Concern for fewer subjects and meetings among opposition Meppel

Fewer topics and fewer meetings. ChristenUnie and SP in Meppel are concerned about the state of affairs in the city council. And especially about the number of topics with which the aldermen come to the council.

Most meetings in Meppel last between two and three hours. But that is not the case in that one meeting in May, officially a council committee. After 48 minutes, chairman Marisa Grotens concludes that there is nothing more to discuss. “So uh, we can go home. Or do something else.”

That night one topic came up. A financial action plan. “I don’t think the council meetings have been very suggestive lately,” responds Gert Stam, party leader of the Christian Union. “A lot has to be done, but not much has been delivered in the first year,” agrees Xander Topma, party chairman of the SP.

In the first year of the current municipal council, fewer meetings were held in Meppel than in the first year of the previous municipal council. Where fifteen council meetings were held from April 2018 to April 2019, this will be eleven between April 2022 and April 2023. There were two more on the agenda this year, but they were canceled because there were no topics to discuss.

The number of items for discussion in the council has remained the same, although there is one caveat. The Meppel city council also works with a committee meeting. It is a few weeks before the normal council and contains the same topics. This committee meeting is intended for more technical questions and it is determined here whether a subject will be forwarded to the council as a hammer piece, or as a discussion item. This year, twenty topics came up in the committee councils. Four years ago there were 28.

“The council also said that in advance: that it will first carry out overdue work, while in the meantime it is making new policy,” Eduard Annen responds on behalf of Sterk Meppel, the largest party in Meppel. “Just look in Meppel at what has been built and is now being built.” The college, which includes Sterk Meppel, VVD and D66, still had work from the previous college outstanding for approximately 26 million euros.

According to alderman Robin van Ulzen, it is always possible that subjects will be moved. “It is different per subject why it sometimes shifts.”

Stam (ChristenUnie) and Topma (SP) point out that there is a lot to do in Meppel. Renovation of Schouwburg Ogterop, perhaps a new swimming pool, the renovation of the town hall, new industrial estates and the relocation or renovation of a secondary school. Stam: “We are also still waiting for the culture memorandum.” In it, the municipality comes up with a vision on cultural policy. It was supposed to come in June, but has now been moved to October. “Without that culture note, we can’t talk about the renovation of Ogterop,” he says. It is up to the city council whether there will be a renovation of almost 21 million euros.

The fact that the policy document on culture is delayed is due to sad circumstances, says Van Ulzen. He points to Scala, which has gone bankrupt, and to the financial problems at the Drukkerijmuseum.

Stam and Topma both think that the council should take some steps. “We let the board get away with it,” Topma responds. “We can hold the aldermen to account for this, but we are still too soft and leave it at that.” Stam: “We need the help of the coalition parties with that. And they all think it’s fine.”

Topma mentions another example that excites him: the Drukkerijmuseum. The municipality does not want to spend extra money for this. “Then the alderman (Jeannet Bos, ed.) says that the city council has the right to release money for this and come up with a proposal. Then she would have followed that. But wait a minute. She can also come up with a proposal herself She is paid together with the other aldermen to be the executive of Meppel.”

“I hope it’s all due to a combination of circumstances and that there will be a restart,” adds Stam. “We still have two years to go and then it will be election year again. Time is limited. So make sure you fill it in properly.”

ttn-41