Meeting documents

1 ELECTION OF CHAIR

RESOLVED that Councillor Jonathan Gay be elected Chairperson.

2 EMERGENCY EVACUATION PROCEDURE

The Chair(person) drew attention to the emergency evacuation procedure as set out on the Agenda.

3 DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST

There were no declarations of interest made.

4 TO ANNOUNCE ANY URGENT BUSINESS AGREED BY THE CHAIR(PERSON)

There were no items of urgent business.

5 QUESTIONS & STATEMENTS

Statements were made by the following people who had given notice prior to the meeting;

Mrs Ferol, Mr Gilson, Mr Jackson and Mr Hooper. As Mrs Ferol had raised a number of technical questions in her statement, the Chair requested that a written response could be prepared for Mrs Ferol and sent to her after the meeting.

[Full copies of the statements are available for inspection on the Council's minute book which is held at Democratic Services, Riverside, Keynsham.]

The Chairman informed Members of the public that he would give them the opportunity to speak or ask questions relating to each Agenda item. The Chair requested that these contributions be limited to 3 minutes only.

6 MINUTES: TUESDAY 1ST FEBRUARY 2005

It was RESOLVED that the minutes of the Trust meeting held on Tuesday 1^st February 2005 be confirmed as a correct record and signed by the Chair(person).

7 THE RECREATION GROUND, BATH - GENERAL UPDATE (Report 8).

The Council's Director of Resources explained that the financial summary it was hoped would be provided for Appendix 4 was not available, as this information had not yet been provided by the Receiver & Manager. A meeting had been requested with them to address this situation and, as soon as the Accounts were received, a provisional budget and final accounts would be circulated.

It was then RESOLVED

(1) To note the progress on the sale of the Leisure Centre to Bath & North East Somerset Council and the scheme, and, in the light of the delay, a review of the costs and income streams be undertaken and brought back to the next meeting;

(2) To note the lettings situation;

(3) To note the amendment to the Terms of Reference of the Receiver & Manager; and

(4) To request a report back on the outturn, final accounts and proposed budget once the financial information is received from the Receiver & Manager.

8 THE RECREATION GROUND, BATH - SERVICE LEVEL AGREEMENTS (Report 9).

Alun Morgan expressed some concern about leases being granted without the financial position being clear. The Trust Board Adviser explained that there were no leases requiring renewal in the foreseeable future except the Virgin Mobile lease which expires in May 2006, by which time it was hoped that the financial position would be clarified.

Councillor Rosemary Todd referred to the lack of detailed financial breakdown within the Service Level Agreements and, in the light of the review of costs agreed at the previous item, stressed that their approval must be temporary until the review work is completed.

It was then RESOLVED

(1) To agree to enter into the Service Level Agreements for services provided by Bath & North East Somerset Council as an interim measure, to be reviewed in the light of the outcome of the costs and income review agreed at the previous item; and

(2) That officers be charged with minimising costs to the Trust.

9 THE RECREATION GROUND, BATH - STRATEGIC REVIEW UPDATE (Report 10).

Alun Morgan welcomed the efforts to seek views from the public and asked for careful consideration to be given to whether the `area of benefit' referred to within the Consultation document just included Bath or further afield. The Council's Director of Resources explained that the Trust deed did not define the boundary of the Trust and acknowledged that many non Bath based organisations would need to be considered as interested parties.

In relation to the above discussion, Councillor Rosemary Todd noted the Trust's Terms of Reference as including an objective to encourage greater use of the Recreation Ground, which should be borne in mind when considering who to consult.

Mr Gilson asked that when the Review took place, there could be a proper examination of the leases.

Mr Jackson referred to paragraph 3.1 of the report and asked that the wording linking the undertaking of the Review to the disposal of the Leisure Centre could be removed. Board Members agreed.

Board Members noted that they were not currently able to proceed with the Review but suggested that, until it could proceed, the public could pass any comments to the Council's Director of Resources.

It was then RESOLVED

(1) To note and support in principle the process, timetable and costings set out in the report for undertaking the Strategic Review;

(2) To ask that when this report is brought back to the Board, any comments received today or subsequently could be incorporated, as well as futher information regarding the employment of consultants to undertake the Review.