Approved AGM 2020
ROBERTSON HERITAGE RAILWAY STATION INC ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING MINUTES 2018
Held in the Fettlers Shed at 7.00pm on Thursday, 20 September 2018
Held in the Fettlers Shed at 7.00pm on Thursday, 20 September 2018
- Welcome and apologies
- Present —- Ian Wallace, Anne Wilson, Neil Harvey, Helen Tranter, Rona Goold, Steve Carey, John Hopkins, Russell Bailey, Frances Bailey, Robert Goldsack, Peter Glass, Rob Randall, Sandra Wallace, Marion Harvey, Tony McCoy, Noel Rothwell.
Apologies —- David Weaver, Lyndy Scott, Michele Martin, Deborah Barnes. - Minutes of last AGM, held on Thursday, 7 September 2017 – As circulated, be accepted. Moved Rona, seconded John, accepted unanimously. Available on the website.
- President’s report for the past year, 2017/2018 –Tabled by Ian Wallace.
Report tabled. The report had been circulated and read by most attendees. Ian thanked all present for their attendance. He said he had enjoyed his three years as president and the previous years as secretary. He was standing down to enable fresh faces to manage the future of RHRS. He read parts of his report ( link here to full report on website) and touched on issues of doing what we can with fewer people, train visits, the growth of the modellers group, the assistance of the Corrective Services work team with the gardens and the working bees group, his enjoyment of the fellowship of the coffee guys, and the fact that amongst a struggling heritage rail sector, we are considered to be doing well. He particularly thanked Anne for her stewardship of our finances, events and art shows. He also thanked Neil as a man of many talents and a friend who carried various necessary tasks with great ability. He finished by thanking the management team and read out the matters listed in his report as unfinished business for consideration by the new committee. The committee thanked him by acclamation. - Treasurer and Public Officer’s report for the past year – Anne Wilson
Reports tabled. Anne advised that we had not used our own funds for any significant capital works this year so had maintained a balance similar to last year. We were committed to maintaining a prudent reserve of at least a year's operating costs of around $6000. To do this we run events and sell souvenirs, refreshments, etc., to keep a healthy bank balance. One good result was that ARTC had reimbursed us for the road repairs paid by RHRS. She suggested that Neil might become a signatory for cheques to supplement existing authorised persons. The auditor's report was tabled and Anne read his conclusion that the finances met auditing and government requirements for a not for profit organisation. Moved Anne, seconded Ian that reports be accepted. Agreed unanimously. - Safety report – Neil Harvey
Report tabled. Neil drew attention to the full report on the website. We have had a good year with no accidents to report and the only incident has been the damaged radiata pine next to the station. The tree has been pruned by ARTC and made safe. The safety manual needs to be reviewed annually although changes are not envisioned. Moved Neil seconded John that the report be accepted. Agreed unanimously. - Gallery report – Anne Wilson
Anne tabled this report. Although the financial returns are modest Anne drew attention to the wider value of art events to RHRS including the memberships it brings. It is part of our outreach to the community. Moved Anne seconded Helen that report be accepted. Agreed unanimously. - RHRS publicity, promotions, events & recruitment – Steve Carey on behalf of RHRS Management Committee
Steve drew attention to the Report tabled. As indicated we are now using social media much more to publicise our events and for recruitment as well as tried and true methods. As the President's report indicated, getting new blood is difficult for all volunteer groups and we are no exception. Moved Steve, seconded Rona that the report be accepted. Agreed unanimously. - Grounds & gardens report – Ian Wallace
See President’s report. Report tabled. - Station and heritage train visits – Ian Wallace
See President’s report. Report tabled. - Buildings & maintenance report – Neil Harvey
Report tabled. Neil spoke about the concrete cancer repairs and the need to paint the station to preserve it. After much effort it now seems ARTC has made funds available and it is hoped the work might be done by Xmas. The other project eventually funded by ARTC was the road repairs. Moved Neil, seconded Ian that report be accepted. Agreed unanimously. - Model railway report – Neil Harvey
Report tabled. The group now has an attendance of 7 to 8 persons. The display is open every Friday (now changed to Thursdays) and Sunday. This is a valuable routine because it ensures regular activity at the station and provides fellowship and enjoyment to the group and is popular with the public. This year Neil and Ron have been selling model trains on consignment which were part of the estate of a deceased member. 80% of the proceeds go to the family and 20% some $3000 has been directed to the modellers Account in the RHRS for future projects. One of the potential tasks is to improve the gallery space so that members can build new layouts. This will be something for the new committee to consider. Moved Neil, seconded Steve that the report be accepted. Agreed unanimously. - President declared all 2017/2018 office-bearers’ positions vacant and handed over Chair to Returning Officer (Robert Goldsack)
The president thanked everyone for their reports and involvement and declared the present committee at an end and asked the returning officer to assume control of the meeting and ask for new office bearers to be nominated. - Returning Officer Robert Goldsack then proceeded to preside over election of office-bearers for 2018/2019 as follows:
• President. Neil Harvey nominated by Ian, seconded John. Accepted. Agreed unanimously. Neil new president.
• Vice-president. Steve Carey nominated by Neil, seconded Ian. Accepted. Agreed unanimously. Steve new Vice President.
• Secretary. Rona Goold nominated by Steve, seconded Neil. Accepted. Agreed unanimously. Rona Secretary.
• Treasurer. Anne Wilson nominated by Neil, seconded John. Accepted. Agreed unanimously.
* Appoint up to four additional persons to the RHRS Management Committee Ian Wallace, John Hopkins and Helen Tranter agreed to be part of the 2018/19 committee. - Nominate co-ordinators/ leaders for the following areas of responsibility:
• Safety
• Station and heritage train visits
• History
• Publicity & Promotions
• Gallery
• Website and RHRS E-Bulletin
• Buildings & Maintenance
• Gardens & Grounds maintenance
• Model railway group
• Events co-ordination
• Social co-ordination
• Membership & recruitment
It was agreed that the new committee would handle these various essential tasks on an as required basis using resources available over the next 12 months. - Returning Officer then handed over Chair to newly elected President for 2018/2019 Neil Harvey.
- The future of RHRS - Chair to lead discussion.
The new president thanked Robert for again acting as our returning officer. He welcomed the new committee and thanked Marion for her support and the work she and Sandra had done in running the kiosk over the past year. This was acclaimed by all. Neil said his focus would be on doing his best to avoid over working our small band of ageing active members. We need to look after our well-being and look at various ways to lighten the workload including using paid help for various tasks. He will liaise with the past president about future tasks and is very interested in grants for information boards and signs as suggested by Rail Heritage. He has a collegial approach and sees various tasks being apportioned to the committee as a whole. He will continue to focus on modelling as a major activity for the future of RHRS. The maintenance of the garden was very important and would be especially so as we approach the open gardens weekend. He looks forward to the challenge and will seek support and cooperation to keep our group going into the future. - Other business and questions.
There being no further business, the President declared the meeting closed. - Meeting closed at 8.15pm and the group proceeded to enjoy.
Refreshments and short talk on “Our 2018 Indian Pacific Train Journey” by Ian Wallace
Note:
Reports for the 2017-2018 financial year are available in sub-menu items