Minutes of 2018

Minutes of the Extraordinary meeting of Minting and Gautby Parish Council

held on Friday July 20th, 2018 at Gautby Village Hall at 7.30pm

Present – Councillors J Heselwood, (Chair), J Stuchfield,I Hibbert and V Brown (minute taker).One member of the public.

1. Chair’s remarks and welcome

The Chair welcomed everyone to the meeting.

2. Apologies for absence and vote to accept reasons given

Cllrs Keys, E Brown and Padfield and Bell were absent.It was proposed by Cllr Stuchfield, seconded by Cllr V Brown and agreed by all to accept these reasons for absence.

3. Declaration of Disclosable Pecuniary Interests under the Relevant Authorities (Disclosable Pecuniary Interests) Regulations 2012

Cllr Heselwood declared a Disclosable Pecuniary Interest in agenda item 6a (financial payments) as one of the payments is due to her for expenses.

Cllr V Brown declared a Disclosable Pecuniary Interest in agenda item 6a (financial payments) as one of the payments is due to Minting Village Hall, for which she is a committee member.

Cllr Hibbert declared a Disclosable Pecuniary Interest in agenda item 6c is a grant application made by his wife.

4. To confirm and sign the minutes of the meeting held on June 1st, 2018 and thereby ratifying decisions made.

It was proposed by Cllr Stuchfield, seconded by Cllr V Brown and agreed                by all to accept the draft minutes as a true and accurate record of the meeting of June 1st, 2018 and the Chair then duly signed them accordingly.

5. To receive reports from District and County Councillors and Police (if available)

               None available

6. Financial Matters:
   1. To approve payments to be made by the Parish Council (see separate list)

               The Chair went through the list of payments to be made as below, together with a list of payments for the year to date.  It was proposed by Cllr Stuchfield, seconded by Cllr              Hibbert and agreed by all to make the payments.

2. Agree bank reconciliation

This item had been deferred from the previous meeting since an up-to-date bank statement had not been received from the bank at the time of that meeting.  Councillor Stuchfield was given a copy of the bank reconciliation and the latest bank statement which he checked and duly signed off.   It was proposed by Cllr Stuchfield, seconded by Cllr V Brown and agreed by all to agree the bank reconciliation.

c)    To discuss a Grant Application from one of the Minting Vintage Car Show   Organisers

The Chair opened the meeting for the resident/organiser to address the Council regarding her application for a grant from the Parish Council to cover the costs of event insurance as well as village hall hire costs for the Vintage Car Show to be held on 27 August 2018. 

The resident/organiser advised the Council that the Minting, Gautby & District Heritage Society had offered to reimburse for the insurance cost, but they do not want the Minting, Gautby & District Heritage Society or any other voluntary group to pay towards their Car Show ,  ”as they wish to support village organisations, not cost them money and the Car Show is for the benefit of the village as well as for the Charity”.

It was confirmed by Cllr Brown that in line with its constitution, the Minting, Gautby & District Heritage Society, is willing to donate a sum equivalent to the cost of insurance as it did last year.  Cllr Heselwood advised that as there is a source of funding it is difficult to justify spending taxpayers’ money on such a grant.  Cllr Stuchfield advised that the council does not grant money to a fund raising charity as it is not possible to choose between one charity and another, and that this would set a precedent and it would be more appropriate for the Minting, Gautby & District Heritage Society to fund the request.  It was also pointed out that local fundraisers pay for their expenses from the funds raised, not from Parish Council grants.

                              It was agreed by all to reject the application. (Cllr Hibbert abstained from the vote)

7. Ongoing Matters
   1. Broadband update

                              None at this time.

2. Highways

The Chair advised that all potholes have been reported and re-reported to LCC for repair and that some of the previous repairs in Gautby had begun to break down already.  Cllr Bradwell from LCC        has requested to meet up to see the problems for herself and the       Chair confirmed that she would arrange this when Cllr Bradwell’s schedule allows.

3. Emergency Plan – Report from Cllr. Heselwood

The Chair advised that she had attended the Resilient Communities meeting on 12 July 2018, as agreed at the last parish council meeting.       Cllr. Heselwood gave Councillors a report of the meeting, updating them on the latest plans for large scale emergencies.  She advised that there are several new apps for mobile phones form the Red Cross and Citizen Aid which may be useful and she would send Councillors further detail on these.

4. Communication

                              No update at this time.

5. Playing Field Report

Cllr V Brown made a report to the Council about the current state of the playing field; which is good.  However, some of the fencing needs repair.  She advised that she will forward photos of the damaged fence panels to                the Chair so that quotes can be obtained for repair/replacement.

8. To receive reports from the Clerk and Councillors on matters outstanding and not on the agenda

1. The Chair advised that the ELDC Monitoring Officer has responded regarding the complaints made to him involving both an individual  Councillor and the Council in general.  The complaints have been dismissed and those concerned have been informed of this.  The Monitoring Officer will attend a future Council meeting at a date to be agreed.

2. The Chair advised Councillors that the previous day, notice of a second investigation by the Information Commissioner following a complaint by a previous resident   had been received; this has a different case number and possibly case officer to the first investigation; and as before, further information will follow from the ICO in due course.

3. The Chair confirmed that she is seeking clarification from LALC regarding the use of Councillor’s personal email addresses and will feedback the answer when it has been received.

4. In response to Cllr. Hibbert’s query at the previous meeting regarding the roles given to various councillors at the Annual Meeting of the Parish Council (AMPC) in May, it was agreed to review whether this is necessary at the next AMPC.

As agreed, Cllr Heselwood has researched the possible purchase of a projector to use at meetings.  Epson appear to make the most suitable one for the council’s needs and budget and she will circulate the details for Councillors to consider.

9. To consider correspondence received since the last Council meeting

Correspondence as listed below was circulated amongst Councillors:

10. To agree the date and propose agenda items for the next meeting on Monday October 8th, 2018 at Minting Village Hall

It was agreed by all to hold the next meeting on Monday October 8th, 2018.  No items were raised for the agenda.

11. To resolve to move into closed session in accordance with the Public Bodies (admission to meetings) Act 1960 due to the confidential nature of the business to be discussed in relation to Complaints and Freedom of Information, Insurance, Personnel and Personal Matters.

It was proposed by Cllr Stuchfield, seconded by Cllr Heselwood and agreed by all to move into closed session.

12. To agree Correspondence to send to the Information Commissioner’s Office.

Councillors discussed draft correspondence in reply to the Information Commissioner’s request.  It was proposed by Cllr Stuchfield, seconded by Cllr V Brown and agreed by all to send the letter with minor amendments.

Close 8.45pm