Last night I attended the January 2024 Peoples board meeting. It was the first Peoples board meeting that I’ve attended, and I was impressed by the organization, efficiency and thoughtfulness shown throughout.
Brief Overview
This meeting was over Zoom and started officially around 6:00pm. There were about 12 folks in attendance, of which I think nine were board members and one was a liaison from the staff.
The meeting started with brief introductions, a grounding moment and an overview of the agenda.
Board Self-Assessment
The first big item discussed were the results of a board self-assessment that had been performed in the prior months. My quick takeaways were that (a) the board had already started incorporating many of the observations arising from the survey and (b) a point of emphasis was being more present around Peoples, like being at the farmers market and the store.
Owner, Member-Owner and Member
The second big topic of conversation were adjustments to the bylaws. The adjustment that I found most interesting was about the term Owner, Member-Owner and Member. The bylaws as currently written use all three terms, and there was a recommendation to conform to a single term. There was discussion of which term to use, and I found myself liking the term Member-Owner the most. The term Owner feels too weighty and as someone who has been an owner for the last few years, I don’t feel like an owner. The term member feels too light, not capturing the gravity and import of owning (because it is a form ownership) a food coop / grocery store. And like Goldilocks, Member-Owner feels just right. It captures the joint hats of the relationship, being a proper owner as well as being a participant (member) of a larger community collective working together.
I believe the board is going to ask the community if they prefer a particular term. I’m curious to see what folks say and how they think about it.
Things I Learned
- I learned that the board is considering returning to in-person meetings (which I’m excited about).
- I learned about the bylaws and some of their nuances.
- I learned about practices for running board meetings in community spaces. Relatedly, I liked some of the facilitating and structural practices used, some which are specific to zoom and some of which are not. I’ll probably write more about this at some point.
- I learned about plans for sending out an email newsletter. I learned about Columinate, an organization that supports and trains coops. Peoples has a relationship with them so the board (and maybe community) can receive discounts on the courses.
- Peoples had minimal damage from the winter storm. Some pipes froze but, afaict, did not burst.
- Alberta Coop unfortunately had severe flooding from the winter storm and remains temporarily closed to business.
- I learned the board is considering forgoing an audit because of the cost and do a review instead.
Questions I Have
These are general questions. Some are questions that could be directed towards the board; some are general questions about coops and community-run organizations.
- What’s the history of organizations who skip audits? Is that a yellow flag? Especially given that Peoples has had many bouts of financial hardships in the its history.
- Are there plans for a 2023 Annual Report (I think there is but not entirely sure) (I really liked reading the 2021 and 2022 Annual Report)
- Given that People’s had minimal damage from the winter storm, can we attribute that to anything - was it luck, was there recent weatherization, were there issues last year in the winter storm, is there risk to be addressed? I’ll probably ask James, who oversees the building, at my next HOO session.
- A more philosophical/role question: Are these questions that the board should ask and think about it in the board meeting, or are they for sub-committees, or for delegation - how do all the parts fit together to make Peoples run?
- What are the biggest existential risks to Peoples? Are there any risks unique to Peoples or are the risks typical of Food Coops in 2024?