Draft Minutes of Annual General MeetingHeld at Merchants' Place, Cromer on Thursday 14 May 2009The business meeting opened at 19.04 and closed at 20.25. Present: John Hodgkinson (Chair), Steven Ashling, Peter Bower, Alan Coe, Derek Coe (Secretary), Derek Elton, Fred Fulcher, Brian Hunt, Matt Newman, John Pawson (Treasurer), Scott Petre and Darryl Tooley. 1. Welcome & Apologies: The Chairman welcomed members. Apologies were received from Robbie Nash. Congratulations were accorded to Steven Ashling upon his elevation to Chairman of the Board for the North Norfolk Railway. A tribute was made to founder member, Dr Ken Lee, who died earlier in the year. 2. Minutes of AGM of 14 May 2009 and Matters Arising: The minutes were read to the meeting and accepted by general acclaim. The matters arising were: (i) Item 4: A decision had been taken not to progress and application for charitable status as this was not appropriate. (ii) Item 6: The lease has still to be signed; Steven Ashling has been in touch with Rod Heaton and will be in touch again. 3. Election of Officers, etc: During the course of the business meeting, the decision was made to hold the next AGM on 14 October 2010 as this was deemed to fit better with the Society's accounting year which Companies' House has decreed should end on 30 September each year. The elections of officers, committee members and honorary advisers will therefore be for 17 months and those for trustees will take effect from 1 October 2009. The following persons were elected: Chairman: John Hodgkinson Deputy Chairman: Matt Newman Treasurer: John Pawson; Secretary/Company Secretary: Derek Coe Membership Secretary: Brian Cousell Committee: Officers plus Steven Ashling, Keith Crane, Derek Elton and Scott Petre and co-opted members Alan Coe and Robbie Nash Trustees: Steven Ashling, Keith Crane, John Hodgkinson, Matt Newman, John Pawson and Scott Petre Honorary Advisers: Peter Bower, Giles Margarson and Catherine Plewman As these appointments were not contested, they were confirmed by the meeting following a proposal by Fred Fulcher and seconded by Derek Elton. A tribute was paid to Derek Elton who has stood down as a trustee for all his work in establishing the CRSS. 4. Treasurer's Report: John Pawson distributed copies of the CRSS accounts for the year ended 30 September 2008 and confirmed that these had been accepted by Companies' House. He also brought members up-to-date with the current financial situation of the Society when he provided details of the more recent transactions resulting in a current account balance of £2,636.41. A discussion ensued as to whether or not the Society should increase the level of its annual subscription. In the event, it was decided to retain the £5 subscription rate acknowledging that a number of members very generously increased their contribution by making an additional donation. The report was accepted by general acclamation. 5. Membership Report: It was reported that the Membership Secretary had been unable to fulfil her role during the year and that a report to the AGM was not possible and the actual number of members paid up to date was not known. The Secretary undertook to determine a true record of the membership by the close of May. 6. Report on Progress 2008-9: The Chairman spoke of the slower pace of change in the year when compared with the previous year principally because working party numbers had been smaller although a goodly number of tasks had been completed and the overall look of the buildings and site had again improved. Considerable help had been provided in the work of landscaping by the probation service community payback unit for which the Society was extremely grateful. Two open days had been held during the year and whilst the numbers attending at the member's open day in October had been disappointing, the public open day in May had been very well supported. Good media coverage of the latter event was noted. 7. Heritage Railway Trust Grant: The Chairman reported that the CRSS had made application at the beginning of the year to the Heritage Railway Trust for a grant to help in the work of refurbishing the buildings and this has resulted in £10,750 being promised for the year to the end of March 2010. In welcoming the HRT's support, the Chairman canvassed the meeting's thoughts as to how the Society might finance the work envisaged in the grant given that the monies would only be paid to the CRSS once the work was completed. Following discussion, it was resolved to ask the Trust to allow the work to be spread over two years so that existing Society funds could be used in the first year and the recouped amounts used to fund the second. It was further resolved that the Committee should meet as soon as was practicable to decide upon the items that would be included in the first year and those which might constitute the second. 8. Planning 2009-10: In view of the discussions and outcome in (7) above, this item was not progressed. 9. Any Other Business: (i) Brian Hunt asked whether a portable generator might not be cheaper than installing electricity and the Committee are to re-investigate this matter; (ii) The Chairman displayed a plaque which the probation service had requested be mounted somewhere in the signal box. (iii) Brian Hunt asked whether a name board would be fitted to the front of the box and was assured this matter was in hand. 10. Date, Time & Place of Next Meeting: Thursday 14 October 2010, 7.0pm at Merchants' Place.
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