2021 Parish Council Minutes

Minutes of the Saltfleetby Parish Council Meeting held on Tuesday 18th May 2021

 (after the Annual Parish Council Meeting that ended at 6.41pm),

at Marshlands Community Centre

Present:                          Cllr Dover                  LD                    Madam Chairman

                                             Cllr Harrison              SH                                                                                                                                    

                                             Cllr Rick Smith          RAS                                                                                    

                                             Cllr Lusby                    JL

                                             Cllr Facer                     SC

                                             Cllr J Morris                JM

                                             Cllr Clark                      SC

                                             Cllr Robin Smith       RS                                                                                       

                                             Mrs C Owen - Clerk

Meeting commenced at 6.42pm

There were no members of the public present.

Statutory proceedings commenced at 6.42pm

01465   Apologies for absence –no apologies for absence noted.

01466   Minutes of the Parish Council Meeting held on 6th April 2021 had been circulated. It was resolved to accept the minutes, p RAS, s JF. The minutes were duly signed by Madam Chairman.

01467   Minutes of the Extraordinary Parish Council Meeting held on 26th April 2021 had been circulated. It was resolved to accept the minutes, p JF, s JM. The minutes were duly signed by Madam Chairman.

01468  Declarations of Interest –Cllr Morris declared an interest in item 8 on the agenda regarding the Tree Preservation Order and Cllr Rick Smith declared an interest in item 7 as a member of the Saltfleetby Community Association and the application for Gayton Funds.

01469   District/County Councillor Reports –Cllr Rickett and Cllr McNally were not present at the meeting.

01470   Councillor Vacancies – There are currently 3 vacancies. There has been no interest expressed to the Clerk.

01471   Gayton Wind Farm Community Fund Applications –there is one application to be discussed. Proposal to go into closed session at the end of this meeting to discuss, p SH, s JF.

01472   Tree Preservation Order: Saltfleetby, 1982 (147.02), Tree(s): A1 Application Reference Number: 0045/21/TPA:

Proposals: A1 – Willow, Ash, Poplar & Hawthorn – T1 marked on plan (willow) – pollard to approx. 4m.

Location: 5 Osier Holt, Main Road, Saltfleetby, Lincolnshire

Reason(s): A1 Tree leaning towards highway following excavation; work will reduce weight in the crown.

Cllr Morris was present for discussion but did not take part in the discussion or voting decision. The Council discussed the application and resolved to strongly support for safety reasons , p JL, s SC. No objections.

01473   Financial Matters –

a.  Accounts to be paid/authorised:

• Clerk’s salary and expenses for April 2021 including HMRC payment for month 2 of 2021/2022 and Zoom subscription for April and May 2021 for £28.78 (inc VAT).

It was resolved to approve the above, p SC, s RAS. No objections.

• Defibrillator pads and batteries were discussed as the Clerk highlighted that she had received an email stating the products ordered were not available until end of June 2021 due to being out of stock at the supplier. When the Clerk was looking to purchase this was the only supplier that stated stock was available so there is currently an issue with supply. The council discussed and resolved to agree to reimburse the cost of £191.52 (inc VAT) as the Clerk has paid for these and wait for the products to be delivered, p SC, s JL.
• J Cooper invoice for £45 dated 12th April. It was resolved to approve payment, p JF, s RAS.
• Wolds Gardening Inv-1435 for £95 (excl VAT) for cut on 5th April 2021.
• Wolds Gardening Inv-1536 for £95 (excl VAT) for cut on 19th April 2021.
• Wolds Gardening Inv-1519 for £95 (excl VAT) for cut on 4th May 2021.
• Preauthorisation for cut on 18th May and 1st June 2021.

It was resolved to approve the above Wolds Gardening invoices and payment for Inv-1519 for £95 (excl VAT) on 4th May 2021 and preauthorisation of cuts on 18 May and 1 June2021, p JF, s RAS.

2. Annual Governance and Accountability Return 2020/21 Part 2; Council to approve and the Chairman to sign the Certificate of Exemption (AGAR 2020/21 Part 2), Annual Governance Statement (Section 1) and Accounting Statements (Section 2) for financial year 2020/21:

The AGAR documents were discussed and it was resolved to approve

 i.  Certificate of Exemption for 2020/21

 ii. Annual Governance Statement 2020/21

 iii. Accounting Statement 2020/21

Council discussed and resolved the above in the order listed above, p SH, s RAS. The above documents were signed by the Madam Chairman.

3. Insurance – 2 quotations obtained for annual council insurance and 3 year long term agreements -

Quote 1 is £583.47 annual; £556.80 LTA;

Quote 2 is £446.94 annual; £421.39 LTA.

The above quotes were discussed and it was resolved to proceed with quote 2, BHIB for the 3 year long term agreement, p JL, s SC, 5 voted for, 1 objection, 1 abstention.

4. Grounds Maintenance Contract – 3 quotations obtained:

Quote 1: Total £1750pa based on 12 cuts per annum

Quote 2: Total £1620pa based on 12 cuts per annum

Quote 3: Total £1760pa based on 12 cuts per annum (stated 18 cuts on quote and £90 for bulbs)

To be discussed in closed session after the meeting.

5. Parish Council Laptop –Depending on the spec; SSD, Windows Pro (is this required? Provides additional encryption), i5 processor, Dell (Dell Latitude 5520 range from £840 to £860. Would require Microsoft 365 subscription (Personal £59.99; Business £94.80-£112.80pa from Microsoft website), (Personal from £44; Business £93 on Amazon). Council to give maximum expenditure limit so Clerk can obtain best value.

The above was discussed and it was resolved to preauthorise a spend limit of up to £1000 for a new laptop & setup costs (Personal Microsoft 365 subscription/security software), p SH, s SC. No objections.

6. Council to consider stopping Zoom subscription with immediate effect. This was discussed and resolved to stop this subscription with immediate effect and noted that it could always be re-subscribed in the future, p SC, s JF.

7. Monthly Councillors Report as at 30 April 2021 was discussed. It was resolved to approve, p JL, s RAS.

8. Bank Reconciliation and Receipts and Payments to 30th April 2021 was discussed

It was resolved to approve the above, p SH, s RAS.

01474   Gayton Wind Farm Financial Matters –

a.  Accounts to be paid/authorised: 

- there were no accounts to be authorised this month.

b.  Financial Statement for 2019/20 from Duncan and Toplis – Council discussed and resolved to accept the statements, p JM, s RAS.  Madam Chairman duly signed the accounts.

c.  Bank reconciliation and Receipts and Payments as at 30th April 2021. It was resolved to approve p SC, s RAS.

01475   Asset Register –It was discussed and resolved to accept the asset register dated 31st March 2021, p RAS, s SH.

01476  Gayton Wind Farm Funds - Gayton Wind Farm Funds past grants were briefly discussed and it was explained that the newsletter costs used to be part of the grant process. However, more recently over the past couple of years, it was proposed and accepted that the fund would support these ongoing costs and therefore they are classed as ‘other/misc’ costs in the accounts.

It was discussed about advertising the Wind Farm Fund more in the Village Newsletter (the funds available and the criteria of application). Also, it was discussed about inviting the residents to suggest uses for funds. This is also an agenda item on the Annual Parish Meeting for 25 May.

01477  Reports From Outside Bodies – There were none.

01478  Correspondence– the Clerk stated that she had received an email (read out the email to the Council) regarding the issue with the village signs. It was discussed and agreed that a letter sent recorded delivery should be written clarifying that, should the signs be returned to the supplier, that any costs of renovation would not be charged and that the Council are currently exploring options on how to proceed with this matter.

01479  Councillor Reports – It was reported that the Madam Chairman had written an article for the Village Newsletter and had been informed that the deadline had past. It was discussed about having a Councillor Liaison for the Council and the editor would be beneficial. Cllr Rick Smith volunteered for this role. It was reported that there were no additional comments around the Covid support for villagers.

01480  Parish Clerks Report  –The Clerk reported that she had made initial contact with Northern Power but had no correspondence back at this time. It was reported that the website now had all minutes and agendas going back to 2011 and that work is still in progress for adding more documents and content onto the ‘new’ website. It was reported that the FOI request had been dealt with as a result of adding all of the historic minutes and agendas. It was also reported that the information handed to the Clerk by Cllr Harrison regarding the substation land by the Outgang had not been reviewed and this is still ongoing.

01481  Items for the Next Agenda:

Standing Orders

Financial Regulations

Code of Conduct

Risk Assessment review

Village signs

BT phone boxes

Jubilee boxes

Lamp post poppies

Pocket Park

Millennium book

Passive speed signs

The meeting closed at 8.33pm.

Next Parish Council Meeting Tuesday 1st June 2021 at 7.00pm

Chairman         …………………………..............                        Date     ………………………..

Clerk                   ……………………………………                       Date     ………………………..