Fifty-one Finland Cooperative members gathered at the Clair Nelson Community Center on Tuesday evening for the co-op’s annual meeting and a dinner catered by Baptism River Barbecue Co.

Michelle Duhant was the meeting minutes inspector, and she verified the minutes, which were then approved by the membership. Elaine Heine was assigned to be next year’s minutes inspector. 

Finland Cooperative board chair Cory Holden gave a brief report of the past year, talking about last year’s share buybacks, credit card fees, looking for more land and locations to expand the store, recent basement repairs to the co-op building, and exterior painting in the co-op building. He asked folks to think about what they would like to see in the future at the co-op, and discussed future share buybacks and dividends.

Elaine Heine drew names for door prizes.

Finland Cooperative manager Jonathan Beauchane gave the manager’s report. Beauchane reported that co-op members have been supporting the store, and it shows. He announced that the co-op will be paying member dividends again this year. 34.5% of all purchases at the co-op were made by members, which is an increase compared to last year.

The co-op’s books show nearly doubled profits this year, rising to $149,000. There were factors like writing off liabilities and market share price changes that contributed to this increase. But there was also a significant increase in income from member purchases. $31,000 of the profits will be issued to members as dividends, 50% as Class B shares, and 50% as cash, which will be placed in member accounts. $20,000 will be reserved as “unallocated equity”, to be used in the future. Members who spent $283 or more at the store (and scanned their member card during the purchases) in the past year will be issued a dividend.

Kaare Melby and Michelle Duhant reported on the Finland Co-Op Community Fund, a 501c3 nonprofit organization affiliated with the Finland Co-op. The Finland Co-Op Community Fund issues scholarships and, last year, issued a one-time grant to the Finland Community Youth Program.

Beauchane reported that many issues were identified on the exterior of the co-op building last year. New paint and siding were put up. Beauchane also had some experts come and assess the structural integrity of the Co-op building. The basement was the main issue, and a company called DBS made repair recommendations. The company quoted them $150,000 of repairs needed to the basement. Those repairs are almost done, and the AEOA provided a $50,000 grant to help pay for it.

More door prizes.

Dan Cahill Mathews gave a presentation about renovations at the store. And reviewed a timeline of the process of looking into possibilities for the future of the co-op. Many possibilities are being reviewed, such as building a new store, as well as expanding and repairing the current building. Expanding the services at the store was also discussed, including the possibility of adding live bait service, as well as a soft-serve ice cream machine.

Dan Cahill Mathews also talked about the effort to remove heavy items from the basement and thanked the volunteers who helped. After the items were removed, the renovations were able to start. The basement and exterior footing repairs are covered by several different warranties ranging from 25 to 75 years. New sump pumps were installed and are equipped with backup battery power so they continue to work if the power goes out. More insulation was also added to the basement walls. With all of these renovations, the basement can now be used as storage space.

With those repairs guaranteed for at least the next 25 years, the board has turned to looking into plans for the future. They are waiting to hear from the county about wetland status and the possibility of developing a property across Highway 1 from the current store location.

Another possibility the board is looking into is land between the fire hall’s solar panels and the co-op’s gas tanks. This possibility would require approval from several entities, including Lake County.

Elaine Heine talked about new air purifiers that were installed in the co-op, which is seriously improving the air quality in the store.

More door prizes.

Manager’s report continued:

Beauchane reported that the co-op has sold about $30,000 of propane each year since they started selling it two years ago.

“The co-op is here for the community. We wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for you,” said Beauchane.

If 2 or more people ask for something in hardware, they will order it. If there is something you are looking for, ask them! They can also do special orders for folks with a flat 15% markup. Beauchane reports that he has heard several times that the co-op’s hardware prices are better than Menard’s. The co-op has smaller markups than other hardware stores, and they do this as a service to the community.

Beauchane thanked the employees for all the work they have done. And Finland Co-op board member Laurie Melby thanked Beauchane for his hard work. Elaine Heine gave a special thanks to Finland Cooperative Assistant Manager Danette Sherman.

Beauchane also announced an effort to sell local eggs, local produce, and other locally made goods. He wrapped up by thanking folks for using their membership cards and asked that they continue doing that.

There was a discussion facilitated by Cory Holden about credit card/debit card fees. Should the fees be charged to customers? Could members be exempt from paying fees? Another idea that was discussed was giving a discount to folks who pay with cash.

A member asked about the new bench in front of the co-op dedicated to the memory of Bradley Anderson. Beauchane thanked Ron Aldinger for making it.

Dan Cahill Mathews and Cory Holden were up for election and were re-elected by the membership.
Co-op Members are welcome to join the monthly board meetings which are the 2nd Monday of every month at 6pm at the Clair Nelson Community Center.

Joan Anderson won the 50/50 raffle.

Annual member purchase drawing for $250 plus a 1913 silver half dollar was won by Dan Cahill Mathews. Amy Nikula, Dick Krech Jr., and Pamela Melby were drawn first, but were not present.