Trustees meeting 7th November 2022 Minutes
Present:
Doug McIntosh (Chair), Ian Wilkinson (Vice Chair), Kathy Talbot (Hon. Treasurer),
Tracy Beynon, Sian Beynon, Gwyneth Beynon, Mark Taylor, Mandy Cresswell, Cliff Williams.
Apologies:
Jill and Tony Ensom, Chris Gilley, Jill Thomas.
Doug McIntosh welcomed Julie Burgess to the meeting and she agreed to join as a trustee of the Association, in particular to represent the allotment tenants
The minutes of the meeting on 3rd October were approved
Matters arising:
Treasurer's report (as prev. circulated)
"This has been an exceptionally busy month all round. The repainting of the hall and side rooms is completed, the curtains cleaned and the gents' toilet flush fixed. The total cost has been £2,707 (which given it's not been done this thoroughly for about 20 years is about £135 a year!) Many thanks to Gwyneth, Sian and Tracy who took down all the hall notice boards etc as well as taking down and rehanging the curtains. Although I requested help from Wickes Community programme I've had no response – perhaps by the next time we want to decorate! The hall looked very good for the wedding on 22nd October.
EDF has at last fitted the three phase smart meter. The reader is in the foyer as the signal won't reach adequately to the kitchen. It works on the phone signal not wifi. I've left the instructions by the meter so that the usage can be monitored.
The quiz income was £134 and the bingo night £129, on top of which there were the bar sales. Hall rental only totalled £262. Gross takings in the bar, both cash and card, totalled £1,268 and this is a substantial part of our income. This is off set by purchases from Templeton and we will carry out a stock take at end of year as well as check prices and mark up.
I have drawn a cheque for £20 (PCC haven't got into on line banking yet) for our Lottery Licence fee. We only need this if we have a raffle/sweepstake when tickets are sold prior to the event or the draw. We've not done this for some time but as the amount is relatively small I would recommend we pay it as we could decide a short notice to run such an event.
Our bank balance at end October was £10912 and our cash balance rather high at £976 which I will bank soon."
In addition it was agreed to pay the £20 fee for a lottery licence. This covers any sale of tickets for a raffle or sweepstake prior to the day of the event or draw.
KT will check if a licence is needed for EWCHA to offer cash prizes at the Bingo events. (Note: KT has spoken with Geraint at PCC Licensing dept - it appears because we hold a pub licence and would sell alcohol that we cannot give cash prizes.)
Jubilee Park and Nature Trail update
IW reported that Thursday is the start of the winter maintenance season. Through the 'Changemaker grant' it had been possible to obtain battery operated power hand tools for cutting and trimming, together with protective gear. These hand tools can be charged up during the day at the Community Hall, making good use of the power coming from the solar panels.
The EWCC was hoping to obtain a grant to enhance The Common (area by the Bus Stop) with raised beds and benches. It was suggested that this be called the QEII Rememberance garden.
FutureWorks, a scheme for young people to carry out 20 hours work for the community could help with this.
TB reported that the Park is receiving 5* reviews, commenting how well looked after it is, quiet and rubbish free!
Hainey Moor - hedge cutting will be done
Allotments
The hedge cutting will start on 8th November with a tracked machine. It may be difficult to trim the outside and volunteers/help will be needed to do this.
Many of the fence posts are now rotten and need to be replaced. Some 50-70 are required. IW will source these and the allotmenteers could help to put them in.
There was still one half plot remaining - IW advised that this could be offered to Ray as he has the 'other half', on the understanding that should he give up it would be both plots.
There had been some minor pilferage in the allotments. It was suggested that a CCTV camera be installed.
JB asked to have contact details and will also be encouraged to make use of the Association's Website and Facebook page.
JB was advised that there would be money within the Enhancing Pembrokeshire grant scheme for equipment etc for the Allotments. The deadline for the next application is 23rd January 2023. IW advised that it would be best/easiest to apply through the Association as all the necessary forms etc were already in place.
Maintenance
The Oil boiler had been serviced by Rob Munton at a cost of £139.60. It was agreed to pay this.
Matthew Thomas had replaced all the flowers in the planters outside the hall for free and is thanked for this. Fresh chippings are needed in places.
Mark Duckett and Sue Quinn will be invited to provide one Christmas tree each. These will be for the Common and outside the Hall. Electricity for the lights on the tree on Common had generously been provided from Mrs Cole in the past; in view of the increasing cost of electricity it was agreed that we would offer to pay.
As well as the trees the date for the putting up of the Christmas decorations inside the hall was agreed as 10.00 Saturday 3rd December. All welcome!
DM asked CW to check the cost and efficiency of installing destratification fans. Initial research indicated that there could be savings of 15-20% on heating costs.
Bar Management
The increasing popularity of the hall for events using the bar was placing unsupportable pressure on Sian and Tracy. The past few events had meant over 58 hours of work. KT reported that the wedding event on 20th October had had 95 credit card transactions - indicating how busy the work was. For the future it was agreed that volunteers would be requested to share the duty. When necessary a rosta will be prepared with plenty of notice. MC and MT (together with Chris and Lynne Gilley) offered to operate the bar for the party on 18th November. It was suggested that we could employ temporary staff or caterers but it was agreed to keep the management of the bar 'in house'. SB & TB will draw up a schedule of bar routines and give training.
A phone or similar device tied to the card reader is necessary to save the use of personal mobile phones. This just needs to have blue tooth but no SIM card. MT/CG will check.
Thanks were given to Sian, Tracy and all who made the bar such a success and important part of the Hall's revenue.
Quiz night
Quiz masters are in place until April, so volunteers are asked for May onwards. Jacob Williams has offered to do the Christmas Quiz - December 10 - but TB will step in if he is unable to attend.
Bingo night numbers are declining and it is agreed that after November we will not continue until 2023 and hold only 4 events.
Online stats
October – November 2022
Google
Jubilee Park and Nature Trail
819 interactions (likes etc)
18,487 people viewed our google listing
459 people searched for directions to the park
East Williamston Community Hall
325 profile interactions
993 people clicked through to our website
268 people searched for directions to the hall
Facebook
Page reach last 28 days – 353 people
Our best performing post was the post congratulating Zoe and Rhys on their wedding held at the hall. That reached 192 people.
Website
Unique visits – 115 people visited the website ion the last 30 days
Page views – 237 pages viewed in the last 30 days
Average pages per visit – 1.9 pages per visit
Most popular page – History of the area
Any other business
DM had checked with Presceli Solar whether we could instal battery storage to capture the electricity generated during sunny days when the need in the hall was less. Although this could be done the cost could be between £5 and 10K. MT advised that the actual batteries were in short supply.
Date of next meeting - Monday 5th December at 19.00
Doug McIntosh (Chair), Ian Wilkinson (Vice Chair), Kathy Talbot (Hon. Treasurer),
Tracy Beynon, Sian Beynon, Gwyneth Beynon, Mark Taylor, Mandy Cresswell, Cliff Williams.
Apologies:
Jill and Tony Ensom, Chris Gilley, Jill Thomas.
Doug McIntosh welcomed Julie Burgess to the meeting and she agreed to join as a trustee of the Association, in particular to represent the allotment tenants
The minutes of the meeting on 3rd October were approved
Matters arising:
- The CAF Bank card information had been received by Sian Beynon (and possibly Tony Ensom) but without the necessary form for completion.
- The proposal to hold a Craft Fayre on 19th November had been withdrawn as there was so much going on at the same time. A Fayre may be held in the spring 2023
- DM advised that an application had been made to PCC to enlarge the gate opening from the A477 for the field adjacent to Hainey Moor. No action had been taken over the cutting of trees and hedges during the wildlife breeding season
Treasurer's report (as prev. circulated)
"This has been an exceptionally busy month all round. The repainting of the hall and side rooms is completed, the curtains cleaned and the gents' toilet flush fixed. The total cost has been £2,707 (which given it's not been done this thoroughly for about 20 years is about £135 a year!) Many thanks to Gwyneth, Sian and Tracy who took down all the hall notice boards etc as well as taking down and rehanging the curtains. Although I requested help from Wickes Community programme I've had no response – perhaps by the next time we want to decorate! The hall looked very good for the wedding on 22nd October.
EDF has at last fitted the three phase smart meter. The reader is in the foyer as the signal won't reach adequately to the kitchen. It works on the phone signal not wifi. I've left the instructions by the meter so that the usage can be monitored.
The quiz income was £134 and the bingo night £129, on top of which there were the bar sales. Hall rental only totalled £262. Gross takings in the bar, both cash and card, totalled £1,268 and this is a substantial part of our income. This is off set by purchases from Templeton and we will carry out a stock take at end of year as well as check prices and mark up.
I have drawn a cheque for £20 (PCC haven't got into on line banking yet) for our Lottery Licence fee. We only need this if we have a raffle/sweepstake when tickets are sold prior to the event or the draw. We've not done this for some time but as the amount is relatively small I would recommend we pay it as we could decide a short notice to run such an event.
Our bank balance at end October was £10912 and our cash balance rather high at £976 which I will bank soon."
In addition it was agreed to pay the £20 fee for a lottery licence. This covers any sale of tickets for a raffle or sweepstake prior to the day of the event or draw.
KT will check if a licence is needed for EWCHA to offer cash prizes at the Bingo events. (Note: KT has spoken with Geraint at PCC Licensing dept - it appears because we hold a pub licence and would sell alcohol that we cannot give cash prizes.)
Jubilee Park and Nature Trail update
IW reported that Thursday is the start of the winter maintenance season. Through the 'Changemaker grant' it had been possible to obtain battery operated power hand tools for cutting and trimming, together with protective gear. These hand tools can be charged up during the day at the Community Hall, making good use of the power coming from the solar panels.
The EWCC was hoping to obtain a grant to enhance The Common (area by the Bus Stop) with raised beds and benches. It was suggested that this be called the QEII Rememberance garden.
FutureWorks, a scheme for young people to carry out 20 hours work for the community could help with this.
TB reported that the Park is receiving 5* reviews, commenting how well looked after it is, quiet and rubbish free!
Hainey Moor - hedge cutting will be done
Allotments
The hedge cutting will start on 8th November with a tracked machine. It may be difficult to trim the outside and volunteers/help will be needed to do this.
Many of the fence posts are now rotten and need to be replaced. Some 50-70 are required. IW will source these and the allotmenteers could help to put them in.
There was still one half plot remaining - IW advised that this could be offered to Ray as he has the 'other half', on the understanding that should he give up it would be both plots.
There had been some minor pilferage in the allotments. It was suggested that a CCTV camera be installed.
JB asked to have contact details and will also be encouraged to make use of the Association's Website and Facebook page.
JB was advised that there would be money within the Enhancing Pembrokeshire grant scheme for equipment etc for the Allotments. The deadline for the next application is 23rd January 2023. IW advised that it would be best/easiest to apply through the Association as all the necessary forms etc were already in place.
Maintenance
The Oil boiler had been serviced by Rob Munton at a cost of £139.60. It was agreed to pay this.
Matthew Thomas had replaced all the flowers in the planters outside the hall for free and is thanked for this. Fresh chippings are needed in places.
Mark Duckett and Sue Quinn will be invited to provide one Christmas tree each. These will be for the Common and outside the Hall. Electricity for the lights on the tree on Common had generously been provided from Mrs Cole in the past; in view of the increasing cost of electricity it was agreed that we would offer to pay.
As well as the trees the date for the putting up of the Christmas decorations inside the hall was agreed as 10.00 Saturday 3rd December. All welcome!
DM asked CW to check the cost and efficiency of installing destratification fans. Initial research indicated that there could be savings of 15-20% on heating costs.
Bar Management
The increasing popularity of the hall for events using the bar was placing unsupportable pressure on Sian and Tracy. The past few events had meant over 58 hours of work. KT reported that the wedding event on 20th October had had 95 credit card transactions - indicating how busy the work was. For the future it was agreed that volunteers would be requested to share the duty. When necessary a rosta will be prepared with plenty of notice. MC and MT (together with Chris and Lynne Gilley) offered to operate the bar for the party on 18th November. It was suggested that we could employ temporary staff or caterers but it was agreed to keep the management of the bar 'in house'. SB & TB will draw up a schedule of bar routines and give training.
A phone or similar device tied to the card reader is necessary to save the use of personal mobile phones. This just needs to have blue tooth but no SIM card. MT/CG will check.
Thanks were given to Sian, Tracy and all who made the bar such a success and important part of the Hall's revenue.
Quiz night
Quiz masters are in place until April, so volunteers are asked for May onwards. Jacob Williams has offered to do the Christmas Quiz - December 10 - but TB will step in if he is unable to attend.
Bingo night numbers are declining and it is agreed that after November we will not continue until 2023 and hold only 4 events.
Online stats
October – November 2022
Jubilee Park and Nature Trail
819 interactions (likes etc)
18,487 people viewed our google listing
459 people searched for directions to the park
East Williamston Community Hall
325 profile interactions
993 people clicked through to our website
268 people searched for directions to the hall
Page reach last 28 days – 353 people
Our best performing post was the post congratulating Zoe and Rhys on their wedding held at the hall. That reached 192 people.
Website
Unique visits – 115 people visited the website ion the last 30 days
Page views – 237 pages viewed in the last 30 days
Average pages per visit – 1.9 pages per visit
Most popular page – History of the area
Any other business
DM had checked with Presceli Solar whether we could instal battery storage to capture the electricity generated during sunny days when the need in the hall was less. Although this could be done the cost could be between £5 and 10K. MT advised that the actual batteries were in short supply.
Date of next meeting - Monday 5th December at 19.00