FEB 2013
Minutes of meeting held in John O' Groats Hall on Wednesday 13th February 2013
Present: John Green (Chair) Chris Hobson (Vice Chair) Keith Muir (Secretary / Treasurer) Eric Green (Member) Bill Mowat (Member)
In attendance: Sgt Lara Green of Northern Constabulary
1 member of the Public
Dunnet Artworks: Tamara Hicks from Caithness Stone Industries made a presentation to the Community Council of an alternative approach to the Artworks Project in Dunnet.
John Green thanked her for her the presentation and opened the formal part of the meeting.
1. Apologies: Steven MacGregor
2. Minutes of January Meeting: Proposed by Chris Hobson Seconded by Eric Green duly adopted
3. Matters Arising
John O' Groats Lease: Eric Green reported that he had made no further progress in negotiations with Highland Council
4. Dunnet Artworks: It was agreed following representations from the public that the Community Council should write toHighland Council and request that the project be revisited, and that new tenders be invited to attempt to arrive at a project that would be embraced by the public.
5. Police Concerns: Sgt Green gave a report of police activity in our area. There were 18 incidents requiring police attention, mostly minor matters and there are no immediate concerns, but it was agreed that good communications with our local police service was very beneficial both to the police service and to the community in general.
Sgt Green reported that the new !)! telephone line is now active to contact the police for non-emergency matters.
6. Road to shell beach at John O' Groats: John Green has obtained an estimate from Barrock Small Plant Hire for repairs to the road to the shell beach at JOG. It was agreed to go ahead with the work and John was asked to progress this.
7. Treasurer's Report: Current balance is £2,800.97 as at end January 2013.
8. Planning matters - no concerns were raised.
9. Christmas Lights: 36 Christmas Lights originally from Staxigoe have been offered to the community and it is proposed that half will be deployed in Canisbay and half in Groats. The lighting department at Highland Council has been consulted and will come out to inspect the lamp posts in the area for suitability for mounting lights. Once the inspection has been done, the community will be consulted as to where they want the lights sited.
10. AOCB
John O' Groats Mill: Chris Hobson reported that the Prince's Trust had been in touch to say that they are preparing an inventory of the mill.
Dunnet Beach Clean: The Ranger is organsising a beach clean in April
Elihu Burritt walk commemoration - Bill Mowat reported that he is continuing his researches.
JOG Telephone Exchange - Eric Green reported that people have been refused telephone lines for new properties in the JOG exchange area.
11. Next meeting will be held at 7.30 p.m. on 13th March - venue to be confirmed.