May 2022 Minutes Annual Parish Meeting
Kettlethorpe Parish Council
Minutes of the Annual Parish Meeting held in the Village Hall, Kettlethorpe
Tuesday 3rd May 2022 at 7.00 p.m.
Present
Cllr Richard Elliott, Chairman,
Cllr. Richard Barnard. V / chairman
Cllr Paul Bussoopun
Cllr Catherine Turner .
Cllr Tim O’Callaghan,
Cllr Jez Willis
Mr Ron Gee, Clerk
Mr Rodger Brownlow guest
1 Apologies
D / Cllr Jane Ellis
2 Minutes of last Annual Parish Meeting
Acceptance of the minutes of the last Annual Parish Meeting which took place on Tuesday, 4th May 2021 were proposed by Councillor Catherine Turner and seconded by Councillor Richard Barnard.
3. Matters arising
None, although the discussion on the Tree Walk involving Mr R Brownlow has been transferred from the start of the meeting to Item 6. Matters for Discussion, to allow continuity.
4.
4.1 Annual Governance Statement - The Annual Parish Accounts for 2021 to 2022 have now been completed and submitted for inspection to Mrs Lynn Peters who kindly stood in as Internal Auditor for Mr Derek Clark, who has been taken ill. She checked and vouched for their accuracy and confirmed that the Council had taken all proper precautions on financial issues throughout the year, thereby complying with the Annual Governance statement, The Chairman asked for a proposal to approve the Annual Governance Statement and acceptance was officially proposed by Councillor Tim O’Callaghan, seconded by Councillor Richard Barnard, and agreed by all.
4.2 Annual Accounts – The clerk reported that at the start of the financial year in April 2021 the total holdings at the bank for the Parish were £10,894.59, The Precept of £9,500 plus other proceeds, brought the total income for the year to £21,512.46, Expenditure to 31st March 2022 was £10,172.27, which left £11,340.19 in the bank, as confirmed by the bank statements and the accounts sheet.
The Chairman thanked the clerk for his Report and his dedication to the job throughout the year and asked, unless there are any questions, for a proposal to accept the Annual Accounts for the year 2021 / 2022. Acceptance was proposed by Councillor Tim O’Callaghan, seconded by Councillor Richard Barnard. It was mentioned that the Council may have to appoint another internal Auditor for the current year, to replace Mr Derek Clark who is unable to continue due to illness.
5. Chairman's Report - **resume - the Chairman commented on the fact that the Police did not attend meetings as frequently as before, possibly due to a lack of staff and finance, but a Crime Report is regularly received each month plus the occasional Newsletter.
He mentioned that maintenance work is always being carried out at Jubilee Park with special attention currently being given to the soft pour surface and the replacement of two Springie ‘rides’.
The Road Safety vehicle now visits on a regular basis and partially as a result of this it was decided not to go ahead with the speed gun, which requires a minimum of 6 volunteers to operate it and suggested that there is always the possibility that enthusiasm could fade after a while, as seen in many other villages.
We now have a new grass cutting team for the Parish, as MKS were unable to continue due to restructuring, and the work is currently carried out by All Round Gardens of Sturton by Stow.
The lack of response from LCC in respect of our continued requests for important footpaths is disappointing, but at least a new bridge has been provided across the Sallie Bank Drain.
The poor quality of workmanship by staff employed by LCC when resurfacing Kettlethorpe Road was noticed. As an example, mud was not being cleared away properly before the tarmac was laid on top and this was reported to the onsite foreman and LCC Highways. Additionally, there was also the failure to cut back the grass verges to the full width of the road as promised.
We are indebted to Laughterton resident, Mr Richard Moore who carried out a superb job of refurbishment to the Propeller Memorial and continues to keep a watchful eye on it in case further maintenance work becomes necessary.
There has been some criticism of the poor quality of the Christmas tree lights in recent years, but this was due to having to cancel the mains power supply because of the company’s excessive charges. The financial problem was resolved with the help of the Ombudsman, and plans are in hand to create a new type of Christmas tree with a more powerful supply using an inverter and a new set of lights.
Street parties to celebrate Her Majesty’s Platinum Jubilee will take place in Laughterton over the weekend of 4th and 5th June, with other events at Kettlethorpe Hall, the Village Hall and the Rectory garden.
Kettlethorpe resident Mr Rodger Brownlow was thanked for his idea of replanting the Avenue of Limes between the Church and the Rectory as a Jubilee Project which it is hoped will be completed before the end of the year. (See item 6.)
The Chairman concluded by thanking the Parochial Church Council and the Village Hall Committee for their hard work in maintaining these facilities for the Parish and offered his personal thanks to the Clerk and the Councillors of this Parish for their time and expertise.
6. Items for Discussion - Tree Walk Kettlethorpe resident Mr. Rodger Brownlow had been checking the price of protection from animals for the new trees and had found what appeared to be suitable shields known as Full Guard, at a price of £180 plus VAT for a galvanised, painted product. These have the facility to be split into two halves allowing the protection to be widened as the trees grow or to be removed when not needed. It was suggested that 15 trees at about £150 each with watering facilities, plus the Full Guard shields will be needed, Mr Brownlow thought that he may have found a few sponsors to support the Walk and Jez suggested that it would be useful if we created a scale of what each donation would ‘earn’ such as, “what you get for your cash”. Catherine suggested putting together a display which she offered to set up, if someone could help with facts, information, and details. Jez thought a map of the Tree Walk might help, indicating what is needed for the trees old and new, the guards, the need for regular fresh water, costs etc and offered to marry up the information. Tim said perhaps we could involve children at the Kettlethorpe Gala by showing them the plans for the Walk or holding a fun event, maybe a barbecue where contributions could be sought from guests.
Chairman’s Report Resume’– The full Report was appended to the AGM minutes and are filed, following these minutes in the Annual Minutes Meeting book.
As there was no further business, the meeting closed at 7.45 pm.