TH&C September 2020 Minutes
Town Hall And Cemetery Committee
Minutes of the virtual meeting of Market Deeping Town Council’s Town Hall and Cemetery Committee held on Wednesday 16th September 2020 at 7.58pm.
Cllr Miss Moran presided over Cllr Yarham, Cllr Hembrow, Cllr Dolan, Cllr Shelton, Cllr Mrs Redshaw, Cllr Mrs Sked. The Town Clerk, the Deputy Town Clerk and a representative from Alfresco landscapes were also in attendance.
The chair welcomed attendees to the meeting. The clerk had passed copies of the tender quotation from Alfresco to members prior to the meeting, and the representative of Alfresco then asked if there were any questions. Cllr Hembrow advised that the pre tender site meeting had gone very well. Members sought information on plant care and maintenance, start dates and timescales for completing the work and access requirements along the cemetery driveway. All questions were satisfactorily answered and it was agreed to stick with the payment schedule detailed on the quote if the tender is successful.
36 Chairman’s Welcome
Cllr Miss Moran welcomed members to the meeting.
37 Apologies for absence
Apologies for absence had been received prior to the meeting from Cllrs Broughton and Lester.
38 To receive declarations of interest under the Localism Act 2011
There were no declarations of interest.
39 Minutes from meeting held on Wednesday 15th July 2020
It was proposed by Cllr Dolan, seconded by Cllr Yarham and Resolved unanimously that the minutes of the previous meeting be signed as a true and accurate record and they were duly signed by the Clerk on behalf of the Chair.
40 Clerk’s report
The Clerk informed the members of the following:
Matters Relating to the Cemetery:
1. Following approval by SKDC of the application for a Public Spaces Protection Order to keep dogs on a lead in The Spinney, it was included in the list of district-wide sites that has been the subject of an SKDC-led 6 weeks public consultation. Signs were placed on the entrances to The Spinney during this time. The consultation period ended on 11th September and the results will be known shortly.
2. The application for a Lawful Development Certificate covering the creation of the Sanctum Garden, as approved by Full Council, has been submitted to SKDC for their consideration. The clerk agreed to chase this if nothing was heard by the end of September.
3. Since the last meeting there has been 2 scattering of ashes in The Spinney, 2 interment of cremated remains and 1 burial.
Matters relating to the Town Hall:
The survey of the Town Hall is scheduled to take place on the morning of Wednesday 16th September. This has been undertaken and a report is due within the next 2 weeks.
41 Park Keepers Report: Update on work activity taking place in the cemetery
The Clerk, having spoken with the Park Keeper prior to the meeting, gave the following verbal report:
Topple testing has been undertaken on all memorial headstones. There were no major issues to report.
Following a run of late afternoon visitors to the cemetery, temporary laminated signs have been placed on the entrances to highlight the opening and closing times. The Park Keepers request that when the cemetery signage is reviewed, more permanent opening/closing time signage is considered.
All grass cutting and strimming is up to date.
Recent burials have been topped up with soil. Currently a quarter of the cemetery has been levelled. This work is ongoing.
The chair commented that the cemetery is looking better all the time, and advised members of a new strimmer that had been purchased to better maintain the grave edges.
42 Correspondence received up to 16th September 2020
|
No |
Received from |
Date Received |
Subject |
Committee Response |
|
1 |
Resident |
11/08/2020 |
Request for reservations of a plaque place in The Spinney. |
The committee agreed that a place for a new plaque could be found at the time and it would cause too much administration work to reserve a place beforehand. |
|
2 |
Funeral Director |
06/08/2020 |
Request to waive the permit fee for a replacement headstone due to them giving incorrect information to their client. Their client is elderly and has been saving for quite some time to replace the stone. The old concrete stone has an error in the inscription and is to be replaced with a polished granite stone with additional wording. The fee would result in the client been unable to go ahead with the replacement. (Permits are issued, at a cost of (£121, for each individual stone and include the details of the inscription/colour & material. Unless the stones are identical then a new permit is required.) |
Members discussed the issue and were sympathetic to the request. It was then Resolved unanimously to charge a reduced rate of £60 (the rate for additional inscriptions) in this instance only.
|
|
3 |
Resident |
09/08/2020 |
Request for a bench in the cemetery |
Members agreed to allow the request and suggested a 2 seater hardwood bench that could be placed in the new Sanctum Gardens close to the grave in question. |
43 Finances: Omega reports: Review of budget/expenditure/income
The Clerk had provided members with a copy of the omega report prior to the meeting. Cllr Yarham advised that there would be costs involved in getting the names of recent Mayors added to the Mayoral chain and that he would obtain quotes. The clerk then asked members to consider their precept requests for 2021/22 in time for the next meeting.
Cemetery
44 Chairman’s Cemetery Report
Cllr Miss Moran had commented previously on the high standard of cemetery keeping and had no particular issues to report. She therefore moved on to the next agenda item.
45 For members to approve the awarding of the contract for work relating to the creation of the Sanctum garden
Cllr Miss Moran advised members that three quotes had been sought and this was an important issue that needed to be right. Members discussed the potential disruption to the cemetery driveway and access to houses along the driveway and Cllr Miss Moran offered to speak to the residents involved. Cllr Hembrow recommended that a prompt start date be agreed in order to avoid bad weather delaying the work. He recommended that a letter of intent be sent to Alfresco Landscaping Ltd, to be followed by a purchase order on conclusion of a successful pre start site meeting. The Lawful Development Certificate had been applied for in view of previous concerns. Members agreed that Alfresco Landscaping Ltd was the preferred provider and it was then proposed by Cllr Miss Moran, seconded by Cllr Yarham and Resolved with 6 in favour and one abstention to issue a letter of intent to Alfresco Landscaping Ltd and to arrange a pre start meeting between Cllr Hembrow and the company owner and the site supervisor on 5th October, with a purchase order to follow on conclusion of a satisfactory meeting.
Town Hall
46 For members to approve the replacing of the Town Hall front door and agree a way forward
Members had received a copy of the three quotations received prior to the meeting. Members considered addressing other repair work before proceeding with the door replacement and it was agreed that a new door could be protected whilst any repairs were taking place. As the quotes in hand were now becoming out of date, the clerk was asked to approach the three providers to request updated quotes. Furthermore, as listed building consent would be required to change the door, the clerk was also asked to contact SKDC to enquire whether it would be in order to replace like with like. It was then proposed by Cllr Miss Moran, seconded by Cllr Mrs Sked and Resolved unanimously to decide at the next meeting which provider to proceed with. The item will therefore remain on the agenda.
47 For members to review and approve the Flag Flying schedule for 2021
The Deputy Clerk had provided members with a copy of the proposed schedule prior to the meeting. Members were concerned that flags had been raised on the Riverside park without prior council consent. Cllr Mrs Redshaw advised members that the council flag should be flown on the day of a Full Council meeting and it was Resolved unanimously to do this when meetings cease to be virtual and return to the usual location in the chamber. Cllr Miss Moran requested that the flag flying schedule to be added to the next Full Council agenda so that all members could agree the location and schedule to be followed.
48 For members to review and approve the Key Holder Policy
The Deputy Clerk had issued members with the policy prior to the meeting. Members agreed to revisit the policy once the replacement locks had been installed on the new door.
49 For members to consider items raised in the public session.
There were no items to discuss.
In the absence of any further matters Cllr Miss Moran thanked everyone for their attendance and the meeting closed at 9pm. The next meeting of the Town Hall and Cemetery Committee will be held virtually on Wednesday 18th November 2020.