Trust Board Meeting, 25th June 2007
Venue: Novar Bar, Kirkcaldy
Present: Alan Russell (AR), Graeme Condie (GC), John Mainland (JM), plus Tom Phillips (TP) for half of the meeting
Apologies: Blair White (BW), George Howie (GH), James Proctor (JP), Mike Melville (MM), Tam Cunningham (TC)
Due to the number of attendees present at the start of the meeting (3) being insufficient to hold a formal meeting, no decisions were taken and the time was used to bring those absent from previous meetings up-to-date with developments.
Minutes of previous meeting
As the only member present at both the previous meeting and this one was the author, the minutes were not checked for accuracy.
Treasurers Report
GC reported that the bank statements for the previous two months have not been received, and therefore no accurate report could be given. This situation will be raised with the Royal Mail sorting office as a matter of urgency, and duplicate statements will be requested if the statements have gone missing. GC is also in the process of getting online banking set up, and will progress this over the next few weeks
Membership Update
The Membership Secretary was not present. An update will be added post-meeting.
Matters Arising
Raith Forum: The Trust’s £8k donation to the Forum’s £30k target has been paid. A public handover of the cheque will be arranged at a suitable high-profile date – perhaps at the start of the new season, or at one of the events relating to the youth football initiative at the club.
AR reported on progress on the role of the Raith Forum after his email correspondence with the other member groups of the Forum. The response was mixed – some groups were in favour of refocussing the Forum’s scope on fundraising and involving the other groups in Trust board meetings as equal partners to address all other issues of interest, whereas others would prefer the Forum meetings to remain a place where all issues were discussed. As a result it was not felt appropriate to push this proposal any further at this time. However, Alex Condie’s standing invitation to attend the Trust board meetings would be reiterated, and an alternative date for these meetings would be fixed (possibly the third Monday of the month), as the current dates clash with another of Alex’s commitments.
AGM:
The Trust accounts have now been completed, albeit with a couple of typos in the headers, so this is no longer an obstacle to holding the AGM. The action is still with JP to arrange the AGM (a date in August will be proposed for this)
AOCB
TP gave a report on developments at Raith TV – the first season was universally regarded by all involved as a great success, and the team are looking forward to the new season. One of Fife College’s degree students will take on the role of co-ordinator that TP is currently performing.
Rock The Rovers 3 – this year’s event will take place in August, and the Trust have been approached to sponsor a band once again. Those present unanimously supported this proposal, which was duly agreed in principle – the remaining Trust board members will be consulted for formal approval.
Starks Park Maintenance – TC had made a suggestion that the Trust contribute to the maintenance group’s efforts by funding the construction of a retaining wall at the bottom of the slope by the South Stand. BW proposed an amended offer of funding, where half of the work would be paid for from the £2000 of donated funds that the Trust are holding, and the other Raith Forum member groups would be asked to match this funding. JM offered to take this issue forward, putting the maintenance group in touch with his father whose background is in this type of landscaping and would be able to advise on the most practical method of construction.
With no other business to attend to, the meeting closed at 20:55.
Date of next meeting
The next meeting is provisionally scheduled for Monday 30th July 2007, although it may be brought forward a week until the 23rd as noted above. The meeting will be held in the Novar Bar unless otherwise advised.
