DRONFIELD CIVIC HALL, DRONFIELD

Present

Councillors : G Baxter :: R Bull : M Emmens : D K Gage : G Gregory : F Higgins : J D McGrory : A D Memmott : D S Oxpring : W I Pryce : Mrs B Skelton : Mrs C A Smith : G J Sorrill : J M Stocks : S Temple : Mrs W Temple : M Wing

8 members of the general public and press were also in attendance.

Election of Town Mayor

Only one nomination was received and seconded and it was

001/08-09 RESOLVED UNAMIMOUSLY

That Councillor Wendy Temple be elected to serve as the Town Mayor for the Civic Year 2008/2009.

Councillor Temple then assumed the chair and was invested with the Chain of Office by the retiring Mayor who took his seat with the other members.

The Town Mayor then signed the declaration of acceptance of office.

Mayor’s Address.

Councillor Wendy Temple thanked her colleagues for honouring her by electing her as the Town Mayor. She said that she had moved to Dronfield 29 years ago, marrying Simon and they had brought up their two sons in the town. She still considers Dronfield a great place to live and considers the Civic Centre as a vital hub of activity for the community. She knows that Dronfield folk engender a feeling of well being and there is a real sense of belonging. She paid tribute to all the local organisations and voluntary groups who do so much good in the town and said she was looking forward to meeting many of them during her term of office. She also expressed her appreciation to her fellow members of the Council who do so much work and put in so much effort to improve the town and she remarked that so many of them give up so much of their time on a purely voluntary, non paid basis.

She will organise various events and activities over the next year with the proceeds going to the Mayor’s Charity Appeal, which she said will be donated to her personal choice of recipients thus:

50% to the Girl Guiding movement, which will celebrate its centenary in 2010 and the remaining 50% split between Dronfield First Responders and St John’s Ambulance Brigade.

Vote of Thanks to Retiring Mayor.

Councillor Frank Higgins proposed a vote of thanks to the retiring Town Mayor, Izzy Pryce. He stated that Izzy had been an exceptional ambassador for the town and had worked extremely hard during his year of office in attending so many local functions and meeting so many local groups and organisations.

Retiring Mayor’s Response

Councillor Pryce commenced by thanking the Town Clerk and his staff (Pam and Carole) for the support they had given him during his term of office. He thanked everyone who had helped him to raise funds for his charity appeal and said it had been mostly enjoyable but such hard work. He particularly wished to thank Wendy Temple, Beryl Skelton, Pat and Graham Gregory and Norma Lee for their efforts during his coffee morning fund raising events. A total of £5,300 has been raised during the year for his charity appeal. He said the year had been very interesting and it had been a privilege to attend local events together with visits to Chatsworth and Sindelfingen to represent the town and people of Dronfield.

Councillor Wendy Temple (the new Town Mayor) then presented Councillor Pryce with a photographic record of his year in office as a memento of the occasion.

Election of Deputy Town Mayor

Only one nomination was received and it was

002/08-09 RESOLVED

That Councillor Frank Higgins be elected to serve as the Deputy Town Mayor for the Civic Year of 2008/2009.

Apologies for Absence

003/08-09 RESOLVED

That apologies for non-attendance be received and accepted from the following members for the reasons stated in brackets.

Councillor Mrs K Marr (Other Business)

Councillor P Blackburn (Other Business)

Election of Coordinator (Finance & Policy)

004/08-09 RESOLVED

That Councillor Izzy Pryce be elected to serve as the Coordinator (Finance & Policy) for the Civic Year 2008/2009.

Election of Deputy Coordinator (Finance & Policy)

005/08-09 RESOLVED

That Councillor Simon Temple be elected to serve as the Deputy Coordinator (Finance & Policy).

Representatives on Outside Bodies

Members considered a schedule of representatives sitting on outside bodies for the Civic Year 2007/2008 together with the addition of 3 more outside bodies for 2008/2009.

006/08-09 RESOLVED

1. That the members serving on Outside Bodies 1-14 for the previous year be re-elected to serve for the Civic Year 2008/2009.

2. That Councillor Graham Gregory be elected to serve as the Councils representative on the Lea Brook Valley Volunteers Management Committee.

3. That Councillor Doug Oxspring and Councillor Mike Emmens be elected as this Councils representatives to sit on the Dronfield Town Football Club Management Committee.

4. That Councillor John McGrory and Councillor Philip Blackburn be elected as this Councils representatives to sit on the Coal Aston Cricket Club Management Committee.

Cycle of Meetings

Members considered a proposed cycle of meetings and venues for the Civic Year of 2008/2009.

007/08-09 RESOLVED

That the cycle of meetings in the Civic Year 2008/2009 be received, noted and accepted (attached for information).