UPPER KILLAY COMMUNITY COUNCIL

MONTHLY MINUTES
Recreational Hall
Monday 7th March 2016
7.30pm
Present
Councillor C Low / Councillor P Hood-Williams
Councillor B Oliver / Councillor G Thomas
Councillor J Baiss / Councillor B Knaggs
Miss Catherine Bagley (Clerk)
Prior to the commencement of the formal meeting the following personnel were in attendance to discuss road safety and parking on Gower Road surrounding Cila School:
·  Jeff Green (City Council Road Safety Officer);
·  Mark Thomas (City Council Group Leader Highways)
·  PCSO Jessica Reed
·  PC Simon Trick sent apologies.
Councillor P Hood-Williams closed discussions by expressing reassurances that road safety is never far from mind and while some improvements have been made (first school in the Swansea area to reduce the speed limit to 20mph) any other ideas would always be welcomed.
1. Apologies for absence (received from)
Councillor B Wheeler / Councillor T Porter
2. Minutes of last meeting held on Monday 1st February 2016 / To be actioned by:
Minutes from the previous meeting held on 1st February 2016 (circulated previously) were agreed and with the following amendment accepted as being a true and accountable record:
- The minutes stated that Councillor Low took the minutes at the last Hall Management Meeting. This was incorrect.
3. Matters Arising from Minutes (1st February 2016) / To be actioned by:
Vacancies
-  Advertising ongoing. No interest as yet.
Grounds
-  A proposal for a zebra crossing in the Village is still under investigation.
-  Councillor Hood-Williams provided an update in regards to reported potholes outside Cila School. The underlying problem requires serious work and will be rectified as soon as possible.
-  Potholes near the hall car park and Edgemoor Drive have been reported.
-  Councillor Oliver has placed the order for the wildflowers.
-  Overhanging trees on Fairwood Lane have been investigated and remedied. Councillor Oliver will provide a report under the item ‘hall management’.
-  The Clerk is awaiting a response to correspondence from the Swansea City Council Footpath Officer concerning the maintenance and upkeep of the footpath between SURFC and the cattle grid. Councillor Hood-Williams agreed to investigate further.
Hall
-  Fire Safety renovation work will be discussed under Hall Management.
Other
-  The newsletter is ongoing and will be distributed in due course. / Councillor Hood-Williams
4. Swansea Council Matters / To be actioned by:
Councillor Hood Williams reported on the following Swansea Council Matters:
-  City and County of Swansea Budget will be determined within the week. Original proposals suggest an increase to Council tax of 3.9%.
Items raised by the group:
-  The Clerk highlighted correspondence received from the Highways and Transportation Department requesting match funding of approximately £1,100 over four years towards the Gower Summer Sunday and Bank Holiday Local Bus Service. A gross cost for the project is estimated at £71,000 for the four years, which requires 20% match funding from the 13 Community Councils in the Gower area. The Clerk was asked to circulate the letter for consideration. / Miss Catherine Bagley
5. Hall Management / To be actioned by:
Councillor Thomas reported on the main items discussed during the Hall Management meeting held on 21st February 2016:
Hall
·  Tower Group has carried out a fire risk assessment.
Only one quotation has been received so far, other companies have been asked to provide a quote but have not responded. Delays have resulted in further problems and damage to another door which needs to be resolved asap.
Councillor Thomas proposed to proceed with one quote only due to the urgent nature of the required work. Councillor Oliver suggested writing to the other organisations and advise them that a decision is required by the 21st February or the invitation to quote will be withdrawn.
The Clerk will seek approval from the internal auditor to proceed with this course of action.
·  The following quotes were approved for payment:
-  Blinds for the day room at a cost of £160.
-  Two new noticeboards at a cost of £250.
-  Cleaner to cover Hall Caretakers holiday at a cost of £100.
·  Councillor Thomas informed the meeting that Tesco are interested in decorating the Hall as a ‘Community Project’. Councillor Thomas agreed to delay quotation requests until a decision has been made.
·  Hall fees from the Gardening Club was provided to the Clerk.
Grounds
·  Councillor Oliver reported that work has been carried out on trees and hedges. Following previous minutes, Councillor Oliver discussed and agreed for Mr A Porter to clear the undergrowth, site line and hedges.
A large proportion of the cost has been offset against existing work and the total remaining bill equals £1,350.
·  Councillor Oliver reported that the cattle grid appears to be broken. Repair work and the installation of shock absorber strips will cost approximately £470. The field maintenance budget allows this and as such work was approved once weather permits.
·  Wildflower quotation from Swansea City Council for the grass verge along Gower Road is £145.80 plus VAT. This was approved.
·  Councillor Oliver has purchase Glyphosate required for Wildflower planting. A receipt has been provided to the Clerk at a cost of £57.
The next Hall Management meeting will take place on Monday 21st March 2016. / Councillor Thomas
Miss Catherine Bagley
Councillor Oliver
6. Governance / To be actioned by:
The Clerk provided an update concerning the on-going development of Governance documents:
-  Standing Orders distributed previously were discussed. Amendments suggested by Councillor Oliver were agreed and a revised version (final) will be formally adopted at the next meeting.
-  The Draft Financial Risk Assessment will be distributed shortly – awaiting clarification from Insurance Company and further insertions concerning the Charity Commission requirements.
-  Further documents will be distributed in due course.
-  The Clerk requested that in accordance with the standing orders, all financial approvals be proposed and seconded by a current Councillor and recorded in the minutes. This was agreed with immediate affect.
-  The Clerk requested that future agenda/minutes include an item entitled ‘Declaration of Interests’ during which in accordance with the provision of the Code of Conduct, Council members must declare an interest at the commencement of such matter being discussed, or when the interest becomes apparent. Members disclosing an interest must enter the Agenda number of the item, together with their interest, onto the relevant form supplied by the Clerk during each meeting. / Miss Catherine Bagley
Miss Catherine Bagley
All Councillors
All Councillors / Miss Catherine Bagley
7. Planning / To be actioned by:
Councillor Hood-Williams left the room.
Councillor Low reported on the following planning matters:
Application Number 2016/0247 - The Flat Leuchars, Fairwood Lane
Single storey front extension.
Councillor Baiss declared an interest due to living towards to rear of the property but remained in the room.
No objections were raised.
8. Finances / To be actioned by:
Electronic copies of expenditure have been distributed. The Clerk provided an update on spending to date, along with income and expenditure anticipated until the end of the financial year.
The following invoices were approved for payment:
·  EON £393.10
·  SWALEC £90.00
·  One Voice Wales Membership 2016/2017 £157.00
·  J Porter Landscaping £1,350
·  Countrywide (c/o Councillor Oliver) £57.00
Retrospective approval was sought for the following:
·  Tower Fire Limited £474.00
·  RICOH £10.39
Councillor Oliver proposed payment of all raised invoices and Councillor C Low seconded this.
9. Any Other Business / To be actioned by:
Events:
-  Easter egg hunt is scheduled to take place on Good Friday (25.03.2016) at a cost of £2 per child. The event is weather dependant, eggs kindly donated by Tesco.
-  The next event will be the ‘Nearly new sale’. Date is yet to be confirmed.
Charity Status:
Discussions were had regarding the Charity Status for the Upper Killay Recreation Hall and Village Trust. The Clerk is to make contact with the Charity Commission and establish what information is missing and seek to resolve.
Other items reported by the group:
Councillor Thomas
-  Ms Liz John (Cila School Governor) has requested that Councillor Low make contact as the newly elected Community Councillor School Governor.
Councillor Oliver
-  Issues with SURFC parking are increasing and the Community Council cannot enforce. It was agreed to submit notification to Swansea City Council advising them that contrary to the planning application agreement, traffic management has not been upheld. The Clerk to action.
Miss C Bagley
-  Correspondence received from Tower Mint Ltd, offering the purchase of limited edition commemorative medals for Schools to mark the 90th Birthday of HM Queen Elizabeth.
A sample medal was circulated and following discussions it was proposed by Councillor Low to proceed with the purchase of medals for Cila School pupils at a cost of £1.99 per medal. Councillor Thomas seconded this.
From the Floor:
-  Appreciation passed on by a local resident for work carried out to overhanging trees on the bend towards SURFC.
-  Local resident requested prior notice of any work to be carried out on the cattle grid due to property access restrictions.
-  Permission was requested by a local resident to make use of the football/rugby pitch to introduce American Football into the local area. The resident was advised to engage with SURFC who have regular agreed bookings and proceed with the bookings officer if dates surfice. The Council confirmed that they would endorse any such outside sporting activity. / Miss Catherine Bagley
Councillor C Low
Miss Catherine Bagley
Miss Catherine Bagley
There being no further business the meeting was closed at 9.30pm.
DATE OF NEXT MEETING: Monday 4th April at 7.30.

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