Draft Minutes Annual Parish Meeting 12 April 2023
Parishioners in attendance: 10
Council Members in Attendance:
Geoffrey Dorrity [Chair]
Jennifer Taylor [Vice Chair]
Teri England [Councillor]
Andrew Watkins [Councillor]
Zoe J North [Councillor and Acting Clerk]
Welcome
[Statement from the chair]
Opening of Formal Council Meeting
1.0 Apologies for Absence
Cllr Alex Maughan LCC & Cllr Penny Milnes SKDC could not attend due to other commitments.
2.0 Conflicts
No Conflicts of interest declared.
2.1 Disclosures of Interest
No disclosures of interest declared.
3.0 Minutes of Last Meeting
Motion: To accept the minutes as a true record of the previous meeting. Proposed by Cllr Jenny Taylor, Seconded by Cllr Andrew Watkins
4.0 Update from Alexander Maughan, for Lincolnshire County Council
No written update was received for the meeting.
5.0 Update from Penny Milnes, for South Kesteven District Council
No written update was received for the meeting
6.0 Financial Matters
The precept for 2023/2024 remains at £1,400, and the expected expenditures are £1550, as agreed on February 23rd. This would have left a surplus of £519. However, due to an uncontested election, £1000 can be moved out of the contingency monies, which can be allocated during the next Parish Council meeting.
Proposed Expenditures and Allocations: Suggestions have been received regarding the purchase of speed lights, and potential fundraising is being considered to accompany this purchase. There is potential for some funds to be used in allocation of the parish clerk salary.
Income and Expenditures of Previous Year: The income for 2022/2023 was £1700, which included the precept and the second-place prize for the best-kept village competition. The opening balance was £2837, carried over from the previous year, resulting in a total of £4237. The previous year's expenditures totalled £658, leaving the council with a closing balance of £3579.
Major Expenses: The main expenditure for the previous year was the painting of the phone box, which cost £420. Expenditure also included minor expenses for paint, flags, planting, insurances, and website support, all of which were agreed in previous council meetings, and each payment was considerably less than £100 with the council's closing balance remaining at £3579.
7.0 Report from the Chair
The parish council has gone through a period of instability this year, resulting in a period from August to Dec where it remained inquorate and so no business could be carried out as no decisions could be made.
Before the Hiatus post- August the then council organised the painting of the telephone box containing the defibrillator which looks beautifully bright and shiny with the details picked out in gold; and was the recipient of second place prize of £300 in the final South Kesteven Best Kept Village Competition. Thanks go to all those volunteers who look after the village planting.
Since the co-option of new councillors in December 2022, we have
-regularly published full accounts enabling residents to have a complete understanding of the financial position of the council and adopted a budget for the coming year, whilst maintaining the precept at its current level
-written and adopted a full suite of required/recommended policies
-cleaned the website and made it fit for purpose
-adopted an asset register, maintenance programme with proposed budget, undertaken an asset inspection and completed many of the no-cost jobs with a group of volunteers from the community. Our thanks to them all.
Thanks also to Cllr Zoe North for her sterling efforts as acting clerk during this interim period whilst we have no-one in post.
Following on from the nomination period for the local elections, the five nominees were appointed without election as they were unopposed. We feel we are now in a position to move forward securely into the new council from May. Financially, the saving of £1000 through not having to pay for an election means we can review the budget and make more informed judgements about the spend for 23/24 at the first meeting.
We all look forward to serving the best interests of residents and the village in the coming period and hope that we can now bring a period of stability to the council to enable it to operate effectively and efficiently.
8.0 Community Matters
Cllr Jenny Taylor attended the Joint Coronation Planning Committee Meeting held on April 6th, 2023.
The committee met to plan for the coronation events to be held on May 6th to 8th. SKDC has awarded £620 to fund the upcoming events. A full timetable of the weekend's activities has been distributed to residents and will also be included in the next Parish Newsletter.
Orders for the afternoon tea (Sunday Afternoon) are going to be submitted to 'Aunt Mable's Bakery' in Newark. Other food will be prepared on the day by volunteers. In the Sunday evening, there will be a Flagpole and Prosecco Celebration, and a nationwide request has been made to light up the nation. Residents are encouraged to bring their own lights, and Glow Sticks will be available on the night.
A leaflet will be available at the bar this coming Friday, and Cllr Jenny Taylor will be present at the bar to answer any queries. Volunteers are welcome to come forward to aid in supporting the day. The Council will support the coronation by planting a tree and dedicating a plaque for the Coronation.
9.0 Date and Time of Next Meeting
Annual Parish Meeting to be held April 10th 2024 at 7:00pm
Annual Meeting of the Parish Council to be held 15th May 2023 at 7:30pm
10.0 Open Forum
This session was for residents to discuss what they would like the council to focus on in the coming year. Suggestions included:-
-Further progress the purchase and installation of a moveable electronic speed signs prompted by a parishioner's observation that speeding is a persistent problem in the village. Initial action to research costings.
-Further progress the design and installation of a village sign and possibly link this with coronation commemoration. The neighbourhood plan was mentioned in relation to incorporating a village map into the sign. Initial action to research costings, with possible design ideas and manufacture by residents.
-Increase planting and flowers throughout the village.
- research the establishment of a footpath Stubton to Claypole for road safety, and/or the improvement of the current footpath from Fenton Road to Claypole.
- Selection of a commemorative tree for the coronation was deemed important due to spacing and placement considerations. Initial action to agree siting and tree type. Timescale by beginning of planting season – Sept onwards.