LANGHAM COMMUNITY COUNCIL

Minutes of a Trustee Meeting
held on 31st January 2019 at 7.30pm.

Present
Alan Cadman (Chairman), Liz Winter (Secretary), Maureen Shouksmith (Treasurer), Peter Dawson, Andrew Craig, Jutta Brawn, James Puxley, Marlena Lipski, Elizabeth Schofield, Bob Schofield, Daphne Bettle, Gill Brown, Denise Hobday, Sue Armstrong.
Barrie Reynolds also attended to support Daphne Bettle, Bridge Club representative.

Apologies for Absence
Maria Bukovenczki, Mark Kleingeld.
Maria had a prior meeting. The Pre-School now had 30 children with more starting in April.

Minutes of previous Trustee Meetings held 25th October 2018
Liz Schofield proposed and Peter Dawson seconded that the Minutes be accepted as a true record with the amendment of the name of the CBC Community Enabling Officer to Carys Morgan (previously stated as Cardy Morgan). Carried unanimously. Alan signed the Minutes. Now that they had been approved, they would be posted on the Community Centre noticeboard. EW

Matters Arising

Disabled toilet
Having contacted Carys Morgan after November’s finance meeting, Liz W had queried what was happening in regard to this project. Carys passed the query on to Lee Spalding, who with Dale Boughtwood (who has left the CBC) had carried out the feasibility study in August 2017. Lee responded immediately:
The last correspondence that we had regarding the project was my email exchange with Andrew Craig back in October 2017 which was shortly after we submitted our fee bid for the work (attached).
As far as I can see we’ve received no further instructions or an order from yourselves since this time to take the project any further. As such, we had simply filed the project and assumed that it was not going ahead or that you had commissioned someone else to undertake the work for you.
Alan phoned Lee to confirm that we thought they were proceeding with sending out the spec on our behalf. The delay is now caused by the fact that no-one has been appointed to replace Dale Boughtwood and Lee is too busy.
The meeting supported Andrew, who proposed that we write to Lee at the CBC, pointing out that we paid for the feasibility study as long ago as October 2017 (£763.20) and had invested a large amount in the expectation that they would proceed to draw up and send out the specification. The delay is causing us problems as we need to secure grant funding and cannot do so until we have the tenders. Liz W would write urgently. EW
Car Park
The repairs had been carried out in a single day on 18th January with a dozen men and machinery making what looks like a very good job. Thanks were expressed to Sue for liaising with users of the car park and to Bob and the Recreation Ground committee for allowing and organising emergency parking via the field gate.

Alternative heating system
Liz W, Sue and Maureen had visited a village hall which uses air source heat pumps. It was difficult to compare cost because the hall, although high-ceilinged, was smaller and less well-used than ours. It was also brand new, so had been designed to use this form of heating. However, there was a lot of ductwork and apparatus which had to go into the roof space, which in our hall could not be easily hidden or camouflaged and would be an eyesore. The system seemed quite quiet when running.

Discussion revealed that we need to do something promptly as the hall boiler is 20 years old and the Pre-School’s 12 years. Both have been unreliable. The underfloor heating is drying out the wooden floor and damaging it. We need to know fuel and maintenance costs
for what we have and compare it with alternatives. Grants would be available but there is a time issue. The matter needs to be pursued urgently by the Finance committee. FC

Funding from CBC
It turns out that there is no imminent funding available for Sue’s wish list but there may be money in April, when Severalls’ developers have to pay 10% of their S.106 money into a Community Initiatives Fund.

Barclays data collection form
Maureen had returned this form with details of the LCC’s officers. They may come back and ask for details of all Trustees, although these are available already on the Charity Commission website.

NS&I Bonds
It was agreed that a meeting of the Parish Council finance committee (Tony Ellis, Martin Bottwood, Annette Thorpe) and our finance committee would be useful. On Andrew’s suggestion, a copy of the conveyance and both schedules attached to our governing document would be sent to Tony Ellis, as these may help to clarify the status of the investment. EW

Chairman’s Report
Alan said everything had been covered above.

Treasurer’s Report
Maureen’s cumulative balance sheet and P&L account for December had been circulated prior to the meeting. As at this evening our current account balance is £13,414.42 and the deposit account £55,085.67 after transfers. For VAT purposes, our turnover for the past 12 months was £64,784. Income averages around £6,000 per month and approximately one fifth of this comes from Danshell. Maureen pointed out that there was still the car park to pay for (and mark out). Re-roofing is in the maintenance plan for 2020/21 estimated at £35,000. (The wrong nails were used on construction and are rusting.) and, of course, we need a new heating system.

Liz W reported that our annual subscription of £35 to the ICO under the Data Protection Regulations had been paid by direct debit set up by Maureen. In April, the LCC’s contribution to Sue’s pension would rise from 2% to 3%.

Marketing Manager/Caretaker’s Report
Sue’s reports had been circulated and showed very full use of the building: only five free Saturdays to next December! On Tuesdays it will soon be occupied from 10am to 10pm. Unfortunately, the New Year’s booking cancelled but Ceroc have four hires booked with bar provided by Alan. Coaster scooters and several caravan groups will be on the field and Guides, Brownies and Scouts all have hall bookings, including Langham Scouts’ 60th anniversary on 6th July. The Oaks have ceased trampolining here because of the hire cost. If they don’t intend to return soon, Sue will ask them to remove the trampoline and mats to free up storage space.
Sue has spent a lot of time amassing quotes for any money which might become available from CBC, including the heating, stage lighting, awnings, fire doors, hearing loop, LED lighting. Hopefully some of these will not be wasted.
Sue thanked Andrew for running the Vintage Motor Club bar and Bob, Maureen, Liz W and Gill for Toy Fair kitchen duties, the next being on 10th February.
The Supper Cinema on 30th November had raised over £200 thanks to hard work by Film Nights’ dedicated committee. The kit is now 6 years old and may need partial replacement soon.
The meeting was in favour of installing roller blinds in the kitchen as the current vertical ones are broken and too expensive to repair. Before Sue goes ahead Peter will pass her the details of an alternative company for cost comparison. Our quote is for £216 from Othello. SA
Our refuse container has been overweight 2 out of 3 times recently and will be emptied again next week. CSH have been very helpful and suggest we maintain fortnightly collection but book out weekly when necessary.
Bob said he would be able to dispose of the broken chairs if Cheryl would remove backs and seats. CW/BS

Hearing loop and other improvements
Discussion took place about the broken strip light fitting in the club room, which is now obsolete. Some were in favour of replacing all six light fittings with LEDs and others with simply replacing the broken one and its neighbour. After voting on the matter, it was decided to replace the two and keep the good one as a spare for the remaining four.
The hearing loop estimated at £3,000 for club room and hall would be put on hold until some funding is available.
Sue had contacted Sue Sheppard about the dishwasher. There is no need for us to have an industrial model and the current domestic one has lasted well. It was agreed to replace it with a similar model when necessary.
The fire doors are proving draughty and cannot be adjusted further. The main door straight into the hall can be hard to unlock from outside, although can be pushed open without unlocking from inside, so still fulfils its purpose as a fire escape route. As there may be a six-week delivery time, it needs ordering urgently together with a new locking mechanism (which may not have been quoted for). Sue will contact the supplier. SA

Any Other Business
1. Bob reported that the Recreation Ground committee felt that the suggested manhole for use by caravanners was too close to the building and should be placed across the field near the green container, where there is already a water supply. They had spoken to Anglian Water, who suggested we would need two standpipes and a septic tank. Working on the basis of usage by 60 caravans, a meeting onsite with the Brewers was scheduled for Monday morning.

2. Marlena asked about an automatic timer light at the gate but this had been investigated previously and proved too expensive/problematic. Peter suggested a different type of bulb or fitting. Sue would ask Chris from Future’s opinion. PD/SA

3. Barrie Reynolds spoke on behalf of the Bridge Club regarding sharing the building on Monday evenings with the Bowls Club. Over recent weeks Bridge had been confined to the club and committee rooms because of league matches in the hall. There was lively discussion of the matter, which had been raised on previous occasions over the years. It was felt that any resolution of the matter could only be achieved through discussion between the two clubs, not by any action from the LCC.

4. We had been asked to renew our subscription to the RCCE at £60 incl VAT. Liz W handed the completed form to Maureen for payment. MS

5. Our two-year electricity contract with E-on expires in May and the secretary had received a reminder. On request E-on had provided quotes for a 1,2 or 3-year fixed price deal. Peter and Andrew felt there were probably cheaper options including the group deal offered recently by Essex County Council. Liz passed the folder to Andrew, asking if he would pursue the matter, as she confessed to being hopeless with comparison websites and suchlike. Andrew chivalrously took the folder. ACr

Date of next meeting
The next Trustee meeting will be held at 7.30 pm on Thursday 28th March 2019 in the main hall.
The next Finance committee meeting will be held at Alan’s house on Monday 18th February at 7.30 pm.

There being no further business the meeting closed at 9.55 pm.