MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF THE VILLAGE HALL COMMITTEE held on Thursday, 9 November 2006 in the Parish Room, Village Hall, South Darenth at 7.30 pm.

PRESENT: Cllr Ian Wescombe (Chairman)

Cllrs Peter Bradley, Alan Burchmore, Gill Tripp and Robert Valentine

Mrs Anita Cockrill

IN ATTENDANCE: Carol Allart, Parish Clerk,

APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE: Carol Blendell, Marie Meggitt

DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST: None

28 MINUTES

RESOLVED that the Minutes of the last meeting held on 14 September 2006 be approved and signed as a correct record.

29 MATTERS ARISING

Main Hall Floor Sanding and Resealing

Members considered quotations for works to the floor and considered when this work is to be carried out. They agreed that if it was necessary to cancel one or two regular bookings this would have to happen as the protection of the floor was the top priority.

RESOLVED that

1. the floor be chemically cleaned rather than sanded;
2. the quotation from Complete Hygiene in the sum of £1595 for chemical cleaning and 2 coats oleo-resinous seal be accepted;
3. the work be carried out on either 27 – 29 December 2006 or 12 – 14 February 2007; and
4. a price for a one-off polish of the floor be requested.

Sale of Oak Tables

The clerk reported that there had been no interest in these tables. They were advertised in the last newsletter and had been on the website for a month.

RESOLVED that the tables be offered to Mike Palmer at a cost of £125 ono for the two.

Fire Regulations

The clerk asked whether the committee wished to put the fire extinguisher colour coding chart on the wall in the lobby with the other fire notices.

RESOLVED that the document be framed and screwed to the wall next to the other informative notices.

Discussion with Riverside Pre-School Manager

No representative from the Riverside Pre-School was present but details of the sort of plastic shed that was wanted for the storage of trikes had been submitted.

Members were concerned that the shed would be quite easy to vandalise and was an invitation to vandals and thieves to try and climb over the fence to try and break in to it. Its siting behind the Stand could also provide another method of getting up and over the fence. There was also some concern that a shed of the size proposed would not hold much and could therefore lead to further sheds being requested.

RESOLVED that agreement be not given to allowing the siting of a storage shed in the village hall grounds.

Cleaners/Caretaker

The clerk reported that Mrs Payne and Mrs Warren will finish work on 20 November. There had been no response from the item in the newsletter but an advertisement in the Kent Messenger Group local papers had resulted in many enquiries including three from residents of South Darenth.

It was agreed that Cllr Valentine and the clerk would interview the 3 local applicants.

30 TILING BEHIND WC PANS

Members considered one estimate which had been received for this work and then discussed whether small jobs like this could be carried out by the successful cleaner/caretaker. It was agreed to find out during the interview process whether any of the candidates would be able and willing to carry out odd jobs in which case this job could be carried out by the successful candidate.

31 OFFICE FOR PCSO IN VILLAGE HALL

Further discussion was given to the request by Peter Hylands for an office in the village hall which had also been made to the Parish Council on 6 November.

Cllr Burchmore informed the committee that the PCSO wanted a phone line and a filing cabinet and it was agreed that space could be made for a small cabinet, if provided by the Police at its own expense, in the Parish Room and that a phone line could be put in at Police expense. It had already been agreed at the Parish Council meeting that the parish room could be used from time to time in the afternoons after consultation with the parish clerk on suitable times. It was emphasised that this facility had always been available to the PCSO.

32 CAR PARK RISK ASSESSMENT

The clerk submitted a draft risk assessment for the car park following an article from ARCK which suggested this needed to be done.

RESOLVED that the risk assessment as attached at appendix A be approved and adopted.

33 KNOBS FOR KITCHEN CUPBOARDS AND DRAWERS

The clerk reported that some of the cupboard door and drawer knobs in the kitchen were broken and need replacing. A variety of slightly different knobs have been used over the years and so she asked whether the committee wished to replace all the knobs so that they would all be the same. In view of the number of knobs (26) and the cost involved, it was

RESOLVED that just the broken knobs be replaced with ceramic knobs at approximately £3 each.

34 VILLAGE HALL EXTENSION FEASIBILITY

Members were reminded that the meeting with SDC officers would be on Tuesday 28 November at 4pm in the parish room and it was hoped that as many councillors as possible would attend.

35 PARISH ROOM HEATING

Cllr Payne had raised the subject of how best to heat the parish room when it was in use but the rest of the hall was not. She felt it was wasteful to have the entire hall heated when the parish room is the only part of the hall booked. A timer had been fitted to the electric radiator which had proved satisfactory so far and a further fan heater could be purchased if necessary.

36 BUDGET 2007/8

Members received a 2006/7 budget v actual expenditure to date and started to consider next year’s budget requirements including black stage curtains, rodent control and the loop system. The subject of which tables to purchase in the current year was discussed and it was agreed to buy 4 no. 6 ft Gopak tables. Cllr Valentine agreed to look into the matter of the loop system as it was not working properly. It was agreed to set charges for 2007/8 at the next meeting.

The meeting ended at 9.16 pm.

Chairman

Date