COMMUNITY MUST UNITE
Councillor in call for Crieff locals to work together
A call has been made for the various parties seeking to fly the flag for Crieff to cooperate with one another.
Perth and Kinross Council Strathearn ward elected member Ann Cowan issued the plea prior to a stormy recent meeting of Crieff Community Council.
Prompted by recent acrimonious meetings and issues where community council members have not seen eye to eye with long- term elected members, Councillor Cowan made a short statement at the February 6 gathering in the hope of encouraging people to come together in the best interests of the Strath capital.
The local authority councillor, who has held office for the past 14 years and will be retiring in May, wanted to pass on advice to community councillors and to stress the importance of good relations.
She also wanted to remind local residents that it is not a statutory duty of an elected councillor to attend community council meetings but ward 6 members - Ann Cowan, Rhona Brock and Anne Younger - do so because they wish to be involved with their local community councils and the people who go to the meetings to raise issues.
Mrs Cowan told those present: “I would like to point out that I am a Conservative, Cllr Anne Younger is a SNP member and Cllr Rhona Brock is an independent.
“On the face of it you could
hardly get a more likely setup for disagreements and yet over the years we three have worked together to try to do what we can for the area, for the whole of ward 6 Strathearn and for Crieff, the largest place of population in our ward.
“We have worked together because we all feel we want the best for the area.
“Remember that your elected councillors are the ones who can make a difference as they are the ones who direct the council. What you suggest and bring to us we can take forward. If you do not have the agreement of your councillors you will not make progress.
“I will be leaving in May and someone else will fill my place. I would like to depart knowing that Crieff has a clear way forward, with a hard- working community council who will work with the elected councillors to the best of their ability so I make a plea for cooperation on all sides.
“We cannot hide the fact that 2016 was an unhappy year for Crieff Community Council but better times can lie ahead if you seize the opportunity.
“Let us turn over a new page and begin this year of 2017 the way we mean to carry on.”
Despite Councillor Cowan’s plea, the meeting ended in an argument over draft minutes.
The previous membership of the community council took the decision last year to only distribute final approved minutes to the public.
Current chairman Craig Finlay says that this is a “safe process”.
Speaking to the Herald on Wednesday, he added: “In her statement Councillor Cowan said that the three ward councillors work together to do what they can for Crieff.
“What I hear on the street is that Crieff is on its knees so surely something is not going right between elected members and Perth and Kinross Council. If the community council can shine a light on this then surely that is to the benefit of the community.”
Mr Finlay attempted to explain his comment at the council’s most recent meeting, when he said elected members “could not be trusted”.
He said: “The question of trust arose following a previous meeting where Councillor Rhona Brock had, without consulting myself or the secretary, printed our draft minutes without permission and distributed them to the public, even though it clearly stated that these were not for public distribution until approved.
“Crieff Community Council is at present breaching a rule in the scheme of establishment, which sets out that elected members should receive copies of draft minutes.
“This week we invited the three councillors to meet with us to try to find resolution. So far Ann Cowan and Rhona Brock have rejected the invitation and Anne Younger has yet to respond.”