Agenda

1. The Beer and Brewery Contracts
2. Club Rules and Constitution
3. Entertainment
4. Election of Officers at the AGM

The meeting was requested by Chris Banting on behalf of a number of the members in a letter dated 28th February 2008.

The meeting was chaired by the club chairman Mr John Cotton and was attended by about 60 members. Chris Banting tabled a list of 25 questions on behalf of the members and the Chairman answered each question in turn. The questions and a summary of the Chairman's replies are recorded below.

1. How often does the club put the beer contract out to tender?
   The brewery contract is put out to tender every 3 years
2. When the present contract expires will a better deal from another brewery be worked out or is it not envisaged changing suppliers for a number of years?
   Yes a new deal will be negotiated and tenders invited at the end of the current three year deal
3. Over the past weeks a number of guest beers have been tried although there has been no continuous supply. Will the Committee assure its members that guest beers will continue on a permanent basis, not an intermittent one and also explain why have there already been so many occasions when the guest beers have not been available - can't we order sufficient stocks to meet the member's requirements?
   The club is restricting sales of guest beers to 2 barrels a week and these will be on tap from Friday until supplies are exhausted.
4. Are we going to get a guest mild beer?
   No because of the limited demand for the product.
5. What are the benefits of having a sole supplier for the beer and wouldn't it be better having a minimum of two competing for our business?
   A better deal can be negotiated from a single supplier
6. Why are members paying pub prices for the beer when the committee "got a far better deal for the club" from JW Lees?
   The clubs prices are competitive with similar clubs and are below pub prices, however, the margins will be reviewed
7. Why did the Chairman refuse to discuss the beer at the AGM when he knew that this was a major issue with a large number of the members who had attended the AGM for that sole purpose?
   This was not an AGM issue
8. It is true that the decision to change brewery was made based on the opinions of 20 of the regulars. ("It was therefore decided to take 20 of the regulars to the Brewery to taste the beer, which we did with no negative feedback whatsoever. In fact the feedback was 100% positive. It was therefore passed unanimously by the committee to change supplier.") Does the Committee consider it reasonable to make a decision regarding what is the clubs "greatest source of income"" based on the subjective opinions of a representative sample of 2% of its membership when statistically the minimum percentage for a truly representative sample on this size of population is over 7%?
   The decision was mainly made on grounds of economics but the Committee were happy with the feedback from the members who attended the brewery trip.
9. Were those members who attended the brewery trip aware that their opinions were being sought as a representative sample of all the club members on the future club beer supplier?
   No
10. Could the club negotiate an early termination of the current brewery contract if there was evidence of a sufficient economic advantage in doing so?
    Yes
11. Did the Committee discuss the proposals made in writing to them by a former member regarding potential conflict of interest: - "Officers of the club should, in future, declare any conflict of interest and, if any, should exclude themselves from any involvement in any conflicting issue."
    Not answered for legal reasons
12. Is there any thought of making the club a more democratic institution by giving all members a vote before the next A G M? and if not why not?
    No but it is up to the members to put resolutions before the Committee at the AGM
13. Whilst it is accepted that the club is a cricket club first and foremost would it not be prudent to re-consider the role that the non-cricket playing members have in the running of the club, as these are the members who contribute throughout the year and not just during the six months of the cricket season, if only in issues that are not cricket related, such as the brewery contract, entertainment etc?
    No but it is up to the members to put resolutions before the Committee at the AGM
14. Is the Committee aware that the club rules dated May 2004 have two rules numbered 2.?
    Yes and it has been corrected
15. What are the rules regarding the conduct of the AGM and where are they documented?
    The are no rules written regarding the conduct of the AGM but the same processes have been in place for many years
16. Where do the rules state that an item raised under Any Other Business must be submitted in writing to the Committee two weeks prior to the meeting?
    The are no rules written but the same processes have been in place for many years
17. The Committee reacted to the members' request that more entertainment be provided by putting on a number of acts on Saturday nights during the winter months that were very badly supported. Did the Committee seek any opinions from their members on what entertainment they wanted?
    No but they will in future
18. Given that the entertainment was so badly attended could the Committee not have cancelled the acts and saved the club funds by doing so?
    No. The entertainment was bought as a package. If the club had been able to cancel they would have done so.
19. The Committee has suggested that the main lounge may in the future be offered as an additional function room on Saturday nights during the cricket closed season. What plans does the Committee have for building additional toilet facilities at each end of the bar to facilitate this?
    Under discussion
20. A number of members have suggested that the Committee does not fulfill its obligations under the second rule 2 of the club rules 2004 by retiring and being re-elected in a proper manner. Can the Committee confirm that the notice of intention to stand for re-election has been posted each year?
    Yes
21. If so, could the Committee please tell us where this notice is displayed?
    On the notice board in the main entrance
22. There are club notice boards for cricket, snooker, dominoes, darts and the Diving club but there does not appear to be a general club notice board apart from doors and windows. Would the Committee consider providing a prominently positioned general notice board for all members?
    There is one in the entrance foyer
23. What efforts have been made since the A G M six months ago to recruit committee members, especially to the position of treasurer?
    A person has put themselves forward but due to personal circumstances he has been prevented from taking up the post and looks unlikely to do so for some time
24. Is the fact that we do not have a treasurer making it more difficult to run the club's finances?
    No but it is making the Committee more aware of certain issues
25. How many paying members do we have at 29 May 2008 compared to May 29 2007?
    The membership secretary was on holiday and the question could not be answered

A number of other questions were taken from the members and answered by the Committee.