MEETING HELD AT 7:30PM  ON WEDNESDAY 12 SEPTEMBER 2012

IN THE SUPPER ROOM AT KIRKCOLM VILLAGE HALL

 

PRESENT: –        Malcolm Baker, Elly Baker, Scott Baillie, Matt Halliday, and Carrie White.

 

APOLOGIES: –   Ian Morral, Karl Jackson-Barnes, Ros Surtees, Ian Dick, Marion McCutcheon, Fiona Halliday, Margot Nicol.

IN ATTENDANCE: –    Wendy Jesson – Council, Kevin Wylie – Police, Fraser Wilson – Free Press, Eric Garrett – Resident, Bobbie McKie – Kirkcolm Bowling Club, Willie Scobie – D&G Councillor, Margaret Baillie – Welfare Group.

 

The minutes of the last meeting were verified Carrie White and seconded by Matt Halliday.

 

POLICE BUSINESS

Kevin Wylie informed us that there was more to report than usual.

There was a ‘hit and run’ incident involving damage to a car in Bay View Terrace probably caused by a light vehicle – there were no witnesses.

There has also been an incident between 2 ‘thugs’ in Church Road. Two senior citizens (66 and 70 years of age) who ended up rolling down the road after some ‘fisticuffs’. Both parties were escorted home to their wives who were believed to have grounded them in punishment.

A local paranormal group looked around the graveyard between 9:00 pm and Midnight but did not find anything of significance.

There have been a number of ‘Spam’ calls to residents in Church Road claiming to be from Gt. Ormond St. Children’s Hospital and a number of other attempts to obtain money from people offering Sky refunds etc. in return for their bank details. All residents are advised never to give their Bank or Personal details to anyone, on the telephone, in response to emails, or at the door.

There has been another diesel spill in the village due to a damaged fuel line, but this time there was no consequential damage.

 

 

WINDFARM PROJECTS FOR 2013

All Windfarm projects submitted previously and on the night were discussed as detailed below: –

 

1. Baby Changing Facilities in the Village Hall An Internet quote for the supply of a Plastic Baby changing unit was supplied for £210. This was discussed and agreed to be a desirable facility. To enable unisex access it would have to be located in the disabled toilet, and permission will be required from the Council.
2. Lighting and Sound Systems for the Village Hall An upgrade of facilities in the village hall to provide improved facilities will enable the hall to be used by more groups to provide a wider range of entertainment for the community. Previous attempts to bring entertainers have been rejected because of this lack of facilities. Costs are estimated to be £900 and permission will be required from the Council.
3. Power Cuts Emergency Supplies (Lights and Phones) There have been a number of concerns about this project, not with the principle of providing them, but with issues relating to who should provide them, how they should be supplied, how we identify who should receive them and what should be supplied. Other groups in the village have been promoting the idea, and have been issuing self-assessment forms (provided by Scottish Power) to people in the area including the shop in Leswalt. Questions were asked about the self-assessment process and how we (KCC) protect ourselves from abuses of the system. The CC cannot issue a ‘Blank Cheque’ to the community without some safeguards. It was stated that Social Services and the NHS will not provide details of individuals they consider to be vulnerable because of Data Protection and Confidentiality considerations. It was thought possible that the organisations could provide numbers as a guide (Wendy agreed to follow up with this), it was also suggested that forms could be provided to suitable organisations to pass on to vulnerable people so that they could give permission for us to approach them. Wendy Jesson, from D&G Council, attended to give us an update on the latest progress made by the Community Resilience Advisor – Steven Wylie. Steven has been requested by the CC to provide updates since the training session that three Community Councillors attended last February without any response. It was acknowledged that this lack of response has been unacceptable, but the staff involved had decided (without informing the CC) to wait until after the forthcoming elections. Many of the people attending said that this was not acceptable, and that D&G should have communicated this decision to the CC anyway. Wendy informed us that there is still an ongoing project to obtain emergency packs in consultation with Scottish Power. Many people believed that this project had been abandoned and the Power Outage Group had taken up the issue themselves. This led to the situation where 2 groups have been in pursuit of solutions to the same problem. This became apparent when the application was made to KCC for the Windfarm Project detailed above. Wendy offered to facilitate a meeting between the 2 Groups in order to develop a more cohesive approach. KCC accepted this offer and Wendy offered to make contact with representatives of the Power Outages Sub-Group and co-ordinate with Malcolm Baker. There was considerable further discussion relating to the issues including the observation that the Windfarm project would not be in a position to provide equipment until after February 2013. Wendy informed us that D&G will be having a meeting with Scottish Power to discuss the emergency packs where they hope to obtain a final decision on the 26^th Scott Bailie proposed that ‘Subject to the outcome of the meeting in September that KCC will provide funding for up to 25 named, qualified, residents of Kirkcolm to be provided with suitable packs as a pilot project, and that we also approve the project for 25 packs for 2013 subject to the success of the Pilot’. Malcolm Baker seconded the proposal, and the proposal was carried unanimously. Costs were estimated to be £680.
4. Artificial Turf for the Verges of Kirkcolm Bowling Club – Bowling balls are being damaged when they hit the verges. Most other clubs they meet in competition have fitted artificial turf to stop this happening. Ideally the club would like to fit the turf to all sides of the green, to do this would cost around £3,000. The club recognises that this is a large sum of money, so if there is a shortfall in funding for other projects they would reduce the number of sides to be covered. Two sides would cost around £1500. The club supports the local school by having bowling days and competitions for the pupils.
5. Replacement of damaged Marquees – There is a need to acquire a new marquee – preferably of better quality canvas – for use at our Gala and other outdoor events. Estimated cost £1000.
6. Defibrillator – The village is well outside the range where ambulances can meet the target response times. The heart foundation has schemes to help communities such as Kirkcolm to provide defibrillators to be located outside buildings such as Village Halls. The equipment is supplied to suitably qualified applicants having a number of residents trained to provide support when needed in return for a Donation. The cost of training and donation is estimated to be £780.
7. Xmas Party for Pensioners – Kirkcolm Senior Citizens Welfare Committee wants funding towards the cost of holding a Christmas Dinner with entertainment and gifts. The welfare committee will cover the costs of gifts, hall hire, waiters, decorations and additional entertainment. Funding of £1400 is being requested.
8. Kirkcolm Primary School Netball Team Kits –Last year we made provision for the supply of football posts and team kits. This year they have requested kits for the netball teams. Estimated cost £175.

 

The total value of the projects outlined above is – £8145. The fund administrator estimates that we should receive a similar sum this year to that received last year – £7433. Last year we received £601.84 more then the projects we put forward (this was due to a low estimate of the funding to be allocated). This gives us an estimated fund of £8034.84. Completed projects so far have a surplus of around £200, but this cannot be confirmed until all projects have been completed.

 

We have £1822 to be brought forward to complete outstanding projects including stage curtains and lighting for the village hall.

 

Project numbers 1, 2 and 6 will require the approval of D&G council who own the hall.

 

Cllr Scobie gave an update on the 20 mph speed limit, hall repairs and the lighting at Fishers Lane.

 

Next Meeting 17 October for the New Council