FC June 2020 Minutes
Minutes of the meeting of the Full Council held on 25th June 2020 at 7.00pm via video conferencing.
Present: Cllr Terry Taylor (Chairman)
Cllr M Gibson Cllr S Haddock Cllr M Holland Cllr T Kemp Cllr E Lowe
Cllr D Mangion Cllr B Rose Cllr K Wood Cllr A Wright
Also present: Mrs Y Smith (Town Clerk (TC)) Cllr Wendy Bowkett (LCC County Councillor)
Mr Tony Bailey, Chairman Spilsby Recreation Ground Committee
Public Session
Mr Bailey gave a report on the proposed renovations to the pavilion. He said that there was a vision for the improvements and at the moment an opportunity to undertake the work. The new floor had been ordered and the whole pavilion will be painted. The Town Council had been approached to pay for the new lighting and blinds however the heaters in the changing rooms are dangerous and need replacing and the committee would look for some financial support for those instead. He asked that instead of new blinds could the heaters be paid for. The cost would be the same. There had been a meeting with the FA and they have looked at the pitch. The FA will assess the pitch and any sporting areas within the ground. The Town Clerk had suggested funding streams and the committee have applied for the TESCO Bags for help. He said that they have to be careful which funding is applied for. He thanked the Town Council for its support.
Cllr Bowkett (LCC)had tabled a report to the Council. She reported that Spilsby will be receiving some funding to help improve the town.
She had received a complaint about traffic on Boston Road. She had replied that it was near to the Industrial Estate and there was not anything that could be done about the large vehicles. Cllr Lowe said that she had lived on there for over 30 years and the traffic had never been a problem. She said she will ask the speed van to carry out some speed checks. She also said that during lockdown there had been extra deliveries to the food stores in town so that the shelves could be kept stocked.
Regarding the fence on Ashby Road, she had contact Russel Crockford of LCC and he had been to look at it. He is now investigating who owns the land and whether or not the fence obstructs the view. He had also been approached about the double yellow lines on Market Street and was not convinced it would solve the problem.
Cllr Taylor said that he had asked about the reducing speed limit on the A16 either side of the 30mph. Cllr Bowkett said that she would investigate.
Cllr Mangion (ELDC) reported that ELDC had done well with the Covid outbreak, giving business grants and the staff had been supporting the Well Being. He said that there is a possibility of ELDC merging with Boston Borough Council. Free car parking has been extended until August.
There is a shortfall in the budget but this looks as though it will be contained. He said that he is trying to set up a meeting with Tim Leader to look at business recovery.
Public session ended at 7.23pm.
58. Apologies
Apologies were received and accepted from Cllr Marsh (work) and Cllr Day (unwell)
59. Declaration of Interest under the Localism Act 2011
None
60. Notes of Previous Meetings
- Annual Meeting of the Council held on 28th May 2020
- Finance and Policy Meeting held on 11th June 2020
It was RESOLVED to accept the notes as a true record of the meetings.
61.To receive brief reports from the Town Mayor and Town Clerk.
Mayor- The Mayor reported that there were no civic functions in operation. He said that he had been to the market on the first Monday it opened and greeted all the stall holders and visited all of the shops that had opened and the ones that had opened earlier. He had sent reports to the press and they had a special feature on the shops and that it had been on the front page.
Town Clerk- TC tabled a report of the office activities.
62.Finance and Policy Meeting held on 11 June 2020
Para 16 -It was RESOLVED to purchase a housing box at a cost of £600 plus installation costs.
Para 17b- Sponsorship and Market Stalls Policy. It was RESOLVED to adopt the policy.
Para 23- It was RESOLVED that Cllr Wright be the Monitoring Member.
It was decided not to resolve the Complaints Policy as it is to be discussed at a future meeting.
63. Appointment of members for the following appointments.
- Tree officer- Cllr Gibson
- Spilsby and District Twinning- Cllr Mangion, Cllr Haddock
- Church Wall-Cllr Lowe
64. Update on Community Engagement.
Cllr Lowe reported that it was coming together very well. Banners, posters and leaflets were being worked on and it was hoped that the leaflets would be out the second week in July.
Cllr Taylor added that he had been in communication with the developers of the new housing estate and that he was also gathering information for the Neighbourhood Plan. He said that the two campaigns could be put together. The idea is to get a steer from the residents as to what they would like to see. Some boxes have been purchased to put around the town for people to use to put their thoughts in on paper.
65.Annual Governance Statement (AGAR3) to be monitored by the Finance and Policy Committee
Cllr Mangion said that he thought that the form should go through the Finance Committee in future. He said that he had no doubt the document was correct for this year. Cllr Holland said that he felt that last years was rushed. Cllr Mangion then suggested that there be a Finance Meeting the 3 week in April. He also suggested that there be a pre-Precept meeting by the Finance Committee to look at the budget. Cllr Holland felt that this was duplicating work. Cllr Wood suggested having another meeting to discuss it.
It was RESOLVED to hold an extra Finance Meeting the 3 week in April to review the AGAR
The motion to hold a pre-Precept Meeting failed.
66.Spring Bulbs
It was RESOLVED to accept the offer from Phillip Odling to buy spring bulbs for the Church Street Flower Bed.
67.Allotments Association
Cllr Rose wanted clarification of the relationship of the Allotments Association to the Town Council regarding insurance. He had taken out private insurance for his allotment and the insurance companies want to know the relationship. It may be possible for the Allotments Association to get a group discount or they may need individual insurance.
68.Committee Structure and Working Groups
Cllr Rose said that he wanted to make better use of working groups and then put their recommendations to the full council and felt that it would be a way of streamlining the council.
It was agreed that extra working groups could be set up and that the councillor who would like the working group should contact the chairman of the committee so that arrangements could be made.
69.Planning Application S/165/00974/20- Land to rear of Queen Street
It was generally felt that the main problem would be the access as Queen Street as it is a narrow road. There would be a lot of extra traffic. There were also environmental issues with the site clearance because of nesting birds and hibernation periods and there only be a small window. It was felt that the buildings themselves were a good proposal, it was the access that was a large issue.
70.Review of Budget and Expenditure
It was agreed to move £750 from the VE75 budget to the Community Engagement budget and add another £1,000 to it from the money received from ELDC.
TC reported that the budget for maintenance had gone over due to the benches being installed and asked the council to remember to add that into expenditure when purchasing benches.
71.Orders for Payment and income March to June 2020
It was RESOLVED to accept all order for payment.
The Chairman closed the meeting at 8.22pm