Minutes for February 2009 with attached reports

2nd March 2009

1. PRESENT

Richard Adamson (RA)

John Clarke (JC)

Simon Cope (SC)

Wendy Danby (WD)

Dave Holland (DH)

James Hunter (JH)

Kevin Smith (KS)

Andy Troughton (AS)

Sandra Troughton (ST)

APOLOGIES

Anthony Brown (AB)

Natalie Davies (ND)

John Fawcett (JF)

2. MINUTES OF MEETING HELD ON 12 JANUARY 2009

The minutes were accepted, approved and signed by KS who took the chair due to the late arrival of SC. DH asked for clarification of the status of the minutes posted on the website following Board meetings. RA explained that he produced the minutes, circulated them to other directors for comment and then had them posted on the website. The minutes are formally approved at the next Board meeting. For the avoidance of any doubt it was agreed in future that the minutes posted on the website would be clearly described as being draft minutes until they are formally approved.

3. MATTERS ARISING

There were no matters arising.

4. REGULAR ITEMS

(a) TEAM ISSUES

AB had prepared and circulated a report on team issues prior to the meeting which was accepted. A copy of the report is to be released asap as Item A. JC advised the Tom Reid had returned to Selby Town and the Ryan Morton was transferring to Barton Town OB.

(i) NCEL meeting held on 16 February 2009

SC/JC AND AT had attended the NCEL meeting which had caused the Board meeting to be put back to 18 February. JC advised that the League has confirmed two teams will be promoted to NCEL Premier from League One and two relegated to League One. Some teams in NCEL Premier were under threat of relegation if their grounds failed to meet the required standard so more teams from League One could potentially be promoted. Full details are to be posted on the NCEL website.

Under 16s cannot be registered to play in the League

The possibility of creating a Step 7 feeder league to NCEL League One is to be discussed at a later date by the NCEL.

The League is still exploring the benefits of centrally purchasing medical supplies.

(ii) Meeting to discuss the future of the Reserves

A decision about which league the reserves should enter next season has to be made soon so that the appropriate application can be submitted in time.

Action – SC to agree a convenient date with AB, ST and JC to discuss the matter with Brian France in attendance.

(b) FINANCES

ST had prepared and circulated a report on VAT Registration prior to the meeting and she confirmed that on the advice of Winn & Co, the Club’s accountants, the Club was registered for VAT with effect from 1 February 2009. A copy of the report is attached as Item B.

ST has started a theoretical exercise to see what the position would have been had VAT Registration applied for the whole season. In future VAT will be paid quarterly based on invoices received and paid.

ST recommended that next season’s budget should be reviewed in the light of the new situation with VAT.

KS confirmed that paying VAT will result in a slight loss in the current quarter.

Action – KS to present monthly predictions compared with actual income and expenditure to future Board meetings.

ST confirmed that the date for the end of the financial year has been changed from 31 March to 31 May so that individual seasons would no longer be split over two financial years. KS explained that in terms of his quarterly reports this means the quarter after 31 March will only cover April and May to come in line with the new accounting year.

Action – KS to produce a three year rolling forecast of income and expenditure and the require surplus to be carried to ensure a prudent financial position was maintained. ST formally proposed that new signatories are required for the Club’s bank account. The resolution required by Unity Bank was proposed by ST, seconded by KS and unanimously approved. It was also agreed that an unused No 2 current account in the name of Scarborough Athletic FC should be closed.

The insurance position of directors who give lifts to players where they have no business use insurance for other reasons was raised as a possible difficulty.

Action – ST to check the position regarding insurance and business use.

(c) GROUND LATEST

RA updated directors on a meeting of the Council’s Town Team that he had attended with JH, ST, AT and WD at the Royal Hotel on Tuesday 15 February 2009 when an item on the agenda was the future of the Athletic Ground. Brian Bennett (BB), the Council’s Head of Tourism and Leisure, gave a presentation about the state of the Athletic Ground, why the Council had bought it and why it was beyond economic repair. He then spoke in general terms about what the Council’s options were in providing a suitable football ground in Scarborough, developing sustainable facilities for the wider sporting community and disposing of some assets to pay for them. One option is the former park and ride site at Weaponness but the Council has some others.

BB said quite clearly that the Council is committed to providing a new football ground and will embark on a consultation exercise shortly. There is an internal meeting at the Council to start planning the consultation exercise on 6 March 2009.

BB said he thought it was quite feasible for the Council to provide a new football ground within 2 years.

Rumours persist about George Pindar Sports College developing a football facility in the college grounds. RA to check if any planning application is listed on the Council’s planning section of its website.

SC has a meeting with the Council and Hugh Bellamy on 2 March 2009 so the position regarding the college proposal may become clearer then.

5. MEMBERSHIP STRATEGY

RA had prepared and circulated a report prior to the meeting on a proposed Membership Strategy to retain existing members and recruit new members. A copy of the report is attached as Item C.

The report was received and the following actions agreed:-

6. BUSINESS PLANNING FOR SCARBOROUGH ATHLETIC FC - THE FIRST STEPS

DH had prepared and circulated a report prior to the meeting on a business planning. A copy of the report is attached as Item D.

The current position with the business plan is that DH had been helping Ben Courtney to develop a plan but since Ben’s resignation the process has stalled.

DH is going to get o copy of the existing business plan which requires further development to include targets and outputs.

In seeking to ensure the objectives in the business plan are met DH suggested that future Board agendas should be structured so that items that affect the business plan are prioritised and written reports were in a standard format. This was unanimously agreed. RA offered to send DH a copy of a template for reports that he used at work as a starting point for developing a Club format.

Once the business plan is produced the Board will have to decide how it is published so members know what it contains and if targets are being met.

DH said he had received several good responses to his experimental request for ideas from fans which he posted on the Surfing Seadog. Most appear to be very interesting. DH will consult the individual fans making the suggestions and scope them before making them public.

7. ANY OTHER BUSINESS

AT reported that the NCEL rules now require all member clubs to use Koolsport kit from the start of next season. The position was noted.

Action – AT to deal with kit design and ordering with Koolsport.

8. DATE OF NEXT MEETING

Wednesday 18 March at a venue to be confirmed.

The meeting closed at 10.00 pm.

Download pdf version of minutes here
Download pdf version of Sandra Troughton Report here
Download pdf version of Richard Adamson Report here
Download pdf version of Dave Holland Report here