April 2022 Minutes
Croft Parish Council
Minutes of the Parish Council Meeting held at Croft Village Hall on Monday 4th April.
The Chairman welcomed all present, and as no members of the public were in attendance, the Council went into session.
Present:
Cllr’s N Dowlman (Chair), E Peacock (Vice-Chair), A Coxall, G Bowser, C Moore, P Vokes.
1. Apologies
Sue Blackburn
Sid Dennis
2. Declarations of Interest
None
3. To Confirm the minutes of the Council meeting held on 4th March 2022.
It was discussed that names should not be attributed to salaries in the interest of discretion.
Resolved unanimously.
4. Matters to Report
a) The precept has been submitted to ELDC at £11,147.00 for the financial year of 2022-23.
b) Cheque received from Allotment tenant for £765.00. Deposited to the Treasurers Account.
c) AGAR to be handled by the new Clerk to the Council, who also needs to book the internal audit with Victoria Clark.
d) LCC Highways have issued an extension to the Temporary Traffic Restriction on Low Road which will finish on 18th March 2022.
5. Informative matters from LCC and ELDC Councillors
Councillors were not in attendance. Reports were emailed. Information was passed on about Sykes Farm at Gibraltar Point regarding accommodation for volunteers.
Resolved unanimously.
6. Planning Applications
Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust application – S/039/00453/22. A brief discussion took place on how this would benefit the site. No objections were raised.
Resolved unanimously.
7. Finance
A discussion took place regarding the salaries. Cllr Dowlman and Vokes commented on what the correct salary should be for N Chrysostou. This was amended to the correct figures.
Member were also advised of the account balances.
Resolved unanimously.
8. Parish Clerk Laptop
Members discussed purchasing a new laptop for the new Clerk to the Council. The Clerk will research a laptop, subject to consultation with Cllr Dowlman. A top price of £800 was agreed.
Resolved unanimously.
9. Petty Cash
It was agreed to write of the loss of petty cash from the previous Clerk. The Clerk to record this in the accounts for 2021-22.
Resolved unanimously.
10. Employee Salaries
Amendments to staff salaries were discussed led by Cllr Vokes and Cllr Dowlman under item 6 - Finances. An uplift in salaries was agreed as per the national pay scale, including relevant back pay due.
Resolved unanimously.
11. Appointment of a New Clerk
It was confirmed that the new Clerk had been appointed - Jack Sargent.
12. Village Hall Report
Cllr Vokes provided a report on the Village Hall. A discussion on the costs of installing Wi-Fi to the hall took place - £32.34 including VAT. Although a credit check will be required from a committee member. Cllr Dowlman kindly offered. In keeping with modern usage requirements it was agreed to install Wi-Fi.
A new advert for the Village Hall has been submitted to Link Up Parish Magazine.
Gates at the playing field have been re-hung. Cllr Vokes provided the invoice and is to be repaid.
Resolved unanimously.
13. Queen’s Platinum Jubilee Celebrations
A report about the Jubilee Celebrations was provided by Cllr Coxall. Ideas for games were discussed. Further plans for decorations, mugs and refreshments were discussed with consideration to the budget for the event. A discussion on the use of speakers for the event took place. It was confirmed the event will be scheduled to run from 12:00 to 18:00 on Saturday 4th June.
The Clerk is to request a temporary road closure order from ELDC for Pinchbeck Lane and Church Lane due to safety concerns raised by member.
The Clerk advised that any photographs taken on the day will require permission from those pictured to be used on the website. It would be great to showcase the event and the Councils involvement in the community on the website when improvements to it are made. Photographs with relevant permissions to be emailed to croftparishclerk@gmail.com.
14. Agenda Items for the next meeting
Cllr Dowlman requested an item for the next agenda. To consider purchasing a screen for the meeting room.
No further items were suggested at this time.
15. Next meeting date
The next meeting date was scheduled to be Monday 9th May. However, this was subsequently changed to Monday 16th May due to a clash with the new Clerk’s prearranged schedule.
Resolved unanimously
The Chairman closed the meeting at 8:20pm.