Parish Council
Minutes of the Sticklepath Parish Council meeting held on 10th June 2020
PRESENT:
Cllr. Cruse (Chairing), Cllr. Moore, Cllr. Daniel, Cllr. Bell, Cllr. Sales and Cllr. Grubb.
IN ATTENDANCE:
Cllr. James McInnes (DCC).
Andrew Wyer (Clerk).
488/1 APOLOGIES
Apologies received from Cllr. Loader.
488/2 PUBLIC PARTICIPATION
No members of the public were present but Cllr. McInnes was invited speak. He gave a brief report on DCC’s Coronavirus response, including the return to school for some Primary aged children and the work involved in getting all children back in September. As a Beacon council for Track and Trace, DCC is working with central Government to develop procedures for implementing the scheme in the region in the event of a localised outbreak.
488/3 DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST
There were no declarations of interest.
488/4 APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES OF THE MEETING HELD 13th MAY 2020
It was resolved to approve the minutes of the Parish Council meeting held on Wednesday 13th May 2020. These will be signed at a later date. (Proposed by Cllr. Cruse.)
488/5 MATTERS ARISING
5.1 Report of Japanese Knot Weed. – Cllr. Daniel reported that after investigation the plant concerned was found to be Himalayan Balsam. It was removed but is likely to come back as it is found upstream of Sticklepath.
5.2 Risk Assessments. – The Clerk reported that scores have been added to the Risk Assessments.
488/6 COUNCILLOR REPORTS
6.1 Chair’s Report – Cllr. Cruse reported that there had been no more claims to the Coronavirus Hardship Fund but as the impact of the pandemic continues, more claims are likely. Malcolm Brewer has said that he will be donating the proceeds of his plant sale to the fund. Weekly bulletin number 10 will be the last for a while, until new important information needing to be distributed. The Millennium Seating garden has now been planted up. Despite chasing up WDBC, the grass at Oaktree green has not been cut. The Playing field is open, but the play equipment is still taped off. The Post Office are looking to re-open in the Village Hall, with social distancing measures in place, as soon as possible.
6.2 WDBC Report – Cllr. Daniel reported that bus services should start running to their new timetable from 15th June. The timetable is likely to be the “school holiday” timetable. WDBC have taken up the issue of Broadband speed with BT and it would be useful if residents fed back their experience to her so she could use this as evidence to support the work. The coronavirus hardship support / Welfare Fund grant scheme which can help with essential household costs is still open – application and information on WDBC website. The Discretionary fund is also still available for businesses to claim from.
6.3 Any other reports – There were no other reports.
488/7 LICENSE APPLICATION
It was resolved to note the decision made by the Clerk, under delegated powers, to support the application at Image Tattoo and Coffee Lounge, Okehampton.
488/8 FINANCE
8.1 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) Cllr. Cruse also asked the Clerk to share the new Finance spreadsheet that has been running alongside the current reports. Action : Clerk to share Finance spreadsheet.
8.2 It was resolved to approve the following payments (set up by the Clerk and to be approved by Councillor Moore): (Proposed by Cllr. Cruse)
Carrapitt Plants Plants for the Millennium Garden £21.20
Mr. A Wyer Zoom £14.39
Cllr. A Cruse Hardship Fund Vouchers £20.00
Ink Print Walks leaflet printing £215.00
488/9 PUBLICATION OF ACCOUNTS
The Clerk reported that despite Coronavirus the Council had completed all of the Audit and end of year accounting requirements without the need for an extension. The Notice detailing when the accounts would be available for public inspection had been prepared to show Monday 15/06/20 to Friday 24/07/20. It was resolved to publish the Notice as prepared. (Proposed by Cllr. Cruse)
488/10 WEEDKILLER
Cllr. Daniel reported that she had hoped to have a weed clearing workday but that the current coronavirus situation had made that impossible. She would be using a white vinegar-based solution as a weed killer and would endeavour to avoid any of the wildflowers. It was resolved that she should test it initially in the Oaktree Park area and that we would not be using a contractor this year for weed killing. (Proposed by Cllr. Daniel) An update and results of this method would be brought to the September Council meeting.
488/11 PLAYING FIELD
Cllr Bell reported that funding had been secured from the Village Hall, for the shortfall in funds for a new basket swing. This had now been ordered and a site visit had been arranged with the supplier. Cllr Cruse requested that the gratitude of the Council be passed on to the Village Hall committee for their generous donation. Cllr Daniel reported that she had been watering the new trees during the dry weather and that all but one is doing well.
488/12 PLAYING FIELD WALL
Cllr Moore reported that volunteers were lined up to repair the wall but that they were now waiting for suitable weather and DNPA volunteer guidance. Cllr Bell confirmed that the stone was available for the repairs.
488/13 CORONAVIRUS
Cllr. Cruse reported that the village seems to have settled into a new routine while dealing with Coronavirus but that increasing numbers of visitors and traffic are likely to upset this. The increased number of visitors brings an increased level of risk to the village. DCC are consulting on schemes to improve cycling schemes as a result of Coronavirus . ACTION: Clerk to add this item as a recurring Agenda item.
488/14 EQUIPMENT LOAN POLICY
It was resolved to adopt the Loan Agreement document that had been prepared by the Clerk. (Proposed by Cllr. Cruse)
488/15 WEBSITE
The Clerk reported that the Council website should comply with accessibility standards and that certain things had to be in place by 22nd September. The website administrator had identified several options which would allow the website to achieve the required standards but that these were expensive and not budgeted for. The Clerk explained that it was possible to declare that the work required was a “disproportionate burden” i.e. that rushing to completely redesign the website would be too large a burden for Council resources given the very limited number of people who would benefit from the work. Instead, in the short term, the Council could provide a statement on the website detailing the work being undertaken to bring the website up to standard and identifying how people could access the information in an accessible format. The website administrator had also provided a quote for training to allow additional people to learn how to add content to the website. It was resolved to request that Cllr. Daniel, Cllr Moore and the Clerk be trained. (Proposed by Cllr. Cruse)
Ownership and responsibility for content across the whole site were discussed and it was resolved that the Parish Council take on the responsibility for the whole site (vetting content when necessary) and uploading content on behalf of community groups. (Proposed by Cllr. Cruse)
488/16 CORRESPONDENCE RECEIVED / DATES TO NOTE
It was resolved to note the Correspondence. (Proposed by Cllr. Cruse)
488/17 DATE OF NEXT MEETING
The next meeting will be held on 15th July 2020 at 7:30pm via Zoom.
Meeting ended at 8.23pm