May 2022 DRAFT Minutes Annual Parish Council Meeting
KEXBY PARISH COUNCIL
Minutes of a meeting held on 19th May 2022 (Annual Meeting)
These minutes are in draft form and may be amended
Present; Cllrs. R. Gore (Chair), S. Farrow, C. Cuckson, L. Hoggarth, D. Forrest, D. Edwardson
In attendance; Cllr. J. Milne (WLDC)
Apologies; had been received from Cllr. C. Hunt, these were accepted
16/22 Election of Officers;
Chair – R. Gore proposed by C. Cuckson, seconded by S. Farrow, agreed unanimously
Vice Chair – C. Hunt proposed by D. Forrest, seconded by D. Edwardson, agreed unanimously
17/22 Minutes of meeting held on 9th March 2022 – these had been circulated and published on the website and on the village notice board. They were accepted as a true record and signed off by the Chairman.
18/22 Matters arising
a) Broadband – Hayley Silvester had left Quickline and been replaced by Nick Shoot with whom the Chairman had corresponded. Indications of progress for Upton & Kexby were far more vague than they had been following the drop-in session earlier in the year. The Chairman and Clerk would continue to monitor the situation.
b) Parish Cottage – renewal of tenancy agreement still outstanding
c) Platinum Jubilee – the key organiser, Sue Roberts would provide an update at the Annual Parish Meeting
d) Footpath Kexby Lane – the potholes had been filled but the surface was still unfit for pushchairs, wheelchairs, etc. The Clerk was asked to write to Highways to express concern and to see if anything better could be done.
Action GP
e) Post Office – the service was still unreliable and invoices raised since December had not been paid. The Chairman had recently spoken to the local MP on another matter and raised the issue with him once again, he promised to follow this up. It appeared that the MP had as much difficulty in finding a named individual to take responsibility as did the Chairman.
f) Fly tipping – had been cleared by WLDC but was likely to be an on-going issue.
g) Potholes Glentworth Road – the Council had returned and filled in some more of these but the road surface was extremely poor and no attempt had been made to fill in the holes on the bridge over the Till. The Clerk was asked to include these concerns with the letter to Highways regarding Kexby Lane footpath.
Action GP
h) Post box – this had been painted and looked much smarter.
i) Jubilee tree – this was still potted, Cllr. Milne would deliver it to Cllr. Hoggarth who had agreed to care for it until planting time. A planting site had yet to be agreed.
19/22 Defibrillator – the unit on the south end of the village hall had been temporarily decommissioned due to the battery and pads having expired and there being a 14 – 16 week waiting list for replacements. The Clerk had put a notice on the unit advising that it was out of order and giving the location of two alternatives.
20/22 Correspondence
a) Jack Bowles – had written to advise the parish council on his progress with litter picking as part of his voluntary work for his Duke of Edinburgh Gold Award. He had successfully applied to WLDC for a new dog waste bin to be placed at the north end of High Street and a new litter bin to be sited outside the village hall.
b) Kexby Lane Resident – had complained about the poor repairs to the footpath, action had been agreed earlier.
c) Lincs and Notts “Ride of Thanks” – notification had been received that a convoy of motor cycles would be passing through the village on Sunday 4th September. This was part of a fund raising circuit from the Newark Show Ground touring villages of the two counties to raise money for Linc & Notts Air Ambulance and for the Emergency Blood Bikes Service. The Clerk was asked to publicise the event on the village website, facebook, and in the next newsletter.
Action GP
d) Voluntary Engagement Team – a letter had been received outlining the arrangements for resettlement and empowering Ukrainian refugees.
21/22 Financial Report – the accounts had been passed by the internal auditor, a copy of the balance sheet was distributed and explained. The Clerk had prepared the Annual Governance and Accountability Return which included a Certificate of Exemption from external audit for parishes with a turnover of less than £25,000. Cllr. Hoggarth proposed acceptance of the accounts, seconded by Cllr. Cuckson and agreed unanimously. The Chairman and Clerk signed these off and the Clerk was asked to file them on the website.
Action GP
A period of Exercise of Public Rights, where the public would have access to the accounts by prior arrangement, was agreed from 13th June – 22nd July. Cllr. Cuckson agreed to hold the accounts during this period as the Clerk would be away at the start of July which was the statutory element of the period.
22/22 Zurich Insurance - policy due for renewal from 1st June but no renewal notice had been received to date, the Clerk was asked to follow this up. It would be the final year of a five year agreement so there was no requirement to approve the rate.
Action GP
23/22 Any Other Business
a) Email addresses – LALC had advised that personal emails should not be used for Parish Council Business, the Chairman agreed to look into setting up dedicated addresses for the Clerk and all members of the Parish Council.
Action RG
b) Village Hall Meeting – Cllr Hoggarth asked if the Clerk had received a request to raise the issue of the village hall charge for the Jubilee weekend at this meeting. The Clerk was not aware of any such request, the fact that the village hall committee had agreed to charge half rate for the weekend (since there would be some additional costs and the hall would not be available for external letting) had been discussed at both the previous parish council meeting and the village hall committee meeting.
Date of next Meeting – Wednesday 13th July 6:30pm in the village hall