March 21 2019 - APM Minutes
MINUTES OF THE FENTON & TORKSEY LOCK ANNUAL PARISH MEETING
Held on 21 March 2019, 7pm in the games room of the White Swan, Torksey Lock
Parish Councillor Geoff. Newton chaired the meeting supported by parish councillors A. Wood, G Wood and N. Ingamells and by Ms. Ruth Keillar, the Clerk and Responsible Financial Officer to the Parish Council.
No members of the public were present.
The Chairman, Cllr Newton welcomed all present
The Chairman stated that this is not a parish council meeting however, being the Parish Council Chairman, he is responsible for the management of these proceedings.
1. TO READ APPROVE AND SIGN THE NOTES OF THE PREVIOUS MEETING.
The Notes of the previous Annual Parish Meeting of 22 March 2018 were signed by
Cllr Newton as a true record of those proceedings.
2. CHAIRMAN’S REPORT ON PARISH ACTIVITIES FOR 2017/18
The Chairman reported that the year had again been a difficult one for the parish council due to resignations and the removal of a councilor due to non-attendance.
However, the situation has improved to the point that there are currently 4 members. Additionally District Cllr Stuart Kinch was appointed to the PC by WLDC. The status of the PC is currently described as “improved”. Some further interest has been expressed by potential members and we hope that they will convert this interest into membership applications in the near future.
Cllr Kinch will remain on the parish council until the parish council elections on 2 May 2019 however, he will not be completing the election nomination process for this parish and his membership will not be renewed.
The Chairman expressed his thanks and gratitude for the support and assistance given by Cllr Kinch during his time on the parish council.
The S106 Agreement for the play area at the Fenton Fields development has continued to be addressed.
In order to resolve the conflicting opinions between the PC and WLDC regarding the suitability of the area to include a children’s play area, it was suggested that the PC would accept the conveyance of the land from the owner together with the maintenance fund of £6000 provided that the PC were not required to maintain the land and that it could sell the land to a local buyer if this was possible. It was agreed that this would be acceptable provided that the £6000 plus any monies received as a result of selling on the land would be used to acquire land for public use and potentially, include a children’s play area. Land valuation has been carried out, initial approaches have been made to establish the interest of prospective buyers, the PC has appointed solicitors and WLDC have prepared a Draft Deed of Variation. The first stage will be to acquire the land and the maintenance fund of £6000 from the owners and to complete the Deed of variation. The second stage will be to sell the land if possible.
Regular crime reports are received from the local police and incidents in the parish are being monitored.
The adopted telephone box in Fenton has been refurbished and the defibrillator has been installed and was activated on 8 February 2019 under the WLDC sponsored scheme. Cllr Neil Ingamells has volunteered to take responsibility for the unit and is in the process of organizing training through LIVES for a team of volunteers.
Frequency of cutting verge grass areas during the 2018 season was more than doubled and this will be maintained for the 2019 season.
New financial audit arrangements came into force after 31 March 2018 and new Data Protection legislation came into force on 25 May 2018. The latter required a number of new procedures to be introduced.
A parish asset maintenance program was commenced.
The parish joined the Community Speed Watch scheme and purchased the equipment and safety gear recommended by the LRSP who provided a number of speed limit signs for fixing to lamp-posts in Fenton which have now been erected. Unfortunately the scheme does not include speed limit zones exceeding 40mph.
Cllr Neil Ingamells will lead a team of volunteers who, after suitable training, will monitor traffic speeds in Fenton. It is hoped that this visibility will help to remind drivers of the applicable speed limits and achieve increased compliance.
3. TO RECEIVE A REPORT OF PARISH COUNCIL FINANCES FROM THE RESPONSIBLE FINANCIAL OFFICER TO THE COUNCIL, MS. RUTH KEILLAR.
The Deposit Account.
At 21 March 2019 = £7047.79
Nothing has been paid into this account since the previous year, interest accrued will be added up to 31 March 2019.
This account was opened in 1995.
A reserve of £2000 is kept for Election costs.
The remainder was previously earmarked for the S106 agreement costs for the Play Area, however the Parish Council can re-allocate funds to other projects by resolution.
The Current Account.
Amount carried forward from the previous year was £2,759.98.
Precept for the current year, 2018-19, = £5710, an increase from the previous year which was £5250.
The total income on 1 April 2018 = £8469.98
Income:
a) VAT Refund = £450.45
b) LCC Grass-cutting contribution of £40.92
Expenditure:
All payments are noted in each month’s Minutes.
This includes:
a) plants purchased for the flower beds at Chestnut Corner at a cost of £47.41
b) Bus shelter painting at £165.00
c) Telephone Kiosk refurbishment at £1509.80 excl VAT
d) Purchase of Speedwatch Equipment for the LRSP Scheme at £447.26 + joining fee of £40.00 (£371.29 excl VAT)
e) Parish Churchyard upkeep at a cost of £556.60
f) Land Valuation costs of £250.00 excl VAT
The Precept required to cover anticipated costs for April 2019 to March 2020 is £6150.
The budget for 2019-20 was agreed at £7447. The Parish Council anticipated that £1737 of savings would accrue in the 2018/19 accounts and that all of this saving would be put towards the required budget and reduce the precept request thus keeping the Fenton element of the increase to ratepayers as low as possible. (0%)
Accounts for the Parish Council to be audited by T Halloran Accountancy.
A full Statement of audited Accounts for this financial year, April 2018 – March 2019, will be presented to the full Parish Council Meeting when completed.
The external auditors for 2018-2019 year end are PKF Littlejohn; the Parish Council will be exempt from submitting the accounts, however the Audit documents will be completed and displayed as required.
4. TO CONSIDER ANY POINTS WHICH ANY PARISHIONER MAY WISH TO RAISE.
No members of the public were present.
5. DATE OF NEXT MEETING
Thursday 19 March 2020, 7pm in The Games Room at the White Swan, Torksey Lock
The meeting closed at 7:18 pm
Signed………G. NEWTON………………
Date…………05/05/2021……...