| Minutes AGM 10
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| Minutes AGM 10
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At this level      beneath this item |
Minutes of the Maresfield Parish Council Annual Meeting held on Tuesday 18th May 2010 at 7.30 pm in Fairwarp Village Hall
Present: Cllr W King (Chairman), Cllr K Ogden, Cllr D Barlow, Cllr Mrs G Brady, Cllr D Finch, Cllr R Galley, Cllr J Gutteridge, Cllr J Handley, Cllr P Harris, Cllr Mrs P Palmer, Cllr C Stevenson, Cllr R Street, CCllr Whetstone, Clerk T Allen, Asst. Clerk Mrs K Larkin.
There were no members of the public present. The Chairman welcomed Mrs Larkin to her first meeting.
1728. Election of a Chairman for the next year. Cllr Stevenson nominated Cllr King for Chairman, seconded by Cllr Ogden. There were no other nominations. Cllr King was duly elected by a majority vote. . 1729. Chairman's Declaration of Acceptance of Office and opening remarks. Cllr King read out and signed the Declaration of Acceptance of Office. Looking to the year ahead the Chairman expressed concerns for the future, as cutbacks particularly at District and County level threatened to affect services. Local authorities would be working within strict limitations and we must practise the art of the possible. The Chairman also noted with regret the resignation of Cllr Taylor and the prospective resignation of Cllr Clarke and commented on the difficulties faced by councillors with jobs and families. The Chairman noted that he will not be standing for re-election in 2011.
1730. Apologies for absence and other non-attendance: Cllr A Clarke, and DCllr Martin, DCllr Buck, DCllr Hoy, CCllr Reid.
1731. Declarations of interest. Cllr R Street and Cllr D Barlow re Item 1754, payment to N Wealden Community Transport Partnership, in which both held office.
1732. Election of a Vice-Chairman. Cllr Street noted that whilst he values and respects the work of DCllrs who are also Parish Cllrs, he expressed concerns that members of the governing group on the District Council should not hold office on the Parish Council, because of the influence that the dual role might have on decision-making at parish level. However, in discussion it was noted that it was commonly done. Cllr King proposed that Cllr Ogden should be Vice Chairman. This was seconded by Cllr Galley. There were no other nominations. Cllr Ogden was duly elected by a majority vote.
1733. Number of Councillors to serve on Committees. (Chairman and Vice-Chairman of Council serve on Committees ex-officio). The number of Councillors to serve on Committees was resolved as follows:
1734. Quorum for each Committee. The quorum for each Committee was resolved as follows:
1735. Remits of Committees. It was resolved to adopt the existing Remits.
1736. Standing Orders. It was resolved to adopt the Standing Orders. The Clerk reported that NALC had recently published new Model Standing Orders for local councils in England, on an advisory basis. He would sift through to identify any consequent amendments that might be required to the Maresfield Standing Orders. ACTION: Clerk to bring forward proposals to a future meeting.
1737. Financial Regulations. It was resolved to adopt the Financial Regulations 1738. Portfolios reporting to Council and their holders. It was resolved that the level of authority for each Portfolio holder should be set by the relevant committee. Cllr Barlow reported that he could not take on the Portfolio for the Ashdown Forest Villages RSP because of the timings of meetings. It was noted that the Countryside AONB and SSSI Portfolio and the Footpaths Portfolio were currently dormant. It was resolved that the remaining Portfolios reporting to Council, and supervising Committees, should be allocated as follows:
1739. Election of Councillors to serve on Committees. The following allocations were resolved: i. Environment – Cllr Clarke, Cllr Harris, Cllr Stevenson, Cllr Mrs. Palmer. Cllr Brady would advise whether she would be able to serve as the fourth member. ii. Finance & Administration – Cllr Handley, Cllr Gutteridge, Cllr Stevenson and all Chairmen of Committees iii. Planning – Cllr Clarke, Cllr Finch, Cllr Galley, Cllr Gutteridge, Cllr Harris, Cllr Stevenson, Cllr Street. iv. Strategy - Cllr Barlow, Cllr Brady, Cllr Galley, Cllr Handley, Cllr Mrs. Palmer, Cllr Stevenson, Cllr Street. v. Policy – Committee to be formed only if required.
1740. Appointment of Chairmen of Committees. The following appointments were resolved: i. Environment – Cllr Stevenson ii. Finance & Administration – Cllr Handley iii. Planning – Cllr Harris iv. Strategy – Cllr Barlow
(CCllr Whetstone joined the meeting) 1741. Appointment of representatives of Council on outside bodies. The following appointments were resolved: i. Maresfield Recreation Ground Committee – Cllr Gutteridge ii. Fords Green Management Committee – Cllr Finch iii. Wealden District Association of Local Councils – Cllr King and Cllr Street iv. Ashdown Forest Parish Liaison Panel – Cllr Stevenson, Cllr Street
1742. Appointment of Council representatives as follows. The following appointments were resolved: i. Press Officers – Chairman and Clerk ii. Tree Wardens – Mr Ian Johnstone and Ms Emma Newman iii. Maresfield Recreation Ground Patrol – Cllr Mrs. Brady iv. Fords Green Patrol – Cllr King v. Civil Protection Officer – Cllr Stevenson
1743. Appointment of an additional holder of the Definitive Map (one copy held in Parish Office) – It was resolved to appoint Cllr Harris.
1744. Appointment of signatories of cheques. It was resolved to appoint the Chairman, Cllr Ogden and Cllr Handley.
1745. Chairman’s Allowance. Noted as £200.
1746. Clerk’s and Assistant Clerk’s salary scale points. Noted as LC 28 for the Clerk and LC 15 (pro rata) for the Assistant Clerk.
1747. Approval of s.137 payments. It was resolved to approve payment of the following grants under s.137:
1748. Appointment of Internal Auditor. It was resolved that Mr Mark Mulberry should be the Council’s Internal Auditor.
1749. Minutes of the previous meeting held on 20th April 2010:
1750. Urgent reports by and questions to:
1751. Council bodies – receipt of minutes and decisions, followed by reports from Chairmen and any questions: 1. Environment. (i) Draft minutes of the meeting held on 27th April 2010 were noted. Cllr Stevenson (Chairman) paid tribute to the community spirit shown by Mr P Easton in maintaining the emergency generator. In discussion it was noted that Mr Easton had also played a major part in the design and fund raising for the pavilion extension in Nutley, which had just been opened for use. ACTION: the Chairman to send a letter of thanks to Mr Easton. Cllr Stevenson referred to the requirement to provide allotments, which is an exciting project,with a lot of good work already done by Asst. Clerk Jessica Bradford. Cllr Mrs. Brady reported that it had been necessary to ask for the dog waste bins to be emptied. The frequency of collections needed to be monitored. (ii) New contract with EDF for Street lighting Unmetered Supply energy costs. It was resolved that Council should enter into a new contract with EDF Energy as recommended by the Environment Committee.
2. Finance & Administration Committee. (i) Draft Minutes of the meeting held on 11th May 2010. The Council took note. (ii) Month 12 – 2009/2010 Adjusted Financial Reports. The Council took note of these previously reported end of year figures. (iii) Month 1 –2010/11 Financial Reports. Cllr Handley noted that there were no issues to raise. (iv) Approval of 2009/10 Annual Return of Accounts & Governance Statement. It was resolved to approve the Annual Return of Accounts and Governance Statement. (v) Safer and Stronger Communities – LAA Reward Grant. The Council had received a cheque for £766 as its share of an LAA Reward Grant offered to all the Quality Councils. The Chairman thanked the Clerk for his efforts in obtaining the CiLCA qualification, which was essential for Quality Council status and for the administrative back up that sustained the council’s Quality Status. ACTION: Councillors were invited to think of possible uses for the grant and to pass ideas to the Clerk for future consideration. As the grant was intended to foster good communications between the Council and the community, it might possibly be used to pay for the Parish Plan Questionnaire. (vi) Annual Appraisal for the Assistant Clerk and pay increment. It was resolved to approve the Assistant Clerk’s Annual Appraisal and an increment of pay to LC 16. (vii) Contract of Employment for Mrs Katrina Larkin appointed to cover for the Assistant Clerk’s maternity leave period. It was resolved to approve a contract in the same terms as for the Assistant Clerk but for a fixed period, with pay at LC15. (viii) Office photocopier contract: Cllr Stevenson reported that a good quote for a new council office photocopier had been received from Kent County Services and approved by the Finance & Administration Committee. It was noted that the current ICA contract was in effect never-ending; it ran for three years from 09/06 to 09/09 and then on a rolling annual basis.Cllr Stevenson noted that ICA wants to charge a full year’s charges for the Council to be able to exit the contract, amounting to around £750. Cllr Stevenson noted that he has had informal discussions with ICA and is waiting for its MD to contact him. It was noted that ICA’s position was unacceptable. It was noted that Cllr Stevenson and the Chairman were reviewing the matter.
3. Planning Committee. (i) Minutes of the meeting held on 29th March 2010. The Minutes were received. (ii) Minutes of the meeting held on 19th April 2010. The Minutes were received. It was noted that this was the first meeting conducted under WDC’s Electronic Consultation trial. Cllr Harris reported that at the Committee’s meeting on 10th May 2010 there had been some 20 Fairwarp residents in attendance to discuss the application for the development of the Fairmay and Rock a Nore sites. Cllr Harris reported that he and the Clerk had still to speak to WDC regarding the list of questions and concerns on planning matters that had been compiled over the last year, noting that this list will be refreshed in Committee and then the planned meeting will take place.
4. Strategy Committee. (i) Minutes of the meeting held on 11th March 2010. The minutes were received. (ii) Draft minutes of the meeting held on 15th April 2010. Noted. Cllr Barlow reported in particular on Community Transport. Great progress had been made, and the additional community bus might become operational within six months. It would be available specifically for outings and had been offered to over 100 groups in the North Wealden area for trips to venues throughout Sussex and Surrey. Cllr Street explained that the expected NWCTP service costs to the parish had been reduced through the good offices of the ESCC and WDC in grants received.
In discussion it was hoped that the new bus might cater for unmet needs and that we should recognise the possibility of as yet unidentified groups becoming possible if transport can be obtained (such as young people needing to get out in the evenings). Such uses had certainly been invited, but the lack of response so far was due to the need for groups of young people to be accompanied by a group leader.
5. Maresfield Recreation Ground Access Sub-Committee report. Cllr Taylor (now resigned) had led this group, which is working its way through to hopefully a successful outcome by having an Agreement acceptable to both parties. The Chairman reported that the owners’ solicitors had recently made a positive proposal offering the parish rights of access in perpetuity (subject to terms and conditions). He had drafted a response which was currently with Cllr Gutteridge and Cllr Ogden for comments and agreement.
6. Development of the Parish Office Working Party report. The Clerk reported that the Working Party had achieved its objectives and could be disbanded. Further practical work was only required on flooring and decorating, and new furniture was to be delivered. A new lease was in the final stages of preparation.
7. Parish Plan Development Working Party report. The draft Questionnaire was circulated with the meeting papers. ACTION: All Cllrs to send comments to the Clerk. There was as yet nothing in the Questionnaire that was specific to young people. Nevertheless this group had strong and distinct views, as had been demonstrated by the results of the Big Vote 2009. Within Wealden the Big Vote respondents had overwhelmingly named Transport as their key concern. The Chairman noted that this is a group that the Council needs to get to grips with.
8. Maresfield Village Development Working Party report. Cllr Ogden made a personal statement rebutting the suggestion that he supported the building of 200 houses in the parish, as a quid pro quo arrangement with developers to ensure maximum traffic calming for Maresfield Village. Nevertheless, he did consider that the limit of 50 houses currently proposed to WDC in the Council’s LDF Core Strategy response was inadequate for the numbers of young people not only from Maresfield but also from Nutley and Fairwarp who might need local affordable housing in the foreseeable future. Nothing of this nature had been provided for at least a generation. In discussion, it was noted that the recommended numbers might be subject to change in the coming months as Wealden’s new Committees began work. The Working Party should remain in post to be able to respond swiftly to future developments.
1752. Report from the Chairman. The Council took note of the Chairman’s Report. There were no questions.
(Cllr Barlow left the meeting) 1753. Report from, and questions to the Clerk. The Clerk reported that the RBS software audit and the Internal Audit had both resulted in very good reports for the Council’s administration. He paid tribute to Cllr Handley and Cllr Street for the work they had done over the years to achieve this result.
(CCllr Whetstone left the meeting) 1754. Payments to be made - for approval. It was resolved to approve the scheduled payments amounting to £9,567.16.
1755. Communications. The last issue of The Parish Matters had gone out in February and the next should be planned. In discussion it was resolved that this should go out in September/October. The electronic circulation of the ‘Your Parish Brief’ E newsletter had grown to c.50.
1756. Annual Parish Assembly 2010 – Friday 21st May 2010, Fairwarp Village Hall. The Annual Parish Report was now available. The hall would be opened from approx 6.00 pm onwards for setting up. The WI would leave provisions but would not on this occasion be able to serve; help would therefore be welcomed in the refreshment break.
1757. Village Fetes 2010 – final arrangements for Council’s participation. The Clerk confirmed that the Council’s marquee would be shared as on previous occasions and that an area would be provided where councillors could meet and greet parishioners. Volunteers would be needed for manning the council tents and for putting up and taking down the marquee. Dates: Maresfield 31st May; Nutley 26th June; Fairwarp 10th July. ACTION: Clerk to draw up rota. Cllr Finch stated that he would in his capacity as MC of the Nutley Fete wish to ask questions of councillors over the Public Address system. Notice of the questions would be given.
1758. Correspondence: ESCC Annual Parish and Town Meeting 2010 – the Council had been invited to send up to two representatives. ACTION: the Clerk would ascertain who would be able to attend.
1759. Date of next meeting – 15th June 2010 (Maresfield).
There being no further business, the meeting closed at 20.55 pm. |
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