Minutes of the Annual General Meeting of the Kent and Canterbury Club
held on Thursday 26 September 2013 at 6.00pm
Present: Members present are as recorded in the Club Register.
Agenda items
1.
Apologies
Member’s apologies are as recorded in the Club Register.
2.
Remembrance
The Chairman advised those present that there had been two member’s
deaths in the year since the last AGM; these were David Goate and John
Martin.
The Chairman asked everyone present to stand in silence to remember
both deceased members.
3.
Election of President
No new proposition for the position of President has been recorded since
the last election. Alan Ardouin was therefore re-elected unopposed as
President of the Kent & Canterbury Club for the year June 2013 to May
2014. At this point the President assumed the role of Chairman for the
remainder of the meeting,
4.
Minutes of Previous AGM 2012
The minutes of the 2012 AGM had been circulated before the meeting to
all Club members. There were no comments or matters arising.
The minutes were proposed for acceptance, seconded and approved by
the members present.
5.
Chairman’s Report/Accountant’s Report
Copies of the Chairman’s and Accountant’s Reports were attached to the
agenda for member’s information.
In summary, Bryan Slater reported an overall profit for the year ended
June 2013 of £7,245 after tax, despite turnover being down, particularly
during cricket week in 2012 as a result of the Olympics held in London
where our Army colleagues were on duty and also with the overlapping
salaries of the retiring Jeff and Barbara Frost with the new Steward Alan
Waltham in April 2012.
The Treasurer reported that last year a building maintenance fund had
been set up to separate out money for maintenance projects which
reached a total of £13,927 for the year, of which £7,340 was spent on
various projects, such as re-decorating the main dining room and upstairs
secondary meeting room, loft insulation and roof repairs.
Alistair Scott advised that he proposed to transfer last year’s profit figure
into this year’s building maintenance fund for other on-going maintenance
work, everyone present agreed with this proposal.
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Alistair Scott further advised that MHA McIntyre Hudson have merged
with Larkings and that the examiners report was signed in the new name.
Terry Tickeridge suggested a thank you letter should be sent to Larkings,
who have been the Clubs examiners for many years.
Robert Wigham asked the Chairman about the future of the squash courts
and suggested if they were re-furbished it may encourage new young
members to join the club, play squash and eat and drink. Whilst everyone
agreed this would be a good idea, currently not enough money is
available to carry out any significant court refurbishment work.
Bryan Slater explained that last year the Club communicated with
Christchurch University over a joint venture to upgrade the courts, but so
far this has not resulted in an agreement being reached. Robert Finch, a
member of Canterbury Squash Club in Giles Lane, advised the Chairman
that currently the squash courts there are overbooked and much in
demand, therefore the Kent and Canterbury Club could be an alternative
venue for the Canterbury Squash Club.
6.
To Elect Committee Members in Accordance with Rule 16
There were three Committee Members due to retire this year by rotation.
All three members have offered themselves for re-election. The three
members are John Hickling, Keith Jarrett and Mike Lilford. All three were
proposed for re-election en bloc by John Storrs and seconded by Iain
Douglas.
7.
To Transact Any Other Business
Bryan Slater outlined the Committee’s proposals for the existing top floor
flat, which is to refurbish and remodel the top floor into office spaces for
leasing to Tenants in order to secure a regular income from this asset.
The new Steward is employed on a contract which does not include ‘in
house’ accommodation and it was thought that any future appointment of
Stewards would be on a similar basis.
Members were concerned about the impact that this proposal might have
on car parking but were reassured that minimal numbers of additional
cars will be generated by prospective top floor users. Also, currently four
existing car park spaces are available. Visitors to the prospective top floor
offices could easily park in the Holman’s Meadow public car park adjacent
to the Club.
To enable the proposed plan to become reality the Club would need to
borrow a sum of approximately £65,000 to fund the building work. This
amount of money would be borrowed over a 10 year period.
The anticipated annual income from the top floor leasing proposal, based
on current market rates, will be approximately £12,000. An Extraordinary
General Meeting would be required to approve any borrowing of funds.
To date the Club has received two expressions of interest (four office
spaces would be available).
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Peter Hermitage added that the Committee had discussed a number of
options for the top floor over a number of meetings and concluded the
office proposal as the best way forward. It would help with regular income,
potentially generate new members and increased usage and he hoped
the Committee would have the support of those members present to take
the proposal to the next stage.
The President, Alan Ardouin, told the meeting that the Club was currently
in a transitional period with a new Steward, new menus and choices of
drinks at the bar and members should use the facilities as often as
possible.
The Club can be used for family functions, both during normal hours and
‘out of hours’ for family parties, celebrations and even funeral wakes. If
the Club is to continue going forward, now is a good time for all members
to actively support and use the Club. The top floor office proposal was
another way of brining in income from an existing asset which will help the
Club’s existence in future years.
There was no other business raised and the meeting closed at 6.50pm.
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Signed
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Date
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