Bungendore Chamber of Commerce & Industry, Inc

GENERAL MEETING MINUTES

VENUE: BCSC, Turallo Tce 6.30pm – 8.30pm Monday 8 February 2016

WELCOME and FORMAL BUSINESS

1. Welcome (President)  The President, as Chair, opened the meeting at 6:30pm and welcomed attendees and introduced the new Assistant Secretary Beth Tyerman. (No new members attended tonight’s meeting.)

2. Attendance and apologies (Secretary)

Present:  Petria Sutton (Chair)  Murray Gough  Juliet Dowling  Linda Brown Apologies:  Beth Tyerman  Alan Longhurst  Colin Elder  Frank and Dianne Lesak  David Mac Laren  Josephine and Christophe Gregoire  Scott Preston  Kym Dodd  Sharon Rasker  Andrew Milne  Richard Graham  Jennie Curtis

3. Conflict of Interest Register (Chair)  NTR

4. Minutes of previous meeting and business arising (Secretary)  Minutes of the last General Meeting, held Monday 7 December 2015, were distributed to members via email and hard copies were provided to attendees.  Business arising: nothing that wouldn’t be discussed at this meeting.

 Motion: that the Minutes be accepted. Moved by Colin Elder; seconded by David Mac Laren. Carried.

5. Correspondence (Secretary)  Correspondence In o 1 Dec – Request to update the BCCI entry in the Community Services section of the Bungendore Directory for 2016/17

BCCI General Meeting Page 1 o 19 Dec – Invitation from Rural Australians for Refugees Queanbeyan (RARQ) to attend a session about ‘Welcoming Refugees to our Community’ 6th February o 12 Jan – Updated materials re Grants Program now available on the Murray- Darling Basin Regional Economic Diversification Program (MDBREDP) website Action Item: Assistant Secretary to publish this information to the BCCI website. o 25 Jan – Request for meeting by EPYC to discuss proposed wind farm between Tarago and Mulloon / Manar. (Insufficient warning given, so meeting not held) o 27 Jan – Advice from Jennie Curtis, Andrew Riley and David Mac Laren re Council Merger

 Correspondence out o Position statement for BCCI for amalgamation of Council sent to Andrew Riley, Jennie Curtis and David Mac Laren. (New Position Statement has been written.) o Articles for the Bungendore Weekly o Update to the BCCI entry in the Community Services section of the Bungendore Directory for 2016/17

REPORTS IN BRIEF 1. Treasurer’s report (Treasurer)  January balance sheet, P&L attached.  Current bank balance $28,977.58 as at 7th February.  Term deposit: $25,767.88  Directory Advertising: $22,106.41 billed to date, $13,211.86 received to date, and $589 spent to date.  Nett profit to 7th February: $12,622  There are currently 140 members for 2015-16 with approx 10 to 12 still to pay (Brief discussion on Membership and Renewals Policy to ensure payment made more promptly)  Motion: that the Treasurer’s Report be accepted. Moved by Murray Gough; Seconded by Scott Preston. Carried.

GENERAL BUSINESS

6. BCCI Planning and Administration (Secretary) 7.1 Events and Meetings for 2016 The Vice President has drafted a schedule of meetings and events for 2016 and provided this to the President for review and discussion. The draft schedule proposes a mixture of general and networking meetings, alternating over the course of the year, largely every month. There will also be Executive meetings in February and before the AGM (preparation meetings.)

We are also proposing Professional Development sessions. The first is scheduled for Tuesday 12th April – Business Financial Management. It is expected to run for 2 to 3 hours. Cost will be $49, but BCCI members will be subsidised by $10 to bring the cost down to $39 per member.

BCCI General Meeting Page 2 Networking meetings are intended to showcase a business and allow networking. We can showcase by being onsite at a business, or at a suitable alternative venue. There will be a short general meeting, followed by the host showcasing their business, then attendees discuss and network. The formal Agenda would be very streamlined.

This week, we would like to go out to members, asking them to nominate to hold one of these sessions. Four of these sessions are planned.

Other related suggestions included an Arts Trail, perhaps a progressive showcase? Or a Harvest Festival?

Action Item: Secretary to send out email this week seeking nominations for venues to hold networking meetings.

Action Item: Members to try to find information on the Arts Trail or Harvest Festival previously held in Bungendore.

. 7. BCCI Constitution Review (Vice President) The Vice President advised of work done to this point in reviewing the Constitution. No significant changes have been made.

A recommendation for increased fees for members is the most controversial factor. We now have four paid part-time contract positions (website management, financial and secretarial skills) to simplify management of the BCCI, and increasing the fees by a small amount ensures that these costs are covered. Executive roles stay much as they are now.

Murray will now send the Draft document to Executive members who will have a month to provide feedback. The document will then be passed to members, who will have another month to comment. A Special General Meeting would then be held to approve the changes. This could follow one of the General meetings, preferably around May so that changes are in place before membership renewals commence.

8. Committee Vacancies (President) It was noted that the Executive is still looking for a Secretary/Public Officer and one or two Executive Members for the Committee. Action Item: The President and Vice President are to send a request email to Members to fill these positions, defining the positions.

9. BCCI Draft Position Statement on Council Amalgamations (Vice President) The development of this Position paper was driven by requests asking what the BCCI thinks of potential Council Amalgamations. The Vice President produced an initial draft document which was forwarded to Jennie Curtis, David Mac Laren and Andrew Riley for comment.

The updated document (as a result of advice) comprises five dot points with a positive focus. With any new Council, this is what we want to happen for the benefit of our members and businesses. Good cooperation and a good relationship with any new Council is important.

Attendees agreed that the new Draft looks suitable, with one minor change, for distribution to BCCI members for feedback. BCCI General Meeting Page 3 Motion: That the document be distributed to BCCI members for comment. Moved by David Mac Laren, seconded by Scott Preston. Carried.

Action Item: Assistant Secretary to email amended copy to BCCI members, seeking feedback within one week.

Executive will review the document and feedback, and ensure that a formal submission is made by the due date of the 29th February.

10. 2016 Business Directory Update (Sharon Rasker) Sharon advised that the update of the Business Directory for the 2015/2016 edition is running smoothly. The front cover has been sold, and three quarters of the back cover, with the BCCI to buy the last quarter.

A last count before she came found 162 advertisers, down from last year’s 180 plus, with some businesses leaving town, and others too busy and therefore not needing additional advertising. Financially, they should be close to last year’s total. ($22,106.41 billed to this point advised the Treasurer.)

This year, people have been invoiced for payment. On the closing date, 60 emails were received, resulting in a delay for some invoices being sent out due to workload.

Next steps include collation, proofing, email corrections, etc. Once proofed, the Directory will go to printing, and will be ready the last week of March.

Next year is the 21st edition. We may look at costs to produce a colour version. For six years, prices have stayed the same, so there is room for an increase.

Attendees discussed where advertising businesses are based, and what approaches may be suitable to entice other areas to advertise in the Directory. It was noted that the Directory is available on the BCCI website, so information is available in electronic as well as paper format.

Updated financials should be available by next week.

A vote of congratulations for work done was moved by Murray.

11. BCCI Banner Update (President / Treasurer) The completed banner was on display at the meeting. Three more blank banners are ready to be made up, but we need images and wording. The first banner was specifically made to be a generic promotional item, but others may focus on Arts and Crafts, food, history or accommodation?

The banners can be displayed at Chamber meetings, and are available for use by businesses at Trade Shows for example. It would be good to see banners set up at Tourist Information centres such as Queanbeyan and Northbourne Ave in Canberra.

Attendees discussed possible themes and funding. Purchased photographs could be used on banners, on pamphlets, and on the BCCI website, so repeat use is possible.

12. BCCI Website Update (Secretary) BCCI General Meeting Page 4 David Edlin, our website provider, reports that the optimisation process for the BCCI website has worked well. When searches are done for anything Bungendore-related, the website comes up immediately after sites that pay to appear at the top.

A two hour familiarisation session on the website was held last Friday, with the aim that the Assistant Secretary may be able to make website updates in the future. The meeting also considered enhancements to the website to simplify use by current and potential BCCI members.

13. Other Business 14.1 Country Muster Scott raised the issue of the Country Muster for discussion. He expressed concern that integration between the village and the event has broken down over the years. Locals no longer see the benefits to the town of the Muster, and the Country Muster people say Bungendore does nothing for them.

We have a captive audience of 1000 people based only 1 kilometre away. How do we attract them to town? How do both sides benefit? Suggestions from attendees included setting up events, perhaps Bingo, or an event in town on the Friday night. Could we offer a Winery Tour? An art trail? Exhibition flyers? There used to be a talent quest at the Bowling Club. Scott has run one at the Royal Hotel. Despite publicity by organisers of the Muster, only one person from the Muster came, but he had to leave early to attend a walk-up at the Showground. Bingo is also arranged and held at the Showground.

The very proactive Muster Committee now means that few people come to town. Colin ran the busking for 12 years - that was for Saturday morning – but conflicting events out at the Showground mean that that event now seems to be more for the locals.

People can now move in to the Showground up to a week ahead of the event. They used to bring swags and tents, now they have self-sufficient vehicles.

Murray attended a get-together at the Showground where the relationship between the town and people was questioned. There used to be a Courtesy Bus that allowed people to get out and about, so a Shuttle Service by the Chamber could be effective, however it would need to be coordinated with organisers. The best way to achieve this would be to have a representative on the Muster Committee. (Murray would be happy to volunteer for this role.)

Action Item: The Vice-President to explore having a BCCI representative on the Muster Committee. Action Item: The President to invite Winston and other members of the Muster Committee to a Chamber meeting. It was noted that the next meeting is Monday 7th March. Could we invite the Muster Committee to host that as a networking meeting and discuss options for how best to proceed? (The President will get Winston’s contact details from Scott.)

A related item – we could investigate the cost of subsidising a shuttle bus between Bungendore and the Showground, keeping in mind a potential charge of $2 per head per journey.

Richard noted parallels with conferences which have an Expo alongside, but conference attendees have no time to attend. They need to schedule Expo visits. Can we negotiate

BCCI General Meeting Page 5 something similar with the Muster Committee? Block out four hours (or several segments) to provide entertainment in town.

14.2 Bungendore Show Similarly, an interface with the Show is required. Next meeting we can discuss this. (Bike Track? Segway hire?)

14.3 Management of Bowling Club. Murray noted that the BCSC President will be taking up a position in Victoria in 2 weeks. The BCSC has a new Constitution but needs a strong leader, else it will close. Murray is looking for a way to proceed and asked if attendees could please get the message out to try to find a management person to make things work.

The venue should be viable as a function venue rather than a bowling club. The Bungendore Community Bank is interested in assisting in development of a major sports centre at the site, so potentially it could be used as an Events Centre, then an Indoor Sports Centre, helped by a Grant from the Bank and local sponsorship.

Note: Murray provided this advice from a personal perspective, not a Chamber perspective.

MEETING CLOSE

15. Meeting Close (President)  The Chair closed the meeting at 8:13pm, thanking all for their contribution.

1. Next General Meeting:  Monday 7 March 2016 Venue: Bungendore Community and Bowling Club, Turallo Terrace. (TBC prior to the meeting.)

BCCI General Meeting Page 6