CRICKHOWELL TOWN COUNCIL The following are the minutes of the Council Meeting that was held on Tuesday, 17th March 2015 in the Crickhowell Resource and Information Centre, Beaufort Street, Crickhowell, commencing at 7.16pm. PRESENT: Councillors: G J Jackson, R Dykes, P Williams, S Roach, D Williams, A M D'Anna, A Jeremiah, A Hughes, E Jones, C M Dietz and the Mayor, V P Games. APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE: Cllr I Kovaleva. IN ATTENDANCE: County Councillor John Morris, 3 Members of the Public and Mrs J Pritchard, Clerk. To Receive Declarations of Interest in Items on the Agenda: None. PREVIOUS MEETING 4823 On a proposal by Cllr D Williams, seconded by Cllr S Roach it was agreed by all those who had been present at that meeting that the minutes of the meeting held on the 17th February 2015, previously circulated, could be signed as a true record of that which took place. MATTERS ARISING from the previous meeting (for information only). 4824 (4817) Sports Pavilion Insurance - Cllr D Williams reminded members that the Town Council had previously agreed to underwrite £5000 of the Pavilion insurance to allow the devolvement of facilities to the Sports Association and Cllr John Morris added that as part of the agreement it is written in that the Cricket nets will have to be taken down each Autumn. (4822) Castle Grounds Maintenance - Cllr Hughes asked if Cllr D'Anna had met with the contractors regarding the Castle Grounds and asked how it went. Cllr D'Anna reported that he had met with the contractors and he had sent out new specifications regarding a new maintenance schedule so Council should expect to receive fresh quotes which Council can consider on a like for like basis. (4816) Greenman Festival - Cllr Dietz said that she was not present at last months meeting and highlighted the comment in the minutes stating "no complaints were made to the Police regarding the music playing into the early hours of the morning last year, residents seemed to put up with the base noise" and said everyone must ring 101 to complain so that the complaints are logged. 2811 COUNTY COUNCIL MATTERS 4825 Council Tax Budget - County Cllr Morris began by reporting that the Budget Committee had approved a 4% increase in Council Tax. Greenman Festival - County Councillor Morris said that he had arranged a joint meeting with representatives from the Police and Mr Dan Morris of PCC Environmental Health to discuss licence agreements for the festival. High School Education - There had been a Press Release announcing a re- organisation of High Schools which affects the South of Powys more than the North, especially Brecon, Gwernyfed and Builth High Schools. Crickhowell High School is safe and it has a strong Sixth Form at the moment and Cllr Morris reported that both Crickhowell and Llanbedr Primary Schools are also safe. Upper House Farm- County Cllr Morris reported that he had seen correspondence from Melin Homes in relation to the development of 18 to 20 affordable homes on the Upper House Farm site which is owned by Powys County Council. There is a need for affordable 1 and 2 bedroom homes in Crickhowell with 70 people waiting on the Housing list. New Road Wall - Cllr D Williams wished to acknowledge and thank County Cllr Morris for the donation of stone to finish off the wall which was completed earlier in the month, he said that the builders bag will be taken away later in the week and asked Cllr Morris to arrange for the barriers and signs to be taken away by PCC. County Cllr Morris and Cllr Jackson left the meeting at 7.32 pm. BULLPIT MEADOW 4826 Cllr Roach reported that she had met with Alan Jones and Brian Price of PCC to discuss replacement benches for Bullpit meadow because due to anti-social behaviour the wooden picnic tables and wooden benches have been damaged beyond repair. Cllr Roach suggested that the Town Council replace all existing benches with stone which will provide a very low cost, maintenance free, flood proof and vandal resistant alternative to conventional benches and tables and will encourage members of the local community and visitors to utilise the Meadow. Cllr Games asked why the Town Council are looking at this as the area comes under the remit of the County Council and Cllr Roach said that large stones from Trefil Quarry will cost approximately £10 each and Transport will be supplied by Powys County Council free of charge due to money being available from the Tidy Towns initiative. PCC will pick up the stone from Trefil Quarry and store them in the PCC yard in Llangattock until they are ready to position in Bullpit Meadow, PCC staff will transport the stone and assist in placing the stones in the correct location and will take away and dispose of the broken benches free of charge. Following further discussions Cllr D Williams proposed that Council agree a budget of up to £200 to purchase the stone and if possible get them paid for out of the 2014/15 budget, this was seconded by Cllr Hughes and unanimously agreed. Cllr Roach was thanked for her efforts in putting this together. 2812 TOWN COUNCIL WEBSITE 4827 Cllr Roach had previously circulated an article for the Website on the name Crickhowell and the meaning behind it and this was agreed to be published on the Website. Cllr D Williams said that messages from the comments page are going through to him and not the Clerk. The Clerk said that she had emailed ICT Vision, the webmasters to ask for the email account to be changed but she had not received a response, Cllr Dietz said that she would telephone them. Cllr D'Anna said that he was writing a series of approximately 9 articles on the History of the Town Council for the website and asked if anyone had a good photograph or image of the Town Crest. PUBLIC CONVENEINCES 4828 Cllr D Williams said that quotes are coming in for the Cleaning and Maintenance of the toilets, Cllr Games said that he had used the toilets recently and had found them to be in an unpleasant condition. The Lease of the toilets had been signed by CRiC and on a proposal from Cllr D Williams, seconded by Cllr Dietz, it was unanimously agreed that the Clerk should sign the lease agreement on behalf of the Council. LEASE OF SUBSTATION AT CASTLE GROUNDS 4829 Cllr P Williams informed Council that previously Western Power Distribution had paid £3 for the lease of the substation in the Castle Grounds, the lease ran out in 1999 and WPD were paying the lease of £3 a year as agreed in 1950. Cllr P Williams said that he had negotiated a raise from £3 to £89 and that WPD had agreed to backdate this for 6 years as per their legal requirements however he had managed to get them to backdate the £89 to 1999. The new lease offered is for 21 years with a review every 7 years, no negotiation took place regarding payment for the underground cables sited in the Castle Grounds. WPD are also willing to pay up to £750 maximum legal costs in relation to the new lease. Cllr P Williams then proposed that Council write back to WPD accepting the new lease and appoint a solicitor to finalise the agreement, this was seconded by Cllr Jeremiah and unanimously agreed. It was agreed to contact Gabb & Co solicitors to ask them to represent Council on this. HUMAN RESOURCES, GREIVANCE COMMITTEE & APPEALS COMMITTEE 4830 Cllr Dykes reported that following on from last months meeting Cllr D'Anna contacted Effective HRM and negotiated a 5% discount for 12 months remote human resources support via telephone and email. Cllr Dykes also said that the Grievance and Appeals Committee need to be agreed at this meeting and the HR Company will advise on policies and procedures. Cllr Dykes then proposed that Council go into a closed session as Council are dealing with confidential issues and this was unanimously agreed, the three members of the public were asked to leave the room at 8.05pm. Following lengthy discussions Cllr Dykes proposed that Council put in place a Grievance Committee and an Appeals Committee, this was seconded by Cllr Jeremiah and unanimously agreed. 2813 Cllr Dykes suggested that all members should be on the Grievance Committee and be called upon to sit on the panel according to need, Cllr Dietz proposed that Cllr Jeremiah, Cllr Hughes and Cllr Jones be nominated to deal with the current grievance, this was seconded by Cllr Dykes and unanimously agreed. Cllr D'Anna proposed that Cllr Games, Cllr Dykes and Cllr Roach be nominated to serve on the Appeals Committee, this was seconded by Cllr Jeremiah and unanimously agreed. Cllr Dykes asked for confirmation that the Steering group, put together at last months meeting, should continue to liaise with the H R Company regarding policies and procedures, this was agreed and Cllr Dykes would take the lead. Council went back into public session and 2 members of the public returned to the meeting at 8.36pm. CRICKHOWELL DISTRICT ARCHIVE CENTRE GRANT REQUEST 4831 Cllr D Williams reported that the grant request working group supported the first grant application for £250 to purchase covers to preserve old maps and documents but did not support the second £1000 application for funding toward the publication of a book. Cllr D Williams then proposed that Council grant the £250 but decline the £1000, this was seconded by Cllr Dietz, For 9, Against 1.