LANGHAM COMMUNITY COUNCIL

Minutes of a Trustee Meeting
held on 30th March 2017 at 7.30 pm.

Present
Alan Cadman (Chairman), Liz Winter (Secretary), Andrew Craig, Maureen Shouksmith, James Puxley, Sue Armstrong, Melanie Everett, Mavis Heath, Marlena Lipski, Jutta Brawn (as the Bowls Club’s new representative).
Gill Flack from the Community Shop attended by invitation for item 2 on the agenda only.
Hayley Jakeman from the Pre-School attended by invitation for item 10 on the agenda only.

Apologies for Absence
Liz and Bob Schofield, Denise Hobday.

Community Shop Rent
Liz Winter outlined the position regarding the rent payable by the shop under the terms of the lease signed in January 2016, under which rental of £289.17 per calendar month was due. However, this was only paid until May 2016, as the Shop was granted a rent-free period of two years by the LCC, when it became apparent that they were not sufficiently profitable to afford any rent at that time. This period expires in June 2018. The Shop now wishes to plan for its future commitments and has asked the LCC to consider what amount of rent would be fair from that date.
It was agreed by the Shop that the cost of their share of buildings insurance, external maintenance and water rates should be paid by them, so the LCC is not out of pocket. Liz Winter also felt that some payment towards car park repairs and the LCC’s costs in drawing up the lease should be paid, since the Shop agreed to its terms in January and then asked for a change only two months later.
Sue asked who paid for alarm call-outs as the LCC had received a bill recently. Andrew and Gill confirmed that the Shop had its own contract with the alarm company and this bill should not have come to us.
As she had last year, Gill outlined the benefits of the Shop to the LCC and stressed how much the new till helped with stock control and limiting wastage. At the end of their year in September, the Shop expected a small profit of around £1,400. They may also be able to save £700 on their accountancy fees by changing companies.
Marlena asked how much they felt they could realistically pay. Andrew confirmed that turnover was pretty flat and, despite all their efforts over the past year, trade had not increased much and was not expected to do so, 2014 being the only profitable year since 2010. Maureen thought trade seemed a bit brisker and it was confirmed that takings are around £300 a day, with profits up 1.9% (on a 24.6% profit margin) and overheads reduced by 1.9%.
The Shop wish to reimburse the LCC for its costs incurred on their behalf. It was agreed that these would need to be apportioned somehow by area of building occupied, allowing for the fact that the shop uses very little water compared to the rest of the Centre. The Finance Sub-Committee would need to look at the figures involved and report back to the Trustees before making any decisions. This would be done as soon as possible. FSC
Gill Flack thanked the Trustees and left the meeting.
Minutes of previous Trustee Meeting held 19th January 2017
Andrew Craig asked that in be noted under the Terms of Reference of the Finance Sub-Committee that he would be an ad hoc member only, to be called upon when necessary, since he was unable to attend the Monday meetings. He then proposed that the minutes be accepted as a true record, seconded Marlena Lipski, unanimous. Alan signed the amended minutes.

Matters Arising
Pensions Sue Armstrong had elected to be enrolled in a Pension Scheme. Cheryl had not. Liz had begun the process of enrolment with NEST Pensions online and would complete it on 1st April, following advice to that effect from the NEST helpline. There was a brief discussion initiated by Alan about a few shortcomings of the website, but no doubt these will be ironed out in time. EW
Disabled Toilet improvements Liz apologised for not pursuing grant funding, having been very busy with other things. Andrew kindly agreed to look at possible sources with her after Easter. ACr/EW
Car Park repairs and Asset List Alan had not had time to pursue these as he too has been very busy resolving the accounting procedures with Sue Trimnell and dealing with boiler breakdowns at the hall. AC
Long-Term Maintenance Plan The Finance committee has looked at the plans and Sue and Cheryl have spent a lot of time updating them, based on the original ones drawn up by Roger Hobday. Both boilers have been a lot of trouble this winter and expensive on repairs, but Lindseys say they have at least another two years’ life. (Hall’s is 12 years old and Pre-School’s 6 years.) The hard water has taken its toll and there is a lot of rust. Maureen suggested installing a water softener and Alan agreed that this might be a good idea when they are replaced. The maintenance plan will be circulated once completed. SA
E-On On the advice of Cliff Jones, we had opted for a further two-year fixed price contract with E-on for our electricity. The cost is about 2p per unit more.
Music Licences £986.52 had been paid for this year.
VOIP Paul Armstrong and Alan had met to discuss setting this up and Paul was drafting letters for Alan to sign. Our BT contract ends in June. AC

Chairman’s Report
Our domestic rates had been assessed for 2017-18.
LCC: £474.21 in ten monthly payments by direct debit
Pre-School: £415.63 for the year.
Sue Trimnell has entered our accounts up to the end of February on the laptop, using the format suggested by the RCCE. By the end of April she hopes to have the year to end of March completed ready for the AGM. Andrew stressed that any adjustments of income where discrepancies were found must be made in the 2016-17 year. We need to contact an Independent Examiner who will check bank statements and receipts against the accounts before they can be submitted to the Charity Commission. EW
A huge vote of thanks was recorded for Sue Trimnell who has spent many hours completing this task for us.
The bank mandates have finally been sorted out with Barclays. Two people must authorise payments by cheque and internet banking. Alan, Liz W and Andrew are signatories.

Financial Report
Liz W had circulated a profit and loss account for February, which showed a balance of £16,741.55 in the current account. Together with the deposit account and Petty Cash, this gave us a total of £38,270.87. Rose Builders had refunded £200 for the kitchen shutter. The cheque in expenses for £78 was not categorised as Sue Trimnell had the cheque book, so Liz was unable to confirm the payee’s identity.
Liz had also circulated an income and expenditure account for the first eleven months of our financial year, showing that nearly a third of our rental money had come from Danshell. As at this evening the current account balance stands at £16,365.60.
The Pre-School had not realised their rent was paid by standing order and had not altered it for March’s payment. Therefore, their reduced rent of £50 pcm would now run from April to September inclusive (but see item 10).

Marketing Manager/Caretaker’s Report
Sue’s report and lists of work completed and outstanding had been circulated. Sue confirmed that Weightwatchers were continuing to book into April. There had been a lot of trouble with footballers not booking and leaving the changing rooms in a dirty state. Now the boot room key had gone missing and last weekend the barrier key disappeared. At least Liz Schofield had managed to get the outstanding football hire money with help from Elsie. Class Cleaners had not charged for extra work but Sue feels we must increase our fees to football clubs.
Sue thanked Andrew for manning the last Car Club bar. He kindly agreed to help James at the next on 20th April. Liz, Marlena and Jutta would do the Toy Fair on 4th June.
With the introduction of the new £1 coin, we may need to replace the meters for the wall heaters, which cost around £300. James asked whether the cost of electricity would be less than replacing the old meter, buy Alan confirmed that, if left on, the fires would waste a lot of electricity. Alan says he empties about £90 a year from the meters. Software to alter the new meter would be £15-£20. Sue pointed out that the new meter lets hirers use up money left by former hirers, whereas the old one doesn’t. FSC

Chairs and Blinds
Cheryl had counted 131 chairs in the hall: 2 broken, 13 damaged, 13 repaired.
Sue needs 20 new chairs for weddings to make 120 good soft-seat chairs. She would also like 20 wipeable adult-sized chairs for children’s parties. After trying the sample chairs, the Trustees agreed to purchase 20 of the chairs most similar to our current style, in grey if available, at £28 each. Proposed Liz Winter, seconded Maureen Shouksmith. SA
It was decided to put the plastic chairs on hold as they were more expensive. It was also felt that the Secretary, who had trawled past minutes for details of damage to the chairs, should write to complain to the suppliers of the originals, which had not proved strong enough. James checked that they were still trading and found several other complaints amongst their reviews. EW
Othello had quoted £540 +vat for four blackout blinds, plus £330 +vat for a tower to install them. (£870 +vat)
An alternative quote had been received for three at £647 and one at £288, totalling £935 +vat, or in PVC at £714 for three and one at £360, totalling £1,074 +vat.
Sue pointed out that, if we had to pay for a tower it made sense to replace all four, since they are all the same age. One has been stuck in the closed position for some time and, if any stuck in the open position, it would cause problems for Film nights and some other hirers.
With time pressing, it was agreed to revisit this at a later date. FSC

Pre-School
This item was brought forward as Hayley had arrived to assist Mel by delivering a progress report. The cash-flow forecast now shows an increase of £4,423 for the end of July. Two new children have started due to the leafleting of the Betts estate by the Scouts and one from Facebook advertising. They expect one more after Easter and one in June. 309 voluntary hours had been worked in the past three months but staff needed the security of properly paid hours from now on. Three staff have moved on but the Pre-School still has a good ratio.
To support transition to allow parents that are eligible to take advantage of the Free 30 hours a week funding from September 2017 and to maximise the use of the full 15 hours funding entitlement, opening times have been adjusted from 9am to 8.45am from Easter half-term break. Staff ratio also allows them to take 2-year olds and offer vouchers for extra sessions at £5 each, which are attractive to parents.
They have contacted Anne Brown, County Councillor, and Dedham School and will target Dedham and Highwoods. Parents have been supportive and arranged for two banners which are awaiting erection. Business sponsors are being sought. Toddlers have begun monthly visits but not as many as hoped actually attend these.
Andrew asked whether the Pre-School will be viable in September and whether they will be able to afford the rent of £506 pcm again. Hayley confirmed that they should have £1,000 in the bank but it depends on new children starting. Eleven are leaving and nine staying in July. They need sixteen new children after Easter to have twenty-five in September.
It was agreed that, if the register increases, we should meet again to discuss rent. Liz W would contact them in June. Hayley thanked the meeting and left. EW

Constitution
The Trustees were asked to approve the Resolutions to amend the Governing Document of April 1978 and January 1988, which would then be placed before the AGM for a public vote of approval. All Trustees had been sent copies of the proposed amended deed and the two resolutions. Maureen Shouksmith made the proposal, seconded by Andrew Craig and carried unanimously. (Those Trustees who had sent their apologies had already e-mailed their approval to the Secretary.)

Any Other Business
Maureen Shouksmith had been elected as a representative of the Langham WI but this group had now disbanded. She has been a very effective member of the team and Liz Winter proposed, with Maureen’s agreement, that she be co-opted as a Trustee. This was seconded by James Puxley and all were in favour.

Date of next meeting
The Finance Sub-Committee will meet on Monday 24th April at Alan’s house at 7.30 pm.The AGM will be held on Thursday 25th May at 8 pm in the clubroom.