FC October 2020 Minutes
Minutes of the meeting of the Full Council held on 22nd October 2020 at 7pm via video conferencing.
Present: Cllr Terry Taylor (Chairman)
Cllr L Day Cllr M Gibson Cllr S Haddock Cllr M Holland Cllr T Kemp
Cllr E Lowe Cllr D Mangion Cllr L Marsh Cllr B Rose Cllr K Wood
Cllr A Wright
Also present: Mrs Y Smith (Town Clerk) (TC) Mrs R Ford (Assistant Town Clerk)
Cllr Bowkett (LCC County Councillor) and Cllr Mangion (ELDC District Councillor) tabled reports.
Cllr Bowkett sent apologies as she had a meeting at ELDC.
106. Apologies
None
107. Declarations of Interest under the Localism Act 2011
Cllr Rose declared that he had an allotment.
108. Notes from Previous Meetings
- Full Council Meeting 24th September 2020
- Allotment and Cemetery Meeting 15th October 2020
It was RESOLVED to accept the notes as a true record of the meeting.
109.To receive brief reports from the Town Mayor and Town Clerk
The Mayor and Clerk tabled reports of their activities.
110.Update on Community Engagement including the Sessions House Phasing Project Update Meeting
Cllr Taylor reported that the Working Party had completed logging the ‘Have you Say’ forms and the findings would be submitted to ELDC soon. Cllr Lowe said that another meeting was necessary to keep the momentum going and that she was trying to arrange a further meeting.
Cllr Marsh said that he had produced a spread sheet. The Neighbourhood Plan Team had a meeting with the officers of ELDC and had been told they were making good progress.
Sessions House-Cllr Taylor tabled a report. He said that Bruce Knight of the Sessions House, hoped that something physical would be happening soon. There should be some funding to enable work to start in 2021.
111.Public Footpath Extinguishment and Creation Orders on Public Footpath No 147 and 1176.
The Clerk reported that she had contacted Stef Round of Walkers are Welcome and she said it was a good idea as the footpaths were fragmented.
It was RESOLVED to support the extinguishment and creation orders.
112.High Street Initiative Task Force Report
The Task Force tabled a report. Cllr Mangion said that the town needs to be made safe, clean and enticing.He continued that the Task Force needed to have another meeting in the next week. Alan Chambers (Business Partnership Chairman) had produced a document with suggestions on. Cllr Rose asked if the traders had been asked about the road being closed. It was said that many had.
Cllr Holland Proposed that the Task Force has the authority to implement the necessary actions from the available funds.
It was RESOLVED that the Task Force has the authority to implement the necessary actions from the available funds.
113.Making Councillors aware of proper conduct inside and outside of Council Meetings.
Cllr Kemp advised the Councillors to read the Code of Conduct and Standing Orders. It shows how to interact with each other and employees. He said that Councillors must be aware of not acting outside the Corporate Body and use proper conduct outside with members of the public. he said the Council must make sure that it moves forward in the right way. Cllr Day said that elected people have to behave as such at all times.
114.Local Government Devolution White Paper.
Cllr Kemp said that there had been propositions as to how things may be devolved. He continued that the role of the council may change and also relationships with other departments. He suggested that it needed someone to look into it and asked Cllr Rose to take on the role. After discussion it was decided to have a team of councillors.
It was RESOLVED that Cllr Rose (Chairman) Cllr Mangion and Cllr Wood be the team.
115.Communications
- It was RESOLVED that all meetings of Spilsby Town Council and its committees and subcommittees be preferably conducted remotely as per current guidance from NALC
- It was RESOLVED that meetings can be hybrid when councillors do not want to attend.
- It was RESOLVED that documents can go onto Google Drive.
- It was RESOLVED to continue using zoom until one month before the contract expires and change to teams if zoom has not been successful.
116.The use of Birds of Prey for Pigeon Problem
TC tabled a report. Cllr Wood said that it was not effective and can only kill one bird at a time. Cllr Day said that she did not like the idea of it. Cllr Gibson said that it would take 3-5 years to cure the problem and that it was not the responsibility of the council
It was RESOLVED not to use birds of prey.
117Youth Champion for Spilsby Town Council
It was RESOLVED that Cllr Holland be the Youth Champion for Spilsby Town Council.
Cllr Holland then gave a background on youth engagement and his plans.
118.Remembrance Sunday
TC said that the Royal British Legion had now said that there would be no parade on Remembrance Sunday and the Chairman of the Spilsby Branch of the RBL had asked for marshals to be present at the laying of the wreaths.
Cllr Holland asked if it was the responsibility of the council and TC said no. Cllr Taylor said that if there is no parade and it’s only laying a wreath, then it is up to the individual to look after themselves. Cllr Marsh said that the rule of six still applies.
It was RESOLVED the matter be left to the Church, Royal British Legion and Rotary.
119.Allotments and Cemetery Meeting 15 October 2020
Para 40- It was RESOLVED that a working party be set up to investigate/advise on work to be carried out. Members are LD, SH, MH.
It was RESOLVED to obtain quotations for the works required.
Para 41- It was RESOLVED to accepts the revised Allotment Association Terms of Reference.
Para 43-It was RESOLVED to revise the Allotment Policy to include the resolution to only allow one allotment per household.
Para 44- It was RESOLVED to add a specification for this to quotation for road improvements.
It was RESOLVED to approve erection of fence around communal area of allotments and to erect a sign stating NO PARKING OR TURNING.
Para 45-It was RESOLVED to carry out a programme of path cleaning within the Cemetery.
Para 46-It was RESOLVED to approve a plan of action for improvement to the memorial area
It was RESOLVED that a working party consisting of LD, SH, BR AND MH be set up.
Para 47-It was RESOLVED to adopt the Scattering of Ashes Policy.
120.Maintenance Employee
It was RESOLVED to retain the current maintenance contract for grass cutting and to employment a maintenance person on a service agreement on an ad hoc basis.
121.Programme of Tree Works in the Cemetery, TOC H area and the Spinney.
Cllr Taylor said that there have been some trees down adjacent to the TOC H land. The canopy is getting dangerous and he felt that the time had come to consider having a planned programme. He suggested starting with the ones which have the most problems. The Spinney hedge is dead and needs to come up and a lot could be done to make it a nice area. He suggested that TC and he look around to identify the problem a long with a tree surgeon. Cllr Holland suggested that he would prefer to see all the work down now and suggested that the tree officers look at this.
It was RESOLVED that KW and MG plus a tree surgeon carry out the survey.
122.Changes to Working Groups
It was RESOLVED to change the name of the Working Groups to Additional Responsibilities
It was RESOLVED to adopt the Terms of Reference for a Task and Finish Group for specific tasks which arise.
123.LALC County Committee
It was RESOLVED that Cllr Mangion be nominated.
124.Planning Permission S/165/00974/20 Land to the rear of 32 Queen Street.
It was RESOLVED to support the application as long as it was within the regulations.
Cllr Day abstained.
125. CCTV Working Group
Cllr Taylor said that the idea was to replace roaming cameras and just have static cameras. This would give a more comprehensive cover and the pictures would be so much higher resolution and faces will be able to be identified. Cllr Mangion said that he was not supporting the motion and he wanted a video presentation doing by the tender companies. Cllr Marsh proposed that the companies provide a presentation through whatever platform they chose. Cllr Kemp said that he would like to see the matter resolved. He suggested to give the decision to Cllr Taylor as he knew more about CCTV than the other councillors. Cllr Holland suggested handing it back to the CCTV Group and bring it back to the next meeting.
It was RESOLVED for the CCTV Group to make a recommendation at the next Full Council Meeting.
126.Orders for Payment
It was RESOLVED to accept all orders for payment.
The Chairman closed the meeting at 9.15pm