Minutes of the Eighth Annual General Meeting of the Association

Wednesday 26^th May, 1999 at 8.15 pm, Christchurch Hall, Dartford.

Present: 18 members of the Association. The Meeting was opened by : Mr B Palmer

1) Apologies: Mr S Gousy and Mr T Laidlaw

2) Minutes of the Seventh Annual General Meeting: Accepted (Mr A Philip/Mr D Vagg).

3) Matters Arising from the Minutes: None

4) Secretary's Report: The Committee has met four times since the Seventh Annual General Meeting. During the past year the Committee has co-opted five new members under Rule 6 (Mr Said Gousy, Mr Roger Alldred, Mr Nigel Rainey, Mr Paul Staines and Mrs Janet Bourne). The Secretary thanked all members of the Committee for their assistance in the past year.

i) Rentals and Expenditures: At present there are 110 plotholders on the Dartford Road site, and the site is 98.5% rented. Leaving aside profits from the seed scheme the Association has again run a small surplus of income over expenditures. The Secretary recorded his thanks to the Association's auditor, Mr Trevor Holford, who has again given the accounts very close scrutiny.

ii) Grounds, Maintenance and Equipment: The main footpath has been kept under control by the Secretary, Mr Bourne and also with the assistance of Mike Barratt during the last two months. A generator has been purchased for use around the site, mainly for the use of electrical tools and strimmers.

iii) Seed Scheme: Over the past year the Secretary has organised our participation in the NSALG Seed Scheme, which has yielded a small profit to the Association. Catalogues for next year will again be distributed with the Autumn Newsletter.

iv) External Relations: The Association was again represented at the AGM of the KAGC in October. Over the past year the Association has worked closely with colleagues at other sites to improve the status of allotment gardening within the Borough of Dartford and at the national level. The site was recently visited by councillors from Maidstone Borough Council. They were given a guided tour of the site and an explanation of the methods used for self-management. They were very pleased with their tour and praised the efforts of all involved in the site.

5) Questions on the Secretary's Report:

None

6) Treasurer's Report: The Treasurer introduced the Statement of Accounts for the Year 1998-99. Total rental income for FY1998-99 was £1901.04. Profit from the Seed Scheme was £93.58. Rents received for FY1999-2000 total £2304.75 so far.

7) Questions on the Treasurer's Report:

None

8) Election of Committee Members: Mr B Palmer summarised the rules governing the elections. At this point a plotholder raised an objection to the way in which elections were conducted. It was requested that the format of electing committee members be based on a number of nominated candidates fighting for a limited number of places. It was pointed out that as this was not an item on the agenda that it would be discussed at the next committee meeting and included on the next agenda.

Two current members of the Committee (Mr Laidlaw and Mr J Bourne) were retiring and had agreed to stand for re-election for two years. Mr Gousy, Mrs Bourne and Mr Rainey have agreed to stand for election for two years and Mr Alldred has agreed to stand for one year. No other nominations had been received. Nominations (with proposers and seconders) were as follows:

There were no questions of the candidates, and all were individually elected on a show of hands.

9) Award of DRAA Newcomer's Cup: By agreement with the donor, the DRAA Newcomer's Cup is awarded for the best performance by a new tenant on the site joining in the previous two years (in this case1997 and 1998). People who have come onto the site during 1999 are therefore eligible for the first time next year. The cup is awarded on the judgement of the Trustees, and no individual may win the cup twice. This year there were 16 finalists. The efforts of Tony Walkling, Kate Parry and Ian Kettley were highly commended, in third place was Barry Palmer, and in second place was Tony Shanley. This year's winner, however, is Paul Staines.

10) Any Other Business: The hard work of the outgoing Secretary and Trustees was acknowledged and praised by members. The work of Mrs Bourne in tidying the car park was also appreciated by members. It was brought to the attention of the members that cars had been seen driving along the main path at excessive speeds. It was suggested that the matter be discussed at the next committee meeting and an item be added to the next newsletter. It was brought to the attention of members that a string of bonfires had been experienced from a neighbouring garden.

Meeting Closed: 20:48

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