Minutes of Council meetings- list.:

MINUTES OF PROCEEDINGS AT MONTHLY MEETING OF THE COBH TOWN COUNCIL, HELD AT CARRIG HOUSE, COBH, ON MONDAY 8th JANUARY, 2007

Presiding -  Cllr. N. Doyle, Mayor.

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

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

An Apology for his inability to attend was received from Cllr Keating

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:

Committee meeting   7th December , 2006   Proposed – Cllr Meade        Seconded – Cllr Mulvihill

Monthly meeting         11th December, 2006  Proposed – Cllr Mulvihill
       Seconded – Cllr Meade

Committee meeting     11th December, 2006 Proposed – Cllr Mulvihill
       Seconded – Cllr Meade

Statutory Budget Meeting 19th December, 2006 Proposed – Cllr Meade
       Seconded – Cllr Mulvihill
   
Matters arising from Minutes

Bin at Retail Outlet at Ticknock
The Town Clerk advised that an agreement had been made with Cork County Council in relation to the bin and that it was hoped that the bin would be installed by the Town Council Employees within the following week. He stated that the Town Council had agreed to empty the bin on a regular basis and that the costs involved in this would be paid by Cork County Council. Cllr McCarthy asked that the minutes record that the bin at the black railings had been installed and he would like to thank the Council staff for doing this.

Cobh Landslide Programme
The Town Clerk stated that he had received a letter from the office of the Minister for the Environment acknowledging the letter sent on foot of the last Council meeting. Cllr O Connor stated that he had contacted the Ministers office directly with a presentation outlining the history of the situation to date. It was agreed that the Manager and the Town Clerk would follow up on their efforts to address this matter.

Derelict Sites
The Town Clerk advised that the valuations in relation to 1 and 2 Casement Square had been received and that he was now considering the next step in this regard. Cllr Crowley asked that 2 Casement Square be treated as a priority.

Litter Audit Committee
It was agreed that the first meeting of the Litter Audit Committee would be held on Monday the 15th January at 5pm. It was agreed that the Town Clerk would notify the representatives of the outside bodies in this regard.

Marina
The Town Clerk stated that a letter had been received from the Councils Solicitors in this regard. He stated that the Councillors Solicitors had written to the Solicitors acting for An Bord Pleanala asking that they would give an undertaking to meet the legal costs incurred. He stated that the view of the Solicitors acting for the Board was that the issue of the legal fees was a matter for all of the parties.

Footpaths at Maurice Moore Place
The Town Engineer stated that the County Council was treating the matter as a priority and it was hoped that the work was carried out as soon as possible.

Parking at Whitepoint
The Town Engineer stated that the work had still to be completed as it was dependant on the weather conditions.

Pedestrian Crossing at Midleton Street
The Town Engineer stated that this work was also weather dependant and that the Street Lining could not be carried out until such time as the weather improved.

Local Bus Service
The Town Clerk stated that he had contacted Mr Kavanaghs office but that no date had been arranged for a meeting as of yet. It was agreed that the Town Clerk would follow up on this matter.

Invitation to Mr David O’Keeffe to attend the February meeting of the Council.
The Town Clerk asked that any Members that had any issues that the wished raised should contact him as soon as possible to allow Mr O’Keeffe to prepare responses.

Pedestrian Crossing at Cluain Ard
The Town Engineer stated that he intended carrying out a traffic survey in this area shortly and that he would report back to the Members at a future meeting.

Housing Subcommittee
Councillor Mulvihill asked that the minutes of the December monthly meeting be corrected. He stated that what he had said in relation to the report on the Housing Subcommittee was that Dublin City Council Operated a Priority in Tandem with a Point System and that they were currently reviewing the entire scheme.

Road Markings at exit from St. Colman’s Square
The Town Engineer stated that works were due to be carried out shortly to give priority to traffic on Aherne Place.

Yellow Box at Junction of Lake Road and Laundry Hill
The Town Engineer stated that this was listed for work and that the work was weather dependant.

Loading Bay at Puc Fada
The Town Engineer stated that this work was also listed for work but that again it was weather dependant.

Height Restriction Sign at the top of WestView
The Town Engineer stated that the sign was due to be erected in the following week.

Exit from the Cathedral
The Town Engineer stated that a concealed Entrance sign was due to be erected on the roadway below the exit.

Condition of Roads at Belmont Place and Ballywilliam.
The Town Engineer stated that the Council were in contact with the Developers working in the area with a view to ensuring that the road was kept clean.  Cllr Crowley asked that the Developers in this case would be asked to clean their vehicles on site before exiting onto the Public Road.

Matters arising from Statutory Budget Meeting

Cllr O Connor asked for an update in relation to the provision of windows and doors in the most urgent cases. The Manager stated that she was hoping to have this done as soon as possible.

Cllr Whitty raised the issue of insulation of housing stock. He stated that had had been advised that the Department of the Environment provided grant aid to householders who wished to provide insulation. It was agreed that the Town Clerk would investigate this matter.

Other matters arising from Meeting were dealt with as appropriate.

2  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.

3 MANAGERS ORDERS

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

4 CORRESPONDENCE

(a) Notice of Motion, Letterkenny Town Council

It was agreed on the proposal of Cllr Mulvihill seconded by Cllr Meade that the following Notice of Motion would be adopted

“That before engaging outside contractors or External Personnel to carry out work for or on behalf of this Council in future that a written guarantee confirming that all employees engaged or subcontracted by these companies working for or on behalf of this Council are being afforded their full statutory rights and entitlements and that these are sought and obtained before signing contracts in the same way as the council demands proof of insurance cover and tax clearances etc.”

Cllr Whitty stated that he had a query in relation to the tendering process for outside contract work. The Manager stated that all jobs requiring outside contracts were advertised on the Governments E-tender website. She stated that if Members had any concerns in relation to individual contracts they should provide her with the details and she would investigate the matter.

(b) Upgrade of R624

Letter from Sharon Corcoran, Director of Services, Infrastructure and Development, Cork County Council advising that the County Council have appointed Consulting Engineers to undertake route selection on the R624.

5. OFFICER’S  REPORTS

No issues were raised under this item.

6 COMMITTEE REPORTS

Cobh Tourism
Cllr Whitty advised the Members that the AGM of Cobh Tourism was due to be held on Wednesday the 17th January at 8pm in the Commodore Hotel and that all Members were welcome to attend.

Cobh Community Centre
Cllr Meade stated that the Cobh Community Centre had received notification from the Department of the Environment that this grant of €750,000 would be paid in respect of the Construction of the Centre. All of the Members welcomed this announcement.

7 DISPOSAL OF FREEHOLD

The disposal of the freehold of 38 Belmont Place and 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. Meade seconded by Cllr O Connor

8 ANY OTHER BUSINESS

Cllr Crowley asked for an update in relation to identifying Town Council owned sites within the Town with Development Potential. The Town Clerk stated that no further work had happened in this regard. It was agreed that the matter be placed on the agenda of the next meeting of the Council

Cllr Whitty stated that he had been advised that Cobh Town Council had dumped some materials at Bishop Roche Park. He asked that when the Christmas Trees were being mulched at Bishop Roche Park that the site would be cleaned up properly at the end of the work.

Railings at Roundabout at Velvet House Cross – Town Engineer to Examine

Cllr Mulvihill asked the Manager to advise the Members how the applications for the Affordable Housing at Belmont would be processed. The Manager stated that at present the vast majority of Affordable Houses were provided by Cork County Council. She stated that if Cobh Town Council were to insist on a separate application, it would mean that anyone who had previously applied to the County Council would have to make a separate application to the Town Council and to pay a separate application fee. Cllr Mulvihill asked that any applicant who had applied previously to Cork County Council for Affordable housing in the Cobh area would be afforded an opportunity to apply for the houses in Belmont. On the proposal of Cllr Whitty seconded by Cllr Histon, it was agreed that all applications in respect of the 6 affordable houses at Belmont should be made to Cobh Town Council only. The Manager stated that any other houses which were provided in the Cobh Area by Cork County Council would not be covered by this application and that applicants would have to apply separately to the County Council for these houses.

Cllr O Connor asked for an update in relation to 5 and 6 West Beach – The Town Clerk stated that he had been advised that ownership of 6 West Beach had been transferred. He stated that the new owner was entitled to develop the building on foot of the planning permission given to the previous owner but that the application had to be enacted within 5 years of the grant of permission.

Condition of shores at Kirkwood Villas and Newtown – The Town Engineer stated that remedial work was required to the sewer at Kirkwood and that he would examine the condition of the sewers at Newtown.

Cllr Histon asked for an update in relation to the right of way at Ringacoltig – The Town Clerk stated that he had issued the Developer with a reminder in the past week and that he had intended following up the matter.

On the proposal of Cllr Doyle seconded by Cllr Meade it was agreed that the award ceremony for the 2006 Tidy Districts Competition would be held on Monday the 5th February at 6.00 p.m. in the Council Chamber.

Flooding on Roadway at Dawnview – Town Engineer to examine.

On the proposal of Cllr Doyle seconded by Cllr Whitty it was agreed that the Town Clerk would contact Ryan Howard in relation to arranging a meeting to discuss tourism issues. It was agreed that subject to Mr Howards availability that the meeting will be held on Tuesday the 16th January at 5pm.

This concluded the business of the meeting.  

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CATHAOIRLEACH

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TOWN CLERK

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