Minutes from June meeting of the Supporters Board. Wednesday 26th June 2013 MINUTES 1.0 Attendance Dave Baldwin (Chair) ,Mike Taylor, Gerard Hollingsworth, Kevin Douglas, Eric Wallace, Matt Sugden,Manu Ahir, Adam Baker, Kate Eveleigh, Tony Sykes, Sally Thackray, Carl Smith, Mick Shackleton,Terry Armistead, David Dowse 2.0 Apologises Alan Carling, Mick Thompson, Ian Cooper, Kevin Wilkinson, Tom Mason, Jonathan Forrest, Phil Abbott, James McKenzie 3.0 Minutes Of the Previous Meeting 3.1 Both the Minutes and Public Minutes were approved as a correct record with one minor typographical error amendment. Proposed Gerard Hollingsworth and seconded by Mick Shackleton. 4.0 Matters Arising 4.1 There were none. 5.0 Action List 5.1 The Action List was updated and copy attached for information and action (attached) 6.0 One in a Million School- Introduction (Wayne Jacobs and Matt Band in attendance for this item) 6.1 Wayne Jacobs set out the background to the work of the One in a Million Charity and the development of the Free School. He indicated that the purpose of the Charity was to make a difference to disadvantaged children’s lives in Bradford through Education, Sport, Enterprise and Arts. The Charity had formed a strong partnership with the Club which had proved very beneficial. 6.2 The Charity looked to work on a ‘hub and spoke model ‘ which had lead to them seeing Valley Parade as an ideal base and had lead to them purchasing the building opposite the Stadium form the Club. This would then allow them to work directly in the inner city but also develop the Free School. 6.3 The link with the Club would enable opportunities for work experience and training opportunities to be developed with the Club. 6.4 The key sports the Charity were looking at as vehicles for their work were Football, Rugby (both codes), Cricket and Athletics. 6.5 The school would be based on the USA charter school model and accommodate 350 children when full. For next academic year it would have 56 children and grow each year to its full compliment. 6.6 Wayne Jacobs then offered to answer questions from the Board. The key points emerging were:- a) the Café would still open on Match days and the School would retain links with Junior Bantams b) the Café would not be licensed and so could not accommodate a Supporters Bar c) the Charity was prepared to consider allowing the Supporters Board to have small stand on match days within the café area. (Tony Sykes to progress with school Facility Manager) 6.7 David Baldwin indicated the Partnership had been extremely beneficial to the Club in helping them contribute to local community activities for young people via Football in the Community Programme and also in buying the building from the Club which had removed a major cost from the Club and had helped fund a larger player budget during the previous season. He felt it was a ‘win/win ‘situation. 6.8 The Board thanked Wayne Jacobs and Matt Band for their attendance and wished them every success in the future. PART A ITEMS FOR DECISION 7.0 Proposed changes to the Supporters Board Procedures 7.1 Mike Taylor had produced a paper for consideration by the Board on how the Board should operate in future (copy had been circulated with agenda).He took the Board through the key points. 7.2 Matt Sugden raised the issue of including live tweets during the meeting in a way similar to what Wolves did form their Board meetings. It was agreed that this should be looked into further in relation to technical capability and also potential issues. Matt Sugden agreed to do this 7.3 David Baldwin proposed that should he be unable to attend the meeting that David Dowse would attend as his substitute. This was unanimously agreed by the Board. 7.4 Following discussion the proposed arrangements were unanimously agreed to be implemented from the next meeting. 7.5 It was agreed Mike Taylor would make the agreed amendments and the paper would be put on the Supporters Board website for information. 8.0 Supporters Board Standing Orders 8.1 Mike Taylor had produced a paper setting out the proposed standing orders for the operation of the Board (copy had been circulated with the agenda). He explained the proposal to the Board. 8.2 Matt Sugden raised a number of points in relation to the term of office for Board Members, number of Board Members and protocol for removal of a Board Member. 8.3 These items were discussed and the following was proposed:- a) Number on the Board- it was proposed to amend the number to ‘between 15 and 24’ to allow some flexibility b) Removal of Board Member- it was proposed this would be by a Vote of No Confidence which achieved a 75% majority c) Terms of Office- it was agreed this needed more detailed consideration and Matt Sugden and Mike Taylor would look at this and report back. 8.4 Following discussion of the above points the Board unanimously agreed the paper with the above amendments included. 8.5 It was agreed Mike Taylor would make the agreed amendments and the paper would be put on the Supporters Board website. 8.6 It was further agreed that each Sub Group would produce their objectives for the 2013/2014 season for the next meeting. PART B ITEMS FOR DISCUSSION 9.0 Club/Fans Charter and Disability Policy Document 9.1 In the absence of Phil Abbott Kevin Douglas outlined the comments from the Community Group. He indicated that the Group were disappointed with the late notice for comment on both these documents, the fact that David Dowse did not9.1(cont’d) know about the work of the Community Group with regard to the Fans Charter and also the fact the Group had not been informed of the deadline for the documents submission to the FA. 9.2 With regard to the Club Charter document there were 3 main issues they wanted to raise:- a) to change the wording ‘the Club welcomed the Supporters Board…’ to ‘the Club established the Supporters Board…..’ .It was felt this showed greater Club links to the Fans. b) to add a reference to the Memorial Group with in the Supporters Board which dealt with issues around the commemoration of the Fire Victims. c) the document should be reviewed on an annual basis as a minimum. 9.3 The remainder of the document was acceptable although Kate Eveleigh felt it was not user friendly and a simple bullet point summary should be developed. 9.4 David Baldwin indicated that he was unaware of the deadline for submission and also that David Dowse was working to that deadline. He apologized for the miscommunication and indicated that if an annual review process is adopted this will prevent any re-occurrence. He indicated he was happy for a brief reference to the Memorial Group to be made but wanted to wait until the process has been finalized before a more detailed insert was made. 9.5 David Dowse welcomed the Supporters Board input both via e-mail and at the meeting. He indicated he would, in future work with the group to review the document. 9.6 Following further discussion the following was agreed:- a) the wording as proposed in 9.1(a) be adopted and the document amended b) the Charter be reviewed annually by the Community Group/Club Officials c) the Community Group produce an Executive Summary for publishing on website d) with the above amends the Charter be submitted to the FA for formal approval 9.7 David Dowse agreed to amend the document and submit it to the FA and the Community Group would action the Executive Summary. 9.8 With regard to the Disability Policy document David Dowse took the Board through the key point and in particular the development of a specific area for away fans in the Midland Road area. 9.9 Kate Eveleigh indicated she was happy with the document but would like to be involved in the new away area to ensure it complied with the requirements of people with disabilities. 9.10 David Dowse agreed to this and would arrange a meeting with Kate Eveleigh at the appropriate time. 9.11 With that agreement the Supporters Board approved the Disability Policy Document for submission to the FA. 10.0 Match day Team Entry Song 10.1 In the absence of Ian Cooper Kevin Douglas raised the issue of whether the Club planned to retain the current music/song. Ian’s view was to drop the song and adopt new music. 10.2 Eric Wallace said that as the team had gained promotion using the song we should retain it for the time being. He said a large number of fans had grown to like the song. Mike Taylor reminded the Board that it had been played at Wembley. 11.1 There had been 2 issues raised by fans .These were:- a) Stock in Club Shop. David Baldwin indicated that the Club was under contract and received an income from the contract but could not control stock etc. He had had discussions with the Manager etc and indicated the issues that had been raised. He proposed that he discuss with the Club Shop the establishment of a direct e-mail contact to the Shop Manager so Fans complaints could go direct /be passed on for a response to be made. This approach was supported and David Baldwin agreed to progress this b) Ticket Fraud Update. David Baldwin indicated that the current position was that an equal number of City and Brentford fans had been affected and that the investigation was still ongoing. He indicated that Club was making no further comment until the investigation had been concluded and fans needed to contact the Company direct if they had further concerns. 12.0 Supporters Bar 12.1 Gerard Hollingsworth raised the issue of a Supporters Bar either in the Stadium or in adjacent premises. He indicated this was still something that Fans kept raising. He asked if this could be looked at further by the Board. 12.2 David Baldwin indicated that it would not be possible to accommodate a Supporters Bar in the Stadium as this would harm current income streams and would see a reduction in revenue. He indicated that the overhead costs would be excessive given the limited opening times for the Club to establish a Bar elsewhere. He was not unhappy for it to be looked at by the Board but only if it produced a profitable business. 12.3 Following discussion it was agreed that:- a) the development of a Supporters Bar be not progressed b) a statement on the reason not to establish a Supporters Bar be produced to inform Fans of the reasons for this decision. Mike Taylor agreed to progress this. 13.0 Pre-season Community Open Day 13.1 This matter had been raised by a number of Board Members. David Baldwin indicated the Community Day this year would be linked to the Official opening of the One in a Million Free School. This was likely to be after the start of the new season but it would mean a better event could be staged. The Supporters Board supported this approach. 14.0 Club Issues 14.1 Dave Baldwin reported on 3 issues:- a) Away Strip. He indicated that the new away strip would be worn on the Irish Tour and would be launched to fans on 26th July 2013 before the first game of the season b) Monthly Payment Plan. He indicated the Club would be launching a scheme for monthly payment of season tickets by 1st July and it would be available until 31st July. c) Away Match Priority Card. He reported that the Club was considering the launch of an Away Match Travel priority Card for Season ticket holders and Flexi card holders to overcome some issues that had arisen last year. There would be a limited number of cards and they would have a priority for Away Match tickets. The card would retail at £10 and would be available on-line so that exile fans would not miss out on purchasing. Terry Armistead and Gerard Hollingsworth supported this approach and they asked that Supporters Clubs be given early warning of its launch to ensure regular travellers secured a card. 14.2 Following further discussion the Board agreed to:- a) support the introduction of an Away Match Priority Card b) that Fans Groups be given early warning of the Launch date David Baldwin agreed to develop the scheme and circulate it to the Board prior to its launch. He indicated that he would need to work with the ticket provider to iron out the procedure and method of purchase for the tickets before any announcement was made. 14.3 David Dowse updated the Board on the close season work on the Training Ground, Stadium (including the PA system) and some works to be undertaken in conjunction with FOBC on minor decoration. 14.4 The Board welcomed the work being done in a short period of time. 15.0 Sub Group Reports a) Community Group Adam Baker reported that there was a meeting of Manningham Together to discuss ideas for the development of Midland Road. He thought it would be a good idea for a member of the Supporters Board to be represented at the meeting. It would be held at 1pm on 3rd July at the Challenge College. The Board supported this idea and Adam would circulate to members to see if anyone was available to attend. b) Communication Group – Mike Taylor has contacted the Chair of the Football Supporters Federation with the possibility of promoting the Supporters Board further. This will be explored further by Mike Taylor Tony Sykes reported that no progress had been made on the sites for Supporters Board stands on Match days as it had not been possible to arrange a meeting with the staff etc. This was needed to be done before further work was undertaken as the items might be site specific. David Baldwin and David Dowse agreed a date with him and he would report back to the next Board meeting. c) Commercial Group Gerard Hollingworth reported that in James McKenzie’s absence there was no update on the Affinity Programme. Mick Shackleton updated the Board on the forthcoming FOBC scarf offer which this season would include a discount card for local restaurant/bar/cafés. Details will be circulated once the promotion is finalized. He also reported that with regard to the texting competitions it needed FA approval and he was awaiting a response from them. Eric Wallace reported that he had not been able to make progress on the review of 50/50 scheme as he was awaiting a response to his e-mail to arrange a meeting. He would be chasing this up and hoped to report to the next meeting. Mick Shackleton stated he was in discussion with Radio Leeds re: A Fans Forum but this was not yet confirmed 16.0 Forthcoming Events None reported 17.0 Any Other Business 17.1 Away Travel- Sally Thackray asked if the Club would be organizing travel to Away Games. Dave Baldwin reported they would only be doing selected games and then only after consultation with Supporters Clubs who organized travel regularl 17.2 Bradford City Ladies- Sally Thackray reported that BCFC Ladies had been promoted to Ladies Premier League. The Board asked their congratulations be passed on to the Club. 18.0 Date of Next Meeting Wednesday 24th July 2013 at 7.30pm -1911 Club.
Posted on: Tue, 02 Jul 2013 20:39:30 +0000
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