STANDARD BUSINESS:
Owner Comment: None
Announcements & Affirmations: Spectrum was not ready with their presentation this month, so they will be attending in April.
Calendar and Timeline: The next meeting will be April 4th at 5:00pm.

SUBMITTED AGENDA ITEMS:

Non-Ops Spending Presentation
· Donna Kaiser gave a presentation concerning the proposed reductions to the outreach budget. This presentation was given in response to Ken Noteboom's visit last month.
o Programs that earn income were highlighted. The presentation also recommended programs that should be left at the present budget level as well as those that could potentially be reduced.
o Possible reduction options were presented and discussed.
· This presentation opens up the larger topic of budgeting in general. There are specific laws governing patronage refunds that have to be adhered to if we are to maintain a positive bottom line.
o This is definitely a discussion that needs to occur at a board level, possibly at one of the retreats.
· We will pass this along to exec with the recommendation that we do not look at individual items but rather view the presentation in broader terms.

Review of Jan. Financial statements
· Sales growth for January is above budget. So far, sales are very encouraging.
· Margin appears to be a problem so far, but keep in mind that the cost of goods figures are estimated as no true inventory is conducted until the quarter ends.
o The commissary numbers will be real in February. We are going to conduct monthly inventories in the commissary to better monitor expenses.
o We are still adjusting to the new system and are taking additional measures that will enable us to closely monitor commissary expenses.
· Utility costs have increased. Unfortunately we cannot measure the savings from the rack system as we have added several coolers. In addition to colder temperatures, it seems that prices have increased. Also, our shift to Blue Sky Energy has likely increased costs.
· The ZBA entries have been reversed and balance sheet ratios have returned to a normal level. Unfortunately this makes it difficult to compare this month to the last.
· February sales are looking to be just above budget.
· The final adjustments from Spectrum arrived and we will finish with a 7600-dollar positive bottom line. However, when you eliminate non-patronage eligible income, the bottom line is negative 70,000.
o The larger issue here is the law surrounding patronage dividends. Steve and Chris are preparing a training for the board.

Planning and Patronage
· As we move ahead with our planning discussions, we should consider what kind of data would be useful, and how it should be presented.

Meeting adjourned: 6:35pm