Thursday, 01 December 2011 18:22

By 12th Moon,  
Council President

Eric12Moon Council met in The Space on Election Day, Nov. 8, for our regular meeting. We moved quickly into our monthly report from General Manager (GM) Brandon Kane. During Brandon's report we heard that Oasis will be getting some additional equipment to add space for grab-and-go Deli foods between Thanksgiving and Christmas. There was concern expressed for the continuing congestion in our West-End store parking lot, where signs were recently added directing traffic flow to help make the lot safer for our shoppers. Brandon also reported that our efforts to accept donations at the registers in our stores yielded over $4,400 for victims of the Southern Tier flooding this October.

This fall has been especially busy with all of the events in October — a Member Forum, the Fall Membership Meeting, an All Staff Meeting, the GreenStar Community Projects Food Justice Summit, the Annual Kids' Halloween Party and a lecture and workshop by Michael Shuman of BALLE (Business Alliance for Local Living Economies), co-sponsored by GreenStar and Local First Ithaca. With all that behind us, we now move into the holiday season.

Council Discusses Rules for Member-Initiated Petitions; Signs Consulting Agreement for Expansion-

Thursday, 03 November 2011 02:39

By 12th Moon,  
Council President

11-5-12thMoon-72dpi Council met on Tuesday, Oct. 11 in The Space with three member-owners in attendance, two of whom are applying to be appointed to Council. We started the meeting seven minutes late as we awaited the mandatory minimum number of Council members needed to reach quorum. During the time allotted for announcements, we were encouraged to table in the stores regarding a few upcoming October events and member-related issues, including supporting the proposed bylaws changes that Council has recommended (or presented as in the case of one set) to our membership for a vote from Oct. 15 through Nov. 15, and receiving member feedback prior to a possible membership vote in the spring to increase our member equity contribution and change the time frame for arriving at full equity.

The monthly General Manager (GM) report came next and we learned that not only that the stores are both performing above budgeted expectations, but that the West-End store actually broke a new record by having over three hundred thousand dollars of sales in the thirty-sixth week of the year. Managers and staff are busy making preparations for the holiday season soon upon us and working to finalize the stores' operational budgets for 2012. It was also reported that we are seeing very positive results from our participation at the Farmers' Market at Cornell, as well as through our FLOWER discount program (both resulting in increased new memberships), and through continuing discussions we've been having with leaders of our community from GIAC, the Southside Community Center and the Multi-Cultural Resource Center to better serve our shared goals of a more diverse and equitable culture with healthy food available to and affordable for all people in our community.

Council

Collegetown Store Thwarted by Zoning Board Decision

By Dan Hoffman,
 Council Member

GreenStar's plans to open a third store, in Collegetown, hit a big bump last month, when the City's Board of Zoning Appeals (BZA) denied a set of variances sought by the property's owners, throwing the future of their project into limbo. The new store won approval from the Co-op's Membership last year, but the lease for the space was contingent upon the developer's securing the variances by March.

The Co-op's serious exploration of the idea of a new store in Collegetown began in 2011, when Josh Lower — who, with his father, Bill, own...
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