MC Meeting Minutes Tuesday September 25, 2007
Meeting opened: 7.10pm

Attendance
MC: Elmarie Pareezer, Vivienne Murray, Rick Shaw, Sarah Cook, Cecilia Jensen
Others: Natalie Jurdeczka, Tim Pratley, Shin Nee Teoh, Stevie Bee, Warren McLaren, Lisa Durante
Apologies: Nick Penty, Dominika Grossy
Chair: Elmarie Minutes: Vivienne

Confirmation of previous minutes
That the August 2007 meeting minutes be accepted.
Proposed Elmarie/Sarah CARRIED by consensus

Membership
• Warren to email list of new members from July, August and September to MC - Completed (170 new members)
• Resignations. None
• Forfeitures. None

Reports

TREASURER tabled

STAFF MEETING
Monika emailed first draft minutes to staff only. Warren to forward first to MC. MC to be emailed minutes of all future staff meetings

STOCK COORDINATOR (FRUIT+VEG) tabled

STOCK COORDINATOR (GROCERIES) tabled
• Filtered Water. The plastic container is made from polycarbonate, which contains bisphenol A, which seeps out as the material ages or is exposed to heat or acids. (Bisphenol A has been linked to prostrate cancer and pre-cancerous breast tissue in animal studies as well as possible birth defects.)
Proposal to change to Wellness Filter: $900 (approx); 4000 litres/cartridge; $150/ cartridge; has a gauge to warn when to change filter. Requires a separate tap therefore will entail an installation cost
(Stevie Bee: under health regulations, food must not be prepared or dispensed at the hand washing sink.) We currently sell 20 litres/week (approx.); will see if there's significant demand once we run out of current stock
• Sunscreen. Working with a company to supply sunscreen in bulk. The delay is in the company sourcing a pump

CO-OP COORDINATOR
• Members' Survey – survey results spreadsheet created. Data being entered.
Survey Competition winner to be drawn from the hat and notified by email.
• Filemaker: Automated new member process; data entry of new members (1–2 hours a week)
• New staff members - Warren and Rick interviewed eight applicants for the four new Shop Coordinator positions. MC thanked Warren and Rick for their efforts in the recruitment process, especially how many people they interviewed in one day.
• Dom conducting staff training to staff as back up in her role as Fruit+Veg Coordinator.
• Suggest a daily takings spreadsheet to monitor payments to suppliers as we are up to 8 days late in paying some suppliers.
• Annual General Meeting (AGM) to be held by end of November – requires 21 days' notice for announcement of meeting.
• Difficulties adjusting bench height at the till due to height variations between people.
• North Illawarra cooperative being set up
• Hot Water. Need plumber to get hot water inside co-op

Current Matters

MEMBER SURVEY – see Co-op Coordinator's report

COMPUTER ACCESS FOR MC AND VOLUNTEERS
• To be reviewed at next meeting; staff and Vivienne yet to look at it

STAFF INTERVIEWS – see Co-op Coordinator's report

STAFF REVIEWS
• Warren + MC liaison person to review staff performance
• Sarah: what will be reference for performance, job description, AH objectives?
• Vivienne: needs to contain assessment process not just looking at how staff are finding position
Action: Sarah to recommend a template for staff review

ROSTERING
Saturday was previously problematic – has been resolved with new staff

PAY SCALE REVIEW
Warren and Cecilia to work on year-ahead budget

WORKING CAPITAL
• Rick: Brad from Registry of Co-ops suggested AH build up some working capital, i.e., cash in the bank for intergenerational equity. Currently we have negative $3000 in equity, however, we will soon have positive equity. Not-for-profit organisations often use surplus cash to adjust prices – to keep them down, i.e., a benefit of membership – thereby maintaining zero equity. However, sound business practice would suggest keeping prices up to accumulate some equity/working capital, e.g., $25,000. Currently, AH is $3,000 short of covering the shares for the entire membership. A formal response will be required by the Co-op Registry in relation to our equity issue.

ANNUAL REPORT/AGM
• How is it created?
• Time lines
• Sarah – produced based on snapshot of the year
• Warren to produce/organise Registry and Auditor's Report
• Rick to draft MC Report, to be reviewed by MC, Groceries (Lisa), Fruit+Veg (Dom)
• AGM Newsletter Timeline
• Date of AGM: Tuesday November 20, 2007 (third Tuesday of month) to allow for the possibility of extending it to the next week (like last year)
• Warren to source venue. Petersham Town Hall is free if booked in advance
• October 11: copy deadline
• October 15: MC to have reviewed MC Report and approved newsletter
• October 19: newsletter to printer
• October 24: newsletter back from the printers
• October 26: post out newsletter
• October 30: deadline for members to receive newsletter (21 days notice for AGM)
• Email as many as possible
• Sarah will assist Cecilia to produce Treasurer's Report

Correspondence
None

General Business

SYDNEY UNIVERSITY FOOD CO-OP LETTER OF SUPPORT
• Written and sent on behalf of AH by Rick

FEASTIBILITY
• Cecilia: Free stall, good for raising AH's profile, good response from volunteers in terms of numbers and energy
• A lot of email bounce-backs when contacting people to volunteer, will contact people
to get new email addresses
• Marrickville Directory - AH can be in it if we like, it's free
• Sold a lot of apples, oranges and bananas. Tamari Almonds were best seller
• More compact than Live Green
• Thanks to Cecilia for organising Feastibility and to Lisa and Dom for organising food
• MC will communicate earlier for future events

MC UPDATE
• Newtown Neighbourhood Centre (NNC) only available 3rd Tuesday, check if available 4th Monday, Wednesday or Thursday for 2008

MC/STAFF LIASON
• 4 new staff members, will need to be allocated MC liason for each staff member .

DAVE'S PERMANENT EXTRA DISCOUNT (PXD)
• Policy prior to September 2006 was that resigning staff were entitled to half their tenure again on the permanent extra discount or converted to one (1) extra discount for each week of that period. If redeemed immediately, staff member can shop as many times as desired for specified period (in Dave's case 56 weeks).
• Action: Convert to 52 XD shops to be suspended until Dave returns from overseas
• This policy only applies to staff employed prior to September 2006: Dave, Dom and Lisa.
• Sarah: if policy in place it applies to all people who are employed

MURAL
• Warren has taken over the project and has received submissions from Tag artists, three female friends of Dave Harris' who did @ Newtown Mural
• Warren will liase with Sarah
• 4-step process: 1. undercoat 2. background scene 3. features in black
4. lacquer/varnish
• Costs are covered

MC MEMBER OVERSEAS
• Rick will be going overseas for work. However, he will continue as MC member to AGM via email
• Nick Penty has not been voted off.

Meeting closed 9.20pm