Mark Thorne, Board President
July 9, 2024, Board Meeting Recap
As Glenn Frey sang, The Heat is On! And yes, I can feel it! Please, be careful out there!
The Moscow Food Co-op Board of Directors held their July Board meeting on Tuesday the 9th at the 1912 Center from 6:00 – 8:00 p.m. Present were eight of our nine Board members, our General Manager and Co-op staff, and one Co-op owner. We are very excited to announce that Joseph Charles was appointed to the board to fill the vacant seat left open since the last election.
The General Manager presented her monitoring report for the B9 Emergency Succession policy, which requires there to be at least two designated interim general managers trained and prepared to step in as interim successors in the event our General Manager is away. The monitoring report identified two people who could fill a temporary vacancy and listed their qualifications and training. A motion was made and approved that we accept the monitoring report with the finding of compliance with the policy. Additional details can be found in the General Manager’s FYI report on the Meetings and Minutes page of the Co-op’s webpage.
The Board also reviewed its C4 policy covering Board meetings. The policy states that we are to use Board meeting time to do the work of the whole Board, that meetings will be open to owners, except during executive sessions, and that we will make Board decisions using motions and majority votes. After reviewing meeting minutes since the policy was monitored a year ago, it was clear that we were in compliance with this policy.
In other business, the Board voted to accept changes to Policy C5 Directors’ code of conduct to better emphasize our compliance with the seven cooperative principles. With the policy revisions, each director was required to sign the new policy. In addition, changes were made to the Executive Committee’s (board officers) charter. The added language better outlines the roles of each officer, and the changes were accepted by the Board in a unanimous vote.
For our Study and Engagement Series, Josilyn Watson and Mike Faupel of the Palouse Basin Aquifer Committee (PBAC) presented a very thorough and well-prepared report on the status of the Palouse Basin aquifers that supplies water for everyone in the Moscow and Pullman areas. They reported that the aquifer is declining by 0.7 feet per year and has been declining since the 1890s. Obviously, water is an absolute necessity, and it was very alarming to hear these details. Josilyn and Mike made a strong case for increased conservation, but also presented information on the possible need to bring in water from other sources. Clearly, a lot of research and thought has gone into remedying this situation, but it was also apparent that there may be no effective quick fixes. We need to do all we can to protect our water resources! View the PBAC report here or more information can be found on the Palouse Basin website at https://palousebasin.org/.
Our Study and Engagement Series is a way in which the Board and staff members become better informed about issues and activities that affect our community. One of the Seven Cooperative Principles states that we have “Concern for Community,” and listening to people describe issues of concern in our community is directly tied to our Ends.
The next Board meeting is scheduled for August 6, 2024, in the Fiske Room at the 1912 Center (412 E 3rd St, Moscow, ID). The meeting will run from 6:00 to 8:00 pm. Current Co-op Owners can attend in person or via Zoom. To attend via Zoom, contact the Boards Administrative Assistant at boardadmin@moscowfood.coop for more information and to RSVP.
Further information about our Board meetings is at https://www.moscowfood.coop/board-meetings.
Sincerely,
Mark Thorne, Board President
Moscow Food Co-op Ends Policy
The Moscow Food Co-op is at the heart of a thriving, healthy, and inclusive community where:
1. We embody and embrace cooperative principles and values.
2. All community members have local access to environmentally friendly, socially responsible, and healthful choices.