DIGBY WAR MEMORIAL HALL MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE
MINUTES OF MEETING HELD MONDAY 2 February 2015
Present: John Fry (Chairman), Sue Weaver, Sheila Whittle,Margaret Weston, David Morter, Ken Hand, Cllr Colin Harvey, Stephen Priestley.
Apologies: Caroline Wyness, Cheryl Richards, Nigel Fleetwood, Becky Bradshaw.
Meeting opened at 1935.
Item 1: Chairman’s Welcome. JF welcomed the Committee
Item 2: Minutes from Previous Meeting. The minutes of the meeting held on Monday 5 January 2015 were accepted as a true record.
Item 3: Actions from Previous Meeting.
Flypast – DM gave JF a contact at RAF Coningsby. He has sent an application form to JF, who has sent it on to the MOD in London & is now awaiting the result.
Museum – JF has made contact with RAF Digby Museum who will be providing a photographic collection. He has also contacted Mike Frankish, who referred him to RAF Digby. DM has approached Sleaford Masonic Charity & we could potentially get a £500 grant. He suggested that we need to have a project plan. SP said that he would contact Mike Frankish to see if he could help provide more information re Digby residents involved in the War/War Dead.
Signage – JF has investigated wooden lettering to put on the new fascias. It would cost £72 for one set of lettering “Digby War Memorial Hall” which we would need to seal and install ourselves. The committee agreed that two sets should be acquired. JF will include the costs in the next funding request.
Bin Signs – Thanks were given to Wendy Drysdale for providing posters giving users details about waste bins. These have been put up inside the Hall. It was suggested that laminated signs would be useful to stick on the actual bins. Action: laminated signs to be produced.
Access to Bar Area – Nigel now has keys to the bar area and the locks have been changed. JF suggested that Rob Gray’s equipment be moved to the bar area, as a temporary measure, to make more room for Judo Club’s equipment. Action: Nigel to report back, following discussions with Rob.
Venues4hire – members have looked at this website but only Noggy can upload photos, as a password is required. To be discussed at next meeting.
Booking Forms – Noggy has updated the VH Booking Form but has not been able to format it. Action: SWh to format and email to Noggy.
Item 4: Events.
A separate meeting is to be held Monday, 16February 2015, 7.30pm Village Hall. All events to be discussed include the feasibility of running an event before the Feast. The committee also need to take into account the refurbishment works & when these are likely to take place.
Item 5: Treasurer’s Monthly Update. As Nigel was unable to attend this meeting, his financial report will be circulated by email.
Insurance – JF has made a further approach to the Parish Council to hold an extraordinary meeting to discuss payment of the Village Hall insurance. He has circulated an email to the Parish Council and all Village Hall Committee Members. Community Lincs are providing emergency cover for the Hall until 11 February 2015. The Parish Council are requesting further financial information & Cllr Harvey has advised that they may wish to see bank statements.
Accounts – we may have to provide audited accounts if we receive some of our grant funding prior to 5 April 2015, as this will take our income over £10k per annum. The Hall accounts are usually well under this figure and therefore full audit is not required. A “receipts and payments” format will be needed. Action: JF asked if SWe could provide some advice.
Item 6: Booking Secretary’s Report. MW reported that Major Swing has not been using the Hall recently, which result in reduced income for the Hall. They are hoping to restart on 26 Feb 2015. A six week course of Pilates Classes is now being held on a Wednesday evening. The classes are full and it is hoped that a further course will be booked. The Allotments Committee have booked the Hall for a meeting. It was suggested that the cancellation policy should be included on the Booking Form. JF advised that all booking policies will be reviewed at the AGM.
JF has contacted Ashby and Scopwick Village Halls regarding how they deal with charity bookings and is awaiting their response. This will also be reviewed at the AGM. SWe suggested that our bookings policy and prices should be on our notice board. Action: JF to put prices on notice board.
Item 7: Parish Council Update.Cllr Harvey advised that the Hall would be used as Polling Station for the forthcoming General and County Elections on 7th May 2015. MW confirmed that a booking has been made.
Item 8: Refurbishment Progress.JF has contacted the successful and non-successful contractors. It has been recommended that JF & NF act as Project Managers for the refurbishment works. MW proposed this recommendation; SWh seconded. All were in favour. Cllr H advised that the large Laburnum tree in the gardens has to be removed, per the Tree Surgeon’s report. Post meeting SP agreed to fell the tree at no cost.
Item 9: Grants Progress.We have been notified that our application to LCC & NKDC has been successful & that we have been awarded the maximum grant permissible:
LCC £25,000 NKDC £8,333
JF has emailed our thanks. He has compiled a folder of supporting documents that are required by the funders. Action: SWh to deliver.
Cllr H advised that Cllr Tweedale had said how well we had done to get to this amount of grant. Even with the grant funding we have a shortfall of £1,057 to cover.
JF has been contacted by Hester Kapur from LCC who has said they have some funding available for an Asset Mapping Project & 10 organisations from each of 4 divisions can take part. We have been suggested by Community Lincs as suitable and JF has agreed to complete the form. Participants will receive £500 each for a project. Hester is returning to see JF on 17 March. She felt that putting the monies towards our refurbishment project would be a good use of her grant. SWh advised that this money could not be used to match the current refurbishment project as we are not allowed any more LCC funds over and above the £25k. Action: SWh to seek further clarification from Wendy Moore.
WREN Funding – JF currently awaiting a project start date from the WREN regulator.
Refurbishment Sub-committee will meet shortly to discuss the application to the Armed Forces Covenant fund. Deadline for this funding is end of March 2015, so need to progress.
Adoption of Policies – JF proposed that we accept the official policies, which have been tailored to our own needs by DM. This proposal was seconded by MW and all were in favour. SWe confirmed that she has a DBS certificate and can provide her registration number if required & CW likewise.
Item 10: EMAS.Nothing further to report. JF asks them for an update for our meetings but has currently received no response.
Item 11:Correspondence. JF asked if the committee were happy to be copied in to all emailed correspondence. All agreed. The correspondence file is currently in circulation around committee members.
Item 12: Any other business. Not sure if SP is classed as a Trustee or a Representative. Action: JF to contact Charity Commission for advice.
Cllr H asked if a new list of names/addresses and contact information for the Trustees could be provided. Action: JF to provide updated list.
Ken Hand offered his resignation from the Committee, but is still willing to help at events etc. JF said it was with regret that he accepted his resignation and thanked Ken for all his efforts during his time as a Trustee.
The Parish Council now have new meeting hours. The Committee have agreed to keep the Hall charge for 2 hours for now, but will review at the AGM.
MW reported that she has already had 5 stalls booked & paid for, for the Feast. She has also had an offer of a “Human Fruit Machine” stall. She will obtain more information and we will discuss at the Events Meeting on 16Feb 2015.
13. Chairman’s Summing Up. JF thanked all for their time and effort.
Date of next meeting: Monday 16 Feb 2015, 7.30pm for review of helpers’ coffee morning, suggestions & possible events.
Future Meetings: Monday 2 March 2015
Monday 13 April 2015 (AGM)
Monday 11 May 2015
Meeting closed at 21:00.