Godmanchester Town Council Minutes.

The Minutes of the Godmanchester Town Council are provided simply to increase ease of access for fellow residents here in GMC. The content does not necessarily reflect the views of the webmaster (Stuart Bond) or Godmanchester Community Association. The Minutes are released to the public once they are approved.

Please note that the financial details are not held on this website and that only the entire Minutes as recorded in the Minutes Book have legal standing. Hard copies are posted around the town on the noticeboards and also sent to Huntingdon Library. If you have any queries please contact the Town Clerk by e-mail or telephone / fax 388 870.

MINUTES OF THE MEETING HELD IN THE GODMANCHESTER TOWN HALL ON THURSDAY 20 JULY 2006

PRESENT: H R BUTCHER Town Mayor, M COHEN Deputy Town Mayor,
Councillors: W D BUTTERWORTH, Mrs C A GODLEY, Mrs H HULL, Cllr C R HYAMS,
E KYNOCH, Mrs A M LOOKER, C VANE PERCY, G WILSON

Town Clerk: Mrs M LIDDIARD

APOLOGIES: Cllrs D BROWN, A GOFF, Mrs B MOORE, Mrs E TREHARNE-JONES,

1 member of the public was present

PRESENTATION: Mr Stuart Bell, Transportation Team Leader HDC, and Mr Bob Tuckwell, CCC attended to advise the Town Council of proposals relating to the A14 viaduct. They explained details of the technical study undertaken and how the information gathered last year during a local traffic census had been used to forecast future traffic movement in the area. Proposed plans have been drawn up and Mr Bell confirmed a public consultation would take place in September 2006.

Cllr HYAMS arrived at 7.58pm
Cllr VANE PERCY arrived at 8.05pm

Cllr HYAMS declared an interest as District and County Councillor.
Cllr WILSON declared an interest in questions he raised.

MAYOR’S ANNOUNCEMENTS

The MAYOR confirmed he had represented the Town on 12 occasions since his last report and the DEPUTY MAYOR had represented the Town on 6 occasions. The MAYOR thanked all who had deputised during his absence.

The MAYOR advised the Town Clerk would be on holiday for one week from 7th to 11th August.

Although the Town Council had approved that the MAYOR spend up to £50 to have the Mayoral Robes cleaned, the cleaners had advised they would not undertake the job because of the age and condition of the robes. The MAYOR advised he had obtained a cost of £125 plus postage and packing, from Michaels Civic Robes who make, repair and clean Civic Robes. This cost was APPROVED. It was confirmed the DEPUTY MAYOR’S robes had been cleaned.

The MAYOR informed the Town Council that Mr Jack Mason, Steward of the Freemasons had died. His funeral would take place on Thursday 27 July 2006 and the MAYOR would attend to represent the Town Council.

06/051 MINUTES OF PREVIOUS MEETING

The Minutes of the meeting held on 15 June 2006 were APPROVED and signed as a complete and accurate record.

06/052 MATTERS ARISING.

The Outstanding Actions List, dated 15 June was reviewed.

Our thanks to Cllr Brown for his sterling work in co-ordinating the placing and filling the planters which are now in position in front of the two Town Signs.

Mr Fechter has sent an e-mail seeking information about another Stopping Up Order commented on by the Town Council. Town Clerk would respond.

Cllr VANE PERCY had met with Graham Campbell of Campbell Rees to progress the matter of improvements to the footpath by the Church Gates. Campbell Rees have been asked to present the Town Council with an idea of costs for the project.

Town Clerk has now obtained costs for installation of BT Broadband. NTL who provide our telephone line are unable to provide Broadband to the Town Office. Costs of £42.95 per quarter for line rental and £19.99 per month (rising to £21.99 after 3 months) for Broadband were APPROVED. Town Clerk to ensure we have adequate SPAM filters.

The MAYOR and DEPUTY MAYOR were presented with their new hats.

Town Clerk’s note: following approval to supply a baby-changing table in the QES and Judith’s Field, the Town Clerk has ordered one unit for each location at a cost of £161 plus £71 installation per unit.

06/053 CORRESPONDENCE: (See Appendix A also)

Reverend David Busk, new Priest in charge at St Mary the Virgin, will be licensed on Sunday 10th September at 6.30pm. All Councillors are invited to attend.

A quote from ReDec to paint the entrance hall of the QES was discussed. It was AGREED that the quote in the sum of £150 be accepted.

Cllr BUTTERWORTH advised we have received an invitation to apply for a Jointly Funded Minor Improvement Bid. Cllr HYAMS suggested the entrance to the cricket ground in Fox Grove could be improved with signage to limit speed. He will forward details to the Town Clerk in order that a bid can be made.

Correspondence has been received from Mr Barry regarding a Bailey Bridge in Berry Lane. Cllr MRS LOOKER declared an interest. The Town Clerk will pass this enquiry to the District Council and advise Mr Barry.

Cllr BUTTERWORTH will attend the next “Tackling Congestion” meeting, run by CCC, on 16th August 2006 at 2pm.

Ferguson’s have advised a number of trees at the Recreation Ground require minor works. They supplied a quotation in the sum of £840.00 to carry out these works. Town Clerk will obtain an alternative quotation.

Town Clerk would obtain a quotation for a simple bench to be placed on the Recreation Ground.

Cllr COHEN advised we had been approached by Mr Clark who had pre-purchased two ashes plots which he no longer wanted. He had asked to sell them back to the Town Council. It was AGREED he could be refunded the original sum paid for the two plots, which was £94 less a £10 administration fee and the original paperwork would be returned to the Town Office. Town Clerk’s Note: Mr Clark has now requested a refund for one plot only. A cheque in the sum of £42 has been issued to replace the original cheque.

Cllr COHEN had also been asked whether an irregular shaped piece of Portland Stone with an inlaid inscription could be placed on a grave rather than the conventional shaped headstone. The memorial would not extend beyond the approved dimensions and it was AGREED, to grant permission.

Cllr KYNOCH advised that Huntingdonshire Citizens Advice Bureau had downsized their main committee. He was standing down from the committee and suggested if another Cllr would like to take his place, they should contact the Town Clerk.

U3A had written requesting consideration of a S137 Grant. Town Clerk would write to advise requests were considered in June and December.

Cllr VANE PERCY reported he had met with Graham Campbell to discuss proposals for a disabled access ramp to the Town Hall. There were a number of problems with the preferred option of raising the level of the car park and they had considered an alternative plan to retain the original steps to the Town Hall but relocate them. Following discussions Cllr MRS LOOKER proposed that the Town Council had considered the viability of providing a disabled access ramp to the Town Hall, but as the building was listed the proposals were not viable and the Town Council should therefore elect not to proceed. A vote was taken and 8 Councillors voted for this proposal. It was AGREED Cllr VANE PERCY would confirm our decision with Campbell Rees and finalise any outstanding matters with them.

Cllr WILSON advised work would begin at Brampton Hut to install traffic signals on 31 July. This would take approximately 18 weeks to complete.

06/054 ACCOUNTS.

06/054.1 The accounts set out in Appendix B were APPROVED. The Town Council were advised the existing agreement to grant the Huntingdon and Godmanchester Twinning Association £1400 each year had covered the period to 2005. It was AGREED that the existing annual amount of £1300 for Youth Activities and £100 for administration would be paid. This agreement would cover 2006 – 2008.
The Town Clerk presented a copy of a quarterly bank reconciliation to the Town Council. Details of income and expenditure for the 3 months to the 30 June were provided for information.
The Town Clerk advised that Barclays do not have an up-to-date list of signatories for our accounts and Town Cllrs would be asked to provide details in order to update all records.

06/054.2 The end of year accounts and reconciliation to 31 March 2006 were approved and duly signed by the Town Clerk and the MAYOR.

06/054.3 The Town Clerk explained details of the Annual Return. Mr Sneath, internal auditor, had presented a copy of his report on internal controls and following discussions with the Chair of the Finance WP, the Town Clerk advised the following actions were being taken:

banking of receipts would be undertaken more regularly
a list of regular suppliers would be drawn up and formally approved by the Town Council
back-ups of computer records would be undertaken each month, with a further copy being held outside the Town Office. APPROVAL was given to purchase appropriate memory sticks to record the information
with immediate effect the invoices would be presented at the same time as cheques and Cllrs would be required to select invoices randomly to verify payments. Such selected invoices should be signed by the Cllr.

Following further explanations of the Annual Return, the Town Council APPROVED the Statement of Assurance and APPROVED the Annual Return , which the Town Clerk and MAYOR then signed.

06/055 PLANNING APPLICATIONS AND CORRESPONDENCE.

The applications and correspondence set out in Appendix C were considered. The Town Clerk would advise HDC of the Council’s recommendations.

Cllr VANE PERCY left at 10.25pm

06/056 DISTRICT/COUNTY COUNCIL REPORTS.

Cllr MRS GODLEY had met with Karen Lunn, Traffic Engineer, and asked for the Town Council’s agreement for white lines to be painted across drive ways in New Street to allow better flow of traffic. She advised a one-way system is not viable. AGREED.

Cllr MRS GODLEY raised the issue of an organisation called Young Lives who have innovative ideas on Youth Issues. Cllr MRS HULL and Cllr MRS LOOKER reported on recent meetings and it was AGREED that Tracy Highland of Young Lives be invited to attend the next Town Council meeting to advise all members of details of the project and how the Town Council would be involved.

Cllr MRS GODLEY LEFT AT 11.00PM

Cllr HYAMS reported he was still following up issues regarding potholes.
Cllr HYAMS advised the Town Council could take responsibility for dealing with issues of dog fouling. It was confirmed that the Town Council do not have the resources to take on this responsibility and it had been agreed to leave this task under the control of HDC.

Cllr HYAMS left at 11.05pm

06/057 WORKING PARTY (WP) REPORTS : not covered by correspondence

Flood Alleviation: Cllr MRS HULL read a response from the Environment Agency following queries we raised. It was AGREED there were further questions to be raised. Cllr MRS HULL would prepare a response, which would be sent from the Town Clerk.

ANY OTHER BUSINESS.

Nothing was raised.
THE NEXT COUNCIL MEETING WILL BE HELD ON 17 AUGUST 2006

The meeting ended at 11.15 pm Mayor