STN Report on the Full Town Council meeting of February 2010

The monthly meeting of the full council was held on Tuesday 24th February and was opened by the Chairman Councillor Howard Midgley, who asked the five members of the public present if they had any matters they would like to raise. On this occasion no matters where given, so he continued with the formal opening of the council.
Chairman’s announcements
The chairman commenced with the announcement of the death of Harry Booth a former Borough Councillor and ‘a great friend to Syston’ who had served the community well between 1991 and 1995. He said that he and his wife Janet had fond memories of his loyalty and attendance at Council meeting and his great enthusiasm at election time. He then asked everyone to stand for a moments silence.
He had attended the ATC Sunday on behalf of the Council and said he was impressed by the turn out of young people and found it refreshing to see that the majority of young people where doing activities to better themselves and the community in which they live. He was uplifted by the occasion even though when trying the air simulator he crashed it! Our full story of this event was given in the March edition.
The Syston project continues to help the disadvantaged members of the community and they had produced a wonderful creation of embroidered flowers which is now on display in the old school rooms, see article on the official unveiling on the front page of the newspaper or on the home page of the website.
He had attended the Area forum on 11th February and was pleased to see so much public interest, a full report of the event was published in March edition and is also available on the STN website.
Final point was about the updated record of attendance of councillors to meetings, this is a requirement of a Quality Council. He said it serves to remind all councillors of the requirement to tender apologies for non-attendance, together with a reason such as unwell, work or just personal.
Police report
This was given by PCSO Jade Cameron. The recorded crimes for the month of January 2010 were, no burglaries of dwellings which is an excellent result as there had been five recorded in the previous month and may be the result of several arrests of burglars and an undercover operation that had taken place. Six burglaries of non-dwellings, up by three on the previous month, there was no pattern to these events and at present no suspects. There had been 12 thefts, which was an increase from the previous month, one male has been charged and is due to attend court and two other suspects have yet to be interviewed. More attention will be paid to these areas in the next few months. Four thefts from motor vehicles where reported and a pattern has emerged which will result in more attention being paid to the areas affected in future. No thefts from stores where reported, although the council members thought that there had been thefts and would encourage any retailer to inform the police of these events as they occur. Twelve incidents of criminal damage which shows an increase from last month. Three individuals have been charged with some of the offences and one is due to attend court. Three incidents of criminal damage to motor vehicles occurred and one person has been arrested and given a final warning for one of the incidents. The others are still under investigation. Anti-social behaviour calls numbered 42, down a little on last month.
Members’ Questions to the chairman
A letter had been submitted to the chairman relating to the size and scrutiny of the committees as it was felt that some committees where so large, 15 members in total, that they were virtually the full council and so it was difficult for democracy to be effective. They raised an issue that had brought it to the fore and believed it should be debated and changes made to the number of members in future. The chairman proposed that if a Council Member wished it to be added as an agenda item to allow full discussion at the next full council meeting then this can be requested.
Vice Chairman Appointment
Two nominations where put forward, Councillors N Gee and J Branston.
A secret ballot followed and Councillor Josey Branston was duly elected.
County/Borough Councillors report
Councillor Ken Pacey reported that any future grants will have to have county council support. Also that there had been a positive report on 24 hour licensing in that it has been better for the general public.
Councillor Steven Hampson reported that the Borough Budget would be presented to the full council on the Monday 1st March and that there will be a small increase in council tax but below inflation. Any cuts will not directly affect Syston Town Council. He then went on to talk about another lesser known service, Dog Control. He explained the role, promoting responsible dog ownership, lost and stray dogs. Dog officers patrol the entire borough and any dog found is kept in kennels in Hathern for seven days before re-housing. In the last year they had received 657 requests from the public. They also dealt with pest
control, pet shop licensing, animal boarding licensing and dog breading, horse riding schools and wild animals. They can impose fines on anyone not complying with the licenses. For further information on these services telephone Charnwood Borough Council Dog Control Service on 01509 634 628.
Councillor Mike Preston reported on the pot holes situation and that the county council was trying to repair as quickly as possible, it costs £300,000 per year. He also reported on the Big Switch off film competition that was held at the Palace cinema where the two winners received day passes to Alton Towers. He then explained that although no grants would be lost there may be a reduction in the number available. The Voluntary Action group will be handling grants for groups and Syston Volunteer group will continue to receive money from the County Council. Charnwood Borough Council are reviewing grants procedure to make them more fairly distributed and they will total £100,000 next year.
Councillor David Houseman reported on the Area Forum, see March issue page 24 or the STN website. Work has now been completed on the dispersion channels under the railway bridge in High Street to prevent
future flooding.