Harrogate Town Council’s second monthly meeting this week gave an indication of what it will do.

The council, which was formed this year, added £12.73 to the average Band D council tax bill for households in the newly created parish.

The first elections on May 1 resulted in an overwhelming victory for the Liberal Democrats, who won 15 of 19 wards. The Conservatives took two, Reform UK claimed one and independent Paul Haslam was elected.

The council’s first meeting was mainly procedural. The second one, which the Stray Ferret attended, saw discussion on several topics.

We have already reported on the decision to spend £5,000 to effectively buy back the coat of arms that belonged to the town from 1884 to 1974 and the political spat between Tory Councillor Michael Harrison and several Liberal Democrats.

Here are six other issues on the council’s agenda so far.

1 Organising Remembrance Sunday

The town council is taking responsibility from North Yorkshire Council for organising the annual Remembrance Sunday event, which attracts thousands of people to an outdoor service at the war memorial. The service is preceded by a parade, which requires street closures. Clerk Iona Taylor said traffic management and road closures were likely to be the main cost and the sum was likely to be around £10,000. The total cost of staging the event is unknown but with Remembrance Sunday just five months away, Ms Taylor said “time was of the essence” to secure contractors. The council agreed to organise activities and underwrite costs.

2 Running allotments

Nine allotments are to come under the town council’s control. The sites at Claro Road, Harlow Hill, North Outfall, Oatlands, Pine Street, St Andrew’s, Stonefall and Unity Grove were previously managed by North Yorkshire Council. The ninth, at Pearl Street, is owned by Rosefield Estates Ltd. Clerk Iona Taylor said she had opened discussions about site transfers with North Yorkshire Council and she was waiting to hear about the legal process. With other factors such as maintenance and insurance of trees, fences and hedges to consider Ms Taylor warned the transfer could take months or years.

3 Organising VJ Day commemorations

The town council agreed to organise a Victory over Japan Day commemoration on August 15. This year will be the 80th anniversary of Japan’s surrender, which marked the end of the Second World War. Cllr Aldred said some veterans were “miffed” that VJ Day didn’t get the same attention as VE Day and suggested organising a “smallish ceremony”, similar to this year’s VE Day ceremony at the war memorial. Cllr Monika Slater suggested Valley Gardens, which used to hold 1940s events, could be incorporated into activities.

4 Promoting twinning

The town council agreed to support a proposal by mayor Chris Aldred to mark June 7 as Sir Robert Barrie Day in Harrogate. Harrogate has been twinned with the Canadian town since 2013. It is named after Sir Robert, who was a British naval officer and naval commissioner in Canada. He is buried in Ripley. Cllr Aldred said he wanted the town council to do more to promote twinning.

5 Considering flagpoles

The council is considering taking responsibility for the four flagpoles at the war memorial. However, this would involve maintenance costs as well as understanding protocol issues. Ms Taylor said there had been “no suggestion” of a budget from North Yorkshire Council to take charge of the flagpoles, which prompted mayor Chris Aldred to suggest the town council was being asked to take on a liability not an asset. A decision on whether to proceed was deferred.

6 Encouraging public participation

Mayor Chris Aldred appealed to members of the public to use a 15-minute slot at the start of each monthly meeting to raise issues. Only one person, Killinghall parish councillor Christopher Dunn, took advantage of the opportunity this week and Cllr Aldred encouraged other people to come forward. He said: “We welcome questions from the public. We will always have a 15-minute slot at the start. Not all councils do this but that’s the way we are going to do it.”