They also authorized management to negotiate with one of the parties interested in the Ravenna site; an announcement will be made when negotiations are completed.

In October, the board held a retreat to learn more about the policy governance model they are using to structure their work. During that retreat, they drafted Ends policies — the policy governance equivalent of a mission statement — that are in accordance with policy governance language. The new Ends policies were ratified at the November board meeting. Board members also agreed to spend part of each board meeting working on this important task.

New charters were approved for two board task forces — the membership linkage task force and the development task force. The linkage task force will plan periodic membership meetings and explore new ways of engaging members to learn how the co-op can best serve their needs.

The development task force charter was expanded to include both board training and a review of existing policies through use of the information gained at the retreat.

A third task force, the nominating process task force, began to meet in December.