Minutes of meeting held April 2018
MINUTES OF THE MEETING THURSDAY,19thAPRIL, 2018 AT RANTON VILLAGE HALL
PRESENT:
Cllr. N, MacLeod (Chair)
Cllr. M. Russell (Vice chair)
Cllr J. Forrester
Cllr R. Edwards
Cllr. M. Winnington
G. Whelan (Clerk)
18/36 Apologies
BC R Sutherland and BC S Leighton
18/37 Declarations of interest in the following agenda:
None
18/38 Previous minutes:
Minutes agreed as a true record.
18/39 Public questions:
No public were in attendance.
18/40 Finance matters
Mazars have been appointed as the parish council's auditors. Paperwork to complete the audit will be posted out shortly. An internal audit will be carried out prior to this.
Number of cheques were signed with corresponding invoices.
These include:
£1680 Stafford Borough Council Mowing for 2017/2018
£96 Ranton Village Hall Committee Room Hire 2017/2018
£141 SPCA subscriptions 2018/2019
£255.79 Zurich Insurance 2018/2019
£380.00 SBC Civic amenity visits 2018/2019
Bank change of address form was signed by the chair and vice chair and will be submitted to Nat West Bank.
18/41 Accounts to date:
The forthcoming year's budget was presented which included start point. The parish clerk address has recently changed and bank records need to be updated accordingly.
18/42 Reports:
Footpaths: All parish stiles along footpaths have been replaced.
Mowing: Streetscene have been contacted and the parish council is awaiting a quote from Mick Bailey, head of operations, for a cost of mowing the village including Ranton Nursery and Primary School.
Action: Parish clerk will contact Mick Bailey directly for a verbal quote, and if within budgeted amount mowing of the village including the school will be authorised. If the quote is not within budget and significantly higher, an email will be sent to councillors for the next plan of action.
Highways: Pot holes on Stocking Lane have been reported to highways by the parish council and residents. Direct contact has been made with highways officers whose office is in Gailey. Diane Ferkins has said there have been no complaints of pot holes, only hedge cutting on Hextall Lane, and cleaning of gulleys. It was suggested that the localised flooding could be potentially caused by lack of clearing up by farmers and this would be investigated. Cllr Edwards will remain in contact with the council to ensure this is dealt with satisfactorily as it causes issues for traffic on both in roads into the village.
Cllr Edwards obtained a quote for gulley cleaning of £50 per hour, £136 for full load from an independent contractor. Potential of road sweeping at a cost of £50 per hour. The quote will be electronically forwarded to the parish clerk.
It was reported that there are a number of bent and broken signs throughout the village - county highways issue.
Weed control is also an issue and the situation is being monitored. Should a private contractor
Action: Await news from Mr Kealing and Streetscene. Contact Zurich to obtain details of whether weeding is covered under policy.
18/43 Clerk's reports
The parish council need to look into its website to easily publicise its meetings and associated documents. The parish council has approached Ian Knight (rantoninfo website administrator) to discuss how documents can be uploaded and easily accessed. It was agreed that for the meantime, Pdf documents of the agenda, minutes and financial records will be emailed over well as archived documents.
Ongoing action: Parish clerk to arrange updating of the website's information to include councillor names along with recent newsletters and general parish council information.
18/44 Planning updates
It was noted that a gateway to farmland has been extended on Hextall Lane.
Drive Me noise was reported by councillors on the day of April 2. It was suggested that over the coming four weeks, a log of when the noise can be heard throughout the village is kept.
18/45 To resolve on planning applications.
None received - although the Hand and Cleaver pub application is showing online, but the paperwork has not been received by the parish council yet. It was reported that water services have been added to the bottom field.
It was recorded that polytunnels be removed from agenda items in future and added to items for info.
18/46 Chairman's Questions/Items for Information/Next Agenda
The council has been shown photographs of the area and broken drain cover around Chapel House which has barriers placed around it, but it is uncertain as to who placed the barriers there.
The Christmas tree has now been removed.
Bollards have been installed and concreted in on the green opposite the village hall.
A safety camera van has been parking in the village hall car park.
Parish councillor on school governor board, vote at next meeting.
The parish council's noticeboard is leaking water so much so that mould is growing and condensation collects and the notices are becoming destroyed.
All Saints Church has a new noticeboard and has asked permission to put it on the roadside. There is no issue with this.
17/47 Date of next meeting
The next parish council meeting will be held on Thursday 24 May, 2018 in Ranton Village Hall at 7.30pm. This will be preceded by the AGM at 7pm.
Signed.................................................. Date...........................
Gayle Whelan, Ranton Parish Council Clerk
rantonparishcouncil@gmail.com