Minutes

The Annual Council meeting of Wickenby Parish Council took place remotely on Thursday 6th May 2021.

Present:               Cllr J Hairsine (Chair), M.J. Gill-Stafford, Mrs J Grant, Mrs T Keat.

Clerk:                    Mrs L Richardson

21/05/01              To elect a chairman for the coming year and sign the declaration of acceptance

                                Proposed Cllr Mrs Grant, seconded Cllr Mrs Keat and agreed by all to elect Cllr                                     Hairsine as Chairman for the coming year.

21/05/02              To elect a vice-chairman for the coming year and sign the declaration of acceptance

                                No proposals were made – it was decided that should the chairman not be available                         at a meeting; a temporary chairman would be elected at the beginning of said                                             meeting.

21/05/03              To receive apologies and reasons for absence of any Councillors

                                Proposed Cllr Mrs Grant, seconded Cllr Mrs Keat and agreed by all to accept                                         apologies and reasons for absence from Cllr Mrs Wheeldon.

21/05/04              To receive any declaration of interest applicable to agenda items in accordance with                        the 2000 LG Act

                                None were declared

21/05/05              To approve notes of the Council meeting held on 4th March 2021 and authorise the                           Chairman to sign them as official minutes of the meeting

                                Proposed Cllr Mrs Keat, seconded Cllr Mrs Grant and agreed by all to approve the                              notes of the last meeting and sign them as an official minutes.

21/05/06              To discuss and take any necessary action regarding working groups within the Parish                        Council

                                Proposed Mrs Keat, seconded Cllr Mrs Grant and agreed by all to start a Summer                               Events working group, with the aim to arrange a summer fete later in the year.  Cllr                          Mrs Keat and Mrs Grant agreed to be the group lead.  A budget will be discussed and                  decided nearer the time once restrictions and possibilities are known – this                                      discussion may have to take place via email and agreed as per minute 21/05/09d.

19.25                     Cllr Gill-Stafford entered the meeting

21/05/07              To receive, discuss and action any reports from outside meetings and outside bodies

                                Information has been received from LALC to state that the high court ruling to                                     extend remote meetings has gone against Councils.  Therefore, today is the last day                          to legally hold a remote meeting.  It was discussed that the Church will be contacted                           in August to see if it will be possible to use their facilities for meetings going forward                               from September.                            

21/05/08              Financial Issues

                                a) To receive and approve bank reconciliation

                                Proposed Cllr Gill-Stafford, seconded Cllr Hairsine and agreed by all to approve the                            bank reconciliation to 10th April 2021.

                                b) To approve and sign the 2020/21 Annual Governance Statement of the annual                               audit for submission to the external auditor

                                Proposed Gill-Stafford, seconded Cllr Hairsine and agreed by all to approve and sign                          the 2020-21 Annual Governance Statements.

                                b) To approve and sign the 2020/21 Annual Accounting Statement of the annual                                                 audit for submission to the external auditor

                                Proposed Gill-Stafford, seconded Cllr Hairsine and agreed by all to approve and sign                          the 2020-21 Annual Accounting Statements.

                                c) To sign the 2020/21 Annual Audit certificate of exemption

                                Proposed Cllr Gill-Stafford, seconded Cllr Hairsine and agreed by all to sign the 2020-                        21 Annual Audit certificate of exemption for submission to the External Auditor.

                                d) To receive and decide upon purchasing an annual subscription to Zoom

                                Due to remote meetings no longer being held, it was decided against purchasing a                            Zoom subscription.

                                e) To approve payments of accounts:

                                Proposed Cllr Gill-Stafford, seconded Cllr Hairsine and agreed by all to approve the                            following accounts for payment:

21/05/09              Administration

                                a) To discuss and take any necessary action regarding the Parish Council website                                page

                                Proposed Cllr Gill-Stafford, seconded Cllr Hairsine and agreed by all to add Councillor                       positions before names and add the policies and procedures as reviewed to the                                 website page.

                                b) To discuss and take any necessary action regarding Councillor training

                                Councillors will look at the updated list from LALC and advise the Clerk if they would                         like booking onto any sessions.

                                c) To discuss and take any necessary action regarding the review of the Council                                   standing orders and agree any proposed changes

                                Proposed Cllr Gill-Stafford, seconded Cllr Hairsine and agreed by all to make the                                 following amendments to the standing orders and approve their review:

                                Section 2 – change the procedure ordering to fit in with normal monthly agenda.

                                Section 9 – change tri monthly to quarterly

                                d) To resolve that the Parish Council delegates authority to the Clerk/RFO in                                         consultation with the Chairman/Vice-Chairman to suspend any relevant Standing                               Order or Financial Regulation as necessary ,to ensure the smooth running and                                       operation of the Council and to undertake day to day duties in order to minimise                         disruption to service provision and ensure business continuity ,until such time as the                               Council can meet face-to-face in a Covid safe environment or alternative legislation                     is introduced.

                                Proposed Cllr Gill-Stafford, seconded Cllr Hairsine and agreed by all to delegate                                  powers to the Clerk/RFO and Chairman as detailed above to ensure smooth running                         of the Parish Council over the extended break and decision not to hold a face-to-face                 meeting until September at the earliest.

21/05/10              Parish Maintenance

                                a) To discuss any necessary maintenance work required to the village/picnic area

                                - The bus shelter downpipe needs repairing and woodwork in the fascia boards                                   needs maintaining.  Cllrs Hairsine and Gill-Stafford will investigate this.

                                - There is an area of brambles in the picnic area that need cutting back – Cllrs                                       Hairsine and Gill-Stafford will investigate to see if this is something they can do or if                          a contractor needs to be involved.

21/05/11              Planning/Consultations

                                a) To discuss any planning applications received:

                                Willow Tree Farm, Snelland Road – Planning application for the conversion of stable                         block to holiday let – discuss and submit comments to WLDC – Proposed Cllr Gill-                           Stafford, seconded Cllr Hairsine and agreed by all to submit no comments.

21/05/12              To receive any reports from Councillors

                                None

21/05/13              To resolve whether to move into closed session and exclude the public and press, in                         accordance with the Public Bodies (Admissions to Meetings) Act 1960, due to the                              commercial or sensitive nature of business to be discussed

                                Proposed Mrs Keat, seconded Cllr Gill-Stafford and agreed by all to close the                                        meeting to press and public.

21/05/14              To discuss and take any necessary action regarding the employment of the youth                               employee

                                Cllr Gill-Stafford stated he was happy with the way work is currently being                                             undertaken.  Proposed Cllr Gill-Stafford, seconded Cllr Hairsine and agreed by all to                          pay the youth employee per increased nation rates from 1st April 2021.

21/05/15              To discuss and take any necessary action regarding a pay increase for the Clerk

                                Proposed Cllr Gill-Stafford, seconded Cllr Hairsine and agreed by all to increase the                            Clerks salary by 3% for increased living costs.

21/05/16              To agree date of the next Council  meeting – Thursday 2nd September 2021