Minutes of the Full Council Meeting of Hartley Wintney Parish Council
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Minutes of the Full Council Meeting of Hartley Wintney Parish Council held at 7.30pm on Monday 1st March 2021 to which Councillors are summoned to attend by video conferencing via Microsoft Teams. Present: Cllr Chris Farrance (Chair), Cllr Diana Harvey, Cllr Steve Airton, Cllr Sarah Craig, Cllr Stuart Elborn, Cllr Roger Robertson, Cllr Ian Wilson, Cllr Becky Moss, Cllr Fiona Sutton, Cllr Peter Gee, and Cllr Janaka Alwis & Cllr Richard Dodds (see below) In attendance: Karyn Reid (Executive Clerk), Sarah Daly (Deputy Clerk), Megan Spiers (Support & Communications Officer), District Councillor Tim Southern plus 2 members of the public. 20/21PC 72. CO-OPTION Janaka Alwis and Richard Dodds were co-opted as Members of Hartley Wintney Parish Council and completed their Declaration of Acceptance of Office, ready to send to the Executive Clerk. 20/21PC 73. OPEN FORUM A member of public enquired about the reintroduction of the community bus, to which Cllr Farrance assured that this would be discussed later in the meeting agenda. 20/21PC 74. APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE & DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST Apologies were received from County Cllr David Simpson, District Cllrs Anne Crampton and Spencer Farmer. Cllr Farrance informed the Council that County Cllr Simpson will be standing down from his position in the next round of elections and gave a note of thanks for his dedicated work with HWPC. No interests were declared. 20/21PC 75. WARD MEMBERS REPORT District Cllr Southern addressed the following: • Yellow line marking in Green Lane should be completed by the end of March. • The District Council team will be addressing both the contamination of Hatton’s Pond and the puddles on Hazeley Heath’s pathways. • Following the District Council’s Finance meeting in February, it was noted that there will be a budget deficit for the next two financial years. • The flooding remediation near Phoenix Green has been put on hold for the moment, Cllr Southern to reach out to Mr. Phil Shepard (HDC) on this matter. • Planning permission for the redevelopment of the Lamb has been granted and works will commence soon. 20/21PC 76. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Cllr Wilson proposed approval of the minutes of the Full Council meeting on 1st February 2021; seconded by Cllr Harvey. AGREED by all. 20/21PC 77. ACTIONS LOG & PARISH OFFICE REPORT The Council briefly reviewed the actions log. The Executive Clerk informed the Council that the engraved coins for last year’s Community Awards recipients have been ordered. 20/21PC 78. PARISH COUNCIL FINANCE i) Income & expenditure, bank reconciliation & cashbook reports for January 2021 (attached) Cllr Gee proposed approval of the income & expenditure, bank reconciliation & cashbook reports for January 2021; seconded by Cllr Wilson. AGREED by all. ii) Payments listings (attached) Cllr Wilson proposed approval of payments listing; seconded by Cllr Gee. AGREED by all. iii) Approve HW Community Bus WP recommendation on purchase of new vehicle (circulated) Cllr Robertson proposed approval of recommendation as follows • Extension of the existing bus contract for, say, three months if necessary to cover an extended lead time. • Agreement in principle to negotiate the purchase of a new vehicle in the range of £55k - £65k funded by £31k from HCC with the residue say £34k jointly funded by us and Rosie Bus. • Payment of a 10% non-refundable deposit say £7k max to secure the purchase. • Depending on the presenting timescales, final purchase order to be agreed by Planning Committee/Rapid Response and submitted to the next Full Council meeting. ; seconded by Cllr Gee. AGREED by all. A special note of thanks was given to all those involved with the new Community Bus including Cllr Craig, Cllr Farrance, and the Rosie Bus Team. iv) Approve works to commence at Pavilion and/or delegated authority to key members to approve Contractors (circulated) Cllr Airton gave a brief update on the Pavilion works. After the initial high-cost proposals for the fit out, efforts have been made to obtain a more reasonable figure by reviewing the high- level specifications with the architect and reaching out to numerous contractors in search of a suitable proposal. Cllr Airton noted that the final three proposals should be in the range of £150,000 to £175,000. The need for a contingency in the budget was highlighted. The importance of following due process was discussed, Cllr Dodds and the Executive Clerk to ensure procedure is being correctly carried out. Cllr Gee proposed approval of delegated authority to key members to approve Contractors up to £188,000 with contingency; seconded by Cllr Wilson. AGREED by all. v) Consider spend on audio/visual equipment to enable safe face to face Council meetings, as in line with guidance Cllr Elborn shared an informative presentation on the video conferencing options available, which would allow the possibility of indoor meetings returning in some form by the summer. Cllr Elborn approached IT partners to look at the options and costs for upgrades to the Council’s current meeting spaces to create a space where meeting could operate with participants both in the room and working remotely. Several proposed upgrades were outlined, three for 1st Floor Meeting Room and one for the Lady Kaye Room. Several Councillors expressed concerns over the necessity for such an investment given the success of Teams meetings and the return to normality by the end of the year. Cllr Sutton proposed lower-spec equipment, looking at alternative companies or renting in the short term to reduce high costs. Cllr Farrance suggested organising a trial of the equipment for a better understanding of its benefits. Cllr Alwis highlighted the potential benefit to the community by investing into such an asset for local businesses to hire. Cllr Elborn stressed that given the impact of COVID-19 on the business world, virtual meetings will continue to a viable option going forwards even when normality returns. The Council decided to wait until more information regarding the COVID-19 roadmap and Council meeting guidelines are shared before evaluating this project again. ACTION: Cllr Elborn to review alternative options once guidance is issued. vi) Funding support for the Village Festival After discussing funding support for the Village Festival in the Finance Committee, the matter was raised in Full Council. It was suggested that HWPC financially facilitate the infrastructure of this community event such as the marquee and chairs, toilets, and sound system. Cllr Harvey proposed approval of funding the marquee and chairs, toilets, and sound system at £1,872 for the Village Festival; seconded by Cllr Elborn. AGREED by all. 20/21PC 79. PARISH COUNCIL MATTERS i) Receive presentation on proposed HWPC Communication Strategy and plan ready for approval (by Sarah Dunthorne) Ms. Sarah Dunthorne gave an informative presentation on the proposed HWPC Communication Strategy that was circulated to Councillors prior to the meeting. The presentation highlighted the best communications approach to take that will successfully improve community engagement, reflecting in particular on target audiences that currently might be overlooked e.g. under 50/55s. Ms. Dunthorne clearly set out the principal goals, how these can be achieved, how best to implement the strategy through the Support & Communications Officer employing various communications channels and how Councillors would be able to support this process. Relevant examples of promotional campaigns were outlined and the benefits of creating an Instagram account to engage with younger community members were considered. The following points were raised by Councillors after the presentation; • Concerns were expressed over the workload of running numerous communications channels successfully for Support & Communications Officer. • Promotional campaigns need to be organised thoughtfully taking into consideration resourcing. • Councillors need to provide content for Support & Communications Officer to facilitate content output. • The complimentary nature of the different communications channels from website to social media was noted. • The challenges of engaging with younger community members was addressed to which Cllr Farrance mentioned the Community Hub organising a Youth Council. The next step going forwards will be a Communication Plan being drafted. ii) Approve Parish Council Policies as recommended by Policy Committee (all attached); HWPC Grants & Donations Policy 2021 Cllr Elborn proposed approval of HWPC Grants & Donations Policy 2021; seconded by Cllr Gee. AGREED by all. iii) Shadow Steering Group update Cllr Farrance has written to HDC asking for clarification as to why HDC Offices are part of the steering groups, their reply will be circulated shortly. iv) Community Hub Cllr Sutton updated the Council on the points raised after feedback from the Community Hub questionnaire. The increase in mental health issues and the stigma that prevents community members seeking support is being addressed through a mental health sign posting leaflet that will be distributed throughout the community, with a particular focus on adolescents, and those in their 20s/30s. Discussions regarding the Youth Council and quiz/tea afternoons at the Women’s Institute continue, but this will remain on hold until Covid guidelines are relaxed. Mr. Kelvin Fay has started a series of Zoom meeting to support the working community, the first two have taken place. A number of groups and digital leaders from Robert Mays are working on ways to provide digital support, when restrictions are eased the school hopes to organise a scheme that mixes the community with local students to offer digital assistance for those interested. The Village Connect virtual coffee mornings with Hook, Odiham and Hartley Wintney begin shortly and will take place twice a week, offering a space for people to chat and connect. 20/21PC 80. COMMITTEE MINUTES & UPDATE INC. WORKING GROUPS i) To confirm Committee memberships until May 2021 The Executive Clerk has circulated the Committee memberships document for Councillors to read and contact her if there are any concerns.