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| Cobh Town Council, Town Hall, Cobh, Co. Cork. Phone: 021 481 1307 FAX: 021 481 1732 Contact Us |
Minutes of Council meetings- list.:MONTHLY MEETING MONDAY 11TH MAY, 2009MINUTES OF PROCEEDINGS AT MONTHLY MEETING OF THE COBH TOWN COUNCIL, HELD AT CARRIG HOUSE, COBH, ON MONDAY 11th MAY, 2009 Presiding - Cllr. J. Mulvihill, Mayor. Present - Cllrs. P. Histon, S. O’Connor, P. Whitty, K. McCarthy, D. Crowley, M. Keating, S. Meade & N. Doyle Officials Present Ms. Mary Ryan Town Manager Ms. P. Lynch, Town Clerk Mr. Robert O’Sullivan The meeting commenced with the recitation of the Lord’s Prayer. 1. SUSPENSION OF STANDING ORDERS On the proposal of Cllr. Mulvihill, seconded by Cllr. Doyle, it was agreed to suspend Standing Orders to discuss the swimming pool. The Town Clerk advised the members that at a meeting of the Board of Carrignafoy Leisure Ltd. it had been agreed to recommend the appointment of SP Sports, trading as Coral Leisure, to manage the pool. He stated that over the previous 11 weeks, the Board had worked to find a new operator for the centre to replace Aura. Coral had advised the Board that they required a deficit guarantee to operate the centre. It had been agreed by the Board that a figure of €50,000 would be recommended to the Council to cover any potential operating losses. He stated that in the event that Cobh Town Council approved the recommendation, Coral had indicated that they would start the process of taking on staff within the next 2 days and would open as soon as a staff structure was in place. Members of the Council thanked the Board of Carrignafoy Leisure Ltd. for their efforts in finding a new operator for the leisure centre. Cllr. Doyle asked if the contribution of €50,000 would have to come from current expenditure. In response the Manager stated that the money would have to come from changes in the 2009 Budget and that the members would have to agree to any changes, but that it may impact on the level of services provided by the Council. Cllr. Whitty stated that the recent events showed that there needed to be greater level of reporting to the Council from the Company. Cllr. Keating stated that the pool would only be successful if it received the support of the people of Cobh and Great Island. Cllr. McCarthy stated that while he welcomed the news, he felt that there were many unanswered questions in relation to the failure of the centre under Aura. Cllr. Crowley stated that it was clear that the Council now had to make hard decisions in relation to the provision of funding to underwrite the pool. The Manager stated that it was clear that the issue of the pool gave rise to strong feelings among the people of Cobh but that the future of the pool was now dependent on the people. It would only be a success if it was used by the people of the town. Coral had indicated that they would provide monthly information to the company and this information would be given to the members of the Council. She stated that the Board had made several attempts to appoint an interim operator but that those attempts had been unsuccessful for a number of reasons. She stated that the pool could only reopen when Coral had the proper structures in place. On the proposal of Cllr. Mulvihill, seconded by Cllr. Meade, it was agreed to accept the recommendation of the Board of Carrignafoy Leisure Ltd. to appoint Coral Leisure to manage the leisure centre. 2. CONFIRMATION OF MINUTES On the proposal of Cllr Mulvihill seconded by Cllr Doyle the minutes of the following meetings were adopted. Special meeting – 26th April 2009. Meeting In-committee – 1st May, 2009 On the proposal of Cllr. Doyle, seconded by Cllr. Meade the minutes of the Monthly meeting of the Council, held on 14th April, 2009 were adopted. MATTERS ARISING COMMUNITY EMPLOYMENT SCHEME –The Town Clerk stated that he had been advised that no additional places were available for any CE schemes in the Cork region. PARKING AT RUSSELL HEIGHTS – The Town Engineer stated that he was currently waiting for the ESB to move the existing substation and that the work would proceed when this was done. Cllr. McCarthy asked if the Town Engineer could examine the green area at the entrance to the estate to see if the roadway could be widened at that location to facilitate extra carparking. MASTER PLAN – On the proposal of Cllr. Whitty, seconded by Cllr. Crowley, it was agreed that the briefing meeting for the various bodies identified at a previous meeting would take place on Monday 18th May at 3.00 p.m. LANDSLIDE PROGRAMME – Cllr Sean O’Connor asked for an update into the Landslide Programme. SALE OF SITES – Cllr O’Connor asked for a report on the sale of sites at Connolly Street and Upper Park. CATHEDRAL – Cllr O’Connor raised the issue of netting in the Cathedral. 2. VOTES OF CONDOLENCE The Sympathy of the Council was extended to all those who had died since the previous meeting of the Council. 3. MANAGERS ORDERS Cllrs noted Managers Orders copies of which had been circulated. 4. CORRESPONDENCE – (i) Cobh Sea-Scouts – letter of thank you in relation to funding received from the Council. (ii) East Hill & Environs Residents Association – letter of thank you in relation to funding received from the Council (iii) Cobh Carer’s Support group – letter of thank you in relation to funding received from the Council (iv) Notification of Training Seminar – Glengarriff, 15-17 May. (v) Cork Harbour Islands Project – letter of thank you in relation to funding received from the Council (vi) Notice of Motion – Killarney Town Council. On the proposal of Cllr. Crowley, seconded by Cllr. Mulvihill, the following motion was adopted: “That this Council calls on the Government to have a National Carers Day to sit alongside other national days” (vii) No-Name Club – request to allow the club use the carpark along the Five Foot Way for their Youth Festival. The Town Clerk stated that he had received a number of complaints from residents after the 2008 event in relation to noise. Members stated that they felt that the event had been successful and that it had been policed properly last year. On the proposal of Cllr. Doyle, seconded by Cllr. Whitty, it was agreed that the club could use the site subject to proper controls in relation to insurances and access being resolved. (viii) Cobh I.C.A. – letter of thank you in relation to funding received from the Council (ix) Notice of Motion – Mullingar Town Council. On the proposal of Cllr. Crowley, seconded by Cllr. Doyle, the following motion was adopted: “That this Council urges the HSE to provide more support for dementia sufferers and their carers” (x) Notice of Motion – Monaghan Town Council. On the proposal of Cllr. Doyle, seconded by Cllr. Meade, the following motion was adopted: “That this Council calls on the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government to ensure that the decision not to notify vehicle owners when their NCT is due be reversed ” (xi) Robert Forde Memorial Committee – Letter requesting that the Council officially take over the memorial and thanking the Town Architect for his assistance when the memorial was being installed. 5. OFFICERS REPORTS There were no matters for discussion under this item 6. COMMITTEE REPORTS: 1. Joint Meeting of Cobh Town Council and Passage West Town Council. Cllr. Meade stated that she wished it to be recorded that she had not expressed any opposition to a proposal to support the Port of Cork considering the redevelopment of the former IFI site. 2. Cllr. Doyle thanked members who had attended the recent launch of the County Cork VEC / Cobh Community college sailing programme. She stated that the programme would make sailing affordable for young people in the town. 3. Indaver Oral Hearing – Cllr. Whitty advised that as agreed at a previous meeting he was attending the Oral Hearing but that it had now been adjourned for a period of 3 weeks to allow for assessment of additional technical information. 4. Forthcoming Events: Cllr. Mulvihill advised that the following events were due to take place in the near future – 15th May – Civic reception to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Springfield FC. 22nd May – Civic reception for the Bon Secours Sisters, followed by the Community Awards 6. DISPOSAL OF FREEHOLD: On the proposal of Cllr. Crowley, seconded by Cllr. Keating, the disposal of the freehold of 68 Belmont Place, Cobh, pursuant to Section 90 of the Housing Act, 1966 and Section 26 of the Landlord and Tenant (Ground Rents)(No. 2) Act, 1978 to John Anthony Cummings and Joseph Cummings was approved. 7. ANY OTHER BUSINESS Cllr. Crowley referred to the recent fire at the local Post Office. He stated that the staff of the Post Office had gone into work on the Sunday morning after the fire to ensure that the office would be open for business on Monday morning. On the proposal of Cllr. Crowley, seconded by Cllr. Histon, it was agreed that a letter of thank you to the staff would issue. It was also agreed that a letter would issue to the Chief Executive of An Post highlighting the efforts of the staff. On the proposal of Cllr. Whitty, seconded by Cllr. Histon, it was agreed that the Council would sponsor a lunch for the members of a group attending the Cork Folk Dance Festival who would be visiting the town and the Heritage Centre on 21 July. Cllr. Doyle stated that Cobh Museum were due to open an exhibition of Naval history on 16th May and that the United States Chargé d’Affaires would perform the official opening. On the proposal of Cllr. Doyle, seconded by Cllr. Meade, it was agreed to afford a Civic Welcome to the Chargé d’Affaires. Cllr. McCarthy asked for an update from the Town Engineer in relation to the exit from Edmund Rice Close. The Town Engineer agreed to raise the matter with the Cork County Council engineer. Cllr. Crowley stated that this was his last meeting after 10 years on the Council. He stated that he wanted to thank the Manager, the Town Clerk and all of the staff of the Town Council for their help and support over this period. He also thanked the press for their reporting of Council events. Cllr. Keating stated that he had been honoured to serve the people of Cobh for 10 years. He thanked all staff of the Council and wished all candidates luck in the forthcoming elections Cllr. Doyle thanked the people of Cobh for allowing her to represent them and thanked the members for honouring her by electing her as Mayor of Cobh. She stated that she hoped that she had always acted in the best interests of the town. She thanked the Manager and staff for their assistance over the 5 years. Cllr. Meade stated that she was delighted that the people of Cobh had elected her to represent them since 1985 and said that she had always represented the people to the best of her ability. She said that the staff of the Council over this period could be proud of their efforts for the town. She wanted to particularly record her thanks to former Town Clerk Michael O’Mahony. Cllr. Mulvihill stated that the fact that 4 Councillors were not standing again for election meant that this was the end of an era. He has happy to state that the Council, despite some problems, had worked together for the betterment of the town and its people. He paid tribute to the members who were stepping down, particularly Cllr. Meade who had been a member of the Council for almost a quarter of a century. He thanked the staff for their work and the press for their fair coverage of the work of the council. Cllr. Whitty stated that he wanted to thank the Manager and staff for their efforts in working for the town. He stated that during his term as Mayor, he had always had confidence that any Council event would be organised properly by the staff. He thanked his party colleague, Cllr. Meade, as well as the other councillors standing down for their commitment to the town during their time on the Council. Cllrs. O’Connor, Histon and McCarthy thanked the Manager and staff as well as the other members of the Council and wished those who were running for re-election luck. This concluded the business of the meeting ___________________ Cathaoirleach ___________________ Town Clerk
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