Minutes of the Annual General Meeting of the Mid Harbour Small Boat Marina (MHSBM)

Date: March 27th March 2025

Location: Mackintosh Hall

Time: 19:00

The meeting was pushed to 19.30hrs since there was not enough members for a quorum and according to the Constitution, in this case, the meeting would have to be postponed for half an hour. The meeting atrted at 19.30hrs with a quorum of 55 members.

Attendees:

•              Joe Pilcher (President)

•              John Canepa (Acting Vice President)

•              Suresh Mahtani (OutgoingTreasurer)

•              Gareth Jones (Outgoing Secretary)

•              Johnny Buttigieg (Outgoing Captain)

•              Pepe Figueredo (Committee Member)

•              Jason Mesilio (Committee Member)

•              Andrew Camilleri (Committee member)

•              Members of MHSBM

Agenda:

1.            Opening Remarks by the President

Welcome and introduction by the President who opened the meeting by highlighting the issues of last year’s meeting in relation to the procedure and the chaotic situation of that meeting . He stated that the Procedure for the General Meetings had to be put in place and suggested the following: 

1. The Committee needs to give the membership a minimum of three weeks’ notice for a General Meeting.                                                                                                                                                                                                                          2. Members wishing to nominate any person to stand for election for any post, will need to communicate it in writing to the Secretary 7 days prior to General meeting. The nominated member has to accept the nomination. 

3. Motions or any other matters to be discussed at the General meeting will need to be communicated in writing to the Secretary 7 days prior to General meeting. These will need to be supported by 5 members who will need to be present at the meeting.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    4. “Any Other Business” will now be termed “Matters arising from the Meeting” so as to stop members from raising matters not covered at 3 . above                                                                                                                                      The Membership accepted this and a procedure on these lines would be set for the future.

2.            Approval of Previous AGM Minutes

o             The minutes from the last AGM were reviewed and approved.

3.            President’s report.

o             This is attached to this report.

o             The President however, stressed that there was a need to review the Financial aspects of the Marina but that this element was not possible until the new Committee had a whole year under their belt of the new expenses particularly in relation to the Yard. He therefore advised the AGM that he would convene an EGM in or around October of this year at which point a report of all areas in relation to the finances would be brought to it for discussion and for the decisions to be taken on the way forward.

o             The president also expressed his thoughts about the inaction of the Port authorities and the Government on the way forward for the Marina in relation to the number of empty berths, unkempt/derelict boats and unregistered boats. This made up a substantial amount of the berths in the Marina and if you took ton board the number of boats which although cleaned etc., were not used by their owners in expectation on the decision by the Government of way forward for the Marina.  He advise the members that there were various motions on this to be discussed later in the meeting.

4.            Secretary’s Report ’s report.

o             This is attached to this report.

5.            Treasurer’s Report’s report.

o             This is attached to this report. Following this report a general discussion ensued where the membership wanted to identify the over expenditure that had been described by the Treasurer by the previous Committee. It was unanimously decided that an in-depth report on all the expenditure of the yard since inception would be produced by the Treasurer in conjunction with the President, the conclusions of which would be the subject of an EGM to be called once this was ready.

o             The Members also requested that at this meeting a budget for 2026 would be produced both for the Marina and the yard to be voted on by the membership.

o             The accounts for 2024 were presented and approved by the membership.

6.            Confirmation of New Committee

The election of the Committee for this year is as follows:

President: JOE PILCHER (uncontested)

Vice Chairman: John Canepa (uncontested) (The Vice Chairman will be responsible for managing the Yard) The previous Vice President, Mr. Derek Sene resigned during the year.

Secretary: Mr. Andrew Camilleri (uncontested) Mr. Gareth Jones has stepped down from his role this year due to exigencies of work

Captain: Mr. Jason Mesilio (uncontested) Mr Johhny Buttigieg has stepped down

Treasurer; Mr. Graham Olivero (uncontested) Mr Suresh Mahtani has stepped down.

Committee Members:

Mr Gareth Jones (uncontested) IT/CCTV

Pepe Figueredo

Johnny Buttigieg

Edgar Colton

Suresh Mahtani 

All the above Committee members uncontested.

o             Given the issue of the voting the previous year (last year the mechanism of voting was not strictly as per the Constitution), the president felt that this had now been corrected, and therefore this Committee is deemed to have been elected afresh and therefore the two year rule will apply as from the meeting.   

7.            MOTIONS…these motions were brought by the Committee

•              This AGM believes  believes that any member that breaks any Bye Law or causes any damage in the Marina as a consequence of which the Pier Master has to resolve the issue either by using manpower or will be exempt other resources and thereby causing an expenditure to the MHSBM , will be charged the amount expended.

This motion was presented by Mr. Mesilio who explained the reasons behind the motion which was to give the MHSBM Committee the power to charge members for any recklessness on their part which would cost money to the Marina. The motion was approved unanimously

•              This AGM takes note that there are over 70 plus Free Berths in the Marina which the Port, under instruction from the Government, is holding back from issuing to persons on the Waiting list. We understand that the Government is now doing a study to determine what is the way forward on these, but in the meantime, the Marina funds are depleted as a consequence. This AGM instructs the Committee to send the Port an Invoice for each Empty Berth that it considers FREE and available to allocate to a new berth holder. The AGM further instructs the Committee to urge the Government to take a decision on the way forward since, even after the payment of the above-mentioned invoice, would still means loss of income to the Marina,

This motion was presented by Mr. Mahtani who explained that given the Government’s lack of decision making, there were more than 70 berths empty in the Marina. This was depleting the MHSBM’s finances and recommended that invoices were sent to the Port since the Port was the authority and it was their duty to ensure that the berths were allocated. If this were not the case, they should bear the cost. A discussion ensued whereby members were very upset about the lack of attention that the Marina was receiving from the Government and the Port. Members asked the Committee to send the invoices to the Government via the Port and asked the President to transmit this to the Government in no uncertain way. Although various members wanted action taken immediately on this, it was agreed that we give the new forum (Steering committee) a chance to look at the overall berthing state of the yard and to see whether the Minister would put in place the Advisory Committee and decided on the way forward. The Membership gave the Committee six months to come back to an EGM and report on this at which stage the membership would decide what to do.

•              This AGM would like to urge the Captain of the Port to tackle the issue of Unkempt/Derelict boats. These boats start off by being unkept and in a “unclean and untidy” situation, become unkempt and not supervised, then become derelict and finally sinks thus causing problems to the Marina and its facilities. The MHSBM therefore urges the Port to deal with this a matter of urgency. It further urges the Captain to ensure that under “seaworthy condition” as it refers to in the Small Vessels mooring Control) Rules 2016 Rules of the Marina, the term means a boat which is clearly unkept and in a clean and tidy situation. It further would want the Captain of the Port to ensure that in a  “seaworthy condition” means that the boats have to be able to be propelled by the engine and that the engine must be working or under repair. Boats without a means of propulsion should not be allocated a berth.

This motion was presented by Mr. Mesilio who explained the reasons behind the motion which was to highlight the fact that it was the fact that there were so many unkempt/derelict boats in the Marina, that this was causing the issues with boats sinking during bad weather. In a walkthrough on the Wednesday the Operations Committee had counted 53 unkempt boats ranging from starting to be untidy to outright derelicts which would sink any moment. The Committee felt that more should be done by the Port authority to clear this give and ensure that all our boats are “seaworthy” and in a fit state thus showing that they are being visited by their owners. The motion was approved unanimously

As a consequence of the passing of this motion and as requested by the Captain of the Portf, the President  advised  the members that the Port has advised him that in future, all expenditure that the Port has in relation to repossessing, removing or salvaging boats will be charged to the owner and if unpaid, will become a Government debt with all its consequences.

•              The Committee would like to regulate the Use of Docky Docks, or similar, in the Marina. Any member that wants to fit one of these in his berth, (including those that have them at present) will have to apply for the necessary permission to be able to have it positioned within the berth. These members will be issued an annual license for its use, which license shall be annually renewable. This license is at no cost to the berth holder and the decision to grant or otherwise, will be taken by the Pier Master.

This motion was presented by Mr Canepa who explained that the Docky Docks or any ither system used to surround boats, would need to be monitored since in the past some members had cause dan issue in the Marina and some of the boats with these systems were now showing signs of deterioration. A discussion ensued whereby some members felt that this would become another revenue raising measure. The President confirmed that the motion as read would be minuted to ensure that if any future committee wanted to introduce a cost, they would have to take the matter back to an AGM. Notwithstanding, the motion was put to the vote and 33 persons approved it, with 16 voting against and some 6 abstentions. The motion was carried.

•              This AGM would like to enhance RULE 21.25 which prohibits inflatables to make it clear. The Bye Law will now read: “The use of Canoes, Surf Boards, Paddle Boards or any type of Inflatables is not permitted within the Marina Waters. Small inflatable dinghies that have an engine and which have been registered by the Port, will be exempt

This motion was presented by Mr. John Canepa on the basis of enhancing the rules to bring them into the present as the word inflatable needed to be enhanced. Mr. Canepa also reported on the fact that various incidents had happened whereby potential accidents could have happened with persons on boards stopping boats from going to their berths. He stressed that once a boat stops inside a constraint area, the boat is unmanageable and can cause accidents to the boat or other boats around them. A discussion ensued and the members voted in favour.

•              THE SMALL VESSELS (MOORING CONTROL) RULES 2016 under SCHEDULE 3 (FEES PAYABLE IN RESPECT OF PERMITS GRANTED) sets out that Fees shall be paid annually in advance. The Committee understands that in previous years, previous Committees had asked the administration to send the Invoices on 1st April. Given the expenditure this year with the advent of the Yard, and the fact that Members understand that an amount of money would need to be put in a Reserve Fund, the Committee this year sent the Invoices in January. They also gave members a grace period until end of March was the date by which all invoices should be paid. Notwithstanding the Committee would like to confirm the implementation of this on an annual basis which invoices should be paid on demand but giving members until 1st March of the year to pay. Due to the fact however, that this is the first year when this Rule has been applied as it should, the Committee feel that for this year only, there should be a relaxation, and payments will not be enforced until the 1st May 2025. Thereafter members will be sent reminders and there will be a penalty for late payment of 2% per month, for a whole month and not fractions of it (in the case of boats of £365 the penalty will be £7.30 compounded per month). The Committee feels that this is only fair given the fact that members who pay early  Members also requested that at this meeting a budget for 2026 would be produced both for the Marina and the yard to be voted on by the membership.

This motion was presented by the Chairman who explained that this motion was in three phases being

1.            The Constitution was clear about the charging system being per calendar year and therefore the Committee would like to confirm the implementation of this on an annual basis which invoices should be paid on demand but giving members until 1st March of the year to pay.

2.            Given that this was the first year of this upheaval when this Rule has been applied as it should, the Committee feel that for this year only, there should be a relaxation, and payments will not be enforced until the 1st May 2025.

3.            Thereafter members will be sent reminders and there will be a penalty for late payment of 2% per month, for a whole month and not fractions of it (in the case of boats of £365 the penalty will be £7.30 compounded per month). This would start on 1st May 2025 and therefore because it is based on monthly penalties, the penalty would apply as from 1st June 2025. Thereafter the penalties would be charged on a monthly basis but the three-month arrears law would apply.

4.            In relation to next year the Penalty charges would apply as from 1st April 2026.

8.            MOTIONS…this motions was a member’s motion

This AGM feels that there is a need to review urgently the Security arrangements and security measures for our marina and vessels. These include a complete review of physical security presence, patrols and added required security equipment and measures for properly locking down our marina to stop unlawful entry and thefts of/from boats in our marina.”

This motion was presented by Mr. Henry Bautista. Mr Bautista

Firstly, we need to ask ourselves if we are happy with our current security arrangements.

The reason I am not and those many who have spoken to me, is because of the following three main points

1.            I was the one that reported the vessel sinking at Pontoon F, in March , surely the security guard must have obviously seen the vessel sinking and surely their duty should have reported the matter, which they didn’t.

2.            I learnt that during a weekend gates 5 and 6 had been insecure and that the security had been contacted to secure these and apparently they did not do so as they did not have anything to secure it with. These doors remained insecure the whole weekend until our pier master apparently sorted it out! I ask what type of security company does not have the means of a chain and padlock??? Aren’t  we  not paying enough!!

3.            We have spent a considerable amount of monies on a camera system. Apparently there is no presence in our main office, but the cameras are monitored from afar in Irish Town. Surely if any trespassers are noticed or if they are noticed at all, the time the security has taken to go to the Marina surely culprits could have gone or stolen anything well before any guard arrives.By presenting this motion, I do not expect in the least to have a security guard sitting on my boat!Nor expect anyone from the committee to be bailing water from boats.

Everybody should be on top and looking after their own boats! And agree with any incurred costs due to poor owner care should be billed to the person responsible. But also to bring the security firm to account!

The following measures, I personally recommend to be considered by the floor:

1.            More frequent patrols during the silent hours

2.            Measures should be looked into locking or securing our marina even by water!! (Maybe by boon measures to be installed) or perhaps just leaving one gate for access and the others shut during the silent hours.

3.            We should enquire from Gibtelecom to install an adequate wifi hotspot for the installation of personal boat cameras and in order to be able to update electronic equipment or perhaps investigate how much it would cost for Mid Harbours marina to do it for ourselves

I therefore put this out for discussion to our members, for the betterment and safety of our Marina.

I understand that everything costs money but many of us have heavily invested on our boats.

The President welcomed this motion but highlighted that this was linked to the overall cost of running the Marina/Yard which report would be brought to the members in the form of an EGM later in the year. The President however, felt that the matter should be looked into and asked Mr. Bautista whether he would form a part of a sub-committee which would look at security in general and what measures could be taken to enhance this. Measures with costings would be presented to the EGM for decisions to be taken.

There being no further business the meeting ended at 21.35.

PRESIDENT’s REPORT

I will start by giving you a quick rundown of the issues that we were faced with when we took over the Committee:

1. No control over the way the operation was being conducted
2. No minutes for the last year of operation
3. No accounts for the previous year.
4. No direct control over the Camera system
5. No Pier master duties being performed
6. No liaison between contractors or direct control of these
7. Pending decisions on future of the Yard
8. No direct liaison with the Port authorities or anybody else in authority e.g. Minister

All in all, the new Committee had to start afresh in identifying the way forward.

The first issue that was tackled was the finalisation of the Yard. The first decision that was taken by the Committee was the agreement with GJBS in order to finalise the perimeter wall/fence. This was agreed and this led to the start of the works. The second aspect was the agreement with the Yacht Club and although there was already and agreement in place, this needed changing. This was done and this opened the way for the start of our usage with the Crane. The Crane was serviced and ready for use. We then had another problem, this being the fact that one of the blocks under the crane had moved and we were advised not to use it until the area was tested. This was eventually done, and it was determined that the block was not load bearing and the area could be used. For info, we are still operating with the block having moved out of its place and still awaiting repairs.

We then identified that the trailers that had been bought by the previous committee were unsuitable and had to order new trailers. The Government also determined that the Nissen Hut could not be used as workshops or for any usage other than storage so the Committee decided to offer Winter Storage to our members which would also bring monies into the Yard. At present we are awaiting final engineering checks by the Planning authorities. Given the different issues facing the Yard, I decided to appoint one of the Committee members to be responsible for the Yard. Mr. John Canepa was agreed unanimously by the Committee to take up this role. He has manged the yard since inception and I believe that we need to congratulate him on the system now operating.

At the same time the Committee felt that there and to be an interface between the Committee and the contractors and decided to employ a Pier master directly who have overall responsibility for the Marina and the Yard and for the overall control of the Contractors. Various applicants were interviewed for the post of Pier Master and Richard Webber was the person chosen. Mr. Webber started on 1^st September 2024 with the contractors staring on or around the same date.

The next big decision taken was the way that the new Committee wanted the operation to be conducted. The Committee scrapped the old system and gave notice to all the existing contractors. The Committee then decided to go out to tender to service:

1. Security
2. Repairs and Maintenance of the Marina
3. Operation of the Yard
4. Cleaning
5. Administration

Various tenders were received and viewed initially by the Sub-committee appointed for that purpose. Their recommendations were taken to the main Committee and approved unanimously.

The Committee agreed to give the contracts as follows

1. Complete Yacht Care for Operation (maintenance/repairs on the Marina and the Yard
2. OSG Security
3. ABC Services Cleaning
4. Existing operator was chosen for Administration particularly to give some kind of experience as Victor Hemmi had been with the Marina for many years and knew all the ropes. Unfortunately, this was not accepted and we then appointed Resolute Management Limited to run the administration.

The above issues were the biggest issues tackled by the Committee as this has now mapped the way forward for the Marina/Yard.

The Committee also approved the positioning of two containers which were divided into units so that the Yard could offer this Storage facilities to entities wishing to support the Yard with expertise etc. We put out expressions of interest and were able to give out all the Units to various entities in the Marine industry to help support our members once they had their boats on Hard Standing.  We have also found a location for the Sale Maker/upholsterer within the Yard once again to offer another service to our members within the Yard.

The other major issue was obviously the financial aspects of the Marina.

In the first instance, let me stress that the monies put by the Marina for the purchase of assets of the Yard will need to be tackled as a loan from the Marina to the Yard as indeed will be the running support given by the Marina for the operation of the Yard. The idea is to let the Yard run for a year and then look at the overall finances of the Marina and take decisions accordingly. A full report will be done by the Committee and presented to an EGM later in the year possibly October/November in advance of the next years Invoicing.

The Committee will also take a motion to the AGM on the collection of fees and propose a 2% penalty for non-payment after the first three months thereby giving advantage to those members who pay early.

During the year 2024, the Committee paid particular attention to ensuring that the CONDITIONS GOVERNING THE MID HARBOURS SMAL BOATS MARINA BASIN (as per the Constitution) were adhered to and also paid particular attention to arrears following up old arrears and current arrears. These have now been dealt with successfully and we have finally had some success with the Port inasmuch as they are now taking arrears seriously. Offenders in arrears for 2023/24 have had their berths revoked and, in some instances, had their boats removed from our Marina. This is now ongoing and the Captain of the Port has asked me to inform members that all expenditure for the removal of boats or the salvage of them, will be charged personally to the owner and this will become a Government debt.

Meetings were had with the Port, the Police, Customs and also with the Minister for the Port and the Patron of the Marina, the Chief Minister. These were all held during the 6 months of our taking office. We have now arranged quarterly meetings with the Port and regular meetings with the Minister. However, one aspect that was brought to the attention of the Minister is the establishment of the Small Vessels Advisory Board which board would advise the Minister on all matters related to the MHSBM and any issues surrounding it. This should have been done in 2016/17 but was not done. The Minister advised that this was now something that she wanted to set up urgently and would be looking into over We are urging the Minister to set it up as the perfect forum to look at the deficiencies of the system and the mechanism which the Rules wanted established “for the purpose of managing and operating the Mid-Harbour Small Boats Marina”.

One of the greatest issues facing us is the fact that no new berths are being allocated. This was discussed with the Chief Minister when we paid a courtesy call on him as out Patron who advised us that he would look into it and set up a committee to study this. During the latter part of the year however, we were advised that this was now being undertaken by the Minister for the Port who confirmed this in a meeting that we had with her later in the year. To date nothing has been done on either the Advisory Board or in taking a decision on the future of the empty berths. It has now got to the point where we have some 80 Empty Berths (although some of these are due to lack of control by the Port) at a loss of some £35000 plus. We have advised the Minister and copied the CM, that this is totally unacceptable but to date, nothing has been done. We have urged the urged the Government to take a final decision on the way forward in either selling the berths or allocating these.  It is indeed a pity that after the Government spent many millions of pounds setting up the marina for the enjoyment of those persons wanting to own a boat and we now have in excess of 80 empty berths. On top of this the Government needs to tackle the issue of owners being able to sell their boats to persons on the waiting list as presently, the system is totally stagnant with many owners wanting to sell their boats but being caught in a system of non-availability of berths.

We would also like to advise you all that we are now going to regularly meet the Port on the basis of trying to have a clear Marina position as regards berths. We have agreed with the Captain of the Port to open a forum that will meet regularly to ensure that any movement in the Marina is recorded so that at any point the Port/MHSBM know the state of the Marina. This Committee made up of the Port Controllers and the Pier master will monitor movement, empty berths, derelict boats etc. We need this information for us to control the Marina, the invoicing or any information so that we can “Manage and operate the MHSBM. We believe, and have advised them of this, that since they have the Empty berths continue unfilled, we should be allowed to charge them (the Port as the authority). They cannot have their cake and eat it. The Committee is therefore taking a motion to the AGM for the membership to authorise the Committee to send an invoice to the Government via the Port so that all those empty berths are paid for by the holding entity, in this case GOG. We believe that this is fair since it is not a question of the berths not being allocated but rather a situation where the Government has a moratorium on the allocation of berths.

One last thing that we managed to get passed to us last year was the control of the Water usage of the Super Yachts which now falls under out remit and for which we are now charging. Other than obviously, the Water Cost, the management and administration of this fees are now being handled by us and the money kept with the Association.

All in all, quite a busy year where we hope that we have shown our commitment and determination to run our Marina and our yard properly and a very busy year ahead to consolidate our position and to sort out the position of the Government on the issue of empty berths but also on the establishment of the Advisory Board and the commitment to help us to run our Marina and Yard properly.

SECRETARY’S REPORT

As your Secretary and the person overseeing technology, IT, security, and digital infrastructure, I am pleased to update you on the progress we’ve made over the past year in improving our systems and services. Our focus has been on enhancing security, streamlining operations, and modernizing our digital presence to provide better service to all members.

Technology & IT Infrastructure

We have made substantial progress in improving our technology infrastructure, ensuring that our systems are reliable, secure, and accessible.

CCTV & Security Upgrades

All CCTV cameras have been repaired and are fully operational.

We have ordered new PTZ (pan-tilt-zoom) cameras to improve monitoring and security coverage, particularly in high-traffic and sensitive areas.

Maintenance schedules have been put in place to ensure the continued effectiveness of our surveillance systems.

Internet & Connectivity

The yard now has fully operational internet, which has greatly improved internal communication and security monitoring.

Stable connectivity allows for better coordination of marina operations and access to digital services.

New Website & Digital Services

One of the biggest improvements this year has been the launch of our brand-new website, which has been completely rebuilt from the ground up. This new platform provides a modern, user-friendly experience with several key features designed to improve member engagement and accessibility.

Live Camera Access:

Members can now view their boats in real time via three live security cameras, providing added peace of mind.

A fourth camera will soon be installed to increase coverage and ensure full visibility of key areas within the marina.

Members’ Information Page:

A dedicated Members’ Info page has been introduced, where all President’s Notes and important updates are readily available.

This ensures that members can stay informed on decisions, developments, and key discussions without having to rely on separate communications.

Future Enhancements:

We are continuously working on improving the website with additional functionalities that will benefit members and streamline operations.

Feedback from members is welcomed to help shape further improvements.

Boat Yard System & Operational Efficiency

A new boat yard management system has been selected to help modernize and simplify our internal processes.

While the system does not support online payments at this stage, we will implement a manual procedure to ensure seamless operation.

The pier master will receive a demonstration before we officially roll out the system.

Future Plans & Commitment to Improvement

Looking ahead, we remain committed to advancing our security, IT, and digital systems to provide a more efficient and secure experience for all members. Some of the areas we will focus on include:

Expanding the CCTV network to further enhance security.

Continuing improvements to the website, adding more interactive and useful features for members.

Exploring additional technology solutions to streamline marina operations and communication.

Acknowledgments

I would like to take this opportunity to thank the committee and all members who have contributed their time and effort to these improvements. Your support has been invaluable in making these advancements possible.

I now open the floor to any questions or discussions regarding technology, security, and IT developments.

Thank you.

TREASURER REPORT

March 2025

PART 1

Analysis of marina expenditure from 16th April 2023 to 15th April 2024

Between April 2023 and April 2024, for the first time in the Mid-Harbour Small Boats Marina’s

9-year history, the Association’s financial statements have disclosed a loss.

It was promised to the membership at the last AGM that the new Committee would carry out

an investigation into this deficit. Between April 2024 and August 2024, on instruction from

the Committee’s President, the Finance Subcommittee conducted a systematic audit of

expenditure carried out by the previous committee. This has been carried out by traversing

and analysing detailed bank statements for the relevant period.

After a thorough investigation of the facts surrounding what can only be described as

excessive and potentially reckless mismanagement of the Association’s money, the Finance

Sub-committee has determined the following:

1. The Association spent, in total, nearly £430,000 between April 2023 and April 2024. This

is £150,000 in excess of the marina’s income for that calendar year.

2. If Aquagib and JT Securities are removed from the equation, the marina spent nearly

£270,000 on (a) over-priced, second-hand vehicles, (b) haulage equipment that is plainly

unfit for purpose, (c) unlawful construction works that now have to be undone, (d)

unregistered labour, (e) items of expenditure that have no traceability of any kind and (f)

transactions in the personal name of the Vice President, with no paperwork to accompany

the transactions.

3. Most of the expenditure decisions were made by the former Vice-President, Derek Sene

in consultation with the former Captain Johnny Buttigieg, and the transactions carried out

by the former Treasurer, Patrick Garcia.

4. Alarmingly, and without exception, none of the expenditure was formally minuted by the

former Vice-President and former Treasurer, nor was it approved by the committee, nor

carried out in consultation with the Association’s membership.

Given that this is members’ money, the present committee was concerned that this lack of

accountability might be viewed by the membership as a technical breach of fiduciary duty and

therefore, in August 2024, we respectfully invited Mr Sene, who at the time was the current

Committee’s Vice-President, to provide the following information:

A) Documentary information relating to those items in the attached spreadsheet that were

made to unidentifiable persons.

B) Documentary information relating to those items in the attached spreadsheet that were

made in respect of unidentifiable equipment or items of work.

C) The procurement and/or tender process for extraordinary items purchased or contracted.

D) Any tax or social security that was not paid by unlicensed, unregistered contractors

connected with any of these items of expenditure.

The Committee can confirm that no meaningful response was provided by Mr Sene, who

shortly after resigned from the Committee.

While the present Committee has carried out best endeavours to establish and uncover any

invoicing history that is relevant to the foregoing, the overall responsibility for answering the

above rests with the former Vice-President, the former Captain and the former Treasurer.

This Committee has concluded its investigation and any future action required to be taken by

this committee shall be exclusively at the request of the membership.

Suresh Mahtani

Committee Treasurer

18th March 2025

PART 2

PART 2

Committee Activities 2024-2025

Over the last 12 months, this committee has worked tirelessly to implement structural,

systemic changes to the organization and management of the Mid-Harbours Small Boats

Marina and its newly-commissioned boatyard. Rather than bore you with everything we have

achieved, I will now highlight just five of the many activities that have kept this committee up

at night since April 2024.

1. Led by its new President, the Hon Joe Pilcher, the first order of business for the new

Committee was to energetically review the existing contractual arrangement with JT Security,

which was put in place on an emergency basis way back in 2016 when the Marina was first

commissioned, and which has never been revisited since.

A root and branch analysis of the marina contract was conducted by the committee, who

determined as a whole that it did not make sense, both financially and operationally, for

untrained security guards to carry out marina operations and for marina operatives to

oversee the marina’s security. The Committee felt that a more sensible and cost-effective

approach would be, particularly in view of the impending boatyard activity, to separate each

component of the original JT Contract, i.e. security, marina operations, cleaning and office

administration, into four separate contracts, with clearly demarcated duties and roles. In

order to streamline this even further, the Committee decided to directly employ a qualified,

experienced Piermaster to oversee and administer the individual contracts once these were

finalised and to act as liaison between the contractors and the Committee.

As Treasurer, I was then asked to draw up detailed tender specifications and these were

advertised widely. A number of operators tendered for the contracts and the applications

were carefully considered by the entire committee, each and every one of us, who voted

individually for each of the contracts in a strictly democratic process, resulting in the award

of the contracts to Complete Yacht Care Limited for Marina and Yard Operations, OSG Limited

for Security, JT Security Limited for Administration and ABC Services Limited for Cleaning. It

later transpired that JT did not want the Administration contract, despite the President’s

insistence that they stay on as this would have provided useful continuity for Victor Hemmi.

The matter went back to the committee and after further deliberation, the administration

contract was then awarded to Resolute Management Limited, with the President abstaining

from the selection process for ethical reasons. Three applicants were also considered for the

Piermaster vacancy, and the job was eventually awarded to Richard Webber, who has proved

to be an excellent hire for the Marina and the Yard.

While on the subject of OSG, after consultation with the President, Charlene Catania, John

Paul Payas and myself, it was decided that an effective strategy for protecting the Marina

would be the implementation of a blend of CCTV monitoring, foot patrols and drive-by

patrols. This was carefully curated to accommodate the busy and not-so-busy season.

Needless to say that the restructuring of the historic JT contract into four separate contracts

has resulted in significant cost savings, which has meant more money available to the

committee for spending on much-needed infrastructure for the boatyard.

2. The second order of business was to get the yard to full efficiency and to shore up the

expenditure and this committee is proud to have witnessed our shiny new boatyard carrying

out its first boatlift in September of last year, much to the delight of the members, who have

waited for nearly 9 years for this facility and who have since heaped much praise on CYC and

the Yard crew.

I have to pause my address for a moment and ask this hall to recognise the efforts of our new

Vice-President, John Canepa, who has devoted hundreds of hours this year to ensuring that

the boatyard is fit for purpose and can be enjoyed by each and every boat-owner in our

marina. To name but a few of the projects he has successfully delivered this year, John has

presided over the JBS contract to build the perimeter wall around the yard, he has sourced

the additional floating pontoon and overseen its installation, he has procured and imported

trailers, dollies and other haulage equipment and he has created additional income for the

boatyard by installing two portacabins which have been rented out to a number of microbusinesses

for storage.

3. The third project that this committee embarked upon was the updating of our existing

CCTV infrastructure. The contract for this was given to Focus Security Solutions, who not only

replaced a large number of CCTV cameras that were now dated and failing across the board,

but also installed a much-needed CCTV network in the boatyard. Many thanks to Gareth

Jones for administering and overseeing this work.

4. The committee’s fourth task, this time headed by me as Treasurer, was to direct the

Finance sub-committee to conduct an audit into the previous committee’s management of

the Association’s funds and this exercise took a number of months to carry out. I have

addressed this hall on the outcome already.

5. Last, but by no means least, and something of great concern to this Committee, are the

sheer number of berths that remain empty and unallocated by Government to those on the

waiting list. This situation is unsustainable and is resulting in a loss of income for the Marina

of nearly £40,000 per year.

A lot of rumours have been circulating since 2021 to the effect that the Government intends

to sell these berths or even to include them as part of the Victoria Keys offering. The Chief

Minister has stated that there is considerable interest in buying these berths from members

of the public and it remains to be seen whether this will transpire, what level of revenue it

will generate and more importantly, how this will impact the running cost of the marina and

its operation in general.

For now though, not allocating these berths is costing us important revenue and if this

committee is re-elected by the membership, this is one of the first tasks we will devote our

energies to.

Accounts for 2024-2025. On the subject of the accounts, members will have noted that the

Marina’s budget has increased since the yard came into operation. The spending that has

been required to commission our much-loved boatyard, which has yet to achieve full capacity,

has made a temporary dent in our P&L account for this year. It must be remembered that

the accounts disclose the period from January 2024 to December 2024 and this period

includes the months of January, February and March 2024, in which the most reckless and

prolific spending of member’s money in the Association’s history was carried out by the

previous committee.

We have also chosen to write off bad debts from 2017 at a cost of some £13,000, our

depreciation figures have risen to £20,000 per year now that we have invested in capital

equipment for the yard and lastly, our employment of Richard Webber has cost us around

£12,000 so far.

It is my view that given the shortfall in income from all these empty berths and the increased

expenditure from the boatyard, it will be at least another year before we are back in the black,

and I have no doubt that my successor will build on the good work already done, exercising

similar prudence and adopting a similarly responsible financial approach to money management.

All else being equal, by the next AGM, our revenue should be at an all-time

high.

In closing, it only remains for me to thank you for the trust you have placed in me and in this

committee over the last 12 months.

Suresh Mahtani

Committee Treasurer

22nd March 2025