With Cllr Liz Savage
THE last week was particularly busy with the most important council meeting of the year.
Each February the full council meet to set the budget for the year and this is always a meeting fraught with political tensions.
It is probably the single most difficult meeting to chair of the year.
The meeting lasted for just over two and half hours and the council tax rate for the coming year was set.
A lot of the mayor’s duties take place in the evening but the following morning was an early one.
I needed to be at the new Aldi at Burscough for the official opening for 7.30am.
Golden tickets had been promised and were given to the first hundred customers and I have to say I was shocked to see how many people turned out to take advantage of this.
When I arrived approximately 100 people were queuing despite storm Doris being in full flow.
We are most definitely a hardy breed in West Lancashire and love a bargain!
Following the opening, I spent a day networking with other mayors in St Helens.
The weekend saw the first anniversary of The Civic, since it was reopened under the stewardship of Liz Wainwright and Gemma Briscoe.
The Civic is now booming with lots of community events taking place.
For me this is particularly pleasing as The Civic holds many childhood memories – one of the reasons why I chose it as a “mayoral charity” for the year.
The building is well loved by so many residents in Ormskirk but it desperately needs a new roof. The money the charity committee is raising this year will go some way towards this but will most definitely not be enough.
The Civic have a fundraising campaign where you can buy a roof tile for as little as £1.
If The Civic holds fond memories for you please donate to this campaign.
As my mayoral year draws to a close, the charity committee is busy organising our last few events to raise monies for The Artz Centre, The Birchwood Centre, The Civic and Ormskirk NeoNatal Unit.
We will again be collecting at Morrisons and we have a Crown Green Bowling Day planned for April 1, a bingo at St Anne’s Social Centre on April 7 and a Mayoral Showcase event on April 21 at Hurlston Hall.
The showcase will be an evening of entertainment performed by The Artz Centre and will include a three-course dinner.
Tickets for this event will be £25 and it is intended to be a celebratory conclusion to my mayoral year.
It would be lovely if the many organisations and businesses I have visited would send representatives to the event.
If you require tickets for any of the events, please contact Ann England on 01695 585033.