Minutes of a meeting of Directors held on Thursday 14th January 2021
Because of the coronavirus, this meeting was held remotely via Zoom.
Directors:
Alasdair Swan (Chair); Steven Anderson; John Band; Paddy Crerar; Eric Robertson
Paul Ingram; Kenny Maule; Robin Hamilton; Yvonne Wemyss; John Williams
Apology: Alastair Cook
Harbourmaster:
Quentin Dimmer
Item |
|||||||||||||||
1 Minutes of the previous meeting The minutes of the meeting held on 12th November 2020 were approved. |
|||||||||||||||
Matters completed –
Matters still in progress –
|
|||||||||||||||
2. Port Marine Safety Code Incident Log Review There were no major or minor incidents to report in December. Risk Assessment Review The following risks were assessed –
All three are classified as low level risks, the most likely hazard is seen as tripping over fishing equipment, but better housekeeping has clearly improved the situation. One of the greater sources of risk has been the speed of traffic entering the harbour area when pedestrians are milling around the hardstanding area. This subject is being kept under review.New signage and speed bumps will also reduce the likelihood of accidents between vehicles and pedestrians in the harbour bridge area. The assessments were approved with no amendments. The walk round the harbour, supported by photographic evidence, confirmed that there are still large items left around which need to be tidied up. The view was also taken that extending the barriers would be a positive move to prevent vehicles or trailers ending up in the harbour. The depth of creels at the far end of Victoria Harbour reduced the access path to an unacceptable width. The container will be removed this month which will allow this area to be tidied up. Dumped equipment needs to be removed (or stored off site) and old winching systems (McArthur’s) and abandoned trailers (Maggie) will be referred to the Harbour Management Committee for action. Safety Review 2020 Introduction: As part of its commitment to the Port Marine Safety Code Dunbar Harbour Trust formally reviews its safety record at the first Board Meeting after the end of the year. The aim of this review is to identify any trends that may guide the Trust to find new ways to improve the safety of the harbour. 2020 Safety Review The incident log for 2020 shows –
In addition to the above there were near misses reported in the following categories-
The greatest risks continue to centre round the behaviour of the young people of the town, mainly in the summer months. The number of incident reports does not reflect the occasions when children were tombstoning, jumping off the North Wall or swimming in a harbour used by commercial fishermen. The risks that are most likely to cause serious damage to persons or property:
Looking at the maritime hazards only these were ranked:
Achievements during 2020 included:
The set of measurable objectives with actions designed to mitigate identified risks were agreed as being –
The harbourmaster at the recent DHMC meeting suggested that repairs to the harbour steps needed to move up the list of improvement priorities.
|
|||||||||||||||
3 Finance December Report
The cold store drain is nearly complete. The DFA will be invoiced for its contribution when the invoice is received. It was agreed that it will be helpful to build a database of possible funders. A slideshow will be updated to show past achievements and current plans to help with future grant applications. Outstanding FLAG grants: (£49,192 at end December) The CCTV project has been closed off in early January. The last claims are still to be authorized for the Maggie Stores project. Retail Plan 2021 Mobile retailers The closing date for applications to trade is 31st January 2021. An application has been received from Bisset’s Seafood Shack and a note of interest has been received from Rhona Bell, Tasty Toasty, with an application anticipated. Commercial unit The following progress has been made:
The Board considered the following:
Welfare committee brief On 8th October 2020 the Board of the Harbour Trust resolved that: A Committee of three directors will be established, each with a finite term, (with the aim of a rolling succession so that knowledge is retained) . The role of the Committee will be “independent” of the line management relationship of harbour staff, to provide a way of giving assessment ( on pay , conditions , disciplinary matters), as well as giving the harbour staff a place to which any of their concerns might be escalated. The Chairman would not be on the Welfare Committee. The initial welfare committee will be:
Grievance policy: This will now read – “If you have a grievance about your employment you should refer it in the first instance to your line manager. Thereafter you can escalate any grievance in writing to the Chairman of the Welfare Committee”. Background The committee was set up with a twofold purpose –
These purposes were established to protect the Chairman who has line responsibility for these decisions, while at the same time providing an escalation process for the harbour staff. Assessment process At least once a year, and more frequently if necessary, the committee should consider the subjects mentioned above as a group. If there is a view that any of these matters have been unfairly or inappropriately dealt with, the committee may determine whether to raise the matter with the Chairman personally or with the full Board, at its discretion. The Committee may decide whether to meet with the Harbourmaster and Assistant Harbourmaster collectively or individually, and there is no requirement to meet the staff at all, if such a meeting is considered to be redundant. The essential role is to review the pay and conditions to protect the Trust. Grievance escalation process Escalation to the Welfare Committee will be made in writing. The Committee has the power to resolve the grievance, if this can be done with the Chairman and the member of staff. If the grievance relates to any inappropriate behaviour on the part of the Chairman, the Welfare Committee will arrive at a conclusion and will take the matter to the full Board (excluding the Chairman) for a final decision. Committees of the Harbour Trust The remit of the Welfare Committee has been defined. It was agreed that all Committees should have their remits defined and ratified at a Board Meeting to provide clarity of purpose and establishment of a due process.
|
|||||||||||||||
4 Dunbar Harbour Management Committee Matters raised by the DHMC, with no physical meeting being possible – Moorings Committee: The meeting will be held in early February. Chain inspections: Mooring chain wall plates have been ordered. It has been noted that new chain will be needed for next winter and the exact specification and costing is being developed. Cromwell Harbour branders: The Board has received a quote for £35,000 for 10 branders plus their associated ladders. It was considered unlikely that the Trust would proceed with more than four branders plus two ladders because of the visual impact of the branders sticking up so far above the coal hirst, these branders also requiring additional support. Maintenance Bay: The Board has received a quote for £40,000 for the new plan for the maintenance bay.
Dredging: It was agreed that any plans to dredge the harbour should be put on hold until it becomes clearer what the funding is for all of the other high priority projects, such as branders, quayside barriers and harbour steps. Toilets: Blueprint report that it cannot get a response out of Building Control to the request for a Building Warrant which was lodged and paid for last June. It was agreed that this lack of service will be escalated up the chain within East Lothian Council. The option of working with the Sailing Club to upgrade the Club’s building to improve facilities for the Club and to provide public toilets was raised again. It was confirmed that the Sailing Club remained against this idea. |
|||||||||||||||
5 McArthur’s Store Davy Brady’s container is not yet in the compound. There has been a request from John Fairgrieve Senior to put a container into the compound. There will be no further licences issued for additional containers. When asked how much the three Port Seton based boats landed at Dunbar, it emerged that the income received last year from their Dunbar landings was minimal. The store rents will be increased by 6.5% in line with the agreement with the tenants. The increase is required to build up the fund for the repainting and other repairs to McArthur’s Store. PAT testing will be organised for next month |
|||||||||||||||
6 Projects Maggie The concreting is nearly finished with AGT back rebuilding the stone wall and infilling some concrete alongside path. There is concern that the forklift might fall onto the beach and some in-situ kerbs inside the new fence will be installed. C+G have connected the power. They installed restrictors to the doors and changed one of the locks The allocation of the stores was agreed as follows: Store 1 – Dunbar Harbour Trust (for shared use if appropriate) Store 2 – DFA Fork Lift Truck Store 3 – Eddie Johnstone Store 4 – Kevin Keillor Store 5 – James Bisset The date of expected occupancy will depend on the completion of the fence and the safety kerbs, but will probably be 1st February 2021 Licences will be sent to the new tenants for completion before the keys are handed over. The hire agreement for the container at the far end of Victoria Harbour will be terminated once the stores are opened. Harbour Bridge There are no big issues with regard to the bridge following this month’s service . A full report will follow. The Bridge committee will meet once the report has been received. Mark and Paul from McTaggart Scott will take over from Alan Thomson when he retires shortly. These two engineers usually work on aircraft carriers and submarines so are very experienced. McScott Bond has recommended that operational advice be given to users again on the proper way to raise and lower the bridge . CCTV The contractor has still to fix the wipers on the cameras. On-going The electricity supply problem has been sorted |
|||||||||||||||
7 Harbour Improvement Plan Planning permission Communications have taken place with Paul Zochowski. A planning application will be submitted limited to the North Wall fence, the speed bumps, the pierside barriers and the new signage post. Toilets See above Review of December’s Harbour Users’ Meeting Thanks are due to Kenny Maule for preparing an excellent record of the achievements of the Harbour Trust which have now been widely circulated. 2021 Harbour Improvement Plan It was agreed that the following should be added to the three-year plan –
|
|||||||||||||||
Advertising for new Directors Steven Anderson has decided to stand down as a Director at the end of March and Dunbar Battery and the Maggie Stores are among the major achievements of Steve’s decade of service to the Trust. He, John Band and Robin Hamilton will be greatly missed when they retire at the end of this financial year. With Barry Fisher’s resignation during the year this leaves four vacancies to fill in April. It was agreed that advertising would start right away and that we would use social media as well as our traditional methods to seek out new candidates. The Trust is particularly looking for engineers, surveyors, project managers, lawyers and accountants to fill current skills gaps and to provide some succession planning. Re-election of Directors In accordance with the Harbour Revision Order, Paul Ingram, Eric Robertson and John Williams (who was co-opted midterm to fill a vacancy) will stand for re-election at the end of March. Transitional arrangements It was agreed that, with Steve’s departure, that John Williams would take the lead position in delivering the storage project. JW said that he would draw this project to a halt if there was not steady progress. It was also agreed that Yvonne Wemyss would lead the Friends of Dunbar Battery team. John Band ex officio will retain his position looking after the Thelma Band Restricted Fund. Tides and Times It was agreed that a positive view would be taken of the 2021 event programme, in anticipation that the vaccination programme, combined with the warmer summer weather, will allow the Scottish Government to ease restrictions. RNLI Day will proceed as planned, unless it becomes clear that the restrictions on public meetings are still in force. Fundraising will begin for the tenth anniversary of Sparkling Dunbar which is planned for the end of August. Only the Tides and Times event will need to be postponed until 2022, and it may be possible to have a smaller lead-up event for this in late 2021. Outdoor theatre will be encouraged, and the Battery Theatre Group is keen to perform, as soon as the restrictions are lifted. It is also the intention that Dunbar Battery will be used for Civic Week if possible. These plans will be reviewed on a monthly basis in the light of Government guidelines. What if The Dunbar Harbour Trust is holding an informal event on Thurs 28th Jan 2021, from 7-8pm, to share its ‘What If’ aspirations. This event is part of the sustaining Dunbar’s series of community engagement events associated with the John Muir, Earth-Planet, Universe outdoor exhibition currently on display at the Dunbar Battery. The public is invited to register on: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/dunbar-harbour-trust-what-if-event-tickets-136288623943
|
|||||||||||||||
9 Date of next meeting – Thursday 11th February 2021 |