Parish Council
Sticklepath Parish Council held an historic first “virtual” meeting on 22nd April via Zoom.
PRESENT:
Cllr. Cruse (Chairing), Cllr. Moore, Cllr. Daniel, Cllr. Loader, Cllr. Bell, and Cllr. Grubb.
IN ATTENDANCE:
Andrew Wyer (Clerk).
486/1 APOLOGIES
It was resolved to receive and accept apologies from Cllr. Sales (Proposed by Cllr. Cruse.)
486/2 COVID-19 REPORT
The Clerk reported that Local Councils were now operating under recently introduced temporary legislation. The main consequences of this were that Council meetings could now be held remotely using video or telephone conferencing and that the Annual Meeting (normally held in May) was not required to be held this year. (Councils can still hold the Annual Meeting in May or postpone to later in the year if they wish to still hold it. Current Chair, Vice-Chair and other appointments normally made at this meeting are deemed to be extended until formally changed by the Council.) The requirement to publicly advertise Council meetings and notices has been amended so that publication on the Council website is deemed to fulfil this requirement.
It was resolved to postpone the Annual Meeting until a later date (tbc) with the Chair and Vice-Chair continuing in their roles. (Proposed by Cllr. Cruse.)
486/3 PUBLIC PARTICIPATION
No members of the public were present.
486/4 DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST
There were no declarations of interest.
486/5 APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES OF THE MEETING HELD 11th MARCH 2020
It was resolved to approve the minutes of the Parish Council meeting held on Wednesday 11th March 2020. These will be signed at a later date. (Proposed by Cllr. Cruse.)
486/6 MATTERS ARISING
6.1 Online Banking for Clerk. – The Clerk reported that this had not yet been done Action: Clerk to organise this.
6.2 Council Meeting Calendar Invites – The Clerk reported that calendar invites for the next few meetings will contain links to the Zoom meeting. Action: Clerk to send calendar invites with Zoom meeting links for future meetings.
486/7 COUNCILLOR REPORTS
7.1 Chair’s Report – Cllr. Cruse reported that she and Cllr. Moore had conducted a review of the Clerks performance during his probationary period. They were happy with this and therefore his employment on a permanent contract was confirmed. An application for a £500 DNPA Coronavirus Community Support Grant had been successful and was being used to fund the hardship scheme and other schemes.
7.2 WDBC Report – Cllr. Daniel reported that WDBC have been focussed on dealing with the effects of the Coronavirus pandemic and the current priority is helping businesses access the grants and financial assistance available to help them survive. All businesses in the area are encouraged to access the WDBC website for the latest information and guidance.
7.3 Any Other Reports – The Clerk reported that under delegated powers one invoice had been paid. This was for the Defibrillator telephone system and was for £100+VAT, £120 in total. All other due invoices had been granted extensions and were on the Agenda for approval.
486/8 FINANCE
8.1 Previous Year Finances – The draft end of year financial reports had been circulated before the meeting. It was resolved to accept these. (Proposed by Cllr. Cruse)
8.2 Current Year Finances – The financial reports for the current year had been circulated before the meeting. It was resolved to accept these. (Proposed by Cllr. Cruse)
8.3 It was resolved to approve the following payments (set up by Andrew Wyer and to be approved by a Councillor): (Proposed by Cllr. Cruse)
Playsafety Limited Safety Inspection £107.40
DALC Subscription (DALC / NALC) £101.01
Mr. A Wyer Salary £140.91
HMRC PAYE £35.20
Paul Jones Hardship Fund Vouchers £30.00
Cllr. A Cruse Two Museums Way Leaflet £100.00
Mr. A Wyer Postage £16.85
486/9 FINANCE
It was resolved to approve, in advance, the basic salary and HMRC payments for the Clerk up to and including September 2020. The actual payments will still need to be authorised by a Councillor. (Proposed by Cllr. Cruse)
486/10 VILLAGE WALKS LEAFLET
Cllr. Bell had compared the quotes received and recommended the revised Inkprint quote (£210) as this was for the same specification and style of leaflet currently produced. It was resolved to go ahead with this quote. (Proposed by Cllr. Cruse)
486/11 CORRESPONDENCE RECEIVED / DATES TO NOTE
It was resolved to note the Correspondence. (Proposed by Cllr. Cruse)
486/12 DATE OF NEXT MEETING
The next meeting will now be held on 13th May 2020 at 7:30pm via Zoom.
Meeting ended at 8.02pm