Item

Action by:

1.   Apologies for absence. These were received from Alison Browne, David Vincent, Colin Williams and Hope Mayne.

 

2.   Approval of Minutes of 14^th November 2019 The Minutes were approved and signed by the Chair as a true record of proceedings.

 

3.   Declaration of Other Interests
Now that there is a close connection between Henton Hall Limited (Green Henton) and The Henton Village Hall Trust it is appropriate for Trustees who may hold offices in both to declare the matter.
It was thus noted that Liz Little, Gerry Cox and David Vincent are Directors of Henton Hall Limited however, it was not considered that there would be a conflict of interest in relation to the matters being discussed at the meeting.

 

4.   Matters Arising - Minutes of 14^th November 2019.

MD advised she had had useful comments from her initial survey issued to regular users. Survey links were sent to the 16 regular hirers. There were 7 responses, some of which had minor comments such as heating slow to bring temperature up to comfortable level. LL advised that work had been done on the ASHP very recently; increasing water pressure and this had improved the matter. Another comment was a request for mugs rather than cups and saucers. Generally, users were happy and two remarked how it was a delight to always find the hall in a clean, tidy state. Thanks thus to Ursula Casey for her continued good work in keeping the hall clean.

GB advised the Christmas lights had been welcomed by many. He was sorry he had not been available to assist with their erection. Thanks therefore to Ian Chalk and David Harris for their efforts to install the outside sockets and hang the lights in time for the Christmas season.

DB said he had approached the local Fire Service to see if the Hall could be formally assessed for fire risks. Apparently, they receive many such requests, but village halls are a low priority and thus we are most unlikely to get a visit. LL advised that the electrical wiring was checked every 3 years and individual items such as cookers and ovens were checked each year. PG advised as far as insurance was concerned, there were questions about flammable materials and that they should not be stored near a heat source. Currently cleaning materials are stored in the storeroom and thus not a problem. Such items should not be put in the boiler cupboard.

 

 

 

5.   Treasurers Report GC gave out a prepared schedule (see attached) showing the income and expenditure for the year so far, with comparable figures for the previous year. Taking account of what had been budgeted we currently had a surplus of £4371. At this time of year, we tended to be in surplus as we had annual fees from regulars for the coming year. Indeed, the amount we had in the bank was over £14,000. (Bank Statement passed to Trustees.) GC was aware that we need to have a Financial Policy which at the present says the Trustees will have sight of the bank statement. He will review these procedures and advise further in due course. The amount of Bar Fees was exaggerated by a strange payment from “Design House” and GC will be in contact with the bank to see if this payment can be identified. It is likely to be someone paying into the wrong account.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

GC

 

6.   Latest Work Plan. 
Item 1 DV at present in New Zealand so the refurbishment of small tables is on hold.
Item 2 Ladies Loo update: Originally it was intended to provide a splashback, but this is not straightforward and instead the wall will be repainted (probably Egyptian white, this paint having been used elsewhere). The question of interesting mirrors will be achieved by getting them from charity shops. The provision of cupboards may need the purchase of carcases although John Alcock examined the issue at the Tidy up morning and decided he will be able to produce new frames on which to hang the doors; these having been already purchased by LL
New taps have been purchased and will be fitted.
Item 3 Internal Decorating. White paint has been purchased. The lower part of the main hall was repainted before Christmas.
Item 4 Reorganise Storeroom: GB advised there were a number of brooms and brushes in the area where they normally keep the badminton equipment. These had to be moved before they could start. Otherwise this was work in progress. When time allows, the black plastic chairs will be moved to the shed outside in the car park.
Item 5 Refine Booking System: Work has still to be done on this although Vanessa (Booking Secretary) has added a code to help differentiate regular users from non-regular users and whether it was a Parish or outside the Parish Hirer.
Item 6 Defibrillator. LL advised we had received a generous payment from Bristol Water of £430 towards the provision of this equipment (In part in recompense for all the inconvenience with road closures etc.) PG has sent a letter of thanks. In total we now had £1440 and this was more than we needed. LL suggested they buy one and rent another for placing in the telephone box outside Daisy Cottage, which the WPC now own. Training for using them is available from St John Ambulance and it may worth including more general first aid in this training. Jenny Bond is investigating.
Item 7 Refine ASHP Heating. Work has been done on this and the system should now work better and heat up the hall quicker.
Item 8 Succession planning. Although this is mainly to ensure we had Trustees shadowing the key executive posts, there was a wider context in ensuring others knew what was done for all tasks.  GB advised that he had given up his post as the Coordinator of the Badminton Group and that Don Field had taken over. They will discuss who will be Representative Trustee for Badminton. It was suggested that DF should be invited to attend the next Trustees Meeting. Obviously, any new trustee would be eligible to be elected to an executive post.
Item 9 Improve Website: MD advised that she now had some new pictures but had difficulty in uploading these. PG advised there may be a size issue megabite-wise. He will check with Charles Gatenby our IT expert.
Item 10 Repaint Light Standard: This is pending.
Item 11 East end of car park Remove bank of debris. This still needs to be done.
Item 12 Marquee/ Table Tennis.
There was a discussion on possibly providing a permanent outdoor weatherproof table tennis table that may appeal to younger members of the community. Also, some thought will be given to creating a boules pitch so ad hoc games of boules can be had particularly on clement summer evenings. MD will be issuing a survey to residents and this will help identify the types of facilities that would find favour and allow the Trustees better plan what further facilities they could provide.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

7.   Moving of Council Noticeboard
It was agreed that this can and will be moved to be erected under the eaves to the east of the front door of the Hall. PG advised that he had agreed with Denise Boulton (WPC clerk) to provide a temporary notice directing people to the new site.

 

8.   Tidy up morning Saturday 18^th January
Following on from a risk assessment that DB and PG undertook recently it was apparent that moss needs to be removed from paths and the corner of the upper car park. Also, the path from the emergency exit at the rear of the Rose Hall needed a lot of tidying with removal of weeds and leaves etc PG advised he had made a start with moving some of the moss in the upper Car Park.

 

 

 

9.   AOB
LL said the current green curtains in the Gibbs room looked rather tired (indeed that had been created using surplus material from the old Hall Curtains which themselves were nearly 20 years old.) GC said there were sufficient funds to purchase new ones.
The Christmas lunch had gone well and enjoyed by all who had attended. A donation of £50 had been forthcoming from this gathering towards the running costs of the hall.
The dishwasher should now work better as Ursula had put it through a “Regeneration Cycle” also the filters had been cleaned. It was likely this had not been done before so Ursula would ensure this was done from time to time depending on usage.  

 

Dates of next Meetings April 16^th; July 16^th and AGM on 19^th November 2019 followed by a SHORT Trustees meeting.