Agendas & Minutes for Wednesday 14th October 2020

Latest Agenda

Hartington Village Hall AGM and Management Group Meeting

6.00 Wednesday 14th October 2020 in the Main Hall

Agenda for AGM:

1)Approval of minutes of AGM held on 9th October 2019 KQ          (5)

2)Matters Arising from AGM KQ/LB    (5)

3)Chair’s Report: to include KQ       (20)

    • a review of developments over 2019/20
    • an update on the replacement of the Main Hall roof
    • risks faced including the impact of Covid 19
    • fundraising including the 2019/20 and 2020/21 lotteries
    • an update on the planned replacement of the heating system
    • Chair’s Report: to include KQ       (20)

4)Treasurer’s Report: to include KC        (30)

    • Financial position 2019/20
    • Amount of reserves held
    • Use and management of restricted reserves

5)Appointment of Chair, Secretary and Treasurer for 2020/21 LB         (5)

6) AOB:

NB: some of the content of the AGM is influenced by the requirements of the external auditor and reporting to the Charity Commission.

Agenda for the Management Group meeting:

  • Approval of minutes of 8th January 2020 LB              (5)
  • Lottery update 2020/21 GB            (10)
  • Insurance 2020/21                           KQ              (5)
  • Future maintenance – how to manage KW/KQ     (20)
  • Ideas for next steps All              (20)
  • Budget Plan 2020/21 KQ/KC       (20)
  • AOB
  • Date of next meeting

14th October Chairs Report (DRAFT)

Hartington Village Hall Management Group meeting 14th October 2020: Chair’s Report

For Management Group members please refer back, if needed, to the Chair’s Report submitted prior to our cancelled 8th April 2020 meeting plus various updates.

To members of the community I trust that this report usefully summarises key points over the past year while flagging up the very considerable challenges that face the Village Hall in the coming year and beyond.

  1. Review of developments undertaken during 2019/20:
  • Covid 19 secure: a working team of LB, KQ, RT and JG drafted guidance and processes that were compliant with early government guidance and these were endorsed by the Management Group. Subsequent revisions in our processes have been informed by guidance issued from ACRE/Rural Action Derbyshire, the most recent update taking place on 14th We are therefore open to user groups but urge hirers and hall users to familiarise themselves with our revised processes, available both in the Hall and on our website http://hartingtonvillagehall.co.uk/
  • Our Roof replacement was completed on 21/08/2020 at a final cost of £44.8K, the increased cost being necessitated by the need to replace tongue and groove boarding in the ceiling plus removal and replacement of water damaged timbers in the valley. The costs were met by the following grants: SW Peak Landscape Partnership/Heritage Fund (£10K), The Duke of Devonshire’s Charitable Trust (£5K), The Bingham Trust (£5K), Alstonefield Leaden Boot Challenge (£200), Hartington Community Group (£1K), a Business Interruption Grant (£10K) and our own fund raising, including £3K from the 2019 Hartington Open Gardens, of £13.6K. Feedback including images has been provided to all award bodies. We await payment of the SW Peak Landscape Partnership (expected Oct 2020) with KQ and LB both having made a temporary loan to the Village Hall of £3,434. SWPLP will be showcasing the project through their media. We intend to put together an informative display which acknowledges the support from our awarding bodies and the tremendous support from so many in our community to raise such a sum in a short time period.
  • Boiler: it had been fired up by both KW and KQ on a regular basis since March but in early September failed to ignite. Mycocks diagnosed that water, presumably in the heavy rains of late August, had entered the system. Remedial work at a cost of just under £100 rectified the issue.
  • Decoration: three toilets, the corridor, lobby and the doors off the Main Hall have been cleaned and decorated over May/June. With roof work complete the next priority will be the Lower Bakehouse.
  • Kitchen water heater: was replaced in May using a £700 grant from DDC through CC Simon Spencer.
  • Immersion heater: an overflow was resolved by Dave Butterworth (Monyash) for free.
  • Upper Bakehouse: LB has significantly reorganised the space with a rationalisation of the historical materials. KW and FP undertook work on the end wall. As a result the usable space is greater and the environment looks much better. When the boiler is eventually replaced we will redecorate.
  • Grass area at rear plus plumbing issues: BB resolved cistern overflows during lockdown and also raked out moss at the rear.
  • Displays: LB is working through the various displays now the Hall is accessible.
  • Floor: AW has removed all marks plus old polish from the wooden floor which thankfully was protected from damage during construction by tarps provided by KW and BQ. KW has then reapplied polish, with AW volunteering to buff prior to Dance Club restarting.
  • Post construction cleaning: thanks go to AC, GD, KW, AQ, LB for undertaking a thorough clean of the premises in late August.
  • 2018/19 external audit: During 2018/19 the audit revealed:

Income from hire                                             £8315   (2017/8 £7,167)

Donations                                                             £193  (2017/8 £2845)

Fundraising                                                      £13,307 (2017/8  £1325)

TOTAL INCOME                                                £21,816 (2017/8 £11,338)

Expenditure   (x7 increase on repairs)            £8,710  (2017/8 £6,242)

 

  1. Maintenance issues:

The issues that arose from the roof replacement are a timely warning. The contractor indicated that if the roof tiles had been replaced two decades earlier the damage to the underlying timbers would have probably been avoided. He did confirm that the steel trusses were in a good condition. While finances and available time and skill levels among our core volunteers are limiting factors we do need to develop a property management plan for the Hall that charts both work undertaken and what our maintenance priorities are. Not in priority order we need to consider:

  • Replacing the heating system/oil storage tank.
  • Ensuring the electrical system is efficient, functional and compliant.
  • Masonry of both the Bakehouse and Main Hall= pointing/reducing damp
  • Insulation of roof voids over Bakehouse and toilets
  • Painting and decorating
  • Replacing rear doors or at least ensuring no water runs in.
  • Kitchen/bar area.
  • Maintenance of outside areas- front and back
  • Maintenance of Staffs Blue roof tiles.
  • Clearing of valley plus gutters

The next step may well be setting up a small team to draw up a draft property management plan.

  1. Heating system replacement: Dave Butterworth  has provided a quote of £20,256 incl VAT  (https:dbutterworthplumbingandheating.co.uk/) to supply and fit a new system. It is envisaged that the system will be split into 4 zones. Fan coil units are recommended as he believes conventional radiators would take up all the available wall space. Each space would be controlled by a Nest thermostat. Controlling the heating would be done remotely rather than an individual, usually LB or KW, coming in an hour before to fire up the system and then switch off later. Removal of asbestos panels and flue would cost c£3500. So total cost would be c£24K. Other quotes will be secured. De-carbonise, an EU funded initiative based at Derby Uni ( https://www.derby.ac.uk/business-services/funding-services-and-support/de-carbonise-project/ ), have agreed to support us. Support comes in the form of advice, and a site visit happened on 15/09/20, and a grant of up to 40% of costs (though the grant is linked to how much carbon reduction is planned for). Though no commitment has been given to Butterworth Plumbing and Heating they are OK with liaising with ‘De Carbonise’ to investigate what is technologically feasible. Options such as air source and ground source heating, as well as solar panels, look to have been dismissed as options.

We have the £2500 secured through the Rob Tenty Boiler Bash plus £2850 from the 2020/21 lottery as a match fund. However almost all grant bodies have amended their criteria to address Covid 19 issues so at present it does not look hopeful for grant monies in the coming months. However ‘De Carbonise’ can advise us on energy related grants, but using a fossil fuel will rule us out of various options.

  1. Lottery update: the 2019/20 small society lottery provided £1800 in prize monies and raised £3250 in income towards the roof costs. As of 20/09/20 the 2020/21 lottery has sold 93 subscriptions, with a prize fund of £1800 and a profit margin of £2850. The 2020/21 lottery income is designated to go to the heating replacement. Several new local subscribers have been attracted to the new lottery, especially second home owners. The support for the Hall from our community has been most heartening.
  1. As of 21st September (post payment for the roof) our finances stand at:
  • Nat West bank account £2260  ( incl an estimated £2250 of 2020/21 lottery income)
  • Nationwide Business Savings Account                                                   £2965 (incl £2500 from the Boiler Bash identified for the replacement heating system)
  • SW Peak Landscape Partnership grant is owed to the Hall £10K of which £3132 will be due to the Hall after repayments to LB and KQ.
  • So operationally available once the SWPLP grant has been paid the Hall will have £3607 (equivalent to 7 months costs in ‘normal’ times). A further £4750 is in our accounts but targeted at the replacement heating system. While we have further cheques to cash they are 2020/21 lottery subscriptions which will swell the match funding for the heating system.
  1. Impact of Covid 19:

The following is offered as a provisional analysis.

On 01/09/2019 our accounts stood at £5740.00 (Nat West)  and £15,180 (Nationwide BS Business Savings Account).

On 31/08/2020 our accounts stood at £6006.88 (Nat West) and £29,965.49 (Nationwide).

So superficially we appear to be +£266.88 (Nat West) and +£ 11,785.49 (Nationwide) over 2019/20. This apparently healthy scenario however masks the fact that we have gathered in most of the 2020/21 lottery income (over £4300) while the Nationwide monies were largely ringfenced for the roof (See Point 5 above).

By 31/12/19 we had made an operational profit of +£193 over the 4 months of operation (Sept-Dec). Our forecast income against budget plan was almost 100% accurate. So, using the 2019/20 budget forecast as a guide plus a scrutiny of bank statements I advise the following:

Effectively the Hall closed mid March and has made less than £50 hire income since.

Estimates of impact are:

  • £4100 lost hire income
  • £500 lost through being unable to run fund raising events post the Boiler Bash.
  • £350 lost through limited plant sales.
  • Spending of £50 on first aid/disinfectants.
  • Total estimated lost income/additional spend: £5000. ( But we have received a £10K Business Interruption Grant)
  • To offset these estimated losses we have saved about £100 on waste collection.
  • So overall impact has been an estimated £4900 loss offset by the £10K grant (which had to be allocated to the rise in roof costs).

 

  1. Forecast on continued impact of Covid 19: it is clear that for several months to come hall bookings will be lower than normal. Of our usual groups Pilates, flower arranging, Rural Social, the PC, and HCG are the only groups likely to be using the Hall.

Scouts leaders are retiring and we have no clear direction on whether it will continue under new leadership. A new Cubs group had been suggested – again leadership and viability are unclear.

Badminton and Wednesday Dance may not start again until 2021, if then. History – uncertain. HYPAC- possibly later in the Autumn.

We are currently consulting on a new afternoon club for indoor sports such as bowls, skittles, boccia, table tennis and badminton.

We have no external bookings until 2021.

Hire charges, agreed by email during ‘lockdown’, remain unaltered for 2020/21 at £10ph for local groups/individuals and £15ph for external hirers.

It is entirely possible that our Sept-Dec income could be less than £350. Insurance alone will amount to over £900 for the year. Our normal monthly spend is c£500 (based on the 2019/20 budget plan) giving a normal Sept-Dec spend of £2000, and therefore an operational loss of £1750 over 4 months is possible unless we look for cost cuttings. Our actual Sept-Dec spend in 2019 was £2795 (insurance always skews the costs to be high over this period). While we can look for savings it is clear that our finances are in a perilous state. (see Budget Plan scenarios). As stated above we have just the equivalent of 7 months funding remaining unless we act to reduce costs. It is difficult to see what actions can be taken to see the return of usual groups or new users at this point in time despite us having taken steps to be as Covid 19 secure as we reasonably can.

Keith Quine

Chair of Trustees

Hartington Village Hall

21/09/2020