Board of Trustees Meeting Minutes: September 17, 2022
MEETING MINUTES HISTORIC ARCHIVE
Type
Year
Board of Trustees Minutes
Mad River Glen Cooperative
Date: Saturday, September 17, 2022 8:00 am
Location: Online only
Attendees: Matt Lillard, Matthew Milan, Andrew Carey, Brad Noble, Carol Pierce, Will Kriewald, Mariah Riggs, Jim Elkind
Call to order 8:12am (late start due to misdirected zoom link)
Shareholder Comments: Jim Elkind spoke on behalf of Stark Mt Foundation. The foundation would love to know the expected future projects and funding needs for these projects. Matthew Milan informed that the board will communicate with SMF by the end of this coming week.
Consent Agenda Items
Approve minutes for June 2022 Board Meeting (Matthew MIlan): Minutes were approved
Reports and Discussion
Management Report (Matt Lillard): Summer has been successful. The addition of Wednesday for the Pub has paid off and allowed for staff continuity.
Mt Ops has been successful with summer projects and is moving forward to winter operations.
Pass sales continue to be strong with anticipated sell out this week. Sales have slowed a bit, but normalizing from past panic buys.
Will questioned the ‘shut down’ period between the end of foliage/Columbus Day and is curious about the shutdown affecting the staffing with the Pub. Matt Lillard responded that for the staff who wants to work, work is provided.
Andrew asked about cable replacement on the lifts – the communications cable on the Double was replaced due to lightning strike and the bullwheel liner on the Single was replaced as part of normal maintenance.
Matt L noted that the haul rope on the double is nearing the end of its lifespan and will need to be replaced within the next 3-4 years.
Jim Elkind questioned the budget for the haul rope with the goal of SMF fundraising. As a standalone project the haul rope is about $160k. As a combined project the price would go down.
Finance Committee Report & Discussion (Andrew Carey)In summary, for the period of June to August 2022 was generally in line with budget with the exception of the Stark Mountain Pub:
Summer operations generated a small positive variance Net Ordinary Income variance of $2,682.
The Stark Mountain Pub exceeded budget by 28%, generating alomot $180,000 in revenue. Much of the $60,419 increase was consumed by higher operating and maintenance costs.
Several expense accounts had timing variances with cost either accelerated or postponed to September.
Unbudgeted SMF donations helped the bottom line by $42,383.
Unbudgeted Depreciation and Amortization accounted for $148,000 of additional loss a the Net Income level
The increased revenue from the pub was able to offset many of the expenses for the Basebox for the summer.
In summary, for the year to date ending August 2022 as success in spite of Mother Nature:
Basebox operations and day ticket sales were well below budget – $110,000 and $191,000 respectively
This $301,000 budget shortfall was covered by a $310,000 positive variance in pass sales.
Operating expenses were essentially universally lower than budget due to the shortened season and lighter operations. Expenses were $93,000 less than budget.
Of note, credit card charges have been a challenge due to processors increasing their rates. Management has worked to address this by upgrading the POS system and changing vendors.
From a full operating perspective, Net Ordinary income exceeded budget by almost $132,000. This positive variance is expected to shrink marginally in September as some timing issues are erased.
When considering Net Income, the Co-Op ran an ($178,000) variance to budget due to unbudgeted depreciation (407,000), the Three Peaks Medical center donation (20,000), unbudgeted covid expenses (13,000) and flood related expenses (10,000).
These unbudgeted expenses were offset by 140,000 in grant funds.
Question from the committee in regards to a quorum – can a non-voting member of the committee who is a shareholder and employee, stand in in the case of lack of quorum. Matt Milan requested further clarification of this to give continuity across the board. Carol is currently looking into this and will dive deeper into it.
Exploratory Report: Communications Committee (Brad Noble): Brad interviewed several employees and shareholders with the goal of standing up a Communications Committee – the results of this survey were:
There should be a clear separation between the work of this committee and Cooperative marketing
While staff is essential to the committee’s work, the burden to organize these communications and hit deadlines should rest with the committee chair
Shareholders may have different preferences for receiving these communications and should be accommodated
New shareholders have different questions than original shareholders
Being a shareholder is a privilege and a responsibility, not an entitlement
People generally and shareholders specifically are inundated with information, which should be considered in the design of these communications
New shareholder onboarding should be influenced by the work of this committee
More communication will mean more feedback, so the committee should have a plan to triage feedback with the committee, the Board, and staff
The committee should seek feedback from a cross-section of shareholders on an annual basis
The cooperative is made up of deeply dedicated people who may not yet be connected to each other
