Neighbourhood-Watch-GtTothamSth

MINUTES OF THE ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING HELD AT GREAT TOTHAM VILLAGE HALL ON THURSDAY, 30TH AUGUST 07

(I have removed surnames as this is on the internet)


Linda, Chairman, opened the meeting and thanked everyone for coming.

1. Apologies for absence

Apologies for absence were received from PC Goodchild, and others

The Chairman explained that this was the first Annual General Meeting to be held since the inaugural meeting on the 9th August, 2005, mainly due to a readjustment of neighbourhood policing which had affected the Great Totham Neighbourhood Policing Team.

2. Report of launch meeting 9th August 2005

The report of the meeting was taken as read.

3. Chairman’s Report

The Chairman said that a copy of the Annual Report was being sent to Maldon District Council. Four editions of the newsletter had been delivered to Great Totham South residents and she thanked the co-ordinators for delivering these. More co-ordinators were needed and she asked that anyone who wished to volunteer should make themselves known. Maldon District Council had awarded a grant of £250 to pay for the production of the newsletter and the hire of the village hall for meetings. It had been expected that this would cover the cost of four issues but as some of the co-ordinators were printing copies themselves to distribute, there were still funds available. The dissemination of information was explained and Elizabeth was thanked for her efforts in obtaining e-mail addresses in order to contact people in outlying areas of the village. Anyone who wished to could be added to the e-mail list. Linda had set up a blog as a further means of communicating information. As not all the co-ordinators had computers, residents who had were asked if they would be willing to receive e-mails and pass them on.

4. Treasurer’s Report

The Chairman informed the meeting that a donation of £20 had been received from Stan’s Coaches, Maldon District Council had awarded a grant of £250 and £8.90 was raised from a bookstall held at the inaugural meeting. The income received totalled £278.90.

Expenditure for the production of newsletters, the hire of the village hall for the inaugural meeting and sundry e-mail expenses came to £148.75, which left a balance of £130.15. This was sufficient to produce a further two newsletters.

A discussion followed regarding the best way to raise funds in the future. A suggestion was made that residents be charged £1 per year but there was reluctance to do this as it was felt residents should not be excluded by funding. It was agreed that Maldon District Council should be approached to explore the possibility of a further grant. A further suggestion was made that, if necessary, the Neighbourhood Watch Co-ordinators should raise funds and ask the Council to match these with a similar amount. It was agreed that, although fund raising may take place in the future, it was not felt fair to ask co-ordinators to spend their time doing this at present.

5. Constitution

A draft copy of the constitution was displayed on a board in the village hall and it was also available on the blog. The Chairman read and explained the constitution following which it was accepted and will be circulated once amendments have been made.

6. Election of Officers

Linda was proposed as Chairman by Jill and seconded by Craig. David was proposed as Vice Chairman by Linda and seconded by Peter . As the Secretary and Treasurers’ positions were not filled at the meeting, it was decided that the Chairman would endeavour to find volunteers to take on these roles.

7. Election of Auditor

The Chairman proposed that Peter be elected auditor and this was seconded by Elizabeth

8. Future Annual General Meetings

It was agreed that the next annual meeting would take place on a date to be agreed during the first fortnight of October, 2008.

9. Any Other Business

The financial year end was agreed as the 31st August.

A question was asked ‘had crime dropped in the village since the Neighbourhood Watch had been set up?’ and PCSO Heather Owen agreed that, in her personal opinion, it had. The main problem at present was burglary. When asked if any crime had been solved as a result of Neighbourhood Watch, she said that two cases in the last couple of months had been.
It was agreed that for security reasons, where an e-mail is sent to a group, other than between co-ordinators, blind copies should be standard practice and that, before any e-mail is forwarded, the e-mail addresses of previous recipients should be removed.

As PCSO Heather Owen was leaving the service, PCSO Steve Butler, who will take over, was introduced. He had worked with PCSO Owen for eighteen months and knew the area well. He explained that at present he did not know which areas he would be covering but was looking forward to meeting everyone.

The Chairman said that the Neighbourhood Watch was very sorry to be losing Heather who had shown exactly what a good PCSO should be. She was thanked for all her efforts and on behalf of the young people of the village, was presented with a box of chocolates by Alex . She was also presented with flowers and a vase by the Chairman and all present wished her well for the future.

Following refreshments, Martyn gave a very interesting talk on “Dogs in the Police Service”.

Following thanks to Martyn and to those who had attended, the meeting closed at 9.50 pm.