Office Relocation - 3rd February 2021
Minutes of the Ruskington Parish Council Office Relocation Committee meeting held remotely on Wednesday 3 February 2021 at 10am via MS365 Teams
Present: Cllr Conway, Cllr Cunningham, Cllr White, Cllr Tonge
Also present: Kathryn Locke (Clerk), Kirsty Sinclair (RFO)
No members of the public were present.
The Chairman opened the meeting at 10.04am.
1. Apologies for absence.
All Committee members were present.
2. To receive Declarations of Interest under the Localism Act 2011.
None were declared at this time.
3. To approve as a correct record the notes of the last meeting held remotely on Monday 25 January 2021.
Action: The Committee RESOLVED to accept the notes of the meeting as Minutes and an accurate record. Proposed by Cllr White, seconded by Cllr Cunningham and approved unanimously.
4. To receive an update on the installation of the office counter.
The counter had been installed on 1 February 2021. An invoice for £574.00 for the payment of the balance had been received. Once paid, there would be no outstanding invoices. Total expenditure excluding VAT was £6837.44.
Covid screens for the counter and between the clerk and RFO’s desk had been ordered.
5. To receive an update on the application for borrowing approval.
At the request of Cllr White, the Committee resolved to consider this item in closed session below.
6. To agree the date for the next meeting.
To be confirmed.
7. To resolve whether to exclude the public and press, in accordance with the Public Bodies (Admissions to Meetings) Act 1960, to discuss the following legal matters.
Action: The Committee RESOLVED to exclude the public and press to discuss the legal matters below. Proposed by Cllr White, seconded by Cllr Cunningham and approved unanimously.
9. To consider correspondence regarding the revised purchase price for the property being used as a parish office, following a meeting with the property owners on 27 January 2021. (Circulated prior to the meeting.)
The Council had previously resolved to purchase a property for use as a parish office. Following a Zoom meeting with the property owners, the Committee had entered into negotiations on the purchase price.
Action: The Council RESOLVED to recommend to Council the approval of the reduced purchase price of £235.000. Proposed by Cllr Cunningham, seconded by Cllr White and approved unanimously.
5. (From above). To receive an update on the application for borrowing approval.
Cllr White had completed an initial draft, and this had been circulated prior to the meeting with the financial details yet to be included. The finances to purchase the property and carry out any refurbishment to the flat and office improvements required, and the use of reserves was discussed. Refurbishment to the flat included a kitchen, bathroom, central-heating, and carpets. Office improvements included a kitchen area, heating, ventilation and investigation into the windows and non-weight bearing floors with possible requirements to put right.
Action: The Committee RESOLVED to recommend that Council purchase the property at a cost of £235,000 and to seek borrowing approval for £260,000, subject to further investigation and information on costs for refurbishment of the property being available. Proposed by Cllr Cunningham, seconded by Cllr White and approved unanimously.
The meeting closed at 10.46am.