[1999 index]

Royal Burgh of St Andrews Community Council

Annual General Meeting 1999

This will be held 7pm, Monday 3rd May 1999 in St Andrews Town Hall Burgh Chamber.

Draft Agenda

1. Apologies for Absence

2. Minutes of the 1997 AGM

Appendix A

3. Chairman's Report

Appendix B

4. Accounts

5. Dates of Meetings 1999-2000

6. Any Other Competent Business

7. Election of Officers

In accordance with our existing constitution officers are elected annually, at the end of the AGM. In any case the Chair-ship is (still) vacant. The only members of the Community Council who are specifically excluded from office are the ex-officio members, the Fife Councillors.

Usual procedure appears to be for candidates to be proposed and seconded from the meeting. If there is a contest the candidate or a supporter may speak briefly. A paper ballot is taken. Ties will be broken by a suitably random method.

7.1. Chair

7.2. Vice-Chairs - number to be determined by the meeting.

7.3. Treasurer

7.4. Secretary


Royal Burgh of St Andrews Community Council

Agenda - 3rd May 1999

This will be held on Monday 3rd May 1999 in St Andrews Town Hall Burgh Chamber immediately following the AGM.

1. Apologies for Absence

Received: Maries Cassells

2. Contributions from Members of the Public

(for anyone wishing to address the meeting on a matter relevant to St Andrews. Please contact the Secretary or Chair at or before the meeting.)

2.1. Police Report

2.2. Consultations, Studies & the Planning Process

David Rae, Head of Fife Council Planning Service.

3. Minutes of 5th April Meeting

(read for corrections of substance - harangue the secretary for minor (spelling etc) mistakes outside the meeting).

4. Matter arising from previous meetings

5. Reports

5.1. Chair

5.2. Treasurer

5.3. Secretary

5.3.1. Local Holidays. Fife Council Law & Admin ask for comments on proposed local holiday dates for 2000: Mondays 7 Feb, 6 Mar, 1 May, Oct 9, Nov 6. Half holiday Thursday.

Do we have any comments?

5.3.2. VONEF newsletter gives news of their own website http://members.aol.com/VONEF and email address VONEF@aol.com; redemption of War Bonds; Applying to the National Lottery Charities Board; various grant and funding schemes; lists of equipment/facilities hires.

Our VONEF membership is due for rewnewal, £10 - do we wish to renew?

5.3.3. Environmental Health Service Newsletter includes information on free skips for voluntary groups 'spring cleaning the environment'; free poop scoop bags to clean up 6 tonnes of dog faeces a day in Fife, bags available from local offices, libraries, vets, village shops and Environmental Health offices - about 120 outlets; Food Safety Week 7-13 June 99; Genetically Modified Foods; accidents at work; and Fife Bathing waters. No mention of Giant Hogweed though... There are one or two spare copies if anyone one wants one

5.3.4. Fife Coastwatch - coastal litter survey & 'beach cleans' is being transferred from Planning to Countryside Service who would like to know if we are interested in participating further.

Do we wish to continue with Coastwatch

5.3.5. Association of Scottish Community Councils newsletter covers the Calor Community of the Year awards; the Planning System; getting Millennium Money; Land Reform; ASCC workshops; Funding. It comes along with booklets on social inclusion and various Rural Forum leaflets.

5.3.6. Marcus Salter has written to us on a number of subjects

a) Formal training and licensing of stewards and doormen (ie bouncers) throughout town as he has commercial interests in this area - passed to Archie Strachan as a Community Safety matter.
b) Proposing a St Andrews week debate on the benefit or otherwise of the Scottish Parliament, involving the likes of Donald Dewar - suggested he approach the St Andrews Week committee via the Tourist Board.
c) Interest in the Millennium celebrations - passed to Ken Fraser for the Millennium Committee.

5.3.7. Trading Standards Newsletter covers unsolicited mail/fax scams; metrication; telephone sales nuisance; doorstep selling laws; packaging waste; debt advice; email address fifets@sol.co.uk and website http://www.xodesign.co.uk/tsnet/fife.

5.3.8. John Landon writes to ask us to consider flying the Union flag to celebrate the 1st May anniversary of the union of Scottish & English parliaments.

What is the opinion of the meeting?

5.3.9. North East Fife Volunteer Bureau would like to come and tell us about themselves.

Invite for June/July?

6. Matters Raised by Committees

(for reports and decisions by full council)

6.1. General Purposes

No meeting

6.2. Golf

6.3. Finance

6.4. Millennium

6.5. Planning

6.6. Publicity

6.7. Recreation

6.8. Youth

7. Matters Raised by Fife Councillors

7.1. Frances Melville (West)

7.2. Sheila Hill (South)

7.3. Jane Ann Liston (South East)

8. Other Matters of Public Concern

(for community councillors to raise new business and points of information)


Appendix A

Royal Burgh of St Andrews Community Council

Minutes - Annual General Meeting 1998

7pm, Monday 6th July 1998 in St Andrews Town Hall Burgh Chamber.

Chair Dr Goudie

Present:

Community Councillors: Mr Barrett, Mrs Cassells, Mr Crichton, Dr. Goudie, Mrs Lawrie, Ms Lesurf, Mr Lindsay, Mr M Macdonald, Mrs Murray, Dr Riddell, Mr Strachan, Mrs Tero, Mr Young.

Merchants' Association representative: Mr Sproson.

Students' representatives: none

Fife Councillors: Mr Cassells, Mrs Hill, Ms Liston.

0. Special Business

0.1. Death of Fife Councillor Bob Nairn

Dr Goudie drew this to the meeting's attention. Meeting expressed its sympathy for Cllr Nairn's partner Cllr Frances Melville.

Secretary to write.

0.2. Presentation to Yvonne Stewart-Meiklejohn

Framed picture of former Community Councillor Yvonne Stewart-Meiklejohn's farewell reception (1/5/98) presented, with thanks for all her work for the Community Council and (especially) the Recreation Committee over the years. Accepted with pleasure. Mrs Stewart-Meiklejohn sadly leaving the St Andrews area soon to go to Edinburgh.

1. Apologies for Absence

Mr Sangster, Mr Peterson, Mr D Macdonald, Mr Macgregor, Mr Fraser, Cllr Melville

2. Minutes of the 1997 AGM

Accepted

3. Chairman's Report

Circulated to meeting in Mr Macgregor's absence. Taken as read.

4. Accounts

Circulated to meeting.

Mr M Macdonald commented as former and acting treasurer that the balance was reduced from last year due to spending of money received in sponsorship of last year's bandstand concerts. Nonetheless a healthy - possibly too healthy - surplus remained despite lack of income from the Coat-of-Arms licence. He feared possible clawback from Fife Council.

Mr Strachan hoped the treasurer would therefore be open to suggestions for innovative ways to spend the reported surplus.

The accounts were accepted.

5. Dates of Meetings 1998/9

Agreed: 1st Monday of the month, except August, and any postponements at the New Year holidays.

6. Any Other Competent Business

Secretary to write to members of the previous Community Council who retired at the last election and thank them for their contribution.

Secretary to write


Appendix B

Chairman's Report 1998-9

The year has been dominated by planning issues, notably the applications for golf-related developments, all of which include considerable building. These matters are far from settled and the climate of uncertainty, along with concerns about how St Andrews and its environment will be affected, will certainly continue into the new century.

The Community Council has played an important role in the discussion of these developments, and will no doubt continue to do so, although as in any important issue there is unlikely to be unanimity of view. I thank those who have devoted large amounts of their time to discussing these matters.

St Andrews suffered a sad loss in 1999 when Councillor Patrick Cassells died early in January. His legacy to the town will, we all hope, be the St Andrews Foundation, which his wife Maries, who is of course a Community Councillor, represented in the United States in February along with our former chairman Mary Freeborn.

The work of the Council through its committees - including the new and welcome Youth Committee - as well as in plenary session continues. As in every other body, or so it seems, the work appears always to expand and the needs to grow wider and more pressing, as a review of the (much expanded) Minutes reveals.

Members will need no reminding of the successful competitions and exhibitions held by the Council this year, and the fruitful collaboration on these and other projects with various other organisations and councils. With the largest of these, Fife Council, we have because of its complexity had both good experiences and not so good. From our point of view, we welcome consultation and discussion and invariably oppose policies which seem to us not to be in the interests of local people.

1999 is to be the year of elections. Because of my own candidature in one of these, I stood down from the chairmanship in April, and am sure that my successor will lead the Council ever onward and upward.

I will conclude by thanking my fellow office-bearers and other councillors, as well as all others who have attended meetings or helped us in any other way, including our Fife Councillors and the ever-patient journalists who sift monthly for gold dust among the minutes, for their forbearance. I am glad to say that the discussions we have had have been rarely acrimonious and almost entirely free of party political rhetoric.

Long may that continue.

Donald Macgregor