Ferret wonders when or if any Hemsworth Town Council meeting isn’t “extraordinary” these days.
Every meeting seems to reveal more and more of the misspending that has now left our community assets needing remedial work that in total runs into hundreds of thousands of pounds.
Unfortunately this one is also no different.
The remedial work at Hemsworth Waterpark, well only some of it, for Playworld and the small beach comes in at:
£31000 for Playworld and £5500 pounds for the small beach.
This spending was agreed and will come out of the “reserve funds” which will leave them with only the basic amount that has to be held for genuine emergency situations.
The good councillors’ guide says a council should have between 3 and 12 months of the council precept held in reserve.
Hemsworth Town Council is a large Town Council with very large outgoings but they are down to holding the lower limit of that range.
Some people would argue and quite rightly, that the amount held is already too low.
There is also another point that seems to be a recurring theme these days and that is that the Hemsworth Town Council staff at the Waterpark used to undertake any of the repair work that was not specialised and they certainly used to lay the new sand on the beaches.
Once again we seem to be “paying twice” and Ferret believes this is unacceptable and a full staff review is needed as a matter of urgency and this should include all Town Council staff.
During public question time, it was asked about the work and it was stated only the essential work would be done to be able to open Playworld and the small beach.
The condition of the facilities was so bad it had to be done to comply with the council’s insurers!
It was also asked if they would guarantee no more spending until after the election and Jean Eccles replied “Yes”
Donna Moran explained that this could not be guaranteed in case a genuine emergency situation occurred.
Jean Eccles was asked if there would be anymore emergency agendas and she said no.
Well she should be in a position to foresee it after all, but whether Ferret or the public believe her is another story.
A lady raised that the planning permission for the “free store” has now been approved and a planning condition is that it must be painted to match it surroundings within the next 3 months.
Jean Eccles was unaware of it and Alan Draper said he had only been told verbally, yet the resident explained the letter was on the Wakefield Council website.
Suggestions how it can be camouflaged can be sent directly to Hemsworth Town Council or Ferret who will pass them on.
Suggestions already received are as a giant fence or as a barrier gate to comfort Jean.
Another is a mural of a rotund moustachioed sixties figure who has recently taken up residence at the Waterpark, Ferret hopes Sam isn’t subletting…
Oh silly Ferret, you can’t sublet when you don’t pay rent…can you?
Here is the footage of the full meeting:
Tomorrow: Independent Hemsworth Town Council and the illegal use of CCTV…
Far too much is kept away from the public far too much Is decided in exclusion away from the public,far too much is agreed spending away from the public all this must stop and hopefully come May and a new run HTC that shows honesty,openness,transparency will put an end to all the exclusion agendas that over the last 4 years have now left the communities reserves having to be used to repair but right everything that as been left to rot,decay and is totally destroyed.The reserves yes are for emergencies but why with weeks to go to elections after 4 years of disastrous spending by the Independent run HTC do we now need to use the reserves answers on the Independents electioneering campaign leaflets please,or maybe not too many pages needed.
Please post on FB site Thankyou.
Honesty openness and transparency are easily used words these days. They mean nothing in reality when those words are not put into action.
Kenyon’s independent party lied about their own loyalties and priorities before they were elected and until now. The sad and bad part is that we still have councillors masquerading under one flag then changing to another to improve there ability to be re-elected, when all the time their true values and loyalty belongs to a third party or even the cabal.
They would do much better to engage in the real work that matters and that is opposing these self serving parasites at every opportunity. They have even proposed or seconded Kenyon proposals. They need to remember people are alert and they are being monitored as there are some crucial votes coming up. This community deserves to see anything that Kenyon wants he doesn’t get put into action. We’ll soon soon who is a cabal supporter in hiding when the votes are recorded.