28 October, 2021 – Draft Minutes
| Date | 28 October, 2021 |
|---|---|
Time | 6.30 PM |
| Location | via ZOOM Meeting ID: 816 8608 3368 Password: 085562 |
| Meeting opened at | 6.37 |
| Meeting closed at | 8.50 |
| Facilitator | Andrew Whittingham |
|---|---|
| Minute taker | Cyrus Irani |
| Timekeeper | Bruce Diekman |
| Next meeting date | Thursday 25 November, 2021 |
Acknowledgement of Country: Before we begin the meeting, I would like to acknowledge and pay respect to the traditional owners, both past and present, of the land we occupy and upon which we meet — the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation. It is also upon their ancestral lands that Alfalfa House is built.
We welcome all participants to this Alfalfa House gathering and acknowledge our aim to build a community based on mutual respect and support for each other through acts of active listening, thoughtful and clear communication, sharing of knowledge and experience, and the creation of safe spaces where each of us can participate in achieving the aims of our co-op.
1. Attendance and Apologies
Attendance (MC): Bruce Diekman, Jenny Kent, Janet Loughman, Cyrus Irani, Tara Morelos, Andrew Whittingham, Isabel Togi, Ai Leen Quah
Attendance (Members): Ran de Silva, Sandra Clark, Bill Jarvis, Alex Giersz
Apologies:
2. Approval of Agenda
That the agenda be approved.
Moved: Bruce
Seconded: Janet
Carried by consensus
3. Consent Agenda
That the consent agenda be approved.
Moved: Bruce
Seconded: Janet
Carried by consensus
3.1. Adoption of Previous Minutes
THAT the draft minutes of the 23rd September MC meeting be adopted.
3.2. New Members
That the 24 members (m'ship numbers 15612 to 15635) listed below, who joined in September 2021, be officially accepted as Alfalfa House members.
4. Business arising from the last meeting
Jenny Kent spoke with Grace Greenhalgh from H2G. They have been focusing on COVID. Their research into compostable plastic has not been fruitful but they will continue with it. They believe a single polymer plastic bag that can be recycled in the Redcycle system might be the best option. They are happy to work with using refillables and returnables, and suggested we trial this early next year. We will provide them with a list of 'high impact' packaging that they can look at replacing with returnable packaging. Jenny with ask Carina for assistance with preparing a list.
- ACTION Prepare a list of high impact packaging for H2G to trial of refillable packaging Jennifer Kent
Building Better Communities grant results are announced in mid-November.
Ran de Silva reported that the Cloud HQ receipt main problem has been sorted, but there were still some cosmetic improvements required.
- ACTION Cosmetic improvements to be made to the Cloud HQ receipt Ran de Silva
Ran de Silva discussed the hours available for Carina & Yue's shared Stock Manager roles. They said they had enough time. Carina said that working on Wednesday had made a big difference for her.
Andrew will discuss his data analysis and linking the Deputy rostering app to POS for daily takings, in the Finance reporting section
Cyrus reported the IWC business group is currently deciding on a name. They have interim office bearers and will incorporate soon. There was discussion about promotional activity for Newtown-Enmore around Christmas.
Ran has selected a Brother printer model. There was discussion about going paperless. There is an ongoing requirement for a scanner. Ai Leen said she could possibly assist with obtaining a better price for our printer.
- ACTION Purchase new Brother printer Ran de Silva
Ran will cover how POS handles the half-yearly takings in her report.
| Description | Due date | Assignee | Task appears on |
|---|---|---|---|
| 24 Feb 2022 | 27 January, 2022 – Minutes | |
| 24 Feb 2022 | Tara Morelos | 27 January, 2022 – Minutes |
| 04 Mar 2022 | Bruce Diekman | February 24, 2022 – Draft Minutes |
| 24 Mar 2022 | Andrew Whittingham | February 24, 2022 – Draft Minutes |
| 24 Mar 2022 | Jennifer Kent | 27 January, 2022 – Minutes |
| Tara Morelos | February 24, 2022 – Draft Minutes | |
| 27 January, 2022 – Minutes | ||
| Tara Morelos | 27 January, 2022 – Minutes |
5. Finance Report
Andrew advised the meeting that due to his business commitments he will step down from the MC and his Treasurer & Secretary roles, effective after the AGM.
He was thanked for his outstanding contribution to the board, especially with stabilising, and then improving our financial position in early 2021.
He will enquire if Elliot Liu is interested in the role.
- ACTION Contact Elliot to see if he's interested in standing for MC and taking on the Treasurer role Andrew Whittingham .
- ACTION Annual Financial Report to be tabled at next meeting Andrew Whittingham
- ACTION Prepare handover including financial strategy for the new Treasurer Andrew Whittingham
Trading in September was down from August. COGs is higher in September. October sales are just over the $2K daily mark.
We received a one-off NSW government COVID Small Businesses Grant for $7.5k.
$15k received from JobSaver with another $3k expected next week. We do not know the end date for these payments.
A balance sheet comparison for today compared to same time 12 months ago shows the Co-op's financial position has improved by about $30k over the period.
Elliot Liu prepared analytic data review of our sales. Discussion led to a couple of action points.
- ACTION We will open an hour later i.e. 10am on Saturdays Ran de Silva
- ACTION Consult about keeping the shop open till 7pm Mon-Fri during daylight savings period. Ran de Silva
That the Finance report be approved.
Moved: Bruce
Seconded: Janet
Carried by consensus
6. Acting Manager’s Report
A solution has been found so music can continue to be played in the shop.
Ran wants the groceries section of the budget to be split from the produce section, and to be managed on a monthly basis. This will allow more expensive items to be purchased.
We will also look for more novel items to offer our customers, and aim for more farmer direct produce.
- ACTION The groceries budget to be managed on a monthly basis Ran de Silva will prepare budget plan
Seasonal Gifts: Budget needed to plan & market a range of Seasonal Gifts. Review what sold well in previous years. Consider hampers/gift bags. Will need to order from suppliers well in advance.
- ACTION Prepare a proposal (including a pre-order option) for a range of well-presented Seasonal Gifts so we can establish a budget, a marketing plan and schedule Ran de Silva
There was discussion about the unstable retail market. We should look for trends and not get too concerned about one-off bad days. Instagram and more social media activity will encourage more customers.
- ACTION We will seek volunteers to help us with Instagram posts Ran de Silva
We will announce changes to the Annual Subscription Fee at the AGM. New 2022 fees to start in December.
- ACTION Prepare for implementation of changes to Annual Subscription Fee Tara Morelos Bruce Diekman
We will retrieve our old POS terminal, as back-up.
- ACTION We'll pay $740 for spare terminal Ran de Silva
- ACTION Carina to be approached about organising a Plant and Bake sale for early December Ran de Silva
- ACTION Look at rescheduling options for future & pre-lockdown workshops Cyrus Irani
That the Acting Manager's report be approved.
Moved: Bruce
Seconded: Janet
Carried by consensus
7. Need for revival of Shop Committee meetings
Sandra is happy to continue on this committee. Need to look at new products. Need to reduce prices.
BACKGROUND: These meetings have not happened during the recent lockdown. Andrew, Bruce & Sandra attended with Ran and Carina before then. Janet also expressed interest in attending. Stock purchasing processes need to be reviewed for the short to medium term. Recently some staples, and core products have not been re-ordered due to declining sales and weekly budget limits, despite our healthier bank balance due to government stimulus monies received.
8. Need to research alternative POS systems
We will continue to use our existing POS system
BACKGROUND: The recent meltdown on one of our shop POS terminals taught us that the current system we are using is really a poor choice when such breakdowns occur. There was a 2-week turnaround, which we had little or no control over, before the 2nd till was replaced. Our POS providers, POSWise (Cloud HQ4) are based in Melbourne with no NSW outlets. In the end we had to buy a new replacement terminal from them.
There is now momentum to check out better POS systems, from a cost and capability perspective. Our IT consultant and others can be authorised to seek alternatives: any new POS choice will require a dedicated staff, MC & member team to progress, within financial & other parameters that are set.
9. Shop refurbishment – call for help
We received around 6 responses to the call out for help. Tara has acknowledged the emails.
There was discussion about a member's concern about us spending money at this time. There has been a messaging problem with people thinking we're doing a renovation.
Clarity needed on the scope of the refurbishment. The floor plan (including the till position), shelving arrangements, lighting on the front windows, creating a view from the Phillip street windows and cleaning the shop front were discussed. There is a need for good visual merchandising and to freshen up the shop.
BACKGROUND: This week an MC Newsletter called for help implementing an Alfalfa House shopfront refurbishment plan from 2017, when the Members’ Council (MC) received a professional, pro-bono redesign for our shopfront. Willing members with expertise and skills have been asked to join and run the project, and see it through to fruition.
The redesign would improve the Alfalfa shopping experience with better customer flow, enhance the presentation of our produce and goods for sale, and ultimately improve the co-op’s financial position. It would also set us up to better face stiffer competition on Enmore Road next year from the proposed new Vegan Supermarket, and a new Woolworths Metro.
Members expressing interest need to be contacted, their skills and interest ascertained. They need to be organised and given background on the project, which also needs to be costed. Some grants in the pipeline and an end of year fundraiser can also help. Tara & Bruce can provide a Confluence link to the original planning documents.
- ACTION Organise team to work on refurbishment and provide clear messaging of the scope. Bruce Diekman Tara Morelos
10. Setting the date for the 2021 AGM
The AGM will be held as a ZOOM only meeting on Thursday 9th December from 7.00pm
- ACTION Eamonn to be asked to manage Zoom at rthe AGM. Bruce Diekman
Need to give a minimum of 2 weeks notice or 3 weeks if there are any special resolutions.
Half of the MC needs to stand for re election. As Andrew and Ai Leen are standing down and Jennifer already has, we'll have 3 vacancies. Bruce is happy to stand for re-election.
- ACTION Need to confirm if a quorum of 10 members includes the MC. Bruce Diekman will check
- ACTION Need to check the requirement to hold the AGM after 30th November. Bruce Diekman
- ACTION The Directors' Report and Manager's Report will need to be circulated. Bruce Diekman Ran de Silva
AGM Reports can include work done on the website, branding and marketing.
BACKGROUND: The MC needs to pick a date in late November or early December for this year's AGM. Considerations are whether to hold a Zoom only meeting, or one which members can physically attend, which will become possible in December (still with a Zoom option). Alfalfa House AGMs have traditionally been held on a Sunday evening – last year's AGM was held on Sunday December 13, at a local venue and on Zoom.
At least two (2) weeks notice of the AGM date needs to be announced to 'active' members, along with information on the meeting, including Director (MC) vacancies requiring election. Three weeks notice needs to be given if a 'special resolution' is to be proposed.
Under our new 2-year term Rule, MC members need to decide which Director positions (either 4 or 5) will be up for re-election this year, and which members will continue for another year.
Note: it is likely that once more the Dept. of Fair Trading will allow NSW Co-operatives to hold 2021 AGMs in 2022 due to the impacts of COVID.
11. Any other business
Togi's presentation about Alfalfa's role at Aurecon went well.
Ai Leen was thanked for her much appreciated contribution to the MC from April 2021.
- ACTION Festive Season Party to held at Tara's place Tara Morelos
12. Adopting the latest COVID plan – in camera
/wiki/spaces/MC/pages/1713700868