WELWYN HATFIELD LIBERAL DEMOCRATS AGM MINUTES
Monday 19th December 2022.

Chairman Frank Marsh opened the meeting.

Attendees:
M.Cowan
F.Marsh
D.Jones
G.Moore
L.Cowan
R.Cuthbert
C.Cuthbert
S.Goldwater
T.Rowse
P.Zukowskij
A.Edwards
R.Platt
F.Waterhouse
A.Reimer
J.Quinton
S.Archer
J.Brennan
Sh.Archer
A.Nix
Apologies: J.Ranshaw, S.Bonfante, B.Foster.

Minutes of last meeting adopted (Proposed S.Archer, seconded T.Rowse.)

Matters Arising: None.

Chairman’s report:
FM reported 2 seats gained in bye-elections on Hatfield Town Council, Helena Goldwater and Tim Rowse. Tim also gained a Borough seat from the Labour leader, Kieran Thorpe. Congratulations also go to Michal and Gemma who were elected in Handside, Darrell Panter in Panshanger, Jean-Paul in Sherrards, Sandreni who took Welhat Green and Duncan in Peartree.

We have an election campaign in place targeting 8 seats. Our literature is resonating as residents comment we are the only ones they hear from during the year. Frank welcomed Adrienne, Helena, Brad, and Michal standing for election in May 2023. We are the official opposition both at Borough and County.

A few councillors have been on LGA training courses. We had a wash up session with Stephen Giles-Medhurst which was very productive. We agreed on a mix of literature subject to finance. The latter was in some difficulty during the year.

Frank appealed for more donations. The new 50/50 club is up and running. A balloon race raised £50. We are continuing to organise social events.

A special thanks to Freya Waterhouse for her hard work, and to Paul for leading the borough opposition group.

Treasurer report:
Last year we had income of £15,000 and expenditure of £20,000. We started the year with just shy of £1700. Income so far this year is £35,402 and expenditure is £35,947. We have had £2,000 from Chelwood Press. Without that our bank balance would be £212. So we have £2,212 to campaign with. The 50/50 Club needs if possible to donate prizes back to the club if possible, but we have had a positive response. This means that one draw has taken place with a prize of £135 and another will take place later today with a prize of £165. It costs £5 to enter and half the money raised goes to the party and the other half is the prize. The Club has have 22 members, so members have a 1 in 23 chance of winning. So far the 50/50 club has donated £1600. We have spent £10,000 on printing and there is nothing outstanding. 2021 Accounts £1,7070 noted. The balloon race raised approx £163 and £93 came from the Xmas Raffle in 2021.

Organiser Report:
Freya reported selection process has and is taking place for 2023 elections. We have had grant applications approved for Welwyn Hatfield and she is working hard to get extra money in.

County Council Leader report:

Paul reported the group has settled in with away days and presentations. There are challenges but we are a credible opposition and challenging the Conservative administration in several areas. We retained Hitchin South with an increased result. County officials appear to be of a superior quality to Borough officials. Local Tax bills likely to have gone up by about £100, about £75 of which will go to county. With regard to borough, the biggest challenge is yet again the Local Plan. The Conservatives have presided over the debacle of council house maintenance. Around 6,600 houses were not compliant with the regulations on electrical and gas safety. Lifts and water systems were not checked. Health and Safety issues ignored. Mears have lost the maintenance contract. Russ was kept on hold for 45 minutes when trying to contact the maintenance team. Morgan Sindall have been left with a basket case. We are hoping to be 2nd largest party after the elections and will aim to fix this. Discussion regarding working relationship with Labour in the event of Conservatives losing seats.

Town Group report.

JB we have gone from 3 members to 5. Recent meetings have had no Tory
or Labour meetings present. Tory Mayor’s Bingo night was attended by no Tories. So business
has been done effectively with officials. No black hole in finance, and we still have reserves.

MC noted John Blackburn’s passing, and expressed deep gratitude for his work for the party.

Election of Officers:
Chair: Frank Marsh
Vice Chair: left open
Treasurer: Simon Archer
Secretary: Duncan Jones
Data Officer: Jane Quinton
Chair Campaigns Committee: Tim Rowse
Membership Development Officer: left open
Diversity Officer and Young Persons’ Officer: Sandreni Bonfante
County Group Rep: Paul Zukowskij.
Borough Group Rep: left open
Town Council Rep: Jackie Brennan
Digital Campaigns Rep: Russ Platt
Election Fund Raiser: Frank Marsh.

Election candidate adoptions.
Those approved:
Handside Michal Siewniak
Sherrards Frank Marsh
Hatfield South West Helena Goldwater
Welhat Green Hatfield South Adrienne Nix
Hatfield Villages Brad Taylor

AOB:
Malcolm Cowan asked for volunteers to help Linda for the Chinese Burns’ Night function.
The Chairman closed the meeting.