Finance & General Purpose Committee Minutes 12th July 2007
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HALSTEAD TOWN COUNCIL |
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MINUTES OF FINANCE & GENERAL PURPOSE COMMITTEE |
Membership:
| Councillor D Hume | Chairman | Present |
| Councillor M Gage | Vice Chairman | Present |
| Councillor Mrs H Catley | Present | |
| Councillor Mrs L Hilton | Present | |
| Councillor G Howlett | Present | |
| Councillor H Messenger | Present | |
| Councillor Mrs J Pell | Present |
Also in attendance: Councillor Mrs B Gage
Councillor T Middleton
Mandy Howard, Special Projects Officer, HTC
Mrs S Goodwin, Minute Clerk
It was agreed to take two extra items: Queens Hall Floor and Halstead Town Council Funds.
19. Apologies for Absence
There were no apologies for absence.
20. Declaration of Interests
To declare any ‘personal' or ‘personal and prejudicial' interests relating to items on the agenda having regard to paragraphs 7 to 11 inclusive of Part 2 of the Code of Conduct for Members and having taken appropriate advice (where necessary) before the meeting.
Councillor Mrs B Gage declared a personal interest in item 5 Planning Applications as a Braintree District Councillor and a personal and prejudicial interest in planning application 07/01337/FUL - 10 Well Field - lives nearby.
Councillor Mrs J Pell declared a personal interest in item 5 Planning Applications as a Braintree District Councillor and a personal and prejudicial interest in item 13 - Queens Hall Floor - Roger Hyde is her tenant.
Councillor D Hume declared a personal interest in item 11 Closed Churchyards as Parochial Church Council Secretary.
Councillor H Catley declared a personal and prejudicial interest in item 12 Mill House Painting - her husband works for one of the tenderers and a personal and prejudicial interest in item 13 Queens Hall floor - book keeper for Roger Hyde Ltd.
21. Public Question Time
There were no members of the public present.
22. Minutes
The Minutes of the meeting held on 24th May 2007 were approved.
23. PLANNING APPLICATIONS
Councillor Mrs B Gage left the room for discussion of this application.
07/01337/ful - 10 Well Field - Erection of first floor extension over garage to create a new bedroom. Members had no comment.
Councillor Mrs B Gage rejoined the meeting.
07/01305/FUL - 76-80 High Street - Installation of 3 no. air conditioning outdoor units within rear year area/side yard area. Members had no comment.
24. REFERRALS FROM AMENITIES COMMITTEE
None.
25. FINANCIAL MONITORING
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COUNCIL 19/7/07 |
Members received the comparison for income and expenditure for the months April - June 2007. Councillor M Gage asked for clarification as to why £1699.96 had been spent under the Civic heading during May. It was agreed that a breakdown of figures for the Civic heading is prepared for full Council on 19th July.
It was noted that the total under income for June was missing. The budget is on line in general terms.
26. MONTHLY PERFORMANCE
The Chair, Councillor D Hume reported that income for Queens Hall and Mill House bookings and car park is marginally down and members need to be aware. Some car park income was lost through the theft of the machine from Chapel Street car park.
27. CAR PARK MONTHLY ANALYSIS
Members noted the report. Ticket sales for April were up on 2006 but May and June were down on 2006 largely due to theft of the machine in Chapel Street and problems with the machine in Butler Road. The Chairman hoped to find figures back on an even keel at the September meeting.
28. BUDGET WORKING GROUP
Members noted the report.
29. CLOSED CHURCHYARDS
Members received three quotations for pathway and floodlighting St Andrews and Holy Trinity Churchyards. This includes installing extra columns and renewing existing columns at St Andrews and installing lighting columns and floodlighting at Holy Trinity.
Just Lamps (UK) £16754.81
Chelmsford Electrical £14172.07
Partner Electrical £13600.00
Proposed by Councillor Mrs J Pell
Seconded by Councillor Mrs H Catley
RESOLVED: That the quotation from Partner Electrical in the sum of £13600.00 for lighting works to the closed churchyards be accepted.
Councillor Mrs H Catley left the room for discussion of the next item.
30. MILL HOUSE
Under the terms of the lease the Town Council is responsible for repainting the exterior of Mill House. Seven companies were invited to quote but only two written quotations were received as follows:
K D & Z Waller (Painters & Decorators Ltd) £3960.00
William Thomson £2400.00 plus scaffolding
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TOWN CLERK |
Councillor Messenger asked for details of the cost of scaffolding.
Proposed by Councillor Mrs Pell
Seconded by Councillor M Gage
RECOMMENDED: That the quotation from K D & Z Waller (Painters and Decorators Ltd) in the sum of £3960 be accepted.
Councillor Mrs J Pell and Councillor Mrs H Catley left the room for discussion of the next item.
31. QUEENS HALL FLOOR
The floor has been cleaned and resurfaced and it is recommended by the contractor that a "Compact Plus System", to maintain the floor correctly, at a cost of £995.00 plus VAT is purchased.
Proposed by Councillor M Gage
Seconded by Councillor G Howlett
RESOLVED: That Braintree District Council is contacted to see whether a floor cleaner of the same quality can be purchased more cheaply through them.
Councillor Mrs J Pell and Councillor Mrs H Catley rejoined the meeting.
32. HALSTEAD TOWN COUNCIL FUNDS
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CLLR D HUME |
Members noted the report. £50957.00 is held in the Current Account and £256222.00 in the Tracker Account. The Finance Officer has made arrangements for £150000.00 to be transferred into the Abbey Time Deposit Account for 6 months at an approximate interest rate of 5.33% giving an approximate repayment of £7995.00 in January 2008. Councillor D Hume agreed to check with the Finance Officer that sufficient funds are available for the various projects planned.
33. EXCLUSION OF PUBLIC AND PRESS
The following resolution was proposed and seconded:
RESOLVED: That pursuant to the provisions of section 1(2) of the Admission to Meetings Act 1960, in view of the next items to be conducted, the press and public to be excluded from the meeting.
The Chairman thanked Mandy Howard for attending the meeting.
The meeting closed at 8.00pm