Those are the most common questions I hear from members and others in the Co-op and around town. “707” is short for 707 Stone Cutters Way, the property next to the store that we purchased a year ago this month. The short answer is that it’s being used right now, and that YOU are part of planning the longer-term future. 

We’ve moved employee parking from the unpaved lot on Barre Street to 707. The current construction is repairing fire damage to the building and building a larger loading door to make bulk purchase and storage more efficient. We’re moving offices there, which frees up space in the back of the store for more product. And we’re occasionally using it as an additional meeting room—the council will hold its annual retreat there in October, for example. 

How to use 707 will be one issue addressed in our 2027 strategic plan. The goals of our current plan, from 2012, have been met—except for opening a satellite store. The new strategic plan will be based on our needs (including the crowding in the store and in the parking lot), the community’s needs, and our resources (including the land and building at 707). The council is determined that the process will be transparent, thoughtful, comprehensive, and inclusive; to that end, the Strategic Planning Committee is organizing to gather public input, starting in January. 

You can meet committee members, and the facilitators we’ve hired to help us with the process, next Thursday at the Annual Meeting. 

Annual Meeting of the Membership on September 24—watch it even if you’re not attending 

Registration for next week’s Annual Meeting closes Friday, so if you’re not registered, now is the time. If you can’t make it in person, you’re invited to watch it live at 6 p.m. on September 24, or catch the recording later. It will stream on ORCA Media’s Hunger Mountain Co-op channel. 

There, in addition to seeing the Strategic Planning Committee members and hearing from the facilitators, you can see Ginny Sassaman present on Gross National Happiness USA, exploring how we can make human well-being, rather than just economic activity, our bottom line. 

Voting for the council election opens that same day, and you can watch the candidates introduce themselves. Even though this year’s race is uncontested, your vote still matters: it’s how you exercise your ownership and confirm your support for the council’s direction. 

Candidate forum available to watch 

For a deeper look at the council candidates, you can watch the candidate forum held September 1 at the Kellogg-Hubbard Library. Former Council President Scott Hess moderated a wide-ranging discussion. (Disclosure: I’m one of three candidates in an uncontested election.) 

Co-op Connects returns, and members give us feedback 

Council took a break from its meetings in July and August, and we also took a break from the “ask me anything” Co-op Connects events in the store. This week, Co-op Connects returned; General Manager Mary Mullally and I greeted store visitors Monday morning. One of the things I like about standing at the demonstration table near the produce area is watching the faces of people who have just walked into the store—so many faces light up with anticipation of what they’ll find. 

We’ll be back, likely with an additional council member or two, on Thursday, October 22, 3:30 – 4:30 pm. 

Here are some of the things we heard at this week’s event: 

• Tell the stories of the cheeses in the cheese departments. 
• Put fewer types of wine on discount and make discounts deeper. 
• A certain brand of crackers uses a non-recyclable plastic tray—could the Co-op give feedback to the manufacturer? 
• A delivery service would be nice, especially for older people. 
• A satellite store at the future Country Club housing development could serve the hundreds of households there and reduce traffic to Stone Cutters Way. 
• Staff here are great; I’ve been coming for a long time. 

And, of course, we got questions about and ideas for 707 Stone Cutters Way: 

• What’s happening at 707? 
• Mixed retail and housing there would work well: shops on the ground floor and housing above. 

The Wrap 

Q: What did Winnie-the-Pooh say to his agent? 

A: Show me the honey!

—Carl Etnier, Council President

Do you have any questions or comments about the council? Do you know any jokes even faintly related to food and/or co-ops? Please email them to me!