OPALCOGRAM 117
6/9/94
|
|
Doug Bechtel
|
|
Another annual meeting has come and gone and my fears about not
having a quorum were unfounded. In fact, we had a good turnout -
154 members, 229 total (about the same as last year). I know a lot
of you came to the annual meeting just to help us make a quorum.
You were sympathetic to my desire not to have to go through the
annual meeting process all over again. I am not certain if guilt
is an good a reason to come to the annual meeting as a burning desire
to learn more about OPALCO, but I am not going to look a gift horse
in the mouth.
The most often heard comment at the meeting related to whether or
not we even need an annual meeting, the cost of the annual meeting,
and whether it was really necessary to require such a large turnout
to have a quorum. I also heard from several of our Friday Harbor
members about the long day they have to put in to attend the annual
meeting. For those of you who have not made that boat trip, our
Friday Harbor members left San Juan Island at 9:30 a.m. aboard the
Island Caper. They finally made it back to San Juan Island at 3:15
p.m. It makes for a long day and I understand their frustration.
The problem is that I haven’t been able to find another ferry schedule
that will work for an annual meeting. The Nisqually is too small,
and we can’t use the international run unless everybody is willing
to troop off the ferry in Anacortes, go through customs, and get
back on.
The real question is whether we want to continue to have our annual
meeting on a ferry. There are other alternatives. I know one co-op
who counts the mailed-in ballots towards their requirement of 100
members for a quorum. They always get a quorum this way, but they
are lucky if they get 15 or 20 people to actually show up for the
annual meeting. Other co-ops hold district meetings rather than
an annual meeting. Since OPALCO has four districts, we would hold
four mini annual meetings. In order for business to be transacted
from the floor, it must be submitted to the cooperative in advance
so that each district can vote on the same issues.
We have also considered having the annual meeting on shore (San
Juan Island Performing Arts Center, for example), but there isn’t
a good ferry schedule that gets all of our members there at one
time. Of course, we could still rent the Island Caper to haul our
members to a central location.
Anyway, the board will continue to consider alternatives for our
annual meeting. If you have any thoughts, let us know.
P.S. The annual meeting costs us about $2,400 for the Island Caper
and $2,800 for the lunch we serve.
Doug Bechtel
|
|