Page 25 - Phonebox Magazine July 2007

so the same mistakes are not made again in the future school build programme and to restore confidence in that programme.
Debbie finished by saying that she felt that £1,400 over what an internal investigation would have cost with all the benefits of an independent investigation is a wholly justifiable spend.
Jeremy Rawlings, the afore mentioned OTC rep on the appointment committee, said he had expressed a personal opinion to the chair of the committee after the meeting had ended. He had asked if the opinion of the full OTC should be sought before a decision was made and he had agreed. Jeremy said his personal opinion was that the £50,000 would be better spent on employing two teachers for the school, rather than apportioning blame to the officers of MKC. The Chief Auditor had expressed the opinion that there were unlikely to be sufficient grounds to claim compensation from either the contractor or the architect, he said.
Debbie Brock reminded Jeremy that his role was OTC rep on the appointments committee, not to scrutinise. His personal opinion should not have been reported, she said.
David Coles said he believed that the purpose of the audit was not to apportion blame but to investigate how MKC could improve the procurement process.
Paul Watson said he thought that Jeremy’s integrity had been bought into question by the reporting of his personal opinion and that OTC should demand a retraction.
Tony Evans said that he thought it was an attempt to make OTC appear to be responsible for the wasting of public money.
Jeremy Rawlings finished by saying he had been intending to put forward a motion proposing that OTC do not support the inquiry but in the light of the discussions would not now be doing so.
‘Night all...
It was reported that a letter had been received from Councillor and Police Constable Malcolm Messenger tendering his resignation from the council, as he was shortly to take up a position with the Police service on the Channel Island of Alderney. It was noted with some amusement that he had lately been employed in the Traffic
Division of Thames Valley Police, a role for which there was likely to be little call on his new ‘manor’!
Pollution monitoring
The air quality monitoring unit continues to operate on the corner of Church Street. Because this is the second most polluted area in Milton Keynes, after Junction 14 of the M1, it is an ‘air quality management area’. In theory this means that if the data consistently exceeds the national safety limits then steps could be taken to improve the traffic flow. As last month, Tony Evans asked what the point of the exercise was as it only told OTC and MKC what they already knew. If solutions like the banning of HGVs, as has been attempted in the past, could not be employed it was a waste of time and money.
Fun Fair security
The policing of the annual Fun Fair on the recreation ground had been the subject of some discussion between a senior Police officer and members of the council, where they had asked for an increased police presence for the duration of the fair. Two years ago there was a
disturbance caused by gangs of youths from outside of the town. The response had not been encouraging. The officer had said that he did not have the resources to police the event and the police would only attend if an incident was reported. He asked why the event should be held if it causes trouble. It appears that he even went so far as suggesting that the fair organisers should provide their own security. This suggestion was met with some incredulity by the council. Steve Clark said that across Milton Keynes all door security
personnel need to be fully trained and certified. Mayor John Smail expressed the opinion that the town council’s responsibility should extend no further than writing to the police formally telling them that the fair will be happening. ❑
Errors and ommission and clarifications Subject: Barn Field – clarification
Tony Evans as quoted in last month’s
Phonebox Magazine in reference to a letter from Martin Harris actually meant “OTC on behalf of the residents of the town”. This relates to the comment made by Tony Evans regarding access to the new school.
I assumed that the ‘we’ referred to OTC as an organisation. I am happy to clarify this and apologise if the report caused any embarrassment. Mercury
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Phonebox Magazine 25
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