By REBECCA BILLS
DOCUMENTS from Mount Evelyn community groups, leaked to the Mail last week, reveal growing tensions between the town’s three main township groups.
Frustrations began after the release of Mount Evelyn Township Improvement Committee’s (METIC) draft Mount Evelyn Community Plan 2014-’16 on 6 May.
Other township groups have had the opportunity to respond to the draft, but say they feel disenfranchised.
The leaked response reveals that the Mount Evelyn Chamber of Commerce (MECCI) feels that due to a number of inaccuracies and key community groups not being recognised, one of which is the Mount Evelyn Environment Protection and Progress Association (MEEPPA), METIC should end or re-brand.
“With the recent liquidation of Morrisons Community House and the allegiance that METIC had with them, highlighted by the fact the majority of members were staff or board member of Morrisions, we feel that METIC should now be disbanded,” the response said.
“The current committee has vacancies in a number of their current offices and this is an indication of METIC’s outdated structure and failure to wholly represent Mount Evelyn.
The response continues: “Whilst the Mount Evelyn Chamber of Commerce was present at the 2014 planning day, at no time was a member asked to speak to those present on our current activities and future projects that now appear in the METIC planning document.”
METIC Chair Daniel Meadth said METIC was working with the Chamber of Commerce to clarify misconceptions they may hold and reiterate the role the group plays in the community and the apolitical and non-aligned nature of its volunteers.
“The community plan we are developing in conjunction with those groups and individuals who attended our annual planning night and subsequent feedback day will demonstrate the depth and breadth of ideas that our community wants to see achieved in the near future,” he told the Mail.
“METIC is committed to seeing these ideas reach fruition with support from all of those interested in the ongoing success of our township.”
However MECCI president Kathie Freeman said she had not had any feedback or response from METIC in regards to MECCI’S response sent on 1 July.
“I don’t want to start a fight, I just wanted to highlight that MECCI does work with other high focus groups – some were mentioned in the document and others weren’t, it’s disappointing,” she said.
“Also in our response we stated that now might be a good time for METIC to rebrand and could include representatives from the different community groups and not just all from the one umbrella.”
MEEPPA President Tim Heenan said even though MEEPPA was the most senior environmental group in Mount Evelyn’s history, the METIC Community Plan failed to recognise this.
“We believe that for a plan of this type to tick even half the boxes it needs the input of the Mount Evelyn Business Community and the input of the longest established environment/township group in Mount Evelyn,” he said.
“MEEPPA could just get angry but we are not, we just want to be inclusive,” he said.
“I really don’t want it to be about either METIC or MEEPPA but just about Mount Evelyn moving forward as a town.
Mr Heenan said since the demise of Morrison House the town now had blank canvas to work with again and he hoped that the groups could work together to re-evaluate and move forward together.
