2020 Parish Council Minutes

Draft Minutes of Extraordinary meeting of South Kyme Parish Council held by Zoom on Friday 11 September 2020, 7pm

Present: Councillors Alexander (Chairman), Clark, Goode, J Head, M Head, Midgley and Shaw

Clerk: Chairman (post vacant)

20/21/10.1  Potential Face to Face Parish Council Meeting in the Village Hall, or Church

The Chairman opened the meeting by stating that it had been called by Cllrs Goode, Shaw, Clark and Midgley to agree and appoint a competent person to carry out a Covid-19 specific risk assessment on St Mary and All Saints Church, South Kyme, for the bi-monthly meeting on 17th September 2020.

New Government legislation (Rule of Six) meant this was no longer an option. The Chairman, as acting Clerk had spoken to the Rev Steve Holt who had confirmed that, apart from formal worship, no gatherings of more than six were now allowed in the church.

Councillors discussed whether the risk assessment could be sorted out now for future reference, or could be postponed until January when it was hoped that the Government would update legislation.

Cllr M Head agreed that  postponing was an option, but if his fellow Councillors wanted to appoint someone to do a risk assessment for a future hybrid meeting, that he would be in agreement.

Cllr Clark confirmed that she had risk assessment experience and would be happy to do the risk assessment, adding that she would like additional help. Cllr Midgley and Cllr Goode offered to help.

Cllr Midgley said both the Village Hall and the church should be risk assessed so the Council could move forward quickly in January. The Chairman pointed out  no-one could be turned away from a public meeting, which was why it had been suggested Councils continue to use virtual platforms to keep everyone safe and to avoid having to cancel a meeting because too many people turned up. Cllr Midgley asked about older people who can’t get, don’t like or can’t hear when using Zoom, adding that they would be prevented from attending the meeting.

After further discussion about the numbers the two proposed venues could accommodate, and the possibility of limiting numbers attending, the Chairman pointed out again that no one could be turned away from a public meeting and that the selected venues should have capacity for all those residents wanting to attend.

It was proposed to proceed with carrying out the risk assessments at the church and the Village Hall, but that both the Parish Council rules and the rules of the organisation would have to be followed.

Cllr Goode said he would do it and asked Cllr Clark to assist him.  The chairman put it to the vote. Cllrs Clark, Goode, Midgley and Shaw voted in favour. Cllrs Alexander, J Head and M Head abstained. The vote was carried. RESOLVED: Cllrs Clark and Goode to carry out Covid-specific risk assessment of the hall and the church.

20/21/10.2: How those wishing to attend will see and hear those participating via Zoom

The Chairman asked how a hybrid meeting would be held. Cllr Midgley said a camera could be set up  with a microphone that was connected to Zoom so the meeting would be recorded. The church had a PA system and the Village Hall system could be set up so everyone could hear.  Cllr Clark said there was a Wi-Fi hotspot at the Village Hall and the church.

Cllr M Head said that if the Wi-Fi hot spot link were lost the meeting would have to be adjourned, as it would not be possible to have half a meeting in one place and half in another. That needed to be part of the risk assessment.

The Chairman said all Councillors, whether participating in person or on Zoom, would need to be able to see and hear each other, so a large screen would be needed in the hall. Cllr Midgley said they could use their phones or laptops, but the chairman pointed out that would split the signal many ways and that a large screen would be less risky.

The chairman said she would give the Councillors the paperwork and expected that all mitigations would be put in place as part of the risk assessment.  Cllr Clark confirmed they would follow the LALC guidelines.

20/21/10.3

The use and cost of unlimited Meeting time on Zoom.

The chairman said the meeting was having to rush because the Council was using the free version of Zoom.  She asked Cllr M Head to give costings for virtual platforms. Cllr Head said he had costed Zoom and Microsoft Teams. Both allowed annual or monthly subscriptions.

Zoom net cost £11.99 a month or £9.99  if buying a year’s subscription for £119.90 (a saving of £24).

Microsoft Teams worked out at £9.40 Net /month for an annual subscription and £11.30 on a monthly subscription.

Cllr M Head argued that Councillors should not to opt for a monthly subscription that they cancelled after a month and then took up again as this made it very complicated to administer with Zoom and as the Parish Council did not have a credit card, he would have to set up a bank transfer.  Cllr M Head suggested that for practicality the council buy an annual subscription to Zoom, as everyone was now familiar with that platform.

The Chairman said she had sent an email to all Councillors suggesting a year’s subscription. Cllr Clark had disagreed without a full evaluation of the Wi-Fi in the hall, but as she had now informed the meeting there was a hotspot there, that was not an issue.  Cllr Shaw had disagreed because there wasn’t a full evaluation of how many people would use it and the Council only met bi-monthly. The chairman advised  that the Council had held meetings every month since lockdown had eased, and that Zoom allowed for unlimited meetings.  Cllr M Head advised that both Lincolnshire County and North Kesteven District Councils used virtual meetings, and Zoom would allow face-to-face meetings with people from other organisations who would not be able to come to the hall or the village.

Cllr Goode said that the remaining time on Zoom was running down  and a decision would have to be made quickly.  Cllr Goode suggested that as there was only one meeting every two months the Council would be paying for something it didn’t need and suggested a six-month subscription that could be renewed after that.

Cllr Clark asked Cllr Head if they could top up PayPal.

The Zoom meeting auto cut off at this point, and no resolution was made.