Comrie Development Trust
Board Meeting
Monday 27 July 2015, CDT office, 7:30pm
MAIN MINUTES
Item
1)
Welcome
Directors present: Bill Thow (Chair Person), Chris Palmer, Bob Hughes, Ray McMaster, Davy
Robertson, Andrew Reid, William Levack, Ann Petrie.
a)
Apologies – Sharon Rice Jones
b)
Bill Thow welcomed Andrew Reid to the board. Andrew Reid introduced himself outlining
his previous experience and looked forward to contributing to the work of the Trust.
2) Declarations of Interest
None
3) Minutes of Last Meeting
29 June 2015
Approved.
4) Decisions by E-mail
The only decision taken by e-mail was the election of Andrew Reid to the board. William
Levack asked whether Andrew had been co-opted rather than elected. Bill Thow
confirmed that Andrew Reid had now been elected, would stand down at the next AGM
and would stand for election with the membership present.
5) Working Group End of Year Reports
Bill Thow noted that the Comrie Heritage Group, the Events and Recreation Working Group and
the Chair had not yet submitted their end of year report. It is important that these are completed
as soon as possible preferably by Friday 31 if possible.
6) CDT Priorities
a)
Finance: Bob Hughes provided a financial update. A financial monitoring report was
circulated. Item reserved to the confidential minute.
b)
Fundraising. Bill Thow will be taking forward the fundraising initiatives with Bob Hughes as a
priority. This will now enhance the work of the Funding Strategy Working Group whose hard
work was noted and appreciated particularly the ground work of Sharon Rice-Jones. There
are now ample ideas and Bill and Bob will be working on executing these ideas. Ann Petrie
noted that she would concentrate on the areas that she was already committed to,
HLF/Community Shares/Education Streams and Lottery. She suggested that re-engaging
members of the Foundation would be positive. The board were asked to consider a
possible marketing idea to meet some of the infrastructural needs of the camp although
the Big Lottery Bid if successful would take a significant step towards resolving some of
these items. Davie Robertson queried the amount raised through the Scottish Caravan Club
visit and expressed support for this type of initiative.
c)
Estate Management. Ray McMaster provided an update on the Estate Management.
i) Ray McMaster provided a background to the current estate management context noting
the previous board decision agreeing the new service charges. He spoke to a paper
circulated at the meeting to approve recommendations regarding the current rental values
of properties advised by Smart & Co. The new rent structure was unanimously approved. Ray
McMaster to instruct Doug Smart. Interested parties in commercially letting huts would
continue to be pursued - Ray McMaster and Bob Hughes would be meeting with
prospective tenants this Thursday to discuss a potential commercial lease. It was agreed that
Hut 15a should be marketed for lease. Ray McMaster to instruct Doug Smart.
The Repair and Lease Scheme was discussed in relation to early feedback from prospective
tenants. There was a discussion of the pros and cons of relaxing the lease as it has been
approved at the previous board meeting. Ray McMaster recommended that
notwithstanding the request for some changes to be made we are concerned to keep the
camp in its current condition. It was recommended that there should be no change to the
leases as they have been agreed at the last meeting. A vote was taken with one against this
recommendation and seven for.
ii) It was agreed that a letter be written to Dr Irvine addressing items raised in recent
correspondence and Ray McMaster further suggested that regular liaison meetings could
be offered to Dr Irving as the neighbouring landowner to enable a constructive environment
to discuss issues as they arise. This recommendation was agreed unanimously.
iii) Ray McMaster provided an update to the board on negotiations with Wilde Thyme. This
item has been reserved for the confidential minute.
d) Heritage Self-Catering Update. Ann Petrie provided an update to the board regarding the
Heritage Self-Catering business. There had now been two meetings with key individuals at
HLF and the business monitor of the project, which had been very positive. The deadline to
meet the criteria for the development phase is late November/early December. Bill Thow
noted that documentation required as a priority for this initiative included how the
Heritage Self Catering business fits into the wider context of the camp and key to
describing this effectively will be the Heritage Business Plan and a 10 Year CDT Strategic
Plan for the camp. This will require open consultation with the community and should be
organised as quickly as possible. Ann Petrie illustrated the Community Share Offer
Document in draft form. Ann Petrie thanked Will Reid for the commitment and amount of
work that he had undertaken to get to this stage and the Board thanked everyone who
had been involved in the scheme to date. The launch date for the Community Share Offer
Launch will be September 29th.
e) Site Management Update: William Levack provided an update regarding the Site
Management at the camp. The installation of CCTV is being pursued with Bonthrone and
Andrew Gairns. Strathearn Pest Control will be completing a three day shoot to deal with
rabbits. Rob Bell would then be taking over this responsibility when he had his license. A
quote had been requested for installing electric into huts 15 and 108. There were further
investigations into current usage of electricity at the camp and it may be desirable to get
industrial smart meters to test all of the submeters. UIS will complete CCTV work on the
condition of the pipe for the sewage outfall to the river this Thursday and Friday. We will
then look at obtaining a quote for connecting a Klargester to the pop thus increasing the
discharge license from 48 to 600PE. The traffic signage has been installed on a temporary
basis. Road marking would now be addressed with Julian sourcing paint. The Business
Directory is being completed and Chris Palmer is designing it. Access gate is now open to
the public with signage. Bins are starting to present a problem at the camp with the
number of commercial owners – it is recommended that commercial owners are
responsible for their own waste and that this is built into new leases.
7) Director of the Week
Bill Thow noted that despite reaching agreement at the previous board that this should be
pursued that two directors had indicated that they would not be willing to undertake this item. It
was noted that it was unclear what would be involved. Chris Palmer outlined the logistical
difficulties that he would face undertaking such a role. Ann Petrie was uncomfortable being
circulated a rota as she was not available for the week that she had been designated or for
several of the weeks around about. There was further discussion about how practical the measure
might be when time is a concern for several board members who are committed to working on
other items. It was agreed that the suggestion would be put into abeyance as since his election to
Chair Person Bill Thow was in regular contact with staff members. William Levack was also regularly
available to sign anything that required a board signature as was Bob Hughes.
8) Heritage Group Meeting with the Board.
Bill Thow noted that this item had been agreed at a previous board meeting yet the meeting had
not taken place. He proposed that a quorum of board members commit to the meeting and that
it is scheduled as soon as is practicable. Ann Petrie noted that due to developments with external
funders for the Heritage Self-Catering Bunkhouse it was likely that the item proposed for discussion
i.e. traffic flow management would not be fully resolved until the designers for above consulted
with all parties and a holistic design was adopted. It was unlikely in this circumstance to be
something that was entirely within the sole gift of the board. Ann Petrie proposed that the meeting
was not held to allow the designers and external funding advisors space to complete the
consultation required. It was agreed that the matter would be put into abeyance not to pre-empt
the work that will be undertaken in the coming months for the Heritage Self-Catering Bunkhouses.
9) Membership Applications.
One new membership application had been received from David Ellis and was approved by the
board.
Helen Buchan had applied to become a Board Member. The board agreed in principle that they
would elect her, but wondered if it would not be fairer to allow her the opportunity to come to the
next board meeting to enable her to experience the work of the board first. This was agreed.
10) AOB
Andrew Reid was elected Company Secretary unanimously.
Ann Petrie asked for board support for the Doors Open Days in September for Earthquake House
and Cultybraggan Camp. Ann Petrie would follow up by e-mail.
William Levack queried the strategic plan that we were working to. It was agreed that the ten
year anniversary and HLF development phase deadline would trigger a new round of
consultations to clarify. Ann Petrie noted that CHG were ready to consult with the community now
and were keen to do so. The board agreed that it should be a wider CDT initiative for the above
reasons. It was agreed that Andrew Reid would bring detailed proposals on consultation to the
next Board meeting.
It was agreed that Andrew Reid should bring a short paper listing the responsibilities and functions
of the Company Secretary to the next Board meeting.