THE LEEDS ASSOCIATION OF ENGINEERS
Minutes of the Council Meeting held at 7.30pm on Thursday 4th March 2021 online.
The meeting was hosted by Mr. Kibler using the “Zoom” video conferencing application. This was necessary due to the national Covid – 19 requirements for social distancing.
1. Attendance. R. Town, president in the chair, with J. Aldersley, I. Scholes, A. Kibler, J. Bentley, M. Murray, G. Toulson, A. Rogers, G. Roper, J. Shergill & B. Yates.
2. Apologies for absence. I. Blakeley, H. Kingswell, S. Stacey & J. Burton.
3. Minutes of the Previous Meeting. Dated 4th February 2021 were approved.
4. Matters Arising. Nothing to report.
5. Treasurers Report. Mr. Kibler said there had been no new financial transactions this month. He confirmed that the two members who had inadvertently paid subscriptions had been refunded.
6. Correspondence. Mr. Murray had received an email message from member Richard Thompson who asked if he was in arrears with subscriptions. This was confirmed and the member advised he will send a cheque for £15.00 having already tried and failed to pay using the provided bank transfer details.
7. Membership. Mr. Murray advised that there was nothing to report. Mr. Aldersley commented that he would have a word with a work colleague Geoffrey ’K’, who is responsible for manual machining at their college, to see if he would be interested in joining the association.
8. Current Programme. Mr. Murray asked if last month’s speaker, Mr. Frank Smith, had been thanked or rewarded in some way for his lecture. Mr. Toulson advised that both he and Mr. Kibler had emailed to express our thanks for his time. Mr. Smith replied by thanking us for the opportunity to give the talk. Mr. Kibler said he thought it might not be appropriate at this stage to offer financial reward. Mr. Yates said we could perhaps send some chocolates. Mr. Kibler said we could consider inviting Mr. Smith to a dinner but we were unlikely to be holding a dinner for some time. Mr. Aldersley asked Mr. Yates if he would be willing to give an online lecture to members. Mr. Yates responded that he had partly prepared a talk and would appreciate a trial run online with Mr. Kibler. Both parties will arrange this trial in a few days. Mr. Toulson asked Mr. Yates if he would commit to Thursday 25th March for the talk if the trial run was successful and he agreed. Mr. Kibler said that if virus restrictions ease later in the year, as had recently been planned, it may be possible to arrange the visit to Kirklees Light Railway for which refreshments and a buffet were planned during the visit.
9. Next Session. Nothing to report.
10. Website. Mr. Toulson had received advance notice by email from Big Wet Fish, our website host, advising that the association’s Domain Name would be up for renewal in early May but an invoice had not yet been received. Mr. Toulson offered to settle the account promptly and would request reimbursement from the treasurer as before.
11. Journal. Mr Bentley advised that he had edited and checked the Members List having found many errors, but he still had to produce an editorial and edit the letter provided by our president. In addition he had yet to produce a list of the Solstice Walks. Mr. Murray asked if Mr. Bentley had received Ms. Burton’s date of joining the association that he had provided. Mr. Bentley confirmed that he had. Mr. Murray asked if the previous printers that had been used would be used again. Mr. Bentley advised that he was currently researching printing prices but no decision had been made. Mr. Bentley said that there was some work to be done ‘paging up’ the articles in preparation for printing. He said that he will also add details of the online Zoom meetings that had taken place. Mr. Aldersley advised that he had been in touch with Ms. Burton who promised to complete her journal article shortly and forward it to Mr. Bentley.
12. Annual Golf Tournament. Mr. Stacey had mentioned in an email to council that he was sure that the tournament would go ahead, with the planned date being a couple of days after the national lockdown restrictions came to an end. He was unsure if hospitality and catering facilities would be in place. He wrote that he intends to visit the club in April to discuss arrangements further. If problems arise then Mr. Stacey suggested that the tournament could be delayed until September or maybe until next year in order to maintain safe conditions for the players.
13. Annual Dinner. Mr. Kibler said that we might not be able to hold a dinner this year and that it is still too early to make a plan. He proposed that it might still be possible to hold the dinner in either August or September. Mr. Murray asked Mr. Kibler if he had been in touch with the Golf Club regarding the dinner. Mr. Kibler replied that he had sent an email but had not yet had a response. Mr. Yates proposed an outdoor ‘picnic’ as a possible alternative event.
14. Church Service. Mr. Scholes said there was nothing to report.
15. Meeting Rooms. Mr. Rogers confirmed that the Cleckheaton Meeting Room was no longer available for our lecture meetings due to the owners selling the site for housing development. Mr. Aldersley advised that he is on the management committee of the ‘Springfield Centre’ in Idle, Bradford and that this may be a possible venue for future lecture meetings. Mr. Roper commented that this venue should be seriously considered as currently we have no venue available for when we are able to meet again in person. Mr. Murray asked Mr. Aldersley if he knew of a suitable room at his college premises. Mr. Aldersley said that there may be a requirement for security staff at the college but he would investigate. Mr. Toulson asked if there are parking spaces at the college and Mr. Aldersley confirmed that there are ample spaces. Mr. Scholes said he would investigate the possibility of using a church hall in Morley as a lecture venue and he would supply information at the next council meeting.
Any other Business. Mr. Murray said he had prepared ‘Chapter 2’ of his apprenticeship memories ready for the website. Mr. Kibler noted that there were two matters outstanding to resolve. He asked Mr. Yates if he wished to join the council permanently. Mr. Yates confirmed that he would. Mr. Kibler asked council for a vote by show of hands and this was carried. Mr. Aldersley taking the second matter then asked Mr. Town if he would be prepared to extend his post as president for another year and Mr. Town agreed. Mr. Murray asked Mr. Toulson to advise a date for the next online council meeting. Mr. Toulson proposed Thursday 1st April at 7.30 pm and this was agreed. There being no further business Mr. Town closed the meeting.
.
……………………………………………President. ……………….. Date