Agenda and minutes

Minute of Meeting held on 25 January 2023 to be approved and signed by the Chairman.  (Copy attached.)

Update the Action Tracker. (Copy attached.)

There had been circulated copies of the Minute of the Meeting held on 25 January 2023 and the Action Tracker.  With reference to paragraph 3.7 of the Minute, the Chair corrected the amount requested for the Burgh Hall: Insulation and secondary glazing strategy to approximately £5,400.  This amount was approved.

DECISION

(a) APPROVED the tracker and the Minute for signature by the Chair;

(b) AGREED to the funding request for £5,400 for the Burgh Hall: Insulation and secondary glazing strategy.

Feedback from the meeting on 21 February 2023.

2.1     The Chair provided a brief summary from the meeting on 21 February 2023. It was agreed that a copy of all future Beneficiaries Group minutes were to be published as a supplementary agenda item prior to Chambers Institution Trust meetings.  Gareth Smith provided an update on progress at the Burgh Hall.  Work had continued on the joinery, plasterwork and electrical cabling.  A purchase order for the Wi-Fi installation had been raised on 22 February 2023 and following an on-site meeting with GB Technologies, the locations of the exterior dishes had been agreed.  The pendant lighting fixtures had been chosen, with three options for the wall light fixtures to be considered by the Beneficiaries Group on 24 February.  Sam Coe questioned the possibility of changing the lighting colour as well as it being dimmable.  Electrical cabling had been installed up to the windows.  Regarding the commissioning of specialist blinds, a response was awaited from two contractors.  Paint colours had been chosen by the Beneficiaries Sub-Group.  Additional ornamental plasterwork had been identified; the restoration was not timber detailing as first assessed.  Additional funding of £4,000 was sought for the extra electrical work commissioned. This was agreed.  A request was made by the Chief Legal Officer for a report from Estates on the total spend to date along with a comparison of 2021 and 2022/23 quotes.  Mr Smith acknowledged that the original quotes for removal of the suspended ceiling and restoration works were over a year old.  The scope of the project had since expanded, as well as being subjected to inflationary pressures.  Sam Coe provided an update on progress with the Facilitator Brief.  Minor changes had been made to the brief and the revised document had been published in the supplementary agenda pack.  The revised brief was approved.

2.2    Karen Nugent, architect with Page\Park presented the initial sketch study for the Burgh Hall.  There were two options to consider: the first sketch study provided plans for the installation of a full first floor; the second provided plans for a mezzanine floor.  The first option provided additional archive storage for Live Borders, a kitchen at ground floor level and a first floor level created above.  Access was to be by stairs and a lift housed on the exterior of the building so as to preserve the 360 degree view of the ornate plasterwork, sunburst windows and light fittings inside.  The second option provided ground floor additional archive storage for Live Borders below a mezzanine level and the kitchen remained in situ. There was a proposition that public toilets be incorporated into the plans in light of the ongoing issues with those at School Brae.  Further discussions between Live Borders and the Beneficiaries Group on the briefing options submitted and the future use of the Burgh Hall were planned, followed by a further meeting with Page\Park.   A final report was to be ready in March 2023, dependent on the progress of work and ongoing consultation. 

         DECISION

         NOTED the update and AGREED to:

          (a)  ...  view the full minutes text for item 2.

This had been addressed in Item 2.  There had been a request for a discussion on the 140^th Anniversary celebrations planned for the Chambers Institution Trust.  An item was to be added to the next meeting’s agenda.

                        The meeting concluded at 5.55 pm 

The next meeting dates were agreed as follows:

·         15 March 2023 4pm

·         12 April 2023 4pm

·         17 May 2023 4pm

·         14 June 2023 4pm

The next meeting of the Chambers Institution trust was scheduled for 15 March 2023 at 4pm.