After due notice, a meeting of the Board of Trustees of the Mad River Glen Cooperative was convened at 8:00 am on Saturday, June 14th, 2014 on the third floor of the Basebox at Mad River Glen Ski Area (“MRG”) in Fayston, Vermont.
Trustee
Attendance
Trustee
Attendance
Elkind (Chair)
Present
Holtan
Present
Stetson (Vice-Chair)
Present
Jondro
Absent
Anderson (Secretary)
Present
Lesure
Present
Liu (Treasurer)
Phone-in
Palola
Present
Godwin
Phone-in
Also present were President Wimble, Incoming Trustees John Tobin and Russ Bowen,
Bob Demont of Demont Associates and two shareholders.
8:02 AMCall to Order
Chair Elkind welcomed the assembled. There were no shareholder comments.
8:03 AM Finance Committee
Trustee Liu reported the Finance committee had reviewed the proposed budget and ticket pricing for 2014/15. Pass prices will remain the same, there will be a small increase in ticket prices and there is a new “Legends” pass for seniors aged 70-80. Mad Cards will also have a small increase. The largest variance for budget expenses are Workman’s Comp. Insurance and forecasted fundraising expenses.
The Finance committee unanimously approves the proposed budget.
After a lengthy discussion about ticket pricing and possible benefits for shareholders there was a motion.
Motion
Made by
2nd by
Aye
Nay
Abstain
To approve the Finance Committee recommendation to approve the budget as presented.
Trustee Stetson
Trustee Palola
8
0
0
8:28 AM Management Report
President Wimble presented the board with his management report.
Operations:
Friday night fish fries will start June 13th. Starting June 27th the pub will be open Friday, Saturday, and Sunday evenings. We will not do lunches this summer as it was not profitable.
In talking with Green Mountain Power about snowmaking expansion it was discovered that we were not getting a discount for owning our own transformers. We redid our electrical distribution before the Single construction in 2006 and have owned our transformers since then. So we will be reimbursed for the time we have owned our own which goes back to 2006. A credit will be applied to our bill!
There will be a celebration of life for John Olsen (The first president of the Coop) June 14th at 3PM
Signs are being installed as the mountain is an official side trail of the Long Trail. 2 routes will be identified: the work road going through Birdland and up Bunny. Eric F. has been working with Green Mountain Club for a while on this.
Snowmaking:
The much anticipated snowmaking study by Sno.matic is done. Report circulated to the board. A summary and link to the full report will be made available later this summer after President Wimble has tallied up additional installation costs that need to be included in the overall project budget. The report considers water withdrawal, storage, coverage projections and installation costs for four options: maintaining the Co-op’s existing system, upgrading the existing mechanicals, expansion below 2300’ and expansion to the top of the Double (above 2300’).
Share Sales:
No shares against a budget of 0 for the month of April. We have sold 23 shares YTD. There are 11 shares on the list to be tendered.
Financials:
May was ahead of budget. Most all this came from reduced facilities expenses and timing of marketing expenses.
The board reviewed the management report, devoting most attention to the snowmaking study. Various opinions about how to proceed and questions about how to determine costs versus income were raised. How to project the value of being open early season was also discussed. This discussion continued with the SEC report.
8:44 AM Snow Making Exploratory Committee
Trustee Stetson reported the committee was still studying the report from Sno.matic and it was too soon to offer a recommendation to the board. The board spent considerable time talking about water withdrawal and storage issues. The board continues to contemplate how to best evaluate all options before making any recommendations to the shareholders.
9:11 AM Break
9:20 AM Fundraising Committee report
Trustee Holtan reported the Campaign Cabinet has been meeting bi-weekly and things are progressing well. She specifically thanked Jamey and Eric Friedman for their ongoing help. They continue to search for and recruit prospective volunteers for this endeavor.
She also stated that one of the critical components of the Capital Campaign will be named Gift Opportunities. The Campaign Cabinet developed a list of potential naming opportunities for the Board’s review and approval. Prior to the meeting she had circulated a draft of these to the board. The board made suggestions and recommendations to the list. The trustees also discussed the need to clarify how to spend or invest the funds raised regardless of the fundraising goal.
The discussion led to a motion.
Motion
Made by
2nd by
Aye
Nay
Abstain
To approve naming opportunities to recognize donors with the understanding they are appropriate and consistent with the MRG Co-op values and culture.
Trustee Holtan
Trustee Elkind
7
0
0 *
*Trustee Liu had left the meeting
Trustee Palola reported the MOU with Stark Mountain Foundation was being reviewed and close to being
10:04 AM
David Stein gave a brief presentation and update on his “unconventional snowmaking system”. He is continuing to work on a pilot system for potential testing.
10:07 AM
Board officer elections (Chair, Co-Chair, Treasurer, & Secretary) to be effective July 1, 2014
The board discussed all four positions and the need to plan for succession in the coming years. This led to four motions voted on by the incoming board.
Motion
Made by
2nd by
Aye
Nay
Abstain
To elect Jim Elkind as Chair.
Trustee Stetson
Trustee Palola
8
0
1
Elkind
Motion
Made by
2nd by
Aye
Nay
Abstain
To elect John Stetson as Treasurer
Trustee Elkind
Trustee Bowen
8
0
1
Stetson
Motion
Made by
2nd by
Aye
Nay
Abstain
To elect John Tobin as Vice-Chair.
Trustee Elkind
Trustee Bowen
8
0
1
Tobin
Motion
Made by
2nd by
Aye
Nay
Abstain
To elect Jon Anderson as Secretary.
Trustee Stetson
Trustee Bowen
8
0
1
Anderson
10:30 AM . Executive Committee of the board (Action)
The board discussed having all officers act as the Executive Committee. This led to a motion.
.
Motion
Made by
2nd by
Aye
Nay
Abstain
To name the Executive Committee consisting of all officers.
Trustee Elkind
Trustee Lesure
9
0
0
10:34 AM Review & Approve Minutes of May 10th, 2014 (Action)
After a brief discussion a motion was made.
Motion
Made by
2nd by
Aye
Nay
Abstain
To approve the minutes of May 10th, 2014
Trustee Lesure
Trustee Elkind
9
0
0
10:35 AM Action Item Review
Action Item
Responsible Party
When
Create a campaign structure with sub-committees.
Board
ongoing
Continue to refine the Snowmaking Study for costs and possible return on investment.
President Wimble
new
Chair Elkind finished the meeting by thanking both Trustee Godwin and Trustee Jondro for their six years of service to the Co-op as board members.
