Agenda 11-14-23; 8-a - Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

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16 1 Commissioner Greene applauded Sue Ellsworth for creating the non-profit called We 2 Power Food. She said that it is a great place for women to start and continue their businesses. 3 Sue Ellsworth said it is a nonprofit that works on developing and providing resources to 4 women food entrepreneurs. She said it helps them get the correct information from the start. She 5 said this helped bridge the gap in communication between business owners and regulatory 6 agencies. 7 Commissioner Hamilton asked how many board members there are and who is on the 8 board. 9 Eric Hallman said two commissioners, one from Durham Couty and one from Orange 10 County, and there are five board members. He said there is a need to expand the board. 11 Commissioner Hamilton asked if there is a thought of how many to expand to. 12 Eric Hallman said that they need to figure out what the BOCC wants the organization to 13 be and from there they can get the right skill set. 14 Commissioner Hamilton said she would like to see a breakout for profit and loss. 15 Eric Hallman said he can provide that. 16 Commissioner Hamilton said she would like to know the fixed equipment and value of it. 17 Eric Hallman said there are two steam kettles, a skillet, two double decker ovens, a bread 18 proofer, a liquid nitrogen blast freezer and a hydraulic juice press, and a dishwasher. He said that 19 most of the equipment has fully depreciated and the replacement value is significant. He said the 20 equipment lasts a long time and most of the equipment was purchased with grants. 21 Commissioner Hamilton asked if they continue to get grants. 22 Eric Hallman said they continue to apply but they have not applied for new equipment 23 because they do not have the resources to deploy that. He said they would love to expand their 24 services, particularly for dry fill services, and that would require new equipment. 25 Commissioner Hamilton asked how charges are determined. 26 Eric Hallman said the hourly rates are market rate from mission driven kitchens. He said 27 they are in a network of incubator kitchens. He said there are 38 kitchens across the state that 28 meet and share ideas. He said that $28 an hour is the going rate and that is what they charge. 29 Sue Ellsworth said they also charge for storage so that's additional revenue. 30 Chair Bedford said her concern is on accountability and board governance and asked how 31 many board meetings were held and how many met quorum. 32 Eric Hallman said there were two last year with quorum, and one this year with quorum. 33 Chair Bedford said this is a concern for her because it doesn't follow their bylaws. She 34 said that is not good board governance. She said that they should provide high level of 35 management oversight and review the financial statements. She said that her experience at the 36 time was that management changed the fee structure and then informed the board afterwards. 37 She asked if the board conducts an evaluation for them. She asked if there was a job description. 38 She asked if they get retirement or health insurance. She asked if they get paid vacation. 39 Sue Ellsworth said she gets long-term and short-term disability, paid vacation, and they 40 investigated bringing insurance in, but it is not affordable for a company their size. She said she 41 uses the marketplace to get insurance. 42 Chair Bedford said one of her issues is that they do not have similar benefits to county 43 employees, and it is not fair. She said they work very long hours, and they are dedicated and 44 great employees. She said that her criticism of the Board is not about the employees. She said it 45 was a surprise to her when the board minutes were refused. She said she thinks the BOCC should 46 extend the contract for a year. 47 Eric Hallman said this started as a four-county collaborative in 2010. He said this was 48 Durham, Alamance, Chatham, and Orange. He said that in 2011 their doors were opened. He 49 said that it was funded at $1.3 million from various state, federal, and private funds. He said that 50 Congressman Price was instrumental in this, and it paid for the building renovation and the 51 equipment. He said in 2012, former County Manager Frank Clifton said they did not want anything