January 2019 Minutes
KEXBY PARISH COUNCIL
Minutes of a meeting held on 07th January 2019
Present; R. Gore (Chair), C. Cuckson, C. Hunt, S. Farrow, D. Forrest, D. Edwardson
7 parishioners also attended, 6 left after the first item (Neighbourhood Planning) and one remained for the duration of the meeting.
In attendance for the first Item; Janet Clarke from Community Lincs who delivered a briefing on Neighbourhood Planning
01/19 Apologies – were accepted from Lee Hoggarth.
02/19 Neighbourhood Planning - the Chairman welcomed Janet Clarke to the meeting who gave a briefing, answered questions and left information leaflets regarding the development of a Neighbourhood Plan. Details of this briefing are attached as appendix A at the end of these minutes. The Chairman thanked the speaker for her input and invited discussion from the floor. It was agreed that the initial move should be to develop a newsletter to inform the village residents of the purpose of a Neighbourhood Plan and ascertain their level of interest. If this was sufficient a village meeting would be organised at which point both Upton and Willingham parishes would be informed that Kexby was exploring the possibility of developing a Plan.
The Chairman would be away for six weeks but would prepare an editorial before leaving and email to the clerk.
Action RG
The clerk would then draft out a proposal for the newsletter and circulate to Parish Council members for approval/amendment before arranging for printing and circulation.
Action GP
03/19 Minutes of the meeting held on 1st November 2018 had been circulated, these were agreed and signed off.
04/19 Clerk’s Report on progress since last meeting – this was presented and accepted and is attached at appendix B.
05/19 Outstanding issues
a) Landlord check 28 High street – this had not yet been completed, it was agreed that it should be deferred until after the Chairman’s return on 20th February and would be deferred until the next meeting.
Agenda March meeting
b) Magazine – D. Forrest said that he knew of someone who may be willing to help produce a magazine for Kexby now that Upton had withdrawn their offer to share theirs. The clerk said that he would be willing to help but would not have time to do it alone. It was suggested that the level of interest for a magazine could be ascertained from the response sheet on the newsletter detailing the Neighbourhood Planning process.
Action GP
06/19 Financial update – income and expenditure was still in line with the budget which would leave a reasonable balance in the current account at the year end. The clerk recommended that VAT be claimed before the end of the financial year which was agreed.
Action GP
No invoices had been received for grass mowing for either the 2017 or 2018 season, despite the clerk having met with the contractor in the summer and given him the contact details. It was felt that no more could be done.
There were still several problems with PAYE despite considerable help from a friend of the council.
Professional accountants were unable to help as they were not familiar with the HMRC’s Basic Tool which Parish Councils were expected to use. C. Hunt had a contact who had formerly been clerk to a Parish Council and offered to ask if she would be willing to help.
Action CH
The statement for the current account routinely arrived around the 21st of the month, this presented a very tight deadline for getting the accounts audited internally before they had to be submitted to the external auditors. C. Cuckson offered to contact the bank to request an earlier date, bearing in mind that the statement needed to cover all transactions up to the end of the month.
Action CC
06/19 Precept – this was formally approved and signed off in line with the estimate agreed at the last meeting. The clerk undertook to ensure that it was delivered to WLDC before the deadline of 25th January.
Action GP
07/19 Cottage insurance – this was due for renewal by 5th February, the clerk outlined the cover provided and reminded councillors that they had agreed to a three-year undertaking in 2018 in order to secure a discount. He was authorised to renew the insurance once it came through.
Action GP
08/19 Correspondence
a) Highways consent for re-siting the phone box had been received with several provisos;
- The exact position was to be agreed on site with their representative
- The date of erection was to be agreed in advance with their representative
- The Parish council must contact the utility companies before the work was undertaken
The clerk agreed to ensure that these requirements were met.
Action GP
There were also various insurance requirements, the clerk had checked that these were in place.
Standard Health and Safety measures must be taken which the Parish Council agreed to ensure.
b) Citizens Advice funding request – it was agreed to donate £100 as in 2018 Action GP
c) LALC training programme This was publicised but no training needs were identified.
d) Leeds East Airport Airspace Consultation – this seemed a strange communication given the geographical distance. It was agreed that it had probably been sent to Kexby Parish Council in Lincolnshire in mistake for Kexby in Yorkshire. It was agreed that it should be disregarded.
09/19 Clerk’s position – the clerk had tendered his resignation before Christmas due to IT issues, in particular HMRC requirements. He was asked to reconsider and agreed to remain in post if given support with the PAYE issue.
10/19 Any Other Business – further discussion of the magazine but no change to earlier resolution.
11/19 Date of next meeting – provisional date 7th March but the clerk was unavailable it was agreed to re-schedule for 7:30pm on Thursday 14th March 2019.