information
• Nassim: is there a folder in the shop with all job descriptions?
• Gab: yes, but it's not up to date
• Dom: I can't find the folder
• Cecilia: Warren is first point of contact for staff in shop
• Dom: actually for me it's my MC liaison, staff need to get head around AH policies
• Gab: MC needs to emotionally check-in with staff, co-op has lost its energy
• Monika: current staff training is very work-focused, not so co-op objectives focused. Co-op life is aiming for difference, there will be struggle but that comes with territory.
• Dom: needs to start from next staff meeting, let's carry this agenda item to the next MC meeting for Lara to run with.
• Gab: Warren, do you have anything to add?
• Warren: some stuff falls through the cracks but try as best I can. When issues require I will take responsibility as I'm employed by the MC. My role is probably the least well-defined of all co-op roles. AH has so many people with so much to offer, I try to fill the gaps.
• Genevieve: even if people don't get their own way when there are issues, if they are empowered by discussion process they can deal with it, there was obvious bad process in the way the Co-op Coordinator job description was formulated and this is coming to the fore now, this has caused a lot of the grievances recently. We need to move forward now as the past can't be changed.
• Gab: just please learn from it as people leave resentful of AH all the time.
• Nassim: let's defer this item until next meeting (agenda item was set by Lara who is absent)
• Dom: that felt really weird for me, like I was on “the stand”, these are issues I have raised before, why hadn't the information flowed through?

MC RESPONSIBILITY AREAS FOR AH FUNCTIONING/TASK DELEGATION
MC responsibility areas for AH functioning/Task delegation (see Lara's proposal)
deferred until next meeting

MC/STAFF FORUM
• What kind of forum? Date?
• Should be during the day so staff can all participate
• Gareth: all pitch in with cleaning, somewhere relaxed
• Monika: should be a facilitator, interactive.
• Genevieve: the idea for this day came from an informal MC meeting where vision for AH was discussed and it was obvious that staff needed to be involved.
• Nassim: for this to happen successfully the shop should be closed, it will take a day, • Linda could drive the process, prior to the day staff could bring us “hot” topics.

RENEWAL OF CONTRACT WITH STEVIE BEE
• Deferred until next meeting

SOCK COORDINATOR (F+V) JOB DESCRIPTION AND HOURS
• Dom: extra hours should stay, see email with my amendments to the job description.
• Warren: will move forward with advertising the position ASAP

AH SURVEY AND MONIKA'S HONOURS
• Monika: I would like access to all past surveys, would like to use data to compare results to other co-ops.

That Monika Baumann be given access to past AH member surveys provided that all personal details are removed. Nassim/Gemma CARRIED

Correspondence
None

Other matters

SHOP (time for staff or others to raise matters relating to the co-op)
• Cecilia: bookkeeper interviews, Anika doing reference checks, unanimous choice, should be offered by end of week.

• Gab would like her shop job back, assumed roster hasn’t changed, can she fill in casually until decision is made.

That Gab Nicholson be offered casual Shop Coordinator shifts as they become available, but this not be considered an offer of ongoing employment. Gemma/Cecilia CARRIED

NEXT MEETING
Chair: Genevieve Minutes: Nassim

Wednesday April 23 from 7pm @ Black Rose Bookshop,
22 Enmore Road (next to Sydney Buddhist Centre)

Meeting closed: 9.20pm