SKPC Minutes May 2022
SOUTH KELSEY & MOORTOWN PARISH COUNCIL
Email: southkelseyparishcouncil@outlook.com
Draft Minutes of the Parish Council Meeting
held in the Village Hall on Monday 16 May 2022 at 7pm
Present: Cllrs Colin Atkin (CA), Juliet Coleman-Scott (JCS), Lisa Pearce (LP), Tina Wiles (TW); Cllr Peter Morris WLDC (PM) ; Cllr Tom Smith LCC (TS).
Craig Marriott (CM) present remotely via Microsoft Teams.
In attendance: Nicola Hall; 2 members of the public
Since this was the first meeting of the newly established Parish Council, following introductions, CA opened the meeting by welcoming new councillors and summarising the considerable work undertaken by JCS and himself while the council was in abeyance. CA went on to set out the philosophy of this group: the establishment of a positive, progressive committee which is transparent and works for the benefit of the whole community. Public participation will be appreciated, welcomed and encouraged. In particular, the PC will work with key groups in the village including the Church as well as the Village Hall and Playing Field Committees.
22/1 To receive apologies and reasons for absence - none received.
22/2 To complete formalities in respect of new councillors - documents were duly signed and witnessed.
22/3 To appoint a Chair and Vice-Chair - JCS was proposed as Chair by TW and seconded by LP; TW was proposed as Vice-Chair and seconded by LP. Resolved. JCS subsequently assumed the role of Chair.
22/4 Arrangements for dealing with administration pending the appointment of a permanent Parish Clerk
Nicola Hall offered to assume some of the duties associated with the role; this will be undertaken in the short-term and on a voluntary basis. This was proposed by CA; seconded by LP. Resolved.
Since a key facet of this Parish Council is engagement with the community, it was agreed that it will not be necessary for all communication to be directed through the Clerk. Details of email addresses of those councillors who are happy to be contacted directly will be made available on the website. On the advice of TS, it was agreed that new email addresses will be set up for councillors specifically for PC work. Action CA
Pending the appointment of a Parish Clerk, JCS agreed to continue overseeing the administration of finances with support as necessary from LP. This was proposed by CA; seconded by TW. Resolved. Action JCS
Currently, there are three vacancies for parish councillors. These will continue to be advertised by WLDC until such time as they are filled, or until 30/11/2022. After this time, the vacancies will cease to be promoted as it will be an election year. In 2023, all parish councillors will stand down and an election will be held.
22/5 Recruitment of a Permanent Parish Clerk
A job description, person specification and advert will be produced which is specific to the needs of South Kelsey and Moortown PC. LALC standard criteria for this role, and details of the recently advertised post of Parish Clerk to North Kelsey PC, will be used as a guide. NH will draft the documents and circulate via email to councillors for review. Action NH
Since current councillors will undertake duties previously delegated to the Clerk, it was felt that two hours per week will be sufficient for the new Parish Clerk’s role. JCS confirmed that the budget will allow for this level of administrative support. Two hours was proposed by JCS; seconded by LP. Resolved. The base will be set at two hours and any overtime discussed and approved as necessary.
Pay scale will be negotiated in line with NJC rates, LCI band 5-17, and will be based on qualifications and experience.
22/6 Financial Matters
a) Signatories on Bank Account - previous signatory, Irwin Johnson, will be contacted and asked to complete the Lloyds Bank online application to enable new signatories to be set up. Action CA
Signatories were proposed by TW as JCS, LP and CA; these were seconded by CA/JCS. Resolved.
b) Online Banking - once signatories are established, online banking will be set up and CA agreed to oversee the arrangements. Once appointed, the Parish Clerk will hold the cheque book. Payments will primarily be made via BACS. Action CA
c) Annual Governance and Accountability Return (AGAR) - to enable accounts to be fully prepared, an application for a delay will be made to WLDC. Once complete information is available, accounts will be produced by JCS and internally audited by LP. An external auditor will be then be appointed. Action JCS
22/7 Payment Resolution - WLDC
Outstanding invoices totalling £3027.07 up to 31/03/2022 require payment. In addition, £803.59 has been accrued to date during the current fiscal year. These are routine invoices for items including grass-cutting, insurance and room hire. Payment of the invoices was proposed by CA; seconded by LP. Resolved.
To avoid further delay in payment of invoices, a resolution is agreed for WLDC to pay the invoices and claim reimbursement once the PC has access to its bank account. This was proposed by CA; seconded by JCS. Resolved. Action JCS
22/7 Parish Council Meeting Dates & Times for 2022/23
Whilst this is the first meeting of the newly formed PC, it was noted that the date on which it is being held should have been the Annual General Meeting. It is a legal requirement that an AGM be held in May. In addition, the Annual Parish Meeting must be held between 1 March and 1 June. CA proposed that that AGM be held on Monday 30 May 2022 at 6.30pm, followed by the APM at 7.30pm. Seconded by JCS. Resolved.
A period of 14 days’ notice is usually required for publication of the AGM/APM dates. However, a legal imperative for the AGM to be held during May is believed to take precedence. CA will contact LALC for advice and in the meantime the proposed meeting dates will be publicised. Action CA
The Agenda for the AGM and APM will be produced and published by 20/05/2022. Prior to these meetings, parish councillors will door-knock within both villages to encourage parishioners to attend, meet the new councillors, and raise any issues they consider appropriate.
As NH is not available to attend the AGM/APM, LP agreed to record the minutes at these meetings. Action LP
Dates for future Parish Council Meetings will be in accordance with the schedule previously published. CA proposed that future meetings begin at 7pm rather than 7.30pm as historically. Seconded by JCS. Resolved.
On advice from TS, the rules on use of Teams will be investigated to establish whether rules applying to County Councils are also applicable to Parish Councils. Action TW
22/7 Park Group Status - Charity Commission
It was reported that a representative from Lincoln Conservation will do an assessment of the site and this will be undertaken free of charge as the Park is a Charity. An insurance claim has been submitted in respect of the park bench that has been maliciously damaged. CM has been undertaking regular safety checks on play equipment. In his absence this will be undertaken by CA. Action CA
The Trustees of the Park are currently listed as individual parish councillors. When parish councillors leave or are appointed, this can cause administrative problems. JCS proposed that the status of those listed is changed from named individuals to, “The Parish Council,” which is permissible as the recreation ground was gifted to ‘the village.’ Seconded by CA. Resolved. Action JCS
22/8 Documents to be Reviewed for Next Meeting
It was noted that there are a number of documents which should be available and published by the PC. In addition, existing documents such as the Standing Orders require updating. WLDC have recently issued a revised set of Standing Orders which are to be reviewed and accepted.
Many of the required documents are standard and available via LALC, but will require adjustment to ensure they are relevant to this parish council. Since this involves considerable administrative work, the documents will be produced following the appointment of a Parish Clerk, and over the course of the current fiscal year which is considered an achievable and realistic timescale.
22/9 Any Other Business
a) Paperwork - a large volume of paperwork has been provided by the previous Clerk. This is currently being sorted and filed or disposed of. Any issues identified will be brought to the PC.
b) Emergency Text Alert - currently Mrs J Stimson and Mr R Dinsdale are listed as contacts. JCS will ensure this is updated. Action JCS
c) Amazon Smile - funds may be available through this organisation. Action JCS
d) Defibrillators - Tom Scott has been informally carrying out weekly checks on the defibrillators on behalf of the PC. This will continue for the foreseeable future. An invoice is expected from WLDC, dated 01/04/2022, for £100 per defibrillator in respect of annual maintenance checks. TCS agreed to contact WLDC on the PC’s behalf to enquire about this. JCS to arrange payment once invoice is provided. Action JCS
e) Administrative Disruption - it was noted that over the last three months, there has been limited access to the PC website, email and other documents. It is felt important that in future, when there is a changeover of councillor or clerk, there must be a seamless transition. In order to facilitate this, it is essential that administrative processes are formalised and a central record of passwords and other key information is established.
PM reported that it may be possible to apply to the Transparency Fund to provide monies for the purchase of a PC laptop. All PC work could then be held on this device with monthly back-ups onto a USB which would be held separately. PM agreed to research the availability of monies and communicate this to CA. Action PM/CA
f) Lincolnshire Association of Local Councils (LALC) - monthly updates are provided and considerable support is available for the PC. Two events that may be of benefit for new councillors are a Networking Day to be held on 06.07.2022 at Woodhall Spa, and the LALC Annual Conference on 12/10/2022. CA and JCS reported that they have booked to attend training days at their own cost. These include a workshop for new councillors and another on effective meetings. If other councillors are interested in attending, they should liaise with CA. Cost will need to be met individually at this time owing to budget constraints.
g) Communication Strategy - CA proposed that in order to ensure transparency and public access to information, a multi-media approach will be used. A Facebook page has been set up for South Kelsey and Moortown on which information will be routinely provided. LP suggested that the Facebook page be set up as a ‘business page’ since this allows people without a Facebook account to access the site as a website. Action CA
For parishioners who do wish to access the Facebook Website, a WhatsApp group will be set up. For other parishioners, an abridged monthly newsletter will be produced which will be posted on Notice Boards and circulated as required. To facilitate this, names and contact details will be required and collection of this information will commence at the APM.
h) Website - the PC now has access to this and it was noted that considerable work is required to bring it up to a reasonable standard. CA reported that the software is not user-friendly and training material is inadequate. CA will continue looking into this and liaise with WLDC. Action CA
i) Platinum Jubilee Funds - owing to fragmentation following resignation of all previous councillors, it has not been possible to arrange Jubilee celebrations for the villages or bid for any funding. The Platinum Jubilee Fund available to WLDC has closed early as it is over-subscribed.
PM reported that he has monies available via an ‘Initiative Fund’ and agreed to ring-fence a portion of this to allow the PC to set up a celebration during the coming months. This may be linked to the Centenary of the Village Park.
Date and Time of Next Meeting
Annual General Meeting - 30 May 2022, 6.30pm
followed by
Annual Parish Meeting 7.30pm
to be held at the Village Hall, South Kelsey
Meeting concluded at 9.00pm