Apologies from:  V Bland, P Shafren, E Scott.

Sergeant Anderson said he was a Community Sergeant based in St Andrews.   

Tel No 101  

He said that in relation to the St Monans area there had been 5 recorded crimes including: a crime relating to insurance; a report of a house break-in; and another crime related to bogus workmen, which is the subject of a bigger investigation.  He said that he would report back in relation to January.  

 A member of the public asked if the police still patrolled in the evenings.  Sergeant Anderson confirmed that they did, and went on to say that he still had 7 staff, split across 3 shifts who are responsible for the area; that they responded to priority calls as well as routine calls; and that if there are any issues they tend to focus on a particular area. 

 The Chairman asked about the consultation between different stations and the manned hours which had come through towards the end of the year.  

Sergeant Anderson replied that the Community Service is still in play.  Anstruther is still open and there is a service there.   It is under review, and that was the reason for the consultations.

 The Chairman checked whether there were any further questions and thanked Sergeant Anderson for coming along to the meeting.

P Copland said that he had a meeting with Lynne Davidson and he had walked over the road at the back of Miller Terrace, which he said was quite bad; full of potholes; about 300 sq m requires upgrading.

He went on to say that there are two options:

(1) scrape it down to a reasonable level, then upfill it with clean stones, and top-dress it with red blaize.  Because there are refuse wagons of up to 30 tons picking up waste using that road, this may not be the best idea. 

(2) Make it up to road grade. There would be no requirement for draining; but it would drain to the Mair.   

 He thought that Lynne Davidson, having seen it, was quite sympathetic. It would be a full road width, but would narrow in some places where there was a lamp standard (she said she would check if it was an adopted light).  Lynne Davidson had indicated that she would probably give a response within 2 weeks.

 P Copland said that he did not think it was worth going back to the original estimate.  Lynne Davidson will have consultations with some of the road engineers to see what the best make up of the road would be, and submit an estimate.  P Copland said Lynne Davidson had agreed that it would probably be cheaper if we got someone outwith the Council to do the work.  He thought he had managed to get Lynne Davidson to take note of what really was the problem – (that the road is not designed for a bin lorry, and that lorries come down that road 4 times a week).

 The Chairman said that when details were received, that he would be quite happy to put a note through the doors of the residents in Miller Terrace – which might say that we now have details and invite them to the next meeting.  

 3.2 (9.4) Community Pay Back

Ruth Craib said that Archie Melville had got back to her (when she was on holiday).  V Salvage said that she had emailed twice and heard nothing.  She said that she asked if there was any way the CC could attend a meeting regarding whether St Monans can get anything from Pay Back.

 The Chairman suggested that the CC give Archie Melville to the end of this week, and then find out what the escalation process is.  He said that he did not want to wait until the next meeting, and added that we will make sure that his line manager is copied in. 

 V Salvage said that she would contact him after the meeting, and went on to say that Archie Melville has had the list about 3 times, and that about 18 months ago he had been with the CC and had been given a list of all the remarks.

 3.3 (8.7)  Wheelie Bins at the at the back of East Shore

R Craib said that she had contacted Waste Aware about the Wheelie Bins.

 A member of the public commented that it was reported in a newspaper that Fife Council will do away with all the bins and instead  just have one bin per household.  The Chairman said that for businesses – as from 1 January – have to segregate their rubbish.  The Councillors had heard nothing of the change the member of the public had seen reported in the newspapers.

 3.4 (8.3) Possible Closure of the Heritage Centre

R Craib said that we asked about the possible closure of the Heritage Centre.  The Lease was to September 2013 and we have had no further notifications. 

 (A member of the public asked what to do when someone comes to read the electricity meter at the Heritage Centre.  V Salvage replied that Ian Reekie has the keys.)

 3.5  (8.8)  Railing for the Plerick

V Salvage reported that she was still awaiting costings.

 3.6  Amendment to Minutes of Previous CC Meeting

Cllr J Docherty mentioned an error in the Minutes of the previous Ordinary CC Meeting to the Minute Secretary stating that Lynne Davidson’s name had been wrongly typed in (as Leanne Davidson).

 The Minutes of the previous Ordinary Meeting of the Burgh of St Monans and Abercrombie Community Council, held on Monday, Tuesday, 17 December 2013, were approved.

Proposer                                                        Seconder

George Brown                                               P Copland

 P Copland

 A Anderson

  V Salvage /

R Craib

The Secretary said that she had an email from Win Brown about Beautiful Fife.  The decision to be made is whether to go forward again with the competition.  There are several people in the group who are quite ill.   At the moment, taking part in the competition is not realistic, unless a number of new people join the group.  It is felt that it is probably best not to go forward for the competition this year.  There are also some people in the group who will be busy with the Chelsea garden, including the ‘Wellie Boot’ garden.

 G Brown added that he thought that Win Brown would like more people, but added that, if we do not get more people we will do what we can, but that the decision as to whether to enter the competition has to be made quite soon.  V Salvage stated that she had the facts and that she was happy to make up a Poster.  She added that it was too late for the ‘Loaves and Fishes’, but suggested that the CC could put it on Facebook.

 A member of the public added that if you got a couple of people from each street that that would help.  V Salvage replied that the best thing to do would be to approach people who would be interested and ask them personally.  R Craib suggested that although any help would be good, it is sometimes better to be more specific, eg ask people to look after their street.

 The Chairman said that we could get people to help with weeding but asked whether the group needed help with planting.  G Brown answered that there is not a huge amount of new things to be planted, but the barrels and tubs still need to be planted.

 Cllr E Riches asked about the money situation for the Chelsea garden.  G Brown answered that money was still very short. 

 5.2  Sea Queen Committee

V Salvage reported that more people are required for the Sea Queen Committee as the number has gone down from 12 to 9, and it has got to the stage that if people do not support it, it will not go ahead.

 A member of the public asked if the CC had tried to get support for this from the Primary School. 

 W Buchan replied that he had tried to get people to back the proposed new skatepark, and Mrs Shafron sent letters to all the parents and no-one came forward. However,the school will be approached to ask for parental help with Sea Queen Day.

 V Salvage

Beautiful St Monans / Members of the Public

Members of the Public

 6.1  G Brown stated that the CC had agreed to pay £100 for church lighting, and that he had cheque written out for that amount.  He also said that he also now had the cheques for Burns’ Night.

 G Brown

G Brown went on to say that he personally had no problem with what is proposed.

 The Chairman clarified to the meeting the role of the CC in these matters.  He stated that, as a CC we are here purely to reflect the wishes of the local community.  The CC has no more sway than anybody else.  The reason we took the step of requesting Statutory Consultee Status  was because it is a Conservation Area and this would give us time to discuss the application at the cc meeting.

 G Brown was asked what changes were proposed.  He stated that windows and raised decking at the sea end of the house were proposed, but that the existing windows are PVC and the proposal is to change to new PVC windows and to replace the Velux windows.    Regarding requirements for being in a conservation area, these changes are happening at the back of the house.

 The Chairman checked whether anyone had any concerns regarding this proposal, and stated that if it was keeping, in line with what the CC have done in the past, and as long as it is not forward facing – we will not record anything.

A member of the public stated there was water at the garages in Queen Margaret Street.

 The Chairman said that this would be dealt with by Housing Department in Fife Council.  R Craib stated that she had tried to contact Housing and that she would try again to get back to them regarding both sets of the garages in Queen Margaret Street. 

 8.2  Dogs’ Mess

Replying to a comment about dogs’ mess the Chairman stated that the only way to combat that is to telephone the Dog Warden.

 8.3  Cemetery Path

V Salvage raised a point on behalf of the Spar family.  She said that a resident had recently been buried in the graveyard.  Where he is buried there is no path anywhere near the graves; and anyone visiting the grave has to go over very rough terrain.  W Buchan added that the ground is rather soft at the south side of the cemetery.  R Craib said she would contact Liz Murphy.

 8.4  Hedge at the Pend

V Salvage had received complaints about the hedge at the Pend, and said that it made it difficult to walk without having to bend. 

R Craib thought that the person to contact regarding this was Ian Barbour.  V Salvage said she would contact him.  The Chairman stated that he thought we had contacted them 8 weeks ago, and thought that the CC should be getting Fife Council to do the work and bill the person who owns the property.  It was decided that an informal approach should be made to the owner initially to see if the problem could be resolved.

 8.5  Molehills in the Cemetery

A member of the public informed the CC that someone had come to deal with this that day.

 8.6  Discarded Freezers beside the Main Road

A member of the public informed the CC that 2 freezers had been lying near the Chinese Takeaway beside the main road for a long time.  She commented that she thought that it was dangerous for youngsters.  R Craib said that she would contact Waste Aware – (and ask them again about the bins in Forth Street).

 8.7   Water on Bridge to Cemetery

A member of the public said that there was water was flowing over the bridge going over to the cemetery – towards the drain at the end.  P Copland said that he would look at it.

 8.8  Waste Bin at Johnston’s Close

A member of the public commented that the waste bin at Johnston’s Close has not been emptied.  R Craib said she would contact Waste Aware.

 8.9  Rubbish beside Gourlay Crescent

A member of the public stated that there was a lot of rubbish up from Gourlay Crescent towards the bus stop. Recent winds have made this situation worse.  

 R Craib

V Salvage

 G Brown

 R Craib

 P Copland

 R Craib

M Ashworth said she had previously mentioned about the footpath from Abercrombie to St Monans.  Last week P Copland sent a message to us saying that Fife Council were going to put red blaize, but were not going to do the bit from the farm to the track.  M Ashworth stated that this bit of path is very muddy and dangerous.  If the Council put red blaize on top of what we have got this will all wash down and block the drains.  We should perhaps ask them to use something other than red blaize.  The Chairman asked if the Council had put this into project planning.  P Copland answered that, because it was a Capital project it would be put in the Schedule of Maintenance for 2014-15 Budget.

 The Chairman asked P Copland, as he was the person who deals with Transportation, if he could ask Stuart Fairclough if it was possible to have a site visit.

 9.2  Beach Clean

A suitable date re tide times is being looked into.

 9.3 (9.6) Bus Shelter at the top of Station Road

P Copland said that W Buchan had raised the issue of harling coming off the bus shelter at the top of Station Road.  P Copland said that he had sent an email to Ross Walker, who said he would get someone to check and report back regarding finance.

 9.4 (9.7) Signpost at the Town Hall

P Copland said that W Buchan had raised the issue of the signpost near the town hall, which had rotted and fallen over.  P Copland said he had informed Stuart Fairclough, but had not received a reply to date.

 9.5  Tree Planting

A member of the public asked the CC if there was any more news about the planting of trees.  G Brown said that the CC had previously talked about the planting of trees: at the West End towards the church – to replace the ones that had been cut down; and to replace the elm trees that used to be along the road towards Elie.  He said that we do have about 30 or 40 very small trees in pots.  A member of the public commented that it would be nice to have trees beside the church where you go over the burn.The trees at West End are growing back and trees on the main road would require to be larger and hardy to survive.

 9.6  The Railway Man

Cllr D Macgregor said he was not sure if it was strictly relevant, but that he had been to see the film “The Railway Man” and there were some wonderful shots of St Monans.

 9.7  Old Railway Bridge

M Ashworth stated that she doubted whether the CC would get any response from the Council regarding the state of the old railway bridge.  She had contacted Murray Scott and Jim Hannay

She said she would contact them again.

9.8  Fife Council Community Plan

Cllr Riches said that Fife Council is always setting plans.  The latest is a Community Plan – to talk about priorities such as:

• ·         promoting health, wellbeing and lifelong learning
• ·         supporting vibrant and sustainable communities
• ·         reducing social inequalities

This will come round to all the Community Councils.  There is likely to be money in budgets: something like £500,000.

 Cllr Riches said that she would like our Council to be ahead of the game: to think of what would be important to the community.   It would be good to do something that would make a difference.   For example, it could be:

• ·         Working with the NHS
• ·         Working with the voluntary sector
• ·         Community Councils working on their own.

 P Copland

G.Brown

M Ashworth

 All