Crofton Parish
Council
Minutes of the Annual General
Meeting held on
Tuesday 20th May 2003 in The High School at 7.00 pm.
Present: Councillors: T
Gomersall, J R Hewitt
G P
Jackson OBE BEM JP, P Jacques,
A Ripley
& J Voros
Residents: Mrs P
Baines, Mrs P Walker, Mr S Bennett
Mr H Shaw
& Mr G Scofield
The Clerk: J F
Shillitoe
Apologies: Councillors: G
Scargill
The chairman Cllr
A Ripley presided over the meeting.
03/ 78 Appointment of Chairman 2003/2004
It was proposed,
seconded and agreed that Cllr A Ripley be appointed Chairman for the
forthcoming year.
Cllr Ripley
accepted, thanking council for re-electing him to the Chair. He also asked that the minutes note his
thanks to those councillors who had chosen not to seek re-election this year,
Cllrs I Beckett, P Beckett, L Coates, D Crowcroft and J Feeney. The clerk to
also write to all retiring councillors thanking them for their contribution to
the parish.
03/ 79 Public Participation Session
1.
Parish Cemetery
Mr Scofield reported that T
& D Contractors had visited the cemetery today, cut the grass, emptied the
soil bin into the waste bin, but not cleared up afterwards.
Discussion took place on what was expected from T & D after which it
was agreed to meet T & D on site to discuss matters and to draw up a
contract to formalise everything.
2.
Pot Holes – Hare Park Lane.
Mrs Baines reported that the
pot holes at the junction of hare park lane with High Street are getting
bigger.
The clerk to report the matter to highways.
03/ 80 Declaration of Interests in Items on the Agenda
No declaration
were made.
03/ 81 Appointment of Vice Chairman 2003/2004
It was proposed,
seconded and agreed that Cllr Jackson be appointed Vice Chairman for the
forthcoming year.
03/ 82 Appointment of The Responsible Financial Officer, RFO
The clerk was
appointed RFO for the forthcoming year.
03/ 83 Co-option of Councillors
The clerk reported
that following the recent election only seven of the thirteen council vacancies
had been filled, the remaining six now needed to be filled by co-option.
The clerk informed
councillor that he had received two expressions of interest in the vacancies,
one from Simon Bennett and other from David Marshall, both of whom were
councillors prior to the election.
Both candidates
were discussed and reference made to David Marshall’s poor during his last term
of office a separate votes taken.
It was agreed that
both candidates be co-opted and that the rules on attendance be brought to
David Marshall’s attention.
It was then agreed
that the remaining vacancies be advertised throughout the parish, on the
website, the library, smoke signal and the Wakefield Express.
03/ 84 Appointment of Committee Convenors
It was agreed that
this matter be deferred until the July meeting when hopefully more councillors
will have been co-opted. In the meantime existing convenors would continue to
over see matters.
a. Allotments - Cllrs J
Voros
b. Community
Facilities - Cllr S Bennett - Village Centre
Cllr G
Scargill - Parish Centre
c. Parish Cemetery - Cllr G Scargill
d. Special
Services - The clerk
03/ 85 Matters to be Discussed in Private
It was proposed,
seconded and agreed that the public and the press be excluded during
discussions involving staffing and the financial status of outside
organisations.
03/ 86 Minutes
It was agreed that
the minutes of the meetings held on 15th April were a correct record
and signed by the Chairman.
03/ 87 Matters Arising
1.
Wall – Harrison Road
It was reported that Wakefield
MDC has carried out some remedial work to the retaining wall alongside
Harrison Road. This amounted to removing the top 30 cms for 7 to 8
metres and had taken a whole week to complete.
The clerk was asked to write to Wakefield MDC asking when the work was
to be completed.
2.
Car Sales – Weeland Road
The chairman and
Cllr Jackson reported that car with for sale signs had returned to Weelend
Road.
The clerk to inform the
enforcement officers of the matter and that Cllr Ripley is willing to keep a
diary of events.
03/ 88 West Yorkshire Police
The clerk reported
that due to the length of the agenda he had agreed with PC Whitworth that the
police could be excused tonight.
Cllrs thought that
it would be useful to hold a special meeting to discuss policing in general.
The clerk to
arrange.
03/ 89 Community Facilities - Convenors Report
1. Parish
Centre
Nothing to report.
2. Village
Centre
Nothing to report.
03/ 90 Allotments - Convenors Report
Cllr Voros reported the Mr Hill’s allotments were in need of attention.
The clerk to contact Mr Hill.
03/ 91 Parish Cemetery - Convenors Report
The clerk reported
that Mr Hunter of Sandown Ave had written again asking that the council take
the necessary action to secure the cemetery fence.
It was agreed that
Mr Joyce be contracted to carry out the work.
03/ 92 Special Services - Convenors Report
1.
Mr Malcolm Stead
The clerk reported that Mr Stead had forwarded a letter of thanks along
with an offer to attend a future meeting to address the council on his
experiences.
03/ 93 Moorhouse Opencast Liaison Committee
Cllr Gomersall
reported that the next meeting was to be held later this month, he would give a
full report at the June meeting.
03/ 94 Old Library Site
Discussion took place on the progress of the project and that
school governors would like work to commence mid July.
The consensus was
that it was all in the hands of Wakefield MDC, Education Dept, Planning Dept,
Designs Services, Building Services and Property services. If work didn’t commence mid July WMDC could
only blame themselves.
As for transfer of
ownership to the Parish Council, that could take place at any time. However, the Parish would not make a
financial contribution until the transfer had taken place.
03/ 95 Planning
1.
Babylon Takeaway
The clerk reported that the appeal by Mr Singh against Wakefield MDCs
decision to not to allow an extension in the opening hours of his takeaway has
been dismissed by the Inspector.
2.
Crofton Triangle
The clerk reported that he had received a request from Mr George Wright,
Mr Peacock’s Planning Advisor to meet the Parish Council to discuss workings at
the triangle.
It was agreed that Mr Wrights request be turned down, at least until the
current matters before the planners have been before the Planning Board.
3.
Other Applications
All applications
received during the period were found to be acceptable.
03/ 96 Financial Matters
a.
2002/2003 R & P Accounts
The clerk presented a statement of accounts for financial year 2002/03
on which the annual return to the external auditors is based.
Councillors noted the contents and agreed that the figures be used.
b. 2002/2003 Audit Return
The clerk presented the annual audit return to council. Councillors found the return to be
acceptable and the chairman signed it accordingly.
c. Asset Register
The clerk presented the asset register.
Clerk agreed that the register reflected an accurate assessment of the
council’s assets.
d. Salaries
It was agreed that all salaries be increased in line with national recommendations, the effect being to increase the hourly rate for Mrs Hardwick and Miss Reid from £5.09 to £5.32 and to increase the clerk’s salary from £3,402.36 per annum to £3,521.44.
e. Accounts
The following
accounts were submitted and approved for payment.
£
J F Shillitoe 957.89
Ms Reid 55.50
Mrs Hardwick 264.68
23.92 (back pay)
Mr G Terry 480.00 (cemetery plinths)
Yorkshire Electricity
193.55 (P Centre)
03/ 97 Correspondence
Wakefield MDC - Minutes
- Libraries Newsletter
YLCA - White Rose Update
- AGM Notice
- New Audit Procedures
-
Executive Committee Minutes
-
Wakefield Branch Minutes
YRCC - Country Air
- Sports
News
03/ 98 Parish Matters
1.
Turf Accountants- Slack Lane
The clerk to
follow up with Wakefield MDC.
2.
Service Road – Sewage Works
The clerk to
request that the Rapid Response Team clear the road of debris.
The clerk to
ascertain who owns the service road.
3.
School House
It was reported
that the tree growing from the chimney of the school house was still there.
The clerk to
contact housing.
4.
Londis - Shop Frontage
The clerk to contact Union Enterprises, to ask if they could take action
to ensure that vehicles delivering to Londis don’t obstruct the pavement and
the junction of Slack Lane with the High Street.
03/ 99 Date of next Meeting
Tuesday 17th June 2003..
03/100 Matters Discussed in Private
None discussed.
Chairman 17th June 2003.