After due notice, a meeting of the board of trustees of the Mad River Glen Cooperative was convened at 5:09 p.m. on March 3, 2007 on the 3rd floor of the Basebox at Mad River Glen Ski Area in Fayston, Vermont.
Trustees Jay Appleton, Paul Finnerty, Jed Kalkstein, Bill Reynolds, Mary Schramke, Rick Moulton and Eric Schoenholz were present. Trustees Steve Mackenzie and Geordie Hall were absent. Also present were staff members President Jamey Wimble, Administrative Manager Sharon Crawford, and several shareholders. Â
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CALL TO ORDER
Jay Appleton, chair, called the meeting to order at 5:09 p.m.
Mary Schramke commended Jamey and his staff for their excellent work in February. Â
APPROVAL OF MINUTES
Upon motion duly made by Jed Kalkstein and seconded by Rick Moulton it was Voted: To approve the minutes of the February 10, 2007 board of trustees’ meeting.
This motion passed by a 6-0-1 margin with trustees Jay Appleton, Paul Finnerty, Jed Kalkstein, Mary Schramke, Rick Moulton and Eric Schoenholz voting for the motion and trustee Bill Reynolds abstaining.
SHAREHOLDER COMMENTS Bill Heinzerling asked whether there would stands would be available for the single chairs. Jamey responded that stands would be available for approximately $750.
Rick Moulton commented that in light of the recent power outage the Cooperative should consider keeping the option open for a diesel backup for the single chair lift. Jamey responded that everything is in place for a diesel engine to be added at a later date, this would cost approximately $100,000.
Robin Bleier stated that he wanted it noted that he never used the term “flatlanders†to refer to individuals from outside of Vermont. Â
MANAGEMENT REPORTÂ
President Jamey Wimble presented the management report, which is attached for reference.
Rick Moulton asked about the profitability of the Telefest for the Coop. Jamey Wimble responded that NATO (North American Telemark Organization) receives approximately $22 – 25,000 in entry fees out of which the Coop gets 60% of our normal ticket price and all other proceeds go directly to the Coop. Jamey noted that the Telefest is always a net gain for the cooperative because the Telefest participants come to the mountain regardless of the weather and snow conditions.Â
Jamey Wimble reported that February was a great month for share sales.
FINANCIAL REPORT
Jamey Wimble reported that if the Coop comes in on budget in March, the Coop will have a $100,000 net gain over last year due to cost savings from cutbacks and could possibly break even for the year.
Robin Bleier questioned Jamey about the credit card service charges listed on the Profit and Loss report. Jamey responded that the credit card services charges had not been entered yet.
Eric Schoenholz reported that the finance committee did not meet in February and thus, had no report.
Jamey Wimble advised that $85,000 of outstanding bonds mature in June of 2008. Bob Rogers asked about the fund that was set aside for repayment of the bonds. Jamey responded that there was not a certificate of deposit but that the funds are still available for that purpose.
Lars Bruns asked about the Cooperatives cash flow for the remainder of the year. Jamey responded that he expected that the Coop will have sufficient funds to make it through the summer. He noted that from April it takes approximately $400,000 to get the Coop through the summer.
Paul Finnerty asked about the expenses associated with repairs to the Birdland lift. Jamey replied that the problem with the lift was less serious than they first thought and the parts only had to be “baked and dipped†rather than a more expensive fix. Â
Mary Schramke expressed a concern about the Cooperative’s employees being able to make ends meet because of their having had to ratchet back on hours worked. Jamey responded that morale is okay but people are tired from President’s week. Jamey noted that the coop has a good group of employees. Â
Bill Heinzerling asked about the vouchers that were issued to skiers due to the power outage. Jamey responded that the vouchers generated a lot of good will and that most customers were very appreciative.
Rick Moulton asked how many vouchers were issued in connection with the double being out of service on Friday, March 2. Jamey estimated that approximately 150 vouchers were issued.Â
SINGLE CHAIR CHAMPAIGN UPDATE
Jamey Wimble reported the Single Chair Campaign has netted a total of $825,000, which is well over the $700k prediction by our consultant Christine Graham. The goal of the campaign is to reach the one million dollar mark by the annual meeting. Chair sales went extremely well with 130 chairs being sold for a total of $240,000.
Robin Bleier asked about the next steps for the campaign. Jamey advised that there is a telethon scheduled and the Coop is continuing to sell raffle tickets for the remaining single chairs. The Coop has raised $12,000 on raffle tickets to date.
Bob Rogers advised that Elizabeth Von Trapp has agreed to do a concert fundraiser for the Cooperative. Â
Bob Rogers presented a report on the Stark Mountain Foundation Gala, which was sold out with 250 tickets being sold. The proceeds from the Gala were reported as follows:
50/50 raffle $611*Â
Coatroom tips $177**
Silent Auction$15,000
Live Auction$9,457
Admission$6,900
TOTAL$32,000
EXPENSES$8,000
NET PROFIT$24,000
* The winner of the 50/50, Jean Ryan, donated half of her winnings back to SMF. Â
** Irma Heater came up with the idea of donating the coatroom tip bucket proceeds to SMF.
Sean Kalkstein asked if the campaign was at the point where we have used up all the large donors. Jamey Wimble responded that the Leadership Gifts Committee is still very active pursuing large donors.  Rick Moulton noted that there are still prospects out there in the ski clubs.
Eric Schoenholz noted that the participation rate is still very low; the goal of the campaign is to get 100% participation. Right now we estimate that we are below 25%.
ANNUAL CAPITAL PLAN
Jay Appleton advised that normally there are three tiers of proposed capitol expenditures. This year the capital plan will consist of one item – the Single Chair.
Jamey Wimble advised that management has allocated $30,000 for urgent projects that may arise during the year.
Jed Kalkstein asked whether the costs associated with the Single Chair construction will be reduced by having MRG employees do some of the work. Jamey responded that any labor performed by MRG employees would result in a reduction in the contract price but that the net impact would not reduce the overall cost of the project because of the CPI adjustment built into the contract. Â
Bob Rogers recommended that Coop not throw away any parts from the old Single Chair that are not being reused.  He noted that the old bolts could be sold as paperweights. Jamey advised that some items from the old chair would be retained. Â
COMMITTEE REPORTS
Executive Committee – no report
Finance Committee – no report Single Chair Finance Committee – as reported earlier
Board Development Committee – no report
EXECUTIVE SESSION – the board entered executive session at 5:52 PM. The board came out of executive session at 7:11 PM.
No action was taken during executive session.
ADJOURNMENT
There being no further business to come before the board, the meeting adjourned at 7:12 p.m.
