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October 2017

Minutes of Monthly Meeting of Llangunnor Community Council held in 'Yr Aelwyd', Tregynnwr at 6.30pm on Thursday 19th October 2017.

PRESENT: Councillor Lee Whatley (Chair), Geraint Bevan, Robin Griffiths, Paul Totterdale, Alun West, Elwyn Williams, Sandra Thomas, Alexandra Trowbridge-Mathews, Vivian Davies, Adrienne Mackintosh (arrived 6.40pm for item 4) and Dafydd Williams.

APOLOGIES: None

Declaration of Interest

There were no declarations of interest

1. Chair's Announcements

The Chair had another busy few weeks starting with the Macmillan Coffee Morning at Babell, they had raised about £400. He also attended the Llangunnor Church Harvest Service where the Sunday school children took part. He was asked along to the Carmarthen River Festival Presentation evening and was invited to present some awards/trophies along with the mayor and admiral of the port, Councillor Alun Lenny.

The Chair's Civic Service took place on the 8th October as part of the harvest service at Babell Zion Newydd. Representatives were in attendance from Llangunnor Community Council, Carmarthenshire & District Sugarcraft Guild, St Cynnwr Woman's Institute, Art & Craft Group, Llangunnor School, Councillor Delyth Jones, Llanarthne Community Council and Councillor Janet Knott, Llandyfaelog Community Council. On the previous Sunday he attended the civic service for Councillor Jane Rees, Mayor of St Clears.

The Chair mentioned that he speaks to a lot of people when at these engagements and has had a few conversations regarding the chain of office and the meanings of the images used; he hoped that he was presenting the community of Llangunnor in a good light. He had also reminded Llangunnor Church and Babell that if they have any special services they may wish to invite the chair/councillors along to get in contact, he asked if this message could be relayed to members at Philadelphia Chapel. Finally he wanted to remind Councillors of the Standing Orders, especially number 63 which talks about unauthorised activities

2. Public Questions

No members of the public present

3. Minutes

It was moved by Cllr Totterdale and seconded by Cllr Dafydd Williams (minute 1017-3) and RESOLVED to approve as a correct record the minutes of the monthly Council meeting and Planning Sub-Committee held on 14th September 2017.

4. Matters Arising .

Matters raised / resolved outside meetings

a) Path from Penymorfa to Llangunnor Road - Clerk to meet Carmarthenshire County Council to see if it is possible to place a rail at bottom of path
b) Seat in Pensarn - Now in place
c) Tree in Llangunnor Park - Stephen Edwards (Carmarthenshire County Council - Aborist) was of the opinion that the tree was safe, he suggested that the Council get a survey done on the trees in the park, it was agreed (minute 1017-4(c)) that Clerk bring the cost of this survey to the next meeting. It was noted that the resident (Mr Richard Thomas who's home this tree is adjacent to is very perturbed by the decision)
d) Entrance to Tywi View - Estimate for electric supply received £7,350 does not include lantern and post further £1200, Finance Sub-Committee recommending not too proceed at this cost. It was unanimously agreed (minute 1017-4(d)) that the Council does not proceed with this scheme
e) Report on A48 from Cross Hands to Carmarthen, in particular the entrance to the tip at Nantycaws - See appendix 1. The action of the Clerk to ask if the Community Council could be involved in any liaison meetings (minute 1017-4 (e)). Cllr Griffiths re-iterated his grave concern at how long this was taking, Clerk will write to ask for this to take place as soon as is possible
f) Footpath in Nantycaws - Footpath currently closed, Carmarthenshire County Council investigating to see if appropriate permission has been sought
g) Arts and Crafts Group - I have made some enquiries with Carmarthenshire County Council and apparently they must have their own cover, had chat with Zurich Insurance, Group must have a constitution for insurance, all information passed on to group
h) Bin Nantycaws - Now in position
i) Daffodil planting - School children had planted bulbs in Tregynnwr (18th)
j) Lights Tywi Bridge - Carmarthenshire County Council "The fault is ongoing but we are hoping it will be resolved before winter I will keep you informed of progress"
k) Yellow lines entrance to Tregynnwr - Notices had been published
l) Weeds in Elder Grove - Work carried out
m) Lights in tree sculpture - Awaiting response from South Wales Trunk Road Agency
n) Vehicle in Nantycaws - Moved onto private property
o) Junction at Nantycaws - Met John McAvoy, suggested that I meet with design section, action of Clerk, Cllrs Davies and Elwyn Williams were approved (minute 1017-4(o))
p) Request for election - Carmarthenshire County Council have not received any notification, Council can now advertise and proceed to co-opting
q) Path Penymorfa - Response from Carmarthenshire County Council dated 18/09/17: "I hope to have the resurfacing works done here within 6 weeks"

5. The Park

No meeting had taken place

6. Web / Media Sub-Committee

No meeting had taken place. Chair thanked Cllr Bevan for information on Babell Chapel which was now on the website

7. Finance Sub-Committee

Meeting held on September 19th, draft minutes on website.
a) It was unanimously agreed their recommendations be approved (minute 1017-7a). It was noted that the recommendation included
b) "that the Community Council accept the offer of £40K from Valero (without prejudice) and that Council make no decision on how this money is spent until a) all individual claims by residents are resolved b) full consultation takes place with the residents of Nantycaws/Llangunnor". Following a lengthy discussion it was unanimously agreed (minute 1017-7b) that the Clerk ask the journal to print an item asking for suggestions on how the Valero contribution could be used, also notices in noticeboards, and that a consultation event will be held early in 2018 to consider these suggestions and any other that residents may have.
c) any spending motion that is presented to council has to be included on the agenda of the meeting so it is displayed in our notice boards webpage so that any elector can see the proposal and they are aware that public money is being spent, d) any motion that incurs a spend by the council is automatically placed on the agenda of the next meeting if the actual costs and running costs are not included in the motion. All other recommendations on draft minutes on website

8. Christmas Decoration in Pensarn Sub-Committee

Had met prior to meeting, see draft minutes on website

9. Tesco Bags of Help

Clerk had submitted application and would get a response "within the next 6 months"

10. Daffodils Planting

The Chair extended thanks to Cllr Griffths and Dafydd Williams for acquiring the bulbs from The Range and Aldi

11. Floral baskets in Pensarn

Clerk to discuss with Carmarthenshire County Council and bring update to next meeting

12. Streetlights in Llangunnor Road

It was proposed by Cllr Griffiths and seconded by Cllr Elwyn Williams and unanimously agreed (minute 1017-12) that Clerk writes to Carmarthenshire County Council to ask that street lights be provided in Llangunnor Road up passed the newly relocated station and to Police HQ as there was no lights currently in position particularly at the entrance to the HQ

13. Safety around Towy Garage Roundabout / Southern Terrace

Cllr Griffiths brought to the Council's attention two accidents that had happened on the roundabout and the problem residents of Southern Terrace have in crossing the road. It was proposed by Cllr Griffiths and seconded by Cllr Mackintosh and unanimously agreed (minute 1017-13) that the Clerk write to Carmarthenshire County Council supporting the requests being made by the residents of Southern Terrace with regard to barriers being placed in position and having a designated crossing point

14. Reports from Members Representing Council on other Bodies.

Riverside Association - No report

One Voice Wales - Cllr Whatley attended the AGM/Conference where the Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Local Government Mark Drakeford had spoken. He spoke about austerity and budgets, that councils should plan for harder times ahead as they may have to step into roles that the local authority use to manage. An Independent Review Panel has been set up to consider the future role of Community and Town Councils with four main questions posed: a) What should Community and Town Councils be responsible for? b)How should they operate? c) What's standing in their way to deliver for the local community? d) How do Councils ensure they best represent their local community? He also mentioned new powers for the Welsh Government from April 2018 regarding elections in Wales and that this was a good opportunity to reenergise the way we do democracy in Wales, Councillor Whatley explained that one idea included a mobile voting booth going around like an ice cream van. Finally he did mention that he was not going to force clusters of councils to come together (Clerk reported that he had met with the Town Clerk and they both agreed that collaborative working could be of benefit to both Councils). A further talk was given by Mr Huw Vaughan Thomas (Auditor General for Wales) who spoke about some of the problems identified at audit, poor financial management with no proper budgets set, councils having no terms of reference for what the internal auditor should be doing. The business part of the AGM saw all motions passed. The meeting spent much time discussing the finances and the issue with a pension deficit meaning One Voice Wales are unable to change the legal structure. Motion on fees caused some further debate and the fee eventually went to 5% for next year.
An area committee meeting had also been held at Burry Port, which included a talk from revenue services of Carmarthenshire County Council on benefit reforms, it was also mentioned that Del Morgan will be retiring in January. Electoral review - dealing with county councillors and looking to make each ward similar in size so everyone has an equal value vote. Ideally they are looking for each councillor to have about 1915 electors.

School Governors - No report

Training - No report

15. Approve the Schedule of Accounts

It was Resolved (minute 1017-15) proposed Cllr Totterdale and seconded Cllr Dafydd Williams (unanimous) that the accounts submitted be approved.

A) Council is requested to consider and approve the following items of expenditure:

Payee Info (£) Amount
E Williams Playing Field (30/09/17) 75.00
CJ Thomas Salary - Oct 2017 585.69
Office Allowance - Oct 2017 100.00
IT Allowance - Oct 2017 40.00
Travelling (Apr - Sept) 138.60
One Voice Wales Cllr Maynard - Training 40.00
Vision ICT Web Hosting 195.60
Art, Craft & Chat Friendship Group Chair's Fund 130.00
Friends of St. Peter's Church Chair's Fund 50.00
Carmarthen River Festival Chair's Fund 100.00
Carmarthenshire County Council Design at Park 328.86
Wales Audit Office Audit 208.50

B) Council to note receipt of income: None

16. Correspondence

It was RESOLVED that the following correspondence be noted/action taken.

No Nature of Correspondence Agreed Action
1 Letter from Jayne Bryant AM and Loneliness Roundtable Report Noted
2 One Voice Wales AGM Motions 2017 Noted
3 Actif Carmarthenshire Sports Awards Noted
4 Tynged yr Iaith yn Sir Gâr 2021? / Fate of the Language in Carmarthenshire 2021 Noted
5 Review of the Electoral Arrangements for Carmarthenshire County Council Noted
6 October Training Sessions Noted
7 Hywel Dda Community Health Council Annual report Noted
8 Mid and West Wales Fire and RescueESCUE SERVICE - DRAFT CORPORATE PLAN Noted
9 WAG - Independent Review Panel - Call to Evidence Circulated [1]
10 WAG - Draft Budget | Welsh Tax Policy Report | Rates and Bands Noted
11 Peter Hughes Griffiths - Town & Community Councils Newsletter - October 2017 Noted
12 Public Services Ombudsman (Wales) Bill Noted
13 Carmarthenshire Well-being Plan - Consultation Noted
14 Admission Forum Membership Noted
15 Boundary Commission for Wales: Revised Proposals Report 2018 Review Noted
16 Llangunnor recreation area - I am responsible for publicising asset transfers which have been completed, and wondered if you would like Llangunnor Recreation Area to be included? It would only involve a quote from your leader, plus we would come to take a photograph at the recreation area Chair to respond

(9) Clerk indicated that one main change being considered was "Determination 44: Community and town councils must make a payment to each of their members of £150 per year for costs incurred in respect of telephone usage, information technology, consumables etc". This is normally considered by Council in April / May, Clerk to make some enquiries on its impact

17. Any Other Business.

• Clerk to contact Network Rail in respect of potholes in Station Approach
• Clerk to enquire what progress is being made on the adoption of Gwynfan
• Cllr Griffiths informed the meeting that the Remembrance Sunday Service would be held at Llangunnor Church on Sunday November 12th November at 10.45

18. Date of Next Meeting

The next meeting will be held on Thursday 16th November 2017 at 6.30p.m. at Yr Aelwyd

Meeting closed 8.05pm


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