SPAA AGM 2021 Minutes

SWALLOWFIELD PARISH ALLOTMENTS ASSOCIATION

                       ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

   MINUTES OF VIRTUAL MEETING HELD VIA ZOOM

                        8PM THURSDAY 8TH JULY 2021

Committee members in attendance:

Nick Kolpin (Chair)

Robert Spencer (Treasurer)

Claire Hamilton (Secretary)

Helen Coulter

Sue Dormer

Ian Swan

Plot holders in attendance:

Plot 3 Neil; Plot 7 Duncan; Plot 8 Harminder ; Plot 14 Bev; Plot 15 Peter and Christine; Plot 16 John; Plot 19 Bill; Plot 25 Amy; Plot 29/30 Fiona

Nick Kolpin welcomed everyone to the meeting and apologised for yet another online AGM. Hopefully, next year, we’ll be back to in person meetings!

  1. Apologies: Plot 2 Reg;Plot 11 Peter; Plot 23 Lisa and Stuart
  2. Minutes and Matters Arising from last year’s AGM on Thursday 9th July 2020:

There were no questions or amendments to the minutes and they were approved as being an accurate record by Duncan and seconded by Claire.

Nick explained that all the plans and projects had been put on hold because of the Covid 19 pandemic. If any member wished to raise any issue, they were encouraged to do so.

  • Annual Report by the Chair:

The report was available to read on the SPAA website but the Chair summarised a few points:

  • It had been an unusual year due to lockdowns and had been a transitional year for the new committee, who had had to work round the restrictions. 6 new allotment members had joined SPAA and fitted in well in spite of the difficulties.
  • Open days had been missed, which was a valuable source of funds for our self- financing organisation. However, a plant sale had generated some income and the Chair thanked all the members who had donated and bought plants to support SPAA.
  • Some of the income had been spent on 2 manure orders, the first of which had generated a small profit. The cost of the second delivery had not yet broken even, so if any member has not yet paid for theirs, please could they do so.
  • Due to full tenancy, the rents paid have covered the costs of the Parish Council’s rent and the bills for water etc.
  • We have not been able to hold as many Working Parties as usual, due to restrictions in the numbers of people who could attend. However, thanks were due to all those who had attended and the Chair strongly encouraged members to do their bit to help maintain the site, which is part of everyone’s obligation.
  • This year, SPAA celebrates its 10th Anniversary since opening the site. The current committee would like to thank all those past committee and allotment members as well as local supporters, (eg the Calico Trust and the Parish Council) for getting the allotments up and running.

To celebrate, SPAA is holding a BBQ on Saturday 24th July at 5pm, to which all members are warmly invited.

In conclusion, the Chair said that, in spite of a strange year, the allotments had helped everyone, including himself, get through the worst moments of the pandemic; he hoped that we should soon be able to hold events and carry out projects again.

  • Financial Report:

The Treasurer announced that he was sorry that, due to personal circumstances, he was standing down after only one year. He wanted to thank Terry for his excellent handover and for the exemplary state of the accounts which he had taken over.

The Treasurer reported that the full accounts were to be found on the website and reported that the income for this year had been similar to last year, supplemented by plant sales and manure donations. He was still waiting for a few more donations to come in.

The water bills had now been regularised and we were now paying for what we had used, rather than by forward and retrospective estimates which had caused a lot of confusion in the past. Thanks were due to Reg, Ian and Sue for wet and muddy water meter readings!

We had paid for a memorial plaque for a former founder member, which would be dedicated at the BBQ, and grass cutting was still paid at the same rate for monthly cuts in the spring and summer. Since we were in a sound financial position and the Parish Council had not raised the rent, he said that the committee’s recommendation was to keep the members’ licence fee at the same rate of £55 a year for a full plot and £35 for a half plot. This motion was carried by the members present.

The accounts had been audited and approved by John Anderson from the Parish Council.

The Treasurer was thanked for his contribution over the year.

  • Election of Committee members and Officers:

Helen Coulter, Lisa Evans and Robert Spencer had asked to stand down from the committee.

Chair-Nick Kolpin was re -elected, nominated by Claire and seconded by Sue

Secretary- Claire Hamilton was re-elected, nominated by Nick and seconded by Sue

Treasurer – Harminder Kandhola was nominated by Claire, seconded by Ian

New Committee members were elected as follows:

John Poole – nominated by Claire and seconded by Sue

Peter Wadman – nominated by Duncan and seconded by Nick

Sue Dormer was re-elected, nominated by Claire and seconded by Nick

Ian Swan was re-elected, nominated by Nick and seconded by Duncan.

The Chair thanked all members of the outgoing committee for their hard work and ideas.

  • Questions from members:

There had been no questions raised in advance of the meeting.

  • Ian asked about the current plot status: there are currently 4 people on the waiting list.
  • Harminder asked about the possibility of a handover by Robert. This will take place.
  • AOB:
  • The cup for the Best Kept Plot 2020-21 was awarded to Fiona (Plots 29 and 30) with the committee’s congratulations. Congratulations were also offered to Harminder and Mark (Plot 8) for Best Newcomers and the Prettiest Plot was awarded to Jane and Derek (Plot 24B).

Well done to all plot holders for maintaining their plots throughout this challenging year!

  • Neil asked members to respect other people’s plots; if anyone would like wild flower seeds, please ask.
  • BBQ booking forms are in the shed alongside the box for cheques for those people who do not wish to book online. Payment must be made in advance.
  • The next full committee meeting with newly elected members will be face to face (venue to be decided) on Monday 9th August 2021 at 8pm.

The Chair thanked everyone for attending, congratulated the new committee members once again and said that the minutes for the AGM would be available after 9th August.

The meeting closed at 8.45pm.