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Minutes of the Extraordinary meeting of the Kesgrave Town Council held on Monday 26th January 2009 at 7.00pm in the Council Chamber.
Present:
Mrs S Evans (Chairman)
Mrs N Goodchild
Mr K Beecroft (Vice-chairman)
Mr P Mills
Mr R Bridgeman
Mrs S Ogden (District Councillor)
Mr A Comber
Mrs E Smith
Mrs S Coupe
Rev R Spittle
Mrs J Klaschka
Mr R Walkling
In attendance:
Mrs V R Read (Clerk to the Town Council)
Mrs J Francis (Deputy Clerk to the Town Council)
Mr J Klaschka (County and District Councillor)
A member of the public
1. Apologies
None.
2. Resolution to exclude the Public under the Public Bodies (Admission to Meetings) Act 1960
This Council resolves that the public and the press be excluded for consideration of Item 4 Town Plan issues, since publicity would prejudice the public interest by reason of the confidential nature of the business.
The issue is sensitive as it concerns an elected member and it would be disrespectful and unfair to discuss it in public.
Some clarification was asked for and it was confirmed the elected member in question was the County Councillor Mr J Klaschka. The Chairman explained that advice from the County Monitoring Officer was that the article in the December issue by Mr Klaschka may have breached the Code of Conduct. A recorded vote was requested.
For: Mrs Evans, Mr Beecroft, Mr Comber, Mrs Coupe, Mrs Goodchild, Mr Mills, Mrs Smith and Reverend Spittle.
Against: Mrs Klaschka and Mr Walking.
Abstention: Mr Bridgeman and Mrs Ogden.
Mr Klaschka and the member of the public left after the latter had stated the agenda had not appeared on the website. The Clerk apologised for this omission. The statutory notice had been displayed in the Council noticeboard.
3. Declarations of Interest
Mrs Klaschka declared a personal interest in item 4 remained in the meeting and took part in consideration and discussion of the matter.
Mr Walkling declared an interest in item 4 as the designer of the Town Plan website remained in the meeting and took part in consideration and discussion of the matter.
4. Town Plan issues
Members had been issued with copies of the articles which had appeared in the Kesgrave and Rushmere Community News in December and January with regard to the original Town Plan. Copies are attached to the permanent copy of these minutes at Annex 1.
The Chairman explained that advice from the County Monitoring Officer was that the article in the December issue by Mr Klaschka may have breached the Code of Conduct. Recognising this possible breach was not as serious as for instance fraud and therefore did not warrant a complaint to the Standards Committee the Chairman had considered it necessary for Council at their earliest opportunity to consider what action should be taken. As many members were already to be present for the Recreation and Amenities Committee meeting which was to follow she hoped members were in agreement that calling an extraordinary meeting was acceptable, this was generally accepted. The Chairman also informed Members she had asked the Clerk not to provide a recommendation on this occasion.
The Chairman went on to explain that the issue needed to be considered by the current Council, not just for themselves but also on behalf of the Council at the time of the original plan and those volunteers who had taken part. She was also puzzled by the appearance of the article which was at odds with the statement made by Mr Klaschka at the Annual Reception in December. At that time Mr Klaschka stated he wished to work with the Council, and the Chairman thought it would be helpful to discover why this current position had been reached.
It was clarified that no member of the public had raised a complaint about the article but members of the Town Plan had raised their concerns. It was also clarified the issue was over the original Town Plan and not the one under preparation and Reverend Spittle considered the rebuttal printed in the January issue answered the allegations sufficiently. It was then clarified the rebuttal had been agreed by the Finance and Resources Committee because of time restraints.
It was accepted that elected representatives at other tiers of Local Government will not necessarily agree with the views of the Town Council. However it was suggested that to invite Mr Klaschka to answer Councils concerns about this and other instances of working against Council at a Full Council meeting could not be productive and that the Chairman should meet with him on Councils behalf. Mrs Evans explained she did not believe she was as adept as would be required at thinking on her feet in such a one to one discussion and it was agreed Reverend Spittle would accompany her. The intention is to agree a joint statement which will draw a line under this issue.
The meeting will be arranged as soon as possible and if held before the next Council meeting a report back will be held at the end of the meeting, again in camera. Later: The meeting was arranged for Friday 6th February at the Vicarage.
The Chairman reminded Members that until the minutes have been agreed at the February meeting they are required not to discuss the business of the meeting.
Mrs Klaschka explained she had agreed to contact the current Town Plan group members to explain what had transpired as they had believed the meeting concerned their project. She undertook to be brief in her explanation. She also stated Mr Klaschka had already submitted an article for the February issue of the magazine on the same topic. She volunteered to try and stop publication of this but it was agreed the magazine would already have been printed and probably already on its way to the delivery team.
5. Date of next ordinary meeting – Monday 9th February 2009 in the Council Chamber
The Chairman closed the meeting at 7.30pm
Chairman
