MARKWICK GARDENS COMMITTEE

Meeting held on Monday 9 June 2008

At 33 Brittany Road, St Leonards on Sea

Present:

Ken, Kay, Denise, Theresa, Christine, Helen, Dulcie, Monique, Steve

Apologies:

Apologies were received from Lesley and Digger.

Minutes of the Last Meeting:

The minutes of the last meeting were circulated and approved.

Matters Arising:

All matters arising have been noted under the appropriate agenda headings.

Correspondence:

No correspondence had been received since the last meeting.

Finance:

£5074.92 in the main account and £2158.30 in the savings account (this includes the money for the fencing). More membership fees are due to be paid in. The Jazz Band booked for the Summer event of 3 August had asked for some petrol money and the Committee agreed that they should be given £50. This was felt to be a reasonable sum as they do not charge for their attendance and one member of the band has to travel a significant distance to attend.

Membership:

Membership numbers have not changed significantly but there are still several members who had not yet paid. It was agreed that members would be reminded again about membership fees in the next newsletter and to also ask those people who have decided not to renew to send a note or telephone so that they are not chased unnecessarily.

Maintenance:

Ø The Committee agreed that a priority must be to devise a plan for the Gardens and it was agreed that the Chairman would arrange a special meeting of those most closely involved. This meeting should be convened as soon as possible. It is envisaged that these plans would include the priority areas for the year. Committee members were asked to feed their comments to Ken in preparation for this meeting.

Ø The Committee were pleased to learn that the shed has been tidied.

Ø The topsoil has arrived.

Ø Council permission has been requested to have the holm oak felled and quotations to do the work are still being sought.

Ø 2 of the 5 Himalayan birch trees that were in the corner of the football area have died but a Committee member will try and get them replaced.

Ø A lot of work had been done on trimming hedges and that several members had come to help. The gardener had used his own petrol for the hedge trimmer and it was agreed that he should be reimbursed.

Ø Some of the paths need to be tidied up during the Summer and the use of weedkiller was discussed. It was felt that this might be done as a Group.

Railings/Fences/Gates:

Ø The Chairman has written a letter of thanks to Ruth for the hard work she had done in collecting the fence fund. The Committee were waiting to hear from Dave Davies in regard to dates when work could commence on putting up the fencing.

Ø The Committee heard that the gates have been serviced and the number on the keypads changed.

Fundraising Events:

Dog Show, Markwick Gardens - 18 May 2008

After expenses, the Dog Show raised just over £386.62 for Markwick Gardens.

Summer Fair, Markwick Gardens – 29 June 2008

The Committee discussed further the programme for the Summer Fair. Unfortunately, the farmer is unable to bring along his animals because of restrictions on animal movement placed by the Government. The Committee agreed that the event should be advertised in the Friday Ad for two weeks prior to the event.

Summer Musical Event – Sunday 3 August 2008

It was agreed that the cost of the tickets would be the same as last year and that this would be added to the next Newsletter. It was also agreed that the event would start earlier in the afternoon at 3pm.

Other fund raising ideas would be discussed at subsequent meetings.

Any Other Business:

Vehicular Access through the main gates of the Gardens:

The Committee discussed the possibility of having a white line painted on the road in front of the main gates and also agreed that a permanent notice should be placed on the gates reminding people that access was required in cases of emergency.

Strangers in the Garden:

One of the Committee members reported seeing a couple she did not recognise in the Gardens who, when challenged, stated they were conducting a risk assessment. The Committee checked with the Gardens insurance company who said no risk assessment would ever take place without the knowledge and permission of the Committee, so the incident remains unexplained.

The Meeting ended at 9.10pm. The next meeting will take place on Monday 7 July 2008, at 8.00pm and will be held at 33 Brittany Road.