Summary of CFU Board Meeting held on 8th February 2021 by virtual conference at 7.30pm.

Present:  Andy Morris (Chair), Jeff Banks, Paul Bodman, Adam Langan, Mike Vickers, Jim Green, Nick Phillipson, Chris Robertson and Kieron Shiel.

In Attendance:- Christine Robson#

Apologies:- Alex Owen

Due to the Coronavirus lockdown, the football club is still closed.  All official meetings are still being held by virtual conference once a month and the Board are meeting every other week informally to keep abreast of what is happening.  The Minutes of the official Board Meeting held on 11^th January 2021 had been read and approved as being a correct record.

Review of Actions:  Andy Morris went through actions which Board members had been asked to complete and several were now closed.  Nick Phillipson was sorting out the cleaning contract and awaiting to see the outcome of the National League vote and whether club would stay closed.  Adam Langan was involved in the Seals Lottery and this is ongoing.

Finance – Chris Robertson stated that he did not have much to report as he was still waiting for the decision from the NL regarding the vote as to whether to null and void the season.  The Club had received payment from the streaming.

Update on Operational Issues – Jim Green stated that it was all quiet.  Had been picking up some of the work that George had done.

Portfolios – Mike Vickers stated that the Youth Academy were trying to get new players for next season.  Timetable has been set at the college for scholars.

Jeff Banks said that not much was going on with Fan Engagement.  If the Club stops playing, will use the time to do some fundraising online and also concentrate on the Season Ticket rebates as well as planning for Season Tickets for the 2021-22 campaign.

Adam Langan was going to decide about doing a virtual lottery once he knew where the Club stood regarding the season.  The new logo will be going out through the main Chester F C Club.  Draw needs to be seen by everyone.

Jim Green said that Will Goodwin had gone to Stoke.  Managers, though disappointed, agreed with the Board to null and void the season. Continue to be fully transparent with fans on the funds that the club currently has.  Boost the Budget needs maintaining and explain why to members.  JG would have a meeting with managers and players once the decision was known about the season.  Had been successful in the grant for the King George V scheme from the Westminster Foundation.  Hopefully building will start in March with a possible finish in September.

Paul Bodman stated that everything was so different now with matches being played behind closed doors and not knowing whether the season would continue.  Need to try and sell the club’s facilities on non-matchdays.

Summary of CFU Board Meeting held on 11th January 2021 by virtual conference at 7.30pm.

Present:- Andy Morris (Chair), Jeff Banks, Paul Bodman, Adam Langan, Mike Vickers, Jim Green, Alex Owen, Nick Phillipson, Chris Robertson and Kieron Shiel.

In Attendance:- Christine Robson and George Delves

Due to the Coronavirus lockdown, the football club is still closed. All official meetings are still being held by virtual conference once a month and the Board are meeting nearly every week informally to keep abreast of what is happening. The Minutes of the Meeting held on 30th November 2020 had been read and approved as being a correct record.

Portfolios – Andy Morris had set out portfolios for all Board Directors and went through each of them. Most of them were still a work in progress.

Partnership – The Board had set up an independent review regarding the relationship with Stuart Murphy. A gentleman called Richard Birchett had done a report after speaking to everyone at the Club, present and past, who had any involvement.

The outcome of his findings was that the Board had done their very best under the circumstances, especially as they were also dealing with the outcome of COVID and how this would affect the Club.

In the future, the Board must have concrete and detailed proposals in writing: all decisions must be made by the whole Board and each person must be held to account, including the donor for their actions.

Finance – Chris Robertson stated that he was still working with the figures for the Club after receiving feedback from all portfolio holders. Was hoping to receive some news about the grant from the Government.

Update on Football – When the fans had been allowed to attend, there had been no issues regarding COVID regulations, but unfortunately, this had now been stopped again. There are no volunteers attending the Club.

National League – Due to a great deal of misunderstanding and the way the grans had been allocated, the Club found itself worse off regarding the grant it had been given for October, November and December. Several letters have been sent to the NL regarding the monies, but they do not seem to want to liaise with the Clubs on specific issues. A suggestion about putting a resolution in to the National League regarding Salary Caps had been discussed. The resolution would need to be sent in to them by 31st January 2021.

Summary of Board meeting held on Monday 20th July 2020 at 7.30pm by virtual conference.

Present:- Andy Morris, David Williams, Kieron Shiel, Paul Bodman, Adam Langan, Chris Robertson, Jeff Banks, Mike Day and Mark Jones. In attendance:- Nick Phillipson, Chris Robson and Jim Green

Chairman stated that the playoffs for the Club were now finished and we had made a profit (money coming in from central pay, 50% streaming income and money through crowd funder). It was proposed that the money went to the “Boost the Budget” scheme which was agreed by the Board.

Nick Phillipson stated that he and Paul Bodman had been looking at the catering facilities for the Club and had decided that it should be put out to tender once the contract with Dougherty & Allen came to an end. Dougherty & Allen had been told that the catering would be going out to tender and that they would need to apply.

The Club is in the process of gathering in any tenders and will report back to the Board.

The Board was still in dialogue with Stuart Murphy regarding his association with the Club.

Mark Jones informed the Board where the Club stood regarding COVID and getting the Club up and running for the new season. We would have to put in a great deal of work to make it possible for members to attend matches with social distance guidelines in place.

Online ticketing was the way to go, so the Club would know before the match who would be attending and could make the grounds safe for supporters.

Paul Bodman mentioned that the Club had received many compliments from parents regarding the “Young Drivers’ Course” which was being held on the car park. The scheme had been so successful that the gentleman running it asked whether he could use our car park as his permanent base. Provided it did not clash with any home game fixtures and we were compliant with COVID guidelines, there was no reason not to allow the company to use our car park, as we were getting a substantial income from it.

Kieron Shiel stated that he had been in communication with volunteers during the closure of the Club and was looking into re-opening the office. This could only be done when all safeguards had been put in place for them to return safely.

Jim Green stated that the King George Development was still ongoing and contractors had been appointed. Has put in a request for a donation. Mike Vickers has now replaced David Evans as Chairman of the Trust.

Jeff Banks asked the Board to send their thanks to the players for how well they had played in the play offs.

Summary of CFU Board Meeting held on 30th March 2020 by virtual conference at 7.30pm.

Present:- Andy Morris (Chair), Jeff Banks, Chris Robertson, Kieron Shiel, Mike Day, David Williams, Mark Jones.

In Attendance:- Paul McDermott, Nick Phillipson and Christine Robson

Due to the Coronavirus epidemic, the football club had been closed down until further notice and the meeting was held by virtual conference. The Minutes of the Meeting held on 17th February 2020 had been read and approved as being a correct record.

The Board were informed by Andy Morris that David Harrington-Wright had tendered his resignation as Chairman, due to personal reasons and also from being actively involved on the Board. The Board, through Andy, had thanked David for all his hard work and commitment to the Club.

Chris Robertson had circulated a paper regarding the situation for the Club due to the COVID 19. The Government had announced some initiatives which would help the Club, especially the Job Retention Scheme and the Grant of £25,000. Decision had been made to “furlough” all staff including the players and the managers. Chris also mentioned about some invoices that were still outstanding which would be chased. The Club can survive the crisis provided that no money is spent whilst the Club is in lockdown.

Andy Morris stated that he was waiting for news from the NL to see what the decision would be regarding playing the season out. Nick Philipson stated that the contract for D/A would be due up for renewal at the end of the season. Whilst in lockdown there was not much that the Club could do as due diligence would have to be adhered to and make sure any quotes were sustainable.

Jeff Banks mentioned that the E-Match which took place on 21st March 2020 had been a huge success and raised £2,100. A campaign over the weekend of 28/29 March 2020 for Renewal of Membership had achieved £1,800.

Next Meeting was provisionally booked for 27th April 2020, depending on circumstances of the lockdown.

Summary of CFU Board meeting held on 17th February 2020 in the Blues Bar

Minutes of Meeting held on 20th January 2020 were signed as a correct record. Nick Philipson and Paul McDermott were voted on the Board for a year as Non-Executive Directors.

Finance – Chris Robertson circulated to the Board a comprehensive financial update for 2019 which covered. The Club needs to be able to improve on its overall budget for the financial year, and budget holders were asked again to look at ways to save the Club money, otherwise there would be a deficit yet again.

Operations – Andy Morris had circulated a paper to the Board regarding operational matters and mentioned that all players were looking good for the match against Kings Lynn. It was also mentioned that a supporter had donated £100 towards the fund for GW’s mask. The cost of this was in the range of £800 which had been achieved. .

Safety – Steve Povey had been invited to the Board meeting to discuss potential issues regarding safety after he and MJ had been to a SAG meeting the previous week. SP had put to the Board several proposals which were all agreed on, with the exception of the west stand camera, which would be deferred to a later date,

Commercial – Paul Bodman had circulated a paper regarding updates to the Club. Had sorted quotes out for the “End of Season” party and was finalising details of which venue to go with, which would most probably be Crowne Plaza.

Fundraising – David Williams had send in a report to the Board and everything was still ongoing.

FEWG – Jeff Banks had sent a report to all Board members.

Youth Academy – MD brought to the attention of the Board an email that IS had sent regarding the remuneration package for Calum to cover his role at the Club. MD also mentioned who was on the Youth Academy Support Committee – (MD, MN, IS, BB, AD, GD and JG). MD also circulated a paper regarding the finances of the Academy and an email from IS regarding his sponsorship for the Club.

AOB – A date had been set for the next CFU Formal Meeting which would be Thursday 9th April 2020 at 7.30pm (bar open at 7pm). Meeting in Blues Bar

The next CFU AGM would be Thursday 22nd October 2020 at 7.30pm (bar open at 7pm). Meeting in Blues Bar

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