Welcome to Port William

1. Present and apologies for absence:-
Community councillors:- Mr. Douglas Ballantyne (Treasurer), Mr Paul Carrigan, Mx. Jen Hendry, Mr. Richard McElrea, Mr. Jock McMaster, Mr. Peter Smellie (Chairman), Mrs. Sheila Smellie (Secretary)
Members of the public:- Mrs. Jacqueline Crowther
Apologies for absence:- Mrs. Barbara Mellor, Mr. Steve Mellor, Mrs. Katie Hagmann, Mr. David Inglis, Mrs. Jackie McCamon, Mr. Jim McColm

2. The Minutes of the AGM held on 28th October 2020 were accepted and signed – proposed by Paul, seconded by Richard.

3. There were no matters arising.

4. The Chairman’s Report, below, had been previously circulated.
Another unusual year, following on from the previous AGM of October 2020. I would like to thank all Community Councillors and elected members for their attendance and contributions to the meetings, either physically at the Maxwell Hall or virtually via Zoom. As ever especial thanks are offered to Douglas for keeping us financially up to date, and to Sheila for her minute taking and behind the scenes work. I would also like to welcome Jen Hendry who was co-opted to the Community Council in October 2020.

The year saw one sad parting in October when former Community Councillor Jim Gray passed away. Jim was a stalwart of the Council, being Treasurer for over 30 years, and I was proud to attend his funeral to represent that element of his life in Port William.

The impact of the Covid-19 pandemic was not only on the frequency of the meetings we held, but also on the matters brought before us. What has been pleasing has been the number of consultations relating to commercial operations locally, with two forestry concerns seeking approval, and reacting to our representations on extraction routes, and the planned diversion of a Core Path at Kennels Cottage by the White Loch. The planned storage compound at the harbour will be another welcome change for the better.

Douglas will provide the details of the accounts, but I would like to thank Dumfries and Galloway Council for their financial support through the year, not only via the Discretionary Grant, which is used to pay our running costs, but also for a Grant towards the Christmas trees and decorations in Port William, Mochrum, Elrig and Monreith; these funds are passed on to Port William Community Association, SCIO, who make a financial contribution and source the trees. Dumfries and Galloway Council also awarded us a grant for the local Resilience efforts- £493.30 was passed on to the Community Association who managed that project . A second Resilience Grant of £988.60 was made available from the Dumfries and Galloway Council Hardship fund, but that arrived in the financial year 2021/ 2022 so will be reported next year. I would like to thank the Community Association Resilience Team for their efforts on the COVID-19 front.

The Community Council was also the initial recipient of the ‘Wind Farm’ grant from Foundation Scotland who manage the fund on behalf of Carscreugh Renewable Energy Park Limited. Unsurprisingly the number of applications received was down on previous years; the £2605.70 was distributed to the Gardeners Group, the Community Association, Maxwell Hall Management and a sum retained by the Community Council for village improvements, including the purchase of a new picnic bench for the Kings Green play area and to assist with the future maintenance of Garnets Walk, a project started by a group of eight volunteers in July, and carried on by Jock McMaster and his Jungle Buster.

On a less positive note, the responsiveness of D&G council to street lighting issues has been a concern, perhaps partially explained by the necessary lack of resource due to Covid restrictions.
Let us hope for a more ‘normal’ year in 2020/ 2021.

5. The Financial Statement and Treasurer’s Report had been previously circulated and the Treasurer thanked Audrey Kevan for auditing the books. The bank balance stands at £1915.47, being £1032.17 village improvements and £883.30 administration fund.

6. Election of office bearers.
The Chairman stood down and was replaced by Jock. Peter was than nominated by Richard and seconded by Douglas and resumed the chair. Peter was willing to stand, and there being no other candidates, was re-elected.
The Treasurer stood down and was proposed for re-election by Richard and seconded by Paul. Douglas was willing to stand, and there being no other candidates, was re-elected.
The Secretary stood down and was proposed for re-election by Jock and seconded by Jen. Sheila was willing to stand, and there being no other candidates, was re-elected.

7. Other positions:-

a. Press secretary – Sheila agreed to continue in this role.
b. Planning applications monitoring – Paul agreed to continue in this role.
c. Wind farm administration – Peter agreed to continue in this role.
d. Website and liaison with Assist IT – Jen agreed to take this on.

8. Any other business:-
It was agreed that ordinary meetings of the Community Council would be held the last Wednesday of each month, excluding August and December, in the Maxwell Hall, or online using Zoom if necessary.

The meeting ended at 19:48.

Next AGM Wednesday 25th May 2022.