Why  Pick  On  Me?

Jim was the author of this email, which was sent to all DCC and ECC Councillors on the morning of 21st January 2006. The need for it arose because the great majority of Councillors failed to note that the “Desperation Email” sent on 19th January came from the Committee, and was also signed by the Committee.  The Councillors thought Jim was responsible, so most of the flak was directed towards him.

Consequently, Jim felt the need to put the record straight and the email that follows was the result.  Also, it seems that as much attention was paid to the message that was sent by the Summerway Committee as was paid to its origin.

Dear Councillor,

Re: Matters Concerning The Exeter (Summerway) Junior LTC

No wonder the Summerway Club is having difficulties, as DCC and ECC Councillors' replies to the Club's e-mail prove beyond doubt.

The first point I need to make is that many, if not the large majority, of Councillors are not even aware of who sent the e-mail regarding the Club's lease. So far, thirteen of the response texts have been addressed to an individual, and not a single text received to date has been addressed to the Club Committee. Speaking as that individual, it makes no difference to me whatever if the response has been friendly or just factual - I am pleased that you have taken the trouble to acknowledge or reply. However, I am not best pleased to receive those that are hostile or offer adverse criticism, whether that be stated or implied. That just isn't fair.

There can be no excuse for what has happened. The last line of the e-mail clearly indicated its origin, viz. The Management Committee of the Exeter (Summerway) Junior LTC, and the e-mail was sent from the Club's e-mail account. This e-mail, on the other hand, is being sent by me from my own personal account. One wonders how it is possible for Councillors to make such a serious error, as we don't even have the same Internet Service Provider. My ISP is 1&1, whereas the Club is with Eclipse Internet. Any reference to my name that you found would simply be in relation to the fact that I happened to be the postman. It is hardly fair to get at the postman just because he delivers a letter which you may not wish to receive.

The second point that needs to be made is that Councillors seem to be suggesting that there is something unhelpful or of significance regarding the ‘timing’ of the e-mail. It is being stated or implied that there is some sort of connection between the sending of the e-mail and a meeting that Club Representatives happened to have with Councillors on the same day. There is none. That these two items share the same date is purely coincidental.

The history regarding the e-mail is as follows. The Club raised issues regarding the lease of the premises with both DCC and ECC in May 1999. The anxiety at the Club concerning this matter has mounted over the years as the two Councils continually procrastinated. The Club’s Management Committee meets nine or ten times a year on a fairly regular basis. By the Committee’s meeting on 13 January 2006, this anxiety had reached desperation point. The Committee felt that extreme measures were called for as the Membership Secretary had been unable to issue the usual renewal invitations. Amongst the courses of action decided upon was the sending of an e-mail to every DCC and ECC Councillor, and the content was determined by the meeting. Accordingly, an e-mail was drafted and submitted to all Committee members over the weekend. Several amendments and modifications from a number of the Committee were incorporated in a revised draft, which was then submitted to all members of the Committee on Tuesday evening, with a deadline of Wednesday midnight for any further amendments. The members of the Committee were fully satisfied with the text of their e-mail, and the revised e-mail was duly dispatched after the deadline without further revision.

The date of the meeting with Councillors is totally unrelated. Club Representatives met with DCC and ECC Officers last week before our Committee meeting, and the date and arrangements for this week’s meeting with DCC and ECC Councillors were set by the Councillors. We have willingly made ourselves available because we know that the issues now facing the Councils and the Club cannot be resolved without proper communication. The two meetings so far this year are simply part of an ongoing process, from which we have seen no tangible fruit up to this point in time.

You must understand that after nearly seven years of Council procrastination, the Club’s expectations for an acceptable solution from a single meeting with Councillors is virtually zero. From the Club’s point of view, the meeting arranged with Councillors was virtually insignificant compared with the e-mail we sent. As it turned out, the meeting only emphasized the degree to which the Councillors are out of touch. In fairness, I did detect a real effort on the part of Cllr Dixon to try to get to grips with the issues. We are still looking for signs that DCC and ECC Members and Officers are beginning to comprehend the nature of the organization with which they are dealing.

The third point to be noted is that there seems to be a massive tendency for Councillors to shift responsibility on to the shoulders of others. Some even seem to think that their Council is not involved. Let us make it quite clear that both Councils have been fully involved from May 1999 onwards – DCC as our Landlords, and ECC as the Planning Authority. The document dated 11 May 1999 was widely distributed, and I mean widely distributed, to both DCC and ECC Councillors and Officers besides other interested bodies, such as the Lawn Tennis Association and Sport England. If you haven’t had the opportunity to view this extremely relevant document, you may do so using the following procedure:

Go to the Club’s website: www.summerway.com

Click on the ‘Old Site’

At the foot of the Home page, click the ‘Hot Stuff’ link

Find and click the link ‘A VISION FOR SUMMERWAY’

Provided that you have the Adobe Acrobat Reader facility on your computer, the Vision will appear. If your computer does not have this facility, consult the pdf page on the website concerning a free download.

The fourth point is that I detect no hostility on the part of the Club towards the DCC and ECC, although there are large amounts of pent up frustration. I find the gulf between the community and the community’s representatives in Local Government to be frightening. Why are Councillors so far distanced from us that they no longer appreciate how community functions at grass roots level? Why are our Local Government partners in the Summerway CASC continuing let the children down so badly?

Neither I nor my fellow volunteers in the Club would wish to see the current situation descend into legal wrangles or party politics. I feel fairly sure that the Club has parents who vote Conservative, parents who vote Labour and parents who vote Liberal Democrat. That situation will, no doubt, continue unless we perceive that party politics of any colour are working against the best interests of the children. I am confident that the whole Club would wish to see the goodwill that has existed for the first two decades of the Club’s lease be re-established and continued into the future. Unfortunately, the goodwill on the Club’s side is not currently being matched by that on the Councils’.

I apologize for the length of this communication. There is much more that I would like to say, but must restrain myself on this occasion. I hope that matters will ultimately be satisfactorily resolved, as Summerway Tennis is too good to be lost to the community. In the meanwhile, please distinguish between Committee correspondence and personal correspondence.

This communication is intended for information only, and requires neither acknowledgement nor reply. Thank you.

Yours sincerely,

Jim Harle.

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