Hardington Mandeville Village Hall
Minutes of the Annual Meeting held on 15th May, 2017
- Present: - Mr. P. Bysouth (Chair), Mrs. D. Creed, Mrs.
K. Dodge, Mr. J. Gilmore, Mrs. F. Grave, Mrs. S. Jinks, Mrs. L. Lines, Mr.
P. Vallis, Mrs. V. Willcock, Mrs. E. Gilmore, Mrs. A. Brooks, Mrs. S.
Phillips, Mr. and Mrs. S. Ogden, Mr. and Mrs. N. Lunt, Ms. E. Peters, Mr.
D. Cleaton, Mr. K. Dack, Mr. A. Middleton, Mr. and Mrs. T. Watkins, Mr. and
Mrs. J. Clotworthy.
- Apologies: - None.
- Minutes of the meeting held on 10th May, 2016 were
approved. There were no matters arising.
- The Annual Report and Accounts were presented by Mr. P.
Bysouth and Mr. J. Gilmore.
Mr. N. Lunt expressed his disagreement with the accounts as he felt the Street Fayre is a separate organisation and should not be shown in the village hall accounts. Mr. P. Bysouth said that he was not sure the Street Fayre Committee was a separate organisation. Mr. J. Gilmore agreed to meet with Mr. N. Lunt and Mr. T. Watkins to review the presentation of the accounts. This would be done before they were submitted to the Charity Commission, which was required by January, 2018. Mr. D. Cleaton commented that the hire income was less than 25% of the whole and suggested that there should be a "Lettings and Marketing" committee within the Village Hall Committee. The Treasurer explained that the Hire Charges will be reviewed following the installation of the new heating system as users do not now have the pay the £1 in the meter.
Mr. D. Cleaton also claimed that the Agenda had been changed and was not advertised in line with regulations. This claim was refuted - the Agenda had been published on the Hardington website, the village and shop notice boards 14 days before the meeting with a request for items to be discussed and nominations for election to the committee to be submitted by 10th May.
Mr. A. Middleton asked what the expected annual utilities bill was. The treasurer explained that it was expected to be approximately £4,500, about £1,500 increase but this was offset by not having to purchase oil, not having the boiler serviced and the tariff received from the solar panels. Also, the heating had been on 24/7 to dry out the building.
Mr. T. Watkins asked if the Committee were following Government procurement procedures when purchasing goods/employing tradesmen etc. It was confirmed that these procedures were followed.
A member of the public alleged that the painter had made paint marks on wood and that he had also damaged the stage curtains. The Committee felt that this damage was not recent and certainly not done by the painter.
Mr. S. Ogden asked if all the Risk Assessments were in place.
Mrs. A. Lunt enquired if Hall meetings are "Open meetings". Mr. P. Bysouth explained that as stated in the Trust Deed, these are not open meetings but, if the Committee wished they could invite people to attend if there was a specific item for discussion.
Mr. P. Bysouth explained that all Committee Members would be Charity Trustees and would be asked to sign the form as per guidance received from the Community Council for Somerset. Mr. N. Lunt disagreed with this. He had contacted the Community Council for Somerset about this subject and other matters (such as the right of members to attend Village Hall Committee meetings) and had received different advice. Mr. P. Bysouth has contacted the Charities Commission on this subject and is waiting their reply. In the light of this the Hardington Players would not be sending a representative until this matter was clear. All members have been issued with a copy of "Guide to being a Trustee".
Mr. P. Bysouth stated that he agrees everything is not perfect but are adequate and the various items, e.g. Trust Deed; Insurance; Risk Assessments etc. are being reviewed.
- Election of Committee Members
The following people had applied to be elected to the Committee: -
- Mrs. K. Dodge,
- Mrs. E. Gilmore
- Mr. J. Gilmore
- Mrs. S. Jinks
- Mr. A. Middleton
As there were five applications for 5 posts, Mr. P. Bysouth declared them elected to the Committee without the need for a vote.
- Appointed Group Representatives are: -
Parish Council Mr. P. Vallis Parochial Church Council Mrs. D. Creed Hardington & Pendomer W.I. Mrs. L. Lines Gardening Club Mrs. V. Willcock Hardington Players tba
- Any other business
Ms. E. Peters asked if the Village Hall could have its own heading on the website. She also asked if bookings could be made electronically rather than on a booking form. Both these items will be discussed by the Committee.