PAPER F

MINUTES OF RYDE TOWN COUNCIL’S FINANCE AND COMMUNITY RESOURCES COMMITTEE HELD ON TUESDAY, 18 JULY 2023 AT 7.00PM

IN RYDE BAPTIST CHURCH, GEORGE STREET

Members Present: Cllr Simon Cooke, Cllr Jess Higgins, Cllr Richard May, Cllr Diana Conyers, Cllr Phil Jordan (Chair), Cllr Malcolm Ross and Cllr Michael Lilley.

Also in Attendance: Tara Bloomfield (Responsible Financial Officer), Robert Clark (Finance Assistant).

Members of the Public - 3

PUBLIC QUESTIONS

One member of the public asked who was responsible for the planting in the Eastern Gardens as the beds are full of weeds. The Responsible Financial Officer (RFO) explained that this was on the IWC contract, but it would be raised with RTC’s facilities team to see if they can assist with the maintenance.

74/23 APOLOGIES

Apologies received from Cllr Hanley and Cllr Carter.

75/23 DECLARATION OF MEMBERS INTEREST

None declared.

76/23 REQUESTS FOR DISPENSATIONS

None requested.

77/23 MEMBERS QUESTIONS

Cllr Conyers asks for the budget to be added to the website.

Cllr Cooke asked for an update on the switch over to the new Rialtas accounting software. The responsible financial officer informed the members that the switch was almost complete, having manually transferred over 3,000 transactions from the old system.

Cllr Lilley asked if officers could reach out to The Museum of Ryde to offer support on their funding requirements and tell them of our grants process.

78/23 MINUTES

The minutes to the previous meetings held on 20 June 2023 were reviewed and an amendment to the payments list dates was requested so they reflected the correct period of 01/04/2023-31/05/2023.

THAT, the minutes to the meetings held on 20 June 2023 were approved pending the amendment as a true and accurate record and were signed off by the Chair.

79/23 GIFT TO NATURE REPORT

Members were given a copy of the annual report from Gift to Nature on their progress and work that is grant funded by RTC

Cllr Lilley wished to express his thanks to Gift To Nature for all their hard work on this project.

80/23 CONTRACT AWARDS

The committee were asked to ratify the decision to award the following contracts:

Company Name:	Summary of Contract:	Start Date of Contract:	Estimated End Date:	Contract Value:
Browne Electrical Services Ltd	Electrical Rewire & Works	25/06/2023	31/01/2024	£44,770 + VAT
Focus Heating	Heating Works	22/06/2023	31/03/2024	£49,811.32 + VAT
Browne Electrical Services Ltd	Solar PV Works	19/06/2023	31/01/2024	£13,109.75 + VAT
Reynolds & Read Ltd	Beach Levelling & Replenishment	03/07/2023	21/07/2023	£49,724.65 + VAT*

*£10,000 contribution from IWC, cost to RTC £39,724.65

Cllr Lilley asked that officers make contact with Nettlestone & Seaview Parish Council as the reallocation of sand improved the beaches in their ward.

RESOLVED:

THAT, the award of the contracts was ratified. 81/23 PROJECT TASK FORCE RECOMMENDATIONS

The recommendations from the Project Task Force meeting on 13th July were presented to the committee, they were:

To approve spend of £2,500 for a drone survey to be carried out at Vectis Hall so that drawings and works plans can be established for roof protection works.
Agree that the implementation of the Beach Accessibility project is deferred until summer 2024 so that the council have additional time to exhaust all funding avenues.

Cllr Jordan asked if a copy of the full report from Simon Goddard could be circulated to the committee.

THAT, both recommendations are approved, and that the drone survey and any subsequent works should be completed by winter.

82/23 CONNECT 4 COMMUNITIES GRANT

Members were provided with an update on how the prior Connect4Communities funding helped the Ryde residents and were informed of the current application for subsequent funding.