It’s been just over a month since I first expressed my opinions on the St Mellion Parish Council elections. There have subsequently been two monthly public meetings of the council and I’m pleased to say that I found them energetic and constructive. The new clerk, Christine, is bursting with enthusiasm and seems to already have a strong grasp on her role, despite only being involved for a short period of time. I’m also impressed with Ken in his role as chairman: He’s handled both the meetings in a constructive, convivial manner and interfaces well with the attendees. He also allows a lot more public interaction than is customary in Parish Council meetings where the public role is traditionally to observe proceedings. He also demonstrates considerable patience in handling the more trivial matters that the public raise whilst I squirm in my chair with impatience.
Of the other council members, Ian, my cycling buddy, has the same desire to achieve results as he does with everything else he takes on. I have high hopes that he’ll do a lot for the parish. He is also the type who won’t let a subject drop until he’s got a satisfactory answer. The other major contributor at meetings is Geoff Postles:  I’ve never met Geoff but he’s obviously a very intelligent guy and has an opinion on many of the council matters discussed. Previously I’d been concerned that the St Mellion Park council members might only serve their own local interests but Geoff has done a lot to dispel my pessimism. The other three councillors are still completely unknown to me and haven’t taken such an active role in the first two public meetings: I’ll hold off from expressing an opinion on them until I have an opinion to express.
I still feel slightly sore at the manner in which five of the elected candidates presented themselves on a single flier, with common objectives. The demographics of the Parish placed them in an unassailable position which the results served to demonstrate. Now though, I’m feeling a lot more confident that they will serve the Parish well. There are interesting times ahead; we have three potential applications for Solar Farms in the parish from three different energy suppliers. These are likely to dominate parish affairs over the coming months and divide public opinion, especially if the suppliers offer sweetening incentives to the parish. We may be living in interesting times and I’m looking forward to them.