Minutes of the Extra-ordinary meeting of Minting and Gautby Parish Council                                      held on Thursday 13th June at 7.00pm at Gautby Village Hall 

Present:  Councillors J.Stuchfield, E.B.Clark, H.Padfield and J.H.Padfield Public: Mrs A.Clark

1. To elect a temporary Chairman.     

       Cllrs. J.Heselwood and V.Brown having submitted their resignations, there were no Parish Council officers present.  Cllr. H. Padfield proposed that Cllr. Clark serve as temporary Chairman, seconded by Cllr. Stuchfield and unanimously agreed. There were no other proposals.

1. To accept the resignations of the Cllr Heselwood and Cllr. Brown.

          The temporary Chairman presented the resignation letters of Cllrs. Heselwood and Brown. Cllr Stuchfield proposed that the meeting accept the resignations, seconded by Cllr. J.Padfield, and unanimously agreed.

1. To elect a Chairman.

        Cllr. Stuchfield proposed that Cllr. Clark be elected Chairman, seconded by Cllr. H. Padfield. There being no other proposals, Cllr. Clark was unanimously elected Chairman.  Cllr. Clark thanked the meeting , and commented that he regretted that recent differences in the Council  had led to the current situation, but paid tribute to the former Cllrs. Brown and Heselwood for their very considerable contribution to the work of the Council over the past few years.   It was unanimously agreed that the Chairman write and thank them both on behalf of the Parish Council.

1. To elect a Vice-Chairman.

          Cllr. J.Padfield proposed that Cllr. H. Padfield be elected Vice-Chairman, seconded by Cllr. Stuchfield.  There being no other proposals, Cllr. H.Padfield was unanimously elected ViceChairman.    Both Chairman and Vice-Chairman signed Acceptance of Office.

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1. To approve the Draft Notes of the previous meeting.

       After some discussion, in which the excessive length of the published Draft Notes was commented on, the Chairman expressed his concern that Item 25 represented a contravention of Standing Orders and the Parish Council’s own Confidentiality Policy.   The publishing of details of contentious comments, other than decisions, allegedly made by identifiable individuals on a sensitive issue, in a Closed Session of the Council, is strictly forbidden.  Such action could bring the Council into disrepute, and put it in danger of investigation under GDPR , with potentially serious consequences.

The Chairman proposed, seconded by Cllr. J. Padfield and unanimously agreed that  Item 25 should be struck off the Draft notes, and be replaced with the following:  

  ‘   25.   Amended Draft Note.    To move into closed session due to the confidential nature of business regarding the employment of the Clerk.

Item 12[1] Deferred to closed session. Following a vote, it was unanimously resolved to approve the additional salary and travel costs for the Clerk.

The Clerk was offered a fixed 2-year term following her probationary period. However, the Clerk advised that she did not intend to take up the offer for various reasons, and would give a final decision within one week.

The meeting accepted the Clerk’s decision with regret, and resolved to see if anything could be done to persuade her to remain.  

The meeting closed at 10.55pm.   ‘      

The amended Draft Notes were signed by the Chairman.   The Chairman further commented that in consideration of the discussion in the aforementioned Closed Session, he would endeavour to ensure that meetings are conducted in a more disciplined and professional manner in the future.

1. To resolve to notify ELDC of vacancies of the Parish Council.

 It was proposed by Cllr. H. Padfield, seconded by Cllr. Stuchfield. and unanimously agreed to proceed with this item.

1. To resolve to advertise the vacancies for Minting ward.   

The Chairman advised that he needed confirmation from the Elections Dept at ELDC as to whether an official Notice of Vacancy was necessary to co-opt new councillors. The meeting unanimously agreed to proceed with co-options as soon as legally possible.

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1. To elect members to the General Purposes Working Group.

After discussion, it was proposed by Cllr. J.Padfield, seconded by Cllr.H.Padfield and unanimously agreed, to form a single General Purposes Working Group to replace all previous Working Groups. Terms of Reference will be as for the former Personnel Working Group . Standing members will consist of the Chairman, and two long -standing members, Cllrs. J.Stuchfield and H. Padfield, plus further cooptions as necessary. 

The meeting finally discussed non – agenda items to be considered at the next meeting;

• Cllr. H.Padfield suggested that the Council meet on Tuesday evenings.
• Cllr. H.Padfield requested that Matters Arising be included in the agenda.
• The meeting agreed that decisions regarding progress towards the appointment of a new Clerk need to be made .
• Defibrillator codes need to be in the possession of the Parish Council. Liase with former councillors .
• Decision on painting Gautby phonebox and noticeboard needed soon.
• Collapsing fence over the beck in Minting will have to be repaired. [g]  The PAYE tax credit due to a former Clerk needs to be addressed

The meeting closed at 8.00pm