Minutes of parish council meetings

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WEST KEAL AND KEAL COTES PARISH COUNCIL

Minutes of the remote meeting held on Wednesday 27th May 2020 at 10am via Zoom.

Present: With Councillor Moody in the Chair there were also present councillor(s) Ward, Hepworth, Lacey, Rowntree and Rickard. County councillor Aron and District councillor Swanson where also present.

Apologies: Councillor Cook.

Public: There were no members of public present.

1. Election of Chairman, signing of declaration of acceptance of office

It was:-

Proposed by Councillor Rowntree that Councillor Moody continue as Chairman which was seconded by Councillor Lacey and RESOLVED. Councillor Moody accepted and will sign the declaration at his earliest convenience.

There were no other nominations.

2. Election of Vice Chairman, signing of declaration of acceptance of office

It was:-

• by Councillor Lacey that Councillor Hepworth continue as Vice- Chairman which was seconded by Councillor Rowntree and RESOLVED. The clerk was asked to contact councillor Hepworth to see if he wishes to continue in this role.  

There were no other nominations.

3. To defer signing of documents to a later date, when convenient.

It was:-

• by Councillor Moody and seconded by Councillor Rickard and RESOLVED.

4. Apologies for absence and reasons given – There were none.

5. To receive declarations of interest under the Localism Act 2011 – being any pecuniary interest in agenda items not previously recorded on Members’ Register of Interests and any written requests for dispensation – There were none.

6. Resolutions to be approved now a meeting has been called.

Resoltion 1 . Safety Statement - Meetings

That the Parish Council recognises and agrees that no business, meeting, service provision or service delivery of the Authority is of any importance above that of public and personal safety. As such all scheduled public meetings will be cancelled for an initial 4 month period (or as circumstances dictate).

It was:-

Proposed by Councillor Moody and Seconded by Councillor Lacey and RESOLVED by all that Resolution 1 be approved. 

resolution 2.  Suspension of Standing Orders / Financial Regulations

That the Parish Council gives delegated authority to the Clerk to: suspend any relevant Standing Order or Financial Regulation as necessary to ensure the smooth running and operation (wherever possible) of the parish Council for a period of no longer than 4 months

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(or as circumstances dictate), with the Clerk to compile and maintain a list of such suspensions and reasons which will be to be presented to a future meeting of the Administration Committee

It was:-

Proposed by Councillor Rowntree and Seconded by Councillor Ward and RESOLVED by all that Resolution 2 be approved. 

RESOLUTION 3. Annual Council Meeting / Annual Parish Meeting

That as the cancellation of meetings has a direct impact on the Annual Meeting of the Parish Council (scheduled for 13th May 2020), the roles of Chairman and Vice
Chairman will remain the same until a suitable and safe public meeting is called and held.

Where any cancellation of meetings has a direct impact on the holding of the Annual Parish Meeting, the parish Council will hold such meeting at a future date.

It is noted that whilst the above decisions are contrary to existing legislation (as of 22nd March 2020) the Parish Council has made these decision in order to place public safety at the forefront.

It was:-

Proposed by Councillor Ward and Seconded by Councillor Rickard and RESOLVED by all that Resolution 3 be approved. 

RESOLUTION 4. Orders for Payment

That the Clerk emails information regarding all orders for payment to Councillors.  Councillors are to confirm by email that they agree to the payments.  The cheques will be signed by those elected Members with delegated responsibility for the authorising and signing of payments.

These measures are put in place with robust transparency processes to ensure effective business continuation and to minimise impact on local service delivery and local business with ratification by the Parish Council to be made at the earliest and safest opportunity.

It was:-

Proposed by Councillor Moody and Seconded by Councillor Rowntree and RESOLVED by all that Resolution 4 be approved. 

7. The notes from the meeting of the Council held on Wednesday 22nd January 2020 (attached) to be approved as Minutes and signed by the Chairman

It was:-

Proposed by Councillor Moody and Seconded by Councillor Rickard and RESOLVED by all that the notes be approved as minutes and signed by the chairman.  

8. To consider and approve the accounts for the year ending 31st March 2020

It was:-

Proposed by Councillor Ward and Seconded by Councillor Moody and RESOLVED that the accounts for the year ending the 31st March 2020 be approved and signed by the chairman.  

9. To confirm and approve the Accounting statements contained in the Annual Return

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The figures from the financial records have been transcribed into section 1 of the annual return.

It was:-

Proposed by Councillor Moody and Seconded by Councillor Rowntree and RESOLVED that the accounting statements for the year ending 31st March 2020 be approved.

10. To approve the annual governance statement in the annual return

Members considered the detail within the governance statement and understood what they are, as a corporate body, approving.

It was:-

Proposed by Councillor Lacey and Seconded by Councillor Rickard and RESOLVED by all that the council answer ‘yes’ to all boxes contained in the annual return.

11. To consider and approve the Following payments

1. Inkonomical (PAID) – £79.60
2. Sarah Kulwicki – Extra Meeting - £40.80  
3. ICO – Data protection - £40.00
4. LALC Annual subs - £140.75
5. Cracroft village hall (Jan 22nd)- £17.50
6. Cracroft village hall (March 25th unused but invoice sent) - £17.50 – The clerk was asked to question this invoice as the hall was unused.
7. S. Kulwicki – Paper folders and plastic office folder store – £19.70
8. CJ Book Keeping Service Internal Audit - £25.00
9. Lincolnshire Field path Association- £5.00

It was:-

Proposed by Councillor Rowntree and Seconded by Councillor Ward and RESOLVED by all that the invoices are approved and be paid (except for f).

10. Lives Donation - £50.00

It was:-

Proposed by Councillor Rowntree and Seconded by Councillor Ward and RESOLVED that a donation of £50.00 be given to LIVES.

12. Reports from outside bodies

Councillor Aron reported the following via email:

1.  Highways New Contractors have started repair work and have community gangs to deal with the smaller jobs
2.  Household Waste Recycling Centres –  Reopened on May 18th – to book a space 01522 782070 from 11th May 10am. Starting with Green Waste only – Other waste from June 1st
3.  Councillor Grant – coronavirus  - very limited amount still available
4.  Grass verges - LCC gives full permission to cut outside of your property subject to following basic  H & S guidelines and a risk assessment if necessary
5. Roadside cutting has begun
6. Snipe dales has reopened but please observe social distancing
7. Cllr Hill and Cllr Mrs Bradwell have been re-elected Leader &  Deputy
8. Lincoln Castle grounds  has been reopened to the public
9. TRO ( Speed reduction) on part of the A155 – due for committee decision

Councillor Ward told councillor Aron that the A155 has been resurfaced. Councillor Aron is still looking into the speed limit reduction on main road, keal cotes. Councillor Moody told councillor Aron that he was disappointed with the lack of information coming from ELDC and

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LCC and he would like the opportunity to provide feedback on the resources provided during the pandemic. Councillor Aron also told the council that he has £3,000 to help with covoid-19 relief efforts, please ask if anything does come up.

District Councillor Jim Swanson told the council that ELDC are considering a strategic alliance with Boston Borough council to save 1.8 million in running costs. There will be one CEO to run both councils. He told the council that ELDC have suspended bulky item collections. ELDC are asking that residents keep their glass bottles at home to avoid non-essential travel and overflowing bins. Councillor Swanson said he has £1,000 for 7 parishes to help community groups.

Councillor Lacey reported that he required help during the pandemic for things like shopping and collecting prescriptions but he was not able to find any local groups which where doing anything which was very disappointing. He would have liked to of seen more community spirit.

13. Highways Issues

1. Councillor Rowntree reported that Fen road will be finished by the end of next week and it is looking very good.
2. Councillor Lacey reported that there are pot holes on Hagnaby Lane still.
3. Councillor Ward brough up speeding through the area. Councillor Aron agreed to look into having a speed limit reduction in keal cotes from 50mph to 40mph.

14. Planning Application/s

1. Ref: S/204/00493/20 – Poplar Farm, Main Road, Keal Cotes – Planning permission for the erection of an agricultural machinery store. No objections made.

15. Correspondence for the Council – The clerk told the council that the Lincolnshire field path newsletter has been received and the latest Viking link newsletter. She also told the council that a member of the public had contacted her about getting some assistance with shopping. All other correspondence has been done via email.

The meeting closed at 8:05 pm