Minute of the meeting of Benarty Community Council
Thursday 6th February 7pm – 9pm, Benarty Centre
Community Councillors Present: Margaret Greer, Sharon Kinnaird, Tom Kinnaird, Jack Colquhoun, Jim Christie, Sarah Jane Ratcliffe, Brian Menzies.
Also in attendance: Councillor Rosemary Liewald
Vice-chair Sharon Kinnaird opened the meeting and welcomed everyone.
SK: Announced the resignation of Community Councillor Claire Graham.
Apologies: Stevie & Mary Nardone were due to attend and give feedback on the VE75 commemoration day event meeting but couldn’t make it. Ann Hay, PC Smith, Sheila Ross, John Purdie. Councillor Lea McLelland is on Bereavement leave.
Previous minutes were read and approved by Jack Colquhoun, seconded by Jim Christie.
BM: Claire (Graham) did a fantastic job on the Christmas lunch. She will be sorely missed.
Unanimously agreed.
MG: I hope she will reconsider.
RL: She is a huge asset to the group.
SK: I will talk to Claire and see if she will reconsider.
Matters arising.
BM: We need maps included with the Community Council boundary descriptions.
TK: Indeed. John Purdie has mentioned that in his draft submission to the consultation. It’s a starting point when creating a Community Council that you first establish your boundary and create a map as part of your constitution and the fact that maps are not presently a requirement is quite shocking.
BM: We had a request for funding from a day-care in Lumphinnans. Should we not consider it as there may be children attending from our area?
TK: Unfortunately, we are only allowed to award to organisations operating within our area.
BM: Can we advise them to approach all the neighbouring Community Councils and windfarm funds?
TK: Yes, certainly.
JC: I have concerns regarding the Bells project. Is there any update?
SK: JP has emailed Linda (Erskine) who is asking Sarah Roxburgh (Cowdenbeath Area Manager). Unfortunately, Linda is not here to give us an update.
TK: It’s a matter of concern that the funding we agreed at the last meeting might not be secure due to the Fife Council freeze and clawback of current funds.
RL: I can give you an assurance that any matters agreed will be honoured.
TK: Has there been a ward meeting since the last Community Council meeting?
RL: No, so no update on the Bells builders. I’ll give Sarah Roxburgh a call for clarification.
BM: Can Community Councils have a seat on the Cowdenbeath Area Committee? Obviously without a vote. As things stand at the minute, you can only be included in the meeting if you have submitted a question in advance and when your question comes up, then you’re invited to the table to put your question to the Councillors.
RL: That would require a change in the Cowdenbeath Area Committee structure. As I see it, you rely on us as Councillors to represent you.
TK: We can ask JP to add that to the review consultation response to be considered Brian.
7:20pm Frankie Hodge and Debbie Doyle entered and immediately expressed loud complaints they had been standing outside for 30 minutes because no-one had come out to invite them in. This was unanimously refuted by all Community Councillors who arrived promptly at 7pm and did not find anyone loitering outside.
Police Report:
PC Smith absent, SK read the report sent.
Schools Update
SK read report received.
SJR: As I understand it the number of nursery spaces will be cut to maintain the child to staff ratio of 1-6, meaning we (St Kenneth’s Nursery) will drop from 30 spaces down to 24 for each half day. We currently have 60 spaces with 45 applications and I know some will be moving up to Primary 1 after the summer but how will the Benarty area provide?
RL: All parents were told to reapply.
SJR: Yes, and that caused some confusion to parents who had already applied and had their child’s place confirmed and now they are being told they have to apply again so now they’re worried that their child’s place isn’t secure.
TK: Rosemary, can you request the figures and see if there’s an imbalance?
SJR: There’s an additional problem with the meal time arrangements. At school the kids all go into the dinner hall to eat but at Nursery we maintain a family environment round a table in the Nursery. There’s a question about how the meal arrangements will work and will the meals be free as currently parents have to pay for the nursery meals. Who will cook the meals and who will serve the meals? Will the nursery staff serve the meals or will it be the dinner ladies?
RL: Catering staff will cook; Nursery teachers will supervise the meals.
SJR: Are the nursery meals going to be free like they are for P1 to P3?
RL: Nursery meals to kids should be free. I’ll ask.
BM: When changing policy like this it’s important to upgrade the facility to cope, especially regarding provision of meals. These schools weren’t built for that.
RL: I’m contacting the Convenor of the Fife Council Education Committee, Councillor Fay Sinclair for an answer now.
SJR: I’m expecting a lot of upset parents but they have to realise it’s not the schools deciding who gets places.
RL: It’s a panel who make the decisions but it does include representatives from the schools.
RL: Message received from Councillor Sinclair: From August children attending from 9am until 3pm will receive a free lunch. Children attending in the morning will receive a free breakfast and children attending in the afternoon will receive a free tea. So, all free.
BM: I met with the schools and spoke to the Ali Dryer at the Lochore Meadows Outdoor Education centre about starting an outdoor education classroom. That could relieve some of the pressure on the schools but I’ve not heard back. The two Head Teachers were 100% in favour.
RL: That will go up the chain in Education Brian.
VE 75 Commemorations
JC: It was a good meeting with a lot of other community groups in attendance. We discussed similar anniversary commemorations and possibilities of a street party with bands and some way of including the schools in some respect. The schools are doing WW2 as a class project. A disturbing point is that the government is not putting any money in, it’s to be completely community funded.
JCq: You can apply to Poppy Scotland, the British Legion and SSAFA.
BM: It’s been totally left to communities to be organised and paid for. The Benarty Events Group said they would put on a dance with a band. Stevie Nardone chaired the meeting and talked about a street party. I think the Friends of Lochore Meadows group should organise a bonfire. That would be ideal and they are the perfect group to arrange that with the park manager.
RL: I understand the beacons are going to be lit.
JC: What beacons?
RL: The beacons around the border of Fife, on all the hilltops.
TK: Dunmore hill fort might be one of those Jim.
SK: Will there be a pipe band?
BM: Yes, and there will be a march.
JC: We agreed to have another meeting on Thursday 13th of February to progress ideas.
Secretary Report
TK gave a summary of the report submitted by JP
BM: Requested his suggestions are added regarding maps and the seats at the Cowdenbeath Area Committee.
TK: Noted.
RL: JP has done his homework. Benarty Community Council controls how the trust funds are spent. You just have to come up with suggestions and submit them for consideration.
BM: I’ve never seen this before.
TK: I’ve never seen this before.
RL: It’s come in front of the Cowdenbeath Area Committee previously.
BM: Crosshill Community Centre was donated to the community, then sold and the funds went to Fife Council. Why?
RL: That money will be in a common good fund.
BM: No. Benarty doesn’t have a common good fund.
RL: Yes, you do, I’ll get the information now.
TK: Rosemary, can we have clarification on that issue please?
RL: Certainly.
BM: Who is running the Fife Cycle Park? What are the running costs and who is paying it?
TK: Councillor Erskine mentioned at the last meeting that there was no operating budget or staff costs allocated to it when it opened. As I understand it, the keys are with the community use staff in Lochgelly High School and they run down the road with the keys whenever someone wants to use it.
BM: The reason I ask is that the council have just announced they are going to start switching off our street lights to save money and that place is lit up like Edinburgh Airport all night.
Treasurers Report
JCq gave a report on the current financial position. Committee agreed to allow office bearers to perform a spot audit and create a wider and more detailed spreadsheet for presentation at future meetings.
Copies of the current financial statement were distributed, including to the two members of public.
Frankie Hodge complained that there were no minutes or agendas on the chairs.
TK: That’s because the chairs were empty when the meeting started.
Councillors report
Councillor Rosemary Liewald submitted a full report in writing and gave a special mention to Benarty Primary School, congratulating them on their recent lottery award of £7000. The full report is to be circulated to all members of the Community Council.
Noted: No other reports were submitted by any of the other three elected councillors. Cllr McLelland is excused.
Public Questions
No public questions were submitted and there was no time for the late arrivals submission to be entertained.
A verbal complaint was made by Frankie Hodge and Debbie Doyle.
BM: You both know the procedure by now, we’ve told you at every meeting.
AOCB
TK: Looking at the possible option of the Community Council becoming a registered charity. Obviously, this has its benefits. How would the Community Councillors feel about looking into this further?
MG: What are some of the pros and cons?
JC: Would Fife Voluntary Action maybe attend and give us some advice?
BM: Which other Community Councils are charities?
TK: There’s an additional administration burden but not a huge problem. We would come under the governance of OSCR for example but the benefits would be the added capabilities in relation to applying for funding and the holding of assets. I’m sure Fife Voluntary Action would certainly come along and talk us through it. We’ll ask them. Just one Community Council which caught my eye is Markinch, but I believe there are others who have done it too.
RL: Just to add, on the Common Good Fund, you are right Brian, there is none at present.
Public part of the meeting closed. Date of next meeting Thursday 5th March at 7pm in Benarty Centre.
Closed session
Benarty Citizen of the Year
SK: We are proposing to increase the age limit for the Junior Citizen of the Year from 16 to 18 years of age. Would everyone agree to that? Passed unanimously.
SK: We would like to ask for nominations for the Citizen of the Year from February onwards. Would everyone agree to that? Passed unanimously.
TK: Sorry, forgot to pass on what happened at the Council Leader’s Mossmorran meeting which JP and myself attended. No proposal was submitted by the plant operators. The meeting was basically to inform us that the Council leaders are approaching Exxon and Shell to ask them to consider some sort of compensation or damages payment to Community Councils. I passed on that the feeling in this community is that they can keep their money and that we all want it shut down. We’ve all to go back at the end of the month and find out what was said.
9:05pm Meeting ended.
