Council Meeting, 22 March 2006

Helmdon Parish Council
Minutes of the meeting of the Helmdon Parish Council
Held on Wednesday 22nd March 2006
In the Reading Room, Church Street, Helmdon at 7.30pm
Present: Councillors Burns, Brookhouse, Moody, Spendlove, Earl, Gittens,
England, and Parish Clerk. Councillor Bearman sent his apologies and arrived later.
There were three members of the public present
1. Apologies: Apologies received from Councillor Smith
2. Approval & Signature of the Minutes for the meeting held on 25th January 2006:
The minutes of the Parish Council meeting held on 25th January 2006
had been circulated and were duly adopted as a true record with a couple of alterations made.
3. Matters Arising:
i) Letter has been sent to Mrs Mechen thanking her for her work on the war memorial garden.
ii) Letter read out by Councillor Gittens regarding the recent cuts highlighting that cuts had been made but not mentioning the recent redundancies. Clerk passed recent notification from NCC to Councillor
Gittens.
iii) Councillor Gittens added that parish path display panels were being erected and asked the council to suggest areas that Helmdons panel should be placed. The council voted that Jenners piece would be a good site. Councillor Spendlove was asked if she could pick the most appropriate site on Jenners piece.
iv) Councillor Moody showed a proposed leaflet of Helmdons footpaths that has recently been drafted by the new Parish Paths Group. They plan to create an A3 leaflet with the aerial view on one side and drawing and text on the other. He advised that the group could raise
£50.00 towards the printing of 500 copies and asked if the Parish
Council could assist with the remaining £200.00. Clerk to put on agenda for next meeting.
4. Open Forum:
i) Audrey Forgham asked if the tenders for grass cutting were like for like this year and it was confirmed that they were.
ii) Brian Short asked if a date for resurfacing had been given yet. No dates had been received at the time of the meeting.
iii) Brian Short asked if the parking bays by The Green could be marked out. Clerk to check with SNC and NCC to ask who would be responsible for this.
iv) Brian Short asked that as further cuts were being made to our police service, would this mean a reduction in our council tax in the areas where less policing was required.
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5. Finance:
Balance as at 22nd March 2006
Current Account
Savings Account
Depreciation Account
£
£
£
9,015.96
8,216.83
0.00
£
£
£
£
£
£
342.99
110.92
99.24
152.75
162.00
867.90
Accounts Payable
Clerks Wages
ABB
Powergen
BDO Stoy Hayward
NALC
Total
All agreed for the payment of the above bills
Accounts Received
£
£ Total
6.
0.00
0.00
Correspondence:
SNC
Electoral register monthly updates January & February
Invitation to receptions at Brackley or Towcester Town Halls
Invitation to civic dinner at Whittlebury Hall
Letter regarding health plan changes poster displayed
Concessionary Travel Token order letter
Quarterly report from animal welfare service
NCC
Atkins – Temporary road closure notice for resurfacing work in
Helmdon
Atkins – Disruption to haunch beam work between Helmdon &
Wappenham
Atkins – Temporary road closure of Weedon Lois Road, Wappenham
Atkins Reps review
Draft Medium-term plan 2006-2010
Northamptonshire Waste local plan notice of adoption
NCC Street Doctor letter about streetlamp repair
Letter regarding Rights of Way cut backs
NALC
NALC Membership subscription Invoice £162.00
Information of auditor fees for next financial year – £68.00 unchanged
Gratuities & the new taxation regime for Pension Schemes April
2006
Changes to mobile library service new timetable to follow (every three weeks)
Training programme for 2006
Letter from Vitalise provide holidays for disabled and carers
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Sundries
Quotation Banner Contracting for notice boards & benches – £760.00
Quotation Between Ourselves for notice boards & benches – £575.00
Tender C&E for grass cutting – £625.00
Bank of Ireland Parish Council account offer
Invoice ABB – £110.92
Invoice Powergen – £99.24
C J Harrold Letter explaining reasons for change to governor position
Bank statement for February
Committed2Equality review completed by clerk
Patient & public Involvement (PPI) Forums request to talk to PC
Clerks & Councils direct
Wicksteed Leisure Playground inspection letter
CVS Northamptonshire Fundraising search service leaflet
Community Policing update
Letter from Yvonne Harland Police informing us that she is leaving
Yorkshire Bank statement – January
SNVB leaflet
BDO Stoy new address for auditors
BDO Stoy Confirmation of completion of audit
BDO Stoy Invoice £152.75
Miracle brochure on children s play equipment
CPRE Northants email Planning roadshow 25th April 2006
CPRE Northamptonshire Golden Jubilee Design Awards
Helmdon School Notice of Summer Ball being held on school field
Making Connexions leaflet
BTCV offer of conservation project assistance
Replies to invitations for Annual Parish Meeting from
Judy Cairns Woman s Club Able to attend
Robin Digby Unable to attend
Sue Blackburn Helmdon School Able to attend
Andrew Grant Able to attend
Richard Wray Talkabout Attending but not speaking
Conrad Woolley Friends/Churchyard Able to attend
CBO Shillito Brackley Police Still waiting for suggestion
Councillor Moody asked why the letter about the lights and the clerk said that she was not sure but the way things had been reported and dealt with before appeared to have changed and she was still trying to find out.
The letter regarding the situation with School Governor was read out with full explanation of the recent events. Councillor Brookhouse responded that he had given his apologies for unattended meetings.
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7. School Playground update Lease agreement:
Councillor Smith was not at the meeting to give an update on this matter but Councillor Earl passed on the risk assessment documentation for the play area. Council accepted the comments made on the document and asked that the matters be discussed by the playground committee and any proposals bought up at the next meeting. Clerk to agenda for next meeting.
Councillor Brookhouse suggested that the railings currently situated around the Baptist Church would be ideal for using in any future projects. Clerk to write to investigate.
8. Land Registry for Jenners Piece:
Councillor Burns to check with local solicitor to clarify how much the council should expect to pay for registering Jenners piece. Chairman to contact solicitor and report back at next meeting. Clerk to agenda for next meeting.
9. Tenders for Grass Cutting:
Both tenders were discussed. Councillor Earl proposed that we use
C & E and was seconded by Councillor Brookhouse. All in favour.
Clerk to write to confirm tender has been accepted.
10. Update of plans for Annual Parish Meeting:
Councillor Burns apologised for not attending the recent meeting.
Councillor Moody proposed that we repeat the format of last year, inviting the police to attend. The WI had agreed in principle to provide tea, coffee and biscuits as before. The clerk explained that as yet no-
one from the Police service were able to attend. It was suggested that a letter to Daventry may prompt a response but an alternative should be asked in the event that this did not work.
11. Quotations for Park Benches & Notice Boards :
All tenders were discussed. Councillor Moody proposed that we accept the quotation from Between Ourselves and seconded by
Councillor England. All in favour. Clerk to write to accept offer.
12. Agree dates for 2006/2007 meetings:
The new dates had been circulated to the councillor and were proposed by Councillor Moody, seconded by Councillor Earl and all were in favour.
13. Councillor Questions:
Councillor Moody had been asked about the recent damage to the edges bordering the war memorial made by lorries. The loss of bulbs in these areas had also been mentioned and a sum of £250.00 had been mentioned for their replacement.
Councillor Earl enquired about a sign that has appeared at the back of the play area. It was agreed that Councillor Earl could dispose of it as it is no longer required.
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Councillor Brookhouse asked that more investigation be done into the use of the 508 bus which appeared always to be empty. Clerk to write again to obtain numbers of passengers.
Councillor Spendlove commented on the helpful and friendly nature of the MJT contractors acting for Atkins on the footpaths. It was agreed that the clerk should write to both Atkins and MJT to thank them.
Councillor England explained that with ongoing improvements being made to the Reading Rooms, it would be necessary to close the building from 1st April to 19th April for the kitchen refurbishment.
Councillor Burns read out a letter from the clerk giving notice of her resignation from the position of clerk and RFO. She then offered to continue the post up to the May council meeting. The council accepted her resignation and agreed for her to continue her duties until the meeting in May. The chairman then thanked her for her work over the past 2 years.
Date of Annual Parish Meeting
26th April 2006 7.30pm
Date of AGM and next Council Meeting
24th May 2006 7.30pm
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