I agree, but the membership should still be kept up-to-date on where
things stand.

> On funding, there is plenty to do, let us not be desperate to dispose of
> funds that we may well need later on.

We can expect revenue to increase substantially over the next few
years, so we really don't need to save money to spend in those years.
It's also not sustainable - if we use this years money to fund extra
projects (particularly long-term projects like the one you mention)
next year, what will we do the year after? Apart from a prudent
reserve, the general principle that funds should be spend promptly is
a good one. It's not immutable, certainly, but there should be a very
good reason for deviating from it.