April 2021 Minutes
Minutes of Cherry Willingham Parish Council held virtually at 7.00pm on 19th April 2021
Present: Cllrs Brylewski (Chair), Fleetwood (Vice-Chair), Palmer, Mellor, Scott, Trahearn, Burge, Bucke, J Robinson, B Robinson, Houghton, Bates, Bridgwood and Lacy.
Gill Shaw (Clerk to the Council), Christine Hodgson (RFO & Assistant to Clerk)
District Councillors Anne Welburn and Christopher Darcel
No members of the public were in attendance.
The meeting commenced at 7.00pm
2021-51 Welcome and to resolve to receive apologies and accept reasons for absence
None.
2021-52 Members' disclosure of pecuniary interests
None.
2021-53 To receive any reports from outside bodies, including the Police, District and County Councillors (if any) and agree actions as required
Cllr Welburn reminded councillors of the planning and training sessions in May and June and explained that the District Council are trying to change the Constitution to ensure that Parish Council’s comments on any planning application have sufficient weight. This was to be considered at a future District Council meeting.
Cllr Fleetwood confirmed that the flood and drainage scheme was to be carried out at the West end of the village and also that the connectivity of the water railway and the Lincoln Eastern bypass was coming together and when finished it would make the network more usable.
2021-54 Chairman's remarks
The Chairman outlined the progress that had been made during her time as Chairman, including the refurbishment of the Millennium Hall, the speed watch team, the litter picking team, and the Cherry Fields team amongst many other things. Thanks were given to the RFO, Clerk, Cllr J Robinson, Cllr Palmer for her help in employment matters and her help in the office, Cllr Trahearn for her work on the Cherry News, Cllr Bates for taking on the flag flying duties and Cllrs Scott and Bucke for their help with parking at the primary school. The profile of the Parish Council had been raised and it was now seen as a proactive and forward-thinking group.
2021-55 To receive the notes of the Full Council meeting held on 30th March 2021 and to agree for them to be signed as a true record
It was RESOLVED to accept them as a true record and they were duly signed.
2021-56 Discuss the request from a Cookie Vendor to have a pop-up stall and agree any actions - Cllr Brylewski
This was discussed and the location, effect on local businesses, licenses and complying with the council’s Open Space Policy were considered. It was agreed that more information should be obtained to be discussed at the next meeting.
ACTION: The Clerk to put on a future Agenda for further discussion.
2021-57 To approve the Terms of Reference (please note that item 5 on the document for Cherry Fields Committee has been amended to clarify that the Chairman will be a Councillor) and agree for their adoption. Cllrs Brylewski and Palmer
The Terms of Reference had been circulated to all councillors prior to the meeting. Following a discussion on how to elect members to the Finance Committee, it was RESOLVED to approve the Terms of Reference as presented and to present them to the Parish Council Annual meeting in May for adoption.
20 21-58 To consider the need to purchase a new laptop for the use of the Clerk and approve if necessary.
The present laptop was purchased approximately 5 years ago and was running slowly and on occasion crashing.
It was RESOLVED to purchase a new laptop up to the value of £750.
2021-59 Financial Matters - RFO.
i) To resolve to receive the Schedule of Receipts and Payments for March 2021
It was RESOLVED to accept the Schedule of Receipts and Payments for March 2021.
ii) To resolve to approve the Bank Reconciliation for the year ending 31st March 2021
It was RESOLVED to approve the Bank Reconciliation and Cllr Houghton will sign the documents which were in her possession.
iii) To approve the Asset Register as at 31/3/2021
The Asset register had been updated and it was approved.
iv) To note the contents of the Internal Audit Report 2020/2021
The Internal Auditor had completed the AGAR form to confirm that necessary controls are in place and this was noted by members.
v) To resolve to approve Section 1- Annual Governance Statement 2020/2021 (for signatures of the Chairman and Clerk to be added)
It was RESOLVED to approve Section 1 of the Annual Governance Statement and the Clerk and Chairman would add their signatures in due course.
vi)To resolve to approve Section 2-Accounting Statements (for signature of the Chairman to be added)
It was RESOLVED to approve Section 2 -Accounting Statement and the Chairman would add her signature in due course.
2021-60 To receive reports and recommendations (if any) concerning the business of the Parish Council and its Committees, Sub-Committees etc and agree any actions accordingly (note: queries from minutes, please see the individual chairmen or members outside of the full council meeting in order to expedite the meeting)
a)Planning Committee – Vice Chairman: Cllr Palmer
To receive an update from the Planning Committee.
There had been no meeting but the committee had considered a few minor planning applications and any comments had been submitted to Planning.
b)Employment Committee - Cllr Palmer
To receive an update from the Employment Committee
There had been no meeting. Some policies will be on the next Agenda for adopting.
c)Leisure & Amenities Committee (L&A)-Chairman: Cllr Robinson
To receive an update on L&A matters
There had been no meeting but the annual Play Inspection had taken place and no significant issues had been raised but the report would be reviewed at the next L&A meeting.The work at St Paul’s play area had been finished and the work had now been approved. A credit for unused water equipment and a compensation payment of £150 had been given to the Council for inconvenience caused.. The workmanship and service given by Sovereign will be reviewed by the committee at their next meeting. There was still some old tarmac to be removed, which if not removed by the contractors, will be removed by the council and they will be invoiced accordingly.
d)Finance and General Purposes Committee - Cllr Brylewski
To receive an update of the meeting held on 9th April 2021:
i)An update on the final accounts for the year ending 31st March 2021
Councillors had been given access to the document prior to the meeting.The RFO began by saying that the overall result showed a surplus of £13,721 but that there was an unpaid bill of £2772 for work which had only recently been completed at St Pauls Play Area. A summary of each general budget heading was given:
Governance & Administration
Budget £31295 Expenditure £31228. It was noted however that Salary costs had exceeded budget. A Cllr raised a query about the amount of overtime that was being claimed and whether it was being authorised. The Chairman of Employment Committee responded by explaining that overtime was being authorised by the Chairman as she was the Cllr who was in Millennium Hall on a regular basis- due to Covid. The Chairman of Employment explained that the Clerk and RFO had attended numerous training courses as well as doing other work which had accumulated due to there not being a Clerk for long periods in the last 2 years.
Parks
A large saving had been made on Grass Cutting as the budget was based on a maximum number of cuts.
Village Upkeep
Same as parks
Burial Ground
There was an underspend on Maintenance. Income from sales of plots was £1485.
PROJECTS:
Parks/Playing Fields Underspent by £3452 but £2772 is being carried forward to reserved balances to pay for recently completed work.
Cherry Fields Spending matched budget. The RFO had agreed to carry an amount of £278 forward into reserved balances, this being unspent Grant/ Donation.
Burial Ground -Path and Gate The budget was underspent as most of the work had been completed in the previous year as part of storm damage repair.
VIC-Millennium Hall Improvements The project had been completed except for purchase of new tables. An amount of £660 was left and this went into the general fund on the balance sheet. It would be necessary for the council to approve a new budget to pay for tables in this financial year.
Other:
Grants. None applied for
ii)To consider the allocation of balances and resolve to approve them accordingly.
Councillors had been given access to the document prior to the meeting.
The RFO pointed out that there were some earmarked funds, one of which is for the Burial Ground. The income of £1485 had been added and that brought the fund up to £16,421. This meant that there would be £43,081 in the General Fund. The Finance Committee had recommended that an additional £5,000 be added to the Burial Ground fund in view of the need to find a new Burial Ground in the future. This would bring the reserved Burial Ground fund up to £21,421 and reduce the General Fund to £38,081. It was RESOLVED to agree to this allocation of balances.
iii)To resolve to approve and adopt the proposed changes to:
a.Accounting Policy
The RFO explained that the proposed changes shown on the document were intended to make the policy less restrictive so that either the Clerk or RFO could complete the work. Various updates had also been suggested to better reflect current practices e.g most payments are made by Bank Transfer and not by cheque.
b.Procurement Policy
Similar updating as in a. above.
c.Expenses Policy
The current policy is for Councillors and Employees only. There was a need to include Authorised Volunteers and Committee members (who are not councillors) as they were making approved purchases on behalf of the Council and needed to be reimbursed. All groups were able to claim for travel expenses, when this would save money e.g. collecting goods purchased rather than pay for delivery. It was clarified that it was not the intention for individuals to make mileage claims for travel from home to village locations.
It was RESOLVED to approve and adopt all of the changes.
iv To resolve to approve some changes to fees charged by the Council
The Finance Committee had recommended some changes to Fees:
Burial Fees as set out on a separate document. There was discussion about the fees charged to inter children. It was agreed that the document needed re-wording.
ACTION Document to be amended and brought back to the next meeting.
Playing Field User Fees. It was proposed to increase the fee by £5 to £205 per annum.
Room Hire Fees-Millennium Hall. It was proposed to increase the Hourly rate by 50p to £6.
Contribution to Grass Cutting- Tennis Club. It was proposed to increase this by £5 to £55 to reflect the increases charged by Grass Cutters.
It was RESOLVED to accept all of the changes.
e)Village Improvement Committee (VIC) – Chairman: Cllr Fleetwood.
i)To receive an update from the Allotment Feasibility Group.
At the recent meeting the group discussed the pricing of supplying water to various locations and it was agreed that they would submit an interim report to the full council to consider.
ii)To discuss and agree suitable locations for the 3 new benches and to accept the offer of a memorial bench from a villager to be placed on Green Lane.
Several locations were discussed.
It was RESOLVED to put them at St Paul’s play area, the corner of Waterford Lane/Fiskerton Road and along the track at Cherry Fields (in the future a picnic bench for Laburnum Playing Fields will be considered) and to accept the offer of a memorial bench (with a plaque) to be located on Green Lane.
ACTION: Benches to be installed by Councillors in May.
iii) To receive an update on the Cherry Fields Management Group (CFMG)
The latest minutes from the meeting on the 12th would be circulated shortly. The annual inspection of the bike track raised a few minor issues which were being dealt with, major work to the pond had taken place and issues with the layby are being considered. A grant of £1,000 had been approved to be used toward the fencing of the new dog exercise area and a second grant from the Wildlife Fund to be used to purchase different trees.
- To discuss and agree possible projects to put forward to the LCC’s Environment and Community Projects Officer for potential future funding
It was agreed to submit a potential future project to plant trees at Tanfaine to start the creation of a woodland/rewilding.
ACTION: Ask Nigel Hooper to draft a plan with costing.
- To receive and approve the Water Body management policy
During previous discussions with the insurance company, it was suggested that there should be a pond management policy which had now been produced. This could be used by the VIC as a model document for Gilberts Pond.
ACTION: Deferred to the next Full Council meeting.
- To discuss and agree to any other actions as required.
None.
f) Website and Technology- Cllr Trahearn
To receive an update on the Website.
The website had been updated with the death of Prince Philip..
2021-61 Clerks matters to report including any formal correspondence received
There had been a good response to the questions in the Cherry News and other correspondence had been circulated as it was received.
2021-62 To agree the Date of next meeting
The Parish Council Annual meeting on the 6th May.