In attendance: Terry Jackson, Ruth Miller, Bernie Russell, Barrie Thistlethwayte, Richard Vivian

Apologies: None

1.  The committee reviewed the feedback from the four sub-clubs who responded to the request for feedback, these being (in order of receipt) Ladies' Golf, Men's Golf, Men's Bowls and Carpet Bowls.  No feedback was received from Women's Bowls.

2.  The committee resolved to use the feedback to come up with a preferred position to take to members on the issues raised.  To this end, it was agreed that the constitution should encapsualte the following principles:

1. A strong community focus;
2. A board comprising 7 members, elected annually;
3. Elected positions of chair, deputy chair and treasurer, all of which must be filled by sporting members;
4. The position of secretary to be an ex-officio board appointment;
5. No limit on the number of terms able to be served by any member in any position;
6. 4 ordinary directors, 2 of which must be filled by sporting members, 2 of which can be filled by any member;
7. All members able to vote on all resolutions with the exception that resolutions directly impacting the sub-clubs or sporting facilities should be open only to sporting members to vote upon;
8. Sporting members to be defined as a member of a formally constituted sub-club, for which additional membership subscriptions are payable (it was noted that this would exclude Tennis members of our current club);
9. Life members regarded as sporting members for matters of voting eligibility;
10. The expectation (rather than a legal requirement) that the board should consult with sub-clubs when making decisions directly affecting the sub-clubs or the sporting facilities used by those sub-clubs;
11. The requirement that the Board would set out, at each AGM, a budget for capital expenditure and borrowing for the coming financial year, for approval by members.  The Board would not be authorised to exceed the total capital budget or total borrowings without the subsequent approval of members at a general meeting.

3.  It was noted that legal advice will be required on how the above provisions can best be reflected in the proposed constitution.

4.  It was discussed that there should not a specific Bowls Director or Golf Director elected, although it would be likely that the Board would wish to form sub-committess (e.g. Greens committee or Course Management Committee) that could be chaired by a nominated Board member.  Board members should not be representing a particular constituency, but rather acting in the interests of all members as they are morally and legally obliged to.

5.  At this stage, we expect to need to have a draft constitution ready for approval by prospective new members some time in Q1 2011.  It was agreed that the vote on the constitution should be open to anyone who has already indicated (or is prepared to indicate) that they intend to join the new club.

6.  Advice has been requested from the CEO as to when the constitution needs to be finalised, but no advice has been provided as yet.  Bernie to advise once a reply from the CEO has been received.

7.  Date for next meeting not yet set and will depend on the advice from the CEO.

Bernie Russell
Chair, Constitution Sub-committee