Draft Minutes of December 2009 Board Meeting

7th December 2009

PRESENT

Richard Adamson (RA)

Anthony Brown (AB)

John Clarke (JC)

Wendy Danby (WD)

Dave Holland (DH)

James Hunter (JH)

Andy Troughton (AT)

Sandra Troughton (ST)

Also in attendance John Fawcett (JF)

1 BUSINESS ITEMS

1.1 Apologies

Simon Cope

Kevin Smith

1.2 Minutes of the Meeting held on 19 October 2009

The draft minutes were accepted, approved and signed by AB.

1.3 Matters Arising

All the action points contained in the minutes were reviewed and the majority had been successfully completed. The following further action is required:-

Finances

Action:        KS to incorporate the revised projected income from shirt sales in AT’s report in the management accounts and 2009/10 budget.

Membership

RA was pleased to announce that he has received an offer from Andy Crossland and Fred Firman who have agreed to support him in handling membership renewals and expanding the membership base. ST also reported that Barrie Watson had volunteered to help the Board to actively seek new members.

Action:       RA to contact Andy Crossland, Fred Firman and Barrie Watson to confirm their offer of help, and also to agree the best way in which they can help SAFC monitor and achieve its targets for membership income and numbers.

Ground Options

Action:       It was agreed that the existing Ground Sub-Committee, comprising RA, AB and ST should be tasked with producing a paper on Ground Options for the Board to consider at its January meeting.

Action:       RA to include an appropriate item on Ground Options for the January Board agenda.

Football

Action:       JC will contact Hugh Bellamy to follow up the Boards application for the SAFC Reserves to play at Pindar Sports College next season from the start of the 2010-11 season.

2 ITEMS FOR DISCUSSION AND DECISION

2.1 Appointment of Chairman and Vice Chairman

As required by Society rules the Chairman and Vice Chairman are appointed at the first Board meeting after the Annual General Meeting.

JF took over for this part of the meeting and invited nominations for the post of Chairman. There were two nominations Richard Adamson and Tony Brown. They were both asked to leave the room while the nominations were discussed. JF then conducted a secret ballot and announced that Richard Adamson had been elected as Chairman.

Resolution:      That Richard Adamson become the Chairman of the Board of Directors of Scarborough Athletic FC Society from 02 December 2009.

The Board expressly wished to record its thanks to AB for his dedication and the way he had performed during the previous three months as acting Chairman.

JF invited nominations for the post of Vice Chairman and as only one nomination, Dave Holland, was made he was duly appointed as Vice Chairman.

Resolution:    That David Holland becomes the Vice-Chairman of the Board of Directors of Scarborough Athletic FC Society from 02 December 2009.

Action:          JH to issue a statement on 3 December, in consultation with RA and DH, announcing the appointments and thanking the previous post-holders.

RA asked DH if he would chair the rest of the current meeting as it was not really possible to act as Chairman and simultaneous record discussions and decisions as Society Secretary. DH agreed to do so.

2.2 Director’s Roles and Responsibilities

RA reported that he had received correspondence from KS in which he reluctantly tendered his resignation from the Board due to his wife’s ongoing health problems. However KS appreciates that until someone with the required financial skills is identified to replace him the Board has a problem so he is willing to continue to produce the management accounts and monthly financial report to the Board. The Board unanimously agreed to accept his offer to ensure continuity and wishes to thank Kevin for his efforts as Finance Director and in charge of match day operations and wish both Kevin and Lynsey all the best for the future.

DH suggested, and it was agreed, that before new roles and responsibilities were allocated to fill gaps, the Board should review the workload of individual directors, and ensure their availability to discharge their responsibilities as outlined in the business plan.

The following directors expressed a wish to retain their current duties and roles: AB as Football Director; JC as Club Secretary; AT as Commercial Director; WD as Community Director. ST did not have a portfolio, but indicated her willingness to continue maintaining the books for income and payments.

JH was keen to retain his mandate for Communications, but suggested that consideration should be given to splitting marketing from his role as he does not feel he can give it the attention it deserves. The Board accepted the growing workload associated with this position and agreed to separate the two responsibilities in all future planning.

Resolution:      The Board resolved to separate the Communications responsibilities from the Marketing responsibilities and to redefine the Communications Directors role and responsibilities.

Further discussion identified the following real and potential skill shortages and portfolio vacancies: Finance Director (although KS volunteered to support the board informally until it has organized an official replacement), Operations Director and the newly identified Marketing Director. Additionally SC, DH and ST had no official portfolio, and RA would need to review his responsibilities in view of his elevation to Chairman. Furthermore, there was an opportunity to co-opt up to two further Directors to the Board.

RA suggested that the Society Secretary does not have to be a Board Director so it would be possible to appoint someone to this role without them being co-opted to the Board. This prompted the board to discuss the possibilities of delegating other responsibilities, such as Operations. The board agreed to delegate to the Chair and Vice-Chair a review of directors responsibilities and the consideration of delegating some of the operational management duties currently undertaken at Board level. The review would be released and shared with the membership within about a week following the board meeting.

Action:      RA and DH to review the skills mix available to the Board, and to consider the balance between operational and strategic responsibilities undertaken at Board level

Action:      RA to recommend to the Board the co-option of two further directors with the required skill set and experience to fill some of the gaps identified.

Action:      RA to contact SC to discuss his future role and responsibilities following the review. Action:      RA to issue a statement to the membership within 14 days outlining the Board’s requirements in terms of co-option and identifying suitable skill sets and expertise we would look to the membership to support the Board with.

2.3 Co-option of Additional Directors

This agenda item was dealt with in 2.2 above.

2.4 Financial Matters

KS had prepared and circulated a financial report to the Board which showed that up to 31 October 2009 there was a surplus of £94 which effectively means a break even position.

Action:      All budget holders will review their budgets and give a projection of likely income and expenditure to the end of the financial year to ST by 12 December 2009. ST to ask KS to collate the information received.

Action:      KS to be asked to produce the third quarter management accounts up to 30 November 2009.

Action:      In preparation for next year DH to circulate to the Board a planning timetable compiled from the business plan.

3 ITEMS TO RECEIVE AND NOTE

3.1 Football

Manager and Team Issues

AB presented his report on manager and team issues which was accepted. It was noted by several directors that it is sometimes prudent to restrict sensitive matters to board meetings. Also, the membership was not always aware of the huge range of activities that are undertaken by the board from one month to the next. The board discussed the best way of ensuring that the membership were given the widest possible exposure to the work of the board, and how board could restrict the exposure of sensitive matters such as player and sponsorship negotiations.

Resolution:      From the January 2010 board meeting onwards, all directors will be required to submit a short report to the board on their activities since the previous Board meeting;

Action:           From the January 2010, the board will produce a digest of the director’s confidential reports for general release with the minutes.

The wider contribution of individual directors to the ‘match day experience’ was also discussed. DH asked the board to recognise the fact that the chairman – as the senior member of the board - faced a significant commitment which was unfair; the chair should enjoy the same opportunity to enjoy his football as any other trust member.

Action:           Board directors will take turns to write the programme notes. RA and DH will deal with the first two programmes and RA will circulate a rota for the remainder of the home matches.

Action:           RA will compile a rota for all home matches for individual directors to be the official representative of SAFC on senior match days, particularly in greeting opposing officials before the match, at half time in the board room and on departure.

3.2 Communications & Marketing

Scarborough Ladies Sub-Committee

ST presented her report which was accepted and advised that the next meeting is on 11 December 2009.

Back2Boro Update

JH reported that he has received about 20 offers of help since the discussion following the AGM. He is arranging a meeting of those people who have expressed an interest in serving on a Back2Boro Committee on 27 December 2009.

The Board thanked JH for all his hard work in progressing Back2Boro.

3.3 Ground Report

Ground Latest

RA had produced some notes on the meeting between the Council and the Ground Sub-Committee on 23 November 2009. The notes were received. A copy of the notes is attached.

3.4 Community

Community Report

WD presented her community report which was accepted. A copy is attached.

4 ANY OTHER BUSINESS

The Board expressed its thanks to Sally Elwick for her assistance at the University Open Day and Helen Hobson who baked a cake to be raffled with proceeds coming to the Club.

JC advised that an acknowledgement has been received from the FA regarding our application to join the Unibond League if we qualify.

WD tabled a proposal on behalf of Karen Smith to streamline and improve SAFC physio services. The Board accepted the proposal in principle subject to checking its feasibility by the Football Director.

Action:       AB to consider the proposal from Karen Smith and confirm to the board whether it is feasible.

In response to a question from AB, RA confirmed that the membership of the Ground Sub-Committee will remain the same.

AB raised the matter of stewarding levels at home games and the associated costs.

Action:       RA to discuss stewarding levels with the Safety Officer either before or at the next SAFC home match.

The Board confirmed that any suggestions, constructive criticisms and complaints from fans are always welcome, and that they will be forwarded to the relevant director who will deal with the matter.

DH reported that he has been approached and was offering some support to the newly-formed Kings Lynn Supporters Trust following the dramatic developments at that club.

RA reported that Jacqui Forster from Supporters Direct may want someone to go and talk to Durham City FC trust and owner. RA had agreed to assist.

5 DATES AND VENUES OF THE NEXT BOARD MEETING

RA presented his proposals for the dates of Board meetings in 2010 and some alternative venues. A copy of the report is attached.

Action:      WD to contact Hugh Bellamy and book a suitable room at George Pindar Sports College which he has previously offered to let the Board use at no cost.

The meeting closed at 9.50 pm.

View December 2009 Draft Minutes PDF via this link: here
View Planned Board Dates PDF via this link: here
View Council Meeting Notes PDF via this link: here
View Community Report PDF via this link: here