HAWKESBURY UPTON HALL COMMITTEE
Minutes of Meeting held on Monday 10th
February 2020 7.45pm
Present
Chris Rispin Angelo
Sauro Phil Dennett Pat Sherry
Jackie Sandy Louise Roberts Sam Allen
Jane Stanbridge Fiona
Steeds Kate Bashford
Hilary
Rogers
Apologies
for Absence
Mandy Clark Bill Cullen
Neil Fozard Amy Barnfield Sally Roberts
Steve Macgrath
Minutes of the Last Meeting
These were agreed as a true record and signed by the
Chairman.
PROJECTS
:
Play Area – There are a few issues such as paint and the Teen Shelter not
having been concreted in. Chris would
like the Committee to see a full snagging list.
Kate to liaise with Karen Bexter.
Area adjacent to oil tank – Louise has
arranged for work to start clearing the bindweed on 4/5 April. Prior to that Fencing needs to be moved from
the area. Chris to arrange. Fiona to email Bill and ask what the budget
is. Pre-school have increased the size
of their area. Chris will write to Show
Committee to request that logs are not left on the grass. He suggested a small composting area for
grass cuttings.
Strategic Changes to Operation of the Hall –
Chris, Phil and Kate have met to discuss the future operation of the Hall. Elsa Littlewood (who is an Accountant) has
kindly offered to look at our Accounting system and make recommendations if
necessary. Jack Barnfield will review
the Bookings system and ensure it ties in with Payments. Jackie said they are meeting up on Monday to
discuss. Going forward we need to review our need to balance Community
requirements vs Commercial Reality. Once
this is done it will be taken to Parish Council to discuss options for the
Hall. Hazel Jones had sent an invitation
to the Annual Assembly (to which everyone is invited) but Chris hopes to meet
with them beforehand.
FINANCIAL
MATTERS:
Treasurer’s
Report – No report as Bill has been on holiday.
Car
Parking Fees – Neil
collected £11.15 this month. Louise
reported that there was an advert in a local magazine for a walk advising
people to meet at our Hall car park. She
phoned and asked them not to do this in future and to pay this time, but it is
an ongoing problem.
Grants
- £500 was received from the
Parish Council which will go towards the Water Softener. £350 from Parish Magazine towards Bar Cooler.
Fiona to thank them. Kate is looking at
possible grants to apply for from Calor Energy Fund and Lottery Awards for
All. She is getting advice from Vicky
Pember.
PARISH
COUNCIL REPORT – No report this month.
EVENTS:
Big Breakfast –
very well attended this year.
Approximately £600 raised including Raffle. Fiona has thanked all those who donated
produce. We could perhaps consider doing
it twice a year.
VE Day Celebration
– Jane and Louise have planned the menu.
Several people offered to cook and volunteers will be needed on the
night for bar and kitchen. We need to
decide on timings for serving food.
MAINTENANCE:
Freezer – some of Pre-school’s food was removed from the freezer
and fridge. Kate to ask people to label everything they put in there. Freezer space to be allocated to
organisations who have advised Chris that they need space (so far Pre-school,
Library, Evergreens). We need a separate
small freezer in the bar for Ice. It
might be worth posting on Second to None.
Meter
Readings – Chris has
done these.
Painting:
Chris will set a date for
volunteers to paint.
EWS
– They submitted a quarterly visit
report. The second tank is not being
used so Angelo will decommission it.
Water
Heater – this has
been tripping the electrics but seems to be ok at the moment. If it happens again, it must be switched off
at the wall before electric is turned back on.
Fuse box is in the broom cupboard.
A new large kettle has been purchased.
Angelo is arranging for PAT testing possibly during Easter holidays.
Hedge
laying: Neil emailed
to say that in November the Woodland Trust will provide us with 120 saplings to
thicken our hedge line behind the zipwire free of charge.
Bird
Cherry Trees – Given
that these trees can grow to 10m - 25m high, the foliage is toxic to livestock, and the bark emits an
unpleasant, acrid odour, Chris wondered if they are actually suitable for the
Rec. Chris to ask PC if an alternative
tree is available.
Grass Cutting – Chris met with Ian Jones to review this. Angelo to arrange for Bonfire area to be
sorted. Football Club paid for pitch to
be cut. Due to new layout Ian will need to do more strimming which will
increase costs. Chris to contact Parish
Council.
Play and Skatepark Report – this needs to be done monthly as Insurance requirement.
Fire
Safety – Angelo to
review arrangements. He has had a quote
from a local company.
RISK
ASSESSMENT:
Louise is
concerned that the football goalposts are blocking the Fire Exit. Angelo to
speak to them.
HEALTH
& SAFETY:
Chris and
Kate have prepared an Action Plan to deal with infectious diseases including
Corona virus. This was put to the meeting and is attached for information. As
part of this plan Kate has put up
Notices around the Hall regarding Hand Washing and Sneezing/Coughing. Chris will speak to Jess to ensure we have an
adequate supply of cleaning materials and to ensure she is comfortable with the
provisions for her and her husband as we have a responsibility under the Health
and Safety at Work Acts to cleaning staff.
Chris assumes Pre-school have their own strategy and Kate has advised
them of where to get information on how to proceed. Other Organisations will
need to make their own provisions to ensure that cross contamination is
prevented. It was decided that we will provide anti-bacterial spray and paper
towels and ask Hall Users to wipe round door handles, glass door and toilet
flush handles at the end of their hire.
They also need to notify us if they become aware of any possible contamination. We will continue to follow government
guidelines with regard to closing the Hall in the event of a diagnosis of
Corona Virus which involves first hand contact with the premises. Kate will summarise Chris’s Action Plan and
send to Fiona to circulate to Hall Users.
Emergency/
Lighting/Fire Bells – OK.
CORRESPONDENCE:
Letter from Parish Council advising
Grant (see above).
ANY
OTHER BUSINESS:
Louise had
feedback from the caterer at Saturday night’s event who said our kitchen was
one of the best Village Hall facilities she had come across.
Jackie has
been advised that the Hall will be used for Polling on 7/5/20.
Amy passed on
thanks from Pre-school to Angelo for sorting the Alarm and door issues.
Pre-school
also asked if they can put a permanent sign on the outside of the
building. This has been requested before
and refused. The Committee would prefer
a removable banner to be attached to Play Area fencing.
Sam asked if
anyone knew what has happened to Drama’s Screens which have disappeared from
the Chair Store. Fiona to email Hall
Users.
Angelo thinks
we could do with a new Village Hall sign – to be discussed next month.
Angelo has
been approached by Solar Panel installer who is offering a zero % finance deal
which would entail no upfront payment from the Hall and would more than pay for
itself in terms of revenue. The
Committee decided this was worth considering. Angelo to get a quote.
Fiona asked
if Will Robson was still to be included as Licensee. He is still helping Angelo but another
Licensee needs to be recruited. Angelo
hopes that someone involved with Saturday’s pre-school event might be
interested. He also needs to ask
Pre-school to pay corkage on wine sales at the weekend.
Date
of Next Meeting
The date of the next meeting will be 20th
April at 7.45pm.
Please note that this is a week later
than usual due to Easter Holidays
There being no further business the
meeting closed at 9.50pm.