AGM 2008 Minutes
BURNHAM ON SEA ALLOTMENT TENANTS ASSOCIATION
ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING 2008
Held at the Burnham on Sea Institute Ltd on Tuesday 4th November 2008 at 1930 hours.
Those present were: - Please see separate sheet.
Apologies were received from P.Grant, B.Sone, D.Bryant, P.Carter and M.Lyddon.
The meeting was opened by the Chairman at 1935 hours with a welcome to all.
The minutes of the previous AGM were read. Mr.R.Burt, seconded by Carol Bates, proposed the minutes as a true record of that meeting and the vote was unanimously in favour.
Matters arising - With regard to the subject of bad plots, the committee had discussed the introduction of a yellow card system and it had been decided not to adopt such a system. Instead, a sub committee had been formed to do a check on plots before each committee meeting and report its findings to the general committee at each meeting. This system is working well.
Chairman's report - The Chairman thanked everyone for attending. He thanked the committee for their efforts throughout the year and to Mr.J.Brewer for his work on the site toilet. Due to conditions being very damp underfoot this year the problem of blight had been prevalent and spoiled many crops of potatoes and tomatoes. Using blight resistant potatoes may not produce such large crops as ordinary types. The Chairman reported that the committee had discussed and decided to start an allotment association website. Some early details mean that there will pages for tenants only, for minutes, photos, buying and selling etc. There will also be links to other sites. More details will be announced when the site is finalised. The cost will be around £3 per month. The Chairman also asked that if for any reason a tenant is temporarily unable to look after his or her plot and asks a friend or relative to do so, can it be made clear to the substitute and the tenant to let the committee be made aware of such a change.
It is now almost closing time for anyone wishing to order Kings seeds so please get your orders in very soon.
Secretary's report - The secretary reported that we now have a new lease - at last. The lease is dated 29th May 2008 and will be for five years. We were without a lease for approximately 2 years but despite much urging from ourselves which included several attendances at council property committee meetings by the Chairman and Secretary it seemed that every time our application got near to the top of the pile more 'urgent' matters pushed it down again. There were also problems with the council's solicitors and the wording of the lease. We originally asked for a longer lease but after being offered 3 years we settled for five and a rent of 1p per year.
The committee are trying to crack down on poor plot management. We now have a sub committee that make a site inspection before each committee meeting. The results of that inspection are then discussed at the meeting and any action deemed necessary is taken. This will be either a telephone call or a letter to the tenant in question. The system seems to be working well and good results have been obtained.
At the last committee meeting I was asked to contact Mr.P.Burks with a view to get his priorities for judging the plots, he was most helpful and gave the following information. Each plot is scored out of 40 points. 10 for his immediate reaction, 10 for the quality of plants, 10 for the range of plants and 10 for other features. He would judge a plot if it were all flowers or all vegetables. He is judging vegetable plots in our case but there may be a slight leaning towards those plots that have a slight complimentary flower planting and this would affect only marking under the 'range of plants'. 'Other features' can include labelling, support structures etc. Mr.Burks final comment on the day of judging was the standard this year was the highest since he started. He also said that he would be prepared to give a talk on this subject either at somewhere of our choice or at the garden centre as would Mr Tony Gray who is the potato guru at Sanders garden centre. If there is sufficient interest for such a meeting, both would give a talk on the same afternoon/evening.
The waiting list for plots is now 40.
The association correspondence file is available for inspection.
The best kept plot results this year are 1 Mrs.A.Moore 2 Mr.B.Sone 3 Mrs. Carol Bates and 4 Mrs.Leslie Rands.
We would like to see more people using the shop. If you know of anyone who would like to join for £2 per year please ask them to come along and have a look. Membership is open to anyone.
The council inform me that they are still on the lookout for more land. A meeting was held with our local Euro MP recently when our case was put forward but no news as yet.
Treasurers report - All members present had been given a copy of the association accounts.
A question from Mrs.C.Bates asked how are the sundries total £274.39 made up. The reply was accounts charge, spraying, competitions, affiliation fees, prize money and a new sprayer was purchased. Mr.Robertson enquired as to why there was nil interest on the building society account. The reply was that there will be a small amount of interest to add at the end of the interest period. The account cannot be opened in an individuals name, as it would mean that person may be liable to tax and when an account is in an associations name it does not attract very much interest. Mr.T.Winterburn asked why there was a gap between the closing of the annual accounts and the AGM and Mr.J.Brewer asked if we could get an accountant to do the work. The treasurer replied that the accounts were started when the association was formed on the takeover from the council and had been done so ever since. To get an accountant to do the work would be too expensive. There followed a proposal from Mr.R.Hewlett seconded by Mr.T.Lane the accounts remain as they are at present. The vote 31 for and 1 against.
A proposal the the accounts be adopted was put forward by Mr.J.Wynn, seconded by Mr.D.Davies. The vote was unanimously in favour.
Election of Officers -
A proposal from Mr.R.Hewlett, seconded by Mrs.A.Moore that as all are unopposed the officers and committee be re-elected en bloc was passed unanimously.
Mrs.Jackie Robertson said the she would like to join the committee. Mr.R.Hewlett proposed this. Seconded by Mr.B.Thomas and passed unanimously.
Rules and Constitution - The were no changes to be made.
Rent Review - There would be need for a rent increase for next year.
Any Other Business - A proposal from Mrs.C.Bates was put before the meeting and it read - "Can the association go back to the Burnham District Town Council applying for the original conditions at the Love Lane site in Burnham on Sea to be reviewed so that plot holders are able to erect plastic greenhouses or poly tunnels with a maximum size stipulation if necessary to protect their crops from the damaging weather conditions that we have experienced for the last 2 years". Mr.B.Sear seconded the proposal.
There followed a discussion on this subject. It was decided that the association would go back to the council to ask this question. The Secretary and Chairman would attend a meeting of the council's property committee on Tuesday 11th November to put the case forward.
Mr.R.Burt asked if we could get an apiarist to house bees on the site, for example on the Millennium plot.
Mr.M.Jones asked if we could have some input to the new website about wildlife etc.
Mr.Robertson asked if we would try to arrange some sponsorship for the website.
There being no further business, the meeting closed at 2045 hours.
D.Parsons, Chairman