TODWICK VILLAGE HALL MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE
ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING
6.30 pm, MONDAY 12th OCTOBER 2009

Present:

• Mr Brian White (Chair & Trustee)
• Mr John Palmer (Vice Chair &Trustee)
• Mrs Jean Leah (Secretary & Trustee)
• Mr Norman Anderson (Treasurer & Trustee)
• Mr John Gabbitas (Building/H&S Trustee)
• Mrs Brenda Waller (Line Dancing)
• Mr Bryan Ferris (Golf Society)
• Mrs Claire Newbold (Brownies)
• Mrs Liz Wainwright (Cricket Club)
• Mrs Mari Gabbitas (Craft Group)
• Mrs Mary Pavey (WI)
• Mr Tony Rusling (Historical Society)

Apologies for Absence:

• Mrs Chris White (Toddler Group/Rainbows)
• Mr Alan Tizard (Bowls Club)
• Mrs Pat Gollaglee (Over 60s)
• Mrs Margaret Ware (Ramblers)

Brian White opened the meeting and welcomed all present.

38/09 MINUTES OF PREVIOUS MEETING

The minutes of the previous AGM of 13th October 2008 were accepted and signed by the Chair.

39/09 MATTERS ARISING FROM THE MINUTES

None

40/09 SECRETARY'S REPORT

• The year under review had been another very busy year which had included the following:
• As well as servicing meetings throughout the year and dealing with day-to-day correspondence, she had been involved in a number of additional activities, not least of which had included:
  • Continued liaison with Rural Action Yorkshire (formerly YRCC) which has seen the introduction of our own Village Hall website
  • Maintenance of the electronic diary on the website
  • The purchase of new equipment for the Hall
  • Undertaking the annual appraisal of the Caretaker and reviewing her terms, conditions and salary
  • Met with representatives of Voluntary Action Rotherham and Coalfields Regeneration Trust seeking guidance on constitutional/financial issues and potential grants
  • Prepared the annual Trustees Report with the Chair and forwarded this to the Charity Commission
  • Worked on updating the VH Constitution with the Chair
  • Carried out research into other establishments and their approach to having Bonds for private parties
  • The start up (and in some cases loss) of user groups had resulted in changes to attendees at VH Management Committee meetings
  • Continued joint liaison meetings with the Church Hall taking place resulting in the second joint pie & pea quiz night being held and a third is shortly to be planned
  • Continued marketing of the Village Hall by means of Village flyers, notices in the Village Hall and local media and letters seeking potential clientele.
• The role has been demanding with a lot of work being done behind the scenes which has been done concurrently with other commitments.

41/09 TREASURER'S REPORT

• Over the last 12 months the electronic financial systems set up have worked well.
• The budgets and cash flow forecast drawn up at the beginning of this last financial year proved to be good working documents; had guided us successfully through the year and these practises will continue throughout 2009/2010. The figures were only "guestimates" based on previous experience and keeping a watchful eye on trends in the market place.
• It is also perhaps worth noting that since the rebuild, this has been the first year where we have had no grant money income. It therefore has provided a clearer picture of the actual day-to-day running of the hall.
• Whilst during the last year we have continued to enjoy the beneficial gas and electricity rates which were negotiated with British Gas about 2 years ago, it is feared that when they expire in early 2011 the rates may rise substantially. It is therefore essential that our income, be it rental or event driven, be maximised to ensure that there are no nasty surprises when we have to pay the normal rates. On present form, the chances are that the rates will be notably higher than our current rates. At the appropriate time, discussion will take place to see if some sort of discount (capping?) is agreed
• That being said, we have recently received notification that the monthly payment for our water usage is to reduce from £40 per month to £18. In February last year, it was noted that we had a worsening deficit with the water bills. Since increasing the monthly contribution we are currently slightly in credit with them. The position will continue to be monitored on a weekly basis. If necessary the contributions may need to be adjusted in the future to reflect the position at that time.
• When the budget was written for this current financial year, 2009 - 2010, the figures showed that on the basis of the assumptions made, we would be looking at a loss of about £2,000 for the year. After almost 3 months of the current financial, our predictions show the projected loss is lessening and this is mainly due to parties and special events income exceeding expectations.
• Taking into account provisions on both sides of the income & expenditure account we came out of last year with a surplus of £782.57.
• The current accounts revealed the following:
  • £4750.72 Current Account
  • £3589.05 Reserve Account
  • £ 1.55 Bond Account
  • £ 0.00 Cash
• The Chair thanked both Jean and Norman for the work they had undertaken during the last year. He also thanked the remaining Trustees for their support in running the building. He echoed both the Secretary and Treasurer's sentiments in that it had been another busy year yet in these lean times there seemed to be positive signs that the Village Hall remained standing in good stead.

42/09 ELECTION OF OFFICERS

• Before seeking nominations, the Chair reminded members present of the Hall's constitution that is registered with the Charity Commission and the responsibilities that fall to elected Trustees.
• At this point the Vice Chair, John Palmer took the Chair who in advance of seeking nominations for the post of Chair thanked Brian White for his leadership and despite highs and lows it was pleasing to see a united force moving forward for the future. The Vice Chair also said that for health reasons, work and family commitments he was stepping down from his Trustee's position. The Chair said he respected John's decision and thanked him for his support and the special expertise and local knowledge he had brought to the Committee.
• Subsequent election of a new Chair resulted as follows:
  • Chair - Brian White (proposed Norman Anderson / seconded John Gabbitas)
• Brian White re-took the chair and sought nominations for the remaining Trustee posts as follows:
  • Vice Chair - John Gabbitas (proposed Mari Gabbitas / seconded John Palmer)
  • Secretary - Jean Leah (proposed John Palmer / seconded Bryan Ferris)
  • Treasurer - Norman Anderson (proposed Brian White / seconded Bryan Ferris)
  • Building/H&S Officer - Bryan Ferris (proposed John Gabbitas / seconded Norman Anderson)
• Although not a full member, the caretaker, Mrs Kay Pearson, would continue to be invited to attend Management Committee meetings. Action: Chair

43/09 CORRESPONDENCE

• Rural Action Yorkshire (RAY) - JEL informed members that she had been approached by RAY who had asked if we would co-run a presentation evening with them for invited guests from surrounding villages to hear at first hand how we had worked with RAY to successfully obtain grants and complete projects. A date had now been confirmed (Wednesday 18th November at 6 pm). It was intended there would be a series of presenters to include speaking about activities now undertaken in the Village Hall as well as how we achieved the grant and the re-build. In the absence of Chris White, BW asked Liz Wainwright to liaise with Chris to ascertain if she would be willing to do a slot on the Toddler/Rainbow activities undertaken. Similarly Tony Rusling was asked if the Historic Society would be prepared to take part and he agreed to liaise accordingly with Phillip Robins. It was further suggested that a commercial group (perhaps Active Always) could be involved. JEL said members would be kept informed as soon as a finalised programme had been confirmed with RAY. Action: JEL
• Fancy Rats Society (FRS) - The Chair informed members that FRS were once again seeking to hire the VH. A general discussion ensued where members were reminded research had revealed risks associated with viral infection had been proven negligible; a risk assessment for this activity was in place, the animals were only removed from cages to be handled by the judge and that strict hygiene conditions had been previously imposed which would include no event marketing. A vote was taken on the issue where all but two of the Management Committee were in favour to proceed with the hiring (of the two remaining members one voted against (TR) and the other abstained (BW). Action: Caretaker/Bookings Officer

44/09 USER GROUP FEEDBACK

44.1 Historic Society (Tony Rusling verbal report) - Tony said the Group had a total of 27 members, one more since last year. Average attendance was 18. A total of 10 meetings had been held throughout the year and the Historic Society had also been involved in the Garden Trail day. In addition, the Society had been instrumental in designing a village logo that had been launched at the Garden Trail day when positive feedback had been received from villagers. As a result of the Parish Council accepting the logo they (TPC) were now looking to have it set in metal and mounted and located in the three areas entering the village.

44.2 Craft Group (Mari Gabbitas verbal report) - The Craft Group meet on Wednesday afternoons from 2 pm to 4 pm all year round except for the two weeks around Christmas. There are 29 listed members - an increase of eight from last year. Everyone joins in to support the current chosen charities - Bluebell Wood Children's Hospice (£50 donated), Motor Neurone Disease (£85 donated) and, Diabetes UK (£85 donated). The Craft Group has continued to give to the Bluebell Wood Jack's Jackpot and has had three wins of £10 this year. Blankets and garments are made for their baby charities and stripy jumpers for African infants and children. The Craft Group have also supported the Village Fun Day and are currently busy preparing items to sell at the Village Hall Christmas Fayre.

44.3 WI (Mary Pavey verbal report) - Mary reported that the WI currently only had eight members (but for the most of the year only seven). They were desperate for new members and intended doing a marketing campaign both via the village website, TPC "Informer" and by asking the school to distribute a "flyer" for parents of children attending there.

44.4 Cricket Club (Liz Wainwright verbal report) - Whilst not using the Village Hall, Liz said they continue to support it by donating raffle prizes, selling tickets and taking part in all fundraising events.

44.5 Toddler Group (Liz Wainwright verbal report in absence of Chris White) - Liz said the Toddler Group had a large friendly group with between 30/35 toddlers/mums attending weekly. Children came not just from Todwick but also from surrounding villages and were able to participate using different toys each week together with regular parties held at Easter and Christmas. The Toddler Group had also supported the Fun Day held during the Summer.

44.6 Girl Guides Rainbow Group (Liz Wainwright verbal report in absence of Chris White) - The Group are at maximum capacity (18) and there is a waiting list of children wishing to join.

44.7 Brownies (Claire Newbold verbal report) - Claire thanked the Management Committee for their welcome and the smooth transition of the Brownies moving back into the Village Hall. As a result of it being necessary to change their meeting day, they had only lost one member. There were currently 24 members but agreement had been given to increase the Pack to 28 which was permissible because they were still within the accepted ratio of leaders to children. There was currently a waiting list to join and additionally there were many Rainbows who would shortly be moving up to join the Group. All children attending the Todwick Pack attended the local Todwick school and lived either in Todwick or surrounding villages.

44.8 Neighbourhood Watch (Norman Anderson verbal report) - Norman stated the third Annual General Meeting had just taken place. Currently 62% of the village had signed up to the Scheme and new signings continued. During the last year there had been a plethora of incidents ranging from two schoolgirls being attacked and filmed at the Recreation Ground to burglaries of varying severity. What had improved over the last 12 months was communication between the villagers, police and himself as Co-ordinator. Often, if he knew what was happening at the time, it made it easier to take action at the appropriate time rather than long after the event. Relationships with South Yorkshire Police continued to strengthen and a recent visit to their Call Centre where all calls, including 999 emergency calls, are handled which proved a good opportunity for networking. NHDW finances continue to run smoothly with grant monies being used to ensure that the village had benefited with such things as personal attack alarms and carbon monoxide alarms being purchased at competitive rates. Norman reported that one of the village's community police constables (PC Tina Jones) was due to retire shortly but as yet her successor was unknown.

44.9 Golf Society (Bryan Ferris verbal report) - Bryan said that currently there are 12 members who meet on a monthly basis. Members come from Todwick, South Anston and Chesterfield. Advertising is done via the village website and new members are always welcome.

44.10 Over 60s (Pat Gollaglee written report forwarded to the Secretary) - At the present time there are 29 members who meet every fortnight, this includes one new member who has recently joined. Sadly two members have passed away. Members along with family and friends have during the year enjoyed a trip in June to Bakewell to see the well dressings and visit the market. In July they had a lovely day cruising on the River Trent with lunch included. September saw them at Bridlington and Monday 19th October is the re-arranged trip to Oswaldtwistle Mills for a 'shopping spree' with lunch included. The Over 60s Christmas lunch this year is once again at the Consort Suite.

45/09 SCHEDULE OF MEETINGS - 2010

After discussion it was agreed to revert the meeting date to Tuesdays to enable the Line Dancing representative to attend. Dates were agreed as follows:

• 6.30 pm, Tuesday 2nd February
• 6.30 pm, Friday 9th April (Bank Holiday week)
• 6.30 pm, Friday 4th June (Bank Holiday week)
• 6.30 pm, Tuesday 7th September
• 6.30 pm, Tuesday 5th October (AGM)
• 6.30 pm, Tuesday 7th December
• Christmas Fayre - 2.00 pm/4.00 pm, Saturday 27th November 2010

46/09 ANY OTHER BUSINESS

46.1 Christmas Fayre - John Gabbitas handed out bundles of raffle tickets to all members to sell. John Palmer had chaired a separate VHMC meeting earlier that day where the layout and associated issues had been discussed and agreed. A further meeting is to be held at 6.30 pm, Monday 9th November 2009 to finalise arrangements. Action: All Members

There being no further business the meeting closed at 7.45 pm.