Kirkcowan Community Council Meeting – 21st March 2022 at 7.30pm, in the Village Hall
Draft Minutes
Present: Hazel Johnston (Chair), Hazel McWhirter (Treasurer), Mary Harkness (Secretary), Andrew Gladstone, Kevin Dean, Tricia Veevers, Mary Mackenzie (Minutes), John Drysdale, Richard Marsh, Lynne Melville, Robert Drysdale, Kath Googe, Mark Godfrey, J Rae, D Edwards, C McMillan, C McEwan, G Parkes, Councillors D Inglis & J McColm.
- Chairperson, Hazel Johnson welcomed everyone.
- Apologies: Cllr Katie Hagmann
- Minutes of February meeting (21/2/2022):
Matters arising: M Godfrey – Amend ‘squirrels’ to ‘red squirrels’. MH has forms for him to apply for road signage | Coast2Coast Road Rally in May has been cancelled | R Drysdale asked why wait to fill 2 KCC vacancies, and expressed an interest in joining. Reluctance to hold another election so soon, but could co-opt new members. Application form to complete. Should advertise in case others are interested. Discuss later under AOCB.
Minutes accepted: proposed by J Drysdale, and seconded by R Marsh - Police Matters: No Police present. M Harkness summarised the Report.
a) Home Security – useful crime prevention advice to avoid house breaking
b) Impersonation fraud – link to video advising how to stay safe from telephone scammers
c) New App launched – ‘Travel Safe D&G’ – Free road safety mobile app with up to date travel information about adverse weather, road conditions, journey planning, road fault reporting, emergency locator, etc. - Treasurers Report: H McWhirter Account no.1 has £11.30 | Account no.2 has £67,844.06
Outgoings: £185 for Hall fees for groups | Remaining balance available: £2,989.76 - Correspondence: M Harkness
a) Murdo Fraser’s proposed Fly-tipping Bill – consultation process link. Deadline 23rd May.
b) Shennock Felling – increased traffic from 3 Lochs road to A75.
c) Coast2Coast Rally cancelled due to running out of time to complete necessary processes.
d) Wigtownshire Federation of Community Councils is restarting. MH is our representative.
e) Amey road signs – will remove brown Tourist Board signs. East one not being replaced. - Local Planning Applications: None locally
- KCDT Meeting on 24/2/2022: H Johnston
L Melville will work with Catherine to organise Youth work. | Finalising job description, to include more project management | Re planting the Jubilee trees, proposal to rename the Rest Garden as Jubilee Garden (rejected) | New Christmas lights for Main Street – Trust prepared to part-fund this, but need an application form submitted with costings. KCC would have to apply for permission from DGC and pay for electricity used. More information needed from C Edgar re cost of putting up and taking down | Carol Lochrie is covering Katrina’s role until a new Development Officer is employed.
Machars Action Board – K Dean attended his first meeting as Kirkcowan representative, which had been arranged as an evening Zoom session to take account of work commitments. Nothing official to report. - Park Steering Group: M Mackenzie
There have been no meetings of the group this year, although D Inglis had a catch-up meeting with C Lochrie to discuss progress in the Park. MM requested that there be a meeting of the whole group to bring everyone up to date. - CREPL Grant Funding: H Johnston
This is an annual grant which will come direct to the KCC, and no other viable suggestions have been made for the first instalment. A draft design proposal for the Corner garden has been circulated to the KCC and a decision on which elements to include in the first application needs to be made, as this is now long overdue. A separate Zoom meeting for the committee will be arranged to discuss this specific issue. - Queen’s Green Canopy Tree: A Gladstone
Two flowering Cherry trees are available to plant in the Rest Garden. A small ceremony will be held on Saturday 2nd April at 3pm. AG to ask J Paterson if he is willing to do the honours. KCC have to decide what kind of plaque to install. - Jubilee Events: H Johnson
Only 5 replies were received from the Facebook request for volunteers to help organise an eventfor the Jubilee weekend, Thurs. 2nd – Sun. 5th June. Posters will be put up for a special meeting on Tuesday 29th March in the Hall to find out what sort of event is wanted and encourage more participation from the community. - Balgreen Football Grounds and Pavilion: A Gladstone
There is no straightforward answer to what should be done with the Pavilion. The building was badly and cheaply built and repairs could be very costly. A decision on the purpose of maintaining and re-instating the grounds needs to be made. J Drysdale suggested replacing the buildings with a secure, fully-serviced Portacabin/container, which could include an office, meeting room, kitchen, toilets & showers. Using the grounds for camping / youth groups, sports & activities might be viable, and could attract funding, as well as improving an otherwise neglected area. KCC does not own the site, but is responsible for paying any Rates and is waiting for an Assessor’s report on amount that may be due. - Litter Pick:
Volunteers are needed to gather litter and other rubbish from the roadsides into/out of the village. Meet at the Church on Sunday 24th April at 2pm. Hi-vis vests, picking sticks & bags provided. BYO gloves. - Noticeboards:
The 2 new noticeboards have been bought and are in storage until permission is granted by DGC to site them in the village. The intention is to install one beside the Hall and the other at the main entrance to the Park (Newton Stewart Road). RM and JD volunteered to dig the holes for the posts. Discussion needed about what information to put in which noticeboards as some have limited space and there are often a lot of posters, both short-term and long-term. - Resilience: M Harkness
Due to staff absences, we are still awaiting advice from DGC about emergency planning, what should be included, who takes responsibility, when does local team take action, etc? - Christmas Lights Switch-on: K Dean
Planning ahead to avoid last minute rush. Set date for 3rd December 2022. - Halloween: K Dean
This year’s event will be on Saturday 29th October. - KCC Meeting Dates: K Dean
Next meeting falls on Easter Monday, 18th April – do we want to stick to usual 3rd Monday or change the date? 18th is alright for most members. It was agreed to have an additional meeting in August as otherwise there is a long, 3-month break from June to September. - Pavements in St Couan’s Crescent / Meadowpark: J Drysdale
Repairs are needed to pavements and also potholes in roads. Send exact locations to DGC.
AOCB:
M Harkness – 1) Zoom licence expires 11/4/22 and costs £144+VAT to renew. Agreement to use personal Zoom accounts if needed, to save money and limit time to 40 minutes.
2) Yesterday was Census Day, statutory requirement to submit a form. Deadline is 1st May.
3) Faulty street lights need to be reported again to DGC with exact locations (or mark with tape)
Easter Egg Hunt: L Melville – is there going to be an event for Easter weekend?
H Johnson is organising this on behalf of the Village Hall for primary-age children on Saturday 16th April. Decorate Easter eggs, follow a trail map around the village, then egg-rolling at the Hall.
Scarecrow Trail: L Melville is organising this for the 6th – 9th May. £5 entry fee per scarecrow included in the Trail, 16 -18 pledged so far. A map will be available for £1 of all the locations. Prize for best scarecrow, and also prize draw of completed maps on the 9th. 2 x £20 Amazon vouchers.
Any profit will be donated to a local charity.
KCC Vacancies:
Procedures for co-opting or election need to be checked. Will add this to Agenda for next meeting.
Seat on path up to Dickie Wood? K Googe asked if a bench could be installed part way up from Teapot Lane, for older/ less-abled people to rest and admire the view. AG will check where there might be space on the path. It could also be possible to place one at the top of the Rest Garden.
One of the most popular requests from the Community Survey was for more benches around the village.
Contents of container: M Harkness – There is no insurance cover, so will get some quotes.
The next meeting of KCC will be on Monday 18th April 2022 at 7.30pm
The Meeting closed at 9.30pm
KCDT Grant Applications: (considered by KCC without public input or comments)
1) 1st Kirkcowan Rainbows application for £1,044 for Girl Guides subscription, uniforms and hall fees for a year. Approved.
2) The Village Hall Committee is applying for £125 to organise a children’s event for Easter, including an Easter Egg Hunt around the village. Approved.
H McWhirter – Kirkcowan Junior Football Club, now defunct, has a bank account with £290.80.
Who are the signatories? What to do with the funds? Check with J Sommerville (former Treasurer)
Mary Mackenzie (Minutes Secretary)