MINUTES  of a meeting held at The Recreational Hall on the 3rd day of Novemer 2008   PRESENT. Messrs. R. Oliver (Chairman), W.Morris, C.Mowbray, V.Ley and J.Baiss, Mrs. S. Phillips, Cllr. P.Hood-Williams and Mr. R.K.Evans (Clerk) APOLOGIES  FOR  ABSENCE   Mrs. J. Williams and J.Birch COOPTION Mr. Terry Porter, a life long resident of the Village, was coopted onto the Council, and took his place in the meeting.   THE  MINUTES   of the previous monthly meeting were approved as a true record and signed by the Chairman.   MATTERS  ARISING Mr Morris said that he has asked for the base of the Gardening Club shed to be moved, and he would remind the Club that this was to be done.   WATER  EASEMENT  Mr W. Morris declared a personal interest as a distant relative of the beneficiary of the easement. Mr.Rob Morris, from the floor, said that he did not recall making an offer of £1,000 and that he had been acting as agent for his mother Mrs. Thomas. He said he was in a position to make a firm offer now of £500. The Clerk said an offer had been made initially verbally of £1,000, but acceptance of this had been minuted by the Council and confirmed in writing to Mr. Morris     ( who said this letter had not been received ). The Chairman reminded the meeting that the figure then accepted was based upon an offer made to the Council at the time for an easement for a pipe of a similar length, and this had been done to save the applicants the cost of a professional valuation. It was resolved to proceed on the basis of £1,000, and not of £500 and Mr. Morris said he would report this to his mother and write accordingly to the Clerk when he had done so.       SWANSEA COUNCIL  MATTERS. Cllr. Hood-Williams said there had been no signifigant matters during the month. Members expressed an interest in a further training session on the Code of Conduct.   HALL  CHARGES The Chairman said that the Hall Management Committee had conducted a review of hall charges, and also invited views from hall users. To revise the charges to the extent that hall fees covered all the costs of running just the hall itself would involve a substantial increase. There would be a risk that bookings would be lost by an excessive raising of prices. There were anomalies in the charging rate to consider, arising from comparing hourly charged events with those booked on a session basis, with the latter on occasion working out cheaper for a lenghthier booking. Research highlighted that most other similar halls were booked at hourly rates only. Another consideration was how to approach one-off parties as opposed to regular bookings, as the parties frequently involved more arranging and cleaning up afterwards. It was resolved that charges be reviewed annually at the time the budget was set, and that the basis of charging be amended to an hourly rate only. From 1st April 2009 the rate per hour or part thereof for residents for the Main Hall would be £5.00 ( £9.00 for non-residents), for the Day Room £4.00 ( £7.00 non) and the Meeting Room £3.00 (£5.00 non) and for parties £10 ( £12 non) and a refundable deposit of £100 against additional clean up costs would be taken for parties. The new party rates would be applied with effect from a date to be decided by the Management Committee.   HALL  MANAGEMENT It was noted that theft of a fire extinguisher and money from the Hall had been reported to the Police. At this point Mrs Phillips left. The Clerk advised that Mr Dalling of Gower Road had written maintaining that there had been no vehicular access to the rear of 675/677 Gower Road . He felt there was a lack of security as a result of the opening of the boundary at this point. The Clerk was instructed to respond to the effect that it was understood that vehicular access was not now being sought, and it was anticipated that the Council’s land would be reinstated. However the Council could not insist upon a secure boundary. The Chairman said that signs had been agreed to deal with Uplands RFC parking, and Club and Council would bear the cost equally. Also, he said, orders had been lodged for replacement parts following the Play-Area safety inspection. He would shortly be seeking a quote for work at the pond. Consideration of an estimate by Mr Dalling for the work of Booking Officer was deferred for clarification of the basis of the tender. PLANNING It was noted that there had been planning approval in 2006 for an extension and conservatory at 33 Hen Parc Lane. The Clerk advised that the approved Swansea Council Design Guide for Householder Development had been received, and handed a copy to Mr. Ley. This could also be viewed on the internet. It was noted that Swansea Council had approved the application for a holiday dwelling at Killay Fach Farm, subject to conditions, including in respect of the boundary. FINANCES It was resolved to pay the following:-                         £     p  Caretaker                                                                 499     20 Swansea C.C. ( Hanging Baskets)                            120     00 Chairman’s Float                                                     100     00 CDI                                                                          120     00 B.T.                                                                           97    52 The following payments direct from the Bank in October were ratified :  Welsh Water                                                             32    00 SWALEC                                                                   63    00 EON                                                                           53   61 The outstanding BT invoice was queried, as the Council rents the equipment, as well as the line, and it was denied that it should be responsible for repairs. ANY  OTHER  BUSINESS 1.     Cllr Hood-Williams advised that One Voice Wales were now preparing training courses. 2.     The Chairman would liaise with Swansea Council to explore whether Gower projects could be included in grants from the new Heritage Lottery Fund 3.     Mr Baiss said that the Veterinary Surgery was looking to pay for car parking spaces by the Hall. This would be considered by the Management Committee 4.     Quotes were being obtained for hall flooring. There being no further business, the meeting was closed. The date of the next meeting would be December 1st 2008