Minutes of the 4-12-2010 Board Meeting

The Medford Food Co-op
Meeting of the Board of Directors
225 W. Main St., Medford
Apr 12, 2010

Call to Order: 6:10 p.m.

Present: Donna Kessler, Tommy Larson, John Miele, and Jim Sims
Absent: Augustine Colebrook

March 29, 2010 meeting minutes were read and approved.

Old Business:
Director and Officer Liability Insurance application was received by Jim Sims. He agreed to review the paperwork, complete forms, and submit for a response that will include a proposal and related fees.

Estimated corporation tax payments for 2009 have been submitted for both federal and state taxes. Further efforts on past years tax return forms (and 2009) were agreed to be delayed until we have a qualified tax preparer either on staff or made available to us. This will be required shortly, as the MFC progresses towards store opening.

Barbara McGee of the ComNet Marketing Group, delivered a contract for the use of the their facility for the phone-a-thon. She has proposed a schedule and requested information from the MFC to support the event. Apr 27-29 is the proposed training date for callers. The week of May 2 was proposed for the phone-a-thon.

Current status of Bear Creek Plaza site negotiations was discussed. The latest proposal consists of leasing the whole suite (approx 23,000 sqft) and avoiding the high costs associated with splitting up the suite. Since up front costs would be reduced significantly, the per sqft charge has the potential to be reduced to an amount that is acceptable within our sources and uses budget. This has the added benefit of increasing the storefront size, and having plenty of room for future store growth opportunities.

The existing market on the corner of Crater Lake Ave and Roberts Rd was discussed. At almost two miles from the core of downtown Medford, it was agreed that this location was not within our location boundary requirement, nor easy to access for a large part of our membership.

New Business:
Mark Prescott has resigned as a MFC board member. He stated that he is currently overcommitted, and can not continue assisting us in our efforts. Therefore, the MFC is currently looking for assistance from someone with financial and tax preparation expertise.

The questionnaire received from ComNet was reviewed and completed by the board.

After review of the new potential south Riverside location (Jim Sims, John Miele, and Tommy Larson visited the location this past week), Jim Sims agreed to contact Russ Batzer regarding the potential of expanding the building footprint, as well as other modifications necessary to accommodate the MFC. Future site visits to this location should include a potential store manager.

The importance of sending an information update to our members at this time was discussed. The board agreed that an update was needed ASAP, and Jim Sims agreed to work on the content of the letter. He will forward his draft to board members for review.

Adjourned at 8:10 p.m.

Thomas Larson
Secretary