Member Affairs Committee (MAC) Minutes 8/27/14
Present: Melissa Morin (facilitator), Laura Ridenour, Jade Flores, Sue Ann Croft, Seth Mangold, Kris Buettner, Melissa Elkins, Stan Parker, Jean Rogers, Jo Ann McNerthney, Zachary Robertson, Charles Law, Nancy Metcalf
Absent: Adrienne Battis, Nathan Chapman, Yovel Johns, Summer Cushman, Jeremy Cushman
Agenda Review: Due to a full agenda the group skipped the Outreach report and reviewed two MAC grant requests instead. The MAC retreat dates will be scheduled by email.
Decision: The committee will add approval of the minutes as a standing agenda item.
Coal-Free PSE Presentation: Stan Parker, Co-op and Sierra Club member, asked the Co-op to join other businesses in Washington in signing a letter to Puget Sound Energy (PSE). State officials and the governor are also in support. The letter asks PSE to initiate a plan that would specifically address the full costs of its coal power and consider replacing coal power with energy efficient wind and solar power. Stan stated that about 30% of our energy still comes from coal; about 50% comes from hydro. Coal is considered our primary energy source due to the time and cost of firing up coal plants (hydro plants can be shut down and brought back up much more quickly).
c MAC can check with Judith Akins to see how many Bellingham businesses have already signed the letter and how many it has been presented to. It was suggested that the Sierra Club also present the letter and proposal to Sustainable Connections.
Discussion: The Sierra Club is reputable and there is general support by MAC to recommend that the Board sign the letter, but more information is needed about the infrastructure needed to implement a coal-free PSE and on the initiative in general. We should gather more background information on the Coal-Free PSE letter. More information might also be needed regarding the impact to the communities that would be affected by a change like this.
Proposal: To recommend the Board of Directors sign the Coal-Free PSE letter to the PSE CEO.
Decision: The committee reached consensus.
Member Concern – 7th Generation: Member-owner Charles Law informed the group that the company Seventh Generation has been pushing for legislation (Toxic Chemical Safety Act Reform) that goes against their purported mission and values (the legislation could lead to required animal testing). PETA and Physicians for Responsible Medicine are against the legislation and are urging others to do the same. Charles is asking the Co-op to educate customers on the issue and to send a letter to Seventh Generation. He hopes that the Co-op will respond before the legislation is brought to a vote.
Considerations/Concerns: Committee members requested a FAQ sheet and/or a copy of any documentation regarding the grassroots campaign led by Seventh Generation.
Recommendation: MAC would like to have more information regarding the Seventh Generation issue. The committee recommended that the MAC, the Board, and/or the Sustainability Coordinator look into the information on the Seventh Generation issue and report back to the group.
Board Meeting Report: MAC committee chair Melissa Morin summarized the August Board meeting for the group. There was a suggestion to post the Co-op’s FAQ sheet about Eden Foods on the website.
MAC Grant Requests – Kuntz and Company and Explorations Academy: Two MAC grants have been awarded this year (which leaves three for the remainder of the year). Kuntz and Co requested a grant to help produce the community theater piece Hide and Seek. Explorations Academy is requesting a grant to purchase local food for school events and gardening supplies as part of the school’s cooking and gardening curriculum. Both organizations have received MAC grants in the past. A few other groups have expressed interest in applying for MAC grants this year but we haven’t received proposals from them.
Discussion:
c Explorations Academy: Curriculum like this will help the school become a real Farm to School example.
A MAC member asked if the Co-op could offer wholesale costs on food purchases as an alternative to a grant.
c Kuntz and Company: The last MAC grant they received led to a successful event with good promotion of the Co- op. Several MAC members spoke in support of Kuntz and Co and the good work they do for the community through their powerful performances. The performance is not recommended for children.
Proposals:
c To award a $400 MAC grant to Explorations Academy and suggest that they seek smaller food donations from the Co-op through the Outreach department’s donations program during the year.
c To award a $400 MAC grant to Kuntz and Company.
Decision: The committee reached consensus and approved both grants.
Community Shopping Day (CSDS) Selection Process: The committee reviewed the process in preparation for the selection meeting on September 24. It is very important for committee members to review the applications thoroughly and make their initial selection ahead of time.
Customer Comment Review: Seth reviewed the quarter two customer comment report with a focus on any trends that should be relayed to the Board and Management Team.
Highlights: There were more complaints than usual (parking lot and facilities primarily) and some rather amusing comments.
Suggestions: Gather feedback from staff on the system—how long does it take them to answer, do they like the system, are comments being answered proactively and in a friendly manner, etc. Also, where do the great suggestions go—what happens next?
c Could a basic guideline be created for answering comments? This might most effectively be integrated into policy.
c Maybe there is a way for commenter(s) to indicate if the answer to their question was adequate.
To-do’s: Laura R will follow-up with the policy suggestion with the SPC/BDC.
Cooperative Education Project Class Update (CEP): There are three classes scheduled: Getting Started – 9/30/14; Laying the Business Framework – 10/7/14; Formalizing the Co-op – 10/14/14. Classes will be limited to 30 students in each class. Five of six instructors have been secured for the classes. There will be two instructors per class and one more is needed for the class on 10/14.There will be two pieces in the September Co-op newsletter on the program/classes.
Action Item: MAC members are encouraged to attend to be group leaders for breakout sessions – talk to anyone on the sub-committee to get involved. Nancy/Jean will email MAC the details.
Advocacy Sub Committee: The group was only able to meet once in July, but it was a productive meeting. Stewardship and advocacy topics relevant to MAC were reviewed and will be discussed further at the next meeting. The sub-committee also reviewed various topics that could be addressed by the Co-op and how best to respond to member requests championing specific issues that are highly relevant to the Co-op. They plan to have a proposal for MAC at the October meeting.
· A committee member expressed interest in continuing a conversation about supporting farm worker unions.
To-do: Laura R and Jo Ann (a MAC committee member), will follow up on the topic.
Closing Comments: The next MAC meeting is the Community Shopping Day selection meeting and will be an hour longer than usual.
Next MAC meeting: September 24th, 2014 at 5:15pm in the Cordata Roots Room.