Annual Report 2021-2022

Coordinating Committee

By Julian Tabron, ICC President (president@icc.coop)

The Coordinating Committee, called CoCo, is made up of the ICC President, five Vice Presidents (VPs), and the General Manager. The composition of this committee has been reduced from six VPs to five VPs due to a Board proposal to combine the VP Diversity and VP Education positions. This committee holds the responsibilities of coordinating central leadership activities and ensuring organizational actions adhere to our cooperative values. CoCo also provides information to the board, including providing support for developing proposals that alter policies. Long and short term organizational planning is another important focus for CoCo and assists us in meeting the goals set forth by members and the Board.

Summer

Referendum: In late April, we received a referendum request through a petition focused on spring/summer affordability. Julian selected Bryant Hepp as the Chair of the referendum and appointed several other referendum committee members:

• Anne Lin
• Bryant Hepp (chair)
• Paul Rizik
• Ron Nelson
• Shannon Hill
• Trenten Ingell

1. Their duties were as followed:
2. Post notices of the referendum of the time, date and issue to be decided
3. Have the ballots and information printed
4. Distribute the referendum ballots to all of the houses
5. Count the ballots and certify the results

See results of referendum courtesy of Bryant Hepp:

The results have been certified by the referendum committee and were approved by the Board of Directors.

1. PASSED 54.84% (n = 124) Directs FinCom to create a scholarship for all ICC members who are not eligible for the MLK scholarship due to non-student status or because the fund is exhausted and are struggling to pay Spring/Summer charges. Also directs FinCom to work with the Fundraising Outreach Coordinator to increase money available for this scholarship. The ICC will commit to disbursing the scholarship amount based off the Demonstrated Financial Need calculation within funds raised by FinCom and the Fundraising Outreach Coordinator
2. PASSED 74.40% (n = 125) Members can officially be released from spring/summer, spring, summer, or non-standard contracts which occur during the spring/summer term until 5 PM May 5, 2021
3. PASSED 63.49% (n = 126) Waive all late fees or late fines which occur between May 3, 2021 and August 20, 2021. This will not affect the dates charges are due or the posting of Notices To Quit.
4. PASSED 67.20% (n = 125) Requires that the ICC charges will be finalized and members notified thirty days before the start of the spring/summer only contract signing period. This does not include house charges.

After the referendum passed in May, we proceeded to halt late fees for spring/summer and we allowed people to drop their contracts by May 3rd. We came up with a plan to expand scholarships which include the COVID-19 relief fund Scholarships. FinCom has been assigned work to focus on scholarships.

During May 2021, we also worked on the following task below:

• Transitioned the old CoCo to new CoCo on May 1st.
• Explored some potential expansion options based on properties on the market.
• Prioritized some strategic plan objectives for CoCo.
• CoCo approved the last board meeting minutes for the 4/11 Board of Directors meeting.
• We completed the Authorized signer agreement for U-M SOAS. Ruthy, Shannon and Julian will be the authorized signers.
• Initiated a GM Censure committee and will be presenting recommendations to the Board of Directors
• Led New Member Orientation (NMO), New House Officer Training (NHOT), Board Training, and other makeup training.

Contract Release Committee Report

CRC met once to talk about vaccine requirements which may affect standing rules in Chapter 7. The ICC is considering an option to mandate vaccinations for the upcoming Fall term. We only had two contract release requests that were decided by the committee which is significantly lower than last year during the earlier stages of the Pandemic.

DFS Hiring Committee

See Nick’s report for a full update. During the month of May, we did in-person and virtual meeting interviews. After several interviews and a meeting, the committee selected Ann Desjarlais.

EHOT Summer Report

This summer has been hectic for EHOT. Three members were permanently expelled from the ICC. One individual was expelled by the ICC through a house vote open hearing and the other two people were expelled through the Member Resolution Panel (MRP) process. We put together MRP for two EHOT cases (Gel and Julian facilitated); Nick and DART chairs finalized paperwork for the outcome of expulsion.

BCL Expansion and Construction Project Report

So far, they have filled 14 out of 18 available bedrooms and they expect they’ll fill the remaining four rooms quickly. They have 14 adults, 2 children, 2 dogs and an axolotl slated to move in. For the co-op overall, they’ve filled 44 out of 49 bedrooms and have some great folks coming in.

As for renovations, they have run into delays, largely due to supply shortages and a lengthy zoning decision. The structural work is complete and they’re now working on the HVAC, electric, and plumbing. The external stonework and siding is partway complete and should be done in the next week or two. They’ve yet to start on drywall, flooring and deck building. So the property currently looks more like a construction site than a home but our contractor is confident that they’re still on track to finish before August. And the work that is complete looks great and is within budget.

SBA Update

Due to the loss of business within the Greek Life Community, SBA decided to shut down their business in June 2021. Judy Raymond (from SBA) mentioned that many of their clients such as the Sororities have dropped and decided to use catering companies for their food purchases. This along with the pandemic caused a loss of income for SBA. We put together a Food Task Force meeting to discuss the transition phase from SBA to a new food ordering system. Many staff, CoCo, Board, and food stewards attended the first and second Food Task Force (FTF) meeting. These FTF meetings were essential for devising a plan for the transition, to ensure food stewards, treasurers, and ICC central operations are on the same page. We discussed the transition timeline from SBA to ICC. Logistical concerns such as establishing new ICC accounts, getting cards to the houses, and getting set up with vendors like GFS, Costco, were discussed heavily at these meetings. Currently, we are considering the option to create a paid position to take on Judy’s responsibilities. The other tasks, i.e ordering, replacing lost credit cards or changing purchaser name on accounts, missing product or invoice disputes etc can be handled by the finance office. There will also not be any billing, as all the purchases will be directly assessed to each house. The vendors prefer a single point contact for orders etc., so this issue will be fine.

Many Proposals have been worked on by CoCo members. Here’s a rundown of the proposals with a brief explanation:

• Proposal to lift party ban – This proposal lifted a COVID-19 Party Ban but strongly encouraged houses to only permit vaccinated guests to their parties.
• Proposal to overhaul standing rules pertaining to AC Process – This proposal revised the formula to calculate AC unit charges over time.
  Proposal to Revise SR Chapter 6. A list of proposed changes were made to revise outdated standing rules in Chapter 6 which focuses on King, Baker, and Escher specifically
• Luther Internal Expansion proposal – Proposal to increase occupancy of Luther house by 1 occupant for Fall/Winter 2021-22.
• Proposal Stipend for Gregory House – This proposal will give a small stipend to Gregory house who has only one occupant for the summer.
• Proposal to amend 12.7.G – Increase the distance of grills and bonfire pits from 5ft to 10ft as recommended by our insurance company.
• DART Scholarship proposal – Objective of this proposal is to increase compensation for DART Co-Chairs.
• Proposal for Mandatory Fall NHOT Attendance for Food Stewards and Treasurers – The proposal objective is to require all food stewards and treasurers to come to NHOT regardless of whether they attended a training in a previous semester. This proposal aims to strongly encourage houses to elect food stewards for the entire fall/winter term.
• Proposal to mandate vaccinations for the fall – If this proposal passes, there will be a mandatory vaccination requirement with the exception of medical and religious exemptions.

COVID-19 Support

In response to positive cases in several houses, we prioritized filling the COVID-19 Task Force chair, Benjamin Niemann. Bryant met with the new CTF chair for training and guidance on the position. There will be a covid task force meeting, on Sunday November 21 at 2pm via zoom. House Presidents, Board and Staff members are encouraged to attend the meeting to share strategies to reduce the spread of the virus in our community. Email ctf.chair@icc.coop for more info. With the new Omicron variant outbreak, we will look into strategies to reduce the spread of COVID-19 in our community. The following houses have had confirmed COVID-19 cases: Baker, Debs, Gregory, Nakamura, Owen, and Truth.

GM Censure and Resignation

We had two GM Censure meetings during the month of November. Staff and Board members have been invited to share their thoughts on the GM Nick, censure process, and the GM Job description. In November, the GM announced his plans to resign ahead of the November 21 Board meeting. The President and the GM have officially signed a resignation agreement after receiving Board Approval at the December meeting. The GM’s last day of employment is March 31, 2022 but he is allowed to leave at an earlier point with an advanced notice.

NASCO Board Rep Election Update

On behalf of the ICC, CoCo voted to approve Maggie O’Connor for the candidate nomination for the NASCO Board Representative election. Email was submitted to the NASCO elections committee on November 17. Next steps will be for us to decide on how we will cast votes as an organization.

Evaluations

At the November 7th Board Meeting, Julian gave a presentation on how to evaluate the VPs and President for the upcoming performance evaluation review process . The ICC VP and President evaluations surveys were sent out (separately) to the ICC membership to gather feedback in preparation for the Board review which is planned to take place at the first December Board meeting. Board members listened to a presentation that compiles summary results for each VP and the ICC President during an executive session. After reviewing the feedback and recommendations, the Board will vote on whether the person may keep their scholarship. Julian is scheduling meetings with the VPs individually after the meeting to discuss the feedback with the VP to offer suggestions on how they can improve in their roile. A member of CoCo will meet with Julian to discuss the feedback from surveys and the board.

Other CoCo Updates

• We covered multiple proposals during the off-season. These are the proposals in development that have been discussed throughout the spring/summer and Fall term.
• Jim Jones from CCDC sent us a letter requesting the ICC to amend FY 2021-22 budget to include CCDC dues. We used our executive powers to pass this when the Board was not in session.
• We used our executive powers to approve the Board Meeting minutes from the last Board Meeting August 15, 2021.
• Some CoCo members worked with Patti to review MAC, DART Chair, and CHR Chair positions. We conducted interviews and we selected the following candidates:
  • Member Assistance Coordinator – Chloe Huettig
  • DART Chair – Anna Neddoss and Regan Pitts
  • CHR Chair – Sophia Meshinchi
• Most of our work and effort has focused on leading training during the month of September. We led NMO, NHOT, and Board training collectively.
• We used our emergency powers to pass a proposal to expand the COVID-19 Scholarship. We felt this was not a contentious proposal so we passed it here.
  CoCo will focus on addressing some of Brian Donovan’s recommendations from last year.

Board Planning

Coco has prioritized Board Planning for the rest of the fall/winter Board meetings. We discussed a list of planned proposals that will be addressed and we are trying to bring forth some of the remaining proposals from last year which include Brian Donovan’s recommendations. Currently we are prioritizing the “Define All Charges” proposal which would enact a policy change to set different rates for doubles and singles. This proposal will be circulating through committees to discuss and provide feedback before bringing it to the board. There were some early discussions about the 2022-2023 budget for next year starting in November.

Member Assistance Program (MAP)

We have had some issues getting the MAP started so I have talked to Chloe to make plans to get the program started ASAP for Winter term. We hope to get the MA program up and running next week. There have been some setbacks which we’ll have to address in the coming weeks. CoCo takes responsibility for the MAP, so we will need to find an alternative solution to get members assigned.

Bloomington Cooperative Living (BCL) update from BCL Member Jasper

Great to hear from you and I hope move-in season is going well for you all up there. I hope to meet you soon on a BCL visit! With 921 we’ve had both some good news and bad news… The bad news is we likely won’t be able to move into 921 until November. The good news is this isn’t a hit to the co-op’s finances or to member housing security.

The good news: we renegotiated our lease at Goodlawn (the house we were planning to give up this year) so the co-op is paying $2,500/month rather than the previous $4,770/month. The landlord made us that offer because he couldn’t find property managers willing to take on the labor and risk of a 12 bedroom house this year. Everybody who plans to live at 921 is either temporarily living at Goodlawn or is staying with family and friends for the next few months. It’s not ideal for members but morale is high. We anticipate a somewhat higher vacancy rate than usual once 921 opens but the reduced rent should more than make up for it.

The bad news: the delays in renovations are due to a combination of permitting and supply shortages due to covid. We finally received the needed permit today so hopefully things will move more smoothly from here. I’ve cc’d Hugh in this email who can add more detail on the permitting and renovations side of things.

BCL Field Trip

Due to concerns of COVID-19, we have delayed plans to coordinate a trip to the newly purchased BCL house. Julian talked to Ruthy about scheduling a trip to Bloomington, IA for the winter term.

MSU Spartan Housing Cooperative (SHC)

We may also plan a trip to SHC for the Winter Semester.

Other Projects

• Working with CSG reps to see if we can receive more grant money potentially for maintenance related projects.
• CoCo members were tasked with providing suggestions to the VP Diversity & Education position description.
• Exploring ideas for accountability measures for DART Chair, CHR Chair, Rivera Coordinator, and MAC Chair.
• Planning for big restructuring proposals that will address room charges, contract signing, contract releases, share returns processes, gender ratio requirements, fall term fees, utility rates for EVs, and recommendations from the finance department.
• Looking to add a new VP position and committee possibly tied into merging the alumni team or development committee.
• Filling grant writer position[s] and seeking grant opportunities for the ICC .

Winter

COVID-19, N95 Masks, and Q&I

One of our top priorities this month is addressing the Omicron variant spread in our houses. Julian, Paul, Gel, and Bryant have all contracted COVID-19 near the beginning of the new year. This has caused some setbacks which is why we decided to meet on zoom until further notice.

Many houses continue to see positive COVID-19 cases which have caused some panic and concerns for members and house leadership. In some cases, members were allowed to relocate to Northwood housing for the 5-day quarantining period. Julian wrote a proposal earlier this month to permit the spending of N95 masks which will be distributed to all houses. He also applied for SOFC funding to offset the cost; however, they denied the request due to low funds and the availability of masks at testing sites.

After the proposal passed, Bryant and I coordinated the masks distribution efforts based on the number of requested masks on our COVID-19 support tracking spreadsheet. We received the masks on Monday 1/24/22 and have distributed all of the masks so far.

Member Assistance Program Winter Update

Julian has met with Chloe to ensure the member assistance program is up and running. Supervisors should have received their MAs and track their hours accordingly.

Proposals in Development and Proposal Priorities for Remainder of the Term

Julian will be working with Sam and Bryant to put together a more comprehensive Define All Charges and Simplify Member Charges Proposal. This should be ready for review in mid-February. We are working to complete any outstanding proposals by the end of February. Implementation for some of these proposals may occur 2-years from now.

We are also updating the proposal database which is currently being worked on by my President Assistant Izak.

Environmental Health Safety Update

Jennifer Nord EHS rep has notified me that there were 13 norovirus cases that are no longer a concern as of 2/27/22.

EHOT Winter Update

EHOT has two cases which are from Black Elk and Rivera house. Need to consult the lawyer (Fink & Fink) regarding the expulsion and eviction process. We will be meeting with case members from each house. The outcomes resulted in some recommendations for improving the house leadership;

Kagawa Fund Update

We have about $86,000 in Kagawa Funds that we could withdraw from the Shared Cooperative Council account. CoCo will wait until we fill the GM position and ask for guidance before making big financial decisions on behalf of the board.

We updated our authorized signers for our Comerica Bank account and all of the signers have signed for authorization.

Alliance Consulting Group (ACG) Partnership

I met with Rayyan from ACG who has sent us a letter of engagement to help us with leadership development and mentorship for turnover. We met with the student project manager who will be going through our leadership guide documents and providing recommendations for the ICC.

Share Return Update

Met with Brian Donovan for a share return update. He was cutting checks for share returns for spring/summer 2020.

GM Hiring Update and Timeline (Winter Update)

After the Board formed a hiring team which was led by Paul Rizik and Patti Kardia. Other members of the hiring team included Sam Limerick, Stephen Trybam, Geoff Mayers, Rosalind Madorsky, Susan Caya, and Maggie O’Connor. Julian Tabron and Bryant Hepp assisted with the Hiring Committee as well. During the hiring process, Nick Coquillard resigned on February 15, 2022 which left the position vacant for over a month. During this time Julian put together interim GM transition meetings and we decided. The hiring and recruitment process spanned just under 3 months (January-March).

The ICC offered a second interview for Holly Jo Sparks and Brian Donovan. After careful consideration, the hiring committee recommended to the Board to select Brian Donovan as the new GM. He has accepted our offer for the position for $87,000 salary and we will begin the onboarding process in late March. He will begin March 22, 2022.

Election Team Report

Bryant Hepp was the only candidate running for ICC Preisdent. The ICC Election Team shares results at the March 13, 2022 Board Meeting. The strengths, and weaknesses of the ICC Presidential Election were shared in the presentation. Bryant Hepp, current VP of Operations, from Baker House, is announced as the winner! The house with the highest voting turnout was Owen, at 91%, followed by Osterweil at 83%. Total ICC membership that participated in voting was 27.41%. The Board votes unanimously to approve of the election results. Congratulations to Bryant!

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Alumni Team

By Dr. Suneel Joglekar, Alumni Team Chair (at.chair@icc.coop)

This year, we have continued our efforts of the past year, starting with WAM 2021, which had a record number of Alumni attendees. Thanks to the use of Zoom to hold WAM virtually, we were able to have Alumni from all over the country and the world join Zoom. After WAM officially ended, the Alumni attendees shared their stories of cooperation over the years, including from the middle of last century. We were very grateful for the Alumni participation in WAM, which was only improved by the use of the virtual meeting.

With the success of WAM 2021, we developed a program to host our Alumni Coffee Hours virtually, with two events taking place in the Summer of 2021. These events went really well, and the Alumni attendees enjoyed sharing their experiences. It was really fun and informative for us current Members to hear how ICC Houses operated in years’ past, which provided key insight into how to improve the current operations of ICC Houses – it is really best to learn from experience and cherish our history as an organization!

During this year, the ongoing COVID pandemic continued to drag on, which affected our operations and plans as a team this year as well as last. We continued our fundraising effort, and worked with the ICC Board of Directors to make the Fundraising Outreach Coordinator position a more permanent and “official” position in the ICC. Our fundraising efforts started last year were maintained and revamped this year, and we have established a fundraising policy for the ICC, where future fundraising efforts will focus on programs such as development and sustainability, and we will continue to update current and past ICC Members on our fundraising efforts and areas.

This year, we have mainly been working on our team policy and operating procedures, as we have had a very small team this year (especially compared with 2019 – 2020, where we had five team members). We have helped support the ICC and our Alumni through our transitions as an organization this year, from the hiring of a new Director of Financial Services (DFS) and through the resignation of our current General Manager, with one of our team members serving on the General Manager Hiring Committee. With the new DFS, we have ensured, through FinCom policy as well as our own codified policy, that Alumni Donations will be managed with the utmost care, responsibility, and adherence to regulations. After our work this year, you can rest assured that your donations will be used responsibly for the great benefit of our current and future Membership!

We look to the next year with great excitement! 2022 is a very important year for the Student Cooperative movement and the ICC. We plan on celebrating the 90th Birthday of Michigan House (founded in 1932 as Michigan Socialist House, the first ICC House and Student Cooperative in Ann Arbor). This year is also the 150th Birthday of the College Cottage in Evanston, IL, a women’s student cooperative house which served as the blueprint for American student cooperative houses and organizations. This year is also the 80th Birthday of Jim Jones, a former ICC Member who later on served as our General Manager from 1984 – 1999, and has continued his passion for the cooperative movement by founding cooperative houses in Grand Rapids, MI, and also serves on the board for the High Five Cooperative Brewery in Grand Rapids.

I’d like to sincerely thank all the ICC Members and Alumni for their support and contributions to this organization, especially during the past two years of the pandemic. All of our hard work, effort, and compassion has paid off in maintaining the strength and longevity of this organization!

And most importantly, we would like to thank our Alumni donors from the past year, to whom we are extremely grateful. The full list of donors can be found under “Our Donors.”

While the past two years have been challenging for all of us, we are still continuing to grow and thrive as an organization. We all deeply appreciate the help and support that Alumni like you have given and continue to give the ICC. Now, more than ever, our slogan holds true: Once a Member, ALWAYS a Member!