Community Association Committee

Minutes of meeting - 6th February, 2002 at 7.30pm

Welcome
Caroline thanked all present for attending, an apology for absence was accepted on behalf of Stephen Renton. Margaret Hobson introduced herself, attending her first meeting representing the Sunday School.

Acceptance of Previous Minutes
The Secretary explained as stated in the Minutes, he had written to Mrs Ritchie regarding the proposed upgrading of the football area at the school, and had asked her to keep us informed as to any developments on this project. After further discussion the Committee adopted the last Minutes on the motion of Kirsty Donnelly, seconded by Finlay McFee.

Treasurer's Report
Finlay updated the Committee on the lets of the Centre by the various user groups, one or two of these had outstanding invoices. There were also two or three advertisers in the 'Wemyss Bay News' whom had outstanding accounts. The Treasurer enquired about the forthcoming let for the 'Battle of the Bands'. Kirsty told him there were now only two bands, and the event had been scaled down a bit. There were no managers or promoters coming now, it would appear that it was now only going to be like a practice session. After discussing the matter at length, it was agreed that the bands could have the let from 2p.m. to 6p.m. at £4 an hour. If they wanted to continue into the evening, then a £100 deposit would be required.

The Treasurer then raised the matter of 'Utility Costs', namely Gas and Electricity. We were in credit for £80 with the Gas, however the Electricity reading was very high, roughly £340 up Finlay said he could not work out why this was so high. The Water bill was also discussed and the Treasurer said at last he had managed to get them to send him a detailed bill explaining what we were actually paying for and also highlighting the discount we were allowed. This discount may be cancelled after April, and the bad news was that our water bill may be quadrupled if the discount is done away with.

The cash position at the end of January showed we had just over £11,000 in the bank. We had some bills to be paid, these amounted to around £900, these would be paid in the next week.

A discussion took place regarding the purchase of new tables. Finlay said he had costed the tables we had discussed at the previous meeting and gave the figures for these, unfortunately the company we were dealing with were based in the south of England and were asking a delivery charge of around £200. Considering the overall costing of these particular tables, the meeting agreed to delay their decision on this purchase, and to make further enquiries. The secretary said he would endeavour to find out what equipment was being sold off from Cartsdyke Resource Centre, which was about to close down.

The signing of the lease for the Centre was discussed. This had been an ongoing problem with the Council, who had wanted named individuals to be responsible for the lease. However it appeared that Finlay had hopefully got them to accept that the Committee be trustees for the lease and that he, Caroline and George would sign this on behalf of the Committee, with luck this would be the end of this saga.

Liz Canning asked that the youth who ran the disco equipment, be paid monthly as there were quite a lot of discos and he was being kept busy. It was agreed this would be workable.

Secretary's Report
George reported that he had telephoned Ian Dyer, after reading in the 'Telegraph' that Cartsdyke Resource Centre was to close - he had enquired about a bouncy castle. Ian had said he would 'phone him when he had any information.

Regarding maintenance, the Secretary said Gordon, his brother, had carried out various repairs the previous Sunday. He also said the water heating problem had been resolved.

It was noted that the 'phone in reception was no longer working. This would have to be investigated. George said he would report the fault - the reception number was 521955 - Action George!

Letting Report
Kirsty reported the parties were still holding up - there had been three parties for one weekend then nothing, then there is three again this weekend. It was noted that the Secretary would be away for a couple of weeks, this gave us a problem regarding the let for the bands on February 16th as Liz Canning was not available that weekend either. Caroline said she didn't know if she could cover the let but would try to do it. Liz wanted the hall on the 2nd of March for a charity disco - her brother-in-law was walking the Great Wall of China in aid of a charity.

Functions - Easter Fun Day - Gala Day
Sian mentioned she might be away on the Fun Day, Caroline mentioned she herself would be working that day. Alison said the guides were interested in an Easter Egg hunt and a competition for the best decorated Egg. A 'Fun Run' and also a couple of discos was also discussed.

The Gala Day was then discussed, Caroline apologised for not yet booking a Ceilidh Band yet as she had not been very well lately, however she promised she would rectify this shortly - Action Caroline! She also mentioned the children's rides and entertainment she thought she had telephone numbers for. Finlay spoke about a layout for the various stalls and entertainment, and we would have to discuss a price for the day rather than just asking for a donation. George said the 'Telegraph' would be bringing their putting stall again this year and he had also been assured the Army would put on some sort of attraction for the youths. Ardgowan Football Development had also agreed to organise a 5-a-side football competition on the day. Finlay said he would ask the Community Council to donate a trophy for this event - Action Finlay! Sian said the Saturday dance class would perform on the day and also the Brownies and the Guides. After further discussion the Committee unanimously agreed that a buffet similar to last year's would be ideal as everyone thought it was brilliant. It was also agreed that a stricter ticket system had to be introduced this year.

The Secretary was asked to approach Mrs Ritchie, headmistress at the school and ask for her assistance regarding picking the Gala Queen, this he agreed to do - Action George!

Matters Arising
Sian Burton reported that the Tiny Tots were seeking permission to install shelving in their storage cupboard. The Committee had no objection to this work, on the understanding that it didn't restrict access to the loft area.

Date of next Meeting
It was unanimously agreed that the next Committee Meeting would held on Wednesday, 6th March, at 7.30p.m.

George Anderson,
Secretary.

(Minutes edited appropriately for publishing on web site)