STRICTLY CONFIDENTIAL
Minutes: 183 – 194
Minutes of the Committee Meeting held on 3 November 2018 at Ventnor Marina
Present:
Ken Barnes
Michelle Barnes (Treasurer)
Robbie Barrett
Sue Barrett
Phil Boswell (Chairman)
Sue Boswell
Gillian Chapple (Secretary)
Tony Fry
Alistair Hodgson
Georgina Hodgson
In attendance:
Bob Cotter
Karin Cotter
Pauline Fry
Jayne Glover
Roger Kennedy
Janette Wilkinson
nb Somewhere Slowly
nb Somewhere Slowly
nb Cornmill
nb Cornmill
nb Kintala
nb Kintala
nb Per Angusta
nb Moonshadow
nb Spica
nb Spica
nb Dihedral
nb Dihedral
nb Moonshadow
nb Southern Hawker
nb Capriola
nb Tylers Echo
183 Quorum
As more than four members of the Committee were personally present, the Chairman declared the meeting quorate.
184 Member Feedback
Tea and biscuits were provided to the meeting and everyone present was invited to participate in a general discussion regarding the Marina and the Association. Points which were raised included:
184.1 State of the marina roads
All Members present were pleased to note the improvements in the state of Marina roads. The Members moored at the far side of Sunrise expressed the hope that the new road surfacing would be extended to cover the road in that area. The Committee were asked to pass on the Members thanks to the Marina.
184.2 Association’s Gazebos
Roger Kennedy raised the matter of the life expectancy of the Association’s gazebos, noting that the Committee had had to make some repairs to them. He said that he had recently come across ‘garage type’ awnings which were much sturdier and a similar price and wondered if the Committee would consider upgrading the gazebos.
Michelle Barnes commented that, at the moment, the gazebos would have some residual sale value. Gillian Chapple reminded the meeting that some years ago,there had been some talk of providing a permanent awning or similar outside of the Woodland Lounge so that the doors could be opened – effectively increasing the size
of the lounge for social events. Because of the height of the gazebos, it was not possible to open the french doors when the gazebos were set up close to the building.
There was a general discussion at the conclusion of which it was agreed that the Committee should approach the Marina manager to investigate whether a permanent awning could be erected. The Chairman agreed to initiate talks. Action: PB
184.3 External lighting at events
Robbie Barrett advised the meeting that he had investigated further string lighting using crocodile clips to attach to the gazebos and gave some costings. Roger Kennedy said that he had bought some battery operated LED strings which might be an useful alternative, given the constraints of the electricity supply, but he did not know how long the batteries would last; other Members had some experience of LED lights operated by 4 AA batteries and which had decent battery life. Bob Cotter commented that the use of LEDs would be in line with current trends to move away from halogen lighting and might not require PAT testing.
After a general discussion, it was agreed that the question of external lights should be left on hold for the moment pending the outcome of discussions regarding external awnings/replacement gazebos; it was noted that the lights probably wouldn’t be needed until November’s Soup & Sparklers.
184.4 PAT Testing
The Chairman advised the meeting that the Marina management had offered to include all the Association’s electrical equipment in the next Marina PAT testing exercise and that they would absorb any costs associated with this. The meeting expressed their thanks.
184.5 Social Events
The Chairman advised the meeting that, 2 or 3 years ago, the Committee had decided to stop trying to organise events other than the March Wine & Cheese evening with speaker, the Moorers’ Breakfasts and Soup & Sparklers due to lack of support for any other events. It was noted that the Napton Ramble had only been
attended by Committee Members, the visit to Toft Alpacas had only 1 non-Committee Member and both the Summer Picnic and Quiz night had been cancelled due to lack of support. He asked the Members present if they felt there was any appetite for further social events and, if so, what sort of thing.
In a general discussion, it became apparent that there was some interest in more events. Suggestions which were put forward were:
- a quiz/games evening
- a meal at a pub
- a repeat of the Napton Ramble
In more detailed discussion, the idea of a meal at the Olive Bush with people having moored around Bridges 101 – 103 was thought to be a good option, particularly if it could be arranged on an evening when people were either beginning or ending a cruise.
The possibility of events being organised on a less formal basis was also discussed.
The Chairman thanked the Members for sharing their thoughts and said that the Committee would consider them further.
The Chairman thanked the members for their contributions to the meeting and advised that there were a few housekeeping matters which the Committee needed to discuss.
The Members then withdrew.
185 Feedback from Members
The Secretary advised the meeting that when renewing their membership, several Members had commented on how much they appreciated the work the Committee did. The year end review prepared by Sue Boswell had also received complimentary feedback.
186 Minutes of the meeting held on 3 November 2018
The Minutes of the meeting held on 3 November 2018 had been circulated to the (then) Committee on 11 November. The Secretary reported that no amendments had been notified to her. The Committee approved the Minutes and the Chairman then signed them as a true record.
187 Events for 2019
It was noted that the events organised for 2019 were:
16/03/2019 – Wine & Cheese Evening
28/04/2019 – Moorers Breakfast
15/09/2019 – Moorers Breakfast
02/11/2019 – Soup & Sparklers + results of 2019 Photo Competition
The Secretary advised the meeting that these were the ‘usual’ timings for the events except for the September meeting, which had been moved 1 week to avoid a clash with other waterways events held relatively locally.
There was also the 2019 Photo Competition. Details were up on the website and the posters prepared to go up around the Marina. The Secretary had also, as previously agreed, provided a framed print of the picture to go up in the Woodland Lounge.
In light of the discussions during the Open part of this meeting, it was agreed that the possibility of adding further events would be discussed at the next Committee Meeting.
188 Committee Meeting Dates
The dates for the remainder of the Committee Meetings for 2019 were set as:
2pm on Saturday 27 April (Apologies received in advance from Tony Fry)
2pm on Saturday 14 April (Apologies received in advance from Gillian Chapple)
2pm on Saturday 2 November
189 Membership renewals
The Secretary explained that when the AGM papers were sent out, the 2017 Members who had not paid their 2018 subscriptions were reminded that they were due. It was agreed that one final reminder should be sent out and that anyone who hadn’t paid by 30 April 2019 should have their membership lapsed and, if applicable, be removed from the VMMA Facebook group. Leaving things until 30 April gave Members a chance to renew at the Moorers’ Breakfast. Action: GAC
The Secretary advised that the password for the Membership area of the website had changed and she wasn’t issuing the new password to people until their 2019 subscription was paid.
190 Banking arrangements
The Treasurer reported that she had had great difficulty getting National Westminster to change the address to which bank statements were sent and getting access to the Bankline system in order to be able to view the balance. Following a visit to a branch and the threat of a formal complaint, it seemed as though matters
were now being brought to a satisfactory conclusion.
It was noted that the signatories to the bank account were the Chairman, the Secretary and the Treasurer requiring two signatures for cheques, etc. The Bankline access was restricted so that no payments could be madeSociety would be able to speak if required.
191 Arrangements for the Wine and Cheese Evening
The Secretary reported that 35 people had indicated that they would be attending; with the speaker, his wife and granddaughter this meant that 38 people plus anyone else who turned up on the evening needed to be accommodated. There were insufficient seats for everyone, but the Marina were going to provide an additional 10 fold up chairs. Phil Boswell had arranged for the harbourmasters to remove the sofas and TV to create more space; the casual chairs from the Office were going to be brought in and several Committee Members agreed to bring fro folding chairs from their boats.
It was thought that it would be possible to accommodate everybody, albeit quite cosily. It was suggested that we might, in future, have to restrict numbers attending by issuing tickets on a first come, first served basis. Some concern was expressed that, if we did this, people might book tickets and then not turn up.
Phil Boswell had prepared the Risk Assessment and would review it after the set up. It was noted that care would need to be taken with the power leads for the speaker’s computer. Gillian Chapple confirmed that she had borrowed a projector for the speaker to use.
Gillian Chapple had purchased the cheese and bread but expressed concern that she had got not enough cheddar but too much bread. It was agreed that the cheddar should be cut up in advance of the evening. She had also purchased a bottle of wine for the speaker.
It was agreed that a collection plate would be put out for the Friends of President and that the Association would top-up the donations to £50 if necessary.
Gillian Chapple said that she would collect the names of people who attended, together with the appropriate payments, and pass any money to the Treasurer.
192 Committee Members
The Secretary gave Tony Fry and Alistair Hodgson 2 copies each of the following documents
- GDPR Information for Members of the Management Committee;
- VMMA Data Privacy Policy;
- VMMA Management Committee Data Handling Undertaking; and
- VMMA Supplemental Data Privacy Policy
requesting that they sign and return one copy to her. Action: TF/AH
It was noted that there was the VMMA Committee closed Facebook group but that several members of the Committee did not use Facebook.
All Committee Members provided their contact details, agreeing that they could be shared with other Committee Members. Action: GAC
It was agreed that a ‘sign up’ list seeking help for event set-up and/or assistance during an event.
193 Review
It was agreed that, as had been done on previous occasions, there would be a review meeting during clearing up at the end of the Wine and Cheese Evening and that the review would form part of these Minutes.
There being no further business, the Chairman drew the meeting to a close.
194 Review of the Day – 16/03/2019 – at a Committee Meeting held on 30 November 2021, this Minute was amended retrospectively to reflect financial information recorded in the Association’s cash book.
The Secretary reported that 16 people had attended the AGM and Open Committee Meeting.
Of the 35 people who had said they would attend, 31 had turned up. 2 further people (non-Members) turned up. With the speaker and his party, this meant that 36 people were at the event.
The collection for Friends of President raised £43.50 £45.50 so £6.50 £4.50 cash was added to from the day’s takings to bring the total donation to £50 as agreed earlier in the day. Everybody seemed to find the talk enjoyable and interesting. The speaker was given a bottle of wine as a personal thank you (cost £9)
Money received during the day:
- 2 cheques for £10 each – Membership Renewals left in the VMMA post box
- £5 cash – New Member Application
- £10 cash – Membership Renewals received at Wine & Cheese evening
- £4 cash – non-Members attending Wine & Cheese evening
- £3.50 cash – sale of excess produce at end of Wine & Cheese evening
Food purchased for the day:
- 1 kg of Cheddar
- 1 kg of Brie
- 1 kg of Stilton
- 21 mixed mini-baguettes (white, tiger and granary)
- 1 x 500g ‘Butter Me Up’ spread
- 1 x 900g box of sweet biscuits
- 3 x 2 pints semi skimmed-milk
The sweet biscuits were put out at the Open Meeting and also in the evening. Only the top layer was used. Gillian Chapple has taken the box home and will bring them back for next Committee meeting.
All the cheddar was used, most of the brie and just over half the stilton. For next year’s Wine & Cheese, if the same sort of numbers are expected, maybe get more cheddar and less stilton. Several Members passed very complimentary comments on the tastes of the cheese.
As expected, too much bread had been purchased. 9 of the mini-baguettes were cut up and most of that went.
Under half the ‘Butter Me Up’ was used. The remainder has been frozen for use at the next Moorers’ Breakfast.
Only 2 pints of milk were used.
Excess supplies were either sold at the end of the meeting or disposed of.
Only decaffeinated coffee was found in the crates brought out of the storage container, so we need to check for normal coffee prior to the April breakfast and also for clingfilm.
Gillian Chapple was given a cheque for her expenses (food for the day, wine for speaker, frame for photo competition winning photo to be displayed in the Woodland Lounge (£6)).
The Chairman and the Secretary signed the instructions to the bank to authorise the restricted Bankline access for the Treasurer (originally authorised in Minute 124 on 06/05/2017)
Tony Fry returned his signed paperwork (Min 192 refers)