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real html
author ht
date Mon, 05 Jan 2009 16:51:38 -0500
parents 95b3855d61d7
children 9d70132b8833
files fmh_2009-01-05.html
diffstat 1 files changed, 148 insertions(+), 129 deletions(-) [+]
line wrap: on
line diff
--- a/fmh_2009-01-05.html	Mon Jan 05 16:48:41 2009 -0500
+++ b/fmh_2009-01-05.html	Mon Jan 05 16:51:38 2009 -0500
@@ -1,131 +1,150 @@
 <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
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-  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">
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-       .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: First meeting</title></head><body style="font-family: DejaVu Sans, Arial; background: rgb(254,250,246); font-size: 12pt; width: 20cm; align: center; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto">
- <div style="text-align: center">
-  <h1>Future of 7 VT working group: First meeting</h1>
-  <div class="byline">This informal summary by Henry S. Thompson, Convenor</div>
-  <div class="byline">Held at 7 Victoria Terrace, Edinburgh on 5 January 2009, 7:30 p.m.</div>
- </div>
- 
-  <div>
-   <h2>1.  Attendance</h2>
-   <p>Present: Alison Burnley, Alastair Cameron, Madeleine Harding, Phil Lucas, Brian Mayes, Laurie Naumann, Rufus Reade,
-Eileen Schott, Don Stubbings, Henry Thompson (in the clerk's chair)</p>
-  </div>
-  <div>
-   <h2>2.  Introductions</h2>
-   <p>The members of the working group gave brief self-introductions</p>
-  </div>
-  <div>
-   <h2>3.  Background</h2>
-   <p>Alastair Cameron, on behalf of Area Meeting gave us
-some background:</p>
-   <ul>
-    <li>What is our vision for what Quakers need as a physical presence in Edinburgh?</li>
-    <li>This includes the possibility of not having a large central building
-of any kind.  It's assumed that this would lead to a reduction in expenditure
-and effort.</li>
-    <li>AM looking for renewal of its sense of what its presence in Edinburgh
-should be</li>
-    <li>We are on the cusp of a number of substantial items of expenditure,
-which are perhaps a bit difficult to motivate without a clear underlying vision.</li>
-   </ul>
-   <p>Don Stubbings, who was
-instrumental in raising some of the questions we will be considering:</p>
-   <ul>
-    <li>Don has served for many years on Fabric and Maintenance</li>
-    <li>Costs coming:
-     <ul>
-      <li>Toilets need renewed</li>
-      <li>Heating is a problem</li>
-      <li>The flats are an ongoing financial drain</li>
-      <li>The kitchen is scheduled for a refit</li>
-      <li>The roof is being refurbished, and is involving more and costing
-more than expected, taking up most of our cash reserves</li>
-      <li>Children's space restructuring?  Interacts with the kitchen refit.</li>
-     </ul>
-    </li>
-   </ul>
-   <p>The above might add up to 200K GBP over the next few years.  The expense
-of the roof repairs stimulated a consideration of whether we should be
-more-or-less uncritically committing to maintaining an old building which will
-likely continue to require substantial investment.  This eventually led to a
-presentation to AM in August.  In the twenty years since we purchased 7VT, no
-overall review of our use of the premises has been undertaken.</p>
-   <p>Our circumstances have changed in many ways over that time, including
-changes in external regulation: Child Protection, Health and Safety, Food
-Sanitation.  The rental of our premises has also evolved, alongside an increase
-in the number of other churches etc. who make premises available.  The issue of
-balance between income generated and operating costs, given our commitment to
-charging very low rents for Quaker groups/other groups with certain specified qualities.</p>
-   <p>At the same time, the awareness of many Quaker users of the premises does
-not extend beyond Meeting for Worship on a Sunday.</p>
-   <p>One view of the balance sheet is that we are running at a 20K/annum
-deficit.  Some members clearly see this as an acceptable cost, others think at
-the very least the AM needs to explicitly acknowledge this.</p>
-   <p>The possibility of moving towards 7VT as the Scottish equivalent of
-Friends House has been raised, and deserves to be re-considered, without losing
-sight of the history of our previous, failed, attempt to do so.</p>
-   <p>Trustees have initiated their own review, and put a hold on all capital
-expenditure until this group has reported.</p>
-   <p>Some of these issues interact with aspects of the role of the paid
-meetinghouse staff.</p>
-   <p>One way of looking at the financial side is to see the deficit as the
-rent that AM pays for the use we get from the building.</p>
-   <p>Phil Lucas recalled that on his and Pat's arrival as Wardens in 1994, the
-building was running at a loss, but they were given the explicit goal of making
-the building pay for itself.  He believes that the revenue account balanced
-from around 1997.  It's the capital expenditures which provoke the deficit</p>
-   <p>Henry Thompson summarised that we have to both get clear what the actual
-numbers are, and then decide how we are going to <i>treat</i> those
-numbers, and that we have a lot of choices in how we arrive at a summary to
-underpin our search for a vision.  Rufus Read suggested that a cash flow
-forecast would be a tool to help in this regard.</p>
-   <p>Henry Thompson and others attempted to recall the reasons we sold Stafford
-Street and bought 7 Victoria Terrace:</p>
-   <ul>
-    <li>Meeting room itself was an awkward L-shaped space, on first floor,
-up a narrow staircase—some elderly/infirm friends had stopped attending;</li>
-    <li>Need for larger/better children and teenagers space;</li>
-    <li>Desire
-to share facilities with other groups</li>
-    <li>We explored non-central locations, came
-to view a central location as not only an equal tax on everyone in terms of
-transport, but also a value in itself as an opportunity for witness.</li>
-   </ul>
-  </div>
-  <div>
-   <h2>4.  Topics for next meeting</h2>
-   <ul>
-    <li>Questions we might ask;</li>
-    <li>Whom we might ask, and who will take responsibility for getting
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+    "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}
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+{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: First meeting</title>
+</head>
+<body style="font-family: DejaVu Sans, Arial; background: rgb(254,250,246); font-size: 12pt; width: 20cm; align: center; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto">
+
+<div style="text-align: center">
+<h1>Future of 7 VT working group: First meeting</h1>
+<div class="byline">This informal summary by Henry S. Thompson,
+Convenor</div>
+<div class="byline">Held at 7 Victoria Terrace, Edinburgh on 5
+January 2009, 7:30 p.m.</div>
+</div>
+<div>
+<h2>1. Attendance</h2>
+<p>Present: Alison Burnley, Alastair Cameron, Madeleine Harding,
+Phil Lucas, Brian Mayes, Laurie Naumann, Rufus Reade, Eileen
+Schott, Don Stubbings, Henry Thompson (in the clerk's chair)</p>
+</div>
+<div>
+<h2>2. Introductions</h2>
+<p>The members of the working group gave brief
+self-introductions</p>
+</div>
+<div>
+<h2>3. Background</h2>
+<p>Alastair Cameron, on behalf of Area Meeting gave us some
+background:</p>
+<ul>
+<li>What is our vision for what Quakers need as a physical presence
+in Edinburgh?</li>
+<li>This includes the possibility of not having a large central
+building of any kind. It's assumed that this would lead to a
+reduction in expenditure and effort.</li>
+<li>AM looking for renewal of its sense of what its presence in
+Edinburgh should be</li>
+<li>We are on the cusp of a number of substantial items of
+expenditure, which are perhaps a bit difficult to motivate without
+a clear underlying vision.</li>
+</ul>
+<p>Don Stubbings, who was instrumental in raising some of the
+questions we will be considering:</p>
+<ul>
+<li>Don has served for many years on Fabric and Maintenance</li>
+<li>Costs coming: 
+<ul>
+<li>Toilets need renewed</li>
+<li>Heating is a problem</li>
+<li>The flats are an ongoing financial drain</li>
+<li>The kitchen is scheduled for a refit</li>
+<li>The roof is being refurbished, and is involving more and
+costing more than expected, taking up most of our cash
+reserves</li>
+<li>Children's space restructuring? Interacts with the kitchen
+refit.</li>
+</ul></li>
+</ul>
+<p>The above might add up to 200K GBP over the next few years. The
+expense of the roof repairs stimulated a consideration of whether
+we should be more-or-less uncritically committing to maintaining an
+old building which will likely continue to require substantial
+investment. This eventually led to a presentation to AM in August.
+In the twenty years since we purchased 7VT, no overall review of
+our use of the premises has been undertaken.</p>
+<p>Our circumstances have changed in many ways over that time,
+including changes in external regulation: Child Protection, Health
+and Safety, Food Sanitation. The rental of our premises has also
+evolved, alongside an increase in the number of other churches etc.
+who make premises available. The issue of balance between income
+generated and operating costs, given our commitment to charging
+very low rents for Quaker groups/other groups with certain
+specified qualities.</p>
+<p>At the same time, the awareness of many Quaker users of the
+premises does not extend beyond Meeting for Worship on a
+Sunday.</p>
+<p>One view of the balance sheet is that we are running at a
+20K/annum deficit. Some members clearly see this as an acceptable
+cost, others think at the very least the AM needs to explicitly
+acknowledge this.</p>
+<p>The possibility of moving towards 7VT as the Scottish equivalent
+of Friends House has been raised, and deserves to be re-considered,
+without losing sight of the history of our previous, failed,
+attempt to do so.</p>
+<p>Trustees have initiated their own review, and put a hold on all
+capital expenditure until this group has reported.</p>
+<p>Some of these issues interact with aspects of the role of the
+paid meetinghouse staff.</p>
+<p>One way of looking at the financial side is to see the deficit
+as the rent that AM pays for the use we get from the building.</p>
+<p>Phil Lucas recalled that on his and Pat's arrival as Wardens in
+1994, the building was running at a loss, but they were given the
+explicit goal of making the building pay for itself. He believes
+that the revenue account balanced from around 1997. It's the
+capital expenditures which provoke the deficit</p>
+<p>Henry Thompson summarised that we have to both get clear what
+the actual numbers are, and then decide how we are going to 
+<i>treat</i>those numbers, and that we have a lot of choices in how
+we arrive at a summary to underpin our search for a vision. Rufus
+Read suggested that a cash flow forecast would be a tool to help in
+this regard.</p>
+<p>Henry Thompson and others attempted to recall the reasons we
+sold Stafford Street and bought 7 Victoria Terrace:</p>
+<ul>
+<li>Meeting room itself was an awkward L-shaped space, on first
+floor, up a narrow staircase—some elderly/infirm friends had
+stopped attending;</li>
+<li>Need for larger/better children and teenagers space;</li>
+<li>Desire to share facilities with other groups</li>
+<li>We explored non-central locations, came to view a central
+location as not only an equal tax on everyone in terms of
+transport, but also a value in itself as an opportunity for
+witness.</li>
+</ul>
+</div>
+<div>
+<h2>4. Topics for next meeting</h2>
+<ul>
+<li>Questions we might ask;</li>
+<li>Whom we might ask, and who will take responsibility for getting
 answers from them;</li>
-    <li>What examples might we look at;</li>
-    <li>Getting a cashflow forecast and a cashflow history</li>
-   </ul>
-  </div>
-  <div>
-   <h2>5.  Next Meeting</h2>
-   <p>Our next meeting will be at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday 13th January at 7
-Victoria Terrace.</p>
-  </div>
- 
-</body></html>
\ No newline at end of file
+<li>What examples might we look at;</li>
+<li>Getting a cashflow forecast and a cashflow history</li>
+</ul>
+</div>
+<div>
+<h2>5. Next Meeting</h2>
+<p>Our next meeting will be at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday 13th January at
+7 Victoria Terrace.</p>
+</div>
+</body>
+</html>