November 2022 Minutes
KEXBY PARISH COUNCIL
Minutes of a meeting held on 9th November 2022
Present; Cllrs. R. Gore (Chair), D. Forrest, L. Hoggarth, C. Cuckson, D. Edwardson
In attendance; Mr D. Strollo
Apologies; were accepted from Cllr. S. Farrow
43/22 Minutes of meeting held on 21st September 2022 – these had been circulated, they were accepted as a true record, (proposed by D. Forrest, seconded by D. Edwardson) and signed off by the Chairman.
44/22 Maters arising
a) Broadband – Quickline had arranged drop-in sessions in Willingham, Kexby and Upton, all parishioners should have received an invitation through the post. At a recent WLDC Broadband Forum it was stated that provision would be delivered to Kexby by January 2023. The question of whether telephone landlines would be available was raised, the Clerk would raise this at one of the drop-in sessions and report back at the next meeting.
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b) Vacancy – following the resignation of Cllr. Hunt. No request for an election had been received by WLDC so the Parish Council had been given permission to co-opt a new member to serve until the present terms expired (9th May 2023). Mr Danny Strollo had expressed a willingness to serve and was duly co-opted. The Clerk would arrange for the necessary paperwork to be completed and returned to WLDC.
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c) Post Office – payment of the arrears for the hire of the hall had now been received by the village hall committee. Attendance had been more regular recently but there was still concern regarding lack of cover for sickness and holidays.
d) Kexby Lane Footpath – LCC had acknowledged that the footpath was in a very poor state of repair and did not meet their specifications. However, there were footpaths elsewhere which had a higher priority and, with current budget constraints, it could be some time before a more substantial repair could be carried out.
e) Email addresses – the provision of council specific email addresses had not been resolved.
f) HMRC penalty notice – this had been revoked so there was nothing to pay
g) Village Hall EGM – it was agreed that hire charges should be increased to cover increased costs and that they should be reviewed annually at the AGM. The question of how much was held in the village hall savings account was raised, it was thought to be around £17,000. It was understood that the plan to build an extension for a larger committee room had been deferred, the Clerk was asked to ascertain what the plans were for the money in the savings account.
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45/22 Correspondence – a summery of the relevant correspondence, along with actions taken, had been circulated and would be available with the minutes should any parishioner wish to see it. Notification had been received of a meeting of the 7,000 acre group to discuss the solar panel developments at Glentworth village hall on 22nd November at 7:30pm. The Chairman was intending to attend and encouraged any other councillors who were available to also attend.
Action all
46/22 Financial report - £10,000 had been transferred from the current account to the business reserve account giving a balance of £12,023 and leaving a balance of £3,591 in the current account.
a) 2023 Precept – there would be some election expenses in 2023 (around £450 for an uncontested election and around £3,000 for a contested election). On the basis that there was not usually a contested election it was decided that the estimate for the 2023 precept should be £2,000 as in previous years. In the unlikely event of a contested election there was sufficient money in the business reserve account to cover it. The Clerk would complete the necessary paperwork and inform WLDC.
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b) VAT claim - £606.63 had been reclaimed which included £220 from the Jubilee celebrations. It had been agreed that any such refund should be donated to the new playing equipment fund, the Clerk was asked to arrange this.
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c) Banking arrangements – the Clerk had investigated on-line banking but it did not have provision for two to sign which raised some security issues. It was decided to continue with the present arrangement but to register one more signatory as a reserve. Cllr. Cuckson agreed to undertake this role as, being a Nat West customer, the enrolment process should be straight forward. She would forward details to the Clerk who would instigate the process.
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47/22 Cottage Insurance – this would become due in February 2023, it solely covered rebuilding costs which were currently covered for £167,739. It was felt that this was a reasonable figure and renewal would be discussed at the next meeting by which time the new premium should be known.
48/22 Any other business
a) Village Hall committee – the Clerk had been attending meetings in order to report back to the Parish Council, councillors agreed that they were happy for him to continue to do so.
b) Retiring postman – the postman, who had served the village for many years, was due to retire and the Parish Council had been approached about whether it would be appropriate to hold a small retirement event. Due to ill health he had finished earlier than anticipated and it was felt that, since he had been away from the post for some time, it was no longer appropriate.
49/22 Future meetings – meetings were normally held on the second Wednesday of alternate months. From April 2023 this would clash with the WI using the main hall but it was felt that the committee room was adequate providing it was not used for storage. The Clerk would make bookings accordingly and ask the village hall committee to ensure that the committee room was accessible.
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There being no further business the Chairman closed the meeting at 7:40pm