ELKCAL AGM 2011 – 29 November 2011
| Attendees: Stuart & Kay Charlton, Simon Jeffreys, Bridie & Russell Pursey, Sian & James Curley, John Venters, Andy Venters, Helen McQueen, Susan Bewley, Hazel Pepper, Myke Calder, Wendy & Tim Wright, Janice & John Cullen
Observer:- Mark Venters |
| Welcome and Introduction |
| Simon Jeffreys, the Company Secretary, declared the meeting open and quorate at 5.10pm. There were 18 full members present in person. Apologies for absence had been received from Val & Bill Badger, Jan Fitzpatrick, Brian Davidson, Rosemary Christmas, Will Curwen, Susan & Stephen Smith.
Stuart Charlton, Chair, thanked all for attending and remarked on the good turnout of members, with nearly a third of the full members being present. |
| Chair’s Report |
| The Chairman presented his report to the members, as per the separate file |
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Secretary’s Report |
The Secretary, Wendy Wright, presented her report as per the notes in the separate file, save that she was able to report 2 additional full members, Janice and John Cullen of Lyne Cottage, which brought the number of full members up to 61.
| Treasurer’s Report |
| The Treasurer, Sian Curley, presented her report as per the notes in the final agenda attached. The surplus of £4,840 meant the charity was in a healthy financial position and the Independent Examiner confirmed the accounting records were not unsatisfactory. |
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Receive the Audited Accounts for period ending 31.7.11
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The Treasurer proposed that the accounts of ELKCAL for the period ending 31 July 2011 as independently examined by Andrew S Parker, Chartered Accountant of Bradford be received by the meeting, and this was seconded by the Chair. The Company Secretary put this resolution to the meeting and the resolution was carried unanimously. |
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Community Questionnaire |
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The Chairman presented his report on this dated 29 October 2011, as circulated at the meeting and attached. The outstanding matters would be considered by the new board. |
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Election of new directors |
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The Chair reported that 2 of the original directors were retiring. Roddy Houldsworth was very busy with his business and did not have sufficient time to give to ELKCAL’s affairs though he was very supportive of it. Kate McSweeney had taken a new job in the east of the county and was moving out of the locality. The Chairman was very grateful to the two of them for their efforts, particularly to Kate for the Chicken Fun Day and the Dog Show and he hoped she would continue to help ELKCAL as the official veterinary for these events and as liaison for ELKCAL with the East of the county. These 2 resignations therefore met the requirement for directors to retire by rotation at each AGM.
Susan Bewley’s term of office as a co-opted director would also expire at the AGM. She performed a valuable role as Liaison with Kinlochbervie and points north and it was proposed to co-opt her again to serve on the Board in that role.
Two local people and members had volunteered to serve as directors, Hazel Pepper and Brendan O’Hanrahan.
They were each proposed by the Chair and seconded by the Secretary for election as directors.
The Company Secretary put resolutions to elect both of them as directors to the meeting separately and each was elected unanimously. He announced that they were therefore duly elected as directors of ELKCAL. |
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Any Other Business |
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| 1 The Chairman reported that the Company Secretary with the Honorary Accountant, Tim Wright, was investigating the possibility of converting the company to become a Scottish Incorporated Charitable Organisation. If this was viable, it would mean EKCAL would no longer be regulated as a company by Companies House and as a charity by the Office of the Scottish Charities Registrar (OSCR) and just become regulated by OSCR, which could be simpler and easier, without changing the nature of membership and limited liability. A report would be made in due course and if this was thought to be sensible, the members would be asked to approve the change at the AGM next year.
2 The Chair reported that an application to register ELKCAL for gift aid had been made to HM Revenue & Customs. It was hoped this would be successful as yielding more money from donations for EKCAL and enabling tax payer donors to claim a tax deduction for their donations.
3 The Chair reported on efforts to erect a new village notice board. There were objections from Highland Council’s Highways Department which meant it could not be sited near the main road and thought was now being given to siting it on the side of the Old School. Once erected, an Editor would be needed to take charge of the notice board.
4 Russell Pursey asked if recycling bins could be put in the car park to save journeys to Lochinver or Ullapool for this. The Chair said the new board would follow this up and see what could be done to get the Highland Council to do this.
5 Bridie Pursey asked about environmentally friendly power sources for heat and light in the Old School. The Chair reported that, before their demise, Green Energy Scotland had done a report for the board. It noted that as the Old School benefitted from purchasing its electricity from Highland Council at a discounted price and because much was on a white meter for cheap overnight power, it would be very difficult for anything else to be economically viable. A large capital grant would also be needed, given the 25 year terms of EKCAL’s lease, to enable payback in that timescale. Wind or water turbines were ruled out as prohibitively expensive and PV cells were thought to be marginal. Better insulation was strongly recommended. This matter of heat and power and energy conservation was however a feature of the application for Leader funding. |
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6 Kay Charlton proposed a vote of thanks to the board and particular mentioned John Venters for his sterling efforts working through the night to ensure the Music Festival could take place, which was agreed by all.
Close
There being no further business, the Company Secretary declared the meeting closed at 5.45pm and thanked all for attending
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