COOKHAM PARISH COUNCIL

 Minutes of a Meeting of the

MEETING OF THE ADOPTIVE ACTS COMMITTEE

  PRESENT:            Cllrs: P. Brockwell, M. Coker, M Innes and M. Wellman

1.      APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE AND DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST:

Apologies were received from Cllrs Fairlie, Harris, Prichard and Woodbridge. There were no Declarations of Interest.

2.  CEMETERY:

a)                  To decide on new Noticeboard – The Clerk had found some other prices but the Committee were still concerned that the Noticeboard was proving to be a major expense. It was AGREED that the Clerk would continue making enquiries including putting a message on the NALC Clerks Online service where Bucks and Berks Clerks can talk to each other via email.  

b)         Up-date on new paths project – Cllr Prichard had been asked to get some estimates from RBWM. The Chairman had some advertisements from the local paper of other possible contractors and the Clerk was asked to call a company called Sharmac for an rough estimate.

c)         Up-date on different Cemetery Software packages – The Clerk had spent a considerable amount of time investigating the best way to record the Cemetery Burial records. The best choice was a package from Scribe that was available on CD for £145 per year. The package was written by a former Clerk and was specifically aimed at the Parish Council responsible for a small cemetery. Version 10 of the software had only recently been updated and the sales literature was aware of any pending legislation that may be passed by Government. It was proposed by Cllr Wellman and seconded by Cllr Brockwell that the Clerk would request a 30-day trial of the CD and would sign the contract only if happy with the content of the software.

d)         Up-date on signs for Cemetery extension – The Chairman was due to meet with Fine Signs on Monday morning to erect the new signs.

e)                  To review response from Oxford Diocese – The Committee reviewed the letter and information received. It was agreed that most of the information was not relevant to Cookham Cemetery. However it was established that a faculty is issued for a period of 15 months to enable any memorials to be made safe. It was also mentioned that the extension had not been consecrated by the Bishop and the Clerk was asked to begin negotiations to enable this to take place.

3.    CHAPEL: 

a)            Progress report on replacing the Chapel heaters – The Clerk was asked to find out how noisy the heaters in CPC magazine would be. The Committee were still awaiting an electrician’s quote. It was noted that new wiring would probably be needed as well as the new heaters.

A further item was added to the agenda re: the appointment of new cleaners for the Chapel. A competitive quote had been received from Chores Thames Valley of £59.00 for an initial thorough clean and £32.00 for a quarterly clean. It worked out cheaper than the previous cleaners who had taken our money and not cleaned the Chapel for a number of months. It was proposed by Cllr Brockwell and seconded by Cllr Innes to award the contract to Chores Thames Valley.

4.   FINANCE:

a)                  To review budget requests for 2006-2007 financial year – The Chairman went through the budget figures for 2007. She mentioned that the wire chainlink fence and the privet hedge on the boundary of Maidenhead Road was in a bad state of repair and would need some attention soon. On the project of replacing concrete columns, it was noted that there was only one remaining concrete column in Burnt Oak to be replaced. Cllr Wellman spoke of his intention to suggest removing the reserved £5,000 for the Cemetery paths and putting the money back in to the General Funds. He said that the Committee should look at getting the edging done the same time as the paths and the Parish Council would take out a loan to complete the work. It was also mentioned that when tenders are sent out that it would be prudent to get some figures for the Cemetery extension too.

The meeting closed at 9.20pm