Shannon.ie - Town Council Meeting Minutes October 2009
Present were Councillors; Brennan, Duff, Fleming, Flynn, McCafferty, McCarthy, McMahon & Mulcahy
In attendance were; Bernadette Konsella – Town Manager & Liam O’Connor – Town Clerk
Proposed by Cllr. Mulcahy, seconded by Cllr. McCarthy and resolved; “That the minutes of the September Monthly Meeting of the Shannon Town Council held in the Shannon Town Hall at 6.30 p.m. on Tuesday September 1st, 2009, having being circulated, be adopted and signed by the Meara Bhaile”
(a) Letter from The Carers Association The elected members agreed to support the following Notice of Motion proposed by The Carer’s Association; “That Shannon Town Council call on the Taoiseach and Minister for Social and Family Affairs to publish the National Carers Strategy as committed to in the Social Partnership Agreement – Towards 2016 and in the programme for Government as a matter of principal”
(b) Letter from the Concerned Residents of Cluain Airne The letter regarding the affordable houses on Tullyglass Lowlands was noted
(c) Letter from Shannon Sli na Sláinte Group It was proposed by Cllr. Mulcahy, seconded by Cllr. Fleming and agreed that Cllr. McCarthy would be the council’s nominee on the Shannon Sli na Sláinte Group
(d) Letter from the Dept. of Transport The letter received from the Dept. of Transport on foot of a Notice of Motion passed at the September Meeting of Shannon Town Council was noted by the elected members
(e) Letter from Kilrush Town Council The following Notice of Motion passed by Kilrush Town Council, was supported by the elected members; “That this council, in the interest of local democracy, condemns unequivocally the recommendation contained in the McCarthy Report to abolish Town Councils and urges the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government to bring forward measures to guarantee the constitutional amendment approved in the recent 1999 referendum relating to the enhanced status of Local Government in Ireland into the future. The council further recommends that the Minister addresses the adequate funding requirement of all local authorities in Ireland following the recent review of Local Government”
(f) Letter from South Tipperary County Council The following Notice of Motion passed by South Tipperary County Council, was supported by the elected members; “I call on this Council to write to the Minister for Education and Science expressing opposition to the proposals to the re-introduction of third level fees. I strongly urge that each and every member of South Tipperary County Council will fully support the Student Support Bill”
(g) Replies to Notices of Motion from September Meeting;
Traffic Calming Measures at Ros Min and Gleann an Oir The geometric layouts of both housing estates do not lend themselves to speeding traffic due to the short lengths of straight roads present and it is not considered that traffic calming is required Shannon Area Office Clare County Council
An inventory of public lighting has been carried out on a countywide basis in preparation for the changeover to a private contract situation. In the interim the ESB carries out monthly patrols of thee public lights in Shannon (except during June, July and August) and faults are generally repaired within ten working days in accordance with their customer charter. More serious faults e.g. cable faults are referred to a 3rd party contractor and may take longer to remedy. In addition the council carries out twice yearly patrols of all lights in the town” Shannon Area Office Clare County Council
The elected members did not agree with the response given and asked that Clare County Council would be informed of this
It is proposed to upgrade river walks on a phased basis over the next two to three years subject to available funding and suitable weather conditions for machinery operations Shannon Area Office Clare County Council
Works to alleviate flooding on the footpath opposite the bus stop on the Drumgeely Road are scheduled to commence shortly Shannon Area Office Clare County Council
Cllr. Flynn requested that a specific date would be given for the commencement of works
The shrubbery at the Tir Na Nog Playground will be pruned back during the coming weeks Shannon Area Office Clare County Council Cllr. Flynn requested that a specific date would be given for the commencement of works
In any year the Council would sell off some property at various locations in the County and it is not the practice to ringfence the sale proceeds to the particular location in question. Local Government legislation sets down requirements in relation to the use of monies realised from proceeds of property sales must be used for projects of a capital nature. Michael Mc Namara Senior Executive Officer Corporate Services Section
Rates are a property tax levied by Local Authorities on the occupiers of commercial/industrial properties in their administrative area and is used to fund the general provision of services throughout the county. There are two factors involved – the Rateable Valuation and the Annual Rate on Valuation. The Commissioner of Valuation determines the rateable valuation of properties. The valuation of the property is assessed by reference to the values of comparable properties on the valuation list. The second factor included in the calculation of commercial rates is the Annual Rate on Valuation (or multiplier). The council at its Annual Budget Meeting determines this when a balanced budget is presented to members. This total Commercial Rates income in our 2009 budget is €35.5m. To introduce a reduction in this ARV or multiplier for 2009 would require the identification of matching additional income sources and/or reduced expenditure budgets. This council recognises the difficulties faced by all sectors of the community both commercial and non-commercial in these challenging economic times. We endeavour to accommodate business in various payment options over the full financial year. Noeleen Fitzgerald A/Head of Finance (h) Clare Tourist Council Conference November 26th – 28th It was agreed that any member who wished to attend the conference would contact the Town Clerk
It was agreed that a discount would be sought for attending the conference
The report from the September Area Meeting, having been circulated, was noted. The Mayor noted that the issue of a disposal of land at Inis Ealga was also discussed at the Area Meeting. Cllr. Flynn stated that he opposed the disposal and felt that the green area in Inis Eagla should be maintained by Clare County Council
Cllr. Brennan indicated that the first meeting of the Industrial, Tourism and Development M.P.C. was taking place after the monthly meeting. Cllr. Fleming indicated that the Environment and Community Affairs M.P.C. has met and that they were looking at arranging a family fun day for Halloween. Nominations had been received for community representatives to the M.P.C. from Le Cheile, Shannon Senior Citizens and the Tidy Towns
Proposed by Cllr. Brennan, seconded by Cllr. Flynn and resolved; “That Shannon Town Council put on a family fun day on Halloween to consist of a fireworks display, bonfires, games and treats for all the children in Shannon” In a written reply the Town Clerk responded as follows; “The proposal for a family fun day would be advantageous in reducing the number of areas where bonfires etc. would occur. It should be noted however that the organisation of such an event would require a certain amount of resources, especially human resources which Shannon Town Council are unable to provide. However if a community group in Shannon wish to arrange a family fun day for Halloween, the council could consider such a proposal.” It was agreed that the proposal for a family fun day would be referred to the relevant M.P.C
It was agreed that applications for the Community Grants Scheme and Liosta na Laochra Awards would be considered at a meeting to be held at 5.00 p.m. on Tuesday, November 3rd, 2009
Proposed by Cllr. Brennan, seconded by Cllr. Flynn and resolved; “That Shannon Town Council would ask Clare County Council to mark out car parking spaces in front of the health centre on Bealach Bri road between the existing double yellow lines as many elderly and disabled people attend the health centre on a daily basis and car parking within the centre is not adequate” In a written reply the Area Engineer responded as follows; “In a reply to a Notice Of Motion from the July Monthly Meeting of Shannon Town Council re provision of Double Yellow Lines in the vicinity of the Health Centre the Road’s Engineer indicated that he was in favour of extending the double yellow lines in front of the Health Centre and the Vehicle Registration Office in order to improve visibility from the entrances/exits of the service station and the Vehicle Registration Office. The provision of car parking spaces as requested is therefore not appropriate on grounds of traffic safety.” The elected members requested that the Area Engineer would look at the parking situation in the area
Proposed by Cllr. Flynn, seconded by Cllr. McCafferty and resolved; “That Shannon Town Council condemn the recent decision by Clare County Council to participate in the Regional Housing Strategy” In a written reply the Director of Service & Town Manager responded as follows; “In association with the Regeneration Programme for Moyross and South Hill, the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government (DoEHLG) requested local authorities in Limerick and Clare to develop a Regional Housing Strategy. The legal basis for this is contained in Section 94(e) of the Planning and Development Act 2000. The basis for this approach was two-fold. Firstly, it was felt that a regeneration programme comprising social, affordable and private housing, together with associated facilities (commercial, enterprise and community) would benefit the wider area and help build sustainable communities in line with national policy. Secondly, it was the view of the Department that a Regional Housing Strategy would ensure that adjoining authorities would have a key involvement in spatial planning, sustainable development and, in general optimisation of land use. This would yield opportunities for creating economic and infrastructural benefits, which would impact positively on access, job creation and enterprise development in the Shannon/Limerick Gateway. The development of a co-ordinated response to social and educational problems in order to break the cycle of disadvantage was seen as a more sustainable approach to the development of the region
Following on from a presentation by Mr Brendan Kenny, CEO of the Regeneration Agency at the September 2008 meeting of the Council, a resolution was passed not to participate in the Regional Housing Strategy. The DoEHLG was notified of this and have encouraged and continued to encourage Clare County Council to participate. At the November meeting of the Council, a further resolution was passed seeking a vetting policy to be implemented by other state agencies. Since then, DKM Economic Consultants in association with RPS Consultants were engaged to prepare the Strategy. Their work commenced in June and they are currently involved in information gathering and collation of data with a view to producing a Draft Strategy for consideration by the relevant Local Authorities in October. In tandem with the development of the strategy, the DOEHLG have allocated capital funding to Clare and Limerick County Councils for the purchase of dwellings for the rehousing of tenants and home owners in the Limerick Regeneration Areas. It is expected that this Council will purchase 3-4 houses from this ringfenced allocation of €750,000 in 2009. The dwellings will be allocated at the sole discretion of Clare County Council in accordance with our normal procedures. These procedures have been incorporated into a protocol agreed between the Directors of Services Housing in Limerick City, Limerick County and Clare. In addition, Limerick City Council have confirmed that it has not purchased houses for allocation outside of it’s administrative area in County Clare in the past two years or so. It is understood that prior to then Limerick City Council purchased 17 houses in the administrative area of Clare. Clare County Council was not involved or consulted in respect of either the acquisition or allocation of these houses. This is in contrast to the current situation whereby Clare County Council has been allocated ringfenced funding for the acquisition of dwellings in it’s administrative area for the rehousing of families in the Limerick Regeneration Areas and will retain sole responsibility for their allocation. The benefits of participating in the Regional Housing Strategy include the following: Clare County Council will retain responsibility for the acquisition and allocation of houses in it’s area for the rehousing of tenants and home owners in the Limerick Regeneration areas. Better estate management will be achieved through implementation of Best Practice Guidelines. Clare County Council personnel will have greater access to regional agencies, departments and personnel, particularly the HSE, Department of Social and Family Affairs and the Gardaí, where information can be shared and policies can be adopted and applied regionally. Clare will have access to ring-fenced funding from the DoEHLG for the provision of additional housing stock to cater for applicants who apply for housing to Clare County Council. Clare will have access to other funding to enhance social and educational services, training and job creation. Greater opportunities will be presented for integrating social, private and affordable housing customers and the application of vetting procedures in line with the Council’s own policy. At its monthly meeting held on 21st September, 2009, the Council, having considered the Report, and developments that had occurred since it’s original decision in September, 2008, resolved to participate in the Housing Strategy.” In response to queries raised by the elected members the Town Manager informed the meeting that Clare County Council would be solely responsible for allocating houses. The funding allocated would only cover the cost of acquiring 3 to 4 house units and Clare County Council are not looking to acquire properties in Shannon under the scheme
Proposed by Cllr. McCafferty, seconded by Cllr. Flynn and resolved: “That Shannon Town Council requests Clare County Council to replace the concrete surface from the roundabout at St. Patrick’s Comprehensive, along the Gort Road to the junction with Drumgeely Road. Remove the existing speed bumps and, if necessary, replace these with traffic calming measures which meet the council’s own standards” In a written reply the Area Engineer responded as follows “The surface of this road is in good condition and repair works to the pavement expansion joints were carried out in the recent past. Removal of the existing speed bumps without provision of an alternative traffic calming measure is likely to lead to increased traffic speeds. There are no available funds for the replacement of these bumps. In order to meet current standards for accommodation of buses the provision of new speed tables along this road would have implications for a number of house entrances due to the required size of the tables.”
Proposed by Cllr. McCafferty, seconded by Cllr. Flynn and resolved; “That Shannon Town Council, in the interests of efficiency and accountability, calls for a procedure to be put in place whereby all requests from the public and their representatives for maintenance and repairs to local authority property and infrastructure, be entered in a book in the Shannon Area Office. That an engineer or other authorised person comments on the specific request; that a target time/date be entered in the book for attending to the specific request. Finally, that this book be available to all councillors for inspection.” In a written reply the Town Clerk responded as follows; “All maintenance requests received from members of the public as well as public representatives, by the staff in Shannon Civic Offices are logged. The requests received refer to a broad range of services provided by Clare County Council including roads, water, waste water, housing, environment etc. Once requests are received they are referred onto the relevant section of Clare County Council for follow up. While some of these requests are dealt with locally by the staff based in the Shannon area, many of these requests are dealt with from the headquarters of Clare County Council. Therefore it is difficult to set target dates for attending to specific requests. Information logged regarding requests received may contain personal details of members of the public therefore it will not be possible to make available details of all requests received.”
Proposed by Cllr. Flynn, seconded by Cllr. McMahon and resolved; “That Shannon Town Council request an update on the proposal for a looped river walk from Shannon to Bunratty and back What progress has been achieved What funding is available from Failte Ireland or other bodies” It was agreed that a report would be sought on the proposal for a looped walk from Shannon to Bunratty
Proposed by Cllr. Duff, seconded by Cllr. McCarthy and resolved; “That Shannon Town Council calls on the government to set up a separate redress scheme for women detained in Magdalene laundries as demanded by the survivors and that this demand be circulated to all Local Authorities”
All members supported the notice of motion
The meeting then concluded
Signed : ___________________ Dated : ______________ Meara Bhaile
Signed : ___________________ Dated : ______________ Town Clerk