05-16-23 ATC MINS

 

MINUTES OF THE ANNUAL MEETING OF LOUTH TOWN COUNCIL
HELD IN THE OLD COURT ROOM, THE SESSIONS HOUSE, LOUTH

ON TUESDAY 16^th MAY 2023

 

Present                                          The Mayor, Cllr. J. Baskett (JB) (in the chair).

 

Councillors:       Mrs. E. Ballard (EB), M.R. Barnes (MRB), L.M. Cooney (LMC), Mrs. S. Crew (SC), J. Drake (JD), H. Filer (HF), L. Frost (LF), D. Hobson (DH), G.E. Horton (GEH), M. Lamb (ML). Mrs. J. Makinson-Sanders (JMS), J. Simmons (JS), P. Starsmore (PS).

 

Councillors not present: M. Bellwood (MB).

 

The Town Clerk, Mrs. L.M. Phillips and the Town Clerk’s Assistant, Miss S. Chitauro, the Mayor’s Serjeant Mrs. S. Dykes, and 14 members of the public were also present.

• Election of Town Mayor (Chairman)
  It was RESOLVED by vote of the Council that Cllr. JS should be elected Mayor of Louth to hold office until the Annual Meeting of the Council in 2024.
  1. Declaration of Acceptance of Office
     JS read out and signed the official Declaration of Acceptance of Office witnessed by the Town Clerk and took the Chair.
  2. Mayor’s Address
     The Mayor thanked her husband, the previous Mayor Cllr. JB, the Town Clerk, the Councillors, her family, and friends and looked forward to speaking to residents and helping to decide how best the Town Council could help the town of Louth.
  3. Vote of Thanks to Retiring Mayor
     It was RESOLVED that a vote of thanks be given to the Retiring Mayor. JS thanked the retiring Mayor, Cllr. JB for his work over the past year.  Cllr. JS presented the replica of the Arms of the Town to the retiring Mayor, Cllr. JB.
  4. Reply of the Retiring Mayor
     Retiring Mayor, Cllr. JB acknowledged his first week as Mayor started with the Platinum Jubilee celebrations and ended with the Coronation of King Charles. He reflected on the loss of Fran Treanor, former Mayor of Louth.  He looked back at his time in office with fondness.  He continued that he believed community spirit was thriving and that when things in Louth get tough, the people in Louth get tougher.  He thanked town Councillors for their unpaid work behind the scenes.  He gave thanks to his wife, to his Deputy, Cllr. JS, to The Mayor’s Serjeant, and to the Town Clerk.  He welcomed the new Town Clerk’s Assistant.  He finally gave a huge thanks to his mother.   JB then presented the replica of the Arms of the Town to Simon West for his role in fundraising for Cancer Research UK by creating the Run for Life Louth in 2005, an annual fundraising event which has raised a total of £600,000 over its 18 years and received £48,000 of donations in 2022 alone.  Simon West thanked Cllr. JB for his support and thanked previous Mayors and Councillors for their continued support.
  5. Appointment of Chaplain
     The Mayor confirmed that the Rev’d Cameron Watt had kindly agreed to act as his Chaplain but had been unavailable to attend that evening.
• Election of Deputy Mayor
  It was RESOLVED that Cllr. Mrs. SC be elected Deputy Mayor to hold office until the Annual Meeting of the Council in 2024. Mrs. SC was thereby elected as Deputy Mayor and was invested with the badge of office.
• Councillors Declarations of Acceptance of Office and Council Vacancies

The Town Clerk confirmed that declarations of acceptance had been signed by all Councillors and there were six council vacancies to be filled by co-option.

• Apologies for Absence
  Apologies for absence were received from Cllr. MB.
  

• Declarations of Interest / Dispensations
  JMS, DH and GEH declared interests in any items relating to ELDC – as members of ELDC.
• Council Minutes
  It was RESOLVED to approve as a correct record, the notes of the Council Meetings held on the 14^th March 2023 and 25^th April 2023.
• Committee Minutes
  It was RESOLVED to confirm receipt of the minutes and adopt the resolutions contained therein of the following Committee Meetings:
  1. Planning Committee – 5^th April 2023
  2. Governance and Finance Committee – 21^st February 2023
• Louth Town Council Governance
  It was RESOLVED to confirm that Governance Documents such as Standing Orders, Financial Regulations, Risk Management and Internal Controls, the Asset Register, Insurance arrangements, the Council’s Complaints Procedure, all policies relating to GDPR, the Handling of Freedom of Information Requests Policy, Media Policy and other policies and procedures had been reviewed and adopted in 2022/23.
• Committees of the Council
  It was RESOLVED that the Council re-establish the Committees below, as Committees of Louth Town Council and confirm terms of reference / delegated authority as contained within Standing Orders and confirm membership:
  1. Planning Committee (P), All Members
  2. Governance and Finance Committee (G), All Members
  3. Community Resources Committee (C), All Members; and
  4. Personnel (H) Committee, 7 Members (not to include the Mayor). It was RESOLVED membership in 2023/24: JMS, DH, EB, SC, GEH, JB and HF.
• Town Clerk
  It was RESOLVED to confirm delegated authority to the Town Clerk as contained within Standing Orders and Financial Regulations and as previously approved on 21^st February 2023.
• Representation on External Bodies and Arrangements for Reporting Back
  The following representation at meetings and reporting back was noted:
  1. Louth United Charities – Cllrs. Mrs. SEL, Mrs. JMS, DEW, SC, JS and AL.
  2. King Edward VI Almshouse School and Educational Charity of Louth – Cllrs. AL, DH and SC.
  3. Louth Navigation Regeneration Partnership – Cllr. Mrs. PFW with Cllrs. Mrs. JS to substitute, as required.
  4. CCTV Partnership – Cllr. Mrs. EB and Town Clerk.
• Council’s Membership of Other Bodies
  It was noted that the Council was a subscriber/member or associate of:
  1. Lincolnshire Association of Local Councils (LALC)
  2. National Association of Local Councils (NALC)
  3. LALC Annual Training Scheme
  4. Historic Towns Forum (Free associate)
  5. Information Commissioners Office
  6. The Institute of Cemetery and Crematorium Management
  7. Rural Market Towns Group
• Meetings of the Council
  It was RESOLVED to confirm that the Council approved its schedule of meetings for 2023/24 on 25^th April 2023 and that the Town Clerk should issue summons by email, accordingly.

 

 

• Nominated Key Holders
  It was RESOLVED to confirm that Councillors JB, DH and SC continue to be key holders of The Sessions House, and that Cllr. JS also be added. The role involves opening / closing of Sessions House as required and being on call to deal with Chubb Fire and Security in the event of the building’s alarm being activated overnight or at weekends.
• Cheque Signatories
  The Council noted signatories, as follows:
  Lloyds Account – EB, JMS, LMC, JS, and SC.
  NSI Account – SC, EB, DH. It was RESOLVED that LMC and JS should be added as signatories on the NSI account to replace SEL and AL.
• LALC Management Committee
  It was RESOLVED that the Town Clerk should be put forward as a representative of the Council on the Lincolnshire Association of Local Council’s Management Committee.

• Louth Trump Cards
  It was RESOLVED to grant permission for excerpts of the Brown’s Panorama to be used on Trump Cards for Louth.

 

• Date of Next Meeting
  It was noted that the date of the next scheduled Town Council meeting was 20^th June 2023.

 

The Meeting Closed at 8.10pm.

 

 

 

Signed_______________________ (Chairman)                Dated_________________________