2 April 2019 – Minutes

THAME TOWN COUNCIL

Minutes of a Meeting of the Community, Leisure & Recreation Committee held on 2 April 2019 at 7pm in the Upper Chamber, Thame Town Hall.

Present: Cllrs P Cowell, M Dyer, C Jones, P Lambert, A Midwinter (Town Mayor), M Stiles (Chairman) and T Wyse
Officers:
G Hunt, Town Clerk
C Pinnells, Community Services Manager
J Sparrowhawk, Asset Manager
A Oughton, Committee Services Officer

1. Apologies for Absence

Apologies for absence received from Cllrs Butler (Personal), Champken-Woods (Holiday) and Emery (Personal). Cllr Dixon absent without apology.

2. Declarations of Interest and Dispensations

There were no declarations of interest.

3. Public Participation and Public Questions

There were no applications to address the Committee.
There were no questions put to the Committee.

4. Minutes

The Minutes of the meeting held on 2 February 2019 were confirmed as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.

5. Budget Summary

Members received the budget summary up to 28 February 2019.

6. Reports from Representatives on External Organisations

The reports for External Organisations were noted.

Cllr Midwinter reported the Good Neighbour Scheme continued to do well.

7. Cricket Club Clubhouse Redevelopment

The report was noted. The Town Clerk stated there was still some outstanding s106 money due and a further application to be done for £80k of s106 funds. The Asset Manager was working with the Cricket Club to progress some minor items within the pavilion.

The Town Clerk reported that as the project was now in its final stages this would be the last report to the Committee.

8. Splash Pad Project

The update on the progress of the Splash Pad project was noted. A question was raised as to how the target maximum cost to the Town Council of £2 per child had been calculated. The Town Clerk reported it was an arbitrary amount based on an assumption of usage.

Further discussion took place on the adequacy of parking provision at Southern Road during peak visitor times. The general feeling was parking would not be a problem, there would be a lot of linked trips to the Splash Pad and the play area which is already busy during the summer months, residents would tend to walk and local people knew where the free car parks were in the town.

Officers and Councillors will continue to establish feasibility and make a decision to proceed or abandon as soon as practical.

9. Thame Football Partnership / Artificial Pitch

The Town Clerk reported the project was being driven by Thame Football Partnership (TFP) and the Town Council were waiting for TFP to take the necessary next steps. The Town Clerk was aware that discussions had taken place between TFP and the Football Foundation regarding funding, usage of the new pitch and the existing artificial pitches. The Town Council’s solicitor has approved the partnership agreement.

Cllr Dyer, the External Organisation Representative for TFP had reported under item 6 that progress had been slower than hoped and the project looked more likely to happen in 2020 rather than this year.

10. Town Awards

Members noted the report. It had been another successful event, recognising the achievements of local people and businesses. This year the ceremony took place in March rather than May due to the District, Town and Parish elections on 2 May. This presented some challenges related to officer workloads, sponsorship, two Town Award ceremonies taking place in the 2018-19 financial year and not being able to maximise the outside space at the Barns Centre.

For the first time this year five nominations were received for Town Council members of staff. The panel considered the nominations as part of the scoring process but felt it was not appropriate for them to be chosen as the winner.

It was agreed the terms and conditions should be altered to exclude members of staff from being nominated in their role as employees of the Council but should not preclude them from being nominated for a role or achievement outside of their paid employment.

RESOLVED that:

i) The Town Awards ceremony takes place in July from 2020 onwards.

ii) The Terms and Conditions are changed to prohibit Town Council staff from being nominated but not to preclude them from nomination in recognition of a role or achievement outside of their paid employment.

11. Christmas Lighting Scheme

The Asset Manager reported she had been working in the background on the specification and tender documents and presented the timeline which has been established for the scheme. The Asset Manager said the tender documents will include a figure, it will then be up the contractors to propose a scheme within budget.

12. September Town Fair – Security Service

Further to the noting item at the Policy & Resources Committee on 30 October 2018, Members noted that Oxford Security Services Ltd, which has retained the core staff (with local expertise and knowledge) from R&R Frontline Services Ltd, successfully provided security services to the Christmas Lights Switch On event. It is likely that the same company will be chosen to provide security services for the September Town Fair, ensuring effective continuity.

13. Music in the Park

Cllr Stiles reported arrangements for Music in the Park (MiTP) on 5 May 2019 were progressing well.

MiTP had submitted a couple of requests for the Town Council to consider; one that in principle the Town Council will allow the use of Elms Park on the Monday after MiTP by any community groups interested in running an event using the stages and marquees and secondly as MiTP will be celebrating their 10th anniversary in 2020 that the playing of music continue until 10pm (as opposed to the normal 9pm) as a one off for 2020 only.

Members were happy to agree both requests provided neighbouring residents to the park are consulted and made aware of the proposals and adequate overnight security is provided.

Cllr Stiles, the External Organisation Representative stated that unfortunately she was unable to extend her usual support to this year’s event and called for a volunteer to take her place from 2 April, up to and including the event on 5 May 2019, until a permanent replacement is agreed at the Annual Meeting of the Council on 14 May 2019.

RESOLVED that:

i) In principle, as a one off for the 2020 event, to extend the Premises Licence for MiTP to play live music and recorded music until 10am be approved.

ii) In principle, that the MiTP Committee explore the use of Elms Park on the Bank Holiday Monday after MiTP by community groups interested in running an event from 2020 onwards subject to the Town Council policy – Holding an Event on Town Council Land be approved.

iii) Cllr Jones is appointed as the External Organisation Representative for MiTP until a permanent replacement is appointed at the Annual Meeting of the Council on 14 May 2019.

14. Friends of Elms Park

In advance of the allocation of a Town Council External Representative at the Annual Meeting of the Council, it was noted that further officer discussions have been held with the Chairman of the Friends of Elms Park on possible events for 2019 and 2020.

15. Maintenance Report

The Maintenance Report was noted, as well as the flexibility of the new tractor. Members expressed their thanks to the team for their continued hard work.

Cllr Lambert expressed thanks to the Maintenance Team on behalf of the Youth Memorial Trustees for the recent cleaning of the Youth Memorial and garden.
The meeting concluded at 7.38pm

Signed ………………………………
Chairman, 16 July 2019