June 2024 Minutes
PUBLIC FORUM
• A resident reported that the painting of the interior of the Telephone Box had now been completed, the Council thanked the resident for their time taken to do this. The resident also reported that BT Open Reach had now replaced the broken glass panel in the telephone box. The resident to bring the left over paint to be stored in the Parish Cupboard in the Village Hall.
• A resident asked if it was the Parish Council’s responsibility to cut the public footpaths. It was confirmed that it was not, but that we cut the Kissing Gate footpath as so widely used, and otherwise it would be impossible to walk it. They reported that the footpath from opposite Grange Lane to the back of St Andrew’s was virtually impassable. Clerk to email LCC again.
• A resident reported that she had put new plants in the planter on the Main Road and was thanks (reimbursed at meeting).
Record of Members Present:
Present - Cllr Matthew Wright (MW) (Chair), Cllr Tina Bryan (TTB), Cllr Robert Newton (RN), Cllr Marc Traves (MT).
Not Present – Cllr Terry Buckley (TB)
In Attendance – Clerk: Maria Vincent and 4 members of the public.
11 Apologies Received
Cllr Terry Buckley.
12 To receive any Declarations of Interest under the Localism Act 2011
Cllr TTB regarding items relating to the Village Hall as a member of the Village Hall Management Committee.
13 Minutes
a) It was RESOLVED to approve the minutes of Annual Parish Council Meeting 8th May 2024 as correct and the Chairman signed them.
b) The minutes of the Annual Parish Meeting held of 8th May 2024 were noted.
14 Council Matters, Actions and Communications
a) Chairman’s Remarks No remarks.
b) Clerk’s Report – The Clerk reported that she had given notice of her resignation as Clerk & RFO but would stay in post until the 30th September 2024 unless the post was filled before that date. It was RESOLVED that the Clerk was organise the documentation required to advertise the position, and do this as soon as possible through Clerks’ network, LALC, Facebook and relevant job websites such as Indeed.
c) General Election - No change of date to the Parish Council’s July meeting was felt necessary.
d) Councillor Vacancy – It was RESOLVED that following notification from ELDC that an election had not been called, to set the date for the co-options to be 3rd July (the next UPC meeting). Clerk to advertise on Facebook and website.
e) Consultations: None
f) Communications: Information regarding campaign ref safety of lithium batteries was noted. Email regarding smoke pollution sent to Cllr MW was read out and it was RESOLVED that the Clerk include an advert in the next edition of the Utterby Voice (draft sent to councillors). The Clerk would WhatsApp the date of the Lincolnshire Police online meeting so a councillor could volunteer to attend.
g) It was RESOLVED to accept the new Model Financial Regulations from NALC 2024 with an alteration to the budget forecasts; That they be only required for one year forecast and not 3 years forecast.
h) It was RESOLVED that the Display Screen Equipment checklist (HSE) be implemented by the Clerk on an annual basis (in May).
15 Finance and Budgets
a) AGAR – It was noted that the AGAR had been sent by email and received by PKF Littlejohn LLP and that the information was now on the website and PC notice board.
b) Grant funding from Utterby Village Hall – Note that this item was discussed later in the meeting in conjunction with the item on the defibrillator. It was RESOLVED that the application for grant funding from Utterby Village Hall of £500 be granted for this year.
c) Budgets – It was RESOLVED that £500 be moved from ‘village projects’ to ‘Grants including S137’ to cover the grant awarded to the Village Hall.
d) Payments: It was RESOLVED to accept payments and to note that two Councillors authorising the payment must check all invoices prior to authorisation, and that the Chair of the meeting must sign the payment schedule. Dave Skells Traffic Management Ltd 1 cuts to village green and verges £186.00, DW Gibbs June cleaning of Bus Shelters and Tel box £30.00, HM Revenue and Customs Only120PX00376161 May Tax £9.00, Clerk Salary, home expenses and mileage May, £245.07 DHB Gardening Services footpath strim April and hedge Village Green and Church Lane £200.00 TOTAL £670.07
e) Banking – It was RESOLVED to remove the signatory authority of N Makin (resigned as councillor last month) and to have the three currently named signatories Cllr Tina Bryan, Cllr Matthew Wright and Cllr Terry Buckley remain as signatories. Cllrs TTB and MW signed the mandate.
16 Planning
a) No urgent applications to consider.
17 Parish Council Amenities (bus shelters, village green, etc)
a) Verges and Village Green – Nothing to report.
b) Trees – It was noted that David Buckley was doing some work on stabilising a few trees on the village green.
c) Bus shelters and Telephone Box – Telephone box now painted thanks for local resident. Broken glass now replaced by BT Open Reach.
d) Kissing Gates – Still to be looked at to see if able to mend or new fence needed (note that LCC need to be consulted if new fencing and no gates can be included).
e) Village Projects Defibrillator – The Clerk read out an email from the Village Hall Chair outlining possibilities about a joint difib project. It was RESOLVED that the council would look at the costs of a difib and put a proposal together to present to the Village Hall.
f) Utterby Voice distribution – It was RESOLVED that an article be included in the magazine asking for photos of the village to be emailed for use in further editions of the magazine and on the website (royalty free), and then include them in a small exhibition at the village hall. The UV should be delivered very early July and Councillors would each distribute the magazine to parts of the village.
18 ELDC/LCC Services (Streetlights, Bins, Highways, Verges, Footpaths, etc)
a) Any urgent issues or updates. It was noted that LCC had vastly increased their contribution towards grass cutting from 3.5p to 5.8p per metre squared, totalling an increase of £763 to £1,922.00. The Clerk had emailed to check that this was correct and it was confirmed.
19 Notifications
None.
20 Date and time of Next Meeting
It was noted that that the next Parish Council Meeting was at 7pm on July 3rd in the Village Hall, Utterby.
Meeting finished at 8:12pm.
Signed ___________________ Date________________________