2009.03.05 CC Minutes - Food Shelf

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MINUTES FOR THE HUGO CITY COUNCIL SPECIAL MEETING - HUGO FOOD SHELF THURSDAY, MARCH 5, 2009 — 7:30 PM Present: Miron, Haas, Klein, Petryk, Weidt Absent: None Also Present: City Administrator Mike Ericson and Community Development Director Bryan Bear Mayor Miron explained the purpose of the meeting. The City Council's role is to protect the health, safety and welfare of the residents. The food shelf is important to the health and welfare of many families in Hugo. It is important that the operation of the food shelf continue. Confidence has been lost is the food shelf following an article that was printed in the Citizen newspaper. The purpose of the meeting is to allow for community discussion on the issue and develop next steps to restore confidence in the food shelf. Pastor Michael Sparby presented the history of the food shelf and described how the food shelf operates. Pastor Sparby shared several charts explaining the history of food shelf donations of cash and food and the number of families served by the food shelf. After the tornado, donations as well as families served increased. Pastor Sparby emphasized that all donations to the food shelf are spent on the food shelf. Kris Emerson and Margo Geving presented a series of power point slides explaining concerns that volunteers have raised with the operation of the food shelf. They explained that rent that is paid by the food shelf for use of the Global Gallery space is actually a subsidy of expenses incurred by Global Gallery. There is not enough transparency in how purchases are made using food shelf donations. Concerns were raised about bookkeeping practices, the organizational structure of the non-profit food shelf, and how funds are co -mingled with funds from Hosanna Harbors to support Global Gallery and the Hosanna Lutheran Church. The need for the food shelf is greater than ever with increasing numbers of families being served. Debbie Petersen presented options for restructuring the food shelf. She explained the basics about how a non-profit is established, how a business plan with a budget is created, how rules are established, and how state and federal tax filing requirements should be met. She recommended changes to the governing structure of the food shelf and changes with would lead to better accountability of the funds being collected and spent. She also commented on the need for improved facilities for the food shelf. Mayor Miron opened the meeting for public comment. Twelve people provided comments about the food shelf. The majority of the speakers discussed their participation in the food shelf as either volunteers or donors. Many of them expressed reservations about the direction of the food shelf, and felt that the operation of the food shelf must be improved.