Board meeting 23 January 2014


Minute of the Eassie, Nevay & Kirkinch Community Association Board meeting held on Thursday 23rd January 2014 at Eassie & Nevay Hall

Present: Bradly Yule (Chair), Debra Ritchie, Jane Brewster, Andrew Brewster, John Duffy, Andy Blackie, Marianne Jenkins, Philip Jenkins
Apologies: John Hamilton, Amanda Garner

1.         Welcome & apologies

Apologies for absence were given

2.         Workgroups

a)   Finance

John was unable to attend the meeting but had emailed an up to date bank statement and details of the Hogmanay party which had raised £1,016.

Business input

Fund-raising target – At the last meeting Jane had suggested the Board have a fund-raising target. She reported that lets for the hall excluding yoga, Zumba and kettlercise should raise approximately £3,000 this year. Philip had monitored the hall’s fuel consumption over the past 3 months and found during winter the hall uses approximately 127kw hours per week and .2 tonnes of wood pellets. The cost of these is approximately £60 per week. It was suggested that a the next meeting the Board should look at all running costs to ensure regular bookings meet the cost of running the hall.

 
b)   Corporate planning/Business development

Andrew reported that he had drafted a template for businesses to use to advertise on ENKCA’s web site. There was discussion of the web site and the need to train people to keep it up to date. John Duffy will contact Michael Ryan and Andrew will speak to Melissa Lawrence about the information needed to update the site.


c)   Policy & administration

Marianne had put a new key-holder list in the admin. cupboard. Of the three new keys purchased one has been given to Paul Phillipson-Masters for his kettlercise class and the other to Andy Blackie so he has a duplicate for contractors. It was emphasised that key holders must have training in the hall’s policies. They must also agree to have their names and numbers included on the list of key-holders to be displayed in the hall. Marianne will draft a form for key-holders to sign to agree to the conditions.

Marianne has put copies of the blank weekly check sheets in the file in the admin. cupboard. Completed sheets will be destroyed after 12 months.

Documents such as policies and procedures could be stored on the computer in the cupboard in room 2 but none of the Directors knows the access code. John Duffy will speak to Michael Ryan about this.

There was discussion around storage and Andy will put up brackets in the store room so some equipment can be stored off the floor. Once this is done the equipment in the main store will be re-arranged to try to maximise space. Bradly will find prices of storage equipment.


e)   Events

Jane gave an overview of the events planned for the year including heart-start in April, a dance and a Red Cross coffee morning in May, Nine Maidens Walk in June, Strawberry tea and barbeque in July, themed meal in July/August,  afternoon teas in August, Halloween party in October and Hogmanay dance in December. Andy will contact the Wildlife Crime Officer to see if he will give a talk in February. The community will be invited to join the annual clean of the hall in March.

It was agreed that ENKCA could offer to run a bar for outside organisations using the hall. A list of people who would be willing to run the bar is required.

Philip said he is organising a table tennis evening in the hall to run between 8pm and 10pm on Wednesdays. The cost will be £4.

f)   Communications

This had been covered previously in the meeting.

g)   Fund-raising

Debra had applied to Grow Wild for plants for the garden area. As there were 50 grants to be given over 3 years across Scotland she was not optimistic of a successful outcome.

Philip reported that he had contacted Eleanor Gledhill about the landscaping and had a plan for planting. This would cost approximately £500. Philip will speak to John Hamilton to see if ENKCA can use existing funds to pay for this. Part of the garden needs to be de-stoned, forked and raked prior to planting. This will be included in the list of jobs to be done on the community clean day in March.

h)   Buildings and maintenance

Andy reported that work had been completed in and outside the hall. Flood lights had been installed around the building and the railings and gate had been installed in the garden area.

Issues outstanding include the shower room door which needs to be fixed and the door between the kitchen and main hall needs to have a fire strip. The gutters also need to be cleaned. The main hall floor was beginning to deface although it should have lasted for 5 years. The solar panel is still not working although it has been re-pressurised twice. Andy was still speaking to AD about finalising the contract but this was proving difficult.

Andy will move the baby-changing unit from the shower room to the easy access toilet. Alliance Electrical had apologised for not repairing the light in the easy access toilet. They will ensure it is done soon.

Alliance had quoted £245 plus V.A.T. for an alarm maintenance contact. This was agreed.

i).   Community integration and junior council

There was no report

3.         A.O.C.B.

Andy enquired about consumables e.g. glasses which seem to be reducing. There is also a shortage of crockery but this is due to some items being broken when they were moved from storage to the hall. There was discussion about the cost of the hall for parties. It was agreed to look at price packages and see if this better meets the needs of party organisers.

John had twice called the Emergency Contingency Department at Angus Council about the use of the hall in an emergency but had not received a reply.

Marianne reported that the Angus Federation of Village Halls had established a small group to look at environmental improvements. The Angus Environmental Trust may pay for energy efficient light fittings. Philip will monitor how long the light bulbs last in the hall and noted that some of the main hall ceiling strips needed to be replaced.

Andrew had emailed Angus Council about the suggested use of the hall car park for Eassie school. He had received a reply to say they are happy to amend their vehicle management plan.

Date of next meeting
The next meeting will take place on Monday 3rd March at 7.30pm.