NDCCC Meeting Minutes
January 6, 1999
North Dakota Coordinating Council for
Cooperatives Board Meeting
January 6, 1999
Meeting was called to order by President Everett Dobrinski. Introductions of everyone present followed: Everett Dobrinski, Adolph Feyereisen, Craig Headland, William Nelson, Lori Capauch, Denise Pinkney, Patricia Estes, Larry Novak, Galen Debey, LeAnn Achtenberg, Jean Walton, Christ Jaeger, Ed Moen, Russ Mauch, Jerry Meyer, Frayne Olson, Chuck McCay and Ken Astrup.
It was moved by Craig Headland, seconded by Adolph Feyereisen, to approve the minutes as distributed. MOTION CARRIED.
The financial report was distributed by Jean Walton. Discussion followed concerning expenses of Ben Axtman and Steve Smaaladen. It was moved by Larry Novak, seconded by Craig Headland, to approve the financial report as distributed, subject to the explanation of the Axtman and Smaaladen expenses. MOTION CARRIED. (The Axtman and Smaaladen expenses were inadvertently coded to the wrong account. It has already been corrected.)
Burdick Center Report: William Nelson reviewed the operation of the Burdick Center for Cooperatives and distributed handouts on their homepage and an upcoming training program for new generation cooperatives.
USDA has funded a joint project for the Burdick Center and centers in Wisconsin and Montana to identify challenges facing traditional cooperatives and to develop training materials to assist these cooperatives in meeting the challenges.
There are 47 students enrolled in the cooperative class at NDSU this spring. They hope to have the course available in 2000, via the IVAN network, to all colleges across North Dakota.
A Fullbright scholar from Belarus is coming next week. He plans to do a history of the new generation cooperatives. He will be spending SIX months at NDSU.
State Fair Co-op Day: Tammy and Sandy from the RECs are the co-chairs of the committee. July 28 is the day planned for the event.
Co-op Month: Jean Walton distributed a handout and recapped the 1998 activity and the Communications Committee plans for the 1999 observance.
Co-op Day at the Legislature: LeAnn Achtenberg is in charge of setting up the event. It will be held March 25 in the Great Hall of the Capitol. All NDCCC members are encouraged to have a booth. The theme for the event is "You're in Co-op Country."
Co-op Development Center: Lori Capauch distributed a handout and reviewed the status of projects the Center has been working on the past year.
Marketplace and Marketplace for Kids: Lynn Clancy previewed the upcoming Marketplace and distributed handouts. He thanked the NDCCC for their support and hoped that we would continue supporting the program in the future.
There was a discussion about the problems with promoting Marketplace Co-op Night, due to the lateness of getting the materials to the NDCCC members. There will be an effort to get the planning done earlier for next year's event, which means the material should get out sooner.
The NDCCC President will appoint a committee to work with the Ag Department and Sen. Conrad's office in planning next year's event.
Dues: Dennis will send dues notices to all current NDCCC members. It was moved by Larry Novak, seconded by Adolph Feyereisen, to have the secretary send a letter to Dakota Growers, North American Bison and Farmers Union Marketing and Processing, inviting them to join the NDCCC. MOTION CARRIED.
Election of Officers: Craig Headland was nominated for President. Craig declined, stating that he did not feel he had served long enough on the board to be able to serve as president. His nomination was withdrawn.
Robert Carlson was unanimously elected president and Adolph Feyereisen was unanimously elected vice president.
It was stated that the minutes need to reflect that the RTC and LOL should be given consideration for the offices during next year's election.
Other: Members shared the concerns that their organizations had for the upcoming legislative session. The concerns included:
• Restructuring and taxation of the
electric and telephone industry
• Territorial Integrity Act
• Access fees and access issues
• Taxation of cooperative assets
• Increasing lending limits
• Statutory liens
• Title Insurance
• Dakota Pride Pool
• Cooperative Farming
It was suggested that the lobbyists for each of the NDCCC members should regularly meet to discuss legislative issues.
The next meeting will be held in conjunction with Co-op Day at the State Fair.
Meeting adjourned.
Respectfully submitted,
Ken Astrup, Secretary