Page 27 - Phonebox Magazine October 2016

Recreation Ground toilets
The sewerage system which serves the Tennis, Bowls and Football Clubs, public toilets and Council workshop runs under the roadway from the Bowls Club to the Football Club dugout, then through the adjacent private land to connect to the main Anglian Water system. For a good while now it’s been prone to blocking, and the Recreations and Services Committee voted to appoint a drainage consultant to perform a CCTV survey of the system and recommend solutions to this problem.
Future direction of Local Services
Ron Bull, along with Councillors from other local Parishes, attended a MKC meeting covering this topic. The basic premise was the increasing social care MKC needs to provide is much reducing its ability to spend on non-statutory local services such as grass cutting. For example, it was stated as near certain that MKC would not pay for this in three years’ time. It was also stated that a similar principle would apply to other services
including play areas, dog bins, etc. The suggested solution was for OTC to increase its precept and take on the work itself. Based on the example of how Swindon is handling a similar scenario, it might lead to a Council Tax increase of £75 per year for a Band D property.
Peter Geary, who is a Ward Councillor, explained that the underlying funding problem was real, but felt that the presenter of the meeting had overplayed the issue slightly. For example, MKC had just extended its grass cutting contract until 2023, so was unlikely to
stop cutting grass any time soon. He felt OTC should push for a Service Level Agreement with MKC so both sides knew where they stood.
Street lights
The street lights along the High Street are standard columns, each fitted with an embellishment kit and a different top. Periodically, MKC perform ‘topple tests’ on them to ensure safety. The current embellishment kits were gifted to the town and, if any lamppost needs replacing, MKC would pay for the column but it’s likely that OTC would have to pay for the new embellishment kits and, if they can’t be reused, tops.
The next meeting will be held at 7.30pm on Monday 3rd October in the Council Chamber in the Olney Centre. Members of the public are always welcome to attend and, if they wish, speak at the start of the meeting, or at any point that the Mayor decides is appropriate.
Olney-Newton Link
FHelp us keep up the good work!
irst a big thank you to all who have given us your old reading glasses to send to Newton. This was in response to my plea last month following the revelation that many people in Sierra Leone either have no access whatsoever to spectacles, or are being told that the reason they are
having dif culty reading is they have dust in their eyes! All they need is simple reading glasses so please keep looking and let us know if you have any lying unused and unloved in a drawer somewhere. Children’s as well as adults’ please. Secondly a big thank you to Olney Colts for giving us their kit which is no longer being used. We sent some out last year and it wasn’t just the kids themselves who were delighted but also the adults who are trying to encourage tness in their communities. We were delighted to be invited to the opening of the new facilities on the recreation ground where some of the kit was presented to us by Stuart Pearce. We will be sending this out in a couple of weeks’ time via Rockel Shipping, a Sierra Leonean company with an of ce in London. They have served us well for several years now.
The Preschool should start taking its rst young clients next month. We need more funds but the money we have sent so far will allow at least one of the rooms to be completed so the school can open its doors. Is there anyone who would be willing to do a bit of fund raising so we can get this worthy project nished? A coffee morning perhaps, a sponsored run? A win on the Lottery? A simple donation? Please do get in touch if you think you could help. It would be great to have this facility fully open before Christmas wouldn’t it?
October 2016 | Phonebox Magazine 27