Holne Village Hall Management Committee

Minutes of the Annual General Meeting held on Tuesday 12th May 2009 at 7.30 pm

in the Village Hall

Present : M Barkas, B Best, M Bonney(Chairman), R Bonney, A Crutchley, K Evans, M Fairman, Y Fairman, J Henderson, M Powell, G Simpson

Members of public: Peter Bellamy, Carol Harper

1 Apologies : M Rees

2 Minutes : The minutes of the previous AGM held on Tuesday 6th May 2008 were approved and signed by the chairman.

3 Matters Arising: None

4 Chairman's report : See attached

Mike reported that he and Rosemary were standing down from the committee.

Special thanks were given to Gill and Mike Cunniam, who raise so much money for the hall through book sales.

5 Book-keeper's report : Reconciliation of Bank Accounts at 31.03.09 and Income/Expenditure 1 st April 2008 to 31 st March 2009 were presented and explained.

Total funds are just under £18000 with trading results looking quite good, considering that investments are down. The operation of running the hall as a business has gone well, our boiler problems have been resolved.

Peter Bellamy asked about internal transfers from Gold account and cleaning costs-Keith explained.

Malcolm asked about the water-we are metered.

6 Open forum:

Keith explained that he had checked on a website and we cannot reclaim VAT as a Charity.

Margie offered a vote of thanks to Mike and Rosemary for all their hard work.

The meeting closed at 7.55 pm

Holne Village Hall Management Committee

Chairman's Report 2008/2009

The main problem facing the committee during the year was the lack of heating in the hall. This was caused mainly by the boiler continually breaking down. To try to resolve the problem, it was decided that three things needed to be done:

1 Get a new boiler

2 Change the windows to double glazing

3 Apply some form of insulation to the building.

The new boiler has been fitted and is working satisfactorily. We have accepted a quote for double glazing and we are awaiting the outcome of our grant application for £5,000 towards the £7,800+ costs. We are still investigating various forms of insulation.

Dartmoor National Park was most unhelpful when we enquired about grants but Gill Gray has been a great help. Gill also supplied us, free of charge, with some display screens which we hope the community will find useful.

As a result of the increase in the price of both liquid gas and electricity, it has been necessary to increase the charges for hire of the hall. However, we still consider that the rates are good value.

A new car park sign was purchased for £100.

We are in the process of purchasing additional chairs with arms.

Some redecoration of the hall has been carried out, mainly to repair the marks caused by the installation of the new boiler and thermostat.

Last year's plant sale was extremely successful, raising some £685. Please note that this year's plant sale will be on 30 th May and as always, we desperately need your plants, cakes and raffle prizes.

The Christmas fair takings were down on previous years with only £732 profit which was shared with the church. Therefore, although our financial situation is still healthy, our funds will be considerably reduced after the various jobs have been completed.

A major source of our income has come from the sale of books by Mike and Gill Cunniam. Since they took over from Frank Niering, they have raised a substantial amount of money for the village hall and for this we are extremely grateful.

I must at this stage give thanks to our excellent bookkeeper, Keith Evans, who is not only very competent but also very helpful. As always, Margie Powell does a wonderful job as booking clerk doing many tasks well beyond the call of duty and Gill Simpson has proven to be a fantastic secretary. How she does it along with all her other voluntary jobs I do not know. My thanks to all the other members of the committee both during this rather difficult year and in previous years.

Rosemary and I are standing down from the committee next month. I will have served on it for eleven years of which six have been as chairman and I think it is time for some fresh ideas. Despite the various problems and complaints, I have, in the main, enjoyed my stint and would like to thank everone for their support. I must remind you all that this is your village hall and without the input of all the community, I fear it could well cease to function.

Please use the back arrow on your browser to return to main website