LANGHAM COMMUNITY COUNCIL
Minutes of a Trustee Meeting
held on 19th January 2017 at 7.30 pm.
Present
Alan Cadman (Chairman), Liz Winter (Secretary), Liz Schofield, Andrew Craig, Maureen Shouksmith, James Puxley, Bob Schofield, Mark Kleingeld, Denise Hobday, Sue Armstrong, Melanie Everett.
Alan welcomed Melanie to the Committee as representative for the Pre-School.
Apologies for Absence
Mavis Heath and Marlena Lipski
Minutes of previous Trustee Meeting held 24th November 2016
Maureen Shouksmith proposed and Liz Schofield seconded that the Minutes be accepted as a true record. Carried unanimously. Alan signed the Minutes.
Matters Arising
Pensions After looking again at the regulations and registering the Langham Community Council with the government approved (free) NEST scheme, Andrew and Liz W felt we were not required to provide pensions unless Sue or Cheryl wished us to do so. Therefore, letters had been drafted to send to Sue and Cheryl setting out the situation and asking for their written reply. These letters would go out after the meeting. EW
Keyholders Mark Kleingeld had circulated a letter to the Trustees and clarified his position. He is a long-term member of the Tennis Club but coaches on a self-employed basis. He is considered to be a “vulnerable adult” who is “at risk” and needs easy toilet access. After some discussion about key availability and problems which have arisen when children have entered the building during coaching sessions, Sue confirmed that she would notify Mark of any all-day hall hires such as weddings, as she already notifies Liz S. Bob suggested redesigning the disabled toilet to allow access via an external door. This possibility would be investigated along with the possibility of getting a grant. SA/EW
Sue went through her list of keyholders in order to reduce them to fifteen (in line with insurance). Now we have a keysafe it is not essential for all organisations to have their own key and Sue managed to free up one key. Andrew proposed and Liz W seconded that Mark should have this key and the Trustees were unanimous. Sue will draw up a new list, which will accompany these minutes. SA
Defibrillator Provided by the Parish Council and situated on the wall near the hall entrance door, this is now working. A training session is being held on 14th February from 10am-noon. Names can be given to Peter Dawson.
Asset list Andrew reminded the meeting that this was still outstanding and could perhaps be dealt with by the Finance Sub-committee, if agreed. We also need more long-term maintenance planning.
Chairman’s Report
Alan had received the new ANSVAR insurance policy with an annual premium of £1,898.63. He would photocopy the relevant pages dealing with Trustee liability and circulate to the Trustees. Sue took the Public Liability pages to take copies as requested by some hirers.
Alan having reminded Barclays about the ending of the temporary special arrangement for e- banking, Andrew would draft a letter for the secretary requesting a return to the terms of our original mandate requiring two signatures for all transactions. ACr/EW
Alan had the laptop for Treasurer’s use and Sue Trimnell would prepare our accounts on it. Liz W would pass on the disk which contains all Cliff’s material but Sue would be asked to follow the format suggested by the RCCE. Sue A said e-mailing would need to be set up on the new laptop. Alan feels there may be a discrepancy in our income from a couple of years ago, but this should be resolved once Sue T has transferred everything. AC/EW
Alan was thanked for all his hard work over financial matters.
Financial Report
Liz W had circulated a profit and loss account for December, which showed an opening balance of £28,308.71 in the current account and a closing balance of £14,464.48. Together with the deposit account and Petty Cash, this gave us a total of £36,029.45. Rose Builders had been paid a total of £14,724.40. This was for work over and above the original items covered by the grants.
Liz had also circulated an income and expenditure account for the first nine months of our financial year, showing our income around £1,000 higher than expenditure even when the Rose bill is included. Lettings to date had brought in £40,000 with maintenance of £6,000 (excluding cleaning). Two months of shop rental and nine of Pre-School totalled £5,000.
As a lot of cinema takings are channelled through the Petty Cash, whereas most of its large expenses go out from the bank, the monthly account shows a loss, whereas over the first nine months the cinema has actually made a profit of around £1,000. Danshell’s catering has cost nearly £4,000, which they pay with their hire charges, but must be borne in mind when their large but irregular payments come in. (They have booked with us up to Easter and remain a very valuable customer.) After some discussion the accounts were accepted.
Sue Armstrong now has read-only access to the online bank account, which will make her job easier.
Our two-year electricity contract with E-on expires in early May and we need to negotiate a new one. Liz W suggested that we ask Cliff Jones if he would help us as he did such a good job with the current one. The Trustees agreed. EW
Sue pointed out that payment for renewal of our music licences is due. She is not sure of the calculation required to work out the cost. Liz W would look into this. EW
Marketing Manager/Caretaker’s Report
Sue’s report and lists of work completed and outstanding had been circulated, together with the proposed new hire agreement, where she asked the Trustees’ advice on several clauses relating to conditions of hire. Andrew suggested leaving in the ten-page document everything which would be in our favour. Sue queried how to get the hirer’s signature acknowledging they had been shown our fire prevention arrangements, since they may not have been demonstrated until after completion of the form. Having dealt with Sue’s queries, the Trustees were unanimous that the new hiring agreement should be used from now on.
When our BT phone contract ends in June (Alan has received a letter confirming the date) it was agreed to move to a VOIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) as had already been decided last year once our contract ended. Sue already has experience of these. The phone would be based at Sue’s house, retain our present number but be cheaper to run.
Sue’s room analysis, as suggested by John Jones when examining our 2014/15 accounts, showed that use of the Committee room had more than doubled in the past year, since the air conditioning and kitchenette had been installed.
New cups and glasses have been purchased and Sue asked permission to buy boxes for safe keeping of the glasses for the bar.
The padlock on the gate is still causing some problems which Sue is dealing with. It would be very expensive to improve the lighting over the gate to help with un/locking in the dark. Some more toilet bulbs need replacing, which is a recurring problem.
The Pre-School heating continues to play up despite resetting by Lindseys, causing loss of hot water or central heating from time to time. Thanks to Roger Newnham’s tenacity, the kitchen shutter is being looked at for a final time, but Rose have agreed to refund us £200 as it is still misaligned although it conforms to fire safety regulations.
Sue will put a laminated copy of the Velux and blind numbers with the remote control in the kitchen drawer. SA
Bob volunteered to do the Car Club bar on 16th February, provided it was only prior to the start of their event, which Sue confirmed. James hoped to be able to help him but, if he is working, Bob will need someone else with him. BS/JP
Bob and Maureen do the Toy Fair drinks and bacon rolls on 29th January, starting later than last time. Liz Winter would do 12th March but would need some help. BS/MS/EW
Planned Maintenance
It was agreed that we need to get quotes for the car park resurfacing and repairs to a drain. Alan would contact Pro-Mac and Lionel Whitnell. Liz S suggested the secretary get in touch with Anne Brown regarding a grant for upgrading the disabled toilet. AC/EW
Constitution
The Constitution Sub-committee had met again on 28th November with Sue Sheppard. In less than two hours we had managed to incorporate clauses from the specimen trust deed into our original governing document. Conveyances, showing transfer of the land to the Parish Council in June 1984 and in March 1987 of a portion to the LCC for the purposes of a village hall, had been discovered at Hanslip Ward by Liz S and the Parish Clerk. Sue has drawn up the revised document and today forwarded drafts to the sub-committee, which will need to reconvene with Sue to finalise the document. Liz W will arrange such a meeting. The document would then need to be accepted by the Trustees and finally put before the village at the AGM for ratification. EW
Finance Sub-Committee
Proposed terms of reference for such a committee had been circulated to the Trustees and were considered at the meeting. All were approved. Maureen Shouksmith proposed and Mark Kleingeld seconded that a sub-committee be set up immediately. The Trustees were in unanimous agreement.
TERMS OF REFERENCE FOR LANGHAM COMMUNITY COUNCIL
FINANCE SUB-COMMITTEE
1. To comprise Chairman, Treasurer or acting Treasurer, Secretary, Marketing Manager, Finance Trustee (Andrew Craig) and Parish Council representative (Liz Schofield).
2. To meet monthly to review the current financial position, review budget variances and plan future capital expenditure for approval by the Management Committee.
3. The sub-committee may co-opt such other members as may from time to time be useful in furthering the purposes of such committee.
4. To report back to the Management Committee in writing by way of minutes after each meeting.
5. With prior authority from the Management Committee to take such action as may be necessary to ensure the smooth running of Langham Community Centre.
6. To acquire quotations for proposed works and purchases.
7. To support the Marketing Manager to help solve day to day problems which arise.
Any Other Business
1. Pre-School
Mel Everett, the new Pre-School representative, thanked the Trustees for putting this matter before the meeting at very short notice. She expanded on the letter from Nahida de Leon, Pre-School chairperson, and circulated an income and expenditure sheet. Mel explained that the Pre-School had got into financial difficulties through a constant turnover in management, which meant no-one had reacted early enough the decline in child numbers.
There was an unusually low intake this term, only 2 new children joining September’s intake of 15, a very low starting point. The majority of children are from outside Langham and the Pre-School is competing with local wrap-around care, while only offering morning and afternoon slots. Mel said they were taking steps to advertise to boost next September’s intake. Denise volunteered the Scouts to deliver fliers.
Andrew and Alan pointed out that the accounts indicated that the Pre-School might not survive financially until then, despite cutting staff and reducing staff costs by including some voluntary hours. Maureen asked, if they received support from the LCC, possibly in the form of a rent holiday as mentioned in their letter, whether the September intake would make the Pre-School viable again.
After more discussion, Mel agreed that the Pre-School would hold an emergency general meeting on 6th February to alert parents to the situation, but she would be grateful if we kept the matter to ourselves until then. They would provide more financial information to the LCC at a meeting with our Finance Sub-Committee at 2pm on 30th January in the main hall. At 7.30pm that evening, the FS-C will meet to consider the figures and make recommendations to the Trustees by e-mail. The Trustees can then consider the matter further.
2. Caravaners Bob Schofield raised the question of the caravaners who are booked for 12th February emptying their toilets into the sewer outside the shop. Sue felt this was fine and was the usual practice, done when the shop is closed and fenced off during the process. Bob wondered if a better method could be found which would not involve the sewer which passes under the building. Sue replied that, if that were possible, it would be great. There are several lots of caravans expected this year.
Date of next meeting
The next Trustee Meeting will be held on Thursday 30th March 2017 at 7.30 pm in the clubroom.
The AGM will be held on Thursday 25th May at 8 pm in the clubroom.
The newly formed finance sub-committee will meet at Alan’s house at 7.30 pm on Monday 30th January.
There being no further business, the meeting closed at 10.30 pm.