Comhairle Baile Atha Throim
Comhairle Baile Atha Throim
Trim Town Council Meeting Minutes
April, 2011 Trim Town Council
Minutes of April Monthly Meeting of Trim Town Council held April 12th at 7.00p.m. in the Council Chamber, at Mornington House, Summerhill Road, Trim, Co. Meath.
In Attendance: Cllr T. Golden, (Cathaoirleach),
Cllrs. P. Cantwell, V. McHugh, R. McKenna, J. O’Shea, O’Brien Reilly and Fay
Officials Present:
Tadhg McDonnell Town Manager
Brian Murphy: Town Clerk
Vincent Collins Town Engineer
Aine Brennan Clerical Officer
1.0 Confirmation of Minutes.
1.1 Confirmation of Minutes of meeting held on the 8th March, 2011.
Proposed by Cllr. O’Brien and seconded by Cllr. McHugh with changes.
2.0 Matters Arising from the Minutes
Cllr. McKenena: Raised the following;
· Thanked the Area Engineer for his report on Public lighting.
· Requested a report on the new town centre site.
· Asked if there was any result following the CCTV meeting held on the 6th April 2011.
Town Clerk: Informed him that the members that a resolution was identified in relation to the CCTV subject to the Planning Officers approval.
Cllr.
O’Brien: Asked if there was any update on the Town Hall.
Town Clerk: Stated that he had met with the consultants and that the report is to be revised before being forwarded to Failte.Ireland.
Cllr. Reilly: Suggested that a presentation be made to former Cllr. Ray Butler at the next meeting.
This was unanimously agreed.
3.0 Statutory Business
3.1 To reconsider the Part VIII Planners Report and if thought fit to recommend the plans as submitted for reconstruction of Navan Gate for approval
Cllr.
Golden: Requested that the decision in relation to the Part VIII report for Navangate be deferred pending a solution put forward at a meeting in committee.
This was unanimously agreed
3.2 To receive presentation on the feasibility study with respect to the development of an enterprise centre in Trim.
Town Clerk: Circulated the final report in relation to the feasibility study carried out for the proposed enterprise centre in Trim. He informed the members that the comments made at their meeting in committee held before Christmas were taken into account. The report will be presented with recommendations. The next step is to adopt the report and to liaise with the Meath County Enterprise Board.
Cllr. Golden: Stated that it was a good report and recommended adopting same and move to the next stage and looks for comments on same.
Cllr. McKenna: Congratulated Cllr. Golden for his initiative. He stated that it was an excellent report and stated that there were a few areas in the report that should be focused on e.g. food, education and tourism. He stated that we should proceed to look at properties and draft up a business plan.
He also asked if the council was aware of any extra funding to become available from the Government.
Cllr. O’Brien: Stated that we need to go forward that the country needs small businesses and that we should proceed to the next step.
Cllr. Reilly: Stated that the construction route does not need to be taken as there are numerous vacant properties within the town that could be used for the project.
Cllr. O’Shea: Complimented the Cathaoirleach and stated that the report received was substantial and that the members were fully behind the project.
Cllr. Fay: Stated that the project would bring business to the town.
Cllr. Golden: Thanked the members for their support and proposed that the report be adopted and move onto the next step.
Town
Manager: Stated the following:
· He stated that he admired the initiative taken by the members on the project.
· He stated that the following course of action would need to be undertaken:
Ø It will be necessary to form a limited company under the auspices of Meath County Enterprise Board. The company will have a board of directors drawn from community and representative groups and the appropriate authorities.
Ø A management team will be required for purposes of administration and caretaking.
Ø A list of suitable properties should then be drawn up with details relating to price, lease terms, facilities and associated costs.
Ø Funding requirements can then be addressed when actual details are available.
· He stated that all comments have been noted
· The members have done all that the can at the moment and that others need to get involved now and suggested contacting the Meath County Enterprise Bord.
· A cogent plan is to be put in place.
The report was proposed by Cllr. Golden and it was unanimously agreed to adopt same.
Nomination of 3 members to sit on the committee board for Trim Enterprise Centre:
· Cllr. O’Brien proposed Cllr. Golden and Cllr. Reilly.
· Cllr. McHugh proposed Cllr. McKenna.
These nominations were agreed by all.
A meeting is to be set up the Meath County Enterprise Board and Economic Department of Meath County Council.
Cllr. Golden thanked David McHugh for the excellent report.
3.3 To receive a report on a new fixed term tenant purchase scheme for long standing tenants of Local Authority houses and to resolve if thought fit to adopt the new scheme as required under the Housing (Sale of Houses to Long Standing Tenants) Regulations 2011
Town Clerk: Briefed the members on current changes within the housing system and circulated a report.
A lengthily discussion took place.
It was agreed on the proposition of Cllr. McKenna and seconded by Cllr. O’Brien to adopt the new scheme as required under the Housing (Sale of Houses to Long Standing Tenants) Regulations 2011
3.3 To fill the casual vacancies ( No.1), following the election of Councilor Ray Butler to Dail Eireann, in the Membership of Trim Town Council, in accordance with Section 19 of the Local Government Act 2001, as amended.
The Town Clerk informed the members that he was statutorily obliged to list this item and to date he has not received any nominations from Fine Geal.
It was unanimously agreed to defer the nomination to the next meeting.
4.0 Expressions of Congratulations and Sympathy
An expression of sympathy was passes to the P.S.N.I. Constable Ronan Kerr who was murdered and a minute’s silence was then observed.
Expressions of Congratulations were expressed to the following:
· Scouting Ireland – Requested that a letter issue inviting them back to Trim.
· Brendan Swan – One Armed Golf World Championships
· St. Mary’s on the opening of the new school building
5.0 Correspondence and matters raised by the Manager and Town Clerk.
Nomination of one member to sit on the LAMA Committee.
Town
Clerk: Informed the members that a rep needed to be nominated to sit on the LAMA committee to take Ray Butlers position. He stated that it was important that someone attend the Spring Seminar to be held in April in order to promote the AMAI Annual Conference to be held in Trim in September.
Cllr. Reilly: Stated that he would not be able to attend the Spring Seminar and requested that someone stand in for him.
It was agreed by all that Cllr. Golden and McHugh attend the Spring LAMA Conference.
Notice of Motion from Monaghan Town Council
“That this council calls on the newly elected Government and particularly it’s Taoiseach to ensure that preservation of our first official language and promote its prominence in the education system”
Cllr. McKenna: Proposed that Trim Town Council support the above motion. This was seconded by Cllr. O’Brien.
8.0 Engineers Report
Cllr. Cantwell: Thanked the Engineer for the erection of bollards and painting of yellow boxes and the undergrounding of cables.
Cllr. McKenna: Asked if we were on track with the schedule of works.
Thanked the Engineer for the report on public lighting however, there is still some lights out at the Navan / Athboy Road junction... He stated that he is concerned about the turnaround time as the lights are not being repaired in the timeframe that was agreed.
Town Engineer: Stated that works were almost complete in relation to the schedule of works
He will take complaints in relation to public lighting and refer them on to Declan Gaffney, Engineer in charge.
Cllr. O’Shea: Raised the following:
· Stated that there is a huge improvement on the public lights around the town.
· Informed the Engineer that there are loose manhole covers at the Priory Bar, Haggard Street.
Cllr. O’Brien: Stated that there is an improvement in the public lighting system and requested a
monthly report from Declan Gaffney.
Cllr. Golden: Raised the following:
· Stated that there are a number of potholes around Loman Street.
· State that there are poles that are to be taken down by Eircom.
· Stated that UPC still has overhead wires on Marked and asked if we could enforce companies take their wires down.
· Congratulated the Engineer for the undergrounding of wires and the repair of public lighting.
· He stated that the Town is spotless and a credit to all concerned.
Town Engineer: Stated that Eircom are different to ESB they have not been paid to take the poles down. He said that it is very expensive to pay them but that Eircom do upgrade regularly
9.0 Schedule of Managers Orders
Noted
10.0 Matters raised with the consent of the Cathaoirleach
Cllr. Cantwell: Raised the following:
· Requested more signage for Trim on the M3 and requested that a letter issue to the NRA
· Stated that gas connection should only be done when works are being carried out
Cllr. McKenna: Raised the following:
· Stated that when approaching Trim from the Dublin Road that there is a sign in the right hand side that creates poor visibility and asked if something could be done with same.
· Asked if the Town Council were involved with the development of Sarsfield Ave.
· Stated that the Navan Rail Line be continued – as there was another review in the transportation document, he hopes that Town Council will endorse the importance of the Navan Rail Line.
Cllr. O’Shea: Raised the following:
· Requested that a zebra crossing be installed at the Irish school on the Dublin Road.
· Stated that Parking at Schoil Mhuire on Patrick Street was causing problems at mass times.
· Stated that there is dumping at the stream at the rear of Patrick park.
· Stated that there is a problem with parking at St. Patricks Park and that it is a safety issue.
· Asked if there was a solution in relation to the CCTV scheme.
Town Clerk: Replied as follows:
· Suggested that the priest discourage people to park at the school during mass times.
Cllr. Reilly: Raised the following:
· Asked if a letter could issue to Spicer’s requesting that they clean up the back of their property.
· Asked if the problem with the Navan Road / Lackanash Junction could be brought to the next area meeting.
· Asked if tarmac at Effernock could be removed.
Cllr. Fay: Queried the speed restrictions on Finnegans way as speeding occurs in the area.
Cllr. Golden: Raised the following:
· Queried the painting of the Town Hall.
· Asked if letters could issue to landowners whose buildings were in a bad state requesting that they clean up their buildings.
· Asked if it was possible to erect road closure signage a day prior to works commencing indicating that the road will be closed the following day.
· Stated that bollards that are being hit are costing the council money.
· Asked if road works could be carried out on streets that are breaking up.
Town Engineer: Stated that broken bollards are an ongoing cost and requested if an accident was witnessed that the witness informs the Town Council of details.
Meeting concluded @ 8.40pm
A request to enter into committee by Cllr. Cantwell and McHugh was agreed to by Cathaoirleach.
Signed: ______Cathaoirleach
Date: ______