Session in Pervomaisk: deputies complained about food in schools, and the mayor about IDPs who do not want to work

A regular session of the Pervomaisk City Council of the VIII convocation. Photo: Pervomaisk City Council

On Thursday, 25 September, a regular session of the Pervomaisk City Council of the VIII convocation took place. The deputies considered a number of land issues and discussed school meals.

NikVesti watched the session and prepared a report with the key points of the meeting and details of the decisions made.

Cut or keep: deputies discussed the need for a deputy

The session was attended by 23 deputies. At the beginning of the meeting, Mayor Oleh Demchenko handed over Orders of the Third Class to the families of the fallen Heroes.

The mayor presented the Orders of the Third Class to the families of the fallen Heroes. Photo: Pervomaisk City Council

The mayor presented the Orders of the Third Class to the relatives of the fallen Heroes. Photo: Pervomaisk City Council

The deputies started by considering the issue of amending the community budget for 2025. «There were 23 deputies in favour of». The deputies also approved the budget forecast for 2026-2027 without discussion and approved the medium-term plan of priority public investments.

Different opinions were voiced when considering the approval of the structure of the Pervomaisk City Council and its executive bodies in a new version.

The deputies adopted the draft decision as a basis, but debated the reduction of the position of the deputy mayor in charge of the city council's executive bodies. One of the deputy commissions proposed to cut this position, which is currently vacant.

Mykhailo Medvedchuk, a deputy of the city council from «Batkivshchyna». Photo: Pervomaisk City Council

Mykhailo Medvedchuk, a deputy of the city council from «Batkivshchyna», addressed his colleagues and noted that this is a matter of responsibility and that such a position is needed.

«We need to consider it as a tool, to consider this position as a manager who will help both the mayor and the deputies in one or another area», he said.

Mayor Oleh Demchenko also supported the need to keep the deputy mayor's position.

Advertising

«There are now issues of international cooperation concerning veteran policy and internally displaced persons. This should be a separate deputy. The scope of work is quite large, and we have enough projects that we are implementing today. Therefore, I would propose to refrain from layoffs and select a candidate and appoint», the mayor said.

After hearing the opinions, the deputies did not support the proposal to reduce the position.

School meals: deputies criticised the organisation of the process and the poor menu

During the session, the deputies also discussed the problems of organising meals in community schools. Tetiana Dmytrieva, a non-factional deputy, took to the rostrum and began to criticise educational institutions where children were not being fed well.

«As a deputy, I receive numerous complaints from parents about the poor and insufficient nutrition of their children. For example, on the first day, they get two spoons of buckwheat and one spoon of stewed cabbage, and that's it. The second day — one pancake with cottage cheese, and this is an outrage in all schools. I don't know about kindergartens. Therefore, I ask the head of education to explain this situation», she addressed the head of the Department of Education.

MP Tetiana Dmytrieva. Photo: Pervomaisk City Council

Another deputy also supported his colleague. He noted that children were divided into categories: privileged children and primary school students receive food, while the rest of the students and even teachers are unable to eat because the canteens lack capacity. He recalled that earlier, when schools were open to students in grades one to ten, there was enough food for everyone and the quality was much better. Now, he said, many parents complain about tasteless meals, and children simply throw away about 80% of the food they cook.

Svitlana Tkachuk, head of the education department, explained that in summer, together with the city council, they decided that due to the lack of capacity, only grades 1-5 would be fed in the canteens, and that in January, grades 6 would be added. Other classes will be added gradually, when the canteens are equipped and the necessary amount of crockery is purchased.

Svitlana Tkachuk, head of the education department. Photo: Pervomaisk City Council

She also asked deputy Tetiana Dmytrieva to provide data on parents' complaints and they will be checked.

«Firstly, we don't have pancakes with cottage cheese at all. Please provide the information. We will conduct an internal investigation into why this situation happened, if it is confirmed. But I believe it will not be confirmed. We have a four-season menu. It is approved in Mykolaiv, and all the restaurants cook the same. We can't have one institution serving pancakes with cottage cheese and another serving two spoons of buckwheat porridge», the head of education added.

In addition, Svitlana Tkachuk noted that the community has a staffing problem and no one to cook food in schools.

Mykola Yurchenko, a deputy from «European Solidarity», also spoke about the school menus. He noted that the food at his daughter's school is tasty and the portions are normal. However, in his opinion, the problem is in the menu itself and children do not want to eat such dishes, but simply throw them away.

«My daughter is in the second grade. When children and parents started complaining about the food, I went to school for almost a week on purpose and watched what the children were being fed. To be honest, from an adult's point of view, the portions are good, the food is great, it looks gorgeous. What is the problem? The first is our children, they are not used to this kind of food. They want fries, burgers and so on. But there is food that I would go there every day and eat», the MP said.

He also responded to Svitlana Tkachuk's words about the lack of staff. He suggested contacting IDPs who are looking for work.

Mayor Oleh Demchenko also expressed his opinion on school meals. He believes that the menu is really «for an amateur».

«I've seen what they serve in schools. But there are questions about the new food system and the new menu that has been developed. I don't eat boiled carrots either. But again, it depends on each child individually», the mayor said.

Mayor Oleh Demchenko. Photo: Pervomaisk City Council

He also commented on staffing issues and the proposal to involve IDPs in school work. Oleh Demchenko complained that IDPs living in the community do not want to work at all.

«This is the case with internally displaced persons. They live in one or another centre, and I have not heard from any of them yet: «Offer a job». They need everything, but they don't offer jobs. We have internally displaced persons lying on the sofa. I recommend going to Chkalova Street — there is one, probably 140 kilograms. I've never seen him with anything but a cat and a guitar. I asked a thousand times: we have jobs, please come out. So, a father and son came out to us. The father waited until 11:00 and said: «I can't work, I have to drink a shot». And the son stayed until lunchtime. No one else came», the mayor said.

The deputies also had complaints about the education department regarding repairs in the canteens. According to them, some schools are replacing equipment with new ones, but they are much weaker than the old ones.

«You repair canteens and this is a big plus for you, but sometimes you don't think about the fact that you are replacing beautiful equipment, but less powerful. I'll prove it at school №11. You have installed baking cabinets, but they do not have the same volume as the old ones. You also put in new stoves, but they don't have the volume of the old ones. You need to pay attention to this. Yes, maybe they are cheaper and you have saved money, but you measure the capacity», complained one of the deputies.

Lease privileges: deputies considered the issue of changing the designated purpose of land

After discussing education issues, the deputies considered land issues related to land lease. Most of the issues were voted on without discussion. However, when considering a draft decision to change the designated purpose of land in Pidhorodne, the deputies had disagreements.

One of the deputies appealed to her colleagues and asked them to change the purpose of the land for the entrepreneur, which would allow her to pay less rent.

«This is an enterprise in the village of Pidhorodnie, which is located at the end of the geography, which pays 941 thousand hryvnias for its 2 hectares with 7%. If there is a change in the designated purpose, it will be 3% and they will pay about 400 thousand hryvnias a year. For example, I take issue 41, where you voted on Rakhlitskyi — there are 2.6 hectares of land there and the purpose is haymaking and grazing. He pays 20 thousand hryvnias for this plot. Is it comparable? No, it's not. I'll give you another example: «Pervomaiskdizelmash» is an enterprise that has 13 hectares of land designated for industrial use. It is supposed to pay 3%, but for some reason, additional agreements have been signed for 1.5%, and the budget is losing money. The Pidhorodnie company is asking to change the designated purpose of the land. I believe that we should support this entrepreneur», the deputy said.

However, during the vote, there were not enough votes to support this decision. And even putting it to the vote again did not change the situation.

A session of the Pervomaisk City Council. Screenshot from the video

The deputies also discussed two car parking spaces, the lease rights for which will be sold at auction. A family of military personnel approached the city council and asked to be allowed to participate in the auction.

Some deputies suggested not to set a precedent where, after a positive decision, other citizens would make similar requests. The decision to allow this family to participate was put to a vote, but it did not receive the required number of votes.

The deputies also supported the creation of a municipal institution of the Pervomaisk City Council «Veteran Plus». The charter of the new company states that it will employ specialists to help war veterans and demobilised people. Their salaries will be paid by the state. This work will be coordinated and supported by the Department for Veterans' Policy of the Mykolaiv Regional State Administration.

Finally, the deputies had a bit of a quarrel when discussing the approval of a memorandum of cooperation with the organisation «Pervomaiskyi Youth Women's Information and Coordination Centre «Olvia»». Some deputies had questions about the procedure for adopting this draft decision, as it had not yet passed any committees. Some deputies argued that the legal department had explained that issues should not be submitted to the session without the appropriate procedure. In the end, the decision was not supported.

Alona Kokhanchuk, NikVesti.