Friends of Old Bega Hospital Inc
Notice of Annual General Meeting 2015
The 2015 Annual General Meeting of the Friends of the Old Bega Hospital Inc will be held at The Cottage, in the grounds of the Old Bega Hospital, 301 Old Princes Highway, Bega, on Sunday 11 November 2015 at 3pm.
Agenda
1. Opening of meeting
2. To confirm the minutes of previous general meeting, the 2014 AGM held on 19 August 2014.
3. To receive from the committee reports on the activities of the association during the last preceding financial year
4. To elect office-bearers of the association and ordinary committee members
5. To receive and consider the financial statement and report
6. General business.
Explanatory notes
1. Article 29 of the constitution requires 5 financial members to be present to constitute a quorum. The constitution is available on the Friends website, www.obh.org.au.
2. The minutes of the 2014 AGM are at attachment 1 below.
3. The president's report is at attachment 2 below.
4. The office bearers of the association are set out in article 16 of the constitution. To be elected are president, vice president, secretary, treasurer, and 3 ordinary committee members. Article 17 of the constitution sets out the processes for nomination and election. Nominations should be sent to the Secretary 7 days before the meeting (see contact us for contact information). If there are unfilled positions then further nominations will be accepted at the meeting.
5. The treasurer's financial statement and report are at attachment 3 below.
Attachment 1
Draft Minutes of Annual General Meeting of Friends of the Old Bega Hospital Inc on Tuesday, August 19, 2014 at the Old Bega Hospital cottage.
Apologies: Becky Lupton, Jamie Forbes.
Present: Richard Bomford, Claire Lupton, Pat Jones, Eric Myers, Jay Ellard, Chris Rogers, Tim Whitaker, Bernadette O'Leary and Liz Seckold.
Minutes: Minutes of the annual general meeting of Friends of the Old Bega Hospital held on December 17, 2013, moved Pat Jones, seconded Jay Ellard. Carried .
President's Report: The President gave his report which is attached. Richard Bomford moved that his report be accepted. Seconded by Jay Ellard. Carried.
Treasurer's report: General fund $232.14. Public fund: $31,231.24. Moved Eric Myers, seconded Pat Jones. Carried.
Election of officers and committee: Nominations were received as follows: President – Richard Bomford Vice President – Liz Seckold Secretary – Claire Lupton Treasurer – Eric Myers Committee members: Pat Jones, Jay Ellard, Tim Whitaker. As there was only one nomination for each vacancy, the above were declared elected.
The meeting ended at 3.35pm.
Attachment 2
Friends of the Old Bega Hosptial Inc President's report to the 2015 Annual General Meeting
In 2014-15 the Friends continued to focus on getting the main Old Hospital building repaired and returned to community use. There was some progress and we have a plan.
Advocacy
The Friends worked closely with the OBH Reserve Trust to advance restoration of the Old Bega Hospital. In September 2014 the Friends prepared a draft strategic plan for development of the OBH as a regional community and cultural centre. The strategy was subsequently adopted by the Trust. The Friends and the Trust presented the strategy to the Member for Bega, the Hon Andrew Constance, to the Member for Eden-Monaro, Dr Peter Hendy, to Regional Development Australia (RDA), and to the Bega Valley Shire Council. In February 2015 Mr Constance presented the Friends with a letter from the NSW Deputy Premier offering $500,000 for restoration of the roof of the main building, conditional on the Friends finding the remainder of the $2.24m estimated to be required to complete the restoration project. In the event, the NSW offer was accepted by the Trust, as the appropriate legal entity. Dr Hendy and RDA advised the the principal route for receiving Commonwealth funding was through the National Stronger Regions Fund (NSRF), which was at that stage still under development. Dr Hendy said we would need clear support from local government in order to qualify for NSRF funding, and that we would need to find at least matching funding for whatever we sought through the NSRF. On that basis we talked again to Council, who advised that to get Council support we would first have to get support for the OBH project included in Council's strategic planning documents. So we prepared a submission to Council's budget process, which was then under way, and again addressed Council. Council resolved to support the project, among others, and has written a letter of support. The NSRF requires a range of documentation, including a business case. The Friends worked closely with the Trust to develop a business case, and that work is continuing.
The Friends also worked with the Trust to develop a draft management plan for the OBH site, and a more formal proposal for the regional community and cultural centre.
Strategy
The plan is to raise an additional $1m from NSW to bring the NSW contribution to the restoration and community centre project to $1.5m, and then to seek matching funding through the National Stronger Regions Fund (Commonwealth) to raise a total of $3m, which is the estimated total required according to quantity surveys conducted for the OBH Reserve Trust. The aim is to apply for Commonwealth funding prior to the next federal election. The principal goals are conservation and restoration of the heritage values, community development and cultural development, including employment, and to generate sufficient recurrent income to maintain the site. The Friends and the Trust considered alternative uses for the site based on those criteria, and concluded that a regional community and cultural centre with a mix of commercial uses such as a cafe, shops and functions, is the best solution. That in turn sets the building standards required, and thus the parameters for the project as proposed. The Trust will work to raise funds from government, and the Friends will work on community support and engagement. In addition to getting the main building restored, the Trust is also working to get the other buildings up to standard.
Communications
Planning commenced for an inaugural spring festival at the Old Bega Hospital, with the theme this year of 'Raise the Roof'.
The Old Bega Hospital website, www.obh.org.au, continues to be updated.
We sent five newsletters to members and subscribers.
Membership
At the end of the financial year we had 22 financial members.
Committee
The committee met on the second Tuesday of each month, with additional meetings and out of sesssion decision making as required. Meetings are held back to back with meetings of the Reserve Trust, which ensures good communication between the two bodies.
Attachment 3
Friends of the Old Bega Hosptial Inc Financial Statement and Report 30 June 2015
Financial Report
The Friends have two bank accounts - a general one for memberships and day to day expenses; and a Public Fund account for donations. The Public Fund is subject to special conditions under the Friends constitution, with a long term view to it becoming a fund to which tax deductible donations can be made. At present there is no mechanism for making tax deductible donations to the Friends.
The major asset of the Friends is the sum of $31,945.22 which was donated by the Fundraising Committee associated with the Old Bega Hospital Reserve Trust. That represents funds raised from the community by the Fundraising Committee since the 2004 fire, and was the result of many market days, cake stalls, raffles and other fundraising activies. The funds are in a term deposit and are part of the Public Fund.
Other income was from memberships fees, donations, and interest.
The principal outgoing was a charge levied by the Office of Fair Trading for incorporated bodies: $53 was charged for lodging the annual financial return. Other outgoings were for bank fees.
Financial Statement
Membership fund
| Opening balance 1 July 2013 | $232.11 |
| Income - memberships and interest | $220.14 |
| Expenditure - fees | $53.00 |
| Closing balance 30 June 2014 | $399.25 |
Public Fund
| Opening balance 1 July 2013 | $31,231.24 |
| Donations | $32.25 |
| Interest | $1050.57 |
| Closing balance 30 June 2014 | $32,314.06 |
of which $31,945.22 was in a term deposit and $368.84 was in the Public Fund bank account.