Mitchelstown Community Council AGM
While the biggest announcement at Mitchelstown Community Council’s AGM on Tuesday night was the formalisation of the signing over of O’Connell Park, there were several other topics up for discussion at the meeting attended by about 20 people. WEEKLY CLEAN-UP
Mitch els town’ s weekly clean-up will be held next Tuesday evening at 6pm, with those interested in joining in, asked to meet at Forrest Hall beforehand.
At the community council AGM this week, it was mentioned that on the first night of the clean-up there were about 16 volunteers showed up but that numbers have fallen off since then, with some disappointment expressed on the lack of volunteers.
Some initiatives were mentioned to ignite enthusiasm, like an ‘Adopt a Street’ movement, or a street league.
FINANCIAL AFFAIRS
Reporting a predictable state of affairs for 2021 in light of Covid-19, chairman Sean Finn was optimistic that many groups would return to Forrest Hall by September and welcomed two new businesses that are operating out of the Hall, and after a moratorium on loan repayments, was happy to report the council was back repaying the loan.
A net profit of €3,740 was reported for the year, with a highish phone bill due to be tackled by a change in providers. Various committees accounted for activities in the year. The Allotment Committee’s accounts were presented by Verling Fitzgerald who was happy to report no balance for the gardeners as they made good use of any money granted to them and ‘blew it all!’
DEFIBRILLATORS
Defibrillator training was raised as an issue, as a call for those who are trained in the use of the equipment to be re-trained was only answered by two people, and it will be looked at again in September. A new defibrillator on the wall of The Ramble Inn was noted, though not a community council project.
COMMUNITY COUNCIL ELECTIONS
A new approach to on-boarding members of the community council was put forward and agreed upon. The ‘old’ way, of calling door-to-door and running elections that way was agreed to be ‘onerous’, with difficulties added to by electric gates and angry dogs. It was agreed that instead, elections will be held by district in Forrest Hall. Residents in the various areas of Mitchelstown will be notified by both print and social media on the evenings of their relevant area’s elections and invited to Forrest Hall. If one turns up, they will be elected, If more than one, a vote will take place.
If an area is not represented, the council can co-opt a person to represent that area. Nominees are also welcome from groups in Mitchelstown other than by geographic location; however, no more than 1/3 of the community council can be represented by members of these two aforementioned cohorts.
PLAYGROUND
The daily maintenance of the playground by Denis McGrath was noted by the council who thanked him for undertaking the task. A new security fence for the playground has been ordered, and due to be installed in six to ten weeks time. The new fence will come with a gate to be locked, and someone will need to be appointed to that task.
Mr McGrath acknowledged that there is the all-too-common vandalism that takes place in the playground, but that some of the ‘damage’ is wear-andtear, particularly on the ground mats and timberwork. Garda John Hennessy agreed that much of the equipment is in need of an upgrade, a project to be pursued by Cllr Deirdre O’Brien as this is a matter for the county council.
Mr McGrath also felt more could be done with the sensory garden element of the playground, while Cllr Deirdre O’Brien enquired about installing crowproof bins, with the birds getting the blame for littering in the area.
LITHUANIAN ARTS AND CRAFTS GROUP
The Lithuanian Arts and Crafts Group project this year is a tapestry depiction of the Virgin and Child from the Book of Kells, the only appearance of a female in the book, and a nod, said Zivile Zeniauskaite, to the many mothers and children fleeing the war in Ukraine.