18 June 2013 – Minutes
THAME TOWN COUNCIL
Minutes of the Meeting of Thame Town Council held on 18 June 2013 at 6.30pm in the Upper Chamber, Thame Town Hall
Present:
Cllr D W Bretherton, N G Champken-Woods,A Dite, N M Dixon,D W Dodds, M L Dyer, L Emery, H M Fickling, V F Humphries, P Lambert (Town Mayor), D A Laver, J Matelot Green (Deputy Mayor) and M Stiles.
Officers
M Robinson, Office Administration Manager
A Oughton, Committee Services Officer
1 Apologies for Absence
Apologies for absence were received from Cllr Butler (Family), Gunn (Business), Welply (Holiday) and the Town Clerk.
2 Declarations of Interest
There were no declarations of interest.
3 Civic Announcements
Cllr Lambert reported on the civic attendances since his election as Mayor, the first of which had been an enjoyable evening at the Montesson Twinning Reception. The Deputy Mayor reported on the Carnival which had been a fantastic event despite the inclement weather.
4 Public Participation
There were no applications to address the Council.
5 Michael Oatway – Member of UK Youth Parliament
Michael Oatway was elected as a member of the UK Youth Parliament representing South Oxfordshire in February 2013. The UKYP is non party political and members serve for a maximum of one year. The structure enabled each area to elect a Member, Deputy Member and an Ambassador.
Nationally Member’s were campaigning for a review of citizenship education enabling young people to receive the life skills required to deal with the wider world. At a local level in Oxfordshire there were three campaigns: Dry Space, a campaign to install covered benches in Oxford providing a place for the young to meet whatever the weather. Free Your Mind, a campaign to encourage the discussion of mental health issues that affect young people and to create a signposting app for young people to seek help. The third campaign was Apprenticeships to increase the awareness of the different opportunities apprenticeships provide. Michael had taken part in a meeting of the Thame Business Forum discussing the subject of apprenticeships with local businesses.
The Mayor thanked Michael for giving an informed and confident presentation.
6 Report from County Councillor N Carter
Cllr Carter commenced his report by congratulating Cllr Lambert on his election as Town Mayor. Following County Council elections in May no single party had achieved a majority and the Council was now run by the Conservative Independent Alliance. The contract for Broadband had been awarded and would be signed by the end of July. The Councillor Community Budget had been reinstated with each Councillor having £10k at their disposal. The deadline to apply for grants from this fund was February 2014. Work on the pavement between the Co-op supermarket and the bus stop was scheduled to commence in October 2013.
7 Reports from South Oxfordshire District Councillors
Cllr Dodds reported that the contract with BIFFA had been extended.
8 Notices of Motion
Proposed by Cllr Lambert and seconded by Cllr Dixon:
“That the position of Town Clerk be renamed as Chief Executive/Town Clerk to reflect not only the historical aspects of the post but also the managerial responsibilities as head of paid service”.
RESOLVED:
i) That the Motion not be supported
9 Questions
No questions were raised.
10 Minutes
RESOLVED:
i) That the minutes of the meetings held on 14 May 2013 and 28 May 2013 be approved as a correct record and be signed by the Mayor.
11 Policy & Resources Committee
The minutes of the meeting held on 11 June 2013 were noted.
Item 12 – New Server
RESOLVED:
i) That a new server be purchased through the Capital Rolling Fund at a cost of £10,770.
Item 13 – Parking Administration
RESOLVED:
i) That the hardware and software for a new parking administration system be purchased through the Car Parking Budget at a cost of £6220.
ii) That an annual contract be agreed with Chipside.
Item 16 – Community Governance Review – South Oxfordshire District Council
RESOLVED:
i) That the District Council be asked to consider Thame as one ward represented by 16 councillors.
12 Culture, Leisure & Recreation Committee
The minutes of the meeting held on 4 June 2013 were noted.
Item 8 – Queen Elizabeth Circle Exit onto Harrison Place
RESOLVED:
i) That Option B be installed at a cost of £1040 to be met from the Capital Rolling Fund.
Item 10 – Parliament Road
RESOLVED:
i) That a tarmac path be installed at Parliament Road at a cost of £3,000 to be met from the Capital Receipts Reserve.
Cllr Stiles left the meeting.
13 Planning & Environment Committee
The minutes of the meeting held on 21 May 2013 and 11 June 2013 were noted.
14 Internal Auditor’s Report
There were no matters for concern and the report confirmed that the Council operated a good system of internal control.
RESOLVED:
i) That the Internal Auditor’s Report for 2012-2013 be duly received.
15 External Audit – Annual Statement
Members received the financial statement (un-audited) for the year ended 31 March 2013 and the Annual Return for 2012-2013.
RESOLVED:
i) That the financial statements ending 31 March 2013 be approved.
ii) That the Annual Return Statement of Accounts for the year ending 31 March 2013 be approved for submission to the auditors.
The meeting concluded at 7.50pm
Signed ……………………..
Chairman, 24 September 2013