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Minutes of the Meeting of Wednesday 1st.
May, 2002
1. Present were Marion Anderson, Eric Davidson,
Peter Fettes,
Jimmy Kelly, Sue Lawson, Fred Moore, Jimmy Paterson, Dane Sherrard
and Graeme Small.
2. The Minutes of the meeting of Wednesday
6th. February were approved.
3. The one item which arose from the previous
minute was that of VAT. Jimmy Paterson
reported that his professional advisers had now reported to him that
we were unable to reclaim any of the VAT which had been incurred in
the restoration of the building. This was because we had no incoming VAT-chargeable
items against which to off-set the VAT which we had to pay. Jimmy
had asked his accountant to prepare a statement of the situation for
us in writing. This would be forwarded to Dane as soon as it arrived.
It was expected within about a week. Once it was confirmed that we
were unable to reclaim VAT Dane would take forward the application to
the listed places of worship grant scheme which would enable us to
apply for a grant from the government equivalent to a reduction to 5%
of VAT on all of the works begun since April 2001.
4. Treasurer's Report:
Marion Anderson reported that the present bank
balance stood at £4, 015 .30 That there was so much in the
account was due to the generosity of one individual who had donated
£5,000 towards the cost of the exterior works which were now
about to begin.
Marion reported that on-going fund raising was
difficult; people were getting used to the collection cans which no
longer brought in the money which they once did. Fortunately we were
nearing the end of the refurbishment phase. Money would be coming in
from the sponsored event which was planned for June and from the
listed places of worship grant scheme. But there was not money in the
account to finance the final phase of the restoration which was now
about to begin. Jimmy Kelly had been asked by the Congregational
Board of the Parish Church to estimate the costs of completing the
next phase of the work. This estimate amounted to £14,000 (the
work is identified under item 5 of this minute) - an estimate
which had originally been prepared for the Community Trust meeting of
November 2001. Against this background, the Congregational Board had
agreed to advance up to £10,000 to enable the work to be done on
the understanding that when and if the Trust raised the money it
would be returned to the Church account. This lead to a huge
discussion in which many different points of view were aired. There
was a natural concern about 'borrowing' money from the Church - what
would happen if it couldn't be repaid? Dane explained that if the
Trust had not existed then the Church would have had to pay for the
work anyway. There was no question of the Church demanding a
repayment from the Trust for monies which the Trust did not have. It
arose from the discussions that, in any event, it was the same people
who raised the money whether it was for the Trust or for the Church -
and, of course, it was natural that this should be the case. Some of
the Trust members were concerned about running the coffers of the
Trust down to nothing, what if other bills arose? This was a concern
of us all. But the only monies which we have at present are funds
which have been given to us by an individual to enable us to do the
outside phase of the work. It would seem unreasonable not to use that
money for the purpose for which it had been given. A possibility was
to delay the exterior phase until more funds had been gathered;
reality suggested to us that it might easily be a further two years
before we reached that stage and there was no guarantee that then we
might still have the pool of volunteer and inexpensive labour. On
balance it seemed that moving forward using the labour we now had,
the money in our own funds, augmented with funds from the Church was
the best option.
This frank and robust exchange of views led on to
a discussion about the programming of the work which was being done
in general. A feeling emerged that the initiative in making the plans
and setting the timetable was coming from the Congregational Board of
the Church rather than from the Community Trust. Dane thought that in
all these things there was a partnership: he was both chairman of the
Congregational Board and Chairman of the Community Trust; Jimmy Kelly
was both Property Convener of the Congregational Board and Master of
Works in the Restoration. Naturally boundaries did become blurred.
But the present phase of the work had been planned and scheduled for
a considerable period of time. Indeed the timing, costing and detail
of the summer programme were discussed and agreed at the meeting of
the Community Trust on 14th. November, 2001, several months before it
was discussed by the Congregational Board. Fortunately, this summer
should see the end of the refurbishment phase of the work of the
Community Trust; the next phase will be an easier, and with luck, a
less controversial phase - but we certainly must not lose sight of
everything which has been achieved, and how it could not have been
achieved without the involvement of the Community Trust. At the time
that the Trust was set up it was, of course, inconceivable that the
Church would ever be in the position to have money to assist in the
restoration of the building; that it has was in itself a mark of the
success both of the work of the Trust and of the Congregation. In the
meantime, Dane and Marion would do all that they could to raise
additional funds for the Community Trust.
5. Report on the Progress of Church Restoration:
Jimmy Kelly reported that scaffolding was now
in the process of being erected to enable the programme of removing
the existing harling, repointing the stonework, cleaning the
stonework and re-harling where appropriate. This work will be
undertaken by volunteers and by tradesmen working at a reduced rate.
In addition, new down-pies would be fitted. At the same time new
mullions for the windows which remain to be restored were being
prepared; and the insurance claim for damage to the finials during a
recent storm should result in the finials being replace during this
coming month. It was suggested that Alpine Gutters - an Arrochar firm
- might be able to help with the provision of the downpipes. It was
also reported that the Church had been inspected by the Property
Committee of Dumbarton Presbytery who expressed themselves delighted
with what they saw.
Nothing has as yet been decided on the matter of
disabled access. We are committed to making all necessary provision
once the local planning authority has told us what it will accept by
way of alteration to our building.
6. Report on the use of Church Facilities.
The building continues to be extremely well used.
The local authority are now running a computer class during the day
as well as in the evening. The Helensburgh Savoy had presented a
wonderful musical evening just the week before and Church events
continue to be extremely well supported.
7. Other Business
Graeme Small told the members of the Trust
that this was likely to be his final meeting as the representative of
Dumbarton Presbytery. After many years on the Presbytery,
latterly as Convener of the Property Committee, he was retiring to
Edinburgh and his replacement as Property Convener would replace him
on this committee. He congratulated the Trust on all that had been
achieved. What had happened at Arrochar had surprised and impressed
him and he was grateful for the opportunity of being involved in one
of the success stories of the Church in this area. Dane thanked
Graeme for his best wishes, for his work on behalf of the Trust and
the Church, and for the support which Presbytery had provided.
Everyone wished Graeme well in his new home and hoped to see him
again in the future.
7. The next meetings of the Trust were agreed as:
Wednesday 7th. August, 2002
Wednesday 6th. November, 2002
The meeting closed at 8.35 p.m.
Arrochar Parish Church Community Trust
The three monthly meeting will be held on
Wednesday 7th. August, 2002 at 7.30 p.m.
in Arrochar Parish Church Hall.
Agenda
Apologies for Absence.
The Minutes of the Meeting of Wednesday 1st. May, 2002.
Matters arising from the Minutes.
Treasurer’s Report.
Report on the progress of Church Restoration.
Report on the use of the Church facilities.
Any Other Business.
Dates of future meetings.
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