MEETING HELD AT 7:30PM ON TUESDAY 14th FEBRUARY 2017
IN THE SUPPER ROOM AT THE KIRKCOLM VILLAGE HALL
PRESENT: – Susan Irons (KCC), Peter Joiner (Resident), Thomas Cochrane (KCC), Malcolm Baker (KCC), Ian Morral (KCC), Roger Rankin (Resident), Sara McCulloch (KCC), Angus Carrick Buchanan (KCC), Mark McFern (Police Scotland)
APOLOGIES: – Bobby McKie (Resident), Gail Adams (KCC), Iain Dick (Councillor)
The minutes of the last meeting were verified by Thomas Cochrane and seconded by Susan Irons.
POLICE BUSINESS
Mark McFern told the meeting that the bogus workman with the white van that was discussed at the previous month’s meeting has been identified. Enquiries are ongoing into this now and they are hoping to positively identify him through two different witnesses. They will then find his whereabouts and hopefully bring him to justice. Crime wise Kirkcolm is a quiet village there is nothing to report.
He mentioned to the meeting about the proposed police station closures which are mainly in the other side of the region. The proposed closures will affect Kirkcudbright, Dalbeattie, Dalry and Whithorn police stations. Stranraer police station is not affected in any way. Peter Joiner said it would affect this area if our police officers had to be sent to these areas and we lost officers. Mark McFern said that this would not happen as the staff from Newton Stewart have the responsibility to police the Machar’s so their staff will be designated to cover these areas.
The Scottish Government are running a Scottish health scheme and are aiming to speak to five and a half thousand homes. There will be no cold calling so the meetings should all be pre-arranged. They will be taking height, weight and blood pressure etc. Peter Joiner asked Mark McFern if the Police had any complaints about phone calls from nuisance callers regarding government schemes for new boilers etc. He said he had eight calls the day before from all different numbers and it had him pulling his hair out. Mark McFern said no but there is nothing the Police can do about this issue unfortunately it is down to companies selling your phone number. He said it is being looked at nationally by whoever looks at these things. He said these companies are also managing to obtain local phone numbers so you are more likely to answer the telephone.
1 ACCOUNTS
Angus Carrick Buchanan told the meeting that the CC need to get someone independent to do the book keeping as we are going to have a lot more money coming into the mix. Ian Morral asked if he meant the Windfarm money as this was under the Trust which is a separate entity so should be discussed at a Kirkcolm Community Trust meeting. Angus said we should have the same person dealing with the accounts for both groups. Thomas Cochrane has a book keeper that he is going to ask for prices and everyone agreed for him to do this. Sara McCulloch is also going to ask Jim McDonald to find out how much he would charge. This was agreed by all. Ian Morral told the meeting the Kirkcolm Community Trust is now a legal entity. Peter Joiner said that a note of thanks should be recorded to Ian Morral for all his hard work on getting the Trust up and running this was agreed by all.
2 WEBSITE
Angus Carrick Buchanan told the meeting that although we have a website it is not very secure and we now need to be more transparent with the community and have a new and better website. The website needs to have the minutes, the accounts, the Trust, the Windfarm and tourist information all loaded up to it so everyone knows what is happening. He also suggested putting “kirkcolm.org” on the sign coming into the village to promote. Ian Morral suggested we all think about what we want included on the new website. Angus Carrick Buchanan agreed to take everyone’s ideas by email and create a brief and meet with Liam Bailey to discuss it further. Thomas Cochran said he wondered whether the Council would give the KCC a village sign with the web address printed on it. It was decided to ask them whether it was possible.
3 CLAIMS FOR HELP
Ian Morral said this had been a can of worms from the start. Thomas Cochrane told the meeting that the family we gave the £50 to before Christmas for a cooker had already been gave a brand-new cooker and washing machine. Sara McCulloch told the meeting that although we had another claim for help for monitors from a resident of the village they did not get bought. She said the person wished to say that “she would like to thank the committee members that said yes straight away to her plea because she was struggling as she had split from her partner and had been fighting with Social Services to get a wheelchair for her son but she would like to decline her offer. She would not like to be a burden to the Community Council and she certainly would not like her fully disabled son to be the centre of jealousy in this village.” Ian Morral said that one of the problems Malcolm Baker had pointed out was that the Scheme of Establishment for Community Council’s quotes “all monies raised on behalf of the CC or provided by D&G Council and other sources shall be used to further the statutory purposes, roles of responsibilities of the CC and for no other purpose.” Susan Irons commented that the CC should never have funded the first request for help if this was the case. Ian Morral told the meeting the CC should never have gave to MND or the £500 that was given out years before. He said however it is contradicted by another paragraph that says “in addition to any other purpose to which the CC may pursue, the general purpose for the CC shall be to ascertain, coordinate and express to the local authorities for its area, to the public authorities the views of the community which it represents in relation for matters which these are responsible and to take such action in the interests of that community as appears to be expedient and practical.”
Ian Morral said he went to the Framework team for clarification and they said if we agree something at a CC meeting and it is in a minute then that’s something we can do. In case of MND that was all correct but the £50 before Christmas was not. So, the CC can agree to help but only if it is taken to a CC meeting and it is voted on and agreed. Angus Carrick Buchanan said there are rules and procedures and we need to make everything transparent. He asked if there was an emergency can we set something up to get it through quickly. Ian Morral said the quickest we can do it is a week by holding an emergency meeting and voting on it. Malcolm Baker said we have unlimited liability for finance so we must be very careful and do things correctly. It was said we would need to find out if it is possible to use windfarm money for a hardship fund and decide on a ringfenced amount for it. It was agreed to discuss all this at a Kirkcolm Community Trust meeting which will reduce liability on the members if possible through the Windfarm money.
4 QUESTIONNAIRE UPDATE
Roger Rankin said it was great that questionnaires had been produced to get the views of the residents but many people haven’t got a questionnaire. He said that some people didn’t get any at all or other houses have say 3 people but only one questionnaire. He continued by saying he collected questionnaires from the shop and delivered to some of the houses that didn’t get around his area. Sara McCulloch said that they were not delivered by the CC they were distributed by the Creetown Initiative. Ian Morral said the reason that houses only got one questionnaire was because it was not known how many people were in each house. Roger Rankin said there should have been a list of people in the parish. Susan Irons said she did obtain a list of everyone in the parish from D&G Council and had gave it to Creetown Initiative. Malcolm Baker told the meeting that the Creetown Initiative did not want excess forms going out because when they count the forms that come back they consider the percentage returns. Ian Morral said that on the questionnaire it said if you want excess copies, they are available contact the CC or go to the shop. He said he could only apologise if people didn’t get a questionnaire at all. Roger Rankin said the point he was making that it was a legal obligation to fill in the electoral roll so everyone should be on a list but Malcolm Baker said it isn’t and there is a tick box if you don’t want to be on the public list. The deadline for returning the questionnaire or it getting collected is being put back now to enable more questionnaires to be filled in. Roger Rankin said if there are certain restrictions to how the windfarm money can be spent then the public should know this. However, the contract is not completed yet and finalised to be seen by the public but should be through within the next week or so. After that this will be available and put on the website for everyone to see. Thomas Cochrane told the CC that Peter Caldwell printers had gave him the invoice for the questionnaire printing but it was incorrect so he would be collecting the correct one.
ANY OTHER BUSINESS
Malcolm Baker said Glenapp Windfarm are asking for the person who will be the regular contact he said has been that person but he wishes to hand it over. He said he is happy to hang on and work alongside anyone else. Malcolm Baker gave a brief overview of the Labrax windfarm meeting that himself and Angus Carrick Buchanan attended. Stranraer CC are now included in the group, as are Portpatrick CC after reforming. There are 5 active members, they are now preparing to develop the contract, the rules and the structure for how things are paid out but nothing has been decided yet. The original application in 2013 included a turbine that is no longer manufactured so they need to sort that out. Thomas Cochrane said Angus Carrick Buchanan was the perfect person to attend these windfarm meetings with Malcolm Baker and take over from him.
Sara McCulloch informed the meeting that Kerry Monteith, the new Ward Worker would like to come to the next CC meeting instead of holding a separate meeting with CC members. She also said Karen Anderson, Alzheimer’s Scotland would like to come along to the next meeting to speak to us regarding raising awareness of dementia and families coping with it in the community. It was agreed to have them both attend the next CC meeting allotting them ten minutes each.
Ian Morral, Chair told the meeting that he has decided to tender his resignation. He said he has been on the CC for 6 years in the posts of Secretary, Treasurer and Chair. He is prepared to stay on until the AGM until the CC find someone else and will help as much as he can but would like a rest. Thomas Cochrane asked if he was still going to be a trustee on the Kirkcolm Community Trust. Ian Morral confirmed that he will be staying on the Trust as he helped create it and wants to see it up and running.