MINUTES OF A MEETING OF THE GENERAL MANAGEMENT COMMITEE HELD IN THE MEETING ROOM, 11 BAKER STREET, ABERYSTWYTH ON MONDAY 8^th APRIL  2013 AT 6.30PM

 

Present:

Councillor Ceredig Wyn Davies

Councillor Dylan Lewis

Councillor Wendy Morris-Twiddy

Councillor J Aled Davies

Councillor Sue Jones-Davies

Councillor Steve Davies

Councillor Endaf Edwards

Councillor Mererid Jones

Councillor Mark Strong

Councillor Jeff Smith

 

Apologies:

Councillor Mair Benjamin

 

 

 

1. Declarations of Interest

The chairman took this opportunity to inform members that Councillor Mair Benjamin had fallen and broken her hip and was an inpatient at Bronglais General Hospital. It was agreed that the office send a card and fruit on behalf of staff and members wishing her a speedy recovery.

 

1. Correspondence

1. RNLI Parking

The Aberystwyth Branch of the RNLI asked for support in getting a dispensation to park outside the lifeboat station to enable crew to carry out essential maintenance on the lifeboat. Ceredigion County Council had to date turned down all applications for such dispensation.

Following discussion it was decided to write to Ceredigion County Council and ask that they allocate two free parking spaces for use by RNLI crew.

 

1. Castle CCTV

The Town Clerk reported that St Michaels and all Angels’ church would contribute £100 towards the cost of the new proposed CCTV system near the Castle Playground.

 

1. Catenary removal.

An application was received to remove the catenary fittings from the Dolphin Restaurant in Upper Gt Darkgate Street to facilitate repairs to the fabric of the building.

Members agreed to this as long as the fittings were replaced on completion of the work.

 

1. Natural Resources Wales.

Members were advised of a new body assuming the roles and responsibilities previously carried out by the Forestry Commission, CCW and Environment Agency.

 

1. Reports on Council premises.

The Town Clerk was still awaiting the draft lease. It was agreed to hold a meeting of the steering group following its arrival.

The question of accessibility arose due to the retirement of the ground floor receptionist. It was agreed that it would be wrong to rely on HMRC staff to allow continual access to the premises. It was agreed to cost a CCTV intercom access control system and report back.

 

1. Updates on Resolutions

The new database being prepared by Councillors Strong and Price had not been finished.  The Town Clerk reported that the software had been given out following the last meeting.

The existing list of resolutions was checked and edited and the chairman asked that a new updated list on the new database was expected for the next meeting.

 

1. Renting out room space

The Town Clerk had indicated that One Voice Wales was keen to use the meeting room for a training session in late May.

Following discussion it was agreed that this would be allowable should the owner give permission and the insurance cover the event. A charge of £10 per hour should be levied.

 

1. Trashing footpaths

The Town Clerk advised that the tender notice for the trashing of footpaths under the control of Aberystwyth Town Council was due to be circulated and published. Members agreed to this annual requirement.

 

1. North Road Trees

The Chairman allowed Councillor Mark Strong to raise an issue due to pressing deadlines with officers from Ceredigion County Council the following day.

Councillor Strong outlined a plan to plant trees along North Road in order to green the area and to act as a traffic calming measure.

He stated that every house along the route had been canvassed and that all were in broad support of the idea.

Following discussion it was decided to confirm that members were generally supportive in principle of the motion to plant trees in North Road.

Emphasis was also made for the need to have a more comprehensive plan of the proposal before any final commitment was made

It was also confirmed that whilst supporting this motion in principle the level of financial investment by Aberystwyth Town Council was not discussed and will be subject to a separate meeting of the Finance committee at a later date and after further information is available.

It was further confirmed that this information could be put in a letter for Councillor Strong to present to Ceredigion County Council officers at his meeting.

The Town Clerk read a letter from Ceredigion County Council stating that they would assume responsibility for the trashing all footpaths in the Aberystwyth area due to a number of historical issues.

Members agreed that this would be acceptable as long as all the paths historically done by Aberystwyth Town Council would be done by Ceredigion County Council.

Councillor Mererid Jones asked if Councillor Alun Williams had any observations. He had no objections to this suggestion.

It was RESOLVED to hand responsibility for all footpath trashing in Aberystwyth to Ceredigion County Council communicate this to them..

 

Minute 223

Minutes of a Finance Committee meeting held on 15^th April 2013