Saturday 6th
January 2007
All members were present,
together with Martin Langford, CFI
The President, Derrick Eckley,
was also present.
Minutes of 25th November: Clive
has agreed to take on the role of Vice Chairman.
Treasurer’s report: The
current and reserve accounts of BMGC Co Ltd and the current account of TAL Co
Ltd remain in a satisfactory state.
The total loan liability for
BMGC, including the TAL mortgage account, Debentures and Personal loans, is reducing and currently stands at
£84,105.
The treasurer has introduced a
new budget category to handle major project expenditure, the budget holder for
which will be the treasurer. The committee reminds the membership that one
major project is planned to be undertaken each year, and that the current
project, in addition to the purchase of a further two-seater glider, is the new
building behind the hangar. The total cost for this building is now estimated
at £18,500, and the target date for the erection of the building framework is
March 2007. Payments for excavation, scalpings, plant and concrete have already
been made.
In setting budgets for 2007 the
treasurer has assumed a reduction in income of 20%, due to Don Puttock having
left the club. This assessment can be reviewed as the year progresses. It is
hoped that the new mid-week instructor will add to Martin Langford’s existing
enthusiasm so that club income will not reduce by this amount. The projected
loss on existing budgets assuming a 20% reduction in income will be £7,000, so
costs will need to be contained if this is not to increase through the year.
This means also that future major projects will have to be planned and
undertaken with caution.
The treasurer recommended that
the club be VAT registered. This may have some relevance in the proposed
purchase of a further two-seater training glider. Registration will however
involve significant extra work and the secretary has undertaken to see if Liz
could and would take on the sending of returns. A final decision as to whether
we should proceed to registration will be taken after the next AGM, when the
new treasurer hopefully will have been appointed.
Action: The secretary to speak to Liz.
The committee noted that no
member has as yet come forward to replace Don as treasurer. He repeated his
determination to retire from this position at the next AGM so it has become a
matter of some urgency that a new treasurer be found.
Action: Robbie to
e-mail the membership to inform them of the impending serious situation and
asking for anybody with accounting skills to consider taking on this task.
Runway reinforcement: In view
of the uncertainty as to the level of income during 2007 the committee decided
that the club could not undertake further major projects until the financial
situation for 2007 has become clearer. The decision already taken to purchase a
third training two-seater means that a decision as to runway reinforcement will
need to be postponed until later in the year. This will come as a
disappointment to some members, but the committee wishes to obtain further
costings regarding the plastic mesh alternative to tarmac before any decision
to proceed is taken. Initial assessment of cost from one committee member
suggested that plastic mesh would cost about £15 per square metre which would
be about the same as the quote for tarmac provided to the treasurer.
CFI report: Martin
reported that due to poor weather conditions since the last meeting he had not
had an opportunity to fly the G103 or the K21. The practicality of the tail
weight modification for the K21 also requires further investigation.
Martin advised that the club
should now be looking aggressively for one of these gliders and should take the
opportunity, should one come onto the market, to evaluate it urgently and to
buy it without further delay. A G103 would be a lot cheaper than a K21, and
either glider might need further instrumentation to make it suitable for BMGC
requirements. The treasurer reminded the committee that the purchase of a new
glider will involve an extended bank loan.
Action: Robbie to pursue the
availability of a G103 or K21.
There have been four
applications for the post of mid-week instructor. The dead-line for
applications is 15th January following which invitations for
interviews will be sent out and arranged.
Martin requested that the club
purchase the new variometer as now fitted to the Junior and supplied by Mike
Tomlinson.
Action: The club to go ahead with this purchase.
Martin wished to remind members
that any member wishing to place a glider on the airfield should do so by
application both to himself and to the committee.
Martin requested that soaring
fees for the club K6 be halved for the rest of the winter to encourage members
to use it.
The treasurer agreed to this, so that until the 1st March 2007 the K6
soaring charge will be 18p per minute.
Ralph Johnson has kindly donated
a trophy to the club to encourage those members who were reluctant to fly
cross-country to do so. It would be named the Talgarth Triangle Trophy. The
participation rules will be developed in consultation with the CFI.
Safety Officer’s report: Peter
asked that the committee discuss further his risk analysis paper of December
2005. 14 points were originally to be addressed by the committee, many of which
had already been dealt with.
One point was that it is
important that the track across the field does not by default become a
right-of-way.
Action: Robbie to
ensure that a letter of permission and information is sent annually to
non-members who have permission to cross the airfield.
There is now a statutory
requirement for fire risk to be assessed. This was addressed by the committee
at a previous meeting.
Action: When the new
building is supplied with electricity the hangar and clubhouse electrics are
updated at the same time.
Grant funding: Mike
advised that funding for the provision of facilities for our newly paraplegic
member could be available from the Sports Council of Wales. He is investigating
exactly what might be required from the Scottish Gliding Centre that has
experience of this.
Action: Clive thought that a
suitable hoist might be available at low cost and will look into this.
Company business: The
secretary reminded the committee that in 1998 the club changed from a club with
a Constitution of sorts to a Company Limited by Guarantee, and that this placed
new legally binding managerial and financial responsibilities on them. A
Company Limited by Guarantee is required to have a Memorandum and Articles of
Association according to the Companies Act 1985 and 1989. The BMGC Memorandum
of Association unsurprisingly indicates that the Company is named “The Black
Mountains Gliding Club”. The secretary emphasised that as Company Secretary and
a Director it was his statutory obligation to ensure that BMGC Co Ltd conducts
its business according to the Articles of Association and Company Law. The
Articles can be changed at a General Meeting, but only within the constraints
of the Companies Act.
Since 1998 club members have
regarded the elected committee of members as representing their interests in
running the club on a day-to-day basis; and this they have always done to the
best of their abilities. The fact that committee members when elected were
required to be formally registered as Directors of BMGC Co Ltd had not in the
past been emphasised. BMGC Articles of Association require that those who
represent the interests of the Membership of the Company should be elected as
Directors, and not as committee members, at the Annual General Meeting.
Company Law requires that
Directors meet from time to time to manage the business of the Company in order
to look after its best interests. BMGC Directors have done this up to now, and
it has been called “the committee meeting”. There has in fact not been a
sufficient number of Directors to warrant the delegation of day to day
management to separate committees of Directors, as suggested in the Articles of
Association.
BMGC Company Articles of
Association require that the business of the Company be managed by a Council of
Management, but current Directors thought that this description might not be
appropriate.
The committee agreed that future
meetings would be known as Meetings of Directors.
Date of the next Meeting of
Directors is February 17th