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TOWN HALL COMMITTEE MEETING
MONDAY 15TH MARCH 2010
Present:- Cllr P. Allen (Chair), Cllr D. Bain, Cllr C. Dryden, Cllr J. Godwin,
Cllr C. Lofts, Cllr J. Lynch
1. Apologies for Absence
Cllr J. Hart
2. Declarations of Interest
Cllr Lynch declared an interest in Item 6a – Town Hall Offices / Towcester Partnership. Cllr Lynch signed the Declarations of Interest Register accordingly.
3. Open to the Public
No members of the public were present.
4. Request for Reduced Rates
Cllr Allen referred to correspondence from the Inner Wheel Club of Towcester. It requests reduced rates for hire of the Town Hall on Saturday 30th November 2010 when it will be holding a charity event to benefit the Haiti Disaster Fund.
Proposal
Cllr Lynch proposed that the Inner Wheel Club be allowed a 50% reduction on the hire charges due for 30th November 2010; seconded by Cllr Lofts; all in favour.
5. Finance
a) Cheques Issued
The Clerk distributed copies of the Cheques Issued List (cheque numbers 004512 to 004563). Most items were ongoing; the following cheques were highlighted:-
004516 / £775.00 to D. S. Pannell for redecoration of Office 10, Town Hall
004533 / £208.94 to Anglian Water; the Clerk confirmed that this payment should have been made from the Town Council account; the funds will be transferred to correct.
004545 / £36.60 to SNC for environmental works to eliminate mice
004552 / £237.25 to Smiths Fire for portable appliance testing
004559 / £1871.59 to Espo for new stage curtains and side curtains in the hall
004560 / £37.97 to S. Rawson for cleaning/caretaking cover
Proposal
Cllr Lofts proposed that the Cheques Issued List be signed by the Chair and R.F.O.;
seconded by Cllr Godwin; all in favour.
b) Credit Control
The Clerk reported just two outstanding invoices for hire of the Town Hall by V. Dowen Linen Sales. The tenant of Office 9 is behind with one quarterly rent payment for the period 1st January to 31st March 2010.
c) Budget Update
The Clerk distributed copies of the budget comparison for the Town Hall account and detailed the income/expenditure as follows:-
Income
Budget to 31.03.10 Actual to 28.02.10
Office Rents £25,500.00 £23,833.00
The Clerk confirmed that the income from office rents would be down by £1,000 due to vacation of Office 10 from September 2009.
Town Hall hire £18,310.00 £16,762.00
Rent from hall hire is down following the loss of a number of regular bookings.
Meeting Room Hire £465.00 £300.00
The Clerk confirmed that the income from hire of the Meeting Room is beginning to pick up.
Expenditure
Budget to 31.03.10 Actual to 28.02.10
Cleaner/Caretaker £7,750.00 £7,630.00
Weekday Caretaking £875.00 £925.00
Weekend Caretaking £721.00 £630.00
The Clerk reported and increase in weekday caretaking and a decrease in weekend caretaking costs.
Holiday Cover £810.00 £350.00
The Clerk confirmed that Cllr Allen and Cllr Lynch had helped to cover caretaking duties and some cleaning had been carried out by the office staff.
Cleaning Materials £935.00 £525.00
Photocopier Rental £946.00 £884.00
The Clerk confirmed that the increase in charges for photocopier rental were due to the new colour copier.
Photocopier Charges £230.00 £104.00
The Clerk confirmed that the charge per copy has recently been altered. It was found that copying high colour documents was adding several copies to the counter so the Clerk agreed to increase the charge per copy so this would not occur.
Hall Heating Fund £6,000.00 allocated to the budget
Utilities – Gas £3,335.00 £3,081.00
The Clerk anticipated that the budget for gas will be exceeded.
Utilities – Electricity £3,565.00 £2,671.00
Business Rates £6,390.00 £6,099.00
Agents Fees £250.00 £288.00
The Clerk confirmed that the cost of two Energy Performance Certificates has been allocated to this budget.
General Maintenance Fund £6,000.00 £1,962.00
Fire Extinguishers £495.00 £795.00
The budget for fire extinguishers has been exceeded due to a number of call-outs connected to the alarm.
Total Income £61,312.00 £56,703.00
Total Expenditure £57,306.00 £57,005.00
The Clerk confirmed that the surplus in the General Maintenance Fund would be used to offset the loss of income to balance the budget to the end of the financial year.
6. Town Hall Offices
Cllr Lofts confirmed the TP has had its request for emergency funding from SNC turned down. It is now looking at means of reducing its costs to a minimum in order to continue operating. Due to its success, the TP is seeking to transfer over its staff to become employees of the South Northants Bus Co. The TP needs to secure £4,000 of funding per annum to meet its overheads. Cllr Lofts referred to the grant of £2,000 from the TC and confirmed that the TP would prefer to receive these funds directly as opposed to having them offset against the office rent of £1,200. The Clerk confirmed that the TC needs to look at various marketing options for the vacant offices. Office 10 is currently vacant and Berry’s Commercial will be vacating Office 4 on 31st March. It may be possible to let the TP office and Office 4 together as a suite as they have independent access and their own toilet facilities. Dependent on the interest it may be necessary for the TP to relocate to Office 10 with use of the Committee Room for meetings. Cllr Lynch confirmed the TP would relocate if necessary.
Proposal
Cllr Godwin proposed that the TC award the £2,000 grant to the TP for the 2010/11 financial as per the budget; seconded by Cllr Dryden; all in favour.
Proposal
Cllr Godwin proposed that the Clerk be permitted to obtain Best Value for leasing the vacant Town Hall Offices; seconded by Cllr Dryden; all in favour.
The Clerk confirmed that the proposal would require Full Council approval.
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