AG Minutes 26th March 2019

by Victor Hugo · Published 20/04/2019 · Updated 02/12/2019

Assemblée Générale

held at

La Souterraine English Library

Tuesday 26th March 2019 at 14.30

Below are the minutes of the meeting

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AG Minutes 26th March 2019

1.	Minutes of the Previous Assemblée Générale held on the 19th March 2018
Damian Trafford invited members to review and accept the minutes of the previous meeting. In favour of previous meeting minutes being approved: Proposed : Nick Sutton Seconded : John Essom All in favour
2.	Introduction of Conseil to Members
All Conseil and Bureau members introduced themselves.
3.	President’s Report	President’s Report
Damian Trafford delivered the President’s Report (see President’s Report link on the web page) In favour of the President’s report being approved: Proposed : Christine Seaman Seconded : Steve Chicken All in favour
4.	Treasurer’s Report	Treasurer’s-Report Summary of the Accounts 2018
In the absence of a Treasurer, Damian Trafford delivered the Treasurer’s Report (see Treasurer’s-Report link on the web page) and the 2018 accounts. In favour of Treasurer’s report being approved: Proposed : John Bowler Seconded : Francesco Zangrandi All in favour
5.	Website and Membership Report	Website-and-Membership-Report
Jane Perryman delivered the Membership and Website Reports (see Website-and-Membership Report link on the web page) In favour of Website and Membership report being approved: Proposed : Kim Tunnicliffe Seconded : Pauline Wallwork All in favour
6.	Plans for the Coming Year	Review of Membership Fees Membership & Refund Terms & Conditions
Damian Trafford invited discussion regarding the following items and delivered the attached reports : Change of Assemblée Générale Date to November Discussions regarding membership fees and plans for the following year are discussed at the AG which is currently held in March, these are then not implemented until January the following year. The proposal is being put forward that the AG would take place in November each year. The following comments and suggestions were made: It may not be acceptable to accept the accounts 10 months after the year end. Could we move the membership year away from January? – not thought to be an option. Could we have an Assemblée Générale Extraordinaire to approve the accounts? – not thought to be an option. In favour of the investigation into moving the AG to November : Proposed : Christine Seaman Seconded : Steve Chicken For : 23 Against : 1 Abstention : 1 Trial of Additional Payments for Groups At the AG in March 2018 the decision was taken that there should be an increase in the group fees from 2€ per person to 4€ per person for a trial period of 6 months (April – September). Following the end of the trial period, it was felt that not enough was known about whether the increase in membership fee from 12€ to 24€ would discourage members from renewing. A document was distributed to members asking for feedback and the feelings were mixed as to whether the group fee increase could be sustained. The following comments and suggestions were made: Glyn Smith stated he was against the reversal of the fee as it brings in a considerable amount to the library. Could we leave as is until November until we have more information on the membership? People will not miss the 2€ A new member to the library stated that 24€ doesn’t buy many books and 4€ per meeting is cheap considering it covers the heating too! Some people stopped going to more than 1 group especially if they are a couple when the fees were introduced, reducing the fees could possibly encourage people to come back to groups. In favour of keeping the 4€ charge until November: Proposed : Glyn Smith Seconded : Elizabeth Newbold For : 25 All in favour Review of Membership Fees Please see the attached report regarding suggested changes to membership fees. The following comments and suggestions were made: Has the membership always been household? – NO, although it is easier administratively. Single members stated their feelings of unjust that they pay the same as a couple. It was felt that 24€ or 2€ a week for a couple or a single person was good value. Student membership was welcomed as a good idea. The rate will be half the normal rate, that will be 12€ for the year reducing by 1€ a month. The discussion regarding single or household membership is deferred until the next Assemblée Générale possibly in November. In favour of the introduction of a student membership rate: Proposed : Margaret Hardwick Seconded : Sally Essom For : 25 All in favour Membership Terms & Conditions Damian delivered a document stating the new membership terms and conditions. There were no objections to the suggestions being made other than the cut-off for renewals being suggested as the 30th June was felt to be too generous and should be the 31st March. Please refer to the attached document to see the T’s & C’s. Changes to Opening Hours A trial of the new opening hours will take place during April and May. The library will now close on a Monday as this was always a very quiet day. It has also been suggested that we open through lunchtime to allow people to do their shopping and then call in the library. Where the library if open for longer on Friday and Saturday the volunteers will work split shifts. The general feeling was that this is a good idea. The trial of the opening hours are as follows: Monday/Tuesday/Wednesday – Closed Thursday – 10am – 3pm Friday – 10am to 1pm Saturday 10 am to 3pm
7.	Election of Conseil & Bureau
The statutes state that Conseil & Bureau officials are elected for 3 years therefore no members are due for re-election.
8.	Vacancy for the Role of Treasurer
There is a vacancy for the role of Treasurer, if this role isn’t filled then the Association cannot continue to operate. John Bowler was nominated from the floor however he stated that he can only commit to 12 months in the role. Proposed : Christine Seaman Seconded : Francesco Zangrandi All in favour
9.	Any Other Business
David Brown mentioned the Murder Mystery Event that he and his wife have written and hoped that members would support this. Nick Sutton expressed a vote of thanks to Conseil for all the work they do for the library.