09-17-24 CR MINS

 

MINUTES OF THE LOUTH TOWN COUNCIL COMMUNITY RESOURCES COMMITTEE
HELD IN THE OLD COURT ROOM, THE SESSIONS HOUSE, LOUTH

ON TUESDAY 17^th SEPTEMBER 2024

 

Councillor D. Hobson (DH) (in the chair).

 

Present Councillors: M. Barnes (MB), L.M. Cooney (LMC), J. Drake (JD), H. Filer (HF), G.E. Horton (GEH), Mrs. J. Makinson-Sanders (Mrs. JMS), D. Moore (DM), Mrs. K. Parsons (Mrs. KP),
J. Simmons (JS), P. Starsmore (PS), Mrs. P.F. Watson (Mrs. PFW), D.E. Wing (DEW).

Councillors not present: Mrs. E. Ballard (Mrs. EB), J. Baskett (JB).

 

The Town Clerk Mrs. L.M. Phillips, the Town Clerk’s Assistant Miss S. Chitauro, Mr. J. Irvine and Mr. R. Varrell from Our Hall Louth Ltd., and one member of the public were also present.

Before the meeting commenced, Cllr. Mrs. JMS provided attendees with an update regarding health scrutiny.

 

• Apologies for Absence

Apologies for absence were received from Cllrs. Mrs. EB and JB.

• Declarations of Interest / Dispensations

The following declarations of interest or dispensations were made:

1. DH – Item 6 as a member of East Lindsey District Council (ELDC).
2. GEH – Item 6 as a member of ELDC.
3. Mrs. JMS – Item 6 as a member of ELDC and Item 8 as a member of the Hubbard’s Hills Trust.
4. DEW – Item 8 as a member of the Hubbard’s Hills Trust.

• Minutes
  It was RESOLVED that the notes of the Community Resources Committee Meeting held on 16^th July 2024 be approved as the Minutes, with the amended addition of Cllr. DH’s declaration of interest for item 5 as a member of ELDC.

 

• Our Hall Louth Ltd
  Further to discussions on 27^th August, the Committee received an update from Our Hall Louth on its fundraising progress and the group introduced Councillors to the name of the person who had agreed to act as a guarantor.  It was RESOLVED that the Town Clerk should ask Wilkin Chapman to act for it, obtaining:
  1. Confirmation of the due diligence that should be undertaken to verify the suitability of the guarantor and ultimately that Wilkin Chapman should carry that out to verify the guarantors financial standing, providing the results for Council’s consideration.  Specifically, the Council wished to know what assets the guarantor had (over and above the hall) that he could sell to release funds, should the venture fail and he needed to repay the loan for the group.  In addition, the Council asked that Wilkin Chapman should go through the Memorandum of Understanding and advise on whether it was fit for purpose.  Would it protect the Council?  Were there any amendments it would suggest and requesting a change to point 5 so that the text ‘once all monies’ be changed to read ‘when £182,000 plus interest has been repaid’.
  2. Drafts of relevant documents e.g., guarantors agreement and loan agreement.  These to include a charge on the guarantors assets and clauses confirming that:
     1. Should the venture fail, the guarantor would repay the full value of the loan and that the interest that had already been paid did not form part of that.
     2. In the event of the guarantors death the Council was covered.

• Should the group fail to pay what would happen.

1. Confirmation from Our Hall Louth Ltd that it would meet legal costs and that as the Council wanted Wilkin Chapman to act for it rather than Our Hall Louth, agreement from Our Hall Louth that if the Council paid for these costs initially it was acceptable for it to then pass those costs on by invoicing them.

 

 

 

1. Confirmation that all of the above could be carried out so that formal agreements could be executed by 7^th To facilitate that the Council would arrange to hold another Council meeting on 1^st October, if legal advice / documents could be provided by then for its consideration. 

• Town Clerks Remarks
  1. The Town Clerk informed the Committee that in relation to the London Road Astro Turf site, neither the Deed of Surrender nor the new lease had been signed. She envisaged that the Deed of Surrender would be signed at the same time as the new lease was signed.  She confirmed that the draft lease, produced by Louth Town Council’s solicitor, had been with London Road Sports Pavilion’s solicitor for quite some time.  However, the group were experiencing difficulties in obtaining charitable status and could not sign until this was sorted out.
  2. Regarding bins, the Town Clerk told the Committee that there had been no movement regarding the possibility of installation of new bins in the Virginia Drive, Lacey Fields, Horncastle Road and Meridian View areas of the town. She informed attendees that she was awaiting responses from ELDC and Platform Housing in the first instance, the school in the second instance and town Councillors in the third and fourth instances.
  3. The Town Clerk reported that quotes for the valuation of Julian Bower Field had been sought, and explained that, as the cost came under the threshold that requires Council input, herself and the Chairman of Community Resources would be meeting shortly to peruse the options and choose the most suitable.
  4. Finally, the Town Clerk disclosed that the Council had received notification that its external audit for 2023/24 had been completed and was unqualified with no problems or concerns raised.

NB: Cllr. HF left the meeting at 8.58pm.

• Market Place Electric Box
  Following discussions at a previous meeting on 16^th July 2024 and receipt of an updated report regarding the Electrical Box situated in the Market Place, the Committee RESOLVED that Louth Town Council would progress taking ownership of the Electricity Supply Box and also look to take ownership of the feature lighting column in the Market Place, if the electricity supply were to be reinstated to power the light.

        

• Sessions House

Councillors received a hard copy of a 5-year planned preventative maintenance report which had recently been completed by a Chartered Surveyor, and it was RESOLVED to approve to seek quotes for some of the more urgent repairs and that work was to be undertaken dependent upon cost thresholds as set out in Financial Regulations.

 

• Hubbard’s Hills
  Following meetings with the Chairman of the Hubbard’s Hills Trust (HHT), the Trust’s current contractor and the owner of the adjacent farm/café, it was RESOLVED that:
  1. From 30^th November, when Louth Town Council takes ownership of Hubbard’s Hills, its day to day management would be overseen by the Town Clerk, and the current HHT contractor would be retained as an interim and emergency measure to ensure a smooth handover and continuity for the community. Their work would also be supplemented as required by other outside contractors or the Council’s other staff as appropriate.
  2. The Hubbard’s Hills Working Group would continue to run alongside the Town Clerk as a management group.

NB: Cllr. Mrs. JMS abstained from voting on this item.

 

NB: Cllr. MB left the meeting at 9.26pm.

 

 

 

• Christmas

The Committee received a report tabled by the Town Clerk regarding Christmas lights and decorations for the town noting that .  It was RESOLVED that the Town Clerk be given delegated authority to use funds in the EMR Christmas Illuminations budget at her discretion (current balance £10,936) to purchase new light strings and features at a cost of £143 and £273 each, respectively.  She was tasked with purchasing new displays to enhance the current offering and allow for new light strings across the top of each existing display and each existing feature to be replaced by a new Roman Unit.

 

• Closed Session Item
  Upon a proposal from Cllr. DEW which was seconded by Cllr. PS, the Committee RESOLVED to move into closed session in accordance with the Public Bodies (Admission to Meetings) Act 1960, as amended by Section 100 of the Local Government Act 1972, due to the business to be discussed in the following items, information being of a third party, commercial, confidential and legal nature with regard to Old Mill House. The Committee received legal advice from a barrister which was presented on pink paper.  After much consideration, it was RESOLVED to investigate Option 2 (proving a failure to observe the contract) in the first instance and to investigate Option 1 (conveyance by a district valuer and barrister as previously investigated) if Option 2 was not possible.  It was RESOLVED that the meeting be moved out of closed session at 10.07pm.

• Next Meeting
  The Committee noted that the date of the next scheduled Community Resources Committee meeting was 29^th October 2024.

 

The Meeting Closed at 10.07pm.

 

 

 

Signed_______________________ (Chairman)               Dated_________________________