Ordinary Council Minutes 24th November 2015 Item 5 - ATTACHMENT A MINUTES of the ORDINARY MEETING OF STANLEY TOWN COUNCIL Held at Stanley Civic Hall, Front Street, Stanley on Tuesday 24th November 2015 at 6.30pm PRESENT: J Nicholson* A Clegg G Graham W Nixon D Tully D Walker B Nair R Harrison D Mills L Elliott *Chairman OFFICERS: Alan Shaw (Town Clerk), Nicola James (PA to the Town Clerk), Claire Howe (Civic Hall Manager) Lee Brannigan (Civic Hall Events Manager) IN ATTENDANCE: 2 members of the Public; 4 Speakers from North Star Solar / Absolute Renewables ABSENT: Cllr C McKee RECORDINGS: Cllrs W Nixon & R Harrison were recording this meeting 403 APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE Apologies received from Cllrs C Thompson, T Davinson, D McMahon, C Bell, D Marshall, J Charlton, R Ferris, L Marshall & M Wilkinson were accepted by Council. 404 DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST None. 405 PROCEDURAL AND APPROPRIATE ANNOUNCEMENTS FROM THE CHAIRMAN The Chair moved that item 8 (Presentation from Absolute Renewables) be moved up the agenda and be dealt with after item 6 (Minutes of Committee meetings). The Clerk noted that Cllrs W Nixon and R Harrison are recording this meeting. The Clerk also reminded members that the Standing Orders require them to stand when they speaking and not to speak until they have been recognised by the Chair. 406 PUBLIC PARTICIPATION The Town Clerk advised Members that Lewis Christie emailed a question: “Why [has] the armed forces has only been allocated £500 when others are thousands? I think if it has anything to do with the armed forces day that's where majority of the money should be.” The Clerk responded by stating that the £500 budget was for a ceremony only. If STC were to replicate what other Town Council’s do, it would not be an expensive event. Most people who will be involved will not charge. He also noted that there was a separate specific budget for a War Memorial being proposed for 2016/17. Stanley Town Council, Civic Hall, Front Street, Stanley, DH9 0NA, Tel: 01207 299 109; email: [email protected] Ordinary Council Minutes 24th November 2015 Item 5 - ATTACHMENT A 407 CONFIRMATION OF COUNCIL MINUTES It was RESOLVED that the minutes of the Ordinary Council Meeting held on 27th October 2015 be approved as a correct record and signed by the Chair. 408 MINUTES OF COMMITTEE MEETINGS It was RESOLVED that the minutes of Committee Meetings held in November 2015 be RECEIVED by Council. Presentation from Absolute Renewables was dealt with at this point 409 RECOMMENDATIONS OF COMMITTEE MEETINGS i) Personnel - This was discussed under the Code of Conduct item. ii) Crime & Community Safety - It was RESOLVED that the Committee will allocate the following budgets to the following projects in 2016/17: • OTIS £3000 • Youth Council £3500 • Blooming Good Fun £3000 • Police Car Funding £7000 • Wild Flowers £0 - no budget will be allocated for wild flowers, but opportunities will be explored with partners in future iii) Communications & Events - It was RESOLVED that the Committee will allocate the following budgets to the following events in 2016/17: • Tea in the Park £2500 • Stanley Fringe £2000 • Entertainment in Old People’s homes £1000 • Community Fun Days £15000 • Outdoor Cinema £3000 • Moria-Con 2 £10000 • Christmas Events £20000 • Armed Forces Day £500 • Community Newsletter £15080 • Brass Festival £5150 • Play in the Park days £4000 • Community Consultation £30000 It was also RESOLVED that the following be requests be GRANTED: (i) Free hall hire be granted to Kalapremi in 2016, and any future application for grant assistance for the Ganesh Festival be viewed favourably. Stanley Town Council, Civic Hall, Front Street, Stanley, DH9 0NA, Tel: 01207 299 109; email: [email protected] Ordinary Council Minutes 24th November 2015 Item 5 - ATTACHMENT A (ii) Free hall hire be granted to the Forge for Northern Writes. (iii) A £15000 budget be allocated to the Civic Hall in 2016/17 to put on their own pantomime over Christmas in 2016. (iv) The Community magazine be called ‘Stanley Life’, with the first edition to go out in January. 410 PRESENTATION FROM ABSOLUTE RENEWABLES Members received a presentation from North Star Solar/ Absolute Renewables relating to the provision of solar panels in Stanley and at the Civic Hall. It was proposed by Cllr J Nicholson, seconded by Cllr R Harrison and RESOLVED that the Council support the proposal for solar panels to be recommended to Stanley residents and that officers should consult with North Star Solar, Derwentside Homes, 3 rivers etc. to discuss next steps. 411 REPORT OF THE TOWN CLERK Members noted the report from the Town Clerk which included updates on PACT House and the Council’s Tax Base for 2016/17. 412 CODE OF CONDUCT Members CONSIDERED the recommendations from the Personnel Committee and RESOLVED to adopt the revised Code of Conduct. 413 CIVIC HALL ENERGY AUDIT Members CONSIDERED the Energy Audit report and RESOLVED that they wish to implement all of the proposals and utilise the PWLB loan to fund the investment required. Members also CONSIDERED the recommendations from the Finance & GP Committee and RESOLVED that the following be implemented immediately: (i) Light fittings should be changed for low energy LED lights; (ii) Time controls should be fitted to coolers and water heaters; (iii) Pipe insulation should be installed in Boiler Room and adjacent to water heaters to conserve energy. Members also RESOLVED that priority is given to obtaining quotes for replacement of the heating system in the Civic Hall with a more energy efficient model which would also allow separation from neighbouring County Council buildings. 414 COMMUNITY RADIO Members RESOLVED to support the project in principle, subject to satisfactory answers to the questions raised. 415 BLUE PLAQUE SCHEME Members RESOLVED that the Blue Plaque Scheme be implemented and that a budget of £2500 be allocated to the Communication and Events Committee. Stanley Town Council, Civic Hall, Front Street, Stanley, DH9 0NA, Tel: 01207 299 109; email: [email protected] Ordinary Council Minutes 24th November 2015 Item 5 - ATTACHMENT A 416 COMMUNITY CONSULTATION QUESTIONNAIRE Members CONSIDERED the recommendation from the Communications and Events Committee and RESOLVED that the name of the consultation be ‘Ask Stanley 2016’ and that the timescales proposed by the Town Clerk be adopted. 417 DATE, TIME AND VENUE OF NEXT MEETING Tuesday 15th December 2015, 18:30 at Stanley Civic Hall. Stanley Town Council, Civic Hall, Front Street, Stanley, DH9 0NA, Tel: 01207 299 109; email: [email protected] Personnel Committee Minutes 1st December 2015 Item 6 – ATTACHMENT B MINUTES of the PERSONNEL COMMITTEE MEETING OF STANLEY TOWN COUNCIL held at Stanley Civic Hall, Front Street, Stanley on Tuesday 1st December 2015 at 6.30pm PRESENT: Cllr D Walker* Cllr D Mills Cllr G Graham Cllr J Nicholson Cllr W Nixon Cllr B Nair Cllr A Clegg Cllr C Bell *Chairman OFFICERS: Alan Shaw (Town Clerk) Nicola James (PA to the Town Clerk) 418 APOLOGIES Apologies received from Councillors R Harrison, L Marshall, J Charlton and M Wilkinson were accepted by the Committee. 419 DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST Cllr Bell declared an interest as a member of the Traders. 420 PROCEDURAL AND APPROPRIATE ANNOUNCEMENTS FROM THE CHAIRMAN The Clerk noted that no one was recording the meeting. 421 PUBLIC PARTICIPATION There were no members of the public in attendance. No written questions were submitted prior to the meeting. 422 CONFIRMATION OF COUNCIL MINUTES It was proposed by Cllr G Graham, seconded by Cllr C Bell and RESOLVED that the Committee approve the minutes of the Personnel Committee meeting held on 3rd November 2015. 423 STAFF FLEXI-TIME SCHEME Members discussed the proposed flexi-time scheme. It was proposed by Cllr G Graham, seconded by Cllr C Bell and RESOLVED that the Committee recommend that the lieu/flexi time management arrangements that are currently in place continue as they are. Stanley Town Council, Civic Hall, Front Street, Stanley, DH9 0NA, Tel: 01207 299 109; email: [email protected] Personnel Committee Minutes 1st December 2015 Item 6 – ATTACHMENT B 424 CIVIC HALL SECURITY Members discussed the issues raised by Cllr R Harrison in relation to access control, staff & visitor ID badges and signing in & out of the Civic Hall. It was RESOLVED that the committee recommend that the Town Clerk and Civic Hall Manager look into these issues further and report back to committee. 425 DATE, TIME AND VENUE OF NEXT MEETING th 12 January 2016, 6.30pm, Stanley Civic Hall Stanley Town Council, Civic Hall, Front Street, Stanley, DH9 0NA, Tel: 01207 299 109; email: [email protected] Communications & Events Committee Minutes 8th December 2015 Item 6 – ATTACHMENT C MINUTES of the COMMUNICATION AND EVENTS COMMITTEE MEETING OF STANLEY TOWN COUNCIL held at Stanley Civic Hall, Front Street, Stanley on Tuesday 8th December 2015 at 6.30pm PRESENT: Cllr D Mills* Cllr D Tully Cllr R Harrison Cllr J Nicholson Cllr W Nixon Cllr D McMahon *Chairman OFFICERS: Alan Shaw (Town Clerk) Nicola James (PA to the Town Clerk) IN ATTENDANCE: 1 member of the public, Cllr Geoff Graham 426 APOLOGIES Apologies received from Cllrs C Bell and M Wilkinson were accepted by the Committee. 427 DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST Cllr D Mills declared an interest in Stanley Fringe and Moria Con. Cllr D McMahon noted that the Clerk had requested a quote from his place of work ‘Graphic Print’ for printing of Stanley Life. 428 PROCEDURAL AND APPROPRIATE ANNOUNCEMENTS FROM THE CHAIRMAN The Chairman noted his thanks to the staff involved with the Christmas light switch on event. 429 PUBLIC PARTICIPATION The Chairman noted that members of the public in attendance were open to contribute to the meeting.