Minutes of a Meeting of the FINANCE & AMENITIES COMMITTEE

219

LYDD TOWN COUNCIL

Minutes of a meeting of the FINANCE & AMENITIES COMMITTEE

held at St. Peter’s Church Hall, Greatstone

on Monday 21stSeptember, 2009 at 7pm

Present: The Town Mayor, Cllr. D. G. Kersey,The Deputy Town Mayor, Cllr.Ms. R. G. Saunders(Chairman)and Councillors: Revd. A. J. Davis, Mrs. P. A. Davis,

Ms.V.M.Dawson, C. Goddard, Mrs. M. R. Masters, G. D. McKay,Mrs. J. Shepherd and

D. F. Watts.

Town Clerk – Richard Styles

Town Clerk’s Assistant – Mrs. J. Mathews

Absence: Apologies for absence were received from Councillors: Mr.T. Allen due to work commitments and Mrs. V. Loseby on annual leave.

414PUBLIC SPEAKING

None received

415DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST

Cllr. Kersey: Coastal Community Group (Member), Greatstone, Lydd, Romney Marsh and District Residents Association (Vice President).

Cllr. Ms. Saunders: Coastal Community Group (Member),

Greatstone, Lydd, Romney Marsh and District Residents Association (Member),

RSPB (Member), NeighbourhoodWatch (Area Committee Member).

Cllr.Revd. Davis: Coastal Community Group (Member), Greatstone, Lydd, Romney Marsh and District Residents Association (Member).

Cllr.Mrs. Davis: Coastal Community Group (Clerk), Greatstone, Lydd, Romney Marsh and District Residents Association (Member).

Cllr.Ms. Dawson: Shepway District Council (Councillor),Lade Car Park Project (Donator).

Cllr. C.Goddard: Shepway District Council (Councillor).

Cllr. Mrs. Loseby: Shepway District Council (Councillor).

Cllr. Mrs. Masters: Friends of Lydd (Member), Dungeness Power Station (Consultee and former employee),Coastal Community Group (Member), Greatstone, Lydd, Romney Marsh and District Residents association (Hon.Sec),RSPB (member),

Neighbourhood Watch (Member).

Cllr. McKay: Coastal Community Group (Treasurer).

Cllr. Mrs. Shepherd: Coastal Community Group (Member).

Cllr. Watts: Coastal Community Group (Member), Greatstone,Lydd,Romney Marsh

and District Residents Association (Member).

416MINUTES

The minutes of the meeting held on the 20th July, 2009 (pages 197 to 205) were approved as a true record and signed.

Proposed by: Cllr.Revd.Davis, seconded by: Cllr.Mrs. Shepherd and Cllr.Ms.Saunders abstained as she was absent at that meeting.

Agreed.

417CORRESPONDENCE

1. Visit Kent: Tourism business barometer.
2. ShepwayDC: ‘Shepway today’.
3. ShepwayDC: The Arts in Shepway.
4. Romney Marsh Air Cadets: Invitation to inspection 27th Sept, 2009.
5. BTCV: Wardening news.
6. J&G Woolley: Closure notice.
7. KCC: KCC Area supervisor: Shepway.
8. Fighting for Freedom: Freedom for over 60’s on the Railway.
9. ACRK: Your community your choice.

220

417CORRESPONDENCE cont’d

1. Eastern and Coastal Kent NHS: Annual report.
2. KALC: Parish news.
3. Peter Green: Lydd Neighbourhood watch.
4. Discover Folkestone: Enquiry returns.
5. Discover Folkestone: Step-short awareness weekend.

Correspondence was received and noted.

Proposed by: Cllr. Ms.Saunders, seconded by Cllr. McKay and agreed.

The following items were considered from the agenda for the meeting

418TOWN CLERK’S REPORT

The report (set out in Appendix A)was noted and received.

Proposed by: Cllr. Ms. Saunders, seconded by Cllr. Kersey and agreed.

Amenities issues

419COASTAL DEVELOPMENT PROJECT: PROGRESS

The Town Clerk gave a brief verbal report on the implementation of the project and what remained to do to complete the first phase.

Cllr.Ms.Saunders proposed that the Town Clerkbe instructed to obtain suitable plaques to attach to each bench or seat. The description on each plaque will detail the particular donator(s). Seconded by Cllr. Revd. Davis and agreed.

Cllr. Ms. Saunders said that the first phase of the project was nearly over and as such she proposed that Natural England should be invited to discuss how play equipment could be installed at Lade Car Park and at Greatstone in a non invasive manner. Seconded by Cllr. Kersey and agreed

420TOOLS AND EQUIPMENT FOR INSTALLATION AND MAINTENANCE WORK

The Town Clerk in his report(set out in Appendix B)explained how the lack of tools and equipment affect how work was carried out and the various recommendations in his report.

The report was received and the following points were proposed:

1. The Town Clerk is authorised to draw up an immediate list of requirementsin order to carry out those maintenance tasks with the highest priority and
2. Draw up a report to describe the options for the existing inventory and the priority in terms of disposal and expenditure, with a review of how and where any equipment should be held.
3. The review and the priority tool and equipment list to be part of an agenda item at the next Council meeting.

Proposed by: Cllr. Ms.Saunders, seconded by Cllr. Ms. Dawson and agreed.

Finance issues

1ST QUARTER ACCOUNTS

The Town Clerk agreed to include a budget comparison with each account item so that a comparison can be made between the budget figure and outturn, when this item is placed before the Council at its next meeting in October.

The1st Quarter figures (set out in Appendix C)were noted and received.

Proposed by: Cllr. Ms.Saunders, seconded by Cllr. McKay and agreed.

421ACCOUNTS FOR PAYMENT

The account from Gillett and Johnson was discussed and it was proposed that that the Church Tower Clock maintenance scheme should be reviewed under a future agenda item.

Proposed by: Cllr.Ms. Saunders, seconded by Cllr. Revd.Davis and agreed.

The accounts and balances (set out in Appendix D)were noted and approved.

Proposed by: Cllr. Kersey and seconded by Cllr. McKay and agreed.

Chairman

221

Appendix A to the minutes of the Council meeting on 21stSeptember, 2009

Report from: Town Clerk.

Subject: Town Clerk’s report

Date: 21stSeptember, 2009

Committee: Finance and Amenities Committee.

Information:

This is a brief resume of progress on matters considered by the Committee at previous meetings.

• Gate at rear of Guildhall:

This has now been fitted and the gate itself repaired however, in the long term the gate will need replacement as the welding has failed in some places and may fail elsewhere.

• Damage to Rype Play Area:

Both set of swings have had replacement seats and chains fitted as per the instructions from the safety inspection. The large swings have had the safety surface replaced in part because of vandalism. Some of the cost of this repair will be defrayed by our insurance company.

I am also in receipt of the legal opinion from KALC regarding the play area and the Rype in general.

• Banks Sports and Social Club:

The pavilion and surrounding area suffered some vandalism during the summer break, in particular the pillars supporting the veranda roof were attacked, which if removed or severely weakened could cause catastrophic failure of that section of roof and the adjacent roof sections. A quotation for the construction of a series of grills to protect the area has been obtained.

The infill work on the outfield is nearing completion and after a period of stabilisation grass seed can be sown and the site developed for purposes under the terms of the deed of gift.

There is an ongoing lottery bid for the development of sport and recreation to cover the non cricket areas of the site it however remains to be seen to see if this will reach the final short list stage.

The Banks Sports and Social Club have sent three letters in short succession dealing with the problems of vandalism, dog fouling and the continuing negotiations on a future lease. In view of this situation I propose to make this an agenda item at the next meeting, where a review can look at all the options.

Recommendation:

• Accept the report.

Richard Styles,Town Clerk

222

Appendix B to the minutes of the Council meeting on 21stSeptember, 2009

Report from: Town Clerk

Subject: Tools and equipment for installation and maintenance work

Report on the recent experience of implementing project work and the equipment needed.

Date: 21stSeptember, 2009

Committee: Finance and Amenities Committee

Information:

The Lade car park project provided useful experience in managing and implementing the sort of small scale project that we may expect to carry out in the future.

On the plus side the project was carried out at low cost and in time for visitors to benefit from the new facilities, on the debit side however, some of the borrowed equipment was only available for a short period and was overdue for overhaul and repair. This led to delay and some difficulties in implementing the installation work. It should be recorded that the kindness of the equipment donators did enable the work to be completed and no criticism is implied of their actions.

From this experience I would like to suggest the following proposals:

• The Town Clerk to review the use and state of the larger pieces of equipment with a list of equipment to be retained or sold/disposed out of service and to draw up a list of major pieces of equipment necessary to cover any reasonable commitments in the future.
• Decide on a policy on equipment purchases such as either buying cheap D.I.Y products with a short life or purchasing professional equipment with a longer life (safety of course must remain a paramount concern in this area).
• That the policy on hiring equipment is kept to those items that are only used infrequently and not as an alternative to capital expenditure.
• The budget should not only contain a figure for capital equipment expenditure, but for its replacement after first purchase.
• Authorise the expenditure of up to £500 to purchase hand tools, power drills etc, to carry out maintenance and installation of fixed equipment or assets in the 3rd and 4th Quarters of the Council year, without the requirement of the Groundsman to use his own tools, where possible.

Recommendation

• Receive this report.
• Consider the five policy proposals listed above.

Richard Styles

Town Clerk

223

Appendix C to the minutes of the Council meeting on 21stSeptember, 2009

LYDD TOWN COUNCIL
RECEIPTS AND PAYMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDING 31ST MARCH 2010
Q1 / Q2 / Q3 / Q4 / TOTALS
RECEIPTS:
Precept / £43,175.00
Guildhall / -
Allotments / £71.75
Bank Interest / £5.63
Sales / £15.00
Misc receipts / £4,579.50
VAT repayments / £473.51
48,320.39 / - / - / - / -
PAYMENTS: / TOTALS
Staff Costs / £16,830.47 / 16,830.47
Subscriptions / £502.00 / 502.00
Postage / £92.61 / 92.61
Events / - / -
Office Expenses / £451.32 / 451.32
IT Services / £410.00 / 410.00
Electoral Services / - / -
Civic Affairs / £1,797.28 / 1,797.28
Finance Services / £98.76 / 98.76
Groundsman's equipment etc / £328.70 / 328.70
Allotments / £1,028.71 / 1,028.71
Guildhall / £3,087.59 / 3,087.59
Banks / - / -
Manor Road Pavillion / £108.94 / 108.94
Play Area / - / -
MemorialGardens / £3.00 / 3.00
Meeting Room / £25.00 / 25.00
Adverts / £0 / -
Grants / £250.00 / 250.00
Noticeboards / - / -
Bank Charges / £30.09 / 30.09
Misc Payments / £1,774.09 / 1,774.09
VAT Payments / £670.15 / 670.15
27,488.71 / - / - / - / 27,488.71
Surplus/Deficit / 20,831.68 / - / - / - / 27,488.71

224

Appendix C to the minutes of the Council meeting on 21stSeptember, 2009 cont’d

BANK RECONCILIATION
Bank accounts/cash at 30th June, 2009
Statement No.
Business instant access (Reserve) / 181 / £55,872.98
Current Account / 678 / £29,256.18
Tennis Court fund / 112 / -
Special Projects Fund / 148 / -
Horse Bus Fund / 113 / -
Allotment bond / 18 / -
Guild Hall Maintenance / 82 / -
85,129.16
Less unpresented cheques / Chq No:
1220 / £200.00
£200.00
Plus unbanked items / -
Petty Cash / £73.50
TOTAL BANK/CASH as at 31st March, 2009 / 85,002.66
CASHBOOK
Balances brought forward 1st April, 2008 / £64,170.98
PLUS Receipts / £48,320.39
LESS Payments / -
Balances carried forward 31st March, 2009 / 112,491.37

225

Appendix D to the minutes of the Council meeting on 21stSeptember, 2009

ACCOUNTS FOR PAYMENT / LYDD TOWN COUNCIL / 15th / July, 2009
For approval at / Finance and Amenities / Committee
Payee / Narrative / Gross Total / Payment type
Audit Commission / 2009 Audit fee / £655.50 / c/n 1277
Care signs / Guildhall Honours board / £87.40 / c/n 1276
Kent County Comm services / Office/Grounds/Cleaning supplies / £182.70 / c/n 1278
HM Revenue / N.I. & PAYE / £3,151.70 / c/n1279
Sub total / £4,077.30 / (to be paid)
Friends of Lydd / Horse bus fund monies and agreed extra / £546.15 / c/n1255
payment (£100.00)
Petty cash account / petty cash / £98.22 / c/n1256
PCC Lydd / Hire St Peter's hall / £10.57 / c/n1257
KCC / Mast legal fees / £160.20 / c/n1258
Gillett and Johnson ltd / Church clock service / £393.30 / C/N 1259
Wicksteed leisure / Rype swings replacement parts / £443.00 / C/N 1260
Invicta wiz / email protection annual fee / £57.50 / C/N 1261
J&G Woolley Ltd / HardwareCoast Ghall Allots Rypeplay / £116.49 / C/N 1262
R. Styles / Reimburse-Lade car park project / £98.41 / C/N 1263
Mr. and R. Mrs. Catt / Refund Allot plot 2B / £5.00 / C/N 1264
Staff salaries / Month 6 / £3,234.06 / C/N 1265-68
Petty cash account / petty cash / £90.16 / C/N 1269
Invicta wiz / Internet quarterly fee / £69.00 / C/N 1270
J&G Woolley Ltd / Hardware-Ghall / £110.96 / C/N 1271
Four Jays group / Allotment toilets / £23.00 / C/N 1272
Open Spaces Society / Book- Law of Common land / £19.00 / C/N 1273
Principal / Quarterly copier fee / £91.15 / C/N 1274
Cordee Ltd / Book-Rights of way 4th Edn / £35.45 / C/N 1275
Southern Water / Waste water Ghall / -£12.34 / DD
EDF Energy / Manor Rd Pavilion / -£171.39 / DD
EDF Energy / Guildhall / £374.72 / DD
EDF Energy / Garages-Manor Road / -£35.00 / DD
Sub total / £5,757.61 / (paid)
TOTAL / £9,834.91
BALANCES / For noting at Finance & Amenities / Committee / 21st September, 2009
Lloyds TSB Current / Account / £14,657.82
Lloyds TSB business / Instant / £55,873.66
TOTAL / £55,873.66

Finance & Amenities Committee, 21st September, 2009