ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING 13th December 2007

Thank you all for coming.

I have brought a copy of our constitution, along with our list of priorities as identified by the original public consultation. Copies of previous minutes are also here. Please help yourselves to the leaflets 'who we are and what we do' either for yourselves or for anyone you think may be interested.

It has been a very busy year but a very good year.

Huge thanks to each and every volunteer on all the projects undertaken. Not least of all the people who helped to deliver 1500 newsletters and posters to advertise the AGM. Brilliant

Ken Taylor has maintained our public profile by writing both articles in the press and producing the wonderful 'History of Arno’s Court Park'. If you would like a copy of the booklet please leave your details or visit Wick Road library. We ask for a donation where possible to help with the costs. There has been interest in an updated edition already! So please keep your stories of the park old and new rolling in.

We have launched our first website. Many thanks to Joules Taylor who manages it for APAG.

APAG also produced a business/ information card which has been the envy of other parks. This is thanks to Jackie and Ken.

The Funday this year was superb again and saw many, many visitors enjoying the park. Lets hope we can build on this and spend many happy community focused days in the park over the next year. Thanks to Emma and Jackie but also the many volunteers who helped with organising both before and during the day.

Thanks to Steve who has kept us all updated with emails and minutes throughout the year.

I hope you've all enjoyed playing football with the new goal posts, which help to mark the five aside pitch. Brislington Football club actually played its first two seasons in the park, so we're keeping up with tradition! Perhaps there are a couple of people here tonight who'd like to start a little coaching with local kids? Thanks to Stan who helped with this.

We have also had a bulb planting session so many thanks to the kids and adults that turned up for that on a very cold morning last year.

Barry Macleod has been working on funding bids from 'SWEET' and 'Your Heritage'. A huge thank you to Barry and we’re hoping they’ll be successful.

The gates that will officially link the park with the cemetery are in the agreed cemetery restoration plans now. Racheal Schofield from the Cemetery Trust is very keen to hear our views and work with us.

Youngsters continue to use the park during the evenings throughout the year, on the whole very appropriately. They have continued to ask for support from APAG and sadly as yet we haven't actually achieved anything with them. I think this is our only failing this year. But one that I do feel personally saddened by.

Improved safety in the park is an ongoing issue. Earlier in the year PC Andrew Bird gave APAG assurances that there is now a greater police presence.

A big thank you must be said to John Knowlson (who tirelessly meets and enthuses us about play and our park) and John Threadgold (who, among other things, will be giving us a new bench, very soon, and arranged extra cleanup crews over the summer).

Richard Fletcher from Bristol City Council has helped in many ways from printing and leafleting to funding ideas and invaluable ideas about setting up APAG.

The local dog walkers also need to be thanked, while not yet officially APAG members many of them have been at the forefront of helping to maintain a safer and cleaner park!

Please fell free to take the 'Explore Your Park sheets', these were designed to get kids and grown ups using the whole park.

After we have voted in the new Management Committee, which I hope you'll be thinking about joining, Please stay and have a drink, share your views and check out some of the reference materials.

Although we hope to appoint many new committee members tonight, the postholders will not be expected to become active straightaway. If you don't want to be a member of the committee please remember that your support is still vital to us, whether this is attending APAG meetings, volunteering or giving us your views we still need you. I would like to suggest that we move the next AGM to January instead of December next time to facilitate more people attending..

We have a very exciting year ahead. The direction for the group will be directed by you. There are many possibilities. Please add your comments to the book and again thank you very much for your support.

Becky Thoburn APAG Chair 2006-7

Summary.

Balance as at December 2006	£603.50
Examples of monies spent: Fun day approx. £500 (but we raised £800 so made a profit of £300) £58 Website setup and printing of 'Useful numbers' cards (publicity) Ken's 'History of Park' booklet (broke even)
Current balance as at December 2007	£831.22
Ongoing spend for 2008: Website updates, publicity posters/event material

NB Without winning a substantial amount of money (through the completion of bids, which the council will match) it is unlikely that we will be able to purchase any new large play equipment. To comply with the current laws/rules etc this will cost many thousands of pounds.

Jackie Freeman
APAG Treasurer 2006-7