MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF THE SALTNEY TOWN COUNCIL held at the ODDFELLOWS HALL, 65 HIGH STREET, SALTNEY on WEDNESDAY 14 SEPTEMBER, 2016.

PRESENT: The Mayor,Councillor C Gregory; and Councillors P S Board;E E Greensmith; B M J Gregory; S Rodham; J Shallcross;M S Streeter; T Walker; Youth Councillor M Greenand the Town Clerk.

49. APOLOGIES

Apologies were received from Councillors H D Beddow; V Gay; C Evans; AC Lloyd, T R Lloyd and A J Pearson.

50. CODE OF CONDUCT – DECLARATION OF INTEREST

Councillors M S Streeter and S Rodham declared an interest in item 11 'Community Asset Transfer'

51MINUTES

The Minutes of the meeting held on 15 June, 2016were confirmed as a correct record.

52. MATTERS ARISING

There were no matters arising.

53. POLICE MATTERS

PCSO Hughes was in attendance and reported as follows:

  • in answer to the comments from the public, made at the beginning of the meeting, about the ASB on the 'rec' and Carlton Avenue Play areas; PCSO Hughes reminded Members and the public present, of the necessity to report each and every instance via '101'. Unless the incidents were logged into the Police system, the statistics, used by the Senior Police Officers in allocating resources were unreliable;
  • during the month of August up to 8 Officers had been on duty in the area, 7 days per week and a 'Dispersal Order' had been used in some instances;
  • some CCTV footage had been downloaded and ASB identified. The culprit had attended the Police Station for interview. The next step would be a civil injunction;
  • there had been problems on the 'rec' during the summer months. The area had been patrolled from 6pm until midnight and CCTV footage viewed;
  • FCC had used evidence from the CCTV camera in Ewart Street and a family had received a final warning re breach of tenancy;
  • all CCTV cameras had now received an 'upgrading' of the software and all Officers had now been trained in the use of the equipment; in response to a question he reported that 50 Officers had received training in the use of the CCTV equipment;
  • attendance at Police Surgeries had been poor and didn't justify the police time spent in arranging and attending them. In future he would attend wherever groups gathered ie Luncheon Clubs, Community Groups etc; he would welcome an e-mail inviting him to attend;
  • he had arranged for the 'Panna Cage' to be made available on the Bradshaw Avenue playing field during the half term holiday

54. STREETSCENE

Members thanked the Streetscene Team for their recent efforts in the Town and for the placement of the new dog waste bin outside the vets on the High Street. A number of items were discussed:

  • emptying of the gulleys on the High Street;
  • residents not using purple bags and black bins being left at the side of the barbers shop;
  • arrangements for obtaining replacement food waste bags;
  • problems with the litter etc left behind after the refuse lorry has collected the rubbish, particularly along the High Street and Park Avenue.

55. MAYOR'S COMMUNICATIONS

The Mayor reported that she had attended;

  • the Lord Mayor of Chester's Charity Lunch;
  • Connah's Quay Civic Service;
  • Summer Play Schemes at the Youth Centre and had presented the awards at the end of the Scheme. She congratulated Julie and her staff and the older children who had made the weeks so successful.

She reminded Members that the Christmas Parade would take place either 5/6 December and that there would be a working party meeting on 20 September in the Saltney Tavern

56. YOUTH COUNCILLOR'S REPORT

Youth Councillor Michael Green reported that he had e-mailed all the schools in the Deeside area informing them that a vacancy existed for a Youth Councillor on the Town Council. To date he had not received any replies. He had spoken to the new Headteacher at St David's School who seemed to be very community minded and suggested that some useful links could be made there. He had also attended the Summer Play Scheme as a volunteer and wished to emphasise the tremendous support to the schemes given by the volunteers

RESOLVED: That the report be received.

57. GRANT APPLICATIONS - Budget £7000

Inspire. Ms McNeil had been invited to attend the meeting, make a short presentation and answer Members questions. Unfortunately Ms McNeil was not in attendance at the meeting.

RESOLVED: That this matter be deferred to a future meeting.

58. COMMUNITY ASSET TRANSFER

Further to Minute 44 of the last meeting , the Town Clerk reported on the responses he had received from the Secretary of the SCP.

RESOLVED: That the Town Clerk be requested again to write to the Secretary of the SCP enclosing a copy of the proposals of the Town Council and suggesting a round table meeting with Members of the Council and the SCP at the Community Centre on the three dates now suggested.

59. ACCOUNTS 2016/17 (as at 31 August, 2016)

Members received a copy of the bank reconciliation as at 31 August, 2016 (copy in the Official Minute Book).

RESOLVED: That the report be received

60. VAT RETURN

The Town Clerk reported the receipt of £3961.59 from HMRC with regards to VAT paid in the period to 31 March, 2016.

RESOLVED: That the report be received

61. ANNUAL RETURN AUDIT 31 MARCH, 2016.

The Town Clerk reported that over the past few weeks there had been a number of queries on the Annual Return for 31 March, 2016. These had mainly arisen from the differing interpretation of the rules by the new Auditors. All had been satisfactorily explained, however it wasunderstood that the Auditors were to query the Town Council's Asset Register with regards to the valuation of the 'sculpture' gifted by Morrisons and were to return the Annual Return for amendment. He further informed Members that he had written to BDO, the Auditors, reminding them of the date of the Council meeting and also that, if the Return was not ready for this meeting, and it required amendment , a Special Meeting of the Council would have to be called in order to meet the required statutory date of 30 September and that would incur additional expense and time. No response had been received from BDO.

RESOLVED: That The Mayor and the Deputy Mayor be authorised to take such action as necessary in order to comply with the statutory requirement.

62. ONE VOICE WALES AGM 1 OCTOBER, 2016

The Town Clerk reported that Mold Town Council had placed a Notice of Motion for the One Voice Wales AGM as follows:

One Voice Wales calls upon the UK Government to ensure that sufficient funds are made available at National level in Wales to replace the EU funds which could be eventually lost as a direct consequence of the Brexit vote in the referendum. This is to ensure that Local Authorities, organisations and other groups in Wales will be able to continue to bid for much needed funding for local projects for community and environmental improvements as we have in the past under the EU.

Mold Town Council were asking if Saltney Town Council and their representatives would be willing to second the motion.

RESOLVED: That Councillor Greensmith be authorised to second the Motion on behalf of the Town Council.

63. PLAY AREAS - FUTURE FUNDING

In view of the notifications received from the Leader and Deputy Leader of the County Council, this item was withdrawn.

64. QUESTIONS

There were no questions.

65. INFORMATION FROM THE LOCAL COUNTY COUNCIL MEMBERS

In view of the absence of both County Councillors through illness this item was withdrawn.

66. PAYMENT OF ACCOUNTS

RESOLVED: That the following accounts be authorised for payment:

PayeeInvoiceAmount

A ThornileySalary + Office (£50.00) August £991.86

HMRCTown Clerk’s IT£235.40 NI£69.18 £304.58

A ThornileySalary + Office (£50.00) September £991.86

HMRCTown Clerk’s IT£235.40 NI£69.18 £304.58

Zurich MunicipalInsurance Premium £886.68

Deeside LdgeRoom Hire £28.00

FCCLighting Maintenance June and July...£468.00