| Meeting start 10:35am | N/A | N/A |
| David Asked if anyone knew whether people had collected on site for a working party that was on at the same time as this meeting. A couple of committee members said that they had not | N/A | N/A |
| Tom Proposed the previous meeting minutes Winifred Seconded them | N/A | N/A |
| Jane stated that she is not part of the committee and was there as an observer to support Melek who was joining the committee in order to help the Treasurer for the committee. There was no objections from any of the committee for this. | N/A | N/A |
| David proposed that Melek to join the committee. David requested a show of hands if any committee members objected. There were no objections | N/A | N/A |
| David stated that the committee job is to represent all plot holders and so all committee members are to try and ask more plot holders to join the committee. | All | ongoing |
| David stated that there will be a general meeting on the 4th of January and so we will delay the next Committee meeting until the start of February. Can all committee members please start looking in the diaries for early February to see when they are free, provisionally aim for Sunday 2nd February. | All | End Jan |
| David stated that he has the roles and responsibilities descriptions for the officers and committee members and he will look to circulate these around the committee members for comment. | David | Mid Jan |
| David will ask the Website manager to put a note up asking for more plot holders to join the committee | David | ASAP |
| Jane asked if there was going to be a presentation to Steve Yorke to thank for his work as chairmanDavid replied not yet, but it is being actioned – it was agreed to give Steve a bottle of whisky as small token of appreciation from the Association | David/John | Jan ‘25 |
| Micheal asked if a Skip had been organised/paid for. John was arranging for skips on site | N/A | N/A |
| David stated that 3 people are currently enrolled on the allotment online banking system (John, David & Jane) currently Jane is a failsafe as 2 people are required to sign off transactions so if 1 of the 2 committee members (John or David) are unreachable then allotment bills could not be processed. The Committee agreed that Melek should be given access to the bank | N/A | N/A |
| David explained the bank account matched the excel sheets which are produced by the committee Treasurer to show all ingoing and outgoing transactions. All committee members were able to see the printed versions brought to the meeting and they had also been sent via e-mail prior to the meeting. | N/A | N/A |
| David asked if the members were okay with having February committee meeting in the same location again bearing in mind that there is a £25 fee to use the hall. All committee members we happy for this small fee. | N/A | N/A |
| David stated that the allotment accounts needed to be audited as at the year end to send to the HMRC. David was asking if we could use the same accountant used previously (acquaintance of Jane). David asking if the committee was willing to pay/donate £100 to the accountant or charity of the accountant’s choice. No objections by the committee members | N/A | N/A |
| John stated that he had a couple of quotes for having the ramp repaired at the main (central) gate in the allotment site. The quotes are coming in at about £6,600 to have the ramp removed 6” deep metal rebar dug in and then a new ramp from concrete. The Committee agreed this is too expensive for the allotment to afford and so we will have to do most of the work ourselves | N/A | N/A |
| John asked Micheal about the progress on the plot that Ray has leftMichael stated that it is behind schedule John mentioned the intention to use drone photography on plots as part of the new lease with the Council | N/A | N/A |
| John stated that two members had a fire on their allotments on a non-burning day. John proposed that the committee send a warning letter to one of them saying that if he breaks the rules again then he will then get a notice of 30 day to quit.John spoke to the other member, and she explained that she was only burning due to a mis-communication. Committee agreed to send the first member a letter & no further action on the second | John | ASAP |
| John stated that he was stopped by a member, the member was asking for allotment funds to be used to replace the fence between his allotment and the neighbouring allotment with concrete posts and fence panels. John replied that this is not what allotment money is for, the divide between allotments is for the two allotment holders to provide and maintain. Also it was remarked that the association prefer natural barriers such as a privet hedge. Committee agree that this is not what association money is for as it does not benefit all plot holders. | N/A | N/A |
| John also remarked that the same member had been observed trying to open the padlocked skip to dispose of more rubbish.John asked Micheal to send an email to the association describing what happened for the skip incident. Committee recommend that this member is given final written warning explaining that we have evidence that he was trying to gain access to the locked skip and this is a breach of rules. It was discussed that further rule breaking should result in the member being sent a 30 day notice to quit. | Micheal John | ASAP <4th Jan |
| John stated that a member had not paid her bill yet due end of Oct. He also stated that there is mitigating circumstances that the member had been very ill and extra time could be allowed until she has recovered. John said that he would like to send a letter to the member requesting that her bill is paid in full in the next 7 days from receipt of the letter. Committee agreed now that the member was back up to strength, that we could not give her special treatment compared to the plot holders. | John | ASAP |
| John Stated that a new allotment tenant, had not paid her key deposit. John said that he will chase | John | ASAP |
| John said that the NAS (national allotment society) was trying to resurrect the East Midlands regional area. John and Jane said they have received e-mail invites for a meeting by the EM NAS. They asked the committee members if they would like to have the invite. Jane said you can get the e-mail by going onto the NAS website and signing up.John & Jane said they will try to attend and report back to the Committee. | John/Jane | N/A |
| Ralph asked John if members knew about the benefits which the association pays for.John said that all new plot holders receive an info pack, and the NAS link is on our website. | N/A | N/A |
| John had received comments from Jane about the tenancy agreement, John wanted to talk to Jane regarding the comments | N/A | N/A |
| Micheal stated that he wanted to move the chipper to the back room and look at adding a door to make it more secure. Committee had no objections | N/A | N/A |
| Currently Plot 4 is a mess and due to the amount of rubble and glass on the plot, it will take a lot of work to get it useable. The suggestion was made to half the plot. Making the front half a small car park (3-4 cars) and a bay area for chippings. | N/A | N/A |
| Micheal asked John if we can have a notice added to the website to remind people that the Bay outside plot 4 is for unloading only. And once the car was unloaded, it should be moved the central parking area. | John | ASAP |
| John asked if he could buy wooden fence posts and metal post spikes for dividing plot 4 into 2No objections were raised by the other members. | John | March |
| Micheal asked if the association would be willing to consider buying an old car for allotment members to use around the site for pulling the allotment trailers around rather than relying on Steve Yorke or any other members that have towbars. A few members were opposed to this, raising questions and comments such as: who would look after the vehicle? Not all the allotment members would benefit? what if the car was stolen and used on the road? Who would be liable if there was an accident and someone got hurt? | N/A | N/A |
| How do we get more plot holders involved on working parties ? As normally it’s always the same few people that help out.The Committee discussed whether an additional charge should be added to the allotment bills which is to pay for outside contractors to come in and do the work, but people could get a discount on this charge if they helped out at multiple working parties throughout the year.Committee hopes that some new plot holders might help out at working parties. | N/A | N/A |
| The association could do with recouping money spent on clearing plots as skips are expensive, and the allotment has a weight restriction due to the size of lorry can access the site and so the size of skips in limited. Next comm The Chairman thanked everyone for giving up their time for the Association and for their contributions to the meeting | N/A | N/A |
| Meeting End 12:05pm | | |
Old Park Farm Garden Holders Association 