Minutes of Council meetings- list.:

MINUTES OF PROCEEDINGS AT MONTHLY MEETING OF THE COBH TOWN COUNCIL, HELD AT CARRIG HOUSE, COBH, ON MONDAY 9^th JANUARY, 2006

Presiding -                  Cllr. Stella Meade, Mayor.

Present -                     Cllrs.   P. Whitty, N.Doyle, J.Mulvihill, D. Crowley,

 S. O’Connor, M. Keating, K. McCarthy and P. Histon.

OFFICIALS PRESENT  

Ms. M. O’Halloran, Town Manager

Mr. P. Lynch - Town Clerk.

The meeting commenced with the recitation of the Lord’s Prayer.

1.            CONFIRMATION OF MINUTES

The following minutes of Council meetings held having been circulated, were adopted as follows:

a)      Monthly Meeting, 7^th December, 2005 - proposed Cllr. Mulvihill, seconded Cllr. Crowley

b)      Committee Meeting, 8^th December, 2005- proposed Cllr. Mulvihill, seconded Cllr. Crowley

c)      Budget Meeting, 19^th December, 2005- proposed Cllr. Mulvihill, seconded Cllr. Crowley

Matters arising from minutes:

The Manager raised the issue of the road at Whitepoint Moorings and advised the members that the Council was required to complete a process before declaring a road public. It was agreed that the Town Clerk would arrange for this process to commence.

Cllr. Whitty asked if any decision had been made in relation to providing funding for the Community Centre. The Town Clerk advised that as agreed at the December meeting, he had written to the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government seeking confirmation that the full grant for the project had been drawn down and that once a response had been received, the issue could be finalised.

On the proposal of Cllr. Whitty, seconded by Cllr. Meade, it was agreed to defer discussion of the minutes of the Committee meeting on 8^th December to a special meeting of the Council. It was agreed that the Town Clerk would write to each of the organisations involved, in line with the legal advice received from the Council’s solicitors, prior to this meeting.

Cllr. Doyle asked if it would be possible for the Council to meet with the Port of Cork Company to discuss the issue of the herring fleet. The Manager stated that she would discuss the issue with the Chief Executive of the Company to determine the view of the Company as to their role in this issue.

Cllr. O’Connor asked for an update on the flooding at Whitepoint Drive. It was agreed that the Town Clerk would raise this issue with the Town Engineer.

Cllr. O’Connor raised the issue of the request to meet the District Manager of Íarnród Éireann. The Town Clerk stated that a reminder had issued in this regard. It was agreed that the Town Clerk would contact the District Manager to arrange a date for this meeting. Cllr. Histon asked that the issue of the overgrowth along the rail line from Rushbrooke to Cobh Station be dealt with by Íarnród Éireann.

Cllr. O’Connor raised the issue of the Fota Road. The Manager agreed to check the current position in relation to the proposed redesign of this road.

Cllr. Mulvihill asked for an update on the proposed Civic Amenity Site. The Town Clerk stated that he was due, along with the Manager and Town Architect, to meet with officials of Cork County Council to finalise this issue. Cllr. Mulvihill stated that Ray Keating had asked that a cardboard recycling bin be placed outside his shop in Newtown. The Town Clerk agreed to write to the County Council in this regard.

Cllr. Crowley raised the issue of the lease on the Swimming Pool Site. He stated that he felt that the amount payable by the Town Council to the VEC for a community facility was very high and that the Council should try to have the matter re-examined.

Other matters arising from the meeting were dealt with as appropriate.

2            VOTES OF CONDOLENCE

The sympathy of the Council was extended to the relatives of the following:

Moss Hennessy

Kittty Cronin   

Shane Donachie

Bridie Mc Carthy

Evelyn Woods

The Votes were passed in silence, all standing.

3            MANAGERS ORDERS

Cllr’s noted Managers Orders, copies of which have been circulated.

4            CORRESPONDENCE

A)                Notice of Motion – Galway County Council marked as read.

B)                Notice of Motion – Mullingar Town Council. On the proposal of Cllr. Whitty, seconded by Cllr. McCarthy, it was agreed to adopt the motion – “That this Council calls on the Minister at the Department of Social and Family Affairs to introduce a lo-call telephone service similar to other Government Departments”

C)                Barry’s Coaches Ltd. – Letter from Mr. Thomas Kavanagh of Barry’s Coaches Ltd. in relation to proposals for the local bus service. It was agreed to invite Mr. Kavanagh to attend the upcoming Committee meeting of the Town Council. It was agreed to hold the meeting on Monday 23^rd January at 5.30 p.m.

D)                John & Noreen Ring – Letter from Mr. & Mrs. Ring in relation to the boundary wall of their property, bounding the High Road at the Four Cross Roads. It was agreed that the matter would be referred to the Town Engineer for a report at the February meeting of the Council.

5.            OFFICER’S  REPORTS

A.                 Boundary Extension

The Town Clerk advised that he was in the process of preparing a report into the process of seeking a Boundary Extension for the town. It was agreed to place the issue on the agenda for the February meeting of the Council.

B.                 Housing Seminar

The Town Clerk advised that Cork County Council were willing to hold a seminar in Cobh at the start of February in relation to the various housing options made available by the County Council. On the proposal of Cllr. Mulvihill, seconded by Cllr. Doyle it was agreed that the county Council officials would be asked to hold the seminar on the first Saturday of February.

C.                 Cobh Pipe Band.

The Town Clerk advised that he had been contacted by a representative of the band with a view to attending a future meeting of the Council to discuss funding proposals. It was agreed that the Town Clerk would write to the band, advising them of the procedure used by the Council in relation to funding of community and arts groups.

6.            COMMITTEE  REPORTS

There were no reports from Councillors in this regard.

7.            NOTICE OF MOTION 

The following notice of motion standing in the name of Cllr Sean O’Connor seconded by Cllr Histon was considered -

“That Cobh Town Council would install 3 traffic calming speed ramps on the hill at West View in the interest of the safety and the well-being of the residents.”

The Manager advised that the Area Roads Committees of Cork County Council were currently considering Draft Guidelines in relation to traffic calming measures and that it was hoped that a decision in this regard would be made shortly by the County Council. The Town Clerk agreed to raise the motion with the Town Engineer with a view to further considering the matter at the next meeting of the Council.

10.       ANY  OTHER BUSINESS 

Cllr. McCarthy asked for an update on the work of the Housing Committee. The Town Clerk agreed to follow up this matter.

Cllr. Histon asked if there was a need to retain the barriers on the road at Wharton’s Corner. The Town Clerk agreed to raise the matter with the Town Engineer.

Cllr. O’Connor asked if the members of the Council would sign a letter of support for the application by the Cobh Golf Club for funding under the Sports Capital Programme. It was agreed that the Town Clerk would arrange for a letter to be circulated to the members.

Cllr. Crowley asked that the Town Architect attend the February meeting and subsequent meetings on a quarterly basis to allow discussion of planning issues.

Cllr. Mulvihill asked for an update on the proposed litter awareness signs. The Town Clerk agreed to follow up on this matter.

Cllr. Doyle asked for an update on the County Council’s plans in relation to kerbside recycling. The Manager advised that Cork County Council intended distributing 11,000 bins in the near future and that she hoped that Cobh would be included in this process.

Cllr. Whitty stated that he had been informed that damage had been caused to a private house as a result of problems with the adjacent Council house. The Town Clerk agreed to have the matter examined as soon as possible.

This concluded the business of the meeting.  

__________________

CATHAOIRLEACH

________________________

TOWN CLERK

________________________

DATE