Agenda and minutes

The Chair ruled and the Trustees agreed to adjourn the workshop at 1:30pm and reconvene at 2pm as two members of the Fund were attending a funeral.  The workshop reconvened at 2pm.

The Chair ruled and the Trustees agreed to adjourn the workshop at 3pm and to reconvene the workshop at 3:01pm.

The Chair thanked Dugald Cameron from the Church of Scotland for his kind letter which he submitted to the Oban Times following the incorrect article which was published following the previous meeting in March.

The Trustees had a discussion on the current application criteria. 

Councillor Neil MacIntyre suggested that something be put in place to stop applicants applying to the Oban Common Good Fund for large amounts of money.

The Chair raised a number of points in relation to the criteria.  She asked why the people of Kerrera could not apply to the Common Good Fund.  The Head of Governance and Law advised that Kerrera is not included in the burgh of Oban.  The burgh of Oban is within the 30mph limits.

The Chair felt that the term “fund of last resort” was not an appropriate term for the fund and the Head of Governance and Law suggested that applications for smaller grants would not be the fund of last resort.

The Trustees had a discussion in regard to the End of Project Monitoring reports and applications and suggested it would be a good idea to have a model template for these documents to help applicants complete them and give them the best chance of being considered by the Trustees.

Actions

It was agreed that paragraph 2 of the criteria would now read:-

“The Oban Common Good Fund is an alternative to mainstream Council Grants Schemes and normally applications to the Fund will only be considered once other sources of funding (where applicable) have been applied for and determined”.

It was agreed that a model template completed application form and  the End of Project Monitoring report and application be developed  for issue to new applicants to assist them with understanding what is required.

The Trustees had a discussion on the current distribution policy which they were all happy with.

Actions

It was agreed that the Distribution Policy includes the following:-

“The Trustees particularly welcome funds of up to £1,000 to smaller groups”.

Andy Newiss from R A Clements gave an update to the Trustees on the capitalisation on interest and other useful financial elements.

Councillor Neil MacIntyre suggested a breakdown of how funds are performing be brought to each meeting for Trustees information.

Actions

The Head of Governance and Law agreed to speak to Peter Cupples in Finance and arrange for quarterly reports to come to the Common Good Fund on how the funds are performing.

The Head of Governance and Law confirmed that Observers, Trustees and employees of the Council should intimate a declaration of interest at each meeting.

The Chair asked that an email address/phone number be put on the application form so that the decision from the meeting can be passed to the applicant as soon as possible following the decision. 

A problem arose following the March when the press interest in the decisions resulted in adverse publicity which could have been avoided if the applicants had been notified following the meeting.

It was suggested that when acknowledging each application, we could advise them that we will be in touch with the decision a couple of days after the meeting.  The Head of Governance and Law suggested that we schedule the Common Good Fund meetings in the morning so that we can respond to applicants in the afternoon.

Councillor Iain MacDonald suggested that we put information on the Council’s media page detailing the applicants who were given a grant.

It was suggested that financial details pertaining to the grant awarded be submitted with the End of Project Monitoring form. If we don’t receive this information we could then reclaim the grant.

The Chair confirmed that she is happy with the logo but felt a bit more detail could be added.

It was suggested that the Oban colours of black, white and yellow be included in the logo to give it a bit of colour.  The Head of Governance and Law suggested that stickers can be made to advertise the logo.

The Trustees came up with wording for the logo which reads:-

“Investing in our community for over 100 years”.

Actions

It was agreed that the new Members Services Manager look into a digital version of the new logo and bring it back to the Trustees for agreement.