ALDENHAM PARISH COUNCIL

Minutes of the meeting of the FINANCE & GENERAL PURPOSES COMMITTEE held at 8pm on Monday 8th December 2003, The Radlett Centre, 1 Aldenham Avenue, Radlett.

Present:
Councillor J.A. Howley (Chairman)
Councillor Mrs W.M. Griffin
Councillor Mrs S.A. Reith
Councillor Mrs E. Wackrow
Councillor R. Worthy

Officer:
Ms. Carrie Lloyd (Clerk)

1. APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE

Apologies for absence were received from Councillor Mrs V. Charrett and Councillor Thompson.

2. DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST BY MEMBERS

There were no declarations of interest by Members.

3. MINUTES OF THE MEETING HELD ON 12TH NOVEMBER 2003

The minutes of the meeting held on 12th November 2003 were signed as a true and accurate record.

4. MATTERS ARISING FROM THE MINUTES OF THE MEETING HELD ON 12TH NOVEMBER 2003

1. Appointment of Internal Auditor – Lubbock Fine, the Council’s External Auditor had requested that a qualified auditor carry out some work in connection with 2002/03 prior to commencing the Council’s internal Audit for 2003/04 in January 2004. As this was a cheaper option than an auditor from Lubbock Fine carrying out the work. RBS Auditing Solutions had been asked to carry out the work and had agreed to do so.
   
   
2. Budget 2004/05 – The draft budget had been approved by Council for further consideration by this Committee in January.
   
   
3. RAIFA Grant 2003/04 – The Council had approved the grant to RAIFA.
   
   
4. Youth and Community Centre – Acceptance of Tender for Works – The contract had been let and the work would take place during the February 2004 half term week.
   
   
5. Newspaper Archives – Mrs Oakley had been sent an ex-gratia payment of £100.
   

5. PROPERTY PORTFOLIO

1. 28 Elm Walk – Léonie Cowen Associates had been asked to provide an update for the next meeting of the Council.
   
   
2. Wellhouse Dell – Registration of Land – Mr Watkiss had been engaged to act on behalf of the Council. The Council would be kept informed as negotiations progressed.
   
   
3. Registration of Access to Cobden Hill Dell – Land Registry had provided contact details of the current registered owners, which was care of their solicitor. The Clerk had written requesting a meeting with them.
   
   
4. Radlett Gardens/RAIFA Gardens – Councillor Mrs Charrett was not available to provide an update.
   
   
5. War Memorial – Confirmation from the Treasury Solicitor that the transfer of the land had taken place was still awaited.

6. PHOTOCOPIER QUOTATIONS

The Clerk advised that following discussion with Right Document Solutions, the current provider, it transpired that the finance agreement still had a year to run. Whilst refinancing options were available from the current provider and Altus Adtek, Members considered this to be uneconomic.

Members RESOLVED that the current contract be allowed to run its course and that Right Document Solutions be advised that the Council wished to terminate the contract as soon as the financing agreement had been completed. Local Societies should be advised that the current copier will be available for their use from the New Year under the same terms and conditions as previously agreed by the Committee.

(Action: Clerk)

7. IT MAINTENANCE QUOTATIONS

The Clerk advised Members of the various options available for a maintenance contract for the Council’s and Radlett Centre’s computers and server. Members recognised the differing services offered but were not inclined to purchase the services of The Internet Group at £2,200 per annum nor Tristar Web Solutions for £930 per annum. It was recognised that a minimum service level would be beneficial to ensure a quicker response time and it was therefore RESOLVED that 5 hours service time should be purchased from Altus Adtek from January 2004. The Clerk was requested to investigate backup for the box office Databox program and to task-schedule the server backup at least twice a week.

(Action: Clerk)

8. FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND BUDGET REPORT

The financial statements to September 2003 were noted. Members congratulated the Accounts Officer on the prompt production of the November figures.

It was requested that the budget for 6720 – Christmas Lights should be moved from a January profile to a November or December profile.

(Action: Accounts Officer / Clerk)

9. BUDGET 2004/05

Members noted that the final draft budget would be submitted to the January meeting for recommendation to Council on 14 January 2004.

It was noted that Lambert Smith and Hampton, acting on behalf of the County Council, had requested £3,977.89 from the Parish Council towards the buildings insurance for the Youth and Community Centre. County Councillor Saunders had contacted Mr Bowler at Hertfordshire County Council and a meeting was to be arranged between Mrs Jan Adams, Councillor Mrs Charrett and Mr Tony Lipson of Lambert Smith and Hampton to discuss the Parish Council’s concerns.

(Action: Deputy Clerk / Councillor Mrs Charrett)

In light of comments received from The Countryside Agency and the revised method of funding the Taxi Voucher Scheme that they proposed i.e. on actual expenditure rather than projected expenditure, Councillor Worthy agreed to review the Transportation Committee budget.

(Action: Councillor Worthy)

Councillor Mrs Griffin advised that she had obtained a quotation for printing the newsletter in full colour for £1,000. She undertook to pass the quotation to Councillor Mrs Reith. The Deputy Clerk was requested to profile out the “miscellaneous expenditure” for the Newsletter Committee.

(Action: Deputy Clerk / Councillor Mrs Griffin)

Mr Rob Reith had looked at the Recreation Ground Pavilion and it appeared that the extension to the hall would not be feasible. The Recreation Grounds Committee would consider the matter in January.

(Action: Clerk)

10. RECYCLING BINS – NEWBERRIES CAR PARK

The Clerk advised that a meeting had been held with Mr Higgins, Head of Paid Service at Hertsmere Borough Council, the Chairman and herself. The meeting had been to discuss the Borough Council’s forthcoming Comprehensive Performance Assessment by the Audit Commission and the Borough’s desired outcomes from the assessment. During the course of the meeting it had become apparent that Mr Higgins was not aware fully of the Parish Council’s campaign to have the bins moved back into Newberries Car Park and the high level of public support the Council had received. The Clerk would be forwarding copies of the letters sent to the Parish Council in support of the campaign to Mr Higgins in the hope that the Borough Council would be willing to listen to the requests of its individual communities.

(Action: Clerk)

11. PAYMENT OF CHEQUES

Members signed the cheques to pay the utility companies, Superannuation and National Insurance. In relation to a cheque payable to Summit Hygiene, it was noted that an over order had been made. Members signed the cheque but requested that the Clerk write to the General Manager requesting that Radlett Centre staff confirm the price of a telephone order, follow the telephone order up with an official order and that an order pad be purchased with a unique numbering system to enable the Accounts Officer to tie up the official order with the delivery note and invoice.

(Action: Clerk)

12. PLANNING MATTERS AND THE WEBSITE

It was suggested that the Planning Grid should be uploaded with the minutes of Boundaries and Planning Committee meetings and the agenda for Boundaries and Planning Committee should be uploaded with the list of applications to be considered. The Clerk advised that she was looking into this particularly with reference to a Microsoft Access Report being transferred to an HTML document or otherwise to preserve the formatting.

The Chairman suggested that consideration be given to creating a separate Planning link on the website for the public to access agenda minutes and other pertinent items.

(Action: Clerk)

13. DATE OF NEXT MEETING

The next meeting was scheduled for 8pm on Wednesday 14th January 2004.

Closure: 9.10pm