12 February 2025
1. Public Forum
District Cllr Dickinson sent her apologise which was sent to the councillors via email before meeting and published on the website.
County Cllr Bowkett's report has been published on the website. The elections for Lincolnshire County Councillor will be held on 1st May. Fodderdyke Bank is closed for urgent repairs and will reopen on 13th February. A meeting regarding the change of use for Stickney Showground, East Fen Lane will be held tomorrow, 13th February.
Meeting Opened at 1905
2. In attendance: Cllrs Thorold, Baker, Money and Nunn (Chair)
a. Also In attendance: Parish Clerk Deborah Money.
b. Apologies for Absence: Cllr Scott sent apologies, which were accepted. No apologies were received from Cllr Hastie. The clerk has contacted Cllr Hastie twice since the last Parish Council meeting on December 11, 2024, but has not received a response.
3. Declarations of interest in accordance with the Localism Act 2011
No conflict of Interest Declared
4. Co-option of new councillors. Nobody has shown interest, but advertising is in progress.
5. It was resolved to accept the minutes of the meeting held on 11th December 2024 as a true record and were signed by the chair.
6. It was agreed that the next Annual Parish Meeting would be held on 14th May starting at 1830 and the Annual Parish Council Meeting would be held at 1900.
7. Churchyard Maintenance – Since the last meeting, the clerk has confirmed that the church and cemetery grass cutting remains the responsibility of the church. The council has agreed to continue the current grass cutting arrangements for the next financial year, with an annual review every November during the draft budget discussions.
8. The Policies and Procedures for Financial Regulations, Publication Scheme, Freedom of Information, Data Protection Plan, and Code of Conduct were distributed prior to the meeting, and all councillors concurred that they were accurate.
9. Finance report
a. To approve payments for February.
| Salary January (LGA 1972 s.112) | 31 January 2025 | BACS | £518.44 | |
| Ink | 31 December 2025 | BACS | £19.73 | |
| LALC Annual Subscriptions | 15461 | 20 December 2025 | BACS | £250.90 |
| K & P Services | 31 January 2025 | BACS | £40.00 | |
| Taxing Times | 4724 | 31 January 2025 | BACS | £26.40 |
b. Payment made since last meeting.
| Spusu Mobile Phone | 7046168 | 03 February 2025 | Direct Debit | £5.00 |
| HP Printer | 9058511972 | 05 February 2025 | Debit Card | £139.99 |
| SLCC Manual | ORD509934-3 | 21 January 2025 | Debit Card | £239.96 |
| SLCC Training | QL206509-3 | 21 January 2025 | Debit Card | £144.44 |
| Defib World | 12776 | 03 February 2025 | Debit Card | £154.99 |
| Taxing Times | 4663 | 31 December 2025 | Debit Card | £26.40 |
c. Income
09 October £20.81
11 November £22.91
09 December £19.45
d. The Clerk informed the councillors of the higher interest rate available if we switched our deposit account. It was subsequently agreed to proceed with looking at a change.
e. After being advised by an internal auditor that going forward councillors should look at a Parish Council accountancy software, the clerk presented costs for three cloud accounting packages. These were emailed to all councillors before the meeting. It was decided that the clerk, would send her current Excel spreadsheet to Cllrs Nunn and Thorold, who will attempt to make the accounts with Excel more transparent. The software packages were narrowed down to Scribe, whichever solution is decided a decision will be made at the next meeting so that we start a fresh for the new financial year.
f. Closing Balance Treasurers Account £9690.56
Closing Balance Deposit Account £25,400.54
g. BACS payments scheduled for March will be postdated on Lloyds due to a signatory being on holiday during the next meeting. According to the financial regulations, the Lloyds bank mandate permits the clerk to act as one of the signatories, provided she does not authorize payments for herself.
10. Planning
a. To consider any planning applications received since the last meeting
None was received
b. To note any planning decisions and/or appeal notifications since the last meeting
11. Memorial Garden Update - Cllr Thorold emailed his drawings of the memorial gardens. The project was discussed, and Cllr Money is awaiting a quote. More quotes will be obtained before the next meeting to proceed with the project.
Cllr Bowkett left the meeting 2020
12. Clerk and Councillor Reports (for information only), including a review of actions from minutes and matters that councillors wish to be brought to the next or subsequent meetings. No decisions may be made under this section, but councillors may wish to flag up issues.
a. The clerk confirmed the defibrillator is operational with new adult and paediatric pads and has been cleaned.
13. Website Updated – The Clerk is updating the website. A Facebook page now advertises meeting dates, agendas, and minutes to enhance Parish Council transparency.
14. The handyman's pay has increased, and the clerk now holds his job description and public liability certificate. All councillors agreed to reduce the handyman’s hours to two per month, as tidying up the war memorial will be partly managed by the commencement of work at the memorial gardens. The clerk will inform him of the decision. We will review the hours and job once the project is completed.
15. Obtain Speed Data: Cllr Thorold will collect the battery and get it ready to be charged. Once done, we can start to retrieve the speed data again.
16. To receive correspondence and note any action required.
17. Matters for next agenda
18. Next Meeting 12 March 2025
Meeting concluded at 2045.