Meeting of Trustees held on Monday 07 February 2022 in the Community Hall
Present:
Doug McIntosh (chair), Ian Wilkinson (vice-chair), Tony Ensom (secretary), Kathy Talbot (treasurer), Amanda Cresswell, Jill Ensom, Mark Taylor, Jill Thomas and Cliff Williams.
Apologies:
Gwyneth Beynon, Sian Beynon, Tracy Beynon and Chris Gilley.
Minutes:
The minutes of the meeting held on 10 January 2022, which had been circulated previously, were approved and signed by Doug.
Treasurer’s Report:
Kathy had circulated the following report before the meeting:
This month has been a quiet month and our total reserves now stand at £18,876. During January we disbursed the honoraria with cash to the Association's officers and paid £470 to Ocon for the work on the emergency lighting. We also purchased some 'Green Welly' signs to mark the new path in the Jubilee Park.
We have now switched electricity suppliers to EDF and the meter reading has been sent.
The saga of transferring the bank account continues and HSBC have proved very slow. Despite delivering the request to close the bank account and transfer to CAT on 17th Jan and a follow up visit the best I can get is 'it's being dealt with'. This delay is frustrating and I am anxious we pay all our direct debits etc. on time so I will keep pursuing it.
Our cheque signatories are myself, Tony Ensom, Ian Wilkinson, Doug McIntosh and Sian Beynon but only Tony and I can access the on line bank – this is not sustainable should we need to make a payment and one of us be away for any reason. It's simple enough to set up, all that's needed is a reasonable internet connection via a lap top or similar so I ask that another trustee volunteer.
Attached is an analysis of our bar charges compared to cost – I'm not a pub-goer so have no idea of current charges and it is not necessarily a simple case of best mark up but rather one of volume. However, if we are making less than about 50% on an item I think we should put the price up or if this is not acceptable we should stop stocking it. There are several that fall into this category, most noticeably the Peroni.
I am preparing the annual invoices for the allotments and these will be sent out this week
The trustees agreed that Doug would be the third trustee who can access the on line banking.
The trustees agreed that there should be a minimum mark up on bar drinks of 50%. Kathy agreed to bring a proposal to the next meeting.
Kathy also reported some problems with EDF regarding VAT on electricity bills which she will endeavour to resolve.
Jubilee Park & Nature Trail:
Ian reported that volunteers and EWCC’s contractor were cutting back blackthorn and brambles around the park but that this may not be completed if bird nesting starts earlier. Repairs to paths is the next task.
Doug reported that EWCC will be arranging for signage regarding control of dogs by their owners in the park.
Community Hall:
Gwyneth had circulated the following report before the meeting:
I was shocked to find that the oil tank had gone down to half full already. The boiler was ticking over at 15 degrees when the hall was not in use as suggested by Rob, however, I have now been switching it off between Thursday evening and Tuesday afternoon. We did have some issues with the app that controls the boiler that it wasn't kicking back in on a Tuesday, however, this has now been sorted.
We have created the excel maintenance schedule to ensure that we keep up to date.
Reminder to everyone that the hall will be closed from the 19th February until the 28th February for the floor to be resurfaced.
The following outstanding maintenance items are on-going:
Hall Bookings:
Sian had reported as follows:
It was confirmed that the christening booking for 12 February would not interfere with the quiz.
Mark requested that the committee room should be available for the bowls club committee on 01 March.
Sian had also previously circulated the trustees with a report on a visit from the PCC Covid Enforcement Officers for information.
Website and Facebook:
Tracy had circulated the following report before the meeting:
Website stats: We have had 85 unique visits on the website this month with 184 page views.
Digitising records: We could use the google drive space that we have as part of the eastwilliamston@gmail.comemail address to store records digitally. We have 15GB of free storage included. I will liaise with Kathy as there are also some other options, however, there is a small charge with some of them
Any Other Business:
Following a request from Mark on behalf of the Bowls Club, it was agreed that the bar could be opened for their sessions on Tuesday and Thursday evenings.
The Queen’s Jubilee Celebration:
Doug reported that the Community Council will be making a small amount of money available to anyone organising a community event.
The trustees agreed that the Association should organise an event on Sunday 05 June. Mark agreed to form a sub-committee to come up with proposals.
Next Meeting:
The next meeting will be on Monday 07 March 2022 at 7.00 pm.
Doug McIntosh (chair), Ian Wilkinson (vice-chair), Tony Ensom (secretary), Kathy Talbot (treasurer), Amanda Cresswell, Jill Ensom, Mark Taylor, Jill Thomas and Cliff Williams.
Apologies:
Gwyneth Beynon, Sian Beynon, Tracy Beynon and Chris Gilley.
Minutes:
The minutes of the meeting held on 10 January 2022, which had been circulated previously, were approved and signed by Doug.
Treasurer’s Report:
Kathy had circulated the following report before the meeting:
This month has been a quiet month and our total reserves now stand at £18,876. During January we disbursed the honoraria with cash to the Association's officers and paid £470 to Ocon for the work on the emergency lighting. We also purchased some 'Green Welly' signs to mark the new path in the Jubilee Park.
We have now switched electricity suppliers to EDF and the meter reading has been sent.
The saga of transferring the bank account continues and HSBC have proved very slow. Despite delivering the request to close the bank account and transfer to CAT on 17th Jan and a follow up visit the best I can get is 'it's being dealt with'. This delay is frustrating and I am anxious we pay all our direct debits etc. on time so I will keep pursuing it.
Our cheque signatories are myself, Tony Ensom, Ian Wilkinson, Doug McIntosh and Sian Beynon but only Tony and I can access the on line bank – this is not sustainable should we need to make a payment and one of us be away for any reason. It's simple enough to set up, all that's needed is a reasonable internet connection via a lap top or similar so I ask that another trustee volunteer.
Attached is an analysis of our bar charges compared to cost – I'm not a pub-goer so have no idea of current charges and it is not necessarily a simple case of best mark up but rather one of volume. However, if we are making less than about 50% on an item I think we should put the price up or if this is not acceptable we should stop stocking it. There are several that fall into this category, most noticeably the Peroni.
I am preparing the annual invoices for the allotments and these will be sent out this week
The trustees agreed that Doug would be the third trustee who can access the on line banking.
The trustees agreed that there should be a minimum mark up on bar drinks of 50%. Kathy agreed to bring a proposal to the next meeting.
Kathy also reported some problems with EDF regarding VAT on electricity bills which she will endeavour to resolve.
Jubilee Park & Nature Trail:
Ian reported that volunteers and EWCC’s contractor were cutting back blackthorn and brambles around the park but that this may not be completed if bird nesting starts earlier. Repairs to paths is the next task.
Doug reported that EWCC will be arranging for signage regarding control of dogs by their owners in the park.
Community Hall:
Gwyneth had circulated the following report before the meeting:
I was shocked to find that the oil tank had gone down to half full already. The boiler was ticking over at 15 degrees when the hall was not in use as suggested by Rob, however, I have now been switching it off between Thursday evening and Tuesday afternoon. We did have some issues with the app that controls the boiler that it wasn't kicking back in on a Tuesday, however, this has now been sorted.
We have created the excel maintenance schedule to ensure that we keep up to date.
Reminder to everyone that the hall will be closed from the 19th February until the 28th February for the floor to be resurfaced.
The following outstanding maintenance items are on-going:
- Dampness at low level in the men’s’ toilet,
- Repairs to the fence at the rear of the hall,
- Replacing the defunct flushing system to the urinal in the men’s toilet,
- Replacing the chippings in front of the hall,
- Re-fixing the insulation on the underside of the roof and
- Changing the code for the key box
Hall Bookings:
Sian had reported as follows:
- 12th February - This should be the quiz, but we have a private booking for a Christening that day. We are waiting for confirmation of the times they want the hall.
- 2nd March - and then every Wednesday morning 11:30-12:30 New parent and baby exercise class starting
- 5th March - 1:30 - 3:30pm Children’s party
- 12th March - 10am -3pm Extra dance classes
- 19th March - 10am -3pm Extra Dance classes
- 29th April - Private party
- 5th May - 6:30am - 10:30pm Elections
It was confirmed that the christening booking for 12 February would not interfere with the quiz.
Mark requested that the committee room should be available for the bowls club committee on 01 March.
Sian had also previously circulated the trustees with a report on a visit from the PCC Covid Enforcement Officers for information.
Website and Facebook:
Tracy had circulated the following report before the meeting:
Website stats: We have had 85 unique visits on the website this month with 184 page views.
Digitising records: We could use the google drive space that we have as part of the eastwilliamston@gmail.comemail address to store records digitally. We have 15GB of free storage included. I will liaise with Kathy as there are also some other options, however, there is a small charge with some of them
Any Other Business:
Following a request from Mark on behalf of the Bowls Club, it was agreed that the bar could be opened for their sessions on Tuesday and Thursday evenings.
The Queen’s Jubilee Celebration:
Doug reported that the Community Council will be making a small amount of money available to anyone organising a community event.
The trustees agreed that the Association should organise an event on Sunday 05 June. Mark agreed to form a sub-committee to come up with proposals.
Next Meeting:
The next meeting will be on Monday 07 March 2022 at 7.00 pm.