Phone: 07741 284132
Email: LanghamCC@gmail.com
LANGHAM COMMUNITY COUNCIL

Minutes of a Trustee Meeting
held on 1st August 2019 at 7.30pm.

Present
Alan Cadman (Chairman), Liz Winter (Secretary), Maureen Shouksmith (Treasurer), Peter Dawson, Jutta Brawn, Daphne Bettle, Mark Kleingeld, Liz Schofield, Bob Schofield, Andrew Craig, Sue Trimnell, Marlena Lipski, James Puxley, Sue Armstrong.

Apologies for Absence
Maria Bukovenczki, Denise Hobday

Minutes of previous Trustee Meetings held 28th March and 23rd May 2019
Jutta Brawn proposed and Peter Dawson seconded that the minutes of 28th March be accepted as a true record. Jutta Brawn proposed and Marlena Lipski seconded that the minutes of 23rd May be accepted as a true record. Carried unanimously. Alan signed the Minutes. Now that they had been approved, they would be posted on the Community Centre noticeboard. EW
Matters Arising
These would be dealt with as they arose in agenda items.

Chairman’s Report
Alan reported being busy with arrangements for the new heating system. He said his man would visit the hall tomorrow to consider decommissioning the boilers and fitting under-sink water heaters. He will then submit a quote. Alan confirmed that it will be possible to refill the heating system for the hall and club room in order to use it until we can get the new system installed. AC

Replacement Central Heating
A schedule of work had been circulated to all Trustees and Liz Winter updated them on progress with the grant applications, which were awaiting quotations from electricians and plumbers. The Community Initiative Fund application asks if we are a “good cause” in the Essex Lottery. Good causes are eligible for money from the lottery but we would have to join and someone take responsibility for selling tickets. As we already have our own 100 Club lottery and our “cause” would have little support county-wide, the Trustees agreed to decline.

Sue confirmed that she had met Chris from Future Electrics to discuss work in the hall, Pre-School and Shop. Chris warned that a new fuseboard might cause some tripping of the circuits due to the old wiring when equipment was plugged in. (Alan said that his firm had replaced a fifty-year-old fuseboard and had had no problems despite a similar warning.) Sue reminded everyone that our own equipment and that of regular hirers was being PAT tested on Friday 23rd August. A vote of thanks was given to Sue A, Liz W and Alan for their work.

A reply from the Parish Council re VAT means that we shall not be able to reclaim this. There was some discussion but Liz W felt the grant providers would take this into account when allocating funds. James asked about the possibility of some Section 106 money but Peter explained that its allocation would be very unlikely. Andrew reminded the meeting that we needed to have the supporting heating consultant’s report, now expected in September, before we go ahead.

We, or a third party, have to pay 10% of any grant made by Enovert Community Trust to them before release of any funds. It was agreed that the secretary would write and ask the Parish Council if they would be willing to assist us by paying this 10% on our behalf. EW

The meeting was in favour of submitting the project for funding to Enovert Community Trust and the Community Initiative Fund on the proviso that the Trustees are in possession of the expert’s written report before any work is begun.

Finance Report
Figures for the end of June had been sent out to Trustees. The current account at close of business today was £8,548.08. Cygnet (formerly Danshell) are now paying monthly rather than after 90 days. We have had a whole year’s full rent from the Pre-School. Hayley Jakeman has informed Liz W that there are 22 children on roll for September. It was agreed to ask the Pre-School for a written update for the next Trustee meeting. EW

A further payment of about £2,000 for refurbishment of the hall floor was due by the end of August.

Maureen has just received the Independent Examiner’s report approving our 2018/19 accounts from George Pearce. He confirmed the opinion of the Parish Council that the NS&I account should be transferred into Langham Community Centre’s name. As we are the beneficial owner, the £26,000 + interest should be declared as an asset on our accounts. Andrew Craig suggested contacting Sue Gibson (formerly Sheppard) at the RCCE as she had raised this matter when help to update our constitution. He reminded Trustees that the money arose from insurance payments when the original village hall burnt down and believes, therefore, that it can only be spent on the fabric of the hall. The capital was invested by the Parish Council on our behalf to be an emergency fund, should the hall get into difficulties, from which we can use the interest for capital projects. EW
A vote of thanks was given to Maureen for her work. She would thank George on our behalf.

Marketing Manager/Caretaker’s Report
Sue’s reports had been circulated.
The South Africans had cancelled their Sunday hires because of bereavements but thanked the Parish Council for their offer of TENS licences on the field. Class Cleaners are now able to get in on Sunday afternoons again, which makes life easier.

Yesterday Anglian water did a “visual inspection” and reported that we need:
2 new ballcocks in toilets because they leak; return valves fitted on our and P-S’s dishwashers; 8 shorter shower hoses - because they could hang below the plinth and allow any sewage overflow into the water system. AW’s next planned visit is in 10 years. SA
Also yesterday, a smart meter was fitted and set up on the O2 network. The final readings on the old meter have been recorded.

A and R Blinds are coming on Tuesday to quote for the kitchen. The large hall curtain which acts to absorb sound is rotting and gradually falling down. We were quoted £3,000 in 2016 to replace it. Peter suggested contacting Sound Attenuators. He will make enquiries to see if there is some kind of material we can fix to the wall more cheaply. PD

Peter also updated the Trustees on the state of the drains from the LCC. Silt is blocking drains in the car park which need flushing out. The drain for rainwater from the Pre-School is partially blocked with tree roots. Alan will get I.I.C to quote for cutting the roots and relining the pipe, as well as jetting the car park. Apart from this, the camera showed the drains to be in good condition. The Trustees thanked Peter for this information. AC

The dislodged CCTV camera is back on its plinth and working but a new computer screen is needed in the camera room. James or Sue T thought they might be able to provide one.

Terry had repaired the degraded parapet to the balcony with a course of bricks. He had discovered this while he was painting the railings. He had also made good the club room wall where the damp had marked it.

We had no replacement Sunday football team as yet.

Bob, Maureen, Sue T and Liz W would be available for the Toy Fair on 6th October. The last cafe had only brought in around £48, minus the cost of the bacon still owing to Bob.

Hire Rates
Sue had reviewed the hire rates and put them before the Finance Committee. The Trustees were now asked to approve a rise of RPI + 1% (3.88%) rounded to a whole pound. Mark complained about the hire rate on Saturdays being so high and said he would love to hire more frequently for tennis but found it too expensive. However, the rates are competitive and the hall is usually fully booked on Saturdays, when a lot of hirers book the whole day for party preparation.
Peter Dawson proposed and Maureen Shouksmith seconded that the new rates should be accepted. All but Mark were in favour and the motion was carried.

Any Other Business
Andrew asked Alan if he could supply a breakdown of the recharge calculation for the Shop’s electricity based on the new rates. Liz W gave Alan the latest bill under the new rates. He and Andrew would meet in September. It was agreed to continue to charge the Parish Council
19p per kWh for use of the supply by the tennis courts until end of August. AC/ACr

Date of meetings
The next Trustee Meeting will be on Thursday 24th October in the main hall at 7.30 pm.
The next Finance Meeting will be on Monday 2nd September at Alan’s house at 7.30 pm.
There being no further business the meeting closed at 9.50 pm.
How To Find Us
Langham Community Centre, School Rd, Langham, Colchester CO4 5PA
Get In Touch
07741 284132
LanghamCC@gmail.com
About Us
The Langham Community Centre was opened in June 1988 and has been serving local village residents and other commercial hirers ever since.

We are based at the heart of Langham Village, with easy access from the A12.
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