Minutes of the committee meeting held via Zoom.
Wednesday 24th March 2021. The meeting started at 7.30 pm.
Welcome and apologies for absence:
PRESENT: David Atkins (chairman) DA, Tom Winn (vice chairman) TW, Marina Richards (treasurer) MR, Jacqui Knight (secretary) JK, Claire Axten Cl.A, Francis Knight FK, Catherine Atkins CA, Paul Badman PB, Tina Della Valle
APOLOGIES: Kay Strain, Gabbie Butler, Sally Wood, Barbara and Peter Fry
Minutes of the meeting held on 24th February 2021:
DA checked that everyone had read the minutes from the previous meeting and asked if they were a true record. Proposed by MR and seconded by TW. Signing of the minutes will take place at a later date.
Matters Arising not on Agenda: None
Chairman’s Report:
Trevor Skinner was a valued and very much liked member of the Street Twinning Committee and passed away on Monday. A few moments of silence were then held to reflect.
Secretary’s Report:
Cllr Simon Carswell has offered to follow up the request for a road named Isny. Cllr Peter Goater has stepped down from the Parish Council and had been dealing with our request up until this point.
Tina Della Valle thanked JK and DA for keeping everyone up to date during the pandemic.
Treasurer’s Report: Nothing to report. Please see the financial report at the end of the minutes.
Current account balance £6544.04
Deposit account balance £8058.78
Membership & Member’s Welfare:
DA said a few words about Trevor, he was very likable and so cheerful and positive. Always came up with ideas and genuinely a good man. DA will send a card on behalf of the association. JK will pass on the messages of condolences which she has received from members to Sheila James. FK asked if we should let France and Germany know. It was agreed that JK will email Sharon in Gravenchon and DA will ask Barbara Fry to let Veronica know in Isny.
JK said that she had received a reply from most members about membership payments. 39 members have donated their payments to the Association out of 62 members.
Visits
Zoom with Gravenchon: JK had received positive feedback and 21 members would like to take part, 12 households. DA will book it once a date has been agreed and will probably be held by Zoom. TW asked if there was a provisional date, DA said not at the moment, but he will look into it. JK will email Sharon with the list of names interested and will ask Sharon if she could suggest some dates. It was agreed by members present at the meeting to arrange this for after Easter. DA gave an update on France including that the curfew is 7pm to 6am with some extra restrictions recently added, non-essential shops closed, and the French are banned from going abroad. Exercise is permitted up to 10k from home and people need certificates if going further or going out during curfew.
Second Zoom with Isny: DA will catch up with Barbara Fry for an update.
Fundraising and Events:
A second Zoom Social? JK reported that she had received no feedback from Members. DA stated that as no one has any ideas we will pass on this for now.
Website & Facebook: JK Nothing to report about Facebook. Peter Fry was not present to comment on the Website, DA said he spoke with Peter before the meeting, and he will be updating it shortly.
Publicity:
Plaque on Twinning tree in Merriman Park:
DA stated that the Association will receive a grant from the Parish Council around April for £1000. It was to go towards looking for new members, but it is not appropriate at the moment as we need to wait until we can link up with schools. We will need to thank the Parish Council when we receive it and at that time will mention that we will not be utilising it until nearer the end of the year.
DA said that the plaque on the Street Twinning tree in Merriman Park is looking worse for wear and it is difficult to read the inscription. He showed a photo of the plaque and then a photo of a plaque on a new tree in Merriman park. The new ones look nice and easy to read. They are made from light aluminium with a wooden backing, and they won’t tarnish. DA said the cost of one of these plaques to replace our old one would be £25. With a show of hands, it was agreed that this is a good idea and DA will look into getting a new one for our tree.
FK reminded the committee that at a previous Committee meeting the plaque outside of Grinters pet shop had been discussed as the wood around it was looking old, at the time it was suggested that this could possibly be repaired. DA asked if members would like to take a look at it and give feedback at next month’s meeting.
Lottery:
Congratulations to the winners of the March lottery draw. The numbers were drawn by Kay Winn and read out by TW during the zoom meeting.
1st Prize no.63 Veronica Brunt £20
2nd Prize no.7 Daniela Della Valle £10
3rd Prize no.20 Claire Axten £5
AOB: TW asked if the committee would be sending flowers to Sheila James along with the card from the association. Tina Della Valle agreed that this would be a lovely gesture. It was agreed by the committee and DA will arrange.
Chairman’s Closing Remarks: DA thanked everyone for attending the meeting and special thanks to Tina for joining us.
Meeting Closed at 8.03pm
Date of next meeting: Wednesday 28th April at 7.30pm
To be held via Zoom.