Minutes:
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It was proposed by Councillor Boden, seconded by Councillor Mrs French and resolved that Councillor Alex Miscandlon be elected as Chairman of the Council for the period to the next Annual Meeting and that he be paid an allowance of £4,116 plus travelling expenses.
The Chairman addressed the Council as follows:
‘I wish to thank Councillor Boden and Councillor Mrs French for proposing and seconding me to be the Chairman of the Council and for all members in their support.
I am very aware of the honour that has been bestowed upon me following in the footsteps of previous Chairmen identified in the photographs around the Council Chamber at Fenland Hall.
I will endeavour to uphold the traditions and good practices of the Council and do my best to ensure that the good representation and reputation of Fenland District Council continues around Fenland and the surrounding area. Thank you again’
Councillor Miscandlon stated that he would like to formally acknowledge and thank the previous Chairman, Councillor Mrs Mayor, for undertaking the role as Chairman of the Council from May 2017 to June 2020.
Councillor Mrs Mayor, addressed the Council as follows:
It has been an honour and a privilege to have served as both Vice Chairman and Chairman over the last five years and to have had the opportunity to represent Fenland through attending and supporting other authorities and organisations at their civic functions and charity fund raising events.
I have met some truly inspirational people and made some good friends along the way. 2019 was an outstanding year in particular with three Royal visits to Fenland; two at Wisbech where I met the Duke of Gloucester and HRH The Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall; and the third being at Chatteris when Princess Anne visited Stainless Metalcraft. I was also invited by our neighbouring District, South Holland, to a visit by the Duke of Kent where he unveiled a memorial in Spalding’s Peace Garden.
What can I say about the past 4 months that hasn’t already been said not just locally but also nationally and internationally; the coronavirus Covid-19 pandemic brought life as we all knew it to change dramatically and meant that many meetings were either cancelled or postponed and our meetings to be held virtually. Civic life as we knew it was brought to a very abrupt end and all planned events were sadly cancelled.
I would like to thank Members for giving me the opportunity to represent this Authority and to former Councillor David Hodgson and Councillors Maureen Davis and Alex Miscandlon for their support during their respective years as Vice- Chairman.
I should also like to express my sincere thanks to Cllr Mrs Laws who has this past year stepped into the breach as my consort when Ken’s health has not permitted him to accompany me.
The role of Chairman would be extremely difficult without the support of the Chief Executive and Monitoring Officer for their guidance, so thank you to you and the Management Team as a whole.
Special thanks go to Members Services for their support and in particular to Jo for all that she does in the background; an immense amount of work and organisation regardless of the request.
And finally, thank you to you all for putting your trust in me, it was totally unexpected that I was asked to do a third term as Chairman and I will end by repeating that it has truly been an Honour and a Privilege. |