Minutes of the Community Centre Committee Meeting – Thursday 3 September 2020
BRACKLA COMMUNITY COUNCIL
THE NEXT MEETING OF BRACKLA COMMUNITY COUNCIL
Community Centre Committee MEETING
Thursday 3rd September at 6.00pm
Via Video Link
Members Present
Cllr I Hibble – Chairperson
Cllr D Aston
Cllr A Pucella
Mrs R Keepins – Clerk of the Council
Mr P Ley – Assistant Clerk/ Responsible Finance Officer
Miss H May – Admin Officer
Cllr I Hibble was nominated as Chair for the meeting, proposed by Cllr D Aston, seconded by Cllr A Pucella
4 Apologies for absence
Cllr T Giffard
Cllr J Spanswick
5 Declarations of interest
Cllr I Hibble declared a personal interest as a Civil Servant working for Welsh Government.
The Clerk of the Council, R Keepins declared a personal interest in relation to Item 3, ‘Re-opening of Brackla Community Centre and Playpark’ as her Daughter will be attending Banana Moon Nursery.
6 Community Centre Reopening
The Clerk presented the report to the Committee which included an update on the latest legislation. The revised regulations no longer placed a requirement to notify the local authority or seek their permission for what activities could take place in the community centre. However it did still stipulate who could meet indoors for what activities:
No person may, without a reasonable excuse— (b) gather in premises indoors with any other person apart from—
(i) the members of their household,
(ii) their carer, or
(iii) a person they are providing care to.
The ‘reasonable excuses’ most relevant to the community centre include:
• work or provide voluntary or charitable services
• exercise with others in a gathering of no more than 30 people
• participate in a gathering of no more than 30 people to celebrate a solemnization of a marriage or civil partnership that takes place on or after 22 August 2020
• participate in a gathering of no more than 30 people to celebrate the life of a deceased person whose funeral is held on or after 22 August 2020 Where an activity is permitted, it must comply with social distancing rules.
The Clerk updated the Committee in relation to the Doctor’s surgery request advising that they no longer needed the hall for the issuing of flu vaccinations.
She further informed Members that the nursery would no longer need use of the main hall as of Monday 14th September but would wish to use the Committee Room instead for 2 weeks from this date. Following this, from the 28th September, they would like to start up their after-school club in the Committee room Monday-Friday, 3.15-6pm. The hall was therefore available as of the 14th September. The Clerk also provided information relating to which groups were looking to return soon, and which were looking at returning in the new year.
Members discussed the various aspects that needed to be considered including ensuring the guidance and legislation were adhered to and safety was the main priority. The Committee agreed that it was good to see so many groups keen to return and as long as there was enough time to prepare and make sure everything was in order, the Council could look to reopen the hall open for those allowed under the legislation towards the beginning of October. Members did query the financial implications, particularly in relation to the cleaning cost after every group. The Clerk agreed to present more detail of this at the Full Council meeting in September along with the Committee’s recommendations.
The Committee also discussed the aspect of storage in the Community Centre as this had been raised by a number of group users. The Committee agreed that it needed to be sorted, identifying what belonged to who and in order to ensure fairness a nominal fee should be introduced for those using storage areas.
Members also discussed the proposal put to the Committee by the nursery of whether any changes could be undertaken to knock through the Committee room into the Small office in order to provide a larger area, along with a divider that could still be pulled across should the two rooms be required. The nursery had offered to get a quote for this to present to the Council as an idea and to determine its viability. The Committee recalled that this may have been looked into before but there were possibly some issues in that the wall in question may be a structural wall. Members also discussed the proposal for extra storage built across the front of the Centre which could then be accessed via the hall.
Resolved:
It was agreed that the following recommendations be presented to Full Council at their next meeting scheduled for 17th September 2020:
1. The Committee recommend that providing; all necessary procedures and processes have been put in place; all required paperwork has been drafted and also received from user groups; and on the condition that all this adheres to the current Welsh Government regulations and guidance; the Council begin the process of reopening the Community Centre to those groups allowed under the regulations from 5th October 2020.
2. The Committee recommend that the storage aspect relating to the Centre be explored, with a joint sort out between the Clerk and user groups undertaken of all storage areas to clear out and establish need. It is also recommended that a nominal fee be introduced for those wishing to use the storage facilities at the centre to ensure fairness to all groups.
3. The Committee also recommend that the Clerk explore the proposal regarding a possible knock through from the Committee room to the Small Office, researching what work has previously been undertaken to investigate this and what the outcome was. The Committee recommend that the nursery be offered the opportunity to put forward their views on this and a quote if they so wish but that this be undertaken in collaboration with the Clerk whilst the history relating to this is also explored. Consultation would also have to be undertaken with other user groups to ensure fairness and full engagement as well as guaranteeing any changes are for the benefit of the wider community.
It was recommended that the Community Council engage with the nursery but ensure that the Council lead on this investigation and any future project. Members also recommend that if any quote is explored for any structural change, that it also includes the proposal for storage along the front of the Community Centre.
4. The Committee agreed to regular monitoring the situation regarding the re-opening of the Centre, with a meeting requested for the end of September and then a further meeting planned for the middle of October. The priority for monitoring would be the safety of users and the community relating to Covid-19 but the Committee also agreed to monitor the financial implications so as to report back to Full Council any concerns.
5. The Committee agreed to recommend to Full Council that the nursery be allowed to use the Hall again for the October Half Term for Holiday club and that this be prioritised over other groups, who would be advised of this in advance.
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