Laleston Community Council
Minutes of meeting held on Thursday 18 October 2018 in the Blandy Hall, Laleston commencing at 7.00pm

Present: Cllrs Ian Griffiths (Chair), Roger Davies, Tony Berrow, Tom Turner, Cheryl Green,
Ian Spiller, Colin Davies, Charles Smith, Dan Woolridge and Briony Davies (Acting Minute Secretary)

1. The Council held a period of silent reflection.

2. 18/127 Apologies: Cllrs John-Paul Blundell and Pam Davies

3. 18/128 The meeting was suspended to hear representations from a member of the public
Mr Sayce asked for an update from a ‘walkabout’ he had undertaken with the Chair. The Chair will be circulating notes about it this coming weekend. He also asked the Council to financially support the installation of Bat Boxes in wooded areas with permission from V2C (agenda item11). Mr Sayce also raised an issue regarding the allotments. The Chair stated that this matter was already being dealt with.

4. 18/129 Unfortunately, the speaker from Veridian, Tim Hughes, was unable to attend this meeting, the Chair will rearrange for the New Year.

5. 18/130 Declarations of Interest: All those previously recorded for all Councillors present. Cllr B Davies (allotment holder) and Cllr C Smith declared an interest in Bio-Diversity discussions as he Chairs an Environmental Committee and is Environmental Champion for BCBC.

6. 18/131 The Minutes of the previous meeting held on Thursday, 20 September 2018 were amended to read and then accepted as a true record.

i. Cllr C Green stated that in the September meeting, Council had agreed to further investigate dedicated finance software to be purchased and the new Clerk to use in future, saving both time and money going forward and that this was not shown in the minutes. Council agreed this had be omitted and asked that the minutes be amended to show this. (Subsequently to this meeting Cllr Green will arrange for a group of Councillors to attend a demonstration of the software as soon as possible).
ii. Para 18-119 (Item 11 on the September Agenda) Cllr C Smith did not receive a complaint from a member of the public it was the Clerk. Council agreed that the minutes be amended to show this.

Maters Arising:
i. Para 18 – 126 No action had been taken, however the Chair will contact Glamorgan White Lining and plan for this work to be completed as soon as possible.

7. 18/132 Clerk’s duties and the continued running of LCC business while the position is in vacancy, interim arrangements.

i. Handover – The Vice Chair had met with the outgoing Clerk and taken possession of all the files, archived materials, laptop, printer etc. All these records are now stored in a locked room at Bryntirion Community Centre. The Chair has the laptop and all materials relating to banking. All emails being sent to the Clerk@ address are being forwarded to both the Chair and the Vice Chair and will be actioned appropriately.
ii. The Appointments Sub Committee had met and agreed a timetable as follows: the vacancy advertisement will be sent to the Glamorgan Gazette on Monday, 22 October 2018 for publication on Wednesday 24 October 2018. BCBC Members Support Unit will send an electronic copy of the advertisement to all existing Town and Community Council Clerks. The application deadline has been set as Friday, 2 November 2018. The Appointments Sub Committee will meet on either the 5 or 6 November to shortlist applicants. Interviews will take place on Saturday 10 November 2018.
iii. Interim business arrangements: The Chair has and will continue to bank receipts and pay invoices received. He has visited the bank and arranged to have the correspondence address changed to his home temporarily. He will make the necessary changes regarding signatories for the accounts, to remove the previous Clerk and the former Cllr Harrison and arrange for replacement signatories as soon as a new Clerk is in post. He will pick up most business that would normally fall to the Clerk, however Council unanimously agreed that during the vacancy period referrals from the public and Community Councillors should be sent in the first instance to the Ward Borough Councillor for action wherever possible.
iv. Equipment: The LCC laptop is now 4 years old and Council agreed that this should be replaced when the new Clerk is in post. Although the printer is working, the scanner within the unit is not, again Council agreed to replace this. The Chair had become aware that the previous Clerk had used her personal mobile phone for Council Business, Council agreed that this was unacceptable, and Cllr Spiller was tasked with identifying a provider/phone/contract etc and report costs back to the next council meeting.
v. Other issues: The Chair and Vice Chair have been through the records and cannot find a copy of the Councils Constitution/Standing Orders. This is a serious matter and Council asked that this be placed on the November meeting for discussion.
vi. On-going Employment issues: no formal ‘exit-interview’ had been possible. Cllr B Davies suggested that in future instead of just the Chair undertaking ‘day-to-day’ management of the Clerk, Councils Standing Order should be changed at the next AGM to incorporate a ‘Supervisory Sub Committee’ be set up comprising of the Chair and two other members, this committee to meet with the Clerk every three months. This would reflect modern day employment practices and Council agreed that this was a good idea and asked that this be further developed at the November meeting. Prior to the AGM an informal committee could be organised.

8. 18/133 Bryntirion and Laleston Community Centre update:
i. The building condition survey has been completed and Mr Guy Smith from BCBC and Mr Paul Thomas from Total Facilities will continue to work with the Council to decide which work can be undertaken by BCBC and which will need outside contracts.
ii. The CAT process requires a Business Plan, Mr Guy Smith is going to identify a consultant to develop this. Two representatives from LCC will be needed to work with the consultant.
iii. The fob and keys used to access the building are in urgent need of replacement, in addition the current system is outdated. Action Doors are meeting Cllr Roger Davies on-site to identify an alternative system. Council approved the necessary expenditure.
iv. The Asbestos Survey has been completed. No new issues have been raised other than the area that had already been identified. The survey will be placed in a file in the centre, in the future all contractors must sign that they have read it. For the future, if any work is undertaken in the centre that involves drilling or other intrusive work, a new Asbestos Survey must be commissioned.

9. 18/134 Independent Remuneration Panel’s Report – Members Allowances: this item was deferred until the November meeting.

10. 18/135 Laleston Allotments: The Chair and Cllr C Green are attending a site meeting on Saturday, 19 October 2018 at 11.00am and will report back to the meeting in November.

11. 18/136 Proposal for Bat Boxes in Bryntirion: The Council unanimously agree to this. The Chair will contact Mr Anthony Heard at V2C and Mr Mark Blakemore at BCBC to agree the best way forward with the project. The Council will also investigate installing these is wooded areas of Broadlands and Laleston.

12. 18/137 Finance Update: no paperwork was available; the Chair has paid two outstanding invoices. The Minutes from the Financial Sub Group were noted by Council.

13. 18/138 End of Year Accounts Report 2017 – 18: The Chair had been unable to find a copy to bring to the meeting and hoped to do so in November.

14. 18/139 Clerks Report: Planting Daffodil bulbs in Broadlands, the Chair had been unable to find the original email to respond to the resident.

15. 18/134 To receive Correspondence:

i. The Chair had received a quote for cleaning the gutters, fascia and soffit boards of the Blandy Hall. Council agreed this needed to be done and delegated accepting the quote and organising this work to the Chair.
ii. The Clerk of Brackla Community Council had contacted the Chair offering to lend Euromats to the Council to protect the grass at Bryntirion Playing Fields from damage during the fireworks/laser light show on 4 November. Council were aware of damage caused to the football pitch last year and gratefully accepted this offer. Chair and Cllr I Spiller to liaise with Brackla CC.

16. 18/135 Reports and Observations:
i. OAP Christmas Dinner – Cllr C Green to check that the hall has been booked for the first Sunday of December. Cllr Green has a list of what supplies need to be purchased. Two people will need to do all the shopping for the event, some of which will come from Bookers. Bryntirion Dance Centre has offered to bring some children to give a performance and the Chair will try to organise the school choir to attend.
ii. Defibrillators: Cllr I Spiller has discovered that our defibrillators were missing vital equipment including scissors which are vital for their operation. Council agree that these needed to be purchased immediately. (subsequently to the meeting this was actioned).
iii. Wall around the grounds of the Blandy Hall: Cllr B Davies had noticed some large cracks in the stone wall, confirmed by Cllr C Green. Council agreed that the Chair should organise a Safety Inspection of the wall as soon as possible.
iv. There are two Bio-Diversity plans commissioned by the last Council. Council agreed to provide copies and agenda a discussion about Bio-Diversity at the January Meeting.
v. Council thanked the Chair and Vice Chair for all the work they were undertaking to maintain LCC services during the vacancy.
vi. Blandy Hall Asbestos Survey – Cllr B Davies reported that this had been conducted some time ago and a copy of it should be made available in the Hall for contractors. The Vice Chair agreed to look for this in the papers given to him by the Clerk.

17. 18/136 To consider Planning Applications: The Chair had not been able to identify the applications to add to the agenda. Borough Councillors receive all applications for their Wards are not aware of any received that are of a contentious nature and can deal with all application while the Community Council is in vacancy.

18/137 Any Other Business:
Date of December Meeting: Following discussion it was agreed to bring forward the meeting to:

Thursday, 13 December 2018.