May 2024 Minutes

Minutes of the Keelby Parish Council Meeting

Held in the Village Hall on Tuesday 7th May 2024

Those Present: Councillors, S Knight, R Dannatt, T Wright, C Tym, P Wilks, G Lovatt, T Bentham, M Wright, R Bedwell and M Turner

In Attendance: Cllr O Bierley 

1. To receive nominations for Chair and Vice Chair - Ref 24/66

Cllr G Lovatt proposed Cllr T Wright for Chair which was seconded by Cllr T Bentham

Cllr R Dannatt proposed Cllr S Knight for Chair which was seconded by Cllr P Wilks

Cllr T Wright received 5 votes, Cllr S Knight received 2 votes.  There was one abstention.

Cllr T Wright thanked Cllr S Knight for her work over the last 2 years as Chair and welcomed Cllr R Bedwell onto the council.

Cllr T Wright nominated Cllr M Turner as Vice Chair which was seconded by Cllr G Lovatt.

No further nominations were received so Cllr M Turner was elected as vice chair.

2. Apologies - Ref 24/67- Cllr A Lawrence, Cllr T Smith

3. To receive dispensations and declarations of interest under the Localism Act 2011 – being any pecuniary or on-pecuniary interest in agenda items not previously recorded on Members’ Register of interest Ref 24/68 – none

4. Public Question Time Ref - 24/69

No members of the public were present.

5. County Councillors Report - Ref 24/70

Cllr Smith updates are circulated when received and there were no comments on these. 

6. District Councillors Report - Ref 24/71

Cllr Bierley had sent through his report which had been circulated to councillors. Cllr O Bierley wished to congratulate Cllr T Wright and Cllr M Turner on their elections and thanked Cllr S Knight and Cllr R Dannatt on their excellent service.  He also wanted to say on behalf of the residents of Keelby a huge thank you to all councillors for their time and effort that they put in. 

7. Allocation of Councillor duties – Ref 24/72

Village Hall, Library and Youth Club to remain with Cllr T Bentham, KSA representatives - Cllr M Wright and Cllr M Turner, Lead for Handyperson - Cllr G Lovatt, HR Committee - Cllr M Turner (Chair) Cllr R Bedwell, Cllr G Lovatt, Allotments - Cllr S Knight, Community Speed Watch-  Cllr G Lovatt, Brightening Keelby - Cllr T Wright, Defibrillator monthly checks - Cllr C Tym, Play area inspections - Cllr T Bentham to continue with these until the handyperson takes them on.

8. To approve the minutes of the Parish Council Meetings held on 2nd April 2024 - Ref 24/73

Concerns had been raised by Cllr K Stark stating that the detail in the correspondence section was in more detail than what was usually written in the minutes. A vote was taken on the accuracy of the minutes.  5 votes for, 1 against and 4 abstained.

It was therefore resolved that the minutes were an accurate record of the meeting. It was agreed going forward that any email sent to Councillors for comment (e.g. draft minutes) that requires a response, if a reply is not received from any Councillor within 7 days it will be assumed that there are no comments necessary.

9. Clerk’s report – Ref 24/74

The payroll company has informed us that the payments of salary must be the same date as the RTI and in the month that they were worked.  The clerk had spoken to them and agreed a RTI/payment date of the 30th of every month.  The clerk suggested that she produces a list of regular payments which would include the wages that council could approve for the year (as per our financial regulations 1.45).  The minimum hours (20) for the handyman could be approved in this way along with the salary for the clerk which is the same each month.  Any hours over the minimum worked by the handyman could be approved at the meeting the following month and paid on the 30th of that month.  

Cllr T Wright proposed that the clerk produces this list for approval at the next meeting.  This was seconded by Cllr C Tym. A vote was taken 7 for and 3 abstained.

A new financial regulations model document has been produced by LALC.  Cllr M Turner and Cllr M Wright agreed to support the clerk in looking at this and bringing it to the next meeting for approval.

10. Financial Matters – Ref 24/75

The payment schedule was checked by Cllr M Turner and signed by Cllr T Bentham.  It was proposed, seconded, and resolved to approve the payments listed.  

Invoice

Date        Supplier     Description            Gross Bank Payee

03/04/24 Currys        Business Laptop    £581.66  

09/04/24 Peacock & Binnington Service to Toro £435.90  

09/04/24 Peacock & Binnington Service Stihl Strimmer £95.63  

11/04/24 Zurich Insurance Additional premium for skate park £91.94  

12/04/24 Peacock & Binnington Service Stihl Blower £128.31  

12/04/24 Autela Payroll Services Payroll services Jan - Mar 24 £78.33  

19/04/24 Northern Powergrid Power to playing field LVRG £3,829.31  

29/04/24 Mr S Davis Internal Audit of accounts £60.00  

30/04/24 HMRC Month 1 PAYE £115.00  

30/04/24 Staff Costs April £783.91  

01/05/24 Multidata Broadband May £48.96  

01/05/24 Fuel Genie Fuel April £55.10  

01/05/24 Groundboss 2 cuts April £144.00  

07/05/24 Caistor Garden Machinery 2 Stroke oil £27.96 P Wilks

07/05/24 BPI Auctions Lockable fuel storage box £151.20 P Wilks

07/05/24 Oaklands Nurseries Plants for cycle track £110.00 P Wilks

AGAR - Clerk had previously circulated the income and expenditure for statements for 23-24, the asset register, Internal auditors report, Annual Governance Statement, Annual Accounting Statement, bank reconciliation and dates to be exercised which were 3rd June to 12th July. It was proposed, seconded, and resolved to receive and approve the AGAR pack as presented with a unanimous vote.

11. Reports from external organisations - Ref 24/76

Sports Association – Cllr M Turner thanked everyone for attending the recent KSA meeting and said that he now believes that we now have an Operational Framework document which is acceptable to both parties.  Cllr S Knight and Cllr C Tym commented on some typos which the clerk agreed to amend.  Cllr R Dannatt to clarify whether the operational tests are monthly or annually.  Subject to these amendments Cllr M Turner proposed that this document is accepted and carried forward for review in 2 years. This was seconded by Cllr M Wright.  The vote resulted in 7 for and 3 abstained so this proposal was carried.  Some points raised by Cllr R Dannatt were discussed at the meeting and it was agreed that they were changed or not included in the document; these items were that all money gained from the hire of the complex should go to the KSA; a termination notice period of 3 months should be inserted and the new document should be a licence and not a framework. 

Cllr T Wright requested that in the future all paragraphs should be numbered to make easier reading and all documents issued should have a version number.  

Cllr T Wright thanked Cllr S Knight and Cllr M Turner for their work in getting this document completed.  Cllr P Wilks wanted to express his concerns regarding applying for grants for 3g pitches and the environmental impact when it comes to the disposal of them.

Community Speed Watch –Cllr G Lovatt reported that there have been 2 sessions this month.  The first session out of 100 vehicles 4 were exceeding the speed limit and in the second session 7 were exceeding the limit.  Cllr G Lovatt said that he thinks Police assistance is needed to assist with the speeding vehicles.  Cllr S Knight raised the fact that lorries are coming through the village.  There is a 7.5-ton limit on a small stretch of road on Yarborough Road but no restrictions on South Street or Broadway so there is nothing to stop lorries using these roads to avoid the restricted part of Yarborough Road.  This could be discussed at a future meeting. There were concerns as the results from the mobile speed signs show a vehicle travelling at 60pmh as it went past the Co-op sign and was still travelling at 55mph past the Yarborough Road sign.  Clerk to look into whether the police still hold the Police Forum meetings as there doesn’t seem to have been one for a while.  

Cllr G Lovatt is having a stall at the gala with the hope of recruiting some more volunteers for the community speed watch.

Village Hall – Cllr T Bentham said that they have been awarded £9k by WLDC towards the cost of the roof renovations.  Cllr T Bentham to find out how far off they are to having the full amount for the repairs.  The AGM is on the 15th May and Cllr T Bentham will attend. 

Library and Youth Club – The library is doing well and are trying to get the school more engaged.  The kitchen renovations are approved and ongoing.  The Youth Club has not re-opened so there is to be a meeting soon to discuss if the leader vacancy needs to be readvertised.

Allotments – Cllr S Knight reported that the secretary had been in touch to say that there have been sightings of rats on the allotments.  The allotment society have now purchased rat boxes and poison at a cost of £80.88.  Cllr S Knight said that on the advice of LALC she has informed the allotment society that they should have trustees.  The secretary has said that she assumes that the chairman, secretary and treasurer are the trustees so Cllr S Knight has requested that this gets ratified at their next meeting.

12. Parish Matters Ref 24/77

• Play area & Old Tennis Courts Opening event – to be arranged when the work has been completed.  Cllr M Turner offered to paint the railings where the bush has been removed.

• Dead Tree at Sports Field – Clerk had spoken to Mrs Burt who said that the tree will be removed at harvest as the field is currently under crop. 

• Update on Alice South – Cllr S Knight said she will bring the report to the next meeting.  Cllr T Wright queried the amount of income that was posted for the 21-22 year.  Cllr S Knight will check this.

• Update on village entrance signs – Cllr R Dannatt had previously shared the designs.

Cllr R Dannatt will get the two pictures from the school and the others will be probably the photos of the church and village hall.  

• Memorial bench – The Caistor Lions have offered to install a bench.  Clerk to get prices for a bench for consideration the next meeting.

• Felled tree on Victoria Road – Cllr O Bierley has referred this to the tree officer at WLDC and has not heard back yet.

• Grass cutting on the playing field – Cllr S Knight noticed that the grass is not getting cut up the boundary at the back of the field near the houses.  Clerk to ask the contractor if there is a problem why they are not cutting it.

• Cemetery boundaries – the field next to the cemetery is getting very overgrown and the weeds are now encroaching into the cemetery.  The fence between the cemetery and the paddock has been removed and replaced with a rope. The fence at the back of the cemetery near the bungalow has also had the fence removed. Cllr S Knight confirmed that both fences were ours and neither should have been removed.  The clerk queried if they were definitely our fences as she has been trying for some time to get confirmation of who is responsible for the boundary fences but hadn’t managed to establish ownership of them.  Cllr S Knight confirmed that she was a councillor when the fencing was done so has knowledge of this.  Cllr S Knight has approached the residents of the bungalow who have said that another fence is going to be erected.  The clerk was asked to try and arrange a meeting with the owners of the paddock to discuss the fence in between the paddock and the cemetery.

13. Correspondence - Ref 24/78

1. An email has been received from Cllr K Stark resigning from the council.  Clerk to write to Katie to thank her for her work over the years.

2. An email has been received from Steve Watson asking if there is anyone on the council who requires a first aid course.  Discussions took place as to whether the handyperson needs this training.  Clerk to find out if there is a legal requirement for us to have a trained first aider. 

14. The position of the handyman – Ref 24/79 – Cllr T Wright advised that 4 candidates have been invited for an interview on the 14th May. 

Cllr M Wright proposed that the HR committee should send an email to the councillors advising them of their preferred candidate so that the whole council can consider it and then approve the appointment electronically. This will enable the appointment to be made quickly and it will be ratified at the next meeting on 4th June.  Council are keen for the training to be completed and that there is an overlap and handover period with the current handyman. This was seconded by Cllr C Tym.  9 voted for this proposal and 1 abstained.

15. Planning applications - Ref 24/80 – none received.

16. Review of policies - Ref 24/81 – Clerk advised that we should be issuing a deed giving exclusive rights of burial.  It was proposed, seconded and resolved that we start to grant these exclusive rights of burial deeds for a maximum of 100 years and state that there is to be a maximum of 2 owners.  It is proposed, seconded and resolved to grant the right to erect a memorial for 10 years.  This will help us to keep in touch with the owners.  

17. Agenda items for the next meeting - Ref 24/82 – none

18. Date and time of next meeting - Ref 24/83

The Annual Parish Council meeting is on Tuesday 4th June at 19:00 in the Village Hall 

Meeting closed at 20:55