MINUTES OF THE UMBORNE INSTITUTE TRUST
Meeting at Springfield
Tuesday, 16 March, 2010, at 8pm
Attended by Rob Summers (chairman), Geoff Elliott (secretary), Paul Galloway (treasurer), Sue Gush, Janet Coman, Peter Rugg, Paul Forster, Eleanor Wood, Liz Gosling, Kimmo Evans and Neville Cheeseman.
Apologies: Ted Townsend
Minutes of the meeting on 16 February were approved, subject to an amendment about JC canvassing Shute for bonds and gifts rather than KE, and signed by the chairman.
Matters Arising: SG would contact Mary Thomas, clerk to the parish council, to explore whether there were any hall booking fees outstanding.
RS said he had talked to Young Farmers about the rebuilding of the hall. They had said they would like to run an event whose proceeds would buy bonds or be given to the hall.
NC said that pictures of missing trustees needed to be inset into the picture taken of those who had stripped the old hall of its contents. JC and PF were asked to supply suitable headshots.
Correspondence: None
Reports from Sub-Committees:
Finance and General Purposes: PG reported that income from bonds and gifts totalled £7,400. About two-thirds of the total was bonds that had been bought. He said he was disappointed that more money had not been raised so far and encouraged trustees to secure the commitment, especially, of people who used the hall. He said that there were many regular attenders who had not given or lent money.
GE asked if a master list of people in the valley had yet been prepared. He said it was unfair that some people had committed money while others had not even been asked. SG said she would update records and urged trustees to tell her of people living near them who were not on the present list. PR said he would consult the electoral register.
JC said she had knocked on all doors in Shute and left copies of the paperwork.
KE said it was important to ensure that the parish magazine always had updates of our progress so that people were constantly reminded of what they might do to help.
It was decided to leave open this form of fund raising and not set a deadline.
PG said that he had received £4,484, the proceeds of Neil Shepherd’s funeral collection. He had also received £1,216 from Peter Lea-Cox’s organ recital and the Last Night at the Nissen Hut event run by EW. In addition, there had been £400 from the sale of calendars by SG. EW said there was still a donation from the Grizzly organisers to come.
RS said that the cash flow projection indicated that the rebuilding project could keep going. Funds were available to cover the known cost of the hall, though he was aware that some costs were rising.
PG said that a contractors’ insurance policy was needed for the duration of the rebuilding to cover us for all risks associated with the creation of a building site. He had received a quote of £810 for £100,000 cover over a year. It was decided that PG should have delegated authority to buy a policy having secured competitive quotes.
JC reported that the available Acres money had been taken up by another village hall. We were now on a waiting list.
The Awards for All grant application to support work on the new car park was still pending.
Entertainment and Fundraising: EW thanked all who had helped with the Last Night event and with the Grizzly.This year 27 marshals had turned out, which would mean a substantial donation for the hall.
The Ug would be held on Sunday, 13 June.
It was agreed to hold a summer barbecue as usual. RS volunteered the small field next to his home at Little Yardbury on Saturday, 17 July.
LG agreed to host the Steam-Up on Saturday, 3 July.
New Hall Development: PF said that the building inspector had asked a lot of us. Writing a fire plan had been time-consuming, but had now been submitted.
He had been successful with a bid to have energy efficiency standards relaxed for a hall that would not be in constant use.
He said that we would install a quartz heating system that was cheap and effective and could be upgraded later.
Amended electrical work requirements and stiffer fire regulations had imposed additional costs of £1,850, though savings were available elsewhere in the project.
A structural survey to ensure the building would be strong enough had cost £230, including VAT which could not be reclaimed because it was associated with a professional fee.
The Harris bill would go up as a result of the building inspector demanding stronger joists and improved fireboards.
PF reminded trustees that the project did have a contingency of £2,000 so all the increased costs would not add to the project cost.
RS said that he had secured £600 worth of security fencing for nothing. Among other savings there had been a £100 discount on blocks being supplied.
PF said that the building inspector had now given conditional approval, which meant that we could start work. Brian Chidley would level the site next week. From then onwards it would become an official building site with entry only to approved people wearing the right equipment.
PF said that he had now to write a health and safety plan.
He said that the main works should be completed by the end of June. At the end of rebuilding we would have the car park to lay out and perhaps a new septic tank to install.
Website: RS had asked Bill Corr to sort out future management of the website. He had been told that it would cost £100 a year. A switch would be made from HTML to web-based management, which would mean anyone could update the site.
Bill Corr would attend the next meeting of the trust.
Any Other Business: RS said that we needed to decide how the money from Neil Shepherd’s funeral collection would be spent. GE said that he believed most should go to the general funding of the new hall; rebuilding had been Neil’s main concern . But that a smaller amount might be ring-fenced for something that would be an appropriate memorial.
RS said that Neil had wanted the new hall to have broadband so that it could be used to train people in the local community and would make the hall more attractive to potential hirers. This was agreed and PF said that cabling could be installed while the hall was being built.
There was also the suggestion of a tree and a garden.
PR asked about the transfer of land from the Bird family to the hall trust. RS said that he was dealing with this.
EW asked for an earlier meeting time on Tuesdays, though she conceded that she had asked for later times for Wednesday meetings.
RS announced that GE was planning to leave the valley for family reasons. It seemed to surprise no-one or they didn’t care. RS said that GE would also be spending considerable periods of time in France. GE had suggested he might resign now and allow the trust to find another secretary quickly. RS couldn’t wait. He thanked GE for his contribution to the hall and to the local community, and said that he would be missed.
PR said that he hadn’t been sure about GE at the start but thought he had turned out all right.
GE said that he had enjoyed his association with the hall and with the trust. He wished everybody well and hoped that the new hall would be a great success. He said that the trust had been greatly strengthened and that he was confident it would achieve all its goals.
He particularly praised RS for his communication skills but lamented his unwillingness to get his hands dirty. Or perhaps it was the other way around.
KE was thanked for his hospitality.
Next Meeting: Wednesday, 21 April at 8pm in PR’s kitchen. LG gave her apology for absence.
The meeting closed at 10pm for most people and 1am for RS, PR and the unfortunate KE.
