Shannon.ie - Town Council Meeting Minutes September 2003

Councillor Seán Hillery, Méara Bhaile, presided

Present were Councillors McCarthy, Lambert, Duff, Flynn, McMahon, O'Brien, McKee and Mulcahy

In attendance : Gerard Dollard Town Manager, Mr. Stephen Abbey from Clare County Council Road Design and Tomás Mac Cormaic Town Clerk

Proposed by Cllr. McCarthy, seconded by Cllr. McMahon and resolved; "that the minutes of the 2003 Annual Meeting of the Shannon Town Council held in the Shannon Town Hall at 6.30 p.m. on Tuesday July 1st 2003, having been circulated, be adopted and signed by the Méara Bhaile."

Proposed by Cllr. Lambert, seconded by Cllr. McCarthy and resolved; "that after an amendment was made to item 10/07/03 to change 'County Development Officer' to read 'County Development Board' the minutes of the July monthly meeting of the Shannon Town Council held in the Shannon Town Hall immediately after the 2003 Annual Meeting on July 1st 2003 be adopted and signed by the Méara Bhaile."

Mr. Abbey gave the meeting a comprehensive presentation of the proposed road design for Shannon using detailed maps of the town and proposed system. Following the presentation the Councillors raised the following issues. Off Road Parking, Road Naming and Road Signs, Pedestrian Crossings, Directional Signs, Speed Limits, Cycling Lanes, School Signs, Raised Crossings, Slip Road at Gort Road. It was acknowledged that off road parking is a major problem with up to 400 off road parking spaces required. With regard to street naming, Ordinance Survey will be asked to produce a Street Map for Shannon and the Town Council will decide on the appropriate names for each street. Mr. Abbey having taken note of the Councillors comments it was proposed by Councillor McCarthy, seconded by Cllr. Hillery and resolved; "that the document is a positive first step in designing a road system in Shannon and as such is approved by the Council."

The four Town Councils in Clare have one representative for the four on the County Development Board. This representative is nominated in rotation by each Town Council. The Shannon Town Council has the opportunity to nominate their representative for the current year to June 2004. It was proposed by Cllr. McCarthy, seconded by Cllr. O'Brien and resolved;" "that Cllr. Hillery be nominated as the representative of the four Clare Town Councils on the County Development Board for the current year."

The importance of the accuracy of the Register of Electors was noted and the members were asked to co-operate fully with the Council Franchise Section in insuring that the register is correctly updated having regard to the Local Elections scheduled for June 2004

It was proposed by Cllr. Mulcahy, seconded by Cllr. McMahon and resolved; "that the distribution of Community Grants for 2003 be considered at a special meeting of the Town Council to be held in the Shannon Town Hall at 5.30 p.m. on Tuesday October 7th 2003."

The following community members were nominated for recognition on the evening of the distribution of the 2003 Community Grants. John and Dan Kirby - Handball. David Dawson - Special Olympics. Heather Nolan - Golf Brian Lohan - Hurling. Further nominations should be submitted to the Town Clerk for consideration at the October meeting of the Council

A letter from the Shannon Town Twinning Association outlining plans to present a number of books, tapes and C.D.s to the Guingamp Library to be retained in a special section of that Library in memory of the late Danniel Personnic who was a major driving force in the success of the twinning of Shannon and Guingamp and requesting the support of the Town Council for the project was discussed and it was agreed that the Shannon Town Council would support this project from funds allocated to Town Twinning

Proposed by Cllr. Flynn, seconded by Cllr McMahon and resolved; "that Clare County Council formulate a plan to develop The River Walks in Shannon, which would provide a valuable asset to the local community and a tourist attraction."

As the time had now reached 8.30 p.m. the meeting was adjourned. Notices of motions from Cllrs. Flynn, Lambert and McCarthy to be deferred to the October meeting