Committee Meeting 28th September 2022

MINUTES of Committee Meeting 28^th September 2022

Welcome from Vice Chair 

Present- 8 attendees

 and  2 apologies were received.

The minutes of the previous meeting were approved.

Matters arising:

1. Progress on Online Banking – Online banking is fully functioning and easy to use. Change of address still need completion. Changes are also needed on the protocol for change of Treasurer before any further change of Treasurer. A checklist of personnel and responsibilities is in hand.

2. Newsletter format progress– The new format is established and just requires  further familiarity.

3.  Sport England Application progress– No reply is yet received and a repeat application may be necessary. 

4. Email addresses progress –

Outgoing mail is being processed and further action is now for individual committee members.

5. Arrangements for testing Speaker and Microphone-  This will be tested at the next Speaker Meeting .

6. Finance policy update -see main business

7. Receipt book- These have been purchased. Distribution and instruction still need to be addressed.

8. Speaker meeting update -see main business

9. Proposed u3a increase and vote– 

Resolutions and amendments have been circulated for agreement.

The previous resolution that The Chair should vote was confirmed.

10. Policy Review see main business

11. Website update- see main business

12. Vinyl Banners- It was suggested that Correx/ Corriflute boards be purchased. Various suggestions were offered on ways of obtaining design/artwork for these. 

Main Business

1. Treasurer’s report,  accounts and Finance Policy-[  documents previously circulated] – There were no queries or comments on the accounts. A query re: a Paypal balance was answered satisfactorily. For ease, changes to PayPal are being delayed until after all membership fees are in.

Modifications have been made to the Finance Policy. Slight changes are to be made to allow for exceptions that have been previously approved by the Treasurer. These changes will be presented for approval at the next committee meeting.

2. Speaker Secretary Report-previously circulated. The contents of the report were summarised, noted and approved until December. Further  approval was sought  on the January, February and March speakers. The January Speaker was approved, but there were reservations on the other two, owing to their being recommended by a member. It was thought that it would be desirable to ask for an outline of content prior to final approval.  The April talk is still in development owing to logistical issues.

A further query received from an author was thought to be too expensive.

It was confirmed that an addendum that we previously approved will be added to communications with speakers.

3. Website update-Positive feedback has been received on the appearance of the website. Systems have been set up that will analyse the way the site is used and via which devices and search engines. Modifications continue to be made, including a reminder that membership is necessary for participation in activities.  It was suggested that a request for feedback be communicated via the newsletter. 

4. Policy Sub committee – This has now been established but has yet to meet. It was proposed  that documents be in the form of Web-Page rather than PDF. It was agreed that this should be done where possible.

5. Possible Room hire increase –Information was given of a possible increase in room hire to £12 owing to rising energy costs, with a decision deferred to November. Feedback should be given to WFSSC on possible consequences.

6. New Committee Members–  There will soon be a succession problem. It was discussed whether or not to appeal for members via the Newsletter with a brief resume of what we do.  It was thought that committee members should be more visible and approachable. The Web editor undertook to add photographs with prior permission.

7. Committee Role for recruitment and retention – The Treasurer commented on an email entitled “Inspire and Recruit” that had been received. Awareness had been raised by a recent Cluster Meeting where it became apparent that other local u3as have an older demographic which has become a problem that wpvu3a should be aware of. A reconsideration of previous decisions re. regular promotion might be needed.

A number of possibilities were suggested  This  might be a non-committee role. The Chair offered to make a suitable contact.

8. Proxy vote at AGM- The previous decision regarding this was confirmed.

9. New Welcome page wording [document circulated]- An explanation of the reason for the circulated document was offered. It was thought that the sentiments were accurate but would need to be compressed. The treasurer undertook to continue with the development of this.

AOB-

• The membership number currently stands at 157- it was resolved to extend the renewal limit temporarily to 6 weeks.  Arrangements were made to make access to non-renewals to other members of the committee.
• The issue of allowing visitors to groups from other u3as [outside of the current associate membership arrangement] was discussed. The consensus was not to allow this.
• U3a 40th Anniversary was raised. Resolved not to use this as promotion for wpvu3a.
• Attention was drawn to communications from NW Representative. Resolved to forward these to interested parties.

Date and time of next meeting- 9.30 am. 23rd  November.