13 May 2014 (AGM) – Minutes
THAME TOWN COUNCIL
Minutes of the Meeting of Thame Town Council held on 13 May 2014 at 6.54pm in the Upper Chamber, Thame Town Hall
Present:
Cllr D Bretherton, D Butler, N Champken-Woods, A Dite, N Dixon (Deputy Mayor), D Dodds, M Dyer, L Emery, H Fickling, V Humphries, P Lambert,
D Laver, J Matelot Green (Town Mayor), M Stiles and M Welply.
Officers
H Stewart, Town Clerk
A Oughton, Committee Services Officer
1 Apologies for Absence
Apologies for absence were received from Cllr Gunn (Holiday).
2 Declarations of Interest
There were no declarations of interest.
3 Appointment of Mayor
Town Mayor, Cllr Lambert called for nominations for the position of Town Mayor. It was moved and duly seconded that Cllr Matelot Green be appointed Town Mayor. It was then moved and duly seconded that Cllr Humphries be appointed Town Mayor. On being put to the vote it was:
RESOLVED that:
i) Cllr Matelot Green be elected Town Mayor for the ensuing year.
4 Declaration of Acceptance of Office by Mayor
Cllr Matelot Green signed the Declaration of Acceptance of Office of Town Mayor and thanked fellow councillors for electing her. Cllr Matelot Green had enjoyed her year as Deputy Mayor and thanked Cllr Lambert for completing a successful and busy year as Town Mayor.
During the forthcoming year Cllr Matelot Green looked forward to the completion of the refurbishment work to the Town Hall and announced her chosen charity would be the redevelopment of the Skatepark. Her main ambition was to reach out to the residents of the town and encourage them to come forward and have their say.
5 Appointment of Deputy Mayor
Nominations were called for the position of Deputy Mayor. It was moved and duly seconded that Cllrs Butler, Dixon, Gunn and Humphries be elected as Deputy Mayor. On being put to the vote it was:
RESOLVED that:
i) Cllr Dixon be elected Deputy Mayor for the ensuring year.
6 Declaration of Acceptance of Office by Deputy Mayor
Cllr Dixon signed the Declaration of Acceptance of Office of Deputy Mayor.
7 Mayor’s Allowance
Members were asked to formally agree the Mayor’s allowance of £2000 for expenses incurred during the civic year.
RESOLVED that:
i) The Mayor’s Allowance of £2000 for the civic year be approved.
8 Committees
The Committee Structure, Terms of Reference and Delegations were presented for approval. Discussion took place regarding the Conservation Area Advisory Committee (CAAC); it was not aligned with or acting on behalf of the Planning & Environment Committee in any formalised way. In reality CAAC was a self-appointed interest group that Councillors would encourage to continue but as an independent group arranging its own meeting facilities rather than by the anomalous arrangement made years ago of having free use of resources from the Council.
It was noted that the name of the Culture, Leisure & Recreation Committee had changed to the Community, Leisure & Recreation Committee.
RESOLVED that:
i) The Committee Structure, Terms of Reference and Delegations be approved.
9 Appointment of Standing Committees
RESOLVED that:
i) Cllrs D Butler, N Champken-Woods, A Dite, D Dodds, H Fickling, V Humphries, D Laver, M Stiles and M Welply be appointed to the Planning and Environment Committee.
ii) Cllrs D Bretherton, N Champken-Woods, A Dite, M Dyer, L Emery, A Gunn, P Lambert, D Laver and M Stiles be appointed to the Community, Leisure and Recreation Committee.
iii) Cllrs D Bretherton, D Butler, D Dodds, M Dyer, L Emery, H Fickling, A Gunn, V Humphries, P Lambert and M Welply be appointed to the Policy and Resources Committee.
iv) Cllrs J Matelot Green (Town Mayor), N Dixon (Deputy Mayor), M Dyer (Chairman, Policy and Resources), N Champken-Woods (Chairman, Community, Leisure and Recreation) and H Fickling (Chairman, Planning and Environment) be appointed to the Personnel Committee.
10 External Organisations
a) Barns Centre – D Butler & J Matelot Green
b) Chinnor Rugby Football Club – A Gunn
c) Citizens Advice Bureau – M Welply
d) Cricket Club – N Champken-Woods
e) Cuttle Brook Management Committee – D Laver & M Stiles
f) National Association of Local Councils – M Dyer
g) Thame Carnival Committee – L Emery
h) Thame Business Forum – M Dyer
i) Thame & District Housing Association – D Butler
j) Thame Football Partnership – M Dyer
k) Thame Museum Trust – D Laver & L Emery
l) Transport Representative – M Stiles
m) Twinning Association – V Humphries
n) 21st Century Thame – H Fickling & D Laver
o) Welfare Trust – N Champken-Woods
RESOLVED that:
i) The Members as listed above be appointed as representatives to the named External Organisations.
11 Schedule of Meetings
It was noted that subject to approval of Standing Orders, the election of the Mayor Designate would take place at the Council meeting prior to the Annual General Meeting.
Members agreed that a Working Group be formed to review plans for the Mayor Making in 2015. Membership of the Working Group would be Cllrs Bretherton, Butler, Champken-Woods and Emery.
The Schedule of Meetings for 2014-2015 was received and agreed.
12 Standing Orders and Financial Regulations
Standing Orders, Financial Regulations and Delegations for 2014-15 were approved with the amendment to Standing Orders; i) item 6 to read ‘The election of a Mayor or Deputy Mayor, however, may be a recorded signed ballot if requested by a Member and ii) the addition of item 7.4 Election of Mayor Designate.
It was noted that changes in banking procedures would necessitate amendments to be made to the Financial Regulations; these would be presented to Council for approval.
13 Mayor’s Report
The Mayor had nothing further to report.
14 Notices of Motion
There were no notices of motion.
15 Questions
There were no questions.
16 Minutes
The minutes of the Council meeting held on 29 April 2014 were approved as a correct record and signed by the Mayor.
17 Planning & Environment Committee
The minutes of the meeting held on 29 April 2014 were noted.
18 Annual Town Meeting
The minutes of the meeting held on 6 May 2014 were noted.
The meeting concluded at 7.46pm
Signed ……………………..
Chairman, 24 June 2014