Chair approved
MINUTESof the Annual General Meeting of Wivenhoe Town Council held in the Council Chamber on Monday 19 May 2014.
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Present:The Town Mayor, Cllr. A. Vaughan (Chairman),
Cllrs: R. Needham, N. Lodge, F. Richards, A. Stinson,
K. Hall, K. Read, A. Aldis and D. Henley
Borough Cllr. M. Cory
Mrs. A Stinson (Town Clerk),
Press
Liz White, Peter Hill, Jean Coverley and Hayley Read.
Prior to commencement of business safety announcements were given.
Before commencing the meeting Cllr. Vaughan spoke about her year, saying that it had been a privilege to serve Wivenhoe as its Mayor and expressed thanks to fellow members and all who had helped and supported her during her year of office.
1. APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE. Apologies for absence had been received from Cllrs. N. Tile, I. Endean and B. Sinclair, County Cllr. J. Young and Borough Cllrs. C. Liddy and J. Manning.
2. ELECTION OF TOWN MAYOR.
RESOLVED unanimously that Cllr. Kevin Read be elected to serve as Town Mayor for the ensuing year. Cllr. Read thanked Members for the honour conferred upon him, signed the Declaration of Acceptance of Office and assumed the Chair for the balance of the meeting.
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The Town Mayor (Cllr. Kevin Read) Chairman
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Cllr. Readthen congratulated the retiring Town Mayor, Cllr. Vaughan, on her very successful year and presented flowers and a bottle of wine to Cllr. Vaughan on behalf of the Town Council as a gesture of thanks and appreciation from the Town Council.
Cllr. Read then spoke about his year, that he was very privileged and honoured to take on the role of Town Mayor and together with his Mayoress, Hayley Read, spoke about their theme for the year which would be ‘OneWivenhoe’ commemorating 100 years of Wivenhoe life, all of which make it a great place to live, bringing all aspects of the community together, especially in the marking of the centenary of the Great War.
3. ELECTION OF DEPUTY TOWN MAYOR
Cllr. Ian Endean had already been duly proposed, seconded and elected as Deputy Town Mayor at the previous meeting.
RESOLVED that Cllr. Ian Endean be elected Deputy Town Mayor for the ensuing year. As Cllr. Endean was not present the Declaration of Acceptance of Office was deferred.
4. COMMITTEES
a) Planning Committee:
RESOLVED that the following be appointed to the Planning Committee for 2014/2015:
Cllr. A.Vaughan (Chairman)
Cllr. K. Read
Cllr. N. Tile
Cllr. B. Sinclair
Cllr. A. Aldis
Cllr. K. Hall
Cllr. F. Richards (substitute)
b) Personnel Committee:
RESOLVED that the following be appointed to the Personnel Committee for 2014/2015:
Cllr. K. Read (Chairman)
Cllr. P. Kraft
Cllr. A. Vaughan
Cllr. N. Lodge
Cllr. F. Richards
Cllr. R. Needham
Cllr. K. Hall
c) Finance and Administration Committee:
RESOLVED that the following be appointed to the Finance Committee for 2014/2015:
Cllr. N. Lodge (Chairman)
Cllr. A. Stinson
Cllr. B. Sinclair
Cllr. A. Aldis
Cllr. I. Endean
Cllr. R. Needham
Cllr. P. Kraft (substitute)
d) Estates Committee:
RESOLVED that the following be appointed to the Estates Committee for 2014/2015:
Cllr. I. Endean (Chairman)
Cllr. A. Aldis
Cllr. A. Stinson
Cllr. K. Hall
Cllr. P. Kraft
Cllr. D. Henley
Cllr. B. Sinclair
Cllr. F. Richards
Sub-Committees of Estates:
Allotments – Cllrs. Hall (Chairman) and Cllr. Richards
Play Areas and KGV Field – Cllr. D. Henley and Estates Manager
Cemeteries and Churchyard – Cllrs. Richards, Kraft and Needham.
5. WORKING PARTIES
Agreed that the composition of Working Parties be as follows:
a) William Loveless Hall Working Party:
Cllrs: P. Kraft (Chair), F. Richards, A. Stinson and K. Hall.
Co-opted members - Mick Wells and Doug Stockwell.
b)Mini-Bus Working Group:
Cllrs: A. Stinson (Chair) and F. Richards.
Co-opted members - John Foster, Des McCourt, Len Horner, Jan Richardson andthe Town Clerk.
c)Wivenhoe Wood Working Party:
Cllr. B. Sinclair with Cllr. A. Aldis as substitute.
d) Youth Facilities Working Party: (in suspension)
Cllrs. F. Richards (Chair), and Cllr. K. Hall.
e)Cook’s Shipyard Working Group:
Cllrs. K. Read, B. Sinclair, A. Aldis, N. Tile and A. Vaughan.
f)Community Opportunity Group: (in suspension)
Cllr. R. Needham (Chair) and Cllrs. N. Lodge, I. Endean,K. Read and A. Vaughan.
g)Jubilee Gardens Working Group:
Cllrs. A. Vaughan, K. Read, F. Richards, I. Endean,B. Sinclair and P. Kraft.
h)Police Houses, Offices and Pavilion Working Group:
Cllr. D. Henley (Chair), Cllrs. A. Stinson, I. Endean, R. Needham and N. Lodge.
i)Neighbourhood Plan Steering Group:
Cllr. R. Needham.
6. REPRESENTATIVES ON OTHER BODIES
RESOLVED that the following be appointed as representatives on other bodies:
a)Colchester Association of Local Councils Cllrs. Lodge andEndean
b)Civil Protection Cllr. Needham
c) Public Transport Representative Peter Kay
d) Community Safety Group and NW Group Cllr. Endean with Cllrs.
Kraft and Aldis as substitutes.
e)Wivenhoe Society Cllr. Needham with Cllr.Hall as
substitute.
f)Colne Estuary Partnership Cllrs. Sinclair and Tile.
g) Wivenhoe Housing Trust Cllrs. Needham andLodge.
h)Wivenhoe & District Sporting Cllrs. Lodge and Read as
Facilities Trust observers.
i) Wivenhoe in Bloom Cllrs. Richards and Hall.
j) Communications Officer Cllr. R. Needham
7. SUBSCRIPTIONS
RESOLVED that the following subscriptions and dues be approved for the ensuing year:
1.EssexAssociation of Local Councils -subscription £865.08p.a
(which includes contribution to NALC)
2. Colchester Association of Local Councils -subscription £35.00 p.a.
3.Fields in Trust (formerly NPFA)-subscription£35.00 p.a.
4. ICCM – Institute of Cemetery and Crematorium
Management-subscription £90.00 p.a.
5.Society of Local Council Clerks-subscription£145.00 p.a.
6.Eastern ,Essex & Herts Regional Employers Organisation
for Local Authorities (Resource) NJCouncils- subscription £130.00 p.a.
7.N.A.L.C. Direct Information Service-subscription£90.00 p.a.
8. Community Transport Association-subscription £116.60 p.a.
9. Council for Protection of Rural Essex-subscription £36.00 p.a.
10. National Association of Allotments-subscription £25.00 p.a.
11. Rural Community Council of Essex-subscription £40.00 p.a.
12. Friends of Historic Essex-subscription £10.00 p.a.
8. MINUTES
RESOLVED that the Minutes of the Meeting of the Town Council held on 28thApril 2014 and of the Town Meeting held on 14 May 2014 be confirmed and signed by the Chairman as a correct record.
9. MATTERS ARISING FROM THE MINUTES.
a) Land adjacent to 10 Tower Road. Town Clerk to continue to pursue with registering this piece of land in the Town Council’s name.
10. DATES OF MEETINGS.
RESOLVED that by virtue of Standing Orders 1 and 4, meetings for the current year will be held at 7.30pm on the third Monday of each month on the following dates:
20142015
16 June19 January
21 July16 February
15 September16 March
20 October 20 April
17 November18 May
15 December
11. POINTS RAISED BY MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC:
a) Annual Town Meeting: From the Town Meeting on 14 May 2014 – matters concerning parking on the quay, which will be taken up with Highways and PrOW officers.
12. REPORTS FROM MEMBERS OF THE COUNTY AND BOROUGH COUNCILS
a) EssexCounty Council: Cllr. Young had sent a written report congratulating Cllr. Read on becoming Town Mayor, wishinghima successfuland happy year and also congratulated Cllr. Vaughan on a very busy and successful year.Cllr. Young’s written reportstated that a meeting was being arranged for 5 June at 10.00am at The Quay, where Highways officers, PrOW officers would be visiting the quay to find a solution to problem of parked cars.
b) Borough Council: Cllr. Corycongratulated Cllr. Read on becoming Town Mayor and also congratulated the retiring Mayor on a successful year. Cllr. Cory then reported that he had been dealing with domestic refuse enforcement issues, an exposed drain at Field Way and whether there was to be a repeal of lighting switch-off in certain vulnerable areas. The Youth Club was also staging some events over the summer to attract attention again.
Cllr. Liddy had sent a written report expressing thanks to Cllr. Vaughan a successful term of office and also conveying his best wishes to Cllr. Read and his wife Hayley, wishing them well over the next year. Cllr. Liddy reported that there was to be a bye-election on 3 July for the seat previously held by the late Cllr. Steve Ford.
c) Public Transport representative: Members noted Peter Kay’s written report.
Members also expressed their thanks to Peter Kay for his excellent work as Public Transport representative and for keeping the Town Council informed of issues.
13. COMMITTEE REPORTS.
13.1 Planning:
a)Cllr. Vaughan reported that the Planning Meeting scheduled for 13 May was to be held the following evening on 20 May, there were several big applications and all members were encouraged to attend.
b) Cooks Shipyard Working Group: Nothing further to report.
c) Health Centre: Cllr. Lodge reported that he had spoken with the Surgery practice manager that morning and progress was being made albeit slowly.
13.2 Personnel Committee.
a)The Minutes of the Personnel Committee held on 17 March 2014 were received and approved. The next meeting would be held on 11 June at 7.30pm.
b) Local Government Pension Scheme.
In accordance with legislation and Agreed at the Personnel Committee meeting on 17 March 2014 it is RESOLVED that Mr. James Eborn be admitted to the membership of the Local Government Pension Scheme operated by Essex County Council, following the necessary 28 days public notice.
13.3 Finance and Administration. .
a) Cllr. Lodge reported that the next meeting would be held on 12 June 2014 at 7.30pm. The Town Clerk had prepared the end of year accounts ready for the Internal Audit.
13.4Estates.
a) The next meeting would be held on 2 June 2014 at 7.30pm.
14. WORKING PARTY REPORTS.
14.1 William Loveless Hall Working Party:
Date of next meeting 19 June 2014 at 7.30pm, venue to be confirmed.
14.2Minibus Working Group:
a) Volunteer drivers recruitment: Cllr. Stinson reported that three of the regular drivers were now out of action and a recruitment drive was needed to find more drivers. An article would be put on the web-site, notice boards and in the press.
14.3 Wivenhoe Wood Working Party. Nothing to report.
14.4 Youth Facilities Working Party. (suspended at moment)
14.5 Community Opportunity Group.(suspended at moment)
14.6 Jubilee Gardens Working Group.
Cllr. Vaughan reported that a meeting would be arranged soon. There is still an outstanding issue of the wheelchair friendly path and the Estates Committee wereto be asked if time could be allowed for the groundsmen to undertake the path on the wildlife/jubilee garden.
Cllr Needham pointed out that he was of the understanding that funding had been gained for this work and therefore a third party should be used for this work.
14.7 Pavilion, Offices and Police Houses Working Group.
a) Cllr. Henley reported that a meeting date would be arranged soon.
14.8 Neighbourhood Plan Steering Group.
The minutes of the meeting held on 7 May 2014 were received. Cllr. Needham reported that the next meeting would be held on 4 June and it was hoped to have a synopsis of the questionnaire available.
14.9 Members' Individual Proposals or Reports:
a) Cllr. Vaughan - Mayoral Activities: Cllr. Vaughan reported on her final attendances which were:Royal British Legion 25th anniversary on 29 April: Mayor’s Charity rock gig on 3 May; various events at Wild About Wivenhoe; Civic Reception at Colchester Town Hall and Open Gardens over the weekend of 17/18 May 2014. In total Cllr. Vaughanhad attended approx 47events during her Mayoral Year and raised a total of £6730.
b) Community Safety and Police Matters: Nothing to report.
c) Safe Access to the River: Cllrs. Lodge and Read had prepared a thorough report on this issue, a copy of which was given to each Cllr to study in preparation for the next Town Council meeting where it would be discussed.
d) Museum update: Cllr. Needham reported that the steel bars were almost ready to be put into position and it was hoped that the project was on course to be opened in July 2014.
15. TOWN CLERK'S REPORT.
15.1 Burial Grants and approval of memorials.
The Town Clerk reported that no Burial Grants had been issued and no memorials had been approved since the last meeting. No interments had taken place.
15.2 NALC/EALC Communications:May monthly communications and newsletters
were available in the office for members to read and when possible circulated by email.
15.3 Work Management.
a) General: The Town Clerk reported that work had been completed on decoration of the Cemetery Chapel in readiness for the Museum Group; 81 High Street had been redecorated for a tenancy change and new fascia and soffits had been put in. Grass cutting was continuing in all areas. Work was continuing on the wildlife garden and landscaped areas had been cut back. The number of customers and visitors to the Council Offices for the month of April totalled 301.
b)Holm Oak on KGV Field: Town Clerk reported that the crown reduction had been carried out that day by a contractor.
16. FINANCE.
16.1 Current Financial Report
a)The April Spending and Income Report was received and noted.
b) 2013/2014 Audit of Accounts: The accounts for the year ended 31 March 2014were approved and signed by the Town Clerk and the Town Mayor.
16.2 List of cheques numbered 504150 -504162drawn since the last Town Council Meeting were approved and signed.
16.3 List of Payments made from the Imprest Account since the last Town Council meeting was received and noted.
16.4Motions Under Standing Orders Recommending Expenditure. None.
16.5 Appeals for Financial Support.
a) 2014 Royal British Legion Remembrance Parade:
Cllr. Read reported that due to new instructions concerning processions and parades the Police are no longer permitted to provide cover, however CBC zone managers would be able to provide cover but there would be a cost of approximately £110 involved.
Cllr. Read put forward a proposal that as this year was an important one commemorating the centenary of the Great War, the Town Council should cover this cost. This was seconded and it was unanimously AGREED that the Town Council provide the funding to enable the parade to go ahead on 9 November 2014.
17. NEW BUSINESS
17.1 Correspondence. None.
17.2 Conferences/Seminars. None.
17.3 Notices. Members noted the following:
Mayor’s Charity Events:
Beating the Bounds, 8 June
Community Fun Day and Fete, 21 June on KGV Playing Field
Annual Cricket Match, Wednesday 17 July, 6.00pm
Tea Dance, 9 August, William Loveless Hall
Mayor’s Ball, 7 March 2015, William Loveless Hall
Civic Events:
Annual Civic Service Sunday 19 October 2014 10.15am
Royal British Legion Remembrance Parade, Sunday 9 November 2.00pm
17.4 Licences. None.
17.5 Highway Matters.
a) The Quay - To note that a meeting had been arranged by Cllr. J. Young on 5 June at 10.00am between the Town Council, Highways PrOW and CBC concerning parking issues on Wivenhoe Quay.
b) Residents’ Parking Review: To receive a summary, which following the consultation, resulted in no changes being made to those currently in operation.
The meeting closed at 8.20pm.
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CHAIRMAN
At the close of the meeting an invitation was extended to those present to join the newly-appointed Town Mayor and Mayoress, Cllr. Kevin Read and Mrs. Hayley Read to 76 High Street, Wivenhoe for refreshments.
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