March 2023 Minutes EOM
MINUTES OF EXTRAORDINARY MEETING OF POINTON & SEMPRINGHAM PARISH COUNCIL
Friday 17th March 2023 at 7.30pm in St Gilbert Primary School
Councillors Present: Cllrs Clarke, Freeman, Green, Ramm, and Wesley (Chair).
In attendance Parish Clerk Boden and representatives from the PCPF and Pointon FC.
COUNCIL SESSION
22136. Apologies for Absence: To receive and accept apologies where valid reasons for absence have been given to the Parish Clerk prior to the meeting. It was resolved to accept the apologies of Cllr Taylor due to personal circumstances.
No apologies were received from Cllr Greenwood.
22137. Declarations of interest: To receive Declarations of Interests of all Parish Councillors. No declarations were received.
Cllr Wesley had invited the representatives of the PCPF and the FC to the meeting so that any information is received first hand. He explained that the PC has to show transparency in the spending of public money.
Companies were invited to tender including the PCPF but the PCPF chose not to.
It was explained that an agreement was in place between the PCPF and the PC and this was originally set up when the old groundskeeper retired. This was around 2013/2014 when the FC started to apply for grants from the FA.
Originally the £1200 was set by the PCPF and the money collected direct from the FC. A number of years ago the Cllrs at the time decided that the money should come through the PC accounts.
No signed agreement has been seen by any Cllrs. Every year there is meant to be a review of the agreement to make sure that both sides are happy, however with the problems of the previous Council and Covid this has not happened.
In 2021 there was a proposal to include extra responsibilities of maintaining the footpath, driveway and weed control but this was never signed. The PCPF said that they were only ever meant to provide grass cutting and line marking. But used to have volunteer days when other work would be carried out.
The FC are concerned that the pitch will not be up to standard if it is taken out of house. Cllr Green asked how many teams the FC have playing. There are currently 3 adult teams but it isn’t always easy to get them to pay their subs.
Cllr Green also asked if there was a need for them to have 2 pitches as this could be a way of reducing the costs of line marking as presently the line marking is carried out weekly and sometimes twice weekly during the winter. Both pitches are needed due to the wear and tear.
The PCPF is a group of volunteers and not a business and would not be able to continue to run without the money coming in from the FC. As volunteers the PCPF should not be invoicing the PC but should have been claiming their costs back.
The PC should not be using electors’ money to subsidise either the FC or the PCPF and need to show transparency.
The representatives of the PCPF and Pointon FC left the meeting for the PC to go into closed session.
Post note:
It is documented in the minutes of June and July 2021 that the grass cutting would be considered being outsourced in 2022.
CLOSED COUNCIL SESSION
Items of a confidential nature to be debated in the absence of the press and public. Under the Public Bodies (Admission to the Meetings) Act 1960 (due to the confidential nature of the business).
22138. Grass Cutting Contract – To consider and approve the grass cutting contract for the Playing Field (3 year contract).
Cllrs Freeman and Ramm wanted to have it minuted that they abstained.
Cllrs Freeman and Ramm left the meeting at 8.46pm
It was resolved that the grass cutting contract be awarded to Prestige Landscapes at £180 + vat per cut.
It was also resolved that to help the FC no fees would be charged, for the last two months of the season to help with the costs.
The meeting closed at 9.10pm