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Hullavington Village Hall ManagementCommitteeheld on Wednesday 4th February 2009 in the Village Hall PRESENT: Bob Fenner, Roger Gee, William Harmer, David Hunt, Peter Parry-Williams, Paul Hadley, Joan Shaw, Julian Greenman, George Stevenson, Rachel Hurst, Anne Durrant. 1. Apologies: Sharon Lamont, John Metters, Elizabeth Parry-Williams, 2. Minutes of the last meeting held on 5th November 2008 were agreed and signed. 3. Matters arising – Item 4.4 – Mike Graves has been helping Bob with looking at the sound and lighting in the hall. Item 8.3 – the gutter at the front of the hall is still leaking. Item 10.1 – Bob has not yet written to Robin Chang. Item 10.7 – Dave ensured that the gates to the entrance of the hall car park were locked for a 24 hour period over the Christmas holiday. 4. Financial matters 4.1. Treasurer’s report - The rental income to date is slightly behind forecast but by the end of the financial year Roger expects it to be near to target. Roger commented that there was nothing exceptional about the hall’s expenditure – water and sewerage monthly rates have increased significantly but this is because we were undercharged when the hall was first running. At a previous meeting (3rd September 2008) it was agreed that the £5K part loan repayment to the PWLB would be £1K from operational expenditure and £4K from the reserves. This will better balance the books. 4.1.1. Roger commented that the Brownie group was still behind with payments but Paul has adjusted a previously incorrect bill and so payment should be expected soon. A private booking for a party from a woman in Corston has not been paid; as we are not even sure whether the party was held it was decided to write off the payment. Roger has received nothing from the organisers of the Autumn Show – he will contact Dudley and Jebbie and request payment before the end of the financial year. 4.2. Final confirmation of new rental and supplementary charges and informing users – Paul, Roger and Bob presented a new list of charges, which was well received. There was, however, still confusion over the discrepancy between having a charge for alcohol consumed, but not sold, for a village user, and no charge for having a pay bar. It was agreed to delete the ‘alcohol sold’ category, charge nothing extra for core and village users for having alcohol on the premises (groups still need to pay for their own TEN for selling alcohol), and charge £12 for outside users when alcohol is consumed. David will ensure that the new charges will be a regular feature in the Hullavington News. 4.3. Treasurer’s proposals regarding Hall balances – After researching interest rates for charity accounts Roger presented a proposal that we close the Post Office account which pays a very low interest rate and re-invest £15K in a 6 month fixed rate selector account with the Charitable Aid Foundation (CAF) which is paying 2.34% at the moment. The CAF is covered by FSA rules and deposits up to £50K are guaranteed. Roger further proposed that a further £10K be transferred into an instant access CAF Gold account, which is paying 2.06% interest, and that the remaining balance of around £6K is kept in the Lloyds current account for day to day expenses. Paul seconded the proposal and it was unanimously agreed. 4.4. Rental payments from Splash Dance – Bob spends around 2-3 hours per month trying to manage Splash Dance. Roger would like to receive payment from them one month in advance, but it is proving difficult to manage. 5. Letter received from Parish Council - An agenda item on the Parish Council meeting of the 10th December 2008 was to consider the scope of the PC’s responsibilities as Trustees of the village hall. At this meeting it was decided that “…a recommendation should be made to the Management Committee regarding maximising income on funds deposited but not required immediately.” It was also noted that the PC should be provided with a copy of the annual accounts. As a result of this Bob had received a letter from the Parish Clerk stating this, expressing the view of the PC members that they were fulfilling “their responsibilities as Trustees” of the hall and that they were not critical of the work carried out by the Village Hall Committee. The chairman expressed his view that this letter is an affront to the ability and commitment of the officers on the Hall Management Committee. The hall is managed by the Hall Management Committee whose members are trustees of the charity. PC members are not trustees. Bob warned that if the PC continued to interfere with the management of the hall there will be resignations. The matter of the investment of the reserves in the hall’s accounts had been discussed at previous hall meetings and was in the process of being researched. In reply William stated that according to the Lease and Trust Deed PC members are trustees. William was not prepared to accept all that the chairman said. He expressed every confidence in the hall committee but will review the wording of the Lease and Trust Deed to clarify the position. George was not comfortable with this situation and offered his resignation which the chairman regretfully accepted. After much further discussion it was agreed that we need to clarify who exactly are the trustees and what is our relationship with the PC. Rachel proposed that all future ordinary meetings of the Hall Management Committee be closed meetings not open to the public. All were in favour. ACTION - ANNE TO INFORM MAGGIE BAWDEN THAT THE PUBLIC ARE NOT PERMITTED TO ATTEND ORDINARY MEETINGS. BOB TO DRAFT A REPLY TO THE PARISH CLERK. 6. Hall bookings – updates and comments – Paul reported that: 6.1. Debbie Bailey is starting a Pilates class on Thursday evenings for a trial period of 6-7 weeks. This is an established class moving from Kington St. Michael. 6.2. The Film Club has started Friday evening sessions, alternating with Ballroom Dancing which has moved from Thursday evenings. 6.3. The Tuesday afternoon slot is being shared by a beginner’s art class and a sewing class, with alternating weeks. 6.4. Another 7 week WEA class (Crusade or Jihad) is starting on 5th February on Thursday mornings. 7. Current Temporary Event Notice applications report – 1 so far this year. 8. Future hall related social events – 8.1. RAW event – 28th February. Anne handed around flyers for Rosemary Squires in Gigs, Giggles and Gossip. She is advertising in 2 local newspapers, the Hullavington News and has posters up around the village. She requested that user group representatives advertise the event. She has a TEN for the event and will run a bar. Nearer the time she will e-mail a request for helpers. 8.2. Gig of 7th March – A Mad March Hare gig with 2 different bands and a disco. Tickets are £4 each and it is advertised in the Hullavington News. Bring your own refreshments. Paul would like to sell 80 – 100 tickets. 9. Administrative matters 9.1. Submission of annual return to Charity Commission – Bob reported that this has now been done. 9.2. Community First Village Halls Briefing Days – There was one at the end of January which we missed. Rachel volunteered to attend these if they are held on a Saturday. 9.3. Attendance at “Safe Food Better Business” seminar (ref: EC Directive 852/2004) We have missed the deadlines for these seminars but they are not considered essential for our hall management. 9.4. Ineffectiveness of hall notice about removal of rubbish - Bob has now re-phrased the notice to avoid ambiguity. 10. Site maintenance and repairs – Updating the “What needs doing” list - Bob has started a list of things that need fixing. If anyone is aware of something that needs doing then please let him know. Peter commented that the floor will need re-surfacing around Easter time. 11. AOB 11.1. Paul would like to make some space for Robin Chang to store dog things. There are 3 sanitary bins which were purchased in error and 3 saucepans that are not suitable for the induction cooker. The removal of these would make room. 11.2. Paul requested that Debbie Bailey have a key for her new class. ACTION – BOB TO GET KEY FOR DEBBIE 11.3. Paul pointed out that Mount Zion Church paid rental for the hall use for the village senior citizens’ Christmas dinner. It was agreed to make a donation to them to cover the rental costs. 11.4. Two vases belonging to Grace Jones, who very kindly makes flower decorations for the hall foyer, were broken at a recent party. Dave will add to his Hullavington News article that care needs to be taken of hall decorations. We will offer to reimburse Grace for the breakages. 12. Confirm date of the next hall committee meeting: Wednesday 4th March 2009 at 8pm There being no further business the meeting was closed at 9.50 pm.
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