Minutes of the thirteenth Annual General Meeting of Stewartry Community Sports Club held on Monday 10th April 2023 in the Castle Douglas Parish Church Hall, Castle Douglas. (note – due to Covid the 2021 AGM was held in November and then we reverted to having our AGM in April so the final accounts for the year ended 31/12/22 submitted to OSCR could be prepared).
Present (14): Doug Walker, Colin Kennedy, Geoff Legg, Eileen Legg, Lindsay Kennedy, Steve Smith, Calum Wilson, Keith Graves, Patricia Graves, Lois Sproat, Dougie Kerr, Simon Mein, Shane Clayton and James Warwick.
Apologies: Ian Gordon, David McBeth, Colin Davies
Welcome and thanks: Chairman Doug Walker welcomed those in attendance and thanked the retiring committee members – our long standing Treasurer, Eric Fenwick and committee members Billy McLean and Craig Reeves. He thanked all office bearers and committee for their work since the last AGM.
Minutes of the previous AGM: The minutes from the 12th AGM in November 2021 were taken as read and approved and matters arising were deferred to general business as they appeared on the agenda.
Treasurer’s Report and Finances and Secretary’s Report: (see the 6 pages of extracts from the annual accounts submitted to OSCR, Office of the Scottish Charity Register, for the year ended 31st December 2022 at the end of these minutes. Saint & Co closed their Castle Douglas office in mid 2021 and their director Jennifer McDairmant prepared our report and accounts for submission to OSCR the governing body for charities in Scotland and our accounts are extracted from there).
GL presented both reports. GL went through the accounts beginning by saying what a very healthy financial position the club is now in. When the club was formed by merger of the tennis and squash clubs in 2009 we had fewer than 100 members and £700 in the bank. Fast forward to 2023 and we have around 500 members, over £60K in the bank, no liabilities and paid for the major clubhouse extension, resurfacing tennis courts, refurbishing squash courts, creating and equipping a gym and aerobics room and installed 4 heating/aircon units. We have since y/e paid for tennis courts floodlights.
For the y/e 31/12/22 Income was £41,338 vs Expenditure £27,400; a surplus of £13,938 was earned (£12,385 in 2021). Income is predominantly from subscriptions and the main items of expenditure were electricity and gas £7,664, cleaning £6,120, property repairs and renewals £3,464, depreciation £2,863 (a book entry not involving cash), administration (Saint & Co) £1,800, coaching (Mark Sindall for taking the juniors) £1,600 and insurance £1,445.
The Statement of Financial Position (aka Balance Sheet) showed fixed assets (buildings, tennis courts and equipment) of £350,586 and bank balance of £69,068 less current liabilities (bills outstanding on balance day since paid) of £2,064 and long term liabilities of £2,000, members long term loans since repaid which gave a ‘net worth’ of £415,590 (up from £401,652 at the end of the previous year). The position as of 10/4/23 was that floodlights had been installed and paid for - £33,653 - for which we received grants from Holywood Trust - £10,000 - and SportScotland - £16,826 - and the club paid the remainder of £6,827. After paying off liabilities of £4,064 and the balance on the floodlights we now have £63,751. The trustees have decided to ‘ringfence’ much of thi
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as a Sinking Fund for future contingencies and asset replacement (e.g. resurfacing tennis courts, reflooring squash courts, equipment for gym and AR and building repairs). This will be placed in a separate (higher) interest bearing account with the remainder in our Treasurers and Business Accounts.
The club is now back to pre Covid levels of activity and the membership is slightly higher. The bulk of our membership is gym/AR users who appear to have no/little interest in racket sports. Discussion on ways to get gym/AR users playing racket sports was deferred to general business.
Estate Manager’s Report: In CD’s absence it was mentioned by management committee that there were few maintenance issues arising during the year. Andy Boyd had replaced the door to the tennis courts and light bulbs were replaced as the need arose. Billy McLean kept up a schedule of maintaining the treadmills and other equipment. It was noted that the clubhouse is in need of a paint all around and quotes will be sought to have this work carried out.
Reports from Squash/Racketball, Tennis and Keep Fit sections:
CW reported that we entered 2 squash and 1 racketball teams in D&G Leagues and we were able to fulfil most fixtures although at times we didn’t have enough players to support these teams. We will try to build these numbers up.
CK/EL/GL reported on tennis. Men’s and ladies coaching on Monday mornings had good numbers. Junior coaching went well with over 30 regularly taking part in the Thursday evening sessions run by Mark Sindall and Ryan Galloway. Our ladies team won the league for the 6th time in the last 7 years with no leagues taking place in 2020 so 6 in a row, an excellent achievement. We couldn’t raise enough for a men’s team in 2022 but 2 members played for Dalbeattie in the league. Our mixed team won the league for only the 3rd time in the club’s history, an excellent achievement. In 2023 we have entered men’s, ladies and mixed teams in D&G Leagues.
There was little to report on Gym and AR but it was agreed to have a review of equipment in both rooms. We will also seek feedback from member users on what equipment they would like to see retained/replaced and suggestions regarding new equipment. Billy McLean will continue to look after maintenance in both rooms for the time being.
Future projects:
Solar panels on the roof were mentioned and this would also be investigated although the roof and the direction it faces may not be suitable. The incentives for feeding power back into the grid are also not as good as they used to be but the cost of the panels themselves has reduced. Painting of the whole clubhouse exterior is another major project for the coming year – quotes will be sought for this work. CK mentioned we should investigate the costs/planning issues of extending the clubhouse in the ‘Forglen direction’ to create a social area. The Forglen property owners may be amenable to selling a strip of their garden to facilitate this. It was agreed to follow this up.
Election of Office Bearers:
The Management Committee and General Committee were unanimously re-elected en-bloc (one change was that Eric Fenwick has stepped down).
Chairman - Doug Walker
Vice Chairman - Colin Kennedy
Secretary – Geoff Legg
Treasurer – Saint & Co to do books and prepare final accounts, DW/GL/CK look after banking/payment of invoices via online a/c’s
Estates Manager – Colin Davies
General Committee – Lindsay Kennedy, Steve Smith, Calum Wilson and Shane Clayton
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Membership Fees:
It was unanimously agreed to not change the membership fees put in place on 1st May 2015:
Adult membership £10 per month or £120 by lump sum
Family membership £15 per month or £180 by lump sum
Junior membership £30 p.a. by lump sum
Country membership (residing outside the Stewartry) £6 per month or £72 by lump sum
Life individual £800 one-off lump sum
Life family £1,200 one-off lump sum
Fund Raising and Social Activities:
The healthy bank balance and post Covid reluctance both mean that no/few fund raising and social activities will be planned for the near/distant future. A quiz night is always possible.
Any other competent business:
There being no further business to discuss, DW thanked all those in attendance and closed the meeting at 7.50 pm.