The minutes of the 2009 AGM are now available to view online HERE.

The latest committee meeting minutes are also available HERE.

Minutes of the Committee Meeting
3 November 2009, in the Clubhouse

The meeting started at 7.30 p.m.

Apologies:Guy Clayton, Roger Moore, Anita Pocock-Gulliver, Rob Seymour, Catrin Williams

Present:Dave Bisson, Phil Colpus, Sally Daniell, Linda Ganter, Joan Jones, Suzanne Sanderson, Paul Treacy, Keith Ward (8)

1a. Minutes of the AGM held on 14 October, 2009
Minutes agreed.

Matters arising
i) Paul Treacy has now signed the Trust document and the other Trustees are expected to sign accordingly. This matter is now completed.

ii) Trevor May Ltd has carried out further work on Courts 1&2 but the result is unsatisfactory. Further work cannot take place before the Spring.

1b. Minutes of the meeting held on 4 August, 2009
Dave Bisson (Tournaments) asked that the Minutes be amended to show that he had stated he would not be organizing the 2010 American, Smiths Cup and Fayers Cup tournaments. He would however try to find the necessary organizers although this had not been easy in 2009. Minutes otherwise approved.

Matters arising
i) PT thanked DB for running a successful Closed tournament and an enjoyable Finals Weekend. The matter of finding members to run the 2010 one-day tournaments will be addressed next year.

ii) PT has written to Charlotte Newlyn’s grandfather thanking him for his generous gift to the Club of score boards which saw their first use on Finals Weekend.

iii) PT thanked Linda Ganter for instituting the new social mix-in board which seems to be working quite well on both Sundays and Wednesday evenings. LG said it has had mixed reviews so far but she is hopeful its continued use will lead to broad acceptance.

iv) PT and Guy Clayton (Grounds) have not so far been able to make the vandalized shed safe and secure. It is probably beyond repair but will not be needed once the pavilion extension is complete.

v) Linda Ganter (Health and Safety) said she now has records of 5 separate summer incidents of trespass and anti-social behaviour. Of late, however, this nuisance has reduced. This may be due to action Police have taken in being more visible in the area as much as the expected seasonal drop-off. CCTV may still need to be considered but not yet.

vi) The Clubmark Club Action Plan has now been revised for the coming year/eighteen months and the old one ready to be signed off.

2. Health & Safety
i) (see 1bv above)

ii) Kathy Charles expressed concern about safety around Court 6. With a narrow entrance to the Club and most coaching taking place on Court 6, this area can become hazardous with the presence of cars, parents, siblings as well as those children being coached. Making it safer would seem to be necessary now that more and more children are involved. The Committee discussed the possibility of railing off the area while keeping a controlled access to Court 6. The earth mound opposite Court 6 was also considered a safety issue. Action: LG to investigate costs and report.

3. Reports from Officers
i) Grounds: PT on behalf of GC (absent) reported:

a) that so far one formal estimate for the building of the extension has been received: £29,550 subject to acceptance within 90 days and a 10% deposit. It is understood other estimates are being sought and that the architect will be asked to approve the building firms. In light of the time limitation he recommended a small group reviews and decides on the way forward: this group should consist of PT, GC, the Treasurer and anyone else with an interest.

b) New net bands are in place and some of the nets moved around courts to ensure even use. 2 new nets have been ordered.

ii) Membership Secretary: Joan Jones gave notice that member, Ken Hammond, will be asking for a reduction in his subscription as he expects to be unable to play for the foreseeable future because of a hip operation.

iii) Secretary: Sally Daniell reported that she had received a letter from Simon Johnson (Hampshire County Tennis Development Officer) offering the LTA’s help with any plans the Club may have with building new courts. KC confirmed that with the demise of the Aldershot Tennis Centre the County now viewed Avondale LTC as the leading Junior coaching premises in the area. The Committee agreed that guaranteed County support threw a new light on any proposed court development project. The same obstacles still exist (insufficient land, moving the water pipe, etc.) and money is already earmarked for the extension project but County involvement may increase the will to see the project through. Action: SD to reply positively to Simon Johnson and propose a meeting to discuss.

iv) Coaching: KC:

a) confirmed that Clive Asprey will be joining the coaching team this week focusing on the mini tennis groups. She expects him to be a very useful addition;

b) expressed her thanks to member, Sue Gilchrist, an LTA referee, for running the recent Junior matchplay competition. The day was a great success and she looks forward to more being held in due course.

PT commented that at the Junior Finals presentation the Club gave Bob Butt a small token of thanks following his decision to ‘retire’ from helping with Saturday morning coaching which he has done for many years.

v) Catering: Suzanne Sanderson said she has no further commitments this year. She and JJ asked who was responsible for emptying the litter bins. The response was that no one is now that John Ivil no longer does it voluntarily and it is as yet not part of the gardening contract. It is hoped the new contract will be in place in the Srping; until then it is up to the good offices of willing volunteers! It was agreed that 2 of the 3 outside bins may be removed, reducing the problem.

vi) Pavilion: LG gave the background on the recent water leak in the Redfields field. She only became aware on Finals Day at which point steps were to taken to trace, access, repair and make good as soon as possible. It is believed we were losing water at around £100 per day (est. total £1800). She is pursuing with the water board the possibility of their waiving the charges. If not, we will pursue a claim on the Club’s insurance (the brokers are aware). In light of this, she recommends that we waste no further time in seeking our independent supply. With this and other problems associated with the wayleave agreement we now have good reason to do it. She estimates rough costs of around £10 000 (£6000 for mains access pipework, plus the cost of a water board meter and making good). She recommends bringing in the pipework to the back of the building which is the current entry point, that pipework is sunk parallel to the courts rather than digging up the car-park. PT added that we need also to be mindful of the progress of the extension. Agreed. Action: LG to investigate costs.

6. AOB
i) PT had received a letter from one member complaining about comments made by another member following a Club tournament match. It was noted that the comments had subsequently been withdrawn in writing but no apology given. It was agreed that an apology was appropriate. Action: PT to write separately to the members concerned asking them to reconcile their differences in the interests of the Club.

ii) The members’ feedback form designed by Catrin Williams (Clubmark) was discussed and agreed with just minor amendments. LG wondered if anonymity was appropriate. Keith Ward suggested this become an online survey as he believed the ease of use would encourage more members to participate. Hard copies would be also available in the Clubhouse. For demonstration purposes he volunteered to upload the questions to the website he knew of, send a link to Committee members and collate the results. Further investigation will be required concerning costs and collation.

iii) PT has received a voucher for a day’s free golf for 4 at North Hants Golf Club (est. £200) in gratitude for an amount of old Astroturf from Courts 1&2 which they have used to cover some steps that were a safety hazard. It was agreed that a silent auction take place with the proceeds donated to Children in Need. Action: PT.

Date of next meeting: Tuesday, 19 January 2010.
Meeting ended: 9.44 p.m.