Bairnstrust Committee Meeting

17th November 2003

Elliots, Graeme Road, Falkirk

Committee Present:
Michael White
Fergus Caldwell
Brian Guthrie
Bill Anderson
Stephen Bird
John Dick
Tom Jamieson
Jack Gardiner

Others Present:
Jim Rae

Stephen Bird called the meeting to order and welcomed members who had come to observe.

1.Apologies for Absence
Apologies were noted from Kirstie Adam, Wayne Toft, Steven Adam, Murray McIntyre.

2. Minutes of Last Meeting
Last months minutes were formally accepted as an accurate record.

3.Matters Arising
BairnTrust leaflets have now been sent out. Some initial response has been received. It was agreed that another 1000 leaflets would be produced for distribution on the buses to the St Johnstone game and at the turnstiles.

Bill Anderson queried whether corporate membership was allowed. Michael White will check the constitution and report back. Bill will canvas opinion of business community.

4.Financial Update
Fergus gave an update of the Trust’s accounts to the end of the first financial year (30 September 2003). These showed that the Trust secured £25,250 worth of shares in Falkirk Football Club. This represents roughly 3% of the overall shareholding in the club. This represents 41,393 shares. A share certificate for the 25,000 shares bought by the Trust has now been received. Additionally the £10,000 worth of shares promised by the club in recognition of supporters contributions to the club in the past have been secured, but the share certificate has still to be received by the Trust.

It was felt that this represented good progress over the year, given that we started with nothing.

The next stage is to arrange for the accounts to audited and the FSA returns to be submitted. Fergus is progressing this and will update at the next meeting.

A tax return has been issued by the Inland Revenue and Fergus is currently looking into completion of the form. No allowance has been made for corporation tax in the accounts to date, but it is not expected that the bill will be too large and should be manageable with existing liquid assets.

5.Share Save
Some members of the share save scheme have now contributed more than the minimum amount necessary to purchase shares from the club. It was agreed that these members will be approached to see if they would like shares now or allow their savings to grow further before purchasing the shares. Fergus will progress this with the members concerned.

Support in the running of the administration of the scheme was volunteered by a member. It was felt however, that as Fergus had to reconcile the amounts due each month from the accounts, that it was simpler to keep the administration with the record of amounts paid by each scheme member.

6. Fund Raising (Video’s and Number Plates)

Video - Brian has been liaising with the TV authorities to sort out ownership rights to the video footage which potentially could have made the venture prohibitively expensive. This issue has now been resolved with £600-£800 having to be paid to STV as a digital transfer fee. AMA have agreed to meet this cost. Brian is trying to secure sponsorship deals on the video and hopes to raise £2000. If this is the case then AMA’s digital transfer costs will be met from the amount raised in sponsorship.

Production now looks like starting the first week of December. If this is the case it will be tight to get the video out there in time for Christmas. Disappointment was expressed as Christmas was seen as the main marketing opportunity. Brian says he is currently looking at 20 December for completion. Plan is to distribute through the club shop.

Number Plates - Concerns have been expressed about whether the number plates would be regarded as legal in all parts of the UK. Michael White has agreed to discuss this issue further with the police to get a definitive answer and report back.

7. AGM Arrangements

The time and date for the next AGM were discussed. Notices to members should be issued 21 days before the meeting. It is hoped to hold the meeting at the new stadium in February, as it would give the fans a first look inside the stadium and could hopefully generate interest. Health and Safety issues will have to be considered. Latest AGM could be is March and we would prefer to defer the AGM to the latest possible date if that meant we could hold it at the new ground.

At the AGM we will need to nominate an additional fans rep for the Board from our membership. Stephen Bird, Michael White and George Craig are to discuss what they feel the role of the fans rep should be. Michael White will also discuss with George Craig whether he is intending to stand down as a fans rep on the Board.

No BairnsTrust Board member needs to stand down this year, but half will stand down at the following years AGM.

8. 200 Club

A number present expressed dis-satisfaction at the way the 200 club was being run. The lack of draws this year has been commented on. Of those in the scheme at the meeting many were considering stopping their participation. Comments were made that they would prefer to invest the money in the share save scheme instead.

It was agreed that Kirstie would write to the club expressing concern over the lack of draws being made.

9. Covered Terracing

A cover on the terracing at Stenhousemuir had been promised for the Brechin game. To date there is no sign of the erection of the cover and fans are becoming concerned about the lack of progress. It has only been through luck that the weather has dry for all the games. It is felt the lack of cover will affect crowd levels as we run into the winter.

It was understood that objections from some of the residents had been received and this may be holding things up.

Comments were also made about the lack of suitable toilet facilities for those on the terracing.

It was agreed that Kirstie should write to the club expressing the fans concern over the lack of progress on putting a cover over the terracing. A letter has already gone to Stenhousemuir but no reply has as yet been received.

10. Meeting with Other Trusts

Michael White and Stephen Bird met with members of the Honest Men Trust at the recent home game against Ayr United. The club now has a new owner and he has already invited the trust to put a member on the board. The club is experiencing the same types of problems that Falkirk did with their ground in that they can’t develop the site they are on and are having difficulties with the local council regarding moving to a greenfield site. They have no chance of meeting the SPL criteria at their current venue.

Kilmarnock and Queen of the South Trusts have also expressed an interest in talking to us. We are getting a reputation within the Trust arena as someone worth discussing issues with.

11.Notice of Motion from Stuart Adam

This has now been overtaken by policies put in place at the club. These were proposals to deal with racism, bigotry and other forms of discrimination.

12.Structure of the Falkirk Football Club

Michael White gave those attending the meeting an outline of the proposals he was putting to the board on 19 November regarding how the club should be restructured to improve its operation into the future.

Once the presentation has been made Michael will circulate these to the Board of the Trust.

13.AOB

It was felt that a meeting between the Trust Board and the Board of Falkirk Football Club would be useful before the AGM. Kirstie is to arrange this.

14.Fundraising for the new stadium.

It should be possible for supporters to buy a brick in the new ground. A scheme currently being put together will be ready for early December. It is expected each brick would cost around £40.

Next Meeting

The next meeting will be held in Elliot’s on 15 December at 7.30p.m.

: : Download these minutes in Word Format : :