May 2023 Minutes Annual Parish Council Meeting
Kettlethorpe Parish Council
Minutes of the meeting of the Annual General Meeting of the Parish Council held on Tuesday 9th May 2023 following the Parish Meeting in Kettlethorpe Village Hall
PRESENT:
Cllr R Elliott
Cllr R Barnard
Cllr C Turner
Cllr T O’Callaghan
Mr Geoff Cleworth, Clerk
APOLOGIES
Cllr J Willis
Cllr Elliott expressed the wish to stand down as Chair. Cllr Turner was proposed by Cllr O’Callaghan and seconded by Cllr Barnard and was unanimously elected as to succeed him. The election of a Vice-Chair was deferred until the next meeting. On behalf of the Council, Cllr Turner thanked Cllr Elliott for his service as Chair for the past five years.
MINUTES OF THE LAST MEETING
The Minutes of the meeting held on 11th April 2023 had been circulated to all councillors and were proposed, seconded and approved by all Councillors.
PROGRESS REPORTS
Jubilee Park
There had been no progress in. Cllr Elliott’s enquiries regarding an alternative contractor to re-instal the missing bricks, although one possibility was checking his insurance cover. The Council’s insurers had advised that we would not be covered if councillors undertake the installation of the new springies.
On a separate matter, Cllr Elliott will ask the same contractor if he could undertake the treatment of the park’s fence panels.
Christmas lights
The Clerk had received no reply from SSE regarding a power supply. It was decided to pursue tthe fitting of an exterior power socket at the Clerk’s address. The Clerk will enquire with Martin Flinders regarding this work.
Parish notice boards
There had been no progress. It was decided to leave the matter and factor the cost of replacement(s) into the 2024/25 Precept. The Clerk will diarise. He will also look at eBay regarding a possibility of obtaining a second hand notice board.
Update of website
The Clerk had encountered problems with the course at LALC. He was looking to get one-to-one training and access to the website. Cllr Turner will continue until this has been done.
Contribution to Church grass cutting expenses
The Clerk was authorised to pay the costs for 2022. It was decided to sow the cemetery with wild flowers in 2024. This cannot be done until our contract with All Round Gardens expires. It will be placed on the agenda for the July meeting to discuss further.
Speeding
Mr C Smith was looking into the details for Community Speed Watch, but Cllr Elliott was not confident that he would agree to head up the project. Mr J Kyme was looking into the supply of a more serviceable battery for Smiley Sid. Cllr Turner will add a plea for help from residents in the next flyer.
The Clerk advised the meeting that as things stood, it would be lawful for speeds of up to 60mph from Fenton into Kettlethorpe village. Attempts had been made in the past to set a speed limit for this road, and the Clerk will attempt to resurrect this project.
Dog fouling / dogs attacking parishioners
A letter had arrived via Mr Gee from a Fenton resident who had encountered problems with aggressive dogs at the property adjacent to the Village Hall. He had responded to the writer to advise that it was the duty of victims to report such incidents to the Police.
Facebook account
The Clerk had opened a new account designated Kettlethorpe Laughterton Parish Council. He was asked to pass on the Councils thanks to ex-Cllr Smith for her efforts in running the old one.
LOCAL POLICING ISSUES
The Police crime report for April had been received. Two incidents affected the Parish, These involved thefts in Kettlethorpe.
CORRESPONDENCE
Correspondence for April/May to date had been distributed to all Councillors.
PLANNING
Application reference 144120
The Clerk had received a confusing email from Severn Trent Water. He had replied asking for clarification and will allow a week before raising the matter with the Ombudsman.
FINANCE
The VAT claim of £1301.99 had been received.
The payment of the following invoice for April/May to date were agreed by the Council:
already paid: F5 COMPUTING – 2 x invoices re monthly charges - £40.86 each; All Round Gardens £230.00; Kettlethorpe Church – grass cutting contribution for 2021 - £520.00; HSBC monthly charge £8.00; Mrs F A Simpson re auditor’s fee - £50.00; reimburse Clerk for printer ink £82.41
CLERK – PAYE AND SALARY for April had been paid.
PARISH ACCOUNTS
end of April – balance £19194.00; expenditure £1418.77
These were agreed and accepted by the meeting
The Council’s insurers had provided a quote and proforma invoice for 2023/24 which amounted to £592.37. This was agreed by the meeting. The meeting agreed to the long term agreement proposed by Gallagher.
Following the successful internal audit, the Clerk will submit the completed AGAR forms. On sign-off, we have a statutory duty to display the accounts on the website for a calendar month, including the first ten working days of July. The Clerk proposed doing this for the whole month of July and this was agreed.
ITEMS FOR DISCUSSION
(1) Whilst dealing with an enquiry for burial plots, the Clerk had spotted an anomaly in the cemetery rules, in that they specifically allow two interments of cremated remains in one plot, they are silent with regard to multiple coffin burials. It was felt that there might be geological reasons why two coffins in one plot might not be possible. Cllr Elliott will enquire with Mr V Dolling as to whether he knows of any reason. The next meeting will then consider an amendment to the rules to cover this point.
(2) The Clerk reminded the meeting of a discussion in late 2022 about planting out the various flower troughs around the villages. Cllr Elliott will look into prices and was awarded a budget of £100 for the purpose.
(3) A letter had been forwarded via Mr Gee from a group seeking to establish a bridleway on the riverbank at the end of Marsh Lane. This was a request to provide details of the owner of a section of Marsh Lane. Cllr O’Callaghan will pass on the sender’s contact details to the owner to progress this if they wish to, otherwise the matter will be left on the table.
DATE OF NEXT MEETING
The next meeting will take place in Kettlethorpe Village Hall at 7pm on Tuesday 13th June 2023.
The Chair closed the meeting at 8.35pm.