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Staffing, Finance and General Purposes Meeting 5 September 2013


 
PRESENT:   

North Ward:   

Councillor Mrs M Fulford

South Ward:   

Councillor D C Fulford
Councillor A T Inch
Councillor S G Inch
Councillor P J Pester (Chairman)

East Ward:   

Councillor SEL Clarke OBE
Councillor R Vanstone
Councillor M Langmead

IN ATTENDANCE:    Mrs H J Blackburn (Town Clerk)

040 APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE

Councillor Mrs E A Brenton (North Ward – Personal)
Councillor Pester advised that Councillor Langmead would be a few minutes late in arriving.

041 DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST ON ITEMS ON THE AGENDA

There were no declarations of interest.

042 PUBLIC PARTICIPATION SESSION OF 15 MINUTES DURATION

No Members of the Public were present at the meeting.

(Councillor Vanstone arrived at the meeting)

043 MINUTES

The Minutes of the Meeting held on 25 July 2013 were approved and signed as a correct record.

(Vote – For: 6,  Against: 0, Abstentions: 1)


044 CHAIRMAN’S ITEMS

Internal Auditor

The Town Clerk advised that the Internal Auditor has had a change of personal circumstances and will no longer be able to continue as the Town Council’s Internal Auditor.  Members asked the Town Clerk to ask TTVS and a local accountant whether they could provide this facility.

(Councillor Langmead arrived at the meeting)

Town Flag

The Town Clerk advised that the order had temporarily been put on hold, due to concerns about the material colours, and to await the receipt of further samples.  These had now been received and Members viewed the samples.  The Town Clerk was asked to confirm the order, and ask for reinforced hems.

Free Christmas Parking

The Clerk advised that Torridge District Council had accepted the Town Council’s offer of £2,500 for the purchase of Christmas Parking.

Computer

The Town Clerk advised that the ailing pc currently used by the Administrative Assistant has now been replaced.

Webcam

The Town Clerk and Mayor provided an update on the action being undertaken to work around the technical difficulties encountered in placing a live stream on the website.

045 ACCOUNTS

Members received the list of payments.

Proposed by Councillor S G Inch, seconded and

RESOLVED:  That the list of payments be approved

(Vote For: 8, Against: 0)

046 LOCAL COUNCIL ADVISORY SERVICE (LCAS)

The Town Clerk advised that the LCAS provided by Zurich Municipal provided a risk management helpline with support and information as required. There would also be the opportunity to attend an annual seminar included in the price of £95 per annum.
Proposed by Councillor A T Inch, seconded and

RESOLVED:  The Town Clerk will confirm that the rate applicable to Bideford Town Council is £95 + vat per annum, and if this is the case, she will subscribe to the service.

(Vote For:  8, Against: 0)

047 PROJECT UPDATE

Victoria Park

The Town Clerk provided Members with the list of votes and comments received to date regarding the choice of War Memorial.  Members were disappointed with the limited response to the consultation and determined therefore that the findings were inconclusive.  Concerns were voiced that there was no plan or costings for the proposed bandstand and Members felt that the original Manor Court presentment should be kept in mind, which was for a war memorial.  It was felt that a bandstand could possibly be looked at as a separate project with the Town Band.  Concerns were also raised about deviating from the original plan due to the unknown effects that a possible extension to the Burton may have on the park area.

The following proposals and votes then took place:

Proposed by Councillor Clarke and seconded

That the hedge is removed to open up a new memorial area (as on previous plans) and that a Memorial displaying a sword is put in place.

(Vote – For: 3,  Against: 2, Abstentions: 3)

Proposed by Councillor A T Inch and seconded

That the hedge is removed to open up a new memorial area (as on previous plans) and that a Memorial displaying an obelisk is put in place.

(Vote – For: 2,  Against: 3, Abstentions: 3)

Proposed by Councillor Fulford and seconded

That the hedge is removed to open up a new memorial area (as on previous plans) and that a Memorial displaying a cross is put in place.

(Vote – For: 2,  Against: 0, Abstentions: 6)

Following the votes it was therefore

RESOLVED: That the hedge is removed to open up a new memorial area (as on previous plans) and that a Memorial displaying a sword is put in place.

(Vote – For: 3,  Against: 2, Abstentions: 3)

Cooper Street – Funding agreement document

A revised Funding agreement had been circulated prior to the meeting.

(Councillor Vanstone expressed concerns that Members of Bideford Town Council have not seen the tender list.)

The Town Clerk pointed out a new addition to the agreement which specified that Members should not publish any material to the Project or the other Parties without the prior written agreement of those other Parties.  Each party also needs to acknowledge the support of the other Parties in any materials that refer to the Project and in any written or spoken public presentations about the Project.

Proposed by Councillor S G Inch, seconded and

RESOLVED:  That the revised funding agreement is accepted.

(Vote For: 6, Against: 2,)

Cooper Street Archway

The Town Clerk reported that funding was no longer available via Torridge District Council for this project.  Councillor Clarke advised however, that the project should come in with the £12,000 put aside by the Town Council for the project. He advised that the arch will be placed on poles.

Port Memorial

It was advised that the funding application is underway and the Bridge Trust has agreed to grant the £18,068 requested towards the project.

048 BIDEFORD AND DISTRICT SEA CADET BID FOR SOUTH WEST ENGLAND ENVIRONMENT TRUST FUND

The Town Clerk advised that The Bideford and District Sea Cadets have bid for £25,000 in landfill tax credits from South West England Environment Trust Fund.  In order to be eligible for funding they are required to have a source who can provide a Third Party Contribution (In the region of £2,500) and which is independent from the organisation.  They are requesting that this sum is subtracted from the £30,000 grant agreed towards their new building, and used instead as the Third Party Contribution

Proposed by Councillor A T Inch, seconded and

RESOLVED: That the Town Council provides the third party contribution for the Bideford and District Sea Cadets, and that this sum is taken from the £30,000 grant money previously agreed towards their new building.

(Vote For: 8, Against: 0)

049 WOODLAND

Members considered delegating responsibility to the Town Clerk and Chairman of SFGP for selecting the contractor for works required to the woodland following receipt of fixed prices quotations and the selection of an independent assessor to determine the frequency and scope of inspection.

Proposed by Councillor Clarke, seconded and

RESOLVED:  That the Town Clerk and Chairman of SFGP are delegated the responsibility for selecting the contractor for works required to the woodland following receipt of fixed prices quotations and for the selection of an independent assessor.

(Vote For: 8, Against: 0)

050 CAR PARKING WORKING GROUP REPRESENTATIVE.

Members considered nominating a representative to attend the car parking Working Group, to be held by Torridge District Council on Monday 16 September at 2 pm and agreed that the relevant points on the Town Council’s current parking policy are put forward by the representative.

(Councillor Langmead advised that he would have liked to attended, but is not available on that date).

Proposed by Councillor S G Inch, seconded and

RESOLVED: That Councillor Mrs Fulford represents Bideford Town Council at the car parking working group on Monday 16 September and puts forward the relevant points from the car parking policy.

(Vote For: 7, Against: 0, Abstention: 1)

051 REFURBISHMENT OF FINGER POSTS

Members gave consideration to refurbishing the finger posts in Bideford, which posts would take priority and the refurbishment method to be employed.  It was agreed that the six, current town centre posts as detailed in red on the map, would take priority.  Councillor Clarke advised that he would donate a hand cage early in the morning if required.

RESOLVED: Councillor Pester will survey the posts together with the handyman to ascertain how the work could be carried out, and will come back to SFGP with a proposal.  Councillor Clarke will cost the initial sandblasting and undercoating process.

(Vote For: 8, Against: 0)

052 GRANT MEETING

Proposed by Councillor Clarke, seconded and

RESOLVED:  That an additional SFGP meeting will be held on Thursday 10 October at 6.00 pm for the specific reasons of considering the Grant applications.

(Vote For: 8, Against: 0)

The business of the meeting having been completed, the Chairman thanked the members for their attendance and the meeting concluded at 7.35 pm.







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