Alexandra Park Friends Annual Public Meeting
Date: Thursday 9th June at 7pm
Location: Alexandra Park Bowls Club
- Apologies were received from Jan Prior, Mark Shelford and Don Grimes.
Chairman’s Report. The retiring Chair, Julian David, gave his annual report. (See attached). - Treasurer’s Report. The retiring Treasurer, Geoffrey Lee, presented the accounts for the financial year to 31st December 2015, then handed over to the co-opted Treasurer, Mike Davies.
We currently have £2586.55 in the bank. - Picnic in the Park 2016. There are more advertisers this year, but this is offset by higher costs. B&NES have insisted on more toilets, so ‘portaloos’ are to be hired.
There will be an emphasis on fitness this year, with participation from Space Gym and Zita’s boot camp. Craft activities for children are also on offer.
The Bowls Club intends to encourage the public in to try their hands at bowls. The indoor space will be available in the event of rain, but not the toilets. St John’s Ambulance volunteers will use one room and the Bowls Club will provide lunch for them. - Election of officers. Retiring officers Julian David and Geoffrey Lee were heartily thanked for their dedication and service over the last few years. As there were no other nominees, Collin Carr was elected Chair and Mike Davies was confirmed as Treasurer unopposed. Sue Evans continues as Secretary.
- Future Plans. Finance has been found from the B&NES Beechen Cliff fund to commission an orientation table and to redesign the viewing area around it. We are looking into the ways in which Beechen Cliff School could participate, e.g. designing QR codes to add links to more detailed information.
We would like to do a tree plan and will consult B&NES tree officer Denise Hart. Andrew Lawrence is happy to compile the tree list.
Ecology Plan. Steps are being taken to put this into practice, such as leaving grass long in certain areas, planting spring flower bulbs to enhance the cliff path walk, etc. We agreed to monitor developments closely and liaise with Paul Pearce, who put a lot of work into the planning and execution of the cliff path wildflower walk.
The Play Area. We discussed the renovation of the play area but will consult with B&NES to see what they have planned.
Adult exercise equipment. A number of people are interested in this, and it would probably be popular with all the joggers who use the park. It could be the subject of a future TESCO grant application. We agreed to investigate what is available and what the costs would be.
More new members. We need to expand our group of Friends! - AOB. Dedication plaques have appeared on two benches which were already sponsored. The Council is checking its records and will remove any unauthorised plaques.
Concern was expressed about the pollution created by barbecues, particularly at the Picnic in the Park. There is signage prohibiting barbecues in general and it will also be clearly stated in the programme and poster for the Picnic, on the website and in Park Life, that barbecues are not permitted.
Julian was thanked again for all his work as Chairman, and the Bowls Club were thanked for providing space for the meeting.