Office Relocation - 25th January 2021
Minutes of the Ruskington Parish Council Office Relocation Committee meeting held remotely on Monday 25 January 2021 at 10am via MS365 Teams
Present: Cllr Conway, Cllr Cunningham, Cllr White, Cllr Tonge
Also present: Kathryn Locke (Clerk)
One member of the public was present.
The Chairman welcomed the delegates and the member of the public. As the member of the public had no comments or questions for the Committee, the Chairman opened the meeting at 10.01am.
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 11 January 2021.
Action: The Committee RESOLVED to accept the notes of the meeting as Minutes and an accurate record. Proposed by Cllr Cunningham, seconded by Cllr White and approved 3 for with 1 abstention.
4. Update on the expenditure of the office relocation to date.
Spend to date: £5033.14
Outstanding: balance for office counter £ 574.00
Outstanding: CCTV for office £1230.30
Total excluding VAT: £6837.44
5. To consider any other properties available and suitable for use as a parish office.
No other commercial properties were available to rent in Ruskington.
6. To review the best use for the rear of the office property following survey, valuations, and letting agency recommendations.
Action: The Committee RESOLVED to recommend to Council that the rear of the property be rented out for residential use, and to seek advice from a letting agent regarding any refurbishment required. Proposed by Cllr White, seconded by Cllr Cunningham and approved unanimously.
7. To consider the application for seeking borrowing approval from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government to purchase a property to use as a parish office.
Action: The Committee RESOLVED to discuss this item in closed session, below. Proposed by Cllr White, seconded by Cllr Cunningham and approved unanimously.
8. Date for the next committee meeting.
To be confirmed.
9. 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.
The Chairman closed the meeting at 10.08 am and the member of the public left the meeting.
The Chairman re-opened the meeting at 10.08am.
7. (Moved from above.) To consider the application for seeking borrowing approval from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government to purchase a property to use as a parish office.
Action: The Committee RESOLVED for Cllr White to commence a business plan as part of the borrowing approval application. The amount to be borrowed had yet to be agreed.
10. To consider the Red Book Survey of the office property and its grounds.
The survey had been circulated prior to the meeting. The valuations of the property were considered within the current range for a commercial property. If purchasing a property, the repayments would be fixed for 25 years and the property could be expected to increase in value.
11. To receive correspondence from the property owner regarding negotiation of the purchase price.
This had been circulated prior to the meeting. The property owner had been invited to the meeting but due to IT issues was unable to attend.
Action: The Clerk to invite the property owner to a Zoom meeting to discuss the purchase price.
The meeting closed at 10.45am.