The Dons Trust board (DTB) held its usual monthly board meeting at the Cherry Red Records Stadium on Wednesday 23 January 2019. Ahead of publication of the redacted minutes, this article summarises the main points discussed.
The meeting was attended by DTB members Mark Davis (Chair), Rob Crane, Colin Dipple, Roger Evans, Cormac van der Hoeven, Anna Kingsley, Hannah Kitcher, Jane Lonsdale and Luke Mackenzie. Trust secretary David Growns took the minutes.
The DTB were joined by club chief executive Erik Samuelson, chief operating officer Joe Palmer, and non-executive director Mick Buckley.
The meeting started by discussing recent football matters, including the latest on possible player arrivals and departures from the club during the transfer window. Joe Palmer was asked for a summary of the issues relating to iFollow as the club sees them; Joe outlined the issues, many of which appear to be EFL-wide, and summarised what the club is doing to try and resolve them.
Erik reported that the Academy had just passed its latest Elite Player Performance Plan (EPPP) audit.
The meeting then moved on to consider the club’s quarterly management accounts and six-month forecast, which had been circulated ahead of the meeting. Joe responded to a comment about the merchandise in the club shop by saying that hiring a member of staff in the shop had had a positive impact on service and the range of goods on offer.
Next the meeting considered the latest stadium update, which included an update on the Section 73 planning amendment that is currently with Merton Council. It was also agreed that the full board would meet soon to be walked through the latest core plans for the stadium, so that all board members are fully up to speed ahead of the start of the stadium consultation. This will be followed by an update presentation to members
After an update on the Milton Keynes mediation and an approach from a betting company to get involved in a tie-up with the club, there was a discussion about succession planning.
The DTB then approved the minutes of the meeting held on 10 December 2018. Due to overrunning of other items, a discussion about priorities for 2019 had to be deferred, although an online discussion between board members will be picked up before the next monthly board meeting. A discussion about agreed ways of working was also deferred.
The board then continued a previous discussion about the 9yrs podcast. The meeting soon agreed not to overturn the club’s decision to revoke the 9yrs podcast’s press pass, before discussing a request that the trust board stop working with the podcast. The board broadly agreed to resume working with the podcast at an unspecified future date; it was agreed to hold a vote on the precise wording via email over the coming week.
The meeting concluded at 11pm.