TODWICK VILLAGE HALL MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE
6.30 PM, MONDAY 8th DECEMBER 2008

Present:

• Mr Brian White (Chair, Trustee & Parish Council)
• Mr John Palmer (Vice Chair, Trustee & Parish Council)
• Mrs Jean Leah (Secretary & Trustee)
• Mr Norman Anderson (Treasurer, Trustee & NHD Watch)
• Mr John Gabbitas (5th Trustee)
• Mrs Liz Wainwright (Cricket Club)
• Mr Alan Tizard (Bowls Club)
• Mr Tony Rusling (Historical Society)
• Mrs Mari Gabbitas (Craft Group)
• Mrs Margaret Ware (Ramblers)
• Mrs Chris White (Toddler Group/GG Rainbows)
• Mr Bryan Ferris (Golf Society)

Apologies for Absence:

• Mrs Mary Pavey (WI)
• Mr Phil Kettell (Table Tennis)
• Mrs Pat Gollaglee (Over 60s)

Brian White opened the meeting and welcomed all present.

47/08 MINUTES OF PREVIOUS MEETING

• The minutes of meeting held on 8th September 2008 were accepted and signed by the Chair.

48/08 MATTERS ARISING FROM THE MINUTES

48.1 Trustees Liability Insurance - the Chair informed members that insurance cover was now in place. Item discharged.

48.2 New Crockery/Equipment - the kick-step had been purchased and donated by the Craft Group. The Chair expressed thanks to all members of the Craft Group for their generosity. Item discharged.

48.3 Grille for Hall 2 Toy Store - The 5th Trustee reported that having made enquiries, as the door was designated as a fire door, it would not be possible to insert a grille unless the door was re-certified. Chris White said that the toy storage in Hall 2 was not currently damp. Item discharged.

48.4 Water Bottles in Fridge - It appeared that putting large water bottles in the fridge had created the necessary bulk and reduced frosting in the fridge. Members noticed that some of the bottles had been opened and water taken out. As a result there may be a health and safety issue if water was drunk after the due sell-by date on the bottles. It was agreed that labels would be put on the bottles warning that the water should not be drunk. Action: Vice Chair

48.5 Christmas Fayre 2008 - The Chairman gave sincere thanks to all user group representatives and volunteers for their efforts in helping to raise £2,100.14 at the 2008 Christmas Fayre. Thank you letters had already been sent to those external groups/companies who had given raffle prizes and to Church Hall representatives.
The Treasurer reported that when expenses for purchase of raffle tickets and Santa's gifts had been taken into account the net profit was £1,910.10. Members asked for a breakdown of takings for each stall-holder together with details of raffle tickets sold and winning lottery ticket numbers. The Treasurer said he would forward the financial information to the Secretary who would circulate with the minutes. Action: Treasurer & Secretary

48.6 Children's Bowling Sessions - Alan Tizard reported that children's lunch-time bowling sessions were now taking place and that members of the Bowling Club were paying any shortfall for Village Hall hire fees from the subs collected from those attending. Item discharged.

48.7 Shelves for Rainbows - This action was now completed. Item discharged.

48.8 Nappy Receptacle Purchase - Chris White said she was still pursuing this. Action: Chris White

48.9 Reimbursement for Independent Woodworm Survey - John Gabbitas informed members that after extensive chasing, the company who had originally manufactured the doors had paid out the survey cost back to GFP Construction who had forwarded a cheque for £56 to us. The Chair thanked John for his persistence in bringing the matter to a successful conclusion. Item discharged.

48.10 Feasibility of Purchasing Self-Extinguishing Light Switches in Gents Toilets - John Gabbitas reported that to have sensors fitted, light bulbs had to be tungsten not fluorescent as was the case in the gents toilets. It was agreed nothing further could be done until a different product was available on the market. Item discharged.

48.11 Update on Tenderers for 2nd Downstairs Disabled Toilet - the Chair informed members that to date he had approached and seen 7 different companies (4 builders/3 bathroom specialists). So far only two quotes had been received (£6376 and around £6200 respectively) and a further one was promised from our original contractor GFP Construction. The Chair said he would update at the next meeting. Action: Chair

49/08 NEW CORRESPONDENCE

• Invitation to join NCVO (National Council for Voluntary Organisations) - no action to be taken.

50/08 TREASURER'S REPORT

• Current financial position:-
  • Current Account £5,411.82
  • Reserve Account £3,057.77 (contingency fund)
  • Cash £39.00
• The above figures took into account all bills that had been presented.
• The Treasurer said that since October he had become concerned regarding high water consumption levels and had been monitoring it on a daily basis. Water consumption when the building was closed was averaging at 3 gallons a day and rose to as much as 15/18 gallons when user groups/private hirers were on the premises. On 2nd November a water leak had been found in the ladies toilet which had been repaired. A water saver had also been fitted in the downstairs toilet. The Treasurer said he would continue to monitor consumption on a regular basis. Action: Treasurer
• Members queried whether it was necessary to empty the water boiler in the kitchen after each use. It was determined the boiler had a sterilising feature which meant there was no technical reason why it should be emptied and members could use discretion to empty the boiler periodically. The notice displayed in the kitchen asking for the water boiler to be emptied would be removed. Action: John Gabbitas

51/08 SECRETARY'S REPORT

• The Secretary reported:-
  • April 2009 Meeting - The April VHMC date previously agreed fell on Bank Holiday Easter Monday. A new date of 6.30 pm, Monday 20th April 2009 was set.
  • Village Hall Website - The Village Hall website had now gone live and could be viewed by visiting www.todwickvillagehall.co.uk.
  • She went on to explain that everyone could help raise money for the Village Hall by surfing the net and using http://todwickvillagehall.easysearch.org.uk. Each time this particular search engine is used a small percentage of the proceeds are donated to Todwick Village Hall.
  • The Secretary also went on to inform members that similarly shopping on the internet could also raise funds for Todwick Village Hall. Easyfundraising is a shopping directory listing some favourite online stores including Amazon, NEXT, Debenhams, John Lewis, Toys-R-Us, HMV and over 500 others. By using the links on the easyfundraising site whenever shopping online and, at no extra cost to the individual, the Village Hall will receive a free donation of up to 15% from every purchase made. It is completely free to register and not a penny more will be paid for shopping when using the easyfundraising site. In fact money could be saved as many retailers offer discounts, special offers and even 'e-vouchers' exclusive to easyfundraising. Members were asked to register by naming Todwick Village Hall as their beneficiary with www.easyfundraising.org.uk so that purchases they make will actually be giving support to Todwick Village Hall.
  • The Secretary said that the website would become a standing item on all future VHMC agendas so as to ensure that it is kept up-to-date. Action: Secretary
  • The Secretary said a presentation would be given at the end of the meeting to show members the individual pages of the website. She particularly asked that members look at the Hall Users page and give consideration as to what they would wish to put onto the website to market their user group. Action: All Members
  • Application for a Grant from Coalfields Regeneration Trust - this was still outstanding. Action: Secretary
  • Request from Golf Society to have User Group status - the Secretary informed members of the request for the Golf Society to have "user group" status. Following discussion this was agreed and its visiting representative, Bryan Ferris, was formally welcomed to the meeting.

52/08 HEALTH & SAFETY ISSUES

• John Gabbitas reported on the following:-
  • Monitoring of the accident booklet continued to be undertaken on a regular basis.
  • A generic risk assessment for the following groups was still required - table tennis, golf society, children's bowling, IT/Internet Café, flower arranging. John Gabbitas undertook to look into these. Action: John Gabbitas
  • A fire drill had been undertaken by the Craft Group but would be done again so that it could be timed and a report on the outcome prepared. Action: Craft Group/John Gabbitas
  • John Gabbitas apologised that the fire drill previously arranged for the Over 60s on 22nd September had not taken place. Another date in the New Year will be arranged. Action: Over 60s/John Gabbitas
  • Regarding PAT testing, an action was highlighted for Chris White/John Gabbitas to check their electrical equipment out. Action: Chris White/John Gabbitas
  • Tony Rusling raised the issue of the Historical Society not having the projector PAT tested but that they used a garden trip switch. Discussion took place and it was determined that use of garden trip switches would only be permissible for one-off occasions but if equipment was used on a regular basis proper PAT testing was required. Action: All Users

53/08 NEW ISSUES FOR CONSIDERATION

• Tariffs for 2009 - The Chair introduced the item saying that increasing overheads for utilities, insurances, etc meant that the Village Hall needed to run as a business to ensure it had sufficient financial resources to maintain self-sufficiency. Comparisons with other village halls in the area had revealed we were comparable with regard to tariffs for private hires, however, the Trustees wished the Management Committee to consider raising user group tariffs by £1.00 per hour.
  Management Committee members present expressed considerable views and after extensive debate it was agreed that the item would be deferred to the next meeting to allow sufficient time for user group representatives to discuss the proposed increase with their members. Action: All Members
• Set Up & Close Down Time Allowances - The Chair informed members that complaints had been received by hirers not being able to access the booked Hall at the allotted time as the previous user was taking too long to close down. A full debate took place and members agreed to the following set up and close down times:-
  • All users/hirers (except Toddler Group) to be allowed 15 minutes set up and a further 15 minutes close down time without charge
  • Toddler Group to be allowed 30 minutes set up and a further 30 minutes close down time without charge
  The Secretary undertook to inform the Caretaker/Bookings Officer of the agreed arrangement. Action: Secretary
• Sticking Notices to Walls - Members were reminded that notices should be affixed to the notice boards provided in the Village Hall and not on the walls. Action: All Members
• Use of Glitter - Members were politely asked that if glitter was used for activities, at the end of the session the relevant user group needed to make sure that it was adequately hoovered up so as to ensure that the Village Hall was in pristine condition for the next occupier. Action: All Members
• Vandalism - The Chair informed members that an attempted break-in had taken place at the Village Hall during the early hours of Monday morning which had tripped the burglar alarm. The police had been notified but thankfully nothing had been stolen and only minimal damage to a window had been caused.
• Leaking Gutter - Liz Wainwright had reported that the gutter joints were leaking and if frosty weather continued could result in someone having an accident. It was believed that the cause of the leaking could have been the builder who had removed the guttering whilst recently engaged on re-pointing the external walls. John Palmer agreed to call back the builder to make good as appropriate. Action: Vice Chair

54/08 MARKETING / NEW GROUPS

• The following was updated on:-
  • Brownies were due to re-commence classes in Hall 2 with effect from Tuesday 6th January 2009.
  • The first Spanish course had now concluded and a second grant application submitted for the class to re-start in the New Year.
  • A German class had just commenced.
  • A Golf Society had now been formed.
  • Barbara Coe-Colley was proposing to start her floral design classes and run a five week course between 12th January and 9th February 2009 costing £36.00.
  • A recent presentation had been given by Kivo-Ebiz who were raising 20% of the proceeds of sales for their charity. It was proposed that the Village Hall trial e-bay selling and an article in the next edition of The Informer would be seeking volunteers to assist.
  • Cinema sessions - the possibility of holding these was still being pursued by John Palmer. Action: Vice Chair
  • The Chair informed members of two separate approaches which had been made to have stalls at the Village Hall Christmas Fayre. Whilst it had been explained that all proceeds on that day were for the Village Hall, it had nevertheless prompted the idea of holding "table top car boot" sales. As a result this idea would be further pursued in the New Year. Action: Trustees

55/08 CONTINUED LIAISON WITH THE CHURCH HALL

• The Chair reported that liaison with our Church Hall colleagues continued. At a meeting held on 24th November the Church Hall/Village Hall Trustees had agreed to hold another joint pie and pea quiz night. The venue would be the Church Hall on Saturday 7th March 2009. Tickets would go on sale in the New Year.

56/08 ANY OTHER BUSINESS

56.1 Village Hall Cleanliness - A couple of instances were highlighted where mud in Hall 2 and the cleanliness in the kitchen appeared to have been missed by the Caretaker. This feedback would be reported back to the Caretaker. Action: Secretary

56.2 Small Chairs - Chris White informed members that the Toddler Group had recently purchased a further six small chairs which were stored in the Village Hall and were available for general use.

56.3 Table Tennis Store - On behalf of Mary Pavey who had originally brought the issue to attention, a reminder was given that the hole in the floor of the table tennis store still required attention. A cover similar to those used for drains was suggested as a suitable remedy. Action: Trustees

56.4 Pram Store - Mari Gabbitas drew to attention a loose brick on the corner of the pram store. A repair would be undertaken by filling in the area with a concrete block once the threat of frost was over. Action: Trustees

56.5 Small Brown Tables - For better storage purposes the small brown tables had been re-housed in the table tennis store and members were asked to replace them in their new location if used. Action: All Members Chris White asked if it was possible to purchase more small tables and it was agreed that the current 7 tables would be increased to 10. Action: Trustees

56.6 Constitution - Tony Rusling asked for a copy of the Constitution. Action: Secretary

56.7 Rock Salt - Members asked if rock salt could be purchased and it was explained that if we provided it and an individual then slipped on our site we could be liable for any accident/damage occurring. In the circumstances members decided that the Village Hall should not go ahead with rock salt purchase at this time.

56.8 Historical Society December Meeting - Tony Rusling informed members that as a mark of respect for the Chair of the Historical Society, whose brother had recently passed away, the Historical Society scheduled for the following day had been cancelled.

The Chair expressed his best wishes to all members and hoped all would have a very Merry Christmas.

There being no further business the meeting closed at 8.30 pm.

The next Village Hall Management Committee
will be held in the Village Hall
at 6.30 pm, Monday 9th February 2009