This is the last time I will be responding to Chris Laycock, by letter, as following his latest letter (Weekend Sun 18 June) I decided to telephone him but he refused to speak to me as he said he wanted all comments in the public domain.
Mr Laycock criticised me for only naming 5 submissions, that the councillors had acted on, when he wanted 10. However the allocated space in the Weekend Sun is obviously limited (or others could well miss out) and I endeavoured to give an indication of when we did specifically listen to the community but sadly this was insufficient for Mr Laycock.
Of course we act on all submissions as not, to do so would mean that we are not doing our job which is what we were elected to do.
As I said at my last response it would appear that unless Mr Laycock agrees with the Council's ultimate decision then it is the wrong decision.
However, of course people submit both in support and also in opposition, to a multitude of issues, and each councillor only has one vote.
We listened to people on dog licence fees, boat ramp charges, the proposed Hot pools redevelopment, the Willow Street Bus Shelter, user pays for outdoor sports, some which I supported and some that I opposed but when it comes to the purchase of Cliff Road I have no idea where the correspondent is coming from (as I understand that the Council has owned this site for many many years) and he also refused to discuss this with me when I telephoned him.
I advertise in the Weekend Sun, twice monthly, and accordingly any ratepayer or resident can contact me.
Many do, and I believe that this is a good way of assisting people in becoming better informed along with discussing issues that concern them however it is obvious that some correspondents prefer to not be given the opportunity to possibly become better informed and that is of course their choice.
Cr Mike Baker, Bethlehem.