MINUTE OF ANNUAL GENERAL MEETINGOF CALEDONIA HOUSING ASSOCIATION LTD
HELD AT McDIARMID PARK, PERTH ON TUESDAY 18 SEPTEMBER 2012
Present / Bill RobertonVice Chair / Kay MechriRobin GrantTreasurer / Eliza Merrilees
Alistair Barrie / John Merrilees
Margaret Barrowman / Sheila Paterson
Aileen Brown / Elaine O’Brien
Liz Brown / Thomas Patullo
Margaret Burns / Tom Potter
Penny Coburn / Andrew Ramsay
Annie Cuthbertson / James Robertson
James Cuthbertson / Lilias Robertson
Gottfried Flaschberger / Mary Robertson
Kathleen Flood / June Shaw-Violet
David Grant / Gavin Stewart
John Gray / Elizabeth Taylor
Alice McLaren / Thomas Taylor
Ian McLaren / James Thom
James Marmion / Constance Whitney
Margaret Marmion / Maciej Wiczynski
Apologies for Absence / Henrietta Anderson / Gordon Herd
Mr F Barrie / Dr F E Isles
Mrs S Barrie / Alfred James
Elizabeth Beats / Heulwen James
Jack Beats / Robert Kemlo
Christina Bethal / Nicki La Cock
Betty Bridgeford / Gordon Laing
Andrew Brown / Mrs E Lauder
Janet Brown / Mr I Lauder
Arthur Bruce / Margaret Lauder
Mr D Calderwood / Elsie Mackay
Andrew Campbell / Irene McArtney
Mrs M Carr / June McAra
Anna Cassidy / Miss M McHattie
Margo Chalmers / Ian McMillan
Michael Cheesewright / Mrs A T McNaughton
Father Peter Conniffe / Agnes McNaughton
Ronald Crighton / Andrew McNaughton
Margaret Croal / Andrew Mackie
Jessie Cruickshank / Ken Martin
Catherine Currie / Anna Merry
Lindsay Darroch / Jessie Millam
Gordon Deuchars / Barbara Milner
Thomas Devaney / David Mitchell
Ian Duff Spence / Elizabeth Mitchell
Renee Duncan / John Mooney
Mrs E Dundas / Stephen Mooney
Mrs C Fraser / June Morrison
Mark Gallacher / Eleanor Muir
Roy Golby / Charles Myatt
Tom Gorham / Isabel Ness
Elizabeth Gray / George O’Connor
Ian Green / Judith Ogilvie
John Hadden / Sheila Ogilvy
James Haggart / William Ogilvy
Karen Haggart / Violet Paterson
Peter Hamilton / Frances Pollock
David Harris / Ian Purvis
Lilias Harris / Jim Reith
Janet Henderson / Maureen Smith
Dorothy Herd / Jenny Steele
Loretta Ramsay / Janet M Sturrock
Stuart Ramsay / Joyce Thomson
Brian Render / Edward Walsh
Margaret Render / Mary Walsh
Norman Renfrew / Prudence Watson
Alistair Robertson / Mary Whitehead
Mrs D Rollo / Roy Whitehead
Keith Scobbie / Horace Whitney
Eilidh Scott / William Williamson
Veronica Scott / Charles Wilson
Greg Skeet / Mrs F Winton
Mr R Sloan / Stuart Wright
Annie D Smith / Raymond Young
David Smith
George Smith
Julia Smith
Thomas Smith
In Attendance / Sandy SquiresFindlay & Co
Julie CosgroveChief Executive
Ron HunterFinance Director
Garry SavageBusiness Services Director
Tim CalderbankOperations Director
Lawrie WestIntegration Director
Gavin HighBusiness Performance Manager
Stuart RobertsonBusiness Services Officer
Jenny DaltonExecutive Officer
The Vice Chair welcomed the members to the 2012 Annual General Meeting of the Association and advised that due to an illness in the family the Chair was unable to attend.
1 / ApologiesThe Vice-Chair advised that apologies had been received from 112 members of the Association.
2 / Minutes of Perthshire Housing Association’s Special General Meeting held on Thursday 25 August 2011
The Vice Chair advised that the SGM had been held to accept the Transfer of Engagements from Servite HA to Perthshire HA and to approve a number of changes to the Association’s Rules.
The Association members who had attended this meeting agreed that the minutes were a true and accurate record. This was proposed by Kay Mechri, seconded by David Grant and APPROVED by the meeting.
3 / Minutes of Perthshire Housing Association’s Annual General Meeting held on Tuesday 27 September 2011
The Association members who had attended this meeting agreed that the minutes were a true and accurate record. This was proposed by Penny Coburn, seconded by David Grant and APPROVED by the meeting.
The Vice-Chair explained that the Minutes of the 2011 Servite Housing Association AGM would not be considered at this AGM as Servite no longer existed as an organisation, given the Transfer of Engagements involved in the merger.
4 / Chair’s Report
The Vice Chair made reference to the formal Chair’s Report contained in the Annual Report. He advised that with 3,850 properties, Caledonia Housing Association was now the second largest housing association in Tayside and one of the largest in Scotland.
Since the merger, the Association had provided 28 new homes in Burrelton, Coupar Angus and Blairgowrie as well as two new properties in Bowerswell, Perth. It had been successful in securing £4 million in Scottish Government funding for this year which, combined with a further £8 million in commercial loans, would be used to build 96 new social rented homes during the course of the year.
The Vice Chair also outlined future key business priorities and future challenges facing the Association.
Finally, he thanked the Chief Executive and staff team for their positive approach to the merger and their achievements to date in taking the Association forward. He also thanked the Management Board for their contribution to the merger process and for successfully establishing the new Association.
5 / Treasurer’s Report
One of the Members present expressed some concern that the Annual Accounts had not been available to members prior to the AGM meeting. The Treasurer noted the comments and agreed to take this into considerationin future years.
The Treasurer thenpresented the Annual Accounts, which had been prepared in accordance with the Statement of Recommended Practice 2010 that introduced the concept of component accounting. He explained that component accounting required developments to be split into component parts, i.e. land, structure, kitchen and bathroom etc, with each component being valued as part of the building and depreciated at different rates. Most planned and cyclical maintenance was now treated as capital expenditure resulting in higher surpluses than had previously been reported.
He explained the pressures on the Association’s future income and expenditure from the forthcoming welfare benefits reform, which would likely result in higher levels of rent arrears as well as the pressure from the increase in deficit for the defined benefit pension scheme.
The Treasurer also outlined the pressures on the Association from the general economic climate and the reduction in funding available from both the Government and lenders.
The Treasurer concluded his report by thanking the Finance Director and his team for their hard work in consolidating systems and implementing significant changes to our accounting practices through component accounting.
David Grant proposed acceptance of the Annual Accounts for 2011/12, and this was seconded by Kay Mechri. The Accounts were then duly APPROVED.
The Treasurer asked for approval to re-appoint the external auditors, Findlay & Co on the understanding that the Management Board may take the decision to re-tender the external audit provision during the year.
Following a query from the floor, the Finance Director explained that it was good practice to tender external services and that the Scottish Housing Regulator required organisations to demonstrate good practice and undertake a tendering process and change auditors periodically.
Liz Brown then proposed that Findlay & Company CA be re-appointed as Auditors. This was seconded by Kay Mechri and duly APPROVED.
6 / Election of Management Board
The Chair advised that under the Rules of the Association, one third of the Management Board was obliged to retire each AGM as were those Board members who filled a casual vacancy in the course of the year.
Having served on the Management Board longest since last being elected, Ian McLaren and Liz Brown were required to seek re-election under this Rule.
Bill Roberton, Tom Potter, Lindsay Darroch and Alistair Barrie had filled casual vacancies in the course of the preceding year and as such were required to seek election at this AGM.
The Chair advised that all of the aforementioned members were eligible to seek re-election without nomination.
David Grant proposed that Ian McLaren and Liz Brown be re-elected to the Management Board and this was seconded by Penny Coburn.
John Gray proposed that Bill Roberton, Tom Potter, Lindsay Darroch and Alistair Barrie be elected to the Management Board and this was seconded by David Grant.
Ken Martin resigned from the Management Board in May this year and Ian Purvis had advised that he wished to resign from the Management Board at the AGM.
Three co-opted places were reserved on the Board for representatives of the Tenants Participation Steering Group. The Steering Group met on 11 September 2012 and the following group members were nominated to the Management Board:
- Gavin Stewart
- Elaine O’Brien
- Ian Green
Kay Mechri proposed that the above group members be co-opted to the Management Board and this was seconded by Margaret Barrowman.
Taking account of the above, there weretwo vacancies for non co-opted members to the Management Board. No nominations for these vacancies had been received within the required timescales. The Chair advised that if it wished the Management Board could agree to fill any of these vacancies on a casual basis at any point over the next year.
The meeting AGREED the appointments of members to the Management Board.
The Vice Chair concluded by advising that the business of the AGM had now concluded andthanked members for their attendance.
Vice Chair’s Signature …………………………………………………………......
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