Minutes - Tuesday,15 January 2008
FARINGDON TOWN COUNCIL
Minutes of a Venues Committee Meeting
held on Tuesday, 15 January 2008 at 7.15 pm
in the Council Chambers, Corn Exchange, Faringdon
PRESENT: Cllrs D Price (Chairman)
Mrs M J Barker
Miss J Farmer
A V Hickmore
IN ATTENDANCE: Venues Caretaker (up to and including Min 9/08)
Deputy Town Clerk
1/08 Apologies for Absence
Apologies for absence were received from Cllr Mrs S Vinall.
2/08 Minutes of Meetings – Wednesday, 21 November 2007
The Minutes were signed as a correct record.
3/08 Matters Arising
Min 68/07: A draft report was tabled from ERM. This summarised the findings of measurements taken during the Country and Western event held in the Corn Exchange on 3 November 2007. Members were asked to bring back any comments on the report to the next meeting of the Venues Committee. The Deputy Town Clerk was asked to write a letter to Mr Fraser thanking him for his time and hard work.
Min 29/07: The Deputy Town Clerk reported that Mrs Ilott had now advised a date when she would be available for the official opening of the Mike Ilott Suite which was Friday, 25 January 2008 at 8.00 pm. It was AGREED that the invitation list should include members of Mike Ilott’s family, current town councillors, past town councillors, the Press and various other local community organisations.
4/08 Public Question Time
No questions had been received.
5/08 Public Speaking Time
There were no members of public present.
6/08 Declarations of Interest
There were no declarations of interest.
7/08 Election of Vice-Chairman
Cllr Hickmore proposed that Cllr Miss Julie Farmer be appointed as Vice-Chairman. This proposal was seconded by Cllr Mrs Barker and CARRIED.
8/08 Venues Committee Meetings
The Chairman proposed that meetings of the Venues Committee be held every two months in future. This proposal was seconded by Cllr Mrs Barker and CARRIED.
9/08 Venues Caretaker’s Report
A written report from the Venues Caretaker was tabled and NOTED. In response to an enquiry from the Chairman, the Venues Caretaker advised that most of the lights in the Pump House had now been replaced, where possible, with low energy bulbs. Cllr Mrs Barker stated that she knew of a contact who was giving away low energy bulbs and that she would pass these details to the Venues Caretaker to follow up. It was AGREED that the low energy bulbs used for replacing the normal bulbs should be an equivalent wattage. The Venues Caretaker was asked to replace the lights in all the venues wherever possible with low energy bulbs.
10/08 Faringdon Town Guide
In response to a query from Cllr Miss Farmer, the background to the publication of this guide, and in particular in relation to other guides published by organisations in the town, was outlined. The members agreed that there should be close liaison with other local organisations when such guides are proposed for publication.
Members were asked to consider whether they wished to ask the Faringdon War Memorial Trust to make a contribution to the cost of the advertisement in the Faringdon Town Guide promoting the Old Town Hall alongside the Corn Exchange and the Pump House. It was AGREED that there was no need to request such a contribution.
11/08 Corn Exchange
(i) The Quarterly Report to 31st December 2007 was received and considered. It was NOTED that the budgeted income was being achieved and that this was a very satisfactory set of figures. The Chairman queried whether the amount for noise mitigation could be carried forward if the lease for the Corn Exchange was not signed in this financial year. Cllr Leniec, Chairman of the Town Council’s Finance Committee, advised that if the lease was not signed in the current financial year, then this money would fall back into reserves and a bid for this money would then require to be made to Finance Committee in the normal way;
(ii) Bar Franchise Agreement; As the current Bar Franchise Agreement was due to terminate at the end of March 2008, it was AGREED that the Council should go out to tender for the management and operation of the Licensed Bar in the Corn Exchange, for a period of up to 3 years. The Deputy Town Clerk was requested to place an advertisement in the February edition of the Faringdon Folly and to send letters to relevant parties, tenders to be submitted by 12 noon on Friday, 7 March 2008. Authority was delegated to Cllr Leniec, Cllr Price, the Town Clerk and the Deputy Town Clerk to draw up draft terms for the Agreement, together with the Management Operation Specification.
With regard to the non-payment of outstanding fees by the current bar franchisee, members were advised that at the last meeting of the Town Council it had been agreed to defer a decision on legal action in this matter to the next general meeting of the Town Council, due to be held on 13 February 2008. It was NOTED that in the meantime it had been arranged for Cllr Leniec, Cllr Price and the Town Clerk to meet with the Bar Franchisee on Monday, 21 January 2008 to discuss various options. The Chairman stated that short term tenders for the operation of the bar would still be sought for the period up to the end of March
2008;
. (iii) A written report was received from the Deputy Town Clerk on the theatre production “Princess Ruby Red” which had been sponsored by the Town Council and which had taken place in the Corn Exchange on 2 January 2008. It was NOTED that the production had been well received, both by young and old alike.
12/08 Pump House
(i) The Quarterly Report to 31st December 2007 was received and considered. It was NOTED that this was a satisfactory set of figures. The reasons for the offices in the Mike Ilott Suite not being hired out at present were discussed. It was AGREED that (a) these offices could be let as meeting rooms in the short term, usage to be reviewed on a month by month basis and (b) authority be delegated to Cllr D Price together with the Town Clerk and Deputy Town Clerk to set appropriate hire charges;
It was FURTHER AGREED that an item should be included on the agenda for the next meeting of the Venues Committee to review the hire charges for all the venues;
(ii) Installation of lift for the disabled at rear of venue; The Deputy Town Clerk advised that a verbal quote of £19656 (excl VAT and subject to certain caveats) had been received just before this Venues Committee meeting commenced and that the written quote would be forwarded from the contractor the following day. It was AGREED that in order to ensure that the lift was as visually pleasing as possible, the Deputy Town Clerk should research materials that were available together with price list. It was FURTHER AGREED that this matter should be discussed further when advice from the relevant authority in the Vale of White Horse District Council regarding any planning restrictions had been received. The Deputy Town Clerk was asked to write a letter to Lord Faringdon to advise him that as the Town Council was obligated to provide a lift for the disabled to all the floors which were available for public use in the Pump House, the council was currently exploring options for the installation of such a lift. If there were any firm options, the Town Council would discuss these with him at that stage;
(iii) Future of theatre. A quote in the sum of £1,700 (excl VAT) for the connection of electrical supply from the Pump House through to the theatre was received and considered. It was noted that this quotation was based on the assumption that the contractors employed by the Town Council would be carrying out all the excavation and backfilling of cable trenches on the site. The Deputy Town Clerk was requested to establish the route and obtain quotes for this work.
It was AGREED that there should be an item included on the agenda for the next meeting of the Venues Committee to discuss the future development of the theatre and that, subject to room availability, this meeting should be held in the Pump House in order to enable members to tour the venue at that time;
It was NOTED that discussions had been held with an interested party to develop the theatre and a draft lease had been drawn up but that the other party had not followed this through. Previously the Town Council had not moved forward with developing the theatre through lack of funds. Cllr Miss Farmer advised that FAP could be approached for a list of possible grant bodies.
(iv) Rateable Appeal – A letter from Lambert Smith Hampton was tabled and considered. It was NOTED that discussions with the Valuation Officer in Oxford in connection with the appeal against the rating assessment had now concluded and that the current assessment in the Rating List was considered fair and reasonable. The members AGREED that no further action needed to be taken;
(v) A Sustainable Energy Options Report from TV Energy was received and considered. It was AGREED that the report should be referred to the Town Council’s Climate Change Working Party in order that it could make recommendations on both policy and priorities. It was AGREED there were a number of priorities for each venue such as motion sensitive switches, reduction of usage by the display of notices to ensure lights were switched off when not in use, radiator valves in each room (Deputy Town Clerk to obtain quotes), the use of low energy bulbs and double glazing .
(vi) A written request from MADD to use the Pump House as a venue for workshops and performances was received and considered. Although this was considered possible as long as the music was not amplified, concern was expressed that the request to use the Pump House seemed to follow a common belief in the town that the Corn Exchange was not available for live music. It was AGREED that the Chairman, together with the Deputy Town Clerk, should meet the representative from MADD to discuss the matter further with regard to appropriate venues;
(vii) Members considered the possibility of displaying art from the local community on a monthly basis in the June Rennie Room. Concern was expressed regarding how exactly the exhibits would be displayed on the walls. It was also felt that some form of commission should be set. It was therefore AGREED that this matter should be referred back to the Supervisor of the Faringdon Community and Tourist Information Centre who had made the original suggestion in order that she could provide a more detailed proposal.
13/08 Precept 2008/09
(i) The members were asked to consider whether there were any further amendments required to be made to the draft Budgets: Pump House: (a) It was AGREED that the lettings income should be increased to £4,000;
(b) The Chairman expressed his wish for an amount to be included for electricity supply to the theatre;
However, it was NOTED that the S106 contribution of £80,000 towards development of the Pump House was due to be paid in March/April 2008 and that this would cover such a cost;
(ii) Venues Manager: The Chairman stated that he felt there was now a role for a Venues Manager to oversee the day-to-day operation of the venues including bookings, promotion and marketing. Following discussion, it was AGREED that the Town Clerk should be asked to consider whether there was a need for an additional member of staff and to make a recommendation to the Finance Committee if this was the case. It was NOTED that the terms of reference for the Town Council’s Staffing Working Party would be discussed at the next Finance Committee Meeting;
(iii) Venues Bookings Software; It was NOTED that an amount of £1000 had been included in the Office & Establishment Budget for this software. The Deputy Town Clerk was asked to arrange for demonstrations of the relevant software packages following which a recommendation should be submitted to Finance Committee to purchase the appropriate package;
(iv) Cleaning of Venues: It was AGREED that the overall cleaning of the venues needed to be reviewed and the Deputy Town Clerk was delegated authority to seek tenders. The Deputy Town Clerk was also asked to consider the possibility of an “in-house” cleaner.
Minutes of a Venues Committee Meeting
held on Tuesday, 15 January 2008 at 7.15 pm
in the Council Chambers, Corn Exchange, Faringdon
PRESENT: Cllrs D Price (Chairman)
Mrs M J Barker
Miss J Farmer
A V Hickmore
IN ATTENDANCE: Venues Caretaker (up to and including Min 9/08)
Deputy Town Clerk
1/08 Apologies for Absence
Apologies for absence were received from Cllr Mrs S Vinall.
2/08 Minutes of Meetings – Wednesday, 21 November 2007
The Minutes were signed as a correct record.
3/08 Matters Arising
Min 68/07: A draft report was tabled from ERM. This summarised the findings of measurements taken during the Country and Western event held in the Corn Exchange on 3 November 2007. Members were asked to bring back any comments on the report to the next meeting of the Venues Committee. The Deputy Town Clerk was asked to write a letter to Mr Fraser thanking him for his time and hard work.
Min 29/07: The Deputy Town Clerk reported that Mrs Ilott had now advised a date when she would be available for the official opening of the Mike Ilott Suite which was Friday, 25 January 2008 at 8.00 pm. It was AGREED that the invitation list should include members of Mike Ilott’s family, current town councillors, past town councillors, the Press and various other local community organisations.
4/08 Public Question Time
No questions had been received.
5/08 Public Speaking Time
There were no members of public present.
6/08 Declarations of Interest
There were no declarations of interest.
7/08 Election of Vice-Chairman
Cllr Hickmore proposed that Cllr Miss Julie Farmer be appointed as Vice-Chairman. This proposal was seconded by Cllr Mrs Barker and CARRIED.
8/08 Venues Committee Meetings
The Chairman proposed that meetings of the Venues Committee be held every two months in future. This proposal was seconded by Cllr Mrs Barker and CARRIED.
9/08 Venues Caretaker’s Report
A written report from the Venues Caretaker was tabled and NOTED. In response to an enquiry from the Chairman, the Venues Caretaker advised that most of the lights in the Pump House had now been replaced, where possible, with low energy bulbs. Cllr Mrs Barker stated that she knew of a contact who was giving away low energy bulbs and that she would pass these details to the Venues Caretaker to follow up. It was AGREED that the low energy bulbs used for replacing the normal bulbs should be an equivalent wattage. The Venues Caretaker was asked to replace the lights in all the venues wherever possible with low energy bulbs.
10/08 Faringdon Town Guide
In response to a query from Cllr Miss Farmer, the background to the publication of this guide, and in particular in relation to other guides published by organisations in the town, was outlined. The members agreed that there should be close liaison with other local organisations when such guides are proposed for publication.
Members were asked to consider whether they wished to ask the Faringdon War Memorial Trust to make a contribution to the cost of the advertisement in the Faringdon Town Guide promoting the Old Town Hall alongside the Corn Exchange and the Pump House. It was AGREED that there was no need to request such a contribution.
11/08 Corn Exchange
(i) The Quarterly Report to 31st December 2007 was received and considered. It was NOTED that the budgeted income was being achieved and that this was a very satisfactory set of figures. The Chairman queried whether the amount for noise mitigation could be carried forward if the lease for the Corn Exchange was not signed in this financial year. Cllr Leniec, Chairman of the Town Council’s Finance Committee, advised that if the lease was not signed in the current financial year, then this money would fall back into reserves and a bid for this money would then require to be made to Finance Committee in the normal way;
(ii) Bar Franchise Agreement; As the current Bar Franchise Agreement was due to terminate at the end of March 2008, it was AGREED that the Council should go out to tender for the management and operation of the Licensed Bar in the Corn Exchange, for a period of up to 3 years. The Deputy Town Clerk was requested to place an advertisement in the February edition of the Faringdon Folly and to send letters to relevant parties, tenders to be submitted by 12 noon on Friday, 7 March 2008. Authority was delegated to Cllr Leniec, Cllr Price, the Town Clerk and the Deputy Town Clerk to draw up draft terms for the Agreement, together with the Management Operation Specification.
With regard to the non-payment of outstanding fees by the current bar franchisee, members were advised that at the last meeting of the Town Council it had been agreed to defer a decision on legal action in this matter to the next general meeting of the Town Council, due to be held on 13 February 2008. It was NOTED that in the meantime it had been arranged for Cllr Leniec, Cllr Price and the Town Clerk to meet with the Bar Franchisee on Monday, 21 January 2008 to discuss various options. The Chairman stated that short term tenders for the operation of the bar would still be sought for the period up to the end of March
2008;
. (iii) A written report was received from the Deputy Town Clerk on the theatre production “Princess Ruby Red” which had been sponsored by the Town Council and which had taken place in the Corn Exchange on 2 January 2008. It was NOTED that the production had been well received, both by young and old alike.
12/08 Pump House
(i) The Quarterly Report to 31st December 2007 was received and considered. It was NOTED that this was a satisfactory set of figures. The reasons for the offices in the Mike Ilott Suite not being hired out at present were discussed. It was AGREED that (a) these offices could be let as meeting rooms in the short term, usage to be reviewed on a month by month basis and (b) authority be delegated to Cllr D Price together with the Town Clerk and Deputy Town Clerk to set appropriate hire charges;
It was FURTHER AGREED that an item should be included on the agenda for the next meeting of the Venues Committee to review the hire charges for all the venues;
(ii) Installation of lift for the disabled at rear of venue; The Deputy Town Clerk advised that a verbal quote of £19656 (excl VAT and subject to certain caveats) had been received just before this Venues Committee meeting commenced and that the written quote would be forwarded from the contractor the following day. It was AGREED that in order to ensure that the lift was as visually pleasing as possible, the Deputy Town Clerk should research materials that were available together with price list. It was FURTHER AGREED that this matter should be discussed further when advice from the relevant authority in the Vale of White Horse District Council regarding any planning restrictions had been received. The Deputy Town Clerk was asked to write a letter to Lord Faringdon to advise him that as the Town Council was obligated to provide a lift for the disabled to all the floors which were available for public use in the Pump House, the council was currently exploring options for the installation of such a lift. If there were any firm options, the Town Council would discuss these with him at that stage;
(iii) Future of theatre. A quote in the sum of £1,700 (excl VAT) for the connection of electrical supply from the Pump House through to the theatre was received and considered. It was noted that this quotation was based on the assumption that the contractors employed by the Town Council would be carrying out all the excavation and backfilling of cable trenches on the site. The Deputy Town Clerk was requested to establish the route and obtain quotes for this work.
It was AGREED that there should be an item included on the agenda for the next meeting of the Venues Committee to discuss the future development of the theatre and that, subject to room availability, this meeting should be held in the Pump House in order to enable members to tour the venue at that time;
It was NOTED that discussions had been held with an interested party to develop the theatre and a draft lease had been drawn up but that the other party had not followed this through. Previously the Town Council had not moved forward with developing the theatre through lack of funds. Cllr Miss Farmer advised that FAP could be approached for a list of possible grant bodies.
(iv) Rateable Appeal – A letter from Lambert Smith Hampton was tabled and considered. It was NOTED that discussions with the Valuation Officer in Oxford in connection with the appeal against the rating assessment had now concluded and that the current assessment in the Rating List was considered fair and reasonable. The members AGREED that no further action needed to be taken;
(v) A Sustainable Energy Options Report from TV Energy was received and considered. It was AGREED that the report should be referred to the Town Council’s Climate Change Working Party in order that it could make recommendations on both policy and priorities. It was AGREED there were a number of priorities for each venue such as motion sensitive switches, reduction of usage by the display of notices to ensure lights were switched off when not in use, radiator valves in each room (Deputy Town Clerk to obtain quotes), the use of low energy bulbs and double glazing .
(vi) A written request from MADD to use the Pump House as a venue for workshops and performances was received and considered. Although this was considered possible as long as the music was not amplified, concern was expressed that the request to use the Pump House seemed to follow a common belief in the town that the Corn Exchange was not available for live music. It was AGREED that the Chairman, together with the Deputy Town Clerk, should meet the representative from MADD to discuss the matter further with regard to appropriate venues;
(vii) Members considered the possibility of displaying art from the local community on a monthly basis in the June Rennie Room. Concern was expressed regarding how exactly the exhibits would be displayed on the walls. It was also felt that some form of commission should be set. It was therefore AGREED that this matter should be referred back to the Supervisor of the Faringdon Community and Tourist Information Centre who had made the original suggestion in order that she could provide a more detailed proposal.
13/08 Precept 2008/09
(i) The members were asked to consider whether there were any further amendments required to be made to the draft Budgets: Pump House: (a) It was AGREED that the lettings income should be increased to £4,000;
(b) The Chairman expressed his wish for an amount to be included for electricity supply to the theatre;
However, it was NOTED that the S106 contribution of £80,000 towards development of the Pump House was due to be paid in March/April 2008 and that this would cover such a cost;
(ii) Venues Manager: The Chairman stated that he felt there was now a role for a Venues Manager to oversee the day-to-day operation of the venues including bookings, promotion and marketing. Following discussion, it was AGREED that the Town Clerk should be asked to consider whether there was a need for an additional member of staff and to make a recommendation to the Finance Committee if this was the case. It was NOTED that the terms of reference for the Town Council’s Staffing Working Party would be discussed at the next Finance Committee Meeting;
(iii) Venues Bookings Software; It was NOTED that an amount of £1000 had been included in the Office & Establishment Budget for this software. The Deputy Town Clerk was asked to arrange for demonstrations of the relevant software packages following which a recommendation should be submitted to Finance Committee to purchase the appropriate package;
(iv) Cleaning of Venues: It was AGREED that the overall cleaning of the venues needed to be reviewed and the Deputy Town Clerk was delegated authority to seek tenders. The Deputy Town Clerk was also asked to consider the possibility of an “in-house” cleaner.
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