Before the start of the May meeting of Pembroke Dock Town Council, the Mayor, Clr. J. Phillips, welcomed Clr. J. McNaughton to the council and wished her well during her term as a councillor.

MATTERS ARISING FROM THE MINUTES

Community issues: The town clerk informed members that a new member of staff had been employed to supplement the street cleaning and also work in the Memorial Park. She commented that she had approached the Chamber of Trade with regards to the use of the street hoovers which they purchased. It was agreed that the staff would work with the Chamber of Trade to enable full use of the hoovers and any other cleaning items.

Village Green, Pennar: It was questioned if there was any official update with regards to the Village Green registration. The town clerk said she had informed members at the meeting of May 9 verbally that the county council had agreed registration of the village green in Pennar and she had received documentation to confirm this.

REPORT OF THE

TOWN CLERK

Access to town council meetings and offices for people with disabilities: The town clerk said she had been asked to progress this issue. She had asked Mr. Alan Hunt to survey the Pater Hall with a view to access to council meetings and to the office.

After receiving his response, she also suggested that she organise a meeting between councillors and Mr. Hunt.

It was commented that now the changes had been made to the front of the Pater Hall, there was now disability access on the side of the building which accessed the foyer and the main hall and also there was an office available for use when needed. It was stated that this was a good step forward, but it did not solve the issue of the council meetings. Even with having the chair lift, it proved difficult getting a wheelchair up the stairs.

Clr. P. E. George stated that the Pater Hall Trust were hoping to get wheelchairs for use on the first floor rooms to help alleviate the pressures of transporting wheelchairs up the stairs, but it would not help independent wheelchair users.

Clr. M. Murton stated that consideration was also needed for staff of the council, as if any member of staff had a disability or issue, they could not be expected to walk back and forth between the office and foyer.

It was questioned if the town council should consider moving premises.

It was commented by Clr. P. E. George and M. Colgan that if this happened, then they would leave Pembroke Dock Town Council.

After discussion, it was proposed by Clr. A. McNaughton, seconded by Clr. M. Murton and resolved that members of the council would meet with the disability access officer of the county council, Mr. Alan Hunt.

The town clerk asked which members would like to be included in the meeting. Clrs. M. Murton, M. Colgan, C. Fortune, J. McNaughton, J. Phillips, P. E. George and D. Earl volunteered.

MAYORAL ALLOWANCES

The town clerk stated that currently the town council pays the Mayor £3,200 and the Deputy Mayor £620. These payments were meant to ensure that individuals who become Mayor and Deputy Mayor are not out of pocket due to their activities.

The town clerk informed members that it was suggested that some of the more general items of expenditure would include: clothing; partner's clothing; donations to charities; collections; purchase of raffle tickets; flag days etc; sending flowers on own initiative; personal hospitality (including lunches and dinners) not instigated by the council; one-off events personally organised by the Mayor.

The town clerk commented that in the past the allowance had been given to the Mayor and Deputy Mayor without the council having any knowledge of how that money was spent and paid to them in one lump sum at the start of the year.

The town clerk informed members that last year the allowance was paid in four installments, not in one lump sum.

The town clerk stated that she had sought the views of other town clerks and the monitoring officer and these allowances were dealt with in various ways. Also reading the SLCC forums this was mentioned and dealt with in different ways.

These different methods include: only paying the Mayor on receipt of expenditure; paying the mayoral allowance in full at the start of the mayoral year; paying the mayoral allowance either monthly or quarterly.

The monitoring officer's advice was that the allowance should be fully accountable and form part of the council's expenditure. Also the mayoral allowances granted by Pembroke Dock seemed to be larger than most others.

Generally, Mayors in the different towns would attend virtually the same number of civic events, although local events may of course vary.

To be sure that the town council was fully transparent in the way that the finances were operated, as it was public money, the town clerk proposed: that the mayoral allowances continue to be paid quarterly to the Mayor and the Deputy Mayor; that the Mayor and the Deputy Mayor keep records and receipts, where feasible, of all expenditure from the allowance so that this could be audited as part of the expenditure of the council.

It was commented that most of the allowance was spent during the first few months of becoming Mayor as all the events were towards the beginning of the term.

After further discussion, it was agreed that how the allowance was paid would be left with the Mayor to decide each year, with records and receipts of spends kept where possible and made available to the town clerk.

China in the Chamber -owNERship

The town clerk informed members that she had been asked to discover whether the china which was normally kept in the chamber kitchen belonged to the council or was the property of the Pater Hall Trust.

She stated that when the SLA was signed, it was agreed that the ownership of the contents of the hall be transferred to the trust.

Was the good china included in that transfer or does it still belong to the council?

Members confirmed that the china belonged to the town council.

CITIZENS ADVICE BUREAU - FINANCIAL REQUEST

The town clerk informed members that the CAB in Pembrokeshire was seeking financial help to maintain its day to day running. She commented that as everyone knew, financial help was becoming very difficult to obtain. Members commented that as this was a national organisation this application fell outside of its policies.

POSSIBLE NEW DUTIES ON TOWN/COMMUNITY COUNCILS

The town clerk stated that she had received an email from Pembrokeshire County Council describing possible new duties on this council. She commented that as council understands there are duties and powers that refer to this council. There are few duties (compulsory) and many powers (optional).

Community/town council websites:

A community council must make available electronically - information on how to contact it and, if different, its clerk including a telephone number, a postal address, an email address;

Information about each of its members, including the member's name, how the member may be contacted, the member's party affiliation (if any), the ward which the member represents (where relevant), any office of the council held by the member, any committee of the council to which the member belongs;

The minutes of the proceedings of the council's meetings and (in so far is reasonably practicable) any documents which are referred to in the minutes;

Any audited statement of the council's accounts.

Requirements to give public notices electronically - a public notice given by a community council must be published electronically.

The town clerk stated that a meeting was set up two weeks ago by the monitoring officer to discuss these issues with town and community council clerks. The town clerk informed members that the assistant town clerk and herself attended that meeting. The town clerk commented that she was secretary to the group and Sarah was representing the town council.

Representatives at the meeting who had not yet developed a web site expressed a desire to meet the duty by working more closely together. A more detailed options paper on how websites could be hosted and developed would be produced in the next month.

Welsh Government had made grant funding available to assist community councils, although the precise terms and conditions attached to the grant were not entirely clear.

The town clerk informed members that currently the assistant town clerk was developing a website which does hold the information, and more, that was now available to the public. This development had been produced at a minimal cost and would be developed further once the workload reduced in the office.

PUBLIC TOILET PROVISION IN PEMBROKESHIRE

The town clerk stated that she had received a letter from Pembrokeshire County Council saying that as a cost cutting exercise the number of public toilets managed and operated by them would be reduced.

Two of the three public toilets in Pembroke Dock were to be included in the closures, the one on Front Street and at Hobbs Point.

The running costs of each of these toilets were: Front Street £1,183; Hobbs Point £8,682.

The town clerk informed members that the county council, before making a final decision, were approaching town and community councils to determine whether any wanted to take over the operation and management of these facilities. The county council pointed out that there were cost savings that could be made, including using volunteers to clean and maintain the buildings or the use of a donation box.

After discussion, it was agreed that Pembroke Dock Town Council would not take on any of the public conveniences.

PEMBROKE DOCK CRICKET CLUB

The town clerk stated that she had received a request for some financial support from the cricket club. The club was a longstanding organisation that had a membership of 87, included people from the age of 12 to 83-years-old. The club had applied for the ECB Clubmark Accreditation that was awarded to them in April this year.

They were looking for help with the following: cricket kit - shirts and trousers (£375); to purchase a Bowdry water remover (£575); a batting cage (£1,250).

It was agreed that £200 be donated to the club.

TOWN REGENERATION

The town clerk said that she had received an email from Mr. Martin White of the county council stating that he was due to prepare an update report of the county council's economy overview and scrutiny committee on town centre regeneration.

Mr. White said that he had received written confirmation from two town councils that they were prepared to make a financial contribution towards delivering regeneration projects in their town, and he wrote to advise members of this and to afford them the opportunity of considering whether they wished to make a similar contribution for Pembroke Dock.

After discussion, it was felt that members wanted to wait to see what ideas would be brought forward to town centre regeneration in Pembroke Dock before they considered making a contribution.

PALC - DOMAIN NAME

The town clerk informed members that she had received an email from Mr. George Allingham, chair of PALC, plus a conversation on this topic had taken place.

Mr. Allingham had discovered that the town council owned the domain name of PALC.

He asked whether the council would relinquish this ownership and had proposed the way forward on this. It was at the expense of PALC and would not cost anything for the council.

After discussion, it was agreed that the domain name be transferred to PALC.

REPORTS FROM REPRESENTATIVE ON OUTSIDE BODIES

Police Forum: Clr. M. Murton commented that she had recently attended a Police Forum meeting when the same priorities were highlighted as stated in the last meeting.

Clr. Murton also informed members of her disappointment that two of the PCSO's who were invited to the Mayors Civic Dinner did not attend, even when they had confirmed their attendance.

St. Mary's School: Clr. M. Colgan informed members that there was to be a new head teacher at St. Mary's School in September.

Dr. Jones Charity: Clr. P. E. George stated that the Dr. Jones Charity was going to be deciding on some applications which they had received from local youngsters to help them through college.

Argyle Medical Group: Clr. C. Fortune informed members that she had attended a number of meetings with Argyle Medical Group to assist in making the surgery more accessible to members of the public and to help iron out any current issues. She commented that previously she had received no minutes or action plans from these meetings, but stated that there was a new system in place to educate doctors, and that blood test information could now be gained from reception.

Clr. Fortune also informed the meeting that she was now a part of the Patient Participation Group (PPG) at the Argyle Medical Group.

COMMUNITY ISSUES

Victorian post box: It was commented that there was an old Victorian post box located in Pembroke Street, which was previously covered with Perspex to protect it. It was stated that this Perspex had now been broken which had left the post box exposed to the elements. It was questioned if something could be done to fix it, or if it could be removed to an indoor location to prevent it deteriorating any further.

County council maintenance issues: It was commented that the pot-holes around the town were starting to be filled in, but highlighted that Commercial Row required some attention as the white lines needed repainting.

It was commented that complaints had been received regarding the footpath from Tremeyrick Street down to Wilkinsons. This issue would be passed to the county council.

It was stated that the chicanes on Essex Road were in need of some attention as they were full of weeds. This would be highlighted to the county council.

It was commented that complaints had been received regarding some loose paving slabs outside Barclays Bank in Dimond Street. This would also be highlighted to the county council.

Road to B&Q: Members were informed that the road leading up to B&Q was going to be repaired in the next month. It was stated that the road was owned by Tesco.

Youth Centre wall: It was commented that the wall outside the Youth Centre had now been painted. It was stated that the painting would be digitally enhanced onto banners which could be moved around the town.

MAYOR'S REPORT

The Mayor commented that she had been very busy and had attended a number of events, including Pembroke Mayor-making and Civic Service, the Battle of Atlantic weekend, a Spitfire talk, a cruise liner with visitors from Australia and New Zealand and Havefordwest Mayor-making.