Community & Leisure Services Minutes (Signed) 06-07-2020
Minutes of a Meeting of the Community & Leisure Services Committee held on Monday 6th July 2020 at 7:00 pm via Zoom
Attendance:
Councillor J De’Ath (Chairman)
Councillor A Appleby
Councillor J Borda (Vice Chairman)
Councillor Y Fitzgerald
Councillor P Hulbert
Councillor M Jefferys
Councillor C O’Neill
Also Present: Cathy Whitaker – RFO, Julie Ashton – Minute Assistant, Philippa Winter, 1 Member of the Press and 3 Members of the Public.
Minute
As the existing Leisure Services Chairman, Cllr De’Ath took the chair for this item
C/20/07/1 – To elect a Chairman
Cllr O’Neill nominated Cllr De’Ath. There were no other nominations. A vote was taken, and the following was agreed:
D/20/07/1.01 Resolved
That Cllr De’Ath be elected as the Chairman of the C&L Services Committee for 2020/201
Cllr De’Ath took the Chair.
C/20/07/2 – To elect a vice chairman
Cllr O’Neill nominated Cllr Borda. There were no other nominations. A vote was taken, and the following was agreed:
D/20/07/2.01 Resolved
That Cllr Borda be elected as the Vice Chairman of the C&L Services Committee for 2020/21.
C/20/07/3 – Chairman to read fire safety notice and announce that proceedings may be filmed or recorded.
The Chairman opened the meeting and announced that proceedings are being recorded and to advise that all participants will be muted by the host of the meeting who will unmute the individual the Chairman has invited to speak.
C/20/07/4 – Apologies for absence
Apologies were received from Cllrs Drummond, Hood, Kerby and Yarrow. Councillors Anderson, Bowen and Hirst were absent.
C/20/07/5 – Declaration of member’s interests and to remind councillors of the need to keep up to date their register or member’s interests and to consider any requests received for members dispensation.
Cllr Borda declared a pecuniary interest in item 14.
C/20/07/6 – To receive and confirm for accuracy the minutes of the leisure services committee meeting held on Monday 2nd March 2020 and the community services meeting held on 9th March 2020 and any matters arising.
Members received the minutes of the Leisure & Community Services Committees meetings held on 2nd and 9th March 2020 and the following was agreed:
C/20/076.01 Resolved
That the minutes of the Leisure & Community Services Committees meetings held on 2nd and 9th March 2020 be adopted and signed as a true record by the Chairman of the Leisure & Community Services Committee.
There were no matters arising.
C/20/07/7 – Public participation an invitation to members of the public to put questions/statements of not more than 3 minutes duration. No resolutations can be made but councillors are very happy for matters to be brought to their attention.
A member of the Press spoke to item 17. Philippa Winter spoke to item 18.
C/20/07/8 – To receive the accounts for June 2020.
The accounts for June 2020 were received and noted.
C/20/07/9 – Earmarked reserve allocations
RFO advised that his item was referred from full Council for the Committee to consider allocating funds for vehicle replacement, the water feature and play equip. The Committee would consider these when setting the budget in October 2020 and members were asked to table any other items that may have been overlooked.
C/20/07/10 – Co-option
Members considered the proposal of the co-option of Philippa Winter as a non-Council Member without voting rights as an exception due to her experience to this Committee in accordance with SO 30 ii) and the following was agreed:
C/20/07/10.01 Recommendation
That Philippa Winter be co-opted as a non-Council member without voting rights to the C&L Services Committee as per SO 30 ii); subject to approval at Full Town Council meeting on 27/7/2020.
C/20/07/11 – West Suffolk sla
RFO advised that there was nothing to report. Philippa would agree her remit and set up a meeting with Councillors to voice their concerns for her to take forward.
C/20/07/12 – Cemetery
Anti-social behaviour – vehicle access and the locking of the gates were discussed. It was suggested that a new lock be purchased similar to that used at the allotments. RFO would look at the costs for a replacement lock and ascertain the number of current key holders.
Path and hardstanding – the proposal from WS to install a fenced/gated hardstanding area at the Cemetery was considered however, there was no quote for the work. RFO would obtain quotes for the next meeting.
C/20/07/13 – Memorial Gardens
Kiosk – RFO advised that the last Environmental Health advice had been that it was not appropriate to sell food from the Kiosk as there was no separate hand washing facility. The facilities would be reassessed to look at what service could be offered and any cost implications to meet current standards and ensure COVID-19 compliance. The following was agreed:
C/20/07/13.01 Recommendation
That measures to bring the Kiosk up to standard be investigated.
Play equipment – the current arrangements for play equipment inspections were noted.
Quotes for launch pad of aerial slide – this item was deferred to allow for further quotes to be obtained.
Cllr Borda declared a pecuniary interest in the following item.
C/20/07/14 – Website
RFO advised that a new website was required to meet The Public Sector Bodies (Websites & Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018 coming into effect in September 2020 and she would seek quotes for this work.
C/20/07/15 – Bill Tutte Memorial
RFO advised that since lockdown, it had not been possible to get quotes to clean the hard surface. Philippa Winter suggested a company used by the Bedford Lodge and RFO would take this forward.
C/20/07/16 – Cricket at the Severals
Members were advised that Government advice allowed cricket to be played with a soft ball and cricket could resume at the Severals from 11th July with a view to starting a junior league in August. A proposal would go to full Council on 27th July.
C/20/07/17 – St Mary’s square
The parking issues reported by the press at the last full Council meeting were discussed and it was suggested that planters or flower beds could be installed on the grass verges to prohibit parking. It was noted that it was not an offence to park on the verge but crossing the double yellow line and mounting the pavement needed to be witnessed by police to be prosecuted.
It was also suggested that the landlord be contacted to request that they install no parking notices. The District Cllrs would be asked to follow this up and investigate who the owner is.
C/20/07/18 – Equipment
This item was referred from full Council and the proposal to sell the strimmer and other equipment was considered. It was not clear which equipment was surplus to requirements and the following was agreed:
C/20/07/18.01 Recommendation
That the strimmer be retained and other equipment be subject to an audit.
C/20/07/19 – Sid device
RFO advised that she was looking into the installation of the new posts that were on the list of requested locations.
C/20/07/20 – Correspondence
Cemetery – email regarding rabbits and no response from the contractor who had been dealing with the issue. As the situation was getting worse, RFO would contact the ferret group and find out when it would be safe to use them.
Email from Will Wright WS – requesting funding support for outdoor activities during the summer holidays (Adventure Days). RFO would explore funding options to support the initiative.
C/20/07/21 -Date of next meeting
Monday 3rd August 2020 via Zoom.
C/20/07/22 – Items for next agenda
• Memorial Gardens Kiosk
• Memorial Gardens Play equipment
• Parking issues
• Additional Pedestrian Crossings in Newmarket
Meeting closed at 7:54pm
Signed ______________________________ Date ______________________