2020 Parish Council Minutes of Meetings

WIGTOFT PARISH COUNCIL

PHONE: 07383 276892
EMAIL: wigtoftpc@gmail.com
WEBSITE: www.wigtoft.parish.lincolnshire.gov.uk/

MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF WIGTOFT PARISH COUNCIL HELD ON 3 February 2020.

Present:                 Cllr S Collingwood; Cllr S Baxter; Cllr G Wright; Cllr S Brigham; Cllr S Smith; Cllr B Leggott

Also Present:       One member of the public

Public forum        Vice-Chairman, Cllr Graeme Wright who was standing in for the Chairman Cllr Peter Craven, welcomed the member of the public and introduced himself. The member of the public addressed the Council to ask for help in getting some footpaths cleared. Boston Borough Council and Lincs County Council have been approached many times. The footpath and gutters in question run from Mill Lane to Burtoft Lane (excluding the area in from of the Council houses. The footpath in front of the chicken farm is covered in green slime which can be slippery when wet. County Councillor M. Brookes offered to speak with LCC and BBC direct. Clerk to log onto the LCC data base and keep the member of the public informed.

Chairman’s remarks – none.

121/19  Apologies for absence and reasons given

Cllr PC sent his apologies. It was resolved to accept his apology and reason for absence.

122/19  To receive any declarations of interest in accordance with the Localism Act 2011.

None.

123/19  Police report

None

124/19  Notes of the meeting held on 2.12.19 and 9.12.19 to be confirmed and signed as minutes.

It was resolved to accept the above notes. The notes were confirmed and signed as minutes by the Chairman.

125/19  Financial matters: Accounts for payment for December and January; budget figures and financial report

There were two lists of payments as there was no meeting in January.

Finance report     The VAT refund of £190.58 has finally been received.

It was resolved to agree the payment schedules and the up to date budget figures. ACTION: Clerk to make payments and add budget to the website.

126/19  Correspondence received since the December 2019 meeting

22.12.19                 E mail from LALC asking for nomination for Buckingham Palace Garden Party                                                      e mailed to Councillors 31.12.19

6.1.20                     LALC e news w/c 6.1.20                                      e mailed to Councillors 14.1.20

20.1.20                  LALC e news w/c 20.1.20                                   e mailed to Councillors 22.1.20

28.1.20                  LALC e news w/c 27.1.20                                   e mailed to Councillors 29.1.20

127/19  Councillor’s reports

Cllr SB – commented on the state of the footpaths and agreed with the comments made in the public forum.

Cllr SS – A resident has raised the need for the wildlife garden to be tidied up. The Clerk advised that Cllr PC is to attend to this when the weather permits. A resident has asked if she can plant a tree in the wildlife garden in her name. It was resolved that this should be an agenda item for the next meeting. There is a pothole on the edge of the road just at the entry to the village hall car park. ACTION: Clerk to report to LCC. A mattress has been fly tipped at the junction of Golden Grove/Clover Lane. ACTION: Clerk to report to Boston Borough Council.

Cllr BL – requested that the poor surface on Green Lane be re-reported to LCC. ACTION: Clerk to report. He also requested that the clerk chase for an update on the request for the repair to the 2 road signs. ACTION: Clerk to chase.

128/19  Clerk’s report

The Clerk advises Council that the hours worked and not yet paid now stand at 0. There are 14.6 hours holiday entitlement outstanding up to 31.3.20. In line with the decision made at the last meeting, any outstanding unpaid hours will be paid prior to the end of the current financial year.

The two replacement street lights have been fitted.

The work on the trees in the playing field will be completed when the ground has dried up.

Notification has been received from LCC that a new website for Parish Councils has been set up and the existing websites will be closed down on 30.4.20. LCC are providing training which is likely to be at the LALC offices in Dunston. I have asked if there will be any on line training and have been told there will not be. I have also e-mailed Boston Borough Council to ask if they would have meeting facilities to hold a more local training session. A reply has been received confirming that they are liaising with LALC.

The broken road signs on Green Lane/Burtoft Lane South and Burtoft Lane North/A17 have been reported to Boston Borough Council.

No interest has been shown in entering the annual Best Kept Village competition following the request in Wigtoft News & Views asking for residents’ opinions about entering and asking for volunteers.

129/19  To review and decide on the quotes for the grass cutting

Quotes had been received from 3 contractors. Councillors considered the quotes and decided that flexibility around the number of cuts was as important as the cost as they like to keep the grass cut quite short. It was resolved to award the work to Appleby Services at a cost of £70 per cut. It was resolved that the budget figure for grass cutting that had been set for 20/21 is to remain the same and surplus funds will be used to cover the additional cost. It was also resolved to review this course of action at the end of this year.

130/19  To agree the dates for the meetings June 20 to May 21

The Clerk had prepared a list of dates and forwarded it to the Councillors prior to the meeting. It was resolved to accept the dates. ACTION: Clerk to publish dates on the website and on the noticeboard. Clerk to forward list to book the dates with the village hall.

131/19  To discuss the plans for the Annual Parish Meeting to be held prior to the March meeting on 2.3.20

It had previously been decided to hold the above meeting at 6.30 pm on the 2nd March 2020 prior to the usual monthly meeting at 7 pm. The meeting had been advertised in Wigtoft News and Views to ensure residents are aware of the meeting. It was resolved to invite representatives from the Village Hall Committee, the Bowls Club, the Gardening Club, the Parochial Church Council and Wigtoft News and Views

132/19  To receive and review the November play area inspection undertaken by Cllr SB and the quarterly inspection undertaken by Cllr PC in December.

The December quarterly inspection report had not been received. The November play area report was undertaken by Cllr SB. The only finding was that there is concrete showing around the top of the small embankment slide. ACTION: This area to be checked at the next inspection. Clerk to chase tree cutting and jet washing of play equipment.

133/19  To decide who will complete the Bank Reconciliation check for the period 1.11.19 to 31.12.19

Cllr SB volunteered to undertake this check. It was resolved to accept his offer. ACTION: Clerk to forward paperwork to Cllr SB.

134/19  To decide what action is needed in respect of the Christmas Lights following a report received by a member of the PCC and to review the amount of the donation agreed to the PCC for the electricity used to power the Christmas Lights.

It was resolved that Cllrs GW and SB will have a look at the lights and report back at the next meeting. The clerk had received an e mail advising that the cost of the electricity used to power the Christmas Lights was £73. It was resolved that a donation of £100 would still be made as previously agreed. ACTION: Agenda item for the next meeting.

135/19  To discuss and agree the increase in the annual training scheme cost from £75 to £85 notified on the 17th December 2019.

It was resolved to agree the increase to £85.

136/19  To decide what action to take regarding the e mail received about taking part in the Great British Spring Clean.

It was resolved to investigate the possibility of setting up a regular village litter pick, rather than a one-off clean under the above umbrella. ACTION: Agenda item for the next meeting.

137/19  To review the membership of the Lincolnshire Association of Local Councils.

It was resolved to renew the membership from the 1st April 2020 at a cost of £158.36.

138/19  To review any regular payments

There are 3 regular payments made each month: Clerk Use of Home as Office, £20; HP Instant Ink, £6.66 and Abbey Payroll Services, £18 per month. It was resolved to continue with these regular payments for the next financial year.

139/19  To review the guidelines for Councillors’ use of personal e mail.

Councillors were reminded that they must not use a shared e mail address, that all Council correspondence received must be treated as confidential and that they must not store any data which includes personal information. The clerk advised Councillors that it is not the practice of this Council to send out any personal information by e mail. ACTION: Clerk to remind Councillors again at the May meeting.

Meeting closed at 20:07

Next meeting is the Annual Parish Meeting on the 2nd March 2020 at 18:30 followed by the March monthly meeting at 19:00.