| October 9th 2005 | Minutes: Committee
Meeting October 9th 2005 Attendance John Blackwell, Jenny Turner, David Davies, June Lambert, Linda Doughty, Anna De Guilio, Veronica Rodziewicz,Tuilio Moglia, David Davies, Bill Lewin, Gina Christodoulou, Karen Sellars, Sean Lambert Apologies: Mary Sirett, John Bays, Bernita Bull, Brian Rossiter, Steven Baron, Bill Lewin Old Business : Karen reported that the show was a success and we made a profit of about £347. This is not complete yet as there is still money owing. Extra money spent on new gazebos was taken from maintenance account. How to improve the show will be discussed at Nov 13th meeting. New Business: 1. Allotment Maintenance -plumbing- David reported that he has looked at the leak on the main road problem seems to be a stop cock. He will investigate hiring a plumber and will try to get the name of one through Geoff Austin. David will report progress at next meeting. 2. Rubbish collection-committee voted to accept rubbish collection proposal- that we get Rob from the Parks to collect rubbish once every few months- dates and permission to be arranged by June. She will call Tony Healey and get approval. Dates will be announced on notice a few weeks in advance. 3. Shed- Committee voted in favour of working to buy a community hut. We will need at least £7000. We will raise money through several sources: mini-lottery grants, enquire with council for allocation. Jenny and June agreed to look into lottery money and grants. The committee approved of creating a new bank account for money raised towards the new community hut. 4. New show grounds-Gina and Linda and John Blackwell agreed to look after the new show grounds, and to do new planting and upkeep. Linda also agreed to copy newsletter. 5. Members Contacts- it is very difficult to contact members without names, e-mails, tel nos etc. The committee approved that we make efforts to get plot no’s with names and tel no’s. Notices in newsletter and shed will ask for e-mails 6. Karen agreed to write and Linda agreed to copy a new GCAA Newsletter- the first issue will be distributed Nov 4th 7. Karen agreed to write up to date lists of members, tel no’s, Ann Jones to be contacted with a view to helping with this 8. Karen proposed to construct a GCAA web site- it was approved-members names not to be used 9. Meeting Dates Proposed for Committee Meetings : Nov 13th (Karen’s House) Dec 4th Jan 15th 2006 (For 2006 dates- please see new calendar) 10. Events/ Fund Raising- a. Nov Bonfire Night? - Committed decided not to hold a bonfire night this year- not enough time to plan it b. New Year’s Allotment Calendar Proposal (K Sellars)-Committee agreed to have Karen create an allotment calendar to sell before Christmas. We will make about 60 copies and sell them for £7 each. Tuilio agreed to use allotment money for funding of printing costs. 7. AOB- Next meeting: we need to discuss system for issuing new plots and road upkeep progress. |
| 13th November 2005 | Golf Course Allotment Association
Committee Meeting 13th November 2005 Minutes: Present: Karen Sellars, Jenny Turner, Linda Doughty, John Bays, Tullio Moglia, Gina Christodoulou, Veronica Rodziewicz, Anna DeGuilio, June Lambert, Bernita Bull, David Davies. Apologies John Blackwell, Sean Lambert, Bill Lewin 1) The previous minutes from the 9th October were agreed 2) Old Business/Reports: a) Chair i) Calendar - All calendars have been sold. No more orders to be taken unless Sean takes orders from the shop. More orders will be at cost of 5.25 each sale at 7.00. No larger re-orders until next year. Overall financial summary attached. ii) Show – Jenny has taken Golf balls to MHGC and raised £24. Alwyn has sold books on Internet and raised about £18. Current show profit is £381.37p plus Balls and Books giving a total £420 Karen/Tulio still need to deduct a small amount for prizes. iii) Karen has suggested a new bank Account – for the activities profits. There are two existing accounts – Trading Shed (COOP) and Maintenance (Barclays). The new account will be run as part of the Maintenance account. Signatures to be Tullio, Karen, Gina and Bill. b) Show Grounds i) We are still arranging clearance – a landscaping guy Tim is having a look. Bernita has requested that she has help moving shed and a working party is to be organised for next weekend 20th November. Rambling roses were agreed to deter fence climbers behind the show ground but need to get fence sorted first. Albertine suggested as a good deterrent. Bernita has access to discounts from Crews Hill a budget £100 was agreed to come out of maintenance c) Trading Shed Manager - Sean acting as the manager i) No report – Sean not at the meeting. d) Fundraising. i) At the last meeting Jenny and June agreed to look at fund raising. They started by approaching Ann Jones to ask if there was anything Haringey could do to help. Ann told Jenny that she has collected ethnic data on new allotment holders since 1996. She only compiles it for statistics relating to all of Haringey’s allotments but this can extracted from the files if there is a member of the council’s staff to do it (this is the sort of information we would need for applications) at the scrutiny meeting see below – a member of the parks department said he would get it for us. ii) Ann suggested we talked to Jan Wilson a project officer with the council. However Jan said that she could not help individual allotment sites and suggested we contacted the Allotment Regeneration Initiative (ARI). Jenny has registered us with ARI. On Tuesday 18th October Linda, Gina, June, Karen and Jenny met with Jeff Barber, the north London mentor with ARI. He was encouraging and supportive and it was good to bounce ideas off him but he didn’t have many suggestions at that stage although he did mention there were other allotment sites we could visit. He has since e-mailed some more concrete advice on fundraising to Jenny. iii) June and Jenny have started to complete a mini Lottery Fund application – (maximum award £5,000) but we need to sort various things first. A lot of this is in hand, like sorting out bank accounts, getting auditors, keeping good records of proceedings etc. We also need to decide exactly what we want in the way of an allotment building and a breakdown of how much it would cost. For example a large wooden shed might not be very expensive but might be a target for local arsonists. Jenny and June and Liz Errington are going to meet next week to look at likely sources of grants. Karen will forward information she has to Jenny. e) Secretary (Tulio) i) Tullio has given copies of the membership and waiting lists to Karen. ii) We have two vacant plots one of which, 133b, has been informally offered to Rebecca Pitfield via Geoffrey. However there are problems with her contact details and she has yet to accept. iii) Tullio is aware of plots that might be coming up but Haringey have not yet been formally notified by the plot holders f) Newsletter i) Not all plot-holders have collected their newsletter from the shop and Karen and Sean is making a database to assist distribution. ii) Karen distributed names of addresses on a sectional basis. Committee members are to ring those in their sections to check whether plot-holders received a newsletter, whether they want Calendar, that the contact details are correct and, if possible, get an e-mail address. g) Assistant Secretary i) Plumbing leak – David has explained the problem to Brian the builder and he has been authorised by Tony Healy to arrange to repair the stop cock. ii) Anna’s water leak - David has sent a letter to Haringey’s Environmental Health Office. iii) Locks – two replacement padlocks were collected from Ann and are attached to the gates. These are available on free issue from Ann Jones. h) Rubbish Removal i) The first collection on the 5th November went well and June plans to arrange another collection at the beginning of February. 3) New Business: a) John Newman i) The project on making signs for plots was not discussed. b) Guidelines on allocation of plots i) Who is allowed to have a plot? It was agreed that it should be Haringey Residents and those living within easy access of the site. Post meeting note: Haringey Website says Haringey residents have priority and while Haringey has 26 allotment sites, Enfield has 36 and Barnet has 50. ii) How many plots each? It was agreed that new members will be allocated a maximum of 10 poles and existing plot holders may apply for additional space but no household shall hold more than approximately15 poles. NB Existing plot-allocations will not be reduced. iii) How does the waiting list operate? It was agreed that when a person reaches No 1 on the list they will be offered the next available plot; no preferences will be allowed as to sheds or cleanliness. If they don’t reply within a reasonable time, two weeks, they will be removed from the list and if they refuse the plot they go to the bottom of the list. iv) Can there be designated succession? It was agreed that there will be no assignment – except to members of the plot-holders family or household who are already known to be working the plot. v) People working others plots. Plot holders are expected to work their plots themselves and if they do not the plot will be re-allocated. vi) How will new members be assessed. A four-week period is allowed, with the discretion of the Secretary, before the tenancy is formally started. vii) Knowledge of new holders – The idea of mentoring, encouraging and advising new plot-holders was discussed but no method was agreed upon. Sub-division of the site into areas that could more easily allow liaison between the committee and plot-holders was discussed but left to the next meeting. viii) Certain of the new members are young mothers with new babies and Tullio has concerns as to whether they have the time to work the plots. It was suggested that they could be referred to the FoE plot, as a reality check, while waiting for their own plots. However, the Committee is unclear on how the remit of the FOE on education in Organic techniques is being delivered. c) Scrutiny Review of Allotment Service i) Karen, Jenny and June attended the meeting at the Civic Centre on 7th November and reported back to the committee (see attached report). There were lots of issues about repairs, dirty plots, enforcement and long waiting lists. Haringey have £100,000 to spend on allotments, which they plan to split equally between the east and west of the borough. They did not explain how they would decide the details of this except to explain that some money had already been spent on clearing some derelict plots in White Hart Lane. ii) A full time allotment officer who knew about vegetable growing and did not have to do other Parks dept duties as well was asked for loudly and clearly. It was decided to set up an allotment group initially piggybacking on the Park Users group, which meets bi-monthly at Bruce Castle (i.e. using the same room afterwards etc). The next meeting is on the 7th January 2005. d) Next Meeting i) 4th December at Gina’s House 70 Crescent, London N22 ii) Items for Agenda (1) Process to achieve self management (2) No dogs (3) People on the waiting list offering to help in the meantime (4) Insurance (5) Show arrangements (deferred until Spring) (6) Allotment rules (?) (7) Powers of committee (water) (8) Signs, gates(painted and cleaned?) more permanent ones made (9) Green shed removal and moving of things into main shed (K) 10) Grant application progress-getting a councillor to sponsor us-deciding on way forward; community hut research |
| December 2005 |
Golf Course Allotment Association Committee Meeting 4th December 2005 Minutes Present : Karen S, Linda D, Tullio M, Gina C, Veronica R, Anna D, June L, Bernita B, David D. Apologies: John B, Sean L, Bill L 1) The previous minutes from the 14th October were agreed 2) Matters Arising and Reports a) Chair i) Tulio and Karen have made the necessary arrangements for the accounts, following certain difficulties at Barclays all the accounts are now at NatWest b) Trading Shed Manager - Sean still acting as the manager i) No report – Sean not at the meeting. c) Fundraising. i) Deferred to the next meeting d) Secretary (Tulio) i) Tulio read out the letter to be sent to prospective plotholders. e) Assistant Secretary i) Plumbing leak – Karen had been in touch with Tony Healy and Brian over the non-fixing of the water leak – no progress at the moment. 3) New Business: a) Process to achieve self management – i) deferred to the next meeting b) No dogs c) Discussion was held around people walking their dogs on the allotment site. It is appropriate for plotholders to have dogs on their sites but dogs must be kept on a lead at all times. Non-plotholders should not bring dogs onto the site. d) People on the waiting list offering to help in the meantime i) Tulio to give some thought to the issue of new starters generally. Offering to help must not be seen a as a way of queue jumping. e) Show arrangements i) deferred until next meeting f) Powers of committee g) The committee are able to, and should, turn off unattended hosepipes without having to find the plotholder or refer to other committee members. h) Signs, gates(painted and cleaned?) more permanent ones made i) Deferred to next meeting i) Green shed removal and moving of things into main shed i) Deferred to next meeting but dependant on fundraising. Also deferred was discussion on research into grant application progress and the possibility of getting a councillor to sponsor us. |
| Jan 15 2006 |
Golf Course Allotment Association
Committee Meeting 15th January 2006 Minutes Present : Karen S, Linda D, Tullio M, Gina C, Veronica R, Anna D, June L, John B, Brian R, David D, Jenny T, Steven B. Apologies : John B, Sean L. 1) The previous minutes from the 4th December 2005 were agreed 2) Matters Arising a) Covered in the main agenda 3) Reports a) Chair i) The calendars broke even, details will be in accounts for the year, but were seen as a success. Can we have more pictures of people – good idea but need to check with the individuals first. ii) Ben L working with a tree surgeon – he offered to do tree surgery for a reasonable price (£170/day his usual price) iii) Bank – new account with NatWest; account is still not sorted but it should be OK by Monday 16th. iv) Plumbing – on the main road, she called Allotment Officer a week ago but the repair is still not done. She will follow up next week. b) Secretary i) Insurance – we have an insurance policy with a premium of £48pa. He will send to John B to get an opinion on what the coverage is ii) Waiting list – two new enquiries – one person taken off the list. Still waiting for council for non-payment and possible vacant plots. Possible 5 plots. Seven confirmed as wanting new plots all want “half” plots. c) Account auditors – Nigel and Tom. June L to get Tom’s details to Karen S. They should audit last year’s accounts and get a set of audited accounts for submission. Gina C to pass information to Nigel. d) Rubbish removal i) First Saturday in March to fit with the bonfires. 11 to 12 – he’ll not load and no-one can pre-dump. Stuff for removal must be brought only when lorry is here. e) Trading Shed i) Need to get all the green shed stuff into the other two sheds. However we need to ensure potato sorting doesn’t conflict. f) Fundraising. i) Still going for the lottery fund. Lot of the issue is the need for a specific proposal but need to get accounts first. June L and Jenny T to have form for the next meeting. Karen S to give details of what sheds cost. Nigel has done applications before and Jan may be able to get her to help out. An application needs to be detailed and specific. ii) Approaching a local politician to act as a sponsor was discussed. 4) New Business a) Bill died and June paid for the wreath – collection notice on the shed. i) Do we want a memorial for Bill – suggestions: (a) Name the new shed after him (b) Bench (c) Name a tree (d) Cup in the show ii) The preference was for the Shed or a Cup – a tree seems somehow wrong. Norma was asked and she indicated the shed – we may be able to link to a lottery grant. Cup good idea too. June L to tell Norma L of decision and ask her advice. b) Newsletter i) Next Issue in March – usual contact ii) Distribution Karen has a list of the e-mails and a plan of the site with e-mailable plots iii) Request for volunteer on site deliveries, to Sheds, June L, Brian R, Stephen B, Gina C and Anna D put their names forward. c) Trading Shed i) Sean is Trading Shed manager– June is the assistant manager. ii) June and Sean have ideas for a re-vamp and will report back. iii) Shed opens Sundays 10 to 1 and later in the spring will open Saturdays. d) Gardeners Quiz at Sunshine – we should enter one or two teams. We should also encourage others, including other sites to enter. e) Potato Order. i) Need help unloading 24th at 10.30. ii) There will be spares for late comers f) Fundraising i) Not the big fundraising smaller stuff but things that will add up and be nil-cost. (a) Suggestions included, (i) Leaflets and guides to sell in the shed (ii) Collect Golf Balls. (iii) Produce Sales (b) Volunteers are needed to act as co-ordinators for the leaflets and guides and for the produce sales. Golf balls should be handed in to the trading shed and ii) Mozart – 250th Anniversary – Steven B is offering sponsored Mozart playing in private houses as part of the anniversary and if people from the allotments would like him to play at their house he will make a contribution to the GCAA funds. Karen sorting a Mozart soirée chez elle. iii) Any smaller ideas please think but start small – it all counts. iv) Jane M’s Sketches – Agreed 25p each or 5 for a £1. g) Scrutiny Committee i) Tullio M has received a the letter – an allotment forum on the 21st January open to all plotholders. Linda D will attend. ii) Allotment Scrutiny report available – Tulio to e-mail to Jenny and Linda. 5) Next Meeting a) When Feb 12th Where June L’s House |
| FEB 12th MINUTES not available-See David D | |
| March 19 2006 |
Minutes- GCAA March 19 2006- Karen’s House: Present Karen S, Linda D, Tullio M, Gina C, ,Anna D, June L, John B, David D, Jenny T, Apologies-Brian R, Sean L B. John B, Veronica R Stephen B Previous Minutes (David)-Previous minutes were not available- David said that he would get them to us asapI.Old Business: 1) Karen reported on tree cutting- which is proceeding- it should be finished next week. 2) Plumbing on main road still no action from the council although T. Healey has been contacted many times about this. 3) Anna’s site -investigation progress- David wrote letter to Thames- no response at this time 4) New Bank Account is operational-Sean’s name added to list of signatories 5) Council money -progress re removal of shed and works proposed-no information- again Council has put us on hold with this-they say they can give us a decision in a few weeks. 6) Fund Raising-We have about 2020 in reserve for new community hut project 7) Newsletter distribution- decided to give out newsletters in each quarter of allotment and see how it works 8) Secretary’s Report- inspection of site for dirty plots- Tullio and June will do this before the next meeting and report back .Tullio and June agreed to cover plot 133B with plastic so that it can eventually be let... this will take a while 9) Insurance - John B- no report-John unable to attend-put forward to April agenda 10) Grounds Report- request for expenditure from Gina and Linda- It was agreed that they spend up to £200 on grounds improvement 11) Trading Shed report- new raffle for Easter organised by June; June will organise rubbish collection dates; shop opening hours includes Saturdays 12) Fund Raising-Brochures- Jenny explained that these need to be favourite recipes rather than ones taken from the web site. Box is now in shop. II. New Business: 1) Correspondence- many letters were received from various members- they were read out and distributed to committee members. Amongst them was one about plant sale from Jenny. Others were positive about the web site, etc. 2) Plant Sale-It was decided to hold this just after the AGM- 1pm People need to advertise this on web site, e-mails and posters. June volunteered to do teas. Who else? 3) AGM -Agenda needs to be approved at next meeting 4) Jane’s Cards-permission to spend about £150- granted by committee 5) Show Schedule- revision of show schedule not necessary- Karen to give to Tullio who will print them up by AGM. Contingency plan for show site- Robbie from Durnsford said we could use his marquees if we no longer had the green hut 6) Council’s 25% rent increase; Tullio attended deputation to council; forum meeting yesterday-Council will look into the claims of not accurate research, but rise will go ahead in the meanwhile. 7) Problems show site borders- Tullio will take care of this 8) Problems with burning on site- rules to remain the same 9) Water issues-Hosepipe ban discussed- Committee decided to turn off water during the weekdays- at least until leaks are dealt with 10)Sunshine Quiz- participants- Brian R lead a team of four representing GCAA- they came 7 th 11) Archives- The committee recognised contribution of Ann Hunt to the organisation of our archives; Jenny Turner agreed to become our official archivist and store records at her house for the time being.Meeting ended 12 noon- Next meeting April 9 at plot in Green Hut |
| April 9 2006 | Minutes of the committee meeting held on the 9th April 2006- as reported
by Tullio M, Site Secretary Committee members present: Karen S (Chairperson), Tullio M, June L, Gina C, Veronica R , Brian R, Linda D, John N, Sean L Apologies: Stephen B, Anna D., David D, Jenny T, John B, John Bl. 10:30 Meeting starts,
11.20 New Business b. AGM Agenda – Karen passed out the draft AGM agenda and asked if any changes needed to be done to it. Tullio commented that the site improvements/council neglect should be removed as this could make the AGM very laborious, instead to call it (A.O.B) any other business. Karen then commented that all the elected officers should resign at the AGM and should stand again if they want to be re-elected. It was mentioned that the posts of Assistant Chair and Assistant Secretary are not required and do we need them? The committee agreed to wait until the AGM to see if anyone volunteered for these posts (Please see appendix A for AGM agenda) c. Plant Sale –Committee agreed that this will be held at 1 pm after the AGM and we would be looking volunteers to help. Help will also be needed in putting up the large gazebo. It was agreed that the gazebo would be erected the day before the AGM. Tullio asked what plants are going to be on sale, Karen replied don’t know. d. Water and leak issues – Karen commented that she has had no joy from the council in getting the major leak repaired on plot 17. Karen then commented that since the water has been turned on Tullio has taken it upon himself to repair any leaks found on the site. Tullio commented that this weekend alone that leaks were found in 4 tanks in which 3 have been repaired and one outstanding. Tullio also stated that the stopcock had to be operated on the Plot 17 to stop the water escaping therefore in consequence two tanks running down in a parallel line would be without water until this leak is repaired. Tullio requested that if the part is found to carry out the repair (no longer wants to wait for the council) would the committee allow the water to be turned off for a couple of days. This motion was passed and Karen commented that she would advise members of the fact. e. It was agreed that the show schedule will be available at the AGM for members. 11.50 Meeting Closed 4. Election of New Officers/Committee Members (nominations, seconds,
vote- NEW COMMITTEE MEMBERS: (vote) |
| May 2006-AGM | Golf Course Allotments Association (GCAA)
The meeting closed at 11.55. Secretary Report for GCAA AGM 14th May 06 I will keep this short and brief and if anyone has any questions will
answer them later. Concerning the allotments, at present the site has a
full membership apart from two half-size plots being vacant (one only being
recently divided). During the year, there have been issued 14 Termination
Notices, 17 New Contracts and there was 1 re-instatement. On-going at the
moment after the first site inspection, are 14 Dirty Plot Notices (4 involving
rubbish) and 9 Notice to Quits (6 involving non payment of rent). SHOW Report: (September 2005)- 2. Finances: 3. General Observations: Good show- lots of people turned up for the day.
Not as many classes entered this year- especially flowers and novice categories.
Domestic and Children’s categories did well except for children’s
plots. More people should be encouraged to enter items in show in September. If you wish to help in the SHOW , please write your name on the list provided- We will contact you when we have a SHOW MEETING Chair’s Report AGM- Submitted by Karen Sellars, May 14th 2006 1. What we have accomplished in 2005-2006 The committee worked very hard in the last year to improve many aspects of our organisation: Special thanks go to Gina, Linda, June and Sean for the many hours they have given. Also to the secretary, Tullio, who has repaired pipes on his own, printed much of our communications and worked hard on on improving the waiting list process as well as the with the allocation of new plots. We especially wish to thank all the committee members for attending meetings once a month and contributing their ideas and expertise. Everyone on the committee has made a contribution according to their expertise and special talents. Thanks also to Jane may for her artistic contributions. a. We were all saddened by Bill Lewin’s death in December and are preparing a plaque and new cup in his memory. Bill’s death necessitated appointing a new acting trading shed manager, and Sean took over the job brilliantly. June was appointed acting Assistant Trading Shed Manager and worked tirelessly to restock the trading shed, find cheaper wholesalers, and work deals with Sunshine, who have given us many items and a very low cost. June has initiated many projects and had been extremely helpful in supporting our work in every way. b. We created a new web site( http://www.gcaa.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk) which incorporates trading shed prices, the latest news, pictures and gardening advice. If you have not used it yet, please have a go. c. We have created a data base of members names, plot numbers, telephones and e-mails where appropriate so as to be in better contact with our members. And we now have our own e-mail : gcaa@blueyonder.co.uk for you to contact us. We would like any of you who have e-mails and have not been receiving our regular news to PLEASE give us your e-mail on the sign in form which is circulating at the moment. d. The committee decided to replace the green hut with a new one- As this will cost over 10,000 , we have initiated several fund raising projects and hope you will participate by contributing as much as you can. Also towards this end, we have submitted a lottery grant application for 10,000 and are awaiting the approval. Other funding projects were- the calendar, plant sale, show, recipe leaflets, note cards, Limited Edition prints, concert performances by Stephan B, and raffles. e. We have reorganised our finances, amalgamated our previous two bank accounts and created one new bank account and worked out a new accounting system f. We have created a data base for our trading shed products which means that inventory taking is much easier. g. We have engaged custom cutters to trip the overhanging trees around the site and also to put down chippings in various corners of the plot instead of in just one area h. We have a regular rubbish pick up system with one of the Haringey parks crew- and Robbie will pick up at any time we book him. This means that we need to bring our rubbish AT THE APPOINTED HOUR and put it on the lorry ourselves, rather than dump it. i. We have attended the new allotments forum and done some work researching amalgamation with national allotment societies, and tried to lobby the council for money and site repairs- although this was not successful. We have had a whiff of success in getting the council to remove the green hut to be ready for the new one and have negotiated with the owner of the Durnsford Road Cafe to take it and give us temporary gazebos for the Show in September. j. We have public liability insurance with RHS and are in the process of investigating other insurance possibilities. k. Ann Hunt, a garden member, has collected all the old minutes and archives of the gcaa found in one of our clean-outs and organised them chronologically into several books- so we now have a history. Jenny Turner has volunteered to be the keeper of the archives-any other archives you may have at home would be gratefully received! j. We have updated the allotment map so that council references and ours are the same. l. We have continued to improve the SHOW SITE and Gina and Linda have worked tirelessly to create gardens, and smooth out the land so that we have a permanent site which can be used all year. You only need to look around. What we hope to accomplish in 2006-7 1. We would like to join the NSALG so that we get access to their superior buildings insurance plan and other help. This will cost each member 1.50 and requires a discussion and vote. See item on the agenda. 2. We need more of you to help us with our various building and site improvement initiatives. We would like a regular working party to give about an hour a weekend- and some men, especially to help. 3. Our goal is to get the new building built and set up- if we a re lucky- before the show, if we are not, then for the show in 2007. We need to continue to raise money towards that end during the course of this new financial year 4. We need to work on water problems- new access points, repair of leaks,etc., and continue to try and get the council to help us there- to date this is not successful- although we did investigate the running water near Anna’s site with the Thames Water board and established that it was not a leaking mains, and probably a natural stream. 5. We need pictures - preferably in digital ofrmant- but any will do- for the new calendar- which will come oout sometime in October 2006 6. We need you to remember to pay your subs, stick by the bonfire rules and remember to close the gates when the shop is closed. DATES to remember: Show- September 3rd 2006 July Tea Party-? |
| June 2006 | June 25th GCAA Committee Meeting Present: Karen Sellars, Tulio Moglia, Linda Doughty, Gina Christodoulou,
John Newman, June Lambert, John Blackwell, Stephan Baron, Norman Murphy,
Sean Lambert ( in shop), Anna De Guilio, Veronica R New Business: Communications with members- Newsletter to go out (Karen) Web site
updated (Karen) Gina agreed to make signs for the July Tea |
| July 2006 | July 16- Agenda: GCAA Committee Meeting Reports: |
| August 2006 | August 13th- GCAA COMMITTEE MEETING Minutes |
| September 2006 | GCAA Minutes-SEPTEMBER 25th 2006 |
| October 2006 | Minutes from the meeting on the 15th October 2006 Present:
K Sellars,T. Moglia J. Lambert J. Bays B. Rossiter J. Blackwell G. Christodolou
|
| November 2006 | Minutes of Committee Meeting 19/11/07
|
| Dec 2006 | No Meeting This Month |
Jan 2007 |
Minutes of the GCAA meeting held on the 21st January 2007 Present: K. Sellars, T. Moglia, J. Lambert, S. Lambert, G. Christodoulou,
J. Newman, L. Doughty, T. Hunt, B.Rossiter, A. DeGiulio, V. Rodziewicz Meeting opened at 10.30am Minutes from previous meeting read by K. Sellars and were approved by the committee. Reports: Site Issues/Waiting List T. Moglia reported that at present there are no site issues apart from the vandalism that the site is currently dealing with. The waiting list has now approximately 45 people on it with an average wait of 2 to 3 years, this is expected to grow in the near future. Also reported that people have informed that they are going to leave but as of yet nothing has been confirmed by the council, until this happens powerless to do anything in the meantime. Chair K. Sellars reported mainly on the vandalism that has happened on the site, also attending various meetings with the authorities. To save time K. Sellars attached a small report to the back of the current agenda. Trading Shed J. Lambert reported that the shop is very well stocked and that this
year seed order has arrived and will be available for members as from
next week when the shop re-opens. The out standing potato order is
due to arrive by mid-February. At present the stock in hand is between £3,000
to £4,000. Calendar K. Sellars reported that all the calendars have been sold except for 4 that were pre-ordered. Total profit from the calendars was estimated to be £72. Proposal was put forward if members could find printers cheaper for next year as current printers were to expensive. Another proposal put forward was an idea to do something similar to Calendar girls, this was put on hold for attention at the next meeting. Lottery Bid T. Hunt reported that the bid has been sent in and an acknowledgement
was received from the commission and we expect to hear an answer approximately
in mid-February. Previous application failed due to no planning permission.
New Bank Account K. Sellars reported that a new separate bank account has been opened and this is for the reserve fund going towards the new shed. The new account will have approximately £4,000 and the existing Trading Shed account will have £1,300. Show Schedule K. Sellars requested for volunteers to help revised the show schedule, this to be done with J. Kruss. Volunteers were K. Sellars, J. Kruss, G. Christodoulou, A. DeGiulio & possibly L. Doughty Caretaking Plots It was decided that current members are allowed to look after member plots if that member is ill, providing that the plot holder pays the bill. If after a year that the plot holder decides not to return or gives up due to ill health, the committee will have the final say if the caretaker can keep the plot or not. Caretakers will be added to a separate (existing plot holders) waiting list if they want to be considered. Total of new andold plots not to exceed one full plot. The Secretary will keep a separate waiting list for current plot holders wanting an additional site. New Business The committee agreed to follow the recommendations of the CPO (Crime Prevention Officer). Planting of various plants around the site was agreed to be done by various members. This involved in finding how many plants would be needed and the cost of getting the plants in question. Arrangements to be made for the rubbish lorry to be on site when clearing the roadway by Bluebell Woods. T. Moglia requested that a second water supply be built into the site via Bidwell Gardens. This would improve the water pressure on the whole site. The cost of this work is in the region of £1,500 and it was agreed by the committee. J. Lambert requested that the shop needed heating and improved lighting and this could be done by purchasing a generator at a cost of £150 approximately. This was agreed by the committee. Next Meeting February 11th at 10.30 to be held at A. DeGiulio home Vandalism on the GCAA Site- From Nov 29 to Dec 12, the Golf Course Allotments experienced a spate
of vandalism and criminal damage on four occasions. The damage was
to glass and greenhouses on the site. The Secretry and myself reported
the damage to the police. 1.We reported the incidents to the police as soon as we were made aware of them. Crime numbers: CR 5228508 /06, CAD 3321 ( 8th Dec), 2835472-06 2. We have made two site surveys to access the damage done. We have counted over 388 panes destroyed in 31 greenhouses but did not count all damage to shed windows. (Thank you Tullio!) 3. Tullio contacted Tony Healey, Karen contacted Safe Neighbourhood Team Officers for Bounds Green ( Heather and Andy) We attended a site visit from a local police first response officer) Karen contacted Councilor Wayne Holborn. Then we were told to contact Sam E from Alexandra Ward ( Local SNT officer) which we did. We also contacted the Muswell Hill and Crounch End Times and a photographer came and reporter wrote story 4.We advertised via email for our members to attend a public meeting held in the library at Alexandra Park Road. This was attended by many allotment members. ( Sean and June, Jane M, Brian R, Andrew O, Karen S, Jenn K and others.) Tullio could not attend due to the death of his father) Thanks to June for getting the messages across. Karen spoke at the meeting and made people aware of what was going on at our site. 5.Immediately after the meeting, our case was assigned to Mike Bagnell, head of the ASBAT team for Haringey. We also made contact with Wayne Hoborn, Sam Ec, (SNT) and other Councillors. Councillor Hoborn was interested in attending our next meeting. 6. We gathered evidence (tags and photos) and sent them on to the ASBAT team. We were assigned Vinnie Brown, an investigating officer to our case. 7. Vinnie Brown met with June, Tullio and Karen on Fri. Jan 5th and we took her on a site visit. She is presently investigating. 8.Tullio and Karen also met with Sam E<samuel.elikuru@met.police.uk> (SNT) and Mike (Crime Prevention Officer) on Wed. January 10th. The CPO gave us an assessment of our needs and what we can do to prevent more vandalism -(See summary of recommendations below) 9. Karen, Tullio and June were invited to and attended a meeting on
Jan 12 at River Park House . In addition to the three of us, 10. We attended Allotment Forum Meeting on Jan 13th. (Tim Hunt, Karen Sellars,- Results: a) It was decided that we should get £2500 for anti-vandalism fencing and planting. It was also decided that GCAA be allocated £1000 for hut removal. We may get more- left to John Morris to decide... b)We are all asked to lobby local councillors for new funding after April. CRIME PREVENTION OFFICER’S RECOMMENDTIONS: (Summary) 2. Entrance WInton Ave: Need a higher gate. One door if possible; Plant more pyracanthas and rambling roses along house-side- especially in gap. Talk to Betty. Talked to lady on site and she said it was fine to do anything like planting- Also fine to extend gate as long as we attach to brinck area of house. 3. Replace Bidwell Gardens Gate- talk to CPO for Recommended type. Talk to householder adjacent to Bidwell Gardens entrance- ask them to paint wall darker colour to prevent grafitti. Kids love white walls. 4. New Community hut: Use toughened glass in window or toughened plastic...? Talk to him about propoer bars to fit; locks,etc. Reduce doors to two places instead of three. 5. Golf Course maintained fence ok- just allow to grow brambles- do not cut back too much. 6. Feel free to contact CPO whenever we have a question-especiially
about effective types of fencing and new community hut. 8. Clear Area in front of Bluebell Woods - |
| Feb 2007 | Muswell Hill Golf Course Allotment Association Those Present: -(Anna’s House)Karen Sellars, June Lambert, Gina Christodoulou, Linda Doughty, Tim Hunt, Brian Rossiter, Anna DeGiulio, Veronica Rodziewicz (min secretary)Apologies: -John Newman, John Blackwell, John Bays & Tuillio Moglia (Sean L in shop ) 1.0 Minutes of the previous meeting-The minutes of the previous meeting were agreed as a true and accurate record of the meeting.2.0 Reports 2.1 Site issues. Action: KarenKaren is liaising with Wayne Hobban and will invite Wayne to the meeting in March.Action: KarenThe ‘Safer Neighbourhood Team’ intends
to meet once a month at the pavilion in the Park. The next meeting
is scheduled for April 11th (?). Karen stressed the importance of the
ASBAC (Anti Social Behaviour Action Committee) Team to liaise with
this forum regarding matters concerning the allotments i.e. in a recent
meeting the SNTsuggesting that a disgruntled person from the allotments
created all the vandalism. Karen is going to speak to Paul Davis regarding
this issue. Action:
Karen
|