17-06-2017 AGM | alphamstonevillage

Minutes of the

Annual General Meeting of

Alphamstone Village Hall

Held on Saturday 17th June at 10 a.m

In The Village Hall

Apologies for Absence: Desmond Bridge (DB), Jo Brogan, Eileen Hannis, James Hunter, Rosemary Ingram, Ben Twinn
Present: Nigel Aulton (NA), Helen Bradshaw (HB), Sue Gardiner (SG), Roger Gardiner (RG), Lynne Potter(LP), Martin Gilbert (MG), Tom Fryer (TF) Harry Fryer (HF), Julia Lampshire (JL), Mandy Palmer Randle (MPR), Paula Twinn, Ben McGlashan (BMc)

Election of Chairman for Meeting: HB advised the meeting that the AVH Chairman, Desmond Bridge was ill in hospital and unable to attend. Under item 22 sub section (5) of the Constitution of AVH she proposed that a Chair be elected for this meeting. HB proposed NA and this was seconded by MG

Approval of Minutes of AGM held on 6th September 2016 The Minutes were approved by the meeting and signed by NA

Chairman’s Report DB had spoken to HB earlier that morning and had asked her to deliver the following words. DB’s thanks to go to NA, Ben Twinn and John Ingram for between them funding and delivering the completed car park. Also particular thanks to NA for his professional and practical input into all the works that had been undertaken since the last AGM. DB also asked that thanks be expressed to Cynthia Ford, Mary Parker and Deirdre Hume for making the pop-in café on library morning such a roaring success. For undertaking the roles of Treasurer and Secretary to AVH DB thanked SG and HB. He also wanted the meeting to know that Bookings were on the Increase.

Treasurer’s Report The Treasurer’s Report together with the Financial Statements were attached to the Agenda and copies were available to all present. SG talked the meeting through the report.

Secretary’s Report The Secretary’s Report had been attached to the Agenda and copies were available to all present. HB talked the meeting through the report

Any Other Business and Question and Answer Session NA asked the meeting if there was any AOB. TF raised a number of concerns about the AVH building. In particular he said he was concerned about the changes to the layout of the heating system which he had installed in his professional capacity as an electrician. He took exception to the relocation of the AV unit outside and to the side of the front door. NA briefed the meeting that the AV Units had not been working due to refrigerant leaks and that an independent report (funded by a member of the Committee personally) had been commissioned. This report had confirmed the need for repairs to the pipework and relocation of units to improve efficiency. HB told the meeting that it had been a collective decision of the Committee to relocate the units. This had been undertaken by an independent professional and that the cost of over £1,500 had been funded personally by a member of the Committee.

TF also enquired about the lack of underfloor heating in the toilets and expressed his displeasure that this had negated. NA explained that no details of any underfloor heating system had been available and, because of the new flooring, works had been necessary to enable the fitting of the Altro flooring in the toilets and that alternative heating was being considered

TF outlined to the meeting his unhappiness about the layout of the kitchen and in particular the replacement of the doors with windows. He said he had heard from the kitchen installers that the design had been developed by NA and that they had been bullied into accepting what they considered was a poor kitchen design. MPR said that they knew that the design was made by NA. HB said this was not accurate and advised TF that a kitchen sub-committee of AVH had been formed and the kitchen design, by Howdens, had been developed among them and then approved by the AVH Committee. TF also said that the replacement windows were a fire hazard to anyone working in the kitchen and that they made AVH look like a 60’s building. He further added that the Committee had not consulted with the village about the replacement of the doors with windows.. NA updated TF that Braintree District Council had approved the changes to the kitchen doors and that the replacement windows met all building regulations. A site visit had been made by BDC, with DB, earlier in the year and that all was found to be in order. MG said that the meeting had heard TF’s and MPR’s points of concern but there was no requirement to consult with the village. TF informed the meeting that a requirement of a My Communities grant, made at the start of the works, was to do so. LP addressed the meeting as the longest standing member of the Committee present. She told them that there had only ever been one formal consultation exercise regarding the AVH build and that had been undertaken many years before the commencement of works and there had been none since. SG and PT both then spoke about the very positive feedback that they had experience of from Alphamstonians and others.

TF raised his dislike of the aesthetics of the new main doors to AVH. He was unhappy with the construction and fitting of them. HB advised that all decision regarding the doors and their design had been approved by the Committee and they had been fabricated and fitted by a specialist windows and door manufacturing company.

MPR told the committee that they had recently held a large family get together in AVH and that the standard of cleaning fell far short of what it should be. HB agreed with MPR that the cleaning and supply of necessities had failed. She further advised that this had been flagged with the Committee as a whole and would be on the agenda at the next meeting of AVH Committee members to ensure a process was put in place. HB apologised on behalf of the AVH Committee. MPR also felt that it was wrong for a cleaner to be employed to clean hall as historically it had been undertaken by members of the Committee or their partners. HB said that she had sought to initiate a rota but only she and SG had cleaned the Hall for the last two years. MPR added that she thought the cost of hiring the hall was too high and that a discount should be given to Alphamstonians. She also told the meeting that the booking form showed that seating for 60 persons would be available but in practice there were only 38 chairs and that this had caused them a problem with their hire. HB apologised and said the Committee would look to rectify this.

MPR said that she did not feel the Committee put on enough events for the Village and that just organising the Fete and Fireworks was not satisfactory. MG advised that he was providing IT support at the pop-up café on a bi-weekly basis and reiterated how popular this initiative was proving. HB mentioned that Pumpkin Patch had also run over the last two years. TF and MPR did not consider this as the Committee meeting their responsibilities and those ideas for events should come from and be delivered by the Committee. He also told the Committee that there had been a breakdown in communication between the village and the Committee and that villagers felt that the Committee were unapproachable and that villagers couldn’t come to the Committee. MPR felt in particular that events should be designed to encourage the children of the village and that would help draw in the families. LP highlighted that until recent months the hall was still a project in progress and had not been in a very usable condition. MG further added that the focus of attention would now shift towards AVH events

NA asked if there were any other issues. Nothing further was raised.

Election of Trustees HB advised the meeting that all existing Trustees were all standing for re-election. She asked that a proposal for all existing Trustees to be voted on to the new Committee be formally proposed and seconded. PT proposed and JL seconded.
Meeting Closed HB took this opportunity to thank all for coming and in particular TF and MPR. She knew that she spoke for all Committee members when she said that she welcomed a clearing of the air and that she hoped that all could now move on.