Wednesday 13th April 2022 at 18.30 in the Blencathra Room
PRESENT: MC- Scott Cameron (Chair), David Harding, Dougie Parker and Gideon Sharp.
EC – John Sheffield (Chair), Phil Park, Barry Rogers, Joan Armstrong and Carol Slinger.
| As agreed prior to the meeting Scott Cameron Chaired the meeting. | ACTION | |
| APOLOGIES MC: Chris Stockdale, Phil Murfitt. | ||
| MATTERS ARISING FROM THE PREVIOUS MINUTES The were no matters arising as this is the first meeting of the current committees. | ||
| 3. | OPENING STATEMENTS Scott Cameron opened the meeting by introducing those on the committees who didn’t already know each other and said that he welcomed this opportunity to meet with the EC. He hoped that the two groups can work positively together going forward with scheduled, quarterly meetings as prescribed in the Governance of the Club. John Sheffield stated that the systems in place within the Governance work well at other Clubs and he saw no reason why they shouldn’t also work for Penrith GC. He also hoped that the two committees can develop more positive relations. | |
| 4. | COMMUNICATIONS WITH MEMBERS Phil Park stated that it was good to see the recent website communication about the progress being made on the course.The reinstatement of the all-members newsletter was discussed as the EC thought that it was a good means of informing members of events and news across the club. Scott reported that Chris Stockdale (Marketing manager) had said that he had struggled to get contributions from the various sections for publication last year. Scott stated that he is willing to co-ordinate submissions for publication and proposed three-monthly editions. All agreed and suggested that sections should submit editorial to Scott early in June, for him to be able to publish a newsletter by the end of June, with the next one being completed in September. Phil also suggested that when a new feature appeared on the website particularly under Members News an alert could be placed on the BRS booking system at the top of the entry sheet to alert members to this. It could stay on for 2/3 days and then removed. This suggestion will be followed up. Phil Park asked if the MC were planning to go ahead with a membership survey, which was delayed from 2021. It was noted that the previous survey, in 2020, was over complicated and very lengthy. All agreed that a survey would be useful if the questions asked were straight forward, meaningful and would ascertain the thoughts of the membership accurately. All agreed that a small working party should be appointed to develop a survey which could be completed electronically. Scott offered to recruit and brief a working group to move this forward. The MC reported that the EC minutes of their meeting held on 23rd February were withheld from publication as many of the items raised in the minutes had not been brought to the attention of the MC. To prevent this occurring in the future Dougie Parker proposed that, after an EC meeting, their items/questions should be submitted to the MC, to be considered and actions minuted within their monthly meetings. Scott Cameron seconded and all agreed to work to this procedure going forward. | Scott |
| 5. | ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING (AGM) The club Governance states that there should be no more than 15 months between AGMs, however this has not been possible due to the Covid pandemic. Scott stated that the MC plans to hold a full AGM in 2022. He suggested moving it to September/October to help the transition of newly elected MC members into their roles. However, John Sheffield said that the MC should be mindful of the financial end-of-year accounts being signed off by then. David Harding proposed, and Scott seconded, that there is a members’ forum in October, with an electronic vote to follow after the AGM. It was generally agreed that this format should be developed by the MC and progress be reported back to the EC at the next joint meeting. It was confirmed by the MC that rule changes and resolutions that were proposed at the last AGM vote (Dec 2021) will not be raised again. Any new rule changes/resolutions, at the next AGM, will only be progressed if the correct procedure, according to rule 21(c), is followed. | All MC |
| 6. | HEALTH AND SAFETY Concerns on some health and safety issues around the course were discussed, these included:The depth of the pond on the left side of the 5th fairway; should signage for deep water be erected and a life belt.The repairs to the steps on the 5th and 7th tee boxes.The man-hole cover next to the hoggist.The wooden steps on the 17th gent’s tee box are very slippery in rain and frost. Gideon Sharp will speak with the Greenkeepers to expediate these issues, however he did state that the overall work on the course, to get it ready for the season, is very intense. Dougie Parker reported that a previously contracted risk assessment company is commissioned to carry out risk assessments on both the clubhouse and the course at the end of April. | Gideon |
| 7. | MANAGEMENT STRUCTURE John Sheffield asked if the MC had considered appointing office personnel to help with the overall running of the club, as members had raised this with him on several occasions. Dougie Parker stated that they are currently discussing options in relation to the overall management of the club. MC to report back at the next meeting. Both committees praised the work that the Directors of Golf are currently involved in. | All MC |
| 8. | DISCIPLINE SECRETARY Philip Park proposed that a discipline secretary is appointed, as required in the current disciplinary and grievance (D&G) policy, without further delay. After some discussion this was seconded by Carol Slinger and all agreed. Dougie Parker to action. Dougie Parker proposed that the D&G policy is reviewed, and simplified to make it more straight forward and user-friendly. This was seconded by Scott Cameron and all agreed. The MC to set up a task group. | DougieAll MC |
| 9. | FINANCE Dougie Parker reported that he is trying to streamline the inherited finance systems at the club. The Catering Company has been dissolved and other accounts cleared and closed down. There are now two main accounts, Penrith Golf Club and Penrith Golf Club ltd. and the Cumberland Building Society. The accounts are now being recorded in such a way that a new finance manager should be able to take over with minimal effort. There are still some members to pay their subscriptions, but these are mainly those who failed to switch their direct debit details. The club insurance has been reviewed, updated and increased.It was confirmed that the tenants in the flat have some responsibilities with regards the security of the premises when the club is closed and that this satisfies the requirements of the insurance. | |
| 10. | AOB Carol Slinger stated that it is difficult, especially for new members, to find out rules, dress code, and the details of club competitions without the publication of the ‘Yellow Book’. She requested that this information be added to the website. | MC |
| The meeting closed at 8.40pm DATE, TIME AND VENUE OF NEXT MEETING Tuesday 28th June 2022 at 6.30pm in the Blencathra Room. (Scott Cameron to book) | Scott |