LPCOS 11/11
EARL SHILTON TOWN COUNCIL
LEISURE, PARKS CEMETERIES AND OPEN SPACES COMMITTEE
MINUTES
Of the Meeting held at 7:30 p.m on Tuesday 11th October 2011
at the STUTE, Earl Shilton Social Institute, Station Road, Earl Shilton.
Present: Alan Greenwood – Chairman
John Brown, Colin Ellis, Roger Ellis, Beverly Hutt, Keith Leman,Paul Statham
In attendance R.A.Lomas Town Clerk
R. Atkinson - Assistant Town Clerk
Cllr Denis Bown
LP11/034CHAIRMANS WELCOME TO MEMBERS
The Chairmanwelcomed all members, and advised there was an additional item to be added to the agenda, being the Clerks Report..
LP11/035APOLOGIES
There were no apologies.
LP11/036DECLARATION OF MEMBERS INTERESTS
No declarations of interests were made at this time.
LP11/037CONFIRMATION OF THE MINUTES OF THE PREVIOUS MEETING
It was RESOLVED that the Minutes of 13th September 2011, be signed as a true and accurate record.
PROPOSED:John BrownSECONDED: Beverley Hutt
LP11/038CLERKS REPORT.
Fire Beacon for Queens Jubilee.
The Assistant Clerk introduced this item, explaining that this council had been asked to take part in the celebration of the Queens Jubilee in 2012 by erecting a Fire Beacon which would be lit on the specified night as part of a chain of local authority beacons across England. As the council had no previous provision for this item a quotation had been obtained from Ironcraft of Earl Shilton to create a 4 m high steel post with a 1 metre high fire basket mounted on it. The illustration was circulated for councillor’s information and it was agree that it was an appropriate design.
Following a short discussion regarding the height, the size of the fire basket, the fuel to be consumed and other minor matters it was RESOLVED that the quotation of £1500 for construction and £450 for installation on The Mound in Hall Filed be accepted and the Assistant Clerk was instructed to process the order which was to paid from the 2011/12 budget item Diamond Jubilee.
PROPOSED: Colin EllisSECONDED: Beverley Hutt
LP11/039EVALUATION OF PARKS INCOME AND EXPENDITURE TO DATE
Members reviewed the Parks Income and Expenditure, prior to approving the report having noted that a grant of £5000 was outstanding from HBBC in relation to the installation of the Hall Filed lighting scheme..
LP11/040TO CONFIRM THE BUDGET FOR 2012/13 IS ADEQUATE FOR THE WORK INTENDED.
It was explained by a member that he had requested this item in the light of associated discussions regarding the council taking on additional work partly from the groundcare contract and partly because of additional items coming under the council’s jurisdiction.
Cllr Bown wished members to be aware when considering the budget that the proposal as it stood involved an increase of between £6 and £8 per year (depending on the final budget) and that this represented a percentage increase of 15.25% which he considered unacceptable. The Chairman responded that using a percentage figure may be mathematically correct but in fact there had been no increase for the previous three years whilst the council’s expenses had grown with increased process for electricity, diesel, postage, telephones, National Insurance and so on. In real terms the proposed increase for this coming year was only equal to an increase of £2 per year over the last four years which was totally acceptable.
A broad ranging discussion followed with members appreciating that whilst they had an obligation to support their electorate by keeping the precept as low as possible they also had obligations to maintain crucial services especially parks and community activities. It was commented that the Clerk could not be expected to keep paying increased bills if the budget he was provided with was inadequate and that whilst all other organisations such as utility providers, office supplies companies were increasing their prices the council had to match their income to meet these.
The Chairman wished to establish clearly the feelings of members regarding the budget and asked for a proposition.
It was RESOLVED that the budget estimates as agreed at the meeting of 13th September be confirmed as adequate and that this recommendation be passed to Finance and General Committee for inclusion in the general budget.
PROPOSED:John BrownSECONDED: Beverly Hutt.
A vote was called:-
For the resolution 5
Against the resolution 1
Abstention1
And the resolution was declared to be carried.
LP11/041UPDATE ON THE PAVILION SITUATION – RE: WEAVER SPRINGS
Cllr R Ellis on behalf of the Pavilion Working Party provided this update.
The Working Party had met and considered the background to the rejection by the Football Association of the outline grant application. It was felt that the underlying reason was that Barwell Sports Pavilion application had already been accepted by the F.A. involving a grant in the order of £400,000 and that this was why Earl Shilton had not been considered a priority.
The Clerk had responded to the Working Parties request to assess what funding the council had within its own accounts and indicated what with the cash in hand, plus the Community Support of £150,000 from s.106 funds plus an est £200,000 from David Wilson Homes in connection with Fox Meadows development the total would be in the region of £.5m.
The Working Party had established that the architects engaged in connection with the Barwell project had previously worked very successfully with Anstey Parish Council and had a reputation as the leading specialists in design and build of sports pavilions.
Cllr John Brown added that they had also considered the condition of the present building and felt that a modicum of refurbishment was necessary to make the building usable for the next two years. Following an inspection of the building it was proposed that the following work be undertaken:-
New lights throughoutnew toilet doors, new toilet pedestals, shower units mended or replaced, walls and ceilings repainted. Shower cubicles steam cleaned.
Cllr Colin Ellis observed that the Working Party would like the Clerk to obtain some initial proposals from the architects for the Working Party to examine and then a joint site visit could be arranged to review location and associated facilities and obtain a better guide as to the sort or building we can expect for the budget available.
It was RESOLVED that the refurbishment as itemised above should be undertaken by our own groundstaff at the discretion of the Assistant Clerk when inclement weather prevents outside work AND that the Assistant Clerk is authorised to approach the architects for a preliminary discussion and to obtain proposals which can be referred to the Working Party.
PROPOSED: John BrownSECONDED: Colin Ellis
Unanimous vote in favour.
LP11/042TO EVALUATE THE NEW SIGNAGE INSTALLED AT MAPLE PARK
A number of complaints have been received at the council office and by individual councillors regarding the new Maple Park sign which has been installed on the footpath from the park to Elmdale Road.
Members discussed the best way to deal with this and decided that the large Maple Park sign should be removed, put in store for the moment, and then relocated at the entrance to the park from the new Moores housing estate.
It was RESOLVED that the Clerk be instructed to arrange this removal and relocation.
PROPOSED;Roger Ellis SECONDED: John Brown
Unanimous vote in favour
LP11/043FORWARD PLANNING – CONSIDERATION OF CAPITAL EXPENDITURE ITEMS
The Assistant Clerk introduced this item by explaining that there were a set of interlinked items which needed members approval to deal with. Because of increased workload caused by the intention to remove the maintenance of the smaller green areas from the groundcare contract and bring them in-house it was necessary to purchase a suitable ride-on mower, a pavement sweeper to clean the footpaths in the parks and cemetery and then provide the means to transport this equipment to the location where it was to be used. Furthermore provision must be made to store/garage the truck and equipment to protect it.
Members discussed the implications of this with Cllr Colin Ellis confirming that he had examined all the smaller areas described on the groundcare contract and felt that they could all be easily dealt with by our own staff. Cllr John Brown indicated that for several years there had been a flow of complaints in the Autumn from members of the public about the accumulated leaves and twigs on the Hall Field footpaths and the cemetery roads and paths but to manually sweep these paths was a major commitment.
Overall members approved that the capital expenditure should be made for the maintenance equipment but the question of its transport and storage was more complex. Further discussion produced the suggestion that the quickest and most cost effective way to house the vehicle and equipment was to arrange for two appropriate size shipping containers to be adapted into a double width unit thereby offering a temporary but secure storage facility which could be easily removed at a later date if more permanent garaging became available.
At the conclusion of the discussion members RESOLVED that the Assistant Clerk be instructed to seek prices for the capital equipment with a view to purchasing it in the Spring; to investigate the cost of adapted storage containers and installation; to investigate and report back on the options for transport of the equipment.
PROPOSED:John BrownSECONDED: Beverley Hutt
Unanimously vote in favour
LP11/044ANY OTHER BUSINESS
There was no other business.
LP11/045DATE, TIME AND PLACE OF NEXT MEETING
The next meeting will be held on Tuesday 6th December at 7:30 p.m at the Stute.
There being no further business the Chairman closed the meeting at 8:50 p.m
Chairman’s Signature...... Date...... ‘All relevant legislation was considered in producing the decision made herein’
Chairmans signature ……………….. Page number 10/1