November 2016, at the Showground, Winthorpe
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TRENT VALLEY INTERNAL DRAINAGE BOARD Minutes of a Meeting of the Board held at 10.00 a.m. on Thursday, 24th November 2016, at The Showground, Winthorpe. Elected Members Nominated Members * Messrs W.J. Staunton (Chairman) Bassetlaw District Council J. Miller (Vice-Chairman) Cllrs K.H. Isard * R. Warburton (Vice-Chairman) Mrs S. Fielding A. Arden * D. Pidwell * T.H. Farr Newark and Sherwood District Council * N.J. Greenhalgh * Cllrs D.R. Payne * A. Howick * I. Walker R.J. Jackson B. Wells * D. Loates Mrs S. Michael * J. Pask Rushcliffe Borough Council R.N.J.S. Price * Cllrs R. Hetherington * S.E. Richardson * J. Thurman * Mrs C. Jeffreys vacancy Gedling/Melton Borough Councils Mr J. Evens West Lindsey/North Kesteven District Councils * Cllr Mrs P. Whittaker (NKDC) * Present Staff Invited Representatives of Partner Organisations * Messrs A. McGill (Chief Executive) Miss S. Jaques (Nottinghamshire County Council) * D.J. Sisson (Engineer) * Messrs J. Bowler (Bassetlaw District Council) S. Thackray (Director of Finance) I. Davies (Bassetlaw District Council) * M.S. Everett (Operations * Mrs J. Bradley (Nottinghamshire Wildlife Manager) Trust) * Mrs J.D. Watson (Operations Director) * In attendance The Chairman welcomed the new members to their first meeting and also Mrs J. Love a member of the public from the Brooks area. 1. APPOINTMENT OF CHAIRMAN PRO TEM The Chief Executive was appointed Chairman pro tem to conduct the election of Chairman of the Board for the ensuing year. 2. ELECTION OF CHAIRMAN It was proposed by Mr T.H. Farr and seconded by Cllr Mrs C. Jeffreys that Mr W.J. Staunton be elected Chairman of the Board for the ensuing year. RESOLVED unanimously That Mr W.J. Staunton be elected Chairman of the Board for the ensuing year. 3. ELECTION OF VICE-CHAIRMEN The following nominations were made for Vice-Chairmen: Mr R. Warburton - proposed by Mr D. Loates and seconded by Cllr I. Walker. Mr J. Miller - proposed by R. Warburton and seconded by Cllr I. Walker. RESOLVED unanimously - 273 - Minutes of a meeting of the Trent Valley Internal Drainage Board held on 24th November 2016 That Messrs J. Miller and R. Warburton be elected as Vice-Chairmen of the Board for the ensuing year. 4. APOLOGIES Apologies for absence were received from Messrs A. Arden, I. Davies, J. Evens, R.J. Jackson, J. Miller, Cllrs K.H. Isard, Mesdames S. Fielding, S. Michael and Miss S. Jacques. 5. DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST None. The Chairman reminded members to ensure that they had completed declaration of interest forms and to notify the office of any changes. Forms were handed out to new members. RECEIVED 6. NOTIFICATION OF ITEMS OF ANY OTHER BUSINESS Association of Drainage Authorities Annual Conference. 7. BOARD MINUTES (Pages 264 to 272) RESOLVED That the minutes of the meeting of the Board held on 29th September 2016 be confirmed as a correct record. 8. MATTERS ARISING None. 9. ELECTION The Chief Executive reported that the election of members to represent the agricultural drainage ratepayers to come into office on 1st November 2016 had been held in accordance with the Land Drainage (Election of Drainage Boards) Regulations 1938 as amended by the Land Drainage (Election of Internal Drainage Boards) (Amendment) Regulations 1977. The attached Statement of Members was circulated. It was noted that these elected members would hold office until 31st October 2019. RECEIVED 10. FINANCE AND PLANT COMMITTEE The attached minutes of the meeting held on 3rd November 2016 were circulated to members. The Chairman asked the Council representatives to be mindful that the Committee had recommended an increase of 2% for the next financial year. Cllr D.R. Payne and Mr S.E. Richardson confirmed that the minutes were a true record of the meeting. RESOLVED - 274 - Minutes of a meeting of the Trent Valley Internal Drainage Board held on 24th November 2016 That the attached minutes of the Finance and Plant Committee meeting held on 3rd November 2016 be confirmed and the recommendations made be adopted by the Board. 11. MEETING DATES The Chief Executive reported that meetings for 2017 would be scheduled as follows: Date Time Meeting 26th January 10.00 a.m. Board (approval of estimates and rate setting) 9th February 10.00 a.m. Standards Committee 30th March 10.00 a.m. Board 5th April 2.00 p.m. Consortium Committee 11th May 10.00 a.m. Finance and Plant Committee 29th June 10.00 a.m. Board (approval of final accounts) 6th September 2.00 p.m. Consortium Committee 28th September 10.00 a.m. Board 9th November 10.00 a.m. Finance and Plant Committee (to consider estimates) 30th November 10.00 a.m. Board (Annual General Meeting) Additional Committee meetings would be called if required. For the benefit of the new members, the Chairman explained the roles of the various committees and reported that an additional Finance and Plant Committee had been arranged for May as it was vital for the Board to make cost savings over the next few years. Bearing in mind the final pressures on the Board, the Chairman reported that officers were seeking an alternative venue for meetings in order to make savings and this action was approved by the Board. The Chairman reported that a tour of the area for new members would be organised early in the new year to familiarise them with the Board’s works and some of the area. Cllr D.R. Payne suggested that this should be delayed until after the council elections in May to cater for any change in membership. The following events were noted: ADA Trent Branch - 23rd February 2017 ADA Local Authority Workshop - 29th March 2017 Floodex - 17th and 18th May 2017 ADA Trent Branch AGM - 14th June 2017 Lincolnshire Show - 21st and 22nd June 2017 ADA Annual Conference - 16th November 2017 RESOLVED That meeting dates for 2017 be noted and that a tour of the area for new members (and existing members should they wish to attend) be organised for June 2017. 12. APPOINTMENTS TO COMMITTEES Members were reminded that the Terms of Reference recommend that the proportion of representation should be split equally between nominated and elected members wherever possible. The Chairman gave a brief overview of the role of the Consortium Committee. RESOLVED - 275 - Minutes of a meeting of the Trent Valley Internal Drainage Board held on 24th November 2016 (a) That the Chairman, Messrs T.H. Farr, N.J. Greenhalgh, R.J. Jackson, Cllrs R. Hetherington and B. Wells be appointed to the Standards Committee (the Chairman would not attend hearings to enable him to hear an appeal if necessary). (b) That the Chairman and Vice-Chairmen of the Board, Messrs R.N.J.S. Price, S.E. Richardson, Cllrs K.H. Isard, D.R. Payne and Mrs S. Michael continue as members of the Finance Committee. (c) That the Chairman and Mr J. Miller be appointed to the Consortium Committee with Mr R. Warburton as alternate. (d) That Messrs T.H. Farr, A. Howick, J. Miller, N.J. Greenhalgh and Mrs C. Jeffreys be appointed to the Conservation Advisory Group. 13. DRAINAGE RATES AND SPECIAL LEVIES Drainage rates and special levies outstanding at 9th September 2016 totalled £406,839.40 (a collection rate of 73.66% to date). Nine liability orders had been obtained from Mansfield Magistrates’ Court for non-payment of rates. The Chairman was pleased with the high collection rate. Mr T.H. Farr queried whether there were still any land parcels where ownership had not been identified. The Director of Finance reported that there may be some fields in the Kingston Brook area but he would check with the Rating Officer and contact members to see whether they could assist with this. The Chief Executive reported that the Rating Officer was in the process of digitising all the land; adding this to the Board’s geographical information system would mean faster easier access to the information and would also benefit operations when identifying ownership prior to entry onto land. RECEIVED 14. FINANCE The Director of Finance presented the attached report which was considered in detail. He stated that a review of the capital and maintenance budgets would be undertaken shortly to ascertain what work would not be completed in year and the forecast would be adjusted accordingly and the costs accrued to 2017/18. A more accurate forecast would be presented to the January Board meeting. Regarding cash investments, it was noted that the amount invested with the Nat West exceeded that permitted in the Financial Regulations, largely due to the special levy payments recently received. The Director of Finance was seeking alternative accounts and would transfer the balance as soon as these had been set up. In response to Mr T.H. Farr, the Chairman reported that the Finance and Plant Committee had recommended revenue reserves of 30% be retained to ensure that the Board was prepared for a major flood event. A capital reserve fund had also been set up to ensure sufficient funds were available for some of the larger capital schemes. The Director of Finance reported that an increase of 1% had been made in the estimates for 2017/18 but asked members to be aware that inflation could rise to as much as 4% next year and any shortfall would have to be funded from balances. - 276 - Minutes of a meeting of the Trent Valley Internal Drainage Board held on 24th November 2016 Mr S.E. Richardson advised that the Board must be cautious about undertaking any additional work other than on its own systems, particularly during a flood event as this could be very costly.