Hall User Bulletin Feb 2024
Hello!!
It’s been a while since we last spoke. June of ’22 to be exact. Maybe there’s just been no news to share cause everything’s running sweetly. And it is!
So, why now? Well there’s Good News and Bad News. Will we start with the Good News?
OK…
Good News
is that Westwood Church has been able to appoint a new Property Convener, Mr Robert Porterfield. Robert has quite a task on his hands catching up on the last four years during which we have not had a Property Convener. Yet, since his appointment to the role in December of last year he’s really got stuck into things. As a Hall User this is Good News for you. If you see things that need attention, things that have been broken, or got broken by you (accidentally of course) then report it on the [email protected] email address. We do actually have someone who will receive your email. Brilliant!!!
The not Good but not Terrible either News
is that we have not been able to do some of the works and upgrades in our halls that we might have hoped to do. And this time, (dodging the bullet) it’s not our fault. The Presbytery, of which Westwood Church is a part, has not yet agreed it’s future plan and so we cannot spend more that £3,000pa on building works and this is intended for keeping the building wind and weather tight it’s not for all the little extra’s we’d like to do. Our hands are tied just now but it will get better. Oh! and we do know about the water coming in under the Fire Exit door of the Duncanrig Hall. This has been an ongoing problem which we thought we had got on top of, but obviously not. If you are using the Duncanrig Hall be aware that there might be a puddle at the Fire Exit door. The floor can get slippy when wet. Until we find a remedy you are best advised to make it safe as possible (mop and bucket stuff) and place a warning sign of a wet floor.
The Bad News
When keys were issued to organisations to let themselves in and out of the Church Halls (usually in the evenings) we created a form on the church website (tick list sort of thing) that verified that the building was left clean, tidy and secure. It’s a tedious thing to use the form every time you lock up the halls but it has worked great. Since the autumn of last year we’ve noticed a real drop off in use of the online form and now the issues are creeping back in. In the early part of this month the Fire Exit Door in the Duncanrig Hall was left open overnight. Apart from the obvious security risk which that created it has to be said that in the weather we’ve been having wind or rain damage to the hall and its contents could have been a real possibility. Those responsible for leaving the door open would inevitably be charged for loss or damage. Please, please, pretty please, do the checks when you are leaving the building. Find one of those posters with the QR code, scan, go to the link and complete the form it will guide you round all the things you need to check before you leave the building. Complete the form as you are closing up, not afterwards from your comfy armchair at home (we can tell if you’ve done that!) Even if you haven’t opened the Fire Exit Door (presumably to put the bins out or doing your own fire evacuation drill) do check that it’s closed before you leave. If you were last to use the hall it’s all too easy to point the finger of blame at your organisation if something goes wrong!
It’s not all negativity
No it’s not all negativity. Since issuing keys to organisation things have run pretty well. We notice that everyone is respectful of the halls and don’t abuse facilities, vandalise them or tamper with fire extinguishers and all that sort of stuff. So, A BIG Thank You from us to you!