Site Insight

Site development is in full swing, with the Finance & Development Committee—and the board—working on finding a building to lease instead of build. The committee has found 16 buildings to consider, and is in the process of narrowing them down to three or four very feasible locations. Some of them are being actively marketed; the others are more conceptual in nature. Each of them has strengths and drawbacks.

We had a market study done way back before we settled on the Mangum Street site, and it needs to be updated now so that we can get projected sales for any location we’re seriously considering. The market analyst will look at changes in our market place and at the specific sites we want studied, and give us sales projections.

Once we get sales projections back on the sites we’ll be able to move forward with finalizing a lease. If all goes well we should be wrapping up lease negotiations in late spring or early summer.

There’s a lot of ifs between here and there, so stay tuned for ongoing developments.

Remember that if you see a likely location, you can always let us know at site@durhamcentralmarket.org!

Co-op ownership

You own your own business! We often talk about “members” but the reality of our cooperative is that if you paid $100, you bought one share of common stock in the cooperative corporation. It’s different from being a member of a neighborhood association, and different from owning stock in a “C Corp”—the typical publicly owned corporation. Cooperatives have a long history, and owning one brings you the rights and responsibilities of owning your own business.

Cooperatives are formed around the Rochdale Principles, first established in 1844. You can read about them in Wikipedia, and the principles and explanations are on the Durham Central Market website. The short version of the seven principles:

1. Voluntary and Open Membership
2. Democratic Member Control
3. Member Economic Participation
4. Autonomy and Independence
5. Education, Training and Information
6. Cooperation among Cooperatives
7. Concern for Community

As an owner of the co-op, you have the right to

• Run for the board of directors
• Elect directors annually
• Have a say in the rules (by-laws) by which the co-op operates
• Review financial performance annually
• Attend and observe board meetings

Along with your rights comes responsibility for the long-term success of the co-op. Among your specific responsibilities are:

• Stay informed about the co-op, through newsletters, the website, annual reports, attending owners’ meetings and asking questions
• Promote Durham Central Market ownership to people you know
• Contribute to the co-op's capital (you did this when you bought your common share, when you loaned the cooperative money through community notes or when you bought preferred shares.
• Vote in elections
• Give your feedback through surveys
• Keep the co-op informed of address changes so that we can get you information on time
• Understand the nature of cooperatives, including the principles above

Show Your Colors

You can promote Durham Central Market in several simple ways. You can put a bumper sticker on your car, wear your t-shirt and use your tote bag. When people ask about the co-op, tell them what’s going on, and remind them to check the website. Write about DCM to your friends. And host a house party—invite your friends and neighbors to learn about Durham Central Market. Keep it simple, make it a pot luck if you want and let us know you’re doing it—we’ll make sure that someone in the know is there to talk about the co-op! You can let us know at don@durhamcentralmarket.org.

www.DurhamCentralMarket.org