LANGHAM COMMUNITY COUNCIL
Minutes of a Finance Sub-Committee Meeting
held on 4th September 2017 at 7.30pm.

Present Alan Cadman, Liz Schofield, Maureen Shouksmith, Liz Winter, Sue Armstrong.

Minutes of Previous meeting on 3rd July
These had been approved by those present at the meeting and circulated to all Trustees.

Matters Arising
1. Maureen reported that the discrepancy in her accounting for May had arisen because the figures she was given didn’t include the very end of the month. These have now been added and everything tallies.
2. Liz W had written to the Pre-School after the Trustee meeting to confirm that their reduced rent of £50 pm would remain in place until the end of March 2018. They have re-opened for the Autumn term and we expect to receive an update from them in December.
3. Liz also wrote to the Community Shop to inform them that a rent of £40 per month had been agreed by the Trustees with effect from June 2018. Gill Flack had responded that the Shop was in a position to begin paying this rent from 1st October 2017. Liz would write to congratulate them on the success of their efforts to improve their finances. Gill had reiterated the Shop’s offer for an LCC Trustee to join its Management Committee in order to improve communication between the two organisations. Liz Winter volunteered to represent the LCC. EW

Chairman’s Report
1. Alan had med Wayne from Lindseys to discuss the boiler problems. Wayne thinks the pipes which run under the hall floor are so furred up that the water is not pumping round the system properly, leading to the cistern in the boiler room bubbling over with hot water. There is nothing wrong with the boiler which is top of the range. As it would be very expensive to dig up the hall floor to replace the piping, Wayne suggested sealing the system for now so the water circulates but will switch off before the cistern gets to overflowing. When the boiler itself needs replacing a new hot air system could be installed in the hall. Lindseys will quote for sealing the system. Alan will decide when their outstanding bill should be paid. The Pre-School boiler is not affected. The watchman on our oil tank still needs fixing and Sue will deal with this. SA
2. Alan has started to acquire quotes from brokers WRS for our insurance renewal.
3. When Alan and Lee Spalding had met at the hall, Lee discovered a foul water manhole outside the Pre-School in the grassy area. This can be used to site the new pit for caravaners to empty their waste and will be a cheaper option than incorporating one into the car park.
4. The car park was recently flooded when it rained heavily all day. Alan feels it is because the drains are blocked with vegetation rather than that they have collapsed. His gardeners could probably clear them, or we could initially ask Brian Sage or a firm such as Mersea Drains. Alan will meet his surveyors in the car park to draw up a specification to obtain quotes for patching the tarmac. This was becoming urgent. AC/SA

Treasurer’s Report
Maureen had had difficulties adding more rows to enter July’s figures into the spreadsheet. Her attempt failed and the data had to be removed and re-entered with Andrew Craig’s help. Finally, the figures were ready and she would forward them to the Finance Committee after the meeting, so they can be attached to these minutes.
The Committee assured her that they understood how irritating IT could be and were sorry she had had such trouble, thanking her for her perseverance.
It was agreed that Alan should continue to initiate payments for Maureen to confirm. She queried payment of Rates and Alan confirmed that ours and the Pre-School’s had been paid by cheque in May for the whole year, a total of £889.84.
Maureen asked for reimbursement for ink and paper. Sue would take it from petty cash.

George Pearce has examined the 2016/17 accounts and passed them, after one or two additional queries which Maureen had managed to answer. It was agreed that Liz W should draft a letter for Alan to sign thanking George, to be delivered along with a voucher or small gift when Maureen collects the paperwork. EW/MS

During the first four months of the financial year, our turnover was £21,205.12. If this level were maintained, our annual turnover would be in the region of £65,000. The VAT limit for this year is £83,000. We would like to be able to remove the Shop electricity and Danshell’s buffet costs from Income, since they are simply reimbursement for monies laid out on their behalf and amounted to nearly £8,000 last year. Maureen will ask George if he has any ideas on this. MS

CCTV Upgrade
A new wide-angled camera to oversee the whole car park in low light had been estimated at £678. We had considered putting the barrier lamppost light on a timer and were awaiting a quote from Chris at Future Electrics. It was agreed to defer a decision until we had this information.
Liz S asked that we write a letter to ask those who open and close the barriers to remember to RANDOMISE the padlocks as these are still found showing the combination. EW

Documents from Rob Clark re last year’s hall refurbishment
Liz W had transferred Rob’s documents onto her computer from the memory stick he had provided. He had pointed out that these do not include a Certificate of Completion nor the Asbestos Report. Sue Armstrong has the latter and will locate the Completion folder to see if it contains the missing Certificate. SA

Marketing Manager’s Report
Sue had circulated her report prior to the meeting. It showed a healthy diary with Danshell now booking to end of November and other healthcare organisations booking or interested. Box Fit has cancelled but still hire for Clubbercise. Ladies have confirmed their monthly slots as have the Beekeepers, who have booked extra time this autumn. Green’s Fish Bar left at end of August due to lack of footfall. Iceni Wanderers would like to hire the hall for various events but Sue only has two Saturdays free this year. They are very professional and keen to help out on Bonfire night. The NE Essex Caravan Club is booking for their AGM on 4,5,6 October 2018. They had a good turnout on the recreation ground over the weekend.

The replacement blind above the kitchen hatch should be fitted this Friday. University volunteers have agreed to paint the stage floor and Clubroom on Sunday 15th October. Sue appealed for helpers to apply masking tape beforehand. All regular hirers are being asked to complete the annual fire evacuation test by mid-October.

Sue is still awaiting a price from Futures for new £1 coin meters for the heater, as Chris has been unable to source them. It was agreed that the one which also accepts £2 coins should be kept to decrease expense. If a replacement cannot be found for the older one, we may have to retain a supply of old £1 coins for customers to buy for their use.

Sue and Maureen had been looking at hire rates and presented their proposal for increasing these by RPI + 2% for local hires and RPI + 2.5% for non-local and commercial hires. They pointed out that we expected a lot of expensive maintenance to be carried out during the next few of years and the increases will bring in an extra £1,200 if hiring remains fairly constant. The rates will apply from 1st September for new hirers and 1st October for regular hirers and compare favourably with similar local hall charges.
After some discussion and careful perusal of the rates, particularly for locals, the Committee agreed to the proposed increases.

Disabled Toilet Upgrade
A Feasibility Study had been received from Dale Boughtwood of CBH which estimates the cost of the proposed works at £21,000 before VAT, plus an extra £3,000 if the rear fire doors need replacing because they cannot be automated. Their fees would be 11% of this sum. We would need to confirm whether this covered application for grant provision on our behalf. The Committee felt that the information from CBH should be put before the Trustees on 5th October with confirmation of exactly what their fees cover. It was felt that no-one from the Management team would have the time or expertise to make grant applications and that, if it could be done as part of a package, that would be the best course of action. Any grants should cover the cost of the works including fees but excluding VAT. Sue was still keen to have a stairlift to the Committee Room fitted but this was not included in the present study. An update to the Feasibility Study was expected from Lee or Dale regarding the rear doors.

Any Other Business
1. Data Protection – Sue had circulated information about the General Data Protection Regulation which replaces the current legislation on 25th May 2018 and requires organisations to keep a register of any data they hold. Although charities may be exempt, it appears that, as we use CCTV cameras, we are not. Sue has drawn up a list of data she holds from hirers but we also sometimes have their bank details, which form part of the hire contract and are kept with our financial records. The Secretary holds a list of Trustees and their contact details.
It is clear we need to investigate this further and appoint a Data Protection Officer. If no-one else wishes to take this on, Liz W agreed to look into the legal requirements. EW

2. Mobile phone – Sue’s phone no longer has adequate coverage and the contract is due to expire shortly. She had e-mailed details of a suggested replacement to members of the FSC and the meeting unanimously agreed that she should go ahead and enter into the new contract, since it was crucial that her phone was within contact at all times.

3. Rubbish collection – We had expected to hear more from the Community Shop regarding their proposals for disposal of their rubbish, since we felt we could share a facility. Alan said that Colchester Skip hire provide a large wheelie bin which is emptied weekly for £10 + VAT. Liz W would contact the shop to see what they felt about this. It might need padlocking so only the Shop and Cheryl or Sue could open it. EW

Date of Next Meeting
Alan felt we needed to have two more meetings before the end of the year. Bearing in mind that a full Trustee meeting was being held on 5th October, the Finance meetings would be at Alan’s on
Monday 30th October at 7.30 pm
Monday 4th December at 7.30 pm

There being no further business the meeting closed at 10 pm.