CULTER &DISTRICT COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION
THE AGM of Culter & District Community Association was held on Monday 29th March 2004. The hall continues to be well used with most of the regular activities carrying on. However the hall suffered quite considerably by the loss of lets to the Karen Berry Dance School and a few other smaller lets. Combined with an increase in insurance and utility costs, this has resulted in a £2000+ loss of income, which means that our rainv day funds have been severely depleted. If we continue at this rate, the hall will run out of money in two years time and thus be forced to close, other than for specific functions.
Culter Theatre Club continues to use the hall two nights a week. Bo-Peep, Mothers and Toddlers and the Playgroup ensure the hall is utilised during the daytime. We did have word processing organised by Culter and Cults Community Education, but this is not running at the moment. Yoga classes take place on Thursday mornings and Roller discos are still popular, as are children's parties.
Luckily, we have had some wonderful donations this year which have helped to keep us afloat. Without these donations our situation would be even worse. Culter Theatre Club gave us a donation of E1000; Gala funds gave us a donation of £650, and Bo Peep gave us £50. We thank these organisations for their generosity. We have just received a donation of £400 from Mothers and Toddlers to enable us to buy a Bouncy Castle. We hope to raise funds for the hall with this extra attraction by running birthday parties, etc using the Bouncy Castle for younger children. I would like to take this opportunity to thank Mothers and Toddlers for helping us get this venture off the ground.
Fundraising this past year has been fairly successful. We raised a little in excess of £400 at the Table Top sale in the autumn. We are holding another one on Saturday 8th May and I have my fingers crossed that it is as (if not more) successful than the last one. And our annual Cabaret evening, which was held in March, raised £2030. I know the Cabaret is a lot of work, but as we do it all ourselves, we are able to make a lot of money with this one fundraiser. I would also like to thank CTC for providing us with first class entertainment.
For the past four years my main concern about the running of the hall, is the dwindling number of active volunteers to help out at hall activities, and to provide input to committee meetings. I always see the same faces, whatever we do, and the pressure on this small group is growing. Most of the people here have been on committee for many years, and are also active in lots of other village groups. Sooner or later these people are going to want a break, and we shall need new volunteers to keep the hall running. So, I would especially like to thank all those who currently give up their free time and work so hard to make sure that the hall provides the high standard of services and amenities needed in our village. This village hall is our responsibility. It is a valuable community asset. We cannot continue to grow and develop without the help of our volunteers. If you know of anyone who could be persuaded into joining the effort, please let us know.
Our refurbishment program for 2003 was set aside as we had no funds for improvements to the fabric of the hall. So no painting was done, and the ladies toilets are still in dire need of a face lift. We hope to achieve some of last years objectives over the summer months when the hall is closed, but even more important is the repair of the west end gable wall, which needs sealing and rough casting.
This is a very expensive item and may mean that inside repairs and face lifts are left once again. If the hall is not water tight and warm we cannot function, and many of the groups would be forced to cancel their activities. I am sure you would all agree that the village life would suffer if the hall were forced to close.
At the AGM a 15% increase in let charges was agreed by all present. We hope that this way we can continue to keep the hall functioning to the benefit of all Culter residents. User groups who feel this increase will be too much for them to pass on to their members may approach the hall committee and discuss with them possible alternative arrangements. All hall staff have been told not to expect an annual pay increase. Luckily they are happy to work without a pay rise, thus enabling us to keep our running costs down.
Susan Chappell-Smith President CDCA