Open letter to the PCC

[seanie]

[seashell]

well said. A very reasonable, balanced and fair letter. Are you going to send this to local papers as well?
Will this be discussed at the next PCC meeting?
I do hope you get an equally balanced response. Portobello needs people like you who take an active interest in the community and clearly devote a good deal of your own time, as well as bringing an excellent understanding of the issues to bear. Your a great examploe of what a PC Councillor SHOULD be. Sadly, it appears the most vocal and influencial members of the PCC fall well short of the standards you have set, and even more sadly, they appear to want the PCC to reflect their own views and wishes rather than those of the community they purport to represent.

[gillian]

Yep, well done Seanie. I hope that your letter facilitates free and frank discussion at the next PCC meeting and elsewhere. And that a way forward to improved two way consultation and communication is achieved.

It seems to me that in the time I have lived in Portobello, I have been stopped many times on the High Street to ask if I will sign a petition against something or another.
I have never been asked if I will support a project or even asked if I have an opinion.

I mostly support the plans that BL are putting forward and would like an opportunity to share my views and to put forward the areas that I feel need clarification I feel strongly that the PCC should be in receipt of these opinions along with everyone else who wishes to contribute to the debate. No one should be speaking on our behalf on such an important matter without have consulted us first.

Consulting and canvassing opinion is not going to be easy. I would happily volunteer to help make it happen. I get the impression that a few people on TP would give up some time to help.

[portypotter]

Well done Sean, I think you have voiced what many people in the community feel about the PCC. It has become dominated by a small clique of rather self important people, the same small group of four or five individuals who dominate all the Portobello-against-absolutely-everything groups. It seems to me that you have very clearly and coherently expressed how a community councillor should behave. As other contributors have already said, I personally support the BL proposals but there seems no forum for expressing this view. I think it could bring some big community benefits, not least to that end of the high street. Having 800 new residents, together with some great community facilities (new home for the music school, artists studios) can only help to bring more life to the High Street which is dying on its feet. I hope that the Council consider suspending the PCC until some proper mechanism for community consultation by the PCC on major developments (such as the BL one and the High School) is developed - and then incorporated into its constitution.

[Pal of Porty]

When do we get to vote for hanging?

[gillian]

You don't. they do it for us. Keep up Pal of Porty!!

[wangi]

[seanie]

[seanie]

[Makaveli]

Doesn't sound like you are getting anywhere with that one Seanie. As you have said what is the point of raking up the past?

The people of Portobello want a PCC that can put across their collective views - not the views of a half dozen self-appointed people.

[Porty]

Sean- I'm not so sure reviewing some of the historic stuff would do any harm. Seems to me that the Chair is totally affronted by the assertion; his Council does not consult its people. Normally the patient has to acknowledge their condition before seeking a remedy.

I am also of the view that you should publish your dossier. Lack of transparency is one of the main causes of the dislocation of PCC from the Community it is supposed to serve.

[seanie]

The difficulty is that, by going over specific incidents, you can't avoid implicitly or explicitly criticising individuals.

Then the whole issue becomes one of personalities when it shouldn't be. We can't change what's happened in the past anyway.

There are screeds and screeds of guidance notes, codes of conduct, good practice notes etc. And it's crystal clear from those that we ain't been doing what we should be doing. All we need to do is take those documents outlining our duties as a starting point and start afresh.

[Porty]

[seanie]

[Puerto bella]

Just for clarification - is the open letter a complaint or an airing and sharing of your view?

Wondered out of interest if you had put all of this forward at the last meeting or is it intended that it is discussed at the next one?

Wondered also why the focus is on some and not others - i think that every member of the CC in terms of their motivation, how they present a view, how they represent the views of the people they have spoken to and how they conduct themselves is now under close scrutiny. What doesn't seem

[Puerto bella]

Got cut short there - sorry

...to have been covered so far is the experience that the CC members have and how the community can use this to benefit the whole - we have a rich range of talents on our CC and a lot of expertise in a whole range of matters - no one seems to be appreciating that or celebrating all the good things that have happened that are down to them. I find the whole saga that is currently being brewed up and whooped into a frenzy very very sad and possibly motivated by the aims and objectives of a few.

[seanie]

[Puerto bella]

......and I would suggest work from the positives in order to stimulate discussion and change.

You have a mediator on the CC - use his skills to get this sorted, otherwise its going to fester for years and come back to bite you all or relationships will be so damaged as to become unworkable. Keep the dialogue going and there is always hope of finding a way you can all work together.

..........or maybe its part of your masterplan to take over the world - you haven't turned into Dr Evil have you?

[Doris]

Just a little curious - the PCC has a mediator. Then why has he/she allowed this mess to happen. Not a good recommendation of his/her skills IMHO.

[seanie]

There is someone who is a trained mediator, but they've not been called upon to do any mediating.

And mediation only works if parties to it are willing to commit to it.

[seanie]

[seanie]

[Pal of Porty]

[Pal of Porty]

[Puerto bella]

Many parallels could be drawn POP.

Re: the mediator - I was at a meeting a while back when the person we're referring to talked about his involvement with mediation - I think he might have said he trained mediators, as well as mediating himself.

I have been wondering why he hadn't used his perception to red flag the warning signs over the brewing stooshy and really help the group better communicate with each other - consensus building techniques would be a valuable tool to them right now.

[gillian]

..".to have been covered so far is the experience that the CC members have and how the community can use this to benefit the whole - we have a rich range of talents on our CC and a lot of expertise in a whole range of matters - no one seems to be appreciating that or celebrating all the good things that have happened that are down to them. I find the whole saga that is currently being brewed up and whooped into a frenzy very very sad and possibly motivated by the aims and objectives of a few"

I have no doubt that there is a rich range of talents on the PCC. Their efforts have been applauded many times, in the case of the superstore and the waste depot for example. The problem is are we applauding the PCC or the various campaign groups? The boundaries are too blurred. Maybe there should be a hatstand out side the meeting hall, CC hats only inside.

I don't think people are looking for a referendum, just chance to give our views. How can I for example put forward my opinion and be sure that it gets to the people who are there to represent me? I would happily pop to the library to put a letter into a box, I would be delighted to answer an email seeking out my view

There is clearly a crisis in the PCC, mediation may or may not work. As Sean pointed out mediation would only be effective if people were receptive to it. Whatever method of reconciling and moving forward is used it is going to take time and effort.

Meanwhile would a bit of consulting be too much to ask?

[Porty]

[seanie]

On reflection I have decided that the Chair was entitled to a

Apologies; it's not short.

[Doris]

[Porty]

Well measured and coherent indeed. I envy your non-combative style, I could do with a dose of that in my prose.

The PCC decision to stay out of the school debate had me baffled, it will be the biggest thing to happen in Porty for more than a quarter of a century, how can an organisation that exists only to reflect the views of the community, have nothing to say? I was equally surprised when The Portobello Reporter said they would not be covering the School story, as it was too contentious.

I wish I was surprised at PCC's bid to syphon some cash from the compensatory scheme for new trees in proximity of a community councillors residence. Lets not bother with improving play parks or stuff like that, lets just get new trees for the people who have enjoyed uninterrupted views over a park for most of a century. And lets get the Community Council to do the bidding for them. Did PCC have any other suggestions for how the compensation money should be spent?

Have you had a response yet?

[Porty]

The more I read Sean's letter the better it gets. With the exception of a couple of issues, it deals with many of the things I am unhappy about. I read somewhere recently; the reason PCC don't update or use their Portoello On Line web pages is due to their being "one particular indivdiual, that has a grudge against PCC regularly posts on Talk Porty". i presume that means me? I don't think any reasonable person could say Seanie has a grudge against PCC. I don't either. I happen to believe it is not being run as it should be and for the purpose it exists. Sean's letter proves, beyond doubt, that this is the case.

[Porty]

Any news on the Minutes from the tempestous September meeting? Still in make up?