KING`S SOMBORNE VILLAGE HALL MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE
Minutes of the Meeting held on 3rd March 2011 in the Committee Room
Present: Terry Mackintosh – Chairman, Linda Aucock – Invoice Secretary, Mary Bradley – Booking Secretary, David Bidwell – Parish Council, Frank Fahy – Cricket Club, Tracey Harris, Ethna Long – Baby & Toddler Group, Mike Reynolds – Somborne Society, John Vanderpump – Responders, Pam Watson – Art Committee.
In Attendance: Ian Bradley – Web-editor, Mike Rosen and Claire Horsefield (Item 6d)
The Chairman welcomed everyone to the meeting.
1. Apologies:
Chris Hall, Bill Hartley, Wendy Hartley, Sandie Pepperell and Carolyn Stammers.
2. Minutes of Previous Meetings:
a) VHMC Minutes; The minutes of the meeting held on the 3rd February were considered a correct record and signed by the Chairman, Terry Mackintosh.
There were no matters arising not covered elsewhere on the Agenda.
b) VHDC Minutes; The minutes of the meeting held on 21st February were received.
3. Committee Membership:
It was noted that Peter Shone had decided not to take up the post of Treasurer but would be happy to help the Committee in other ways. Mike Templeman, however, had been approached by TM and agreed to stand for election as Treasurer for the coming financial year. As the AGM was not until 19th May it was agreed that Mike Templeman would serve as Acting Treasurer from the beginning of April. TM undertook to approach Mike to see if he was willing to do this and MR undertook to brief Mike when the latter returned from holiday. In the meantime MR would begin to prepare the Accounts for 2010-2011 in readiness for the AGM. In connection with this he had had a very helpful preliminary meeting with Norman Denison, the Independent Examiner. TM/MH
It was noted that for personal reasons EL did not wish to serve on the Pre-school Group and TM asked if anyone wished to join this committee. A replacement was also being sought for MR who had recently resigned from the VHDC.
4. Hall Maintenance:
a) Cleaning; As Sheila Fleming had kept the hall in such good order, it was decided to approach her to see if she was prepared to take the job of Caretaker/Cleaner on permanently with effect from the beginning of April. TM/ER
TM had arranged for a new clutch to be fitted to the vacuum cleaner.
b) Expenditure on Maintenance; It was agreed that expenditure for items/work needed for the maintenance of the hall may be undertaken by the officers up to a limit of £100 for any single item/job.
c) Notice Boards; FF confirmed that the material used for the new notice board would be white on both sides and that reflective paint would be used so it would be easily visible from the road. Some metal holders for the posts at a cost of £15 were still needed and this expenditure was agreed. It was suggested that the present sign, which would be replaced by the new sign, might be re-located at the Scout Hut entrance so that it could be seen from the road. The sign to the bottle bank may also need to be relocated but at present a new site for the bank was under consideration by the Parish Council and may be discussed at the Parish Assembly. It was noted that if the bank was located near the Scout Hut it may be necessary to relocate the Cricket Hut and a new area of hard standing may be required. FF/TM d) Community Payback Scheme; TM had not heard anymore in connection with work to be done on the hall. The question of insurance had still to be clarified. TM
5. Financial Matters:
a) Financial Statement; MR had prepared some figures showing receipts and expenditure for February. A surplus of about £500 was expected for the current financial year. It was noted with gratitude that some savings had been made on maintenance costs as TM had undertaken much of the plumbing work needed during the year.
MR confirmed that Norman Denison was aware that much work would be needed to present the VHMC and the VHDC Accounts individually as well as in a combined form at the AGM.
TM/MH
b) Hire Of Playing Field; It was noted that the Parish Council makes a charge for regular users of the Playing Fields. This was considered to be totally a matter for the Council although some queried the definition of “regular”.
c) Rates of Hire Sub-Committee; It was agreed that the committee would meet again to consider any revisions needed to the Conditions of Hire and report back to the next meeting. It was also agreed that a section explaining that the Recreation Ground/ Playing Fields were run by the Parish Council would be added. PW
As two increased changes to the rates of hire were being recommended for 2011, ER asked if consideration could be given to the abolition of the 10% discount could be deferred to January 2012 so the effect on regular users would be staged. However as utility costs had rising substantially and were likely to continue to rise and the reserves needed to be built up it was considered prudent to introduce both changes in August 2011.
c) Financial Report from VHDC; It was noted that due to a donation the total figure of receipts had risen by £30 since the figures were circulated at the last meeting.
6. Hall Bookings:
a) Booking Secretary’s Report; MB reported bookings continuing at a steady rate. To date she had not received any complaints with regard to the current building work. MB drew attention to the fact that there might be increased demand for the pavilion once the renovation work was completed. It was agreed that the booking for this should be done centrally by the Booking Secretary. In order to help with arranging these bookings FF confirmed that the Cricket Club would provide a fixture list as soon as it was available at the beginning of the season. The Football Club would also provide details of fixtures as soon as these were provided by the league which was usually on a monthly basis. It was understood that the pavilion had to be available for matches and that in order to avoid potential clashes MB would liaise with the Clubs concerned if the need arose. MB
TM had received a request to lend the croquet balls belonging to the VHMC to the Croquet Club at Timsbury. It was decided not to loan the balls at present as they may be needed if a club was to start in the Village. TM
b) Invoicing; It was understood that there were no concerns over non payment at the moment. LA
c) Pre-School update; The notes of the last Pre-School sub-committee meeting and details of Ofsted requirements had been circulated just before the meeting. It was felt difficult to discuss the information in these documents as more time was needed to consider their contents.
The following points, however, were clarified.
“The Provider” mentioned was the Pre-school Group
“ The Premises” was the premises for the Pre-school.
In order to be viable from the Pre-school Groups perspective between 12 and 20 children would need to enrol. In connection with this the results of a survey were awaited.
Details of proposed numbers of sessions and the requirements of Ofsted in connection with the hall were needed before any decision could be considered.
This information could then be balanced with the economic viability of the hall.
DB affirmed that the Parish Council would wish to support the venture.
It was hoped that more detailed information would be available with specific proposals before the next meeting. To this end another meeting of the Sub-group would be held. TM
7. Hall Development:
a) Pavilion:
i) Conditions of Grant; It was noted that the pre-claim capital terms/conditions applying to the awarding of the grant from the Football Foundation were being followed ;
- the Football Club were working with Hampshire FA towards achieving FA Charter Standard
- the goal posts at the site comply with FA Goals for Football
- the person undertaking pitch maintenance had the appropriate qualifications. JV/CS
ii) Insurance; It was agreed that a premium of £132.49 should be paid by VHDC to Ecclesiastical to provide additional cover while building work was taking place. ER
iii) Contract with the Builder; JV confirmed that all the contractual arrangements with the builder were being carried out, work had begun and the first inspection by the Building Regulations Inspector had been undertaken with a satisfactory outcome.
iv) Arrangements for use of Hall during construction;
It is hoped to keep disruption to a minimum.
The following measures had been undertaken to inform users that work was in hand;
- TM had included details of the work and timetable in his report in the Gauntlet
- a letter had been sent to users explaining that it was hoped to keep disruption to a minimum
- a letter had been sent to residents living adjacent to the hall hoping they would not be disturbed
- a letter had been sent to the Parish Council informing them of the timetable for the work
- a letter had been sent to Sheila Fleming apologising for any inconvenience.
In advance of the meeting Chris Hall had raised his concerns that during construction and when the changing rooms were completed the width of the entrance lobby out side the present store room would be significantly reduced. Although it was acknowledged that this would be the case it was considered that at this stage work should go ahead as agreed. It was noted that it was planned to remove the door near the main entrance and this would enhance immediate access to the hall. TM undertook to write to CH explaining the situation. TM
b) Planning for the Future:
It was agreed that JV should look into the possibility of locating additional storage cupboards
in the pavilion passage and report back to the VHMC. Proposals for additional storage were to be discussed at the next VHDC meeting with a view to making recommendations for the future.
TM had not yet heard back from David Gregory.
8. Health and Safety Issues:
As Bill Hartley was unable to attend the meeting he had drawn attention to the following in advance;
- the electrical installation should be tested every three years. The last record of testing found by BH was August 2006 and he felt it should all be checked when the work on the pavilion is complete
- two keys at a cost of £4.90 each had been purchased to test the emergency lighting.
This expenditure was approved.
The question of when Portable Appliance Testing should take place was raised.
9. Web-site:
IB had nothing of significance to report.
10. Events/Fundraising/ Donations:
a) Events organised by VHDC;
Work continues on the planning for the Clay Pigeon Shoot, which will take place on Friday 13 May 2011. JV felt this would be even more successful than last year.
The Beer Festival will be held on Saturday 18 June 2011 and early notices of this would be posted around the Village at Easter.
The Somborne Players had kindly agreed to help run a Variety Show. The date had yet to be confirmed. CH
Another Indulgence Evening will possibly take place on 3rd November 2011. TH
b) Wine Supplies; It was agreed that the Cava could be used at the Twinning Dinner and a price of £2.50 per bottle was agreed. This money would be given to the Development Fund and any bottles not used returned to IB/MB. IB/WH
c) Future Fundraising by VHMC for day-to-day running of the Hall;
Since the last meeting it had been agreed with the Horticultural Society that the Dog Show should be held on the afternoon of the Flower Show (23 July). TM/ER
A Broadband Rave was planned for 17th December.
11. Dates of Future Meetings:
VHMC 5 April (Tuesday)
5 May (Main Hall)
AGM: 19 May 2011
VHDC 21 March
The Chairman closed the meeting by thanking all present for attending.
Draft/ER/16. 03. 2011