Penicuik and District Community Council faces an uncertain future after its annual general meeting was a washout.
Of 30 vacancies, only 10 have been filled.
There is only one new community councillor and no representatives for the nine posts for organisations and groups.
Huge areas in the west of Midlothian's largest town are unrepresented by the communit
y council's ward system.
Matter of urgencyThere are no councillors for Auchendinny, Milton Bridge, Glencorse, Greenlaw Mains, Mauricewood, Queensway, Deanburn, Cuikenburn and Cornbank.
The community council is to approach Midlothian Council as a matter of urgency to see what support it can offer in drumming up more members.
Chairman Ian Watson and treasurer Jamie Tennent have agreed to remain in post only until the August meeting.
Retiring secretary Mike Jackson was met with silence when he sought nominations for the post of chairman from the eight community councillors present.
He explained: "The alternative is to declare the matter void and defer it to Midlothian Council for its consideration.
Not a single member"I was tempted to do that this morning when only 10 seats were filled out of the 30.
"It is whether you think you are capable of carrying out the functions of a community council with only one-third of the seats occupied and I would agree that 60 per cent of the town is unrepresented.
"There are swathes of the town which haven't got a single member representing it."
Mr Jackson, who has served on the community council for 20 years, added much had been done to publicise the annual general meeting and election of new members with a two week exhibition in the Penicuik Centre, distributing more than 250 leaflets, and e-mailing and phoning many of the town's clubs and organisations.
Apathy to blameNew community councillor Bill Fearnley agreed with the proposal of contacting Midlothian Council.
He added that as a second option, current community councillors could canvas the town to get a better representation of local voters.
Community councillors agreed that apathy was to blame for the lack of members.
Mr Watson pointed out that other community councils were experiencing similar problems.
The full article contains 363 words and appears in Midlothian Advertiser newspaper.
