Minutes of Council meetings- list.:

MINUTES OF PROCEEDINGS AT MONTHLY MEETING OF THE COBH TOWN COUNCIL, HELD AT CARRIG HOUSE, COBH, ON MONDAY 11th DECEMBER, 2006

Presiding -  Cllr. Noirin Doyle, Mayor.

Present - Cllrs.P. Whitty, S. Meade, D. Crowley, S. O’Connor,
J. Mulvihill, K. McCarthy, P. Histon and M. Keating.

Officials Present
Ms. M. O’Halloran, Town Manager
Mr. P. Lynch, Town Clerk
Mr. G. O’Hora, Town Engineer
Mr. P. Cacciotti, Town Architect.

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

1 ATTENDANCE BY TOWN ARCHITECT

Cllr. Doyle introduced the new Town Architect, Mr. PierAngelo Cacciotti to the Council. All of the members welcomed Mr. Cacciotti to Cobh and expressed their wish that they would develop a positive working relation ship with him. Mr. Cacciotti thanked the members for their welcome and stated that, as a newcomer to Cobh, he felt that the town had enormous potential. He stated that his aim was to play his part in ensuring that the town reached its potential. In response to a question from Cllr .Crowley, Mr. Cacciotti confirmed that the fortnightly planning clinics would continue.

2 CONFIRMATION OF MINUTES

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

Monthly meeting    13th November, 2006  Proposed – Cllr Meade        Seconded – Cllr Mulvihill

Cllr. Crowley asked that the minutes be amended to record the fact that he had raised the issue of a bin outside the new retail outlets at Ticknock and also that on his proposal, seconded by Cllr. Mulvihill, it had been agreed that Cllrs. Doyle and Meade would replace Cllrs Crowley and Mulvihill as the Council’s representatives on the Cobh-Ploermel Twinning Committee.

Matters arising from Minutes

Cobh Landslide Programme
The Town Clerk advised the members that following the recent landslide at West View, the Town Manager had immediately notified the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government of the fact that it had occurred. He stated that JODA Consulting Engineers had been instructed to carry out any works that they deemed necessary to guarantee public safety. In addition, JODA had prepared a report which recommended the construction of a concrete retaining wall to prevent further landslides. This report had been forwarded to the Department with a request that funding to carry out this work be provided.

Cllr. O’Connor raised the issue of Connolly Street and condemned the fact that no decision had been made by the Department in this regard. In reply to a question from Cllr. Mulvihill in relation to an overall review of the Landslide Programme, the Manager stated that the view of Cork County Council was that while there was no objection to such a review, the position adopted by the Department that no further works could be carried out prior to the completion of this review was not acceptable. She stated that she had, on a number of occasions, advised the Department that sanction for emergency works as outlined in a number of reports should be given immediately.

Derelict Sites
The Town Clerk advised that the valuation in relation to 1 and No 2 Casement Square was due within the next week.

Progress on the Litter Action Plan 2006
It was agreed to call a meeting of the Litter Audit Committee early in the New Year.

Cllr. O’Connor raised the issue of the refuse collection service on Harbour Row. On the proposal of Cllr. Meade, seconded by Cllr. O’Connor, it was agreed that the Town Clerk would write to Wisers asking them to provide details of their collection schedule in Cobh.

The Town Clerk circulated the results of the latest IBAL Litter survey which had been released that day. He stated that a small number of areas had given rise to concerns and that more work needed to be done to achieve a litter free status.

Cobh Pool and Leisure Centre
The Town Clerk stated that he had been advised by Aura that the rates charged to customers were the rates agreed by the Board of Carrignafoy Leisure Ltd. He stated that they had advised that they had extended the OAP rate to all those over 55 initially but that this had now reverted to over 65s only as was the case in their other centres. Cllr. Crowley stated that any price changes had to be agreed with the Board of Carrignafoy Leisure Ltd. and that no changes could be made without this agreement.

Parking at Whitepoint
The Town Engineer stated that it was proposed to put a white line in the centre of the road as soon as weather permitted.

Pedestrian Crossing in Midleton Street.
The Town Engineer stated that this work was almost completed.

Footpath at West Beach
The Town Engineer stated work was ongoing at Casement Square at present and that the contractor was due to carry out any necessary repairs on West Beach when this was completed.

Boat and trailer parked on Bishop Street
The Town Clerk stated that the boat had now been removed and that notices in relation to a number of other trailers had been issued.

East Cork Tourism
The Town Clerk stated that Ryan Howard had asked for a date to meet the members in the New Year.

It was agreed that the Town Clerk would arrange for the payment of the 2006 contribution to East Cork Tourism.

Local Bus Service
The Town Clerk stated that Mr Thomas Kavanagh had written looking for a meeting and that he had contacted Mr. Kavanagh’s office by telephone to get a suitable date. Once this was agreed the meeting could go ahead.

Proposed Marina
The Town Clerk advised Members that the matter had been heard in the High Court the previous week. The decision of the Judge was that the Grant of Permission issued by Cobh Town Council was quashed and that An Bórd Pleanála would now hear the appeal by the Holy Ground & Environs Action Group in relation to the planning application. He stated that the Judge had refused to make an order in relation to the legal costs incurred by the Board, the Council and the developer, which meant that each had to pay their own costs. In addition he had granted the objector an order for their costs against all of the other 3 parties. On the proposal of Cllr. Crowley, seconded by Cllr. Meade, it was agreed that the Town Clerk would instruct the Council’s solicitors that the Council’s view was that as the High Court had held against An Bórd Pleanála, the costs of the case should be met by the Board.

Litter Bin at Ticknock
Cllr. Crowley asked for an update in this regard. The Manager agreed to examine this issue as soon as possible.

Condition of Sewer at Westbourne Place
On the proposal of Cllr. O’Connor seconded by Cllr. Meade it was agreed to invite David O’Keeffe to attend the February meeting of the Council. It was agreed that members would inform the Town Clerk of issues they wished Mr. O’Keeffe to address at the meeting.

Pedestrian Crossing at Cluain Árd
The Town Engineer stated that the County Council were still considering a planning application in this regard.

Abandoned Boat at Cross River Ferry
The Town Engineer stated that the matter was being dealt with by Cork County Council.

Other matters arising were dealt with as appropriate.

3  VOTES OF CONDOLENCE & CONGRATULATIONS

The sympathy of the Council was extended to the relatives of all of those who had died since the previous meeting of the Council. The votes were passed in silence all standing.

It was unanimously agreed to pass a vote of congratulations to the following
 John O’Sullivan on his appointment as Coach of the Irish Ladies Rugby Team
 Fr. Leamy on his appointment as Parish Administrator of Cobh
 Fr. Donal O’Mahony on his appointment as Parish Priest of Cloyne
 Ms. Breda O’Donovan on being chosen as Cobh Person of the Year

4 MANAGERS ORDERS

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

5 CORRESPONDENCE

(a) Notice of Motion, Mullingar Town Council – Marked as Read
(b) Notice of Motion, Portlaoise Town Council – Marked as Read.
(c) Fáilte Ireland – Letter in relation to activities funded by Cobh Town Council. A copy of the letter was circulated to the members.
(d) Southampton City Council – Letter from the Mayor of Southampton inviting the Mayor to Southampton for the weekend of 13th-15th April, 2007 to officially sign the Memorandum of Understanding between the Titanic Cities. On the proposal of Cllr. Mulvihill, seconded by Cllr. Crowley, it was agreed that the Mayor would attend.

6. OFFICER’S  REPORTS

(a) Proposed Boundary Extension
The Town Clerk stated that in preparing the Report on the proposal, he had examined a number of other proposals submitted by Town Councils to Cork County Council. He stated that the view of the County Council appeared to be that they would consider extensions to match the electoral boundaries of towns only. It was agreed that the Town Clerk would continue with the original proposal as the electoral boundary excluded many of the housing developments on the periphery of the town.

7 REPORT OF THE HOUSING SUBCOMMITTEE

The Manager stated that any assessment of housing needs within the town would be carried out by officials of Cork County Council. The County had previously considered, and rejected, a points system and on that basis, the County Council would not be making staff available to operate a points system in Cobh. In addition, the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government and the City & County Manager’s Association was currently considering the possibility of introducing a national assessment and allocation policy. In view of this, she felt that the Minister would not approve any new allocation and assessment scheme introduced by one local authority.

Cllr. McCarthy stated that all of these issues had been considered by the committee and that the Committee’s view was that a points system would not lead to extra work for a Housing Officer. The Manager stated that if a new system was introduced, each applicant would have to be assessed in order to allocate points initially.

Cllr. Mulvihill stated that the proposed system appeared to be very similar to the system adopted by Dublin City Council. He stated that he had discussed the issue with members of Dublin City Council who had indicated that there were major problems with the system and that the Council was currently considering replacing the points system with a priority system.

On the proposal of Cllr. McCarthy, seconded by Cllr. Whitty, it was agreed to hold a meeting of the Council in committee on Monday 16th January, 2007 at 6.00 p.m. to further discuss the matter.

8 COMMITTEE REPORTS

Cobh Tourism
Cllr. Whitty stated that Cobh Tourism had plans to erect a direction sign at the Deep Water Quay, similar to the existing sign erected by the Port of Cork Company to direct cruise liner passengers to the Town Centre. The estimated cost of the sign was €8,800. Cobh Tourism had applied to ECAD for a grant to cover 50% of the cost and had also approached other bodies for funding. On the proposal of Cllr. Whitty, seconded by Cllr. Histon it was agreed to consider an allocation of €2,200 in the 2007 Budget to cover 25% of the cost.

9 DRAFT RECREATION AND AMENITY POLICY

The Manager stated that while she felt that this policy would not have a major impact on the town of Cobh, as very little development land remained available, it was important to ensure tha all local authorities in County Cork had a uniform policy. In reply to a question from Cllr. Crowley, the Manager advised that any money raised from developments in the Cobh area would be required to be spent locally.

On the proposal of Cllr. Crowley, seconded by Cllr. O’Connor, the Recreation and Amenity Policy was adopted.
                                                                               
10 DISPOSAL OF FREEHOLD

The disposal of the freehold of 19, Philip O’Neill Place, Cobh pursuant to Section 90 of the Housing Act, 1966 and Section 26 of the Landlord & Tenant (Ground Rents) (No. 2) Act, 1978 was approved on the proposal of Cllr. Mulvihill seconded by Cllr Whitty.

11 ANY OTHER BUSINESS

On the proposal of Cllr. Whitty, seconded by Cllr. Meade, it was agreed that the Council would not enforce the pay parking bye-laws on Saturday 9th December, Saturday 16th December and during the period 18th December to 28th December inclusive.

Moss on roadway at Lake Road – Town Engineer to examine

Road markings at exit from Colman’s Square onto Ahern Place – Town Engineer to examine.

Yellow Box for junction of Lake Road & Laundry Hill – Town Engineer to examine

Loading Bay at An Poc Fada – Town Engineer advised that this is due to be carried out shortly.

Height restriction sign in relation to the Archway to be put at top of West View – Town Engineer to raise with Town Foreman.

Need for sign alerting road users coming from Cathedral Place to the exit from the Cathedral – Town Engineer to examine

Condition of road at Belmont Place – Town Engineer to examine

Condition of road close to ongoing residential development at Ballywilliam – Town Engineer to raise with County Council Engineer

This concluded the business of the meeting.  

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CATHAOIRLEACH

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TOWN CLERK

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