Mercurial > hg > rsof
diff 7vt/fmh_2009-02-08.html @ 9:1cbbaa5a0684
as sent out
| author | ht |
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| date | Mon, 09 Feb 2009 15:32:24 -0500 |
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| children | babbcab08626 |
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--- /dev/null Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000 +++ b/7vt/fmh_2009-02-08.html Mon Feb 09 15:32:24 2009 -0500 @@ -0,0 +1,183 @@ +<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?> +<!DOCTYPE html + PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd"> +<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><head><meta name="copyright" content="Copyright (C) 2007 Henry S. Thompson"/><meta http-equiv="Content-type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"/><style type="text/css"> + pre.code {font-family: monospace} + pre {margin-left: 0em} + ul.nolabel { margin: 0; margin-left: -2.5em} + ul.naked li { list-style-type: none } + ol ol {list-style-type: lower-alpha} + .math {font-family: 'Arial Unicode MS', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', serif} + .sub {font-size: 80%; vertical-align: sub} + .termref {text-decoration: none; color: #606000} + div.toc h2 {font-size: 120%; margin-top: 0em; margin-bottom: 0em} + div.toc h4 {font-size: 100%; margin-top: 0em; margin-bottom: 0em; + margin-left: 1em} + div.toc h1 {font-size: 140%; margin-bottom: 0em} + div.toc ul {margin-top: 1ex} + .byline {font-size: 120%} + div.figure {margin-left: 2em} + div.caption {font-style: italic; font-weight: bold} + </style><title>Future of 7 VT working group: Fourth meeting</title></head><body style="font-family: DejaVu Sans, Arial; background: rgb(254,250,246); font-size: 12pt; width: 20cm; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto"> + <div style="text-align: center"> + <h1>Future of 7 VT working group: Fourth meeting</h1> + <div class="byline">This informal summary by Henry S. Thompson, Convenor</div> + <div class="byline">Held at 7 Victoria Terrace, Edinburgh on 8 February 2009, 7:30 p.m.</div> + </div> + + <div> + <h2>1. Attendance</h2> + <p>Present: Alison Burnley, Anthony Buxton, Madeleine Harding, Ken Jobling, Phil Lucas, + Brian Mayes, Laurie Naumann, Rufus Reade, +Eileen Schott, Henry Thompson (in the clerk's chair)</p> + </div> + <div> + <h2>2. Input from the co-Manager</h2> + <p>Looking back, at the time of the original purchase, of the projected +250,000 GBP spend planned for upgrading the building only 150,000 GBP +was spent, and again in 1993 a review suggested some major work which wasn't done.</p> + <p>Lettings have gone down this year because of the loss of two major lettings: The Traverse, who +moved to their own premises; and the City of Edinburgh, who have cut back on external training. +Prospects this year don't look great on that front.</p> + <p>At interview, we were asked to "be a Quaker presence", and that's what we +try to do. Our day begins at 0745, and the Meeting +House is often open until 2130 or 2200. Sue and Anthony average about 60hrs/week, although only +contracted for 37.5.</p> + <p>Staff costs increased this year in part because of the necessity of allowing for holiday pay for +part-time staff (in arrears).</p> + <p>The Buxtons' vision for 7VT is as a centre for Quakers in Edinburgh or even in Scotland. The +increase in visibility we have worked for is part of this: making the entry to the ground floor and +the Festival Cafe more evidently Quaker.</p> + <p>The Festival venue doesn't actually net any money: we're closed for six weeks as far as bookings +is concerned -- if we were not a venue, we <i>might</i> get income from e.g. rehersal space +lettings. So overall we lose money for that six weeks, even though staff costs are lower, as we have four +venue managers (Sue, Anthony, Tom and Tam [as convenor of the Festival C'ttee], one of whom is always +on duty. Only when Tam is on do we have staff cover as well.</p> + <p>The cooking involved in the Festival Cafe has provoked the food hygiene changes, and are leading to the upgrade. For tea and +coffee only, we could do without the kitchen upgrade. A redesign there would enable a new letting +space.</p> + <p>The kitchen upgrade is currently estimated at 30KGBP, the toilets 50KGBP. Replacing the cookers +means adding ventolation, all stainless-steel. Decomination requires pressure hoses, with more impact.</p> + <p>The kitchen does not play much into the lettings business, that is, not having a kitchen would +not have much if any impact on the lettings. Anyone who wants lunch has a buffet (usually cold) +catered in. The refreshment business is for teas and coffees.</p> + <p>Cooking is crucial watershed: the "no kitchen" option would still allow dishwasher(s) and fridge(s).</p> + <p>Alternatively, consider running a cafe continuously during the year. This would of course have +an impact on the library.</p> + <p>We are hopeful that the Victoria Terrace pavement will be re-opened +through to George the IVth Bridge by around Easter.</p> + <p>Opening up access to the creche directly from the library would be about 5KGBP, we could also +look at breaking the internal wall down, adding built-in cupboards and a window.</p> + <p>The toilets refit is aiming for five lady's cubicles (plus basins), two cubicles and two urinals for the men's</p> + <p>Basic fabric and roof are in good state. The windows are pending. The hall is in good state, +and proving attractive to lettings.</p> + <p>The meetingroom itself has access issues wrt catering, and we have been trying to get most +catering done on the 1st floor -- not all groups like this. There is no water +or drainage on that side of the building.</p> + <p>The windows project: it should be possible to get double-glazed vertically-hinged windows in the +Meeting Room and Hall, which +would mean we could get rid of the secondary windows and have proper ventolation. We're hoping to have +this redesign done soon so that if we must do </p> + <p>We could service/manage more letting with existing staffing levels if we had more rooms.</p> + <p>Heating bill for the whole building was about 8KGBP last year, some heaters lack local +thermostats. Solar or roof-based heat exchanger might be possible. No costings are available for this.</p> + <p>Fire regulations are now becoming an issue: strictly speaking the maximum occupancy of rooms +above a single staircase is 60. A safe refuge for wheelchair uses and lift sealing are also in the offing.</p> + <p>The overall regulatory situation means anytime we do anything, we now have to do it to the top +standard demanded by fire, safety, health etc. regulations. We are sometimes put in a difficult +position by this, for example, with respect to young Quaker residential groups, to whom strictly +speaking we should be saying "no". If we break the rules, and an accident happens, we will be in +serious trouble.</p> + <p>Staffing: Tom does 3 days a week, one of which is maintenance, and he +covers for Friday (Managers' day off) and holidays. There are a further eight +0-hours contract staff who fill the rest on an <i>ad-hoc</i> basis. We +do lose money if we open the building for just one group who are only using the +Bow Room, for which the charity rate is 10GBP/hour.</p> + <p>The recession may be having an impact, with things quite quiet since +Christmas, except for some weeks when we are over-subscribed. Wednesday is the +busiest day of the week, somewhat hampered by midweek Meeting.</p> + <p>We can't compete with the big hotels and conference centres, and we don't +try. Our primary lettors come from the voluntary sector. Although they have +been hit by the recession, and the shrinkage of Lottery funding consequent on +the Olympics, we are looking at some hopeful prospects as well.</p> + <p>We do have some groups with whom we have long-standing regular bookings, although not in the form +of say an annual contracts -- there are weekly discounts.</p> + <p>6VT have enquired about letting the Bow Room on a long-term basis.</p> + <p>We're not in a position (as say Dundee is) to do commercial lettings of a part of the building.</p> + <p>Possible comparators: The Methodist Church in Nicholson Square; St. Mary's RC Cathedral</p> + <p>We are now considered a "Quaker Centre". Manchester, Liverpool, York, +Sheffield, Manchester, Swarthmore, Woodbrooke, Oxford (but they don't come to +the meetings convened to discuss common issues) are +others. We are the only one in Scotland. Glasgow and Dundee do some lettings, but without the overall +approach of a Centre.</p> + <p>There are still ways we could be making more of the building, more signage, more window displays. +We don't have a permanent place for worship, which is unfortunate. Not enough use is being made of the +Meeting House <i>by and for Quakers</i>.</p> + <p>Trading Company to run the business: Friends House have done that, the Priory Rooms (Poole +Street, Birmingham) have done this. Anthony would not like to go that way: +there is real tension in Poole Street, for instance, between the needs of the +AM and the business.</p> + <p>Dundee Property Trust own the tenement with the Dundee Meeting House, and the property agent +on the ground floor. Laurie Naumann has just become a trustee.</p> + <p>Deciding what the right funding/ownership/management model is depends on +what footprint we want, whether we want a presence or just a venue for Meeting +for Worship. +Setting up a trading company when we're running at a deficit seems like a non-starter.</p> + <p>Why aren't we running more Quaker study groups here? Why aren't more of our members doing more of +their Quaker-related business here? Our regular bookings do stop us being adventurous: we could have +had the whole Middle-Eastern festival here, if we hadn't had the load of our ongoing bookings. We +could change the way we do bookings, shift from regular slots to blocks.</p> + </div> + <div> + <h2>3. Input from the Convenor of Fabric and Maintenance +C'ttee</h2> + <p>Ken is a Trustee as well. Trustees have decided that no major spending commitments can be made +(except for urgent matters) until this Working Group has reported and AM has come to some conclusions. +This puts real pressure on getting recommendations and decisions out of this review exercise as quickly +as possible.</p> + <p>Trustees have passed two things as matters of priority to F&M:</p> + <ul> + <li> ongoing roof access above the flat (e.g. wrt +gutters);</li> + <li>priorities arising from the quinquennial review, i.e. things which had to be done very soon, for +example some of the West windows.</li> + </ul> + <p>At a Quaker Centres meeting last week we heard many similar stories to what Anthony said above.</p> + <p>The possibility of establishing some official Scotland GM use of building was explored in 1995. The +operation of Quaker Link Scotland from 7VT also happened around then. The appointment of an admin. +assistant to GM was at first thought of as feeding into this, but partly because of the IVS lease on +the Bow Room, and partly because of opposition from elsewhere in GM, nothing came of it.</p> + <p>There is a danger of getting bogged down in costs, while losing sight of the benefits of the place.</p> + <p>We have been running on low reserves since, roughly, the establishment of the Kelso Meeting +House. We can't look at the Meeting House in isolation.</p> + <p>Other Quaker Centres have emphasised the need to have a clear vision in service of which the +financial plans are framed.</p> + </div> + <div> + <h2>4. Questionnaires</h2> + <p>Anthony was dismayed at the questionnaire which was headed for lettings, at a time when the +client base is delicate, indeed frightened that it might scare people off. None of the questionnaires +included anything about who the group is and what our remit is, or included the question of vision. +Eileen mentioned that the goal was to find out more about what made people come +back, or not. Anthony pointed out that there +already is a satisfaction evaluation for letting clients.</p> + <p>Brian suggested that the timing might be better once we have a better sense of what path we are +going down.</p> + <p>Anthony thought that asking about alternative visions is the best way to get people's input.</p> + <p>Anthony recommended only having <i>one</i> questionnaire, so that the results are +comparable. Alison agreed that many of the questions should be the same, but the some questions were +only appropriate for some groups.</p> + </div> + <div> + <h2>5. Future topics</h2> + <p>Need a tour of the building, next time (when Rufus is here).</p> + <p>Developing alternative visions</p> + </div> + <div> + <h2>6. Next Meeting</h2> + <p>Our next meeting will be on Sunday 22 February, 7:30 p.m. at 7 Victoria +Terrace. We have tentatively set Sunday 8 March, same time and venue, for the +meeting after that.</p> + </div> + +</body></html> \ No newline at end of file