Ballyshannon Town Council - Minutes May 2010
MINUTES OF TOWN COUNCIL MEETING 4th MAY 2010 –MEMBERS CHAMBER, BALLYSHANNON TOWN COUNCIL, BALLYSHANNON AT 6.30 P.M
In attendance: Cllr. Eugene Dolan (Cathaoirleach), Cllr. John Meehan, Cllr. Brendan Travers, Cllr. Rosaleen Branley, Cllr. Phonsie Travers, Cllr. Pat O’Malley, Cllr. Billy Grimes, Cllr. Brendan Gallagher, Cllr. Val Murray, Mr. Liam Ward (Town Manager) and Ms. Mary Daly (Town Clerk).
Press: Mr. Michael Daly (Donegal Democrat), Ms. Elaine McGee (Ocean Fm)
Observer:
Cllr. Barry O’Neill, Donegal County Council
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The Cathaoirleach, Cllr. Eugene Dolan welcomed all present and officially opened the meeting.
1.
Minutes of previous meeting – Tuesday, 6th April 2010:
The minutes of the previous meeting held Tuesday 6th April were adopted on the proposal of Cllr. John Meehan and seconded by Cllr. Rosaleen Branley.
2.
Matters arising from Minutes:
The Town Clerk circulated a follow-up report from the last meeting (Appendix 1).
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Storage Unit: Cllr. Phonsie Travers thanked all concerned in getting the Storage Unit at the Knather Road removed.
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Pay and Display: Cllr. Phonsie Travers stated that the response from the Engineer was vague and felt that the ‘pay and display monies’ should not be used for maintenance etc. Mr. Liam Ward, Town Manager stated that in order to maintain levels of service it was important to supplement resources with these monies in order to counteract diminishing budgets.
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Public Toilets: Cllr. Murray welcomed the news that the toilets would be intensively cleaned and queried if this would be done on a regular basis. The Town Clerk explained that routine cleaning would be carried out but this intensive clean would take place before the summer season.
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Sewage – Cllr. Pat O’Malley asked if St. Benildus Avenue was now connected up to the new sewer or was the old system still being used. The Town Clerk agreed to seek clarity for the June meeting.
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Cllr. O’Malley welcomed the fact that the Environmental Officer would be in contact with Colaiste Cholmcille and asked if the Road Safety Officer could be asked to also visit the school. The Town Clerk agreed to contact Mr. Eamonn Browne, Road Safety Officer with Donegal County Council.
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Cllr. John Meehan thanked Mr. Declan Gillespie for his response in relation to the street sign for Tirconnail Street. Cllr. Meehan proposed the erection of a standard type sign for Tirconnail Street, Cllr. O’Malley seconded this proposal. Cllr. Meehan concurred with Cllr. P. Travers comments in relation to ‘Pay and Display’ and felt that the Town Council should have some say as to where some of the generated revenue should be spent, stating that extra bins were needed, for e.g. at the footbridge opposite Sweeny’s Whitehorse Bar. Cllr. Meehan proposed that the Town Council request a workshop before the June meeting with the Roads section and also to invite the Roads section to the June meeting of the Town Council. Cllr. Phonsie Travers seconded this proposal. Cllr. Billy Grimes also stated that he would have major concerns in relation to the outdoor roads staff numbers and also requested a breakdown of the street cleaning expenditure for the roads workshop.
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Traffic Warden: Members debated the merits and de-merits associated with having a traffic warden in the Town and agreed that this item should go on the agenda for the Roads Workshop. Cllr. Brendan Travers requested that the traffic/litter warden patrol the Fair Green/Allingham Park area some lunchtimes, the Town Clerk agreed to pass this on.
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Cllr. Phonsie Travers repeated his request for Dog fouling signs to be erected.
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Eircom Phone box: Cllr. John Meehan acknowledged the fact that the phone box at Assaroe View had been removed.
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Zebra Crossing: Cllr. Murray stated that the lights at the Zebra Crossing at Maggie’s Pub were not working, the Town Clerk agreed to pass this on.
3.
Managers Orders:
The Town Clerk presented the following Order for noting by members:
·
Payment of the Development Fund 2009 & 2010
The payment of the Development Fund, as agreed by the sub-committee, was proposed by Cllr. Phonsie Travers and seconded by Cllr. John Meehan.
4.
Motions:
‘That Ballyshannon Town Council hosts a reception for local GAA players, Peter Boyle and Donagh McIntyre who represented Donegal in the u21 All Ireland final.’ – submitted by Cllr. Brendan Travers
Cllr. Brendan Travers stated that when submitting this motion he would have hoped that he would have been welcoming back to All-Ireland winners back to town, however he stated that it was very important to recognise all sporting achievements. Cllr. Billy Grimes seconded this motion.
Cllr. Grimes further proposed that we honour Jimmy Ward who recently won an underage All Ireland Boxing title. Cllr. Phonsie Travers stated that Tom Daly, outgoing President of the Ulster Council should also be included. Cllr. Eugene Dolan added Niall McGonagle, who won an Ulster Boxing title and Cllr. Billy Grimes stated that Johnathon Gallagher should also be included as he was recently awarded the Player of the Year at D.I.T.
All members agreed. On the proposal of Cllr. Brendan Travers and seconded by Cllr. Billy Grimes it was decided to send a letter of congratulations to all six people on their respective sporting achievements.
‘That this Council calls on the Minister for Family and Social Affairs, Mary Hanafin, T.D. to amend the eligibility criteria for the Mortgage Interest Supplement Scheme (M.I.S.), having regard to the existing anomalies contained in this Scheme’
- submitted by Mullingar Town Council
- Noted.
5.
Oil Tank – Sheil Hospital
The Town Clerk advised members that the position of the HSE remains the same,
that this had been included in the HSE minor capital programme for 2009 but no funding was made available and in the context of reduced budgets this year the HSE had to prioritise core services.
Cllr. Pat O’Malley requested a Health and Safety report on the Oil Tank and further requested a meeting with the trustees of the Sheil Hospital.
The Town Clerk suggested that members should discuss options of making the tank more aesthetically pleasing with members of the residents association.
6.
Correspondence:
The following correspondence was noted:
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Ballyshannon Town Council Scheme of Arts Grants 2010
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Ballyshannon Town Council now on Facebook.
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AMAI – Open Forum Session at their Annual Conference
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Irish Wheelchair Association – wheelie bin obstruction
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Cluid Housing Association – Highfields Estate Report 2009
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Cllr. Meehan acknowledged thanks to the Mayor for meeting recently with a group of students from our twin town Grenay.
That concluded the business of the meeting.
Appendix One:
Ballyshannon Town Council Follow Up Report – May Meeting 2010
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Date
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Issue
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Follow Up Response
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April 2010
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Ballyshannon Sewerage Scheme
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Paul Lyons, Engineer is on leave …. The following I received from Eddie McGrane …
All sections of the new sewer are now completed and ready for connections. Applications for connections have been received from most of the houses that it is proposed to facilitate. As far as I am aware standard connection charges are to apply ie 285 euro per connection. This is the connection fee only. Where possible tails have been left to the boundary of peoples property for connecting into, this will prevent roads or footpaths being dug up again. If for whatever reason it was not possible to leave these tails at the boundary during construction and roads or footpaths have to be dug up then additional charges will apply however numbers in this category will be few if any at all. Hope this clarifies the situation.
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April 2010
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Playground – opening and closing the facility
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Spoke with Michael Breslin, Area Manager of Water and Environment Services, Donegal County Council – he stated that the playground opening and closing etc. was an issue for the playground committee and therefore the caretaker for the public toilets would not be in a position to open and close the playground.
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April 2010
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Littering – Colaiste Cholmcille presentation
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I contacted Suzanne Tinney, Environmental Awareness Officer, DCC and requested her to contact the school with a view to organising a presentation (accompanied by local Traffic/Litter Warden) as part of educational/awareness initiative. She agreed to forward a letter to the school.
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April 2010
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Street Signage (Tirconnail Street)
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Street Sign:
Cllr. Meehan enquired if there was any progress in relation to a street sign for Tirconnail Street. Mr. Coyle stated that he had spoken with Mr. McLaughlin, Director of Roads and with Mr. Declan Gillespie, Executive Engineer who had no budget identified at present for new street signage but agreed to consider erecting one for Tirconnail Street.
It had been proposed to seek funding for a street signage scheme for the town. Part of this process would have involved agreeing on the design of the proposed signage. We can proceed with the purchase of a standard sign for Tirconnail Street if the members wish or if there is a particular design that the members would like then this should be agreed.
- Declan Gillespie, Roads and Transportation
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April 2010
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Storage Unit
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This storage unit has now been removed.
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April 2010
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Public Toilets
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Michael Breslin, Area Manager of Water and Environment Services has stated that they will carry out an intensive cleaning of the toilets in the next few weeks and repair any locks etc. - ensuring that the public toilets are ready for the summer tourist season.
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April 2010
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Roads Issues
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Ballyshannon Town Council Meeting
May 2010
1) That Ballyshannon Town Council call on Donegal County Council to provide bins and erect signs regarding "Dog Fouling" throughout the town.
This item is probably an issue for the Environment Section. (NOW FORWARDED TO MICHAEL BRESLIN, WATER AND ENVIRONMENT, ALSO TO MARTIN BURKE LITTER WARDEN)
2) That Ballyshannon Town Council request Donegal Co Co roads engineer for an update on current staffing levels of council employees for the town and seek reassurance that the street cleaning schedule will be maintained and indeed increased over the summer season (including weekends).
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Year
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Permanent
(outdoor staff)
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On Sick Leave
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Temporary
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Total
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2008
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13
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1
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3
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17
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2009
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11
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0
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0
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11
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2010
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10
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1
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0
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11
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The above numbers cover the roads area from Ballintra to Bundoran and Rossnowlagh to Pettigoe. The Council has currently 10 number of employees available (including the Supervisor & Foreman). This is a reduction of approximately 40% from the 2008 figures. As a result of this reduction of numbers and reduction of funding the Council will find it extremely difficult to maintain the level of service provided over recent years.
3) Ballyshannon Town Council call on DCC /ESB to provide lights at the back of the houses at Ernedale Heights from numbers 15 to 20’.
Ballyshannon Town Council call on DCC/ESB to provide a new light at the bottom of St. Benildus Avenue’
The only funding available at the moment for new public lighting would be from the member’s lights. I would suggest that representations be made to elected members of Donegal Co. Co.
4) Ballyshannon Town Council call on DCC to repair the green area in front of the houses at Ernedale Heights after recent footpath repairs from house numbers 21 to 26.’
Noted.
5) Pay and Display:
Responding to Cllr. Phonsie Travers question with regard to the amount of money collected from the meters in Ballyshannon in 2009, Mr. Declan Gillespie confirmed that €13,450 was taken from the Pay & Display Machines in 2009.
Cllr. Grimes stated that it was his understanding that when the expenditure associated with the ‘Pay and Display’ machines was covered that all further monies would be returned to the town. Cllr. Grimes requested information as to when and where and in what budget did these monies go? The Town Clerk agreed to seek clarity for the next meeting. Cllr. Grimes also requested information on the amount of money obtained from parking fines in the town
Proposed Expenditure from Pay & Display 2010
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Item
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Cost
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Collection/ Emptying Machines/ van hire/ banking/ Computer reports/ Audit Trail etc
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€4,600
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Tickets
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€100
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Maintenance of Machines (Parts & Vandalism)
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€1,000
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Administration (Resident Permits, Fines, Appeals)
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€1,000
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Street Cleaning
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€5,000
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Miscellaneous expenditure, Grass cutting, Festivals, Signage etc…
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€1,300
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Total
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€13,000
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Declan Gillespie
Roads & Transportation.
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May 2010
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Cllr. O’Malley – update on status of Rock and Sheil Hospital
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Donegal Local Health Office
HSE West
Iona Office Block
Upper Main Street
Ballyshannon
Co. Donegal
Tel.
(071)
9834000
May 4th 2010
Community Hospitals - Donegal
The HSE in Donegal is currently reviewing its use of resources and facilities for residential care in the County. The factors relevant to the process include the following:
q
HIQA Standards and compliance issues
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Staffing and resource issues
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Residential care needs and options in HSE and private nursing homes
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HSE’s capital programme to replace / upgrade existing facilities.
On completion of above we will then be in a position to outline any proposed changes arising for HSE facilities in the County.
The focus of the review is on residential care provision and has no implication for the delivery of other services including physiotherapy.
All HSE services are subject to compliance with national policy on recruitment including community hospitals.
John Hayes
Local Health Manager – Donegal.
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May 2010
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Cllr. O’Malley called on DCC to allocate all vacant houses in Ballyshannon without delay.
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Donegal County Council are currently arranging for repairs to be carried out on vacant dwellings in Ballyshannon. When repairs have been completed a BER cert will be sought for the dwellings and they will then be allocated. --- Bernadine McGee Acting Area Manager, Housing
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