AGM 2022
Lough Cumnel Group Water Scheme Co-operative Society Ltd.
Annual General Meeting
7:30pm, 2nd June 2022
Killeen Community Centre
Draft minutes
Lough Cumnel Group Water Scheme Co-operative Society Ltd.
Annual General Meeting
7:30pm, 2nd June 2022
Killeen Community Centre
Draft minutes
Present at AGM:
[redacted]
Sal O’Malley (Chairperson) opened the meeting and asked for the minutes of the previous AGM to be read by the secretary, Michael O’Grady.
Minutes:
Michael O’Grady read the minutes of the previous AGM which was held by Zoom on 3rd June 2021. The minutes were proposed by Austin Francis O’Malley, seconded by Ian Donald and signed by the Chairperson, Sal O’Malley.
Chairperson’s Address:
Sal then welcomed everyone to the AGM and while it was good to have the previous AGM via Zoom, it is nice to be back having this year’s AGM in person.
She extended condolences to the family of John Tiernan, recently deceased and who was Treasurer of our scheme for 40 years. He was meticulous in the keeping of records and kept good details of all transactions.
She welcomed Paul Connolly and thanked him for his support and advice during the year.
Likewise, she welcomed John O’Tool (accountant) and thanked him for his help and advice and on being generous with his time to the benefit of the scheme.
Thanks to Louise and Austin Francis, our joint managers, who continue to put in a lot of time and work to keeping the scheme in the good financial state that it’s in. Thanks to Egbert, our website manager.
Thanks to John McGreal, our maintenance man, who worked in all weathers up to his retirement at the end of 2021. She welcomed our new maintenance man, Patrick O’Malley, and wished him well in his new role.
She thanked and complimented the members of the scheme for the prompt payment of water charges and the board members for attending meetings to keep the scheme running. If anybody has any questions, this is the time to ask, and every effort will be made to answer them.
Audited Accounts:
John O’Toole then gave his financial report and noted the audited accounts run to 17 pages. The most relevant are on 3 pages and if anyone wants the full document, he will eMail it to them on request.
Objectives are to maximise income and use that income to keep the scheme up-to-date. The board are doing very well. The network has value but is not reflected on the balance sheet, as is the water treatment plant.
The managers have done good work with debtors and members obviously respect the scheme.
It is important to maximise income and spend it well for the benefit of the scheme. There was a net profit of €7,719.
There are 370 houses on the scheme, responding to a question of how many houses go over the threshold of the free allowance of water, John didn’t know at hand. Paul Connolly stated that 60% of households nationally pay nothing for water.
Managers’ Report:
Louise Noble presented the Managers’ Report, which was comprehensive, outlining what works had been done and plans for the future.
Over the summer of 2021, the scheme employed the services of an engineering company (SDS based in Castlebar) to map our whole network in great detail and to carry out a full survey and review of our network. SDS presented their report to the scheme in August 2021. The report included drawings of the existing distribution network as it stands and drawings of the network with proposed changes. It provided numerous spreadsheets including design demands, alongside actual demands throughout the network. We were also provided with a hydraulic model (using EPANET programme) to allow us to see where there are any pressure and demand issues. It found there are differences in pressure throughout the network and we should aim to have a more balanced network. This model also allows us to predict how new additions e.g. new connections will affect the current flows and pressures.
The recommendations made on this report were to:
This report was submitted to support the scheme’s application to the Mayo CoCo last summer as part of the 2022-2024 Multi Annual Rural Water Programme, for a grant for capital works to upgrade and improve our network. Unfortunately there has been major delays in the finalising of details of this programme and we are still awaiting confirmation of funding allocations.
One of the reasons SDS was employed by the scheme last year was to try solve ongoing issues with supply to the Cregganbaun area. While these investigations were taking place, a valve close to our treatment plant was found to be clogged up with debris. Once this was cleared, the pressure increased throughout the network but particularly on the Cregganbaun pipeline. Thankfully, this seems to have solved the supply issue to the area but we continue to monitor the flows to that area (and all areas) on a daily basis.
The scheme recognises the part we must play in trying to protect our environment. We’ve taken some small steps in this area but realise there is so much more to be done.
Last year we received a small grant of €500 from the Community Water Development Fund 2021, through the Local Authority Waters Programme. This grant was to be used towards the planting of native hedgerows, trees and wildflowers on our plot alongside our water treatment plant, to assist in the improvement of the biodiversity in the area. This work commenced earlier this year with some more works to take place this Autumn. If anyone has any logs or old branches on their land that they don’t need, we would be very grateful for them – to build a large insect and bee hotel running along the wildflower beds.
We have submitted an application to the local Leader office for funding of a feasibility study to investigate the viability (physically and financially) of alternative methods of powering our water treatment plant, e.g. hydro-electric turbines within our raw water pipes, solar panels and wind turbines. We are awaiting their decision on our application.
In the coming months, we will be installing a small rain-harvesting system at Killeen NS. This water will be used to water the school’s garden. We’re keen to educate the children and their parents on the importance of water conservation. We would encourage all our members to install a simple rainwater harvesting system.
As a scheme, we see that our water supply is precious and needs to be protected. We have been busy in the last year working to reduce our daily water consumption – particularly in reducing any wastage through leaks. Additional stop valves and bulk meters have been installed, which have allowed us to identify problem areas and find leaks quicker.
We’ve also started to carry out a scouring programme on the network, cleaning out small sections of pipe at a time. This will be continued over the coming months, as it requires a large quantity of water to flush out each section of pipe.
2021 brought about a change we thought would never happen – Johnny McGreal has stepped down from his role as our maintenance man (in his case – Maintenance Guru). Johnny has literally kept the water flowing during storms and the most horrendous of weather conditions. We will be forever grateful for his dedication and, on some occasions, stubbornness, in making sure water got through to the water treatment plant and onwards. His knowledge of the network is immense and thankfully he has been passing some of his knowledge onto our new Maintenance person – Patrick O’Malley, who joined us in December. We welcome Patrick and look forward to working with him.
Election of Members:
Connie O’Driscoll and Ian Donald stepped down as members of the Board and offered themselves for re-election. Sal O’Malley proposed Connie for re-election and seconded by Austin Francis. Joe Cannon proposed Ian Donald for re-election and was seconded by Austin Francis. Both were re-elected to the Board.
A new board member, Majella Tiernan, was proposed by Sal O’Malley and seconded by Austin Francis. Majella was elected to the Board. That completed the voting.
Water Charges:
Water charges were discussed, and Sal proposed that the water charges for the year remain the same at the previous year, at €1.10 per m3 for all water usage over the free allowance of 160m3 for domestic connections and €1.10 per m3 on all water used in field connections. This was seconded by Joe Cannon and was carried.
Sal proposed that Sullivan Auditors be appointed for the coming year and Austin Francis seconded, the motion was carried.
A.O.B.
Paul Connolly delivered a very interesting talk referring to the large amount of work on-going with biodiversity in water schemes throughout the country.
Referring to the cost of booster pumps, he said how some schemes have very large expenses in the cost of electricity and that we are very luck we have a good “gravity fed” system and how it is working well since a problem was identified and repaired last year.
He expressed condolences to the family of John Tiernan, who he had the pleasure of knowing and working with him on the scheme for a number of years.
There is a great need to get more young people on-board. There are motions to Congress to improve the age profile and gender balance. He noted that the gender balance is good on our board.
Ian Donald asked Paul that with 13 schemes in Mayo, can a case be made for grant schemes to generate electricity? Following a discussion on this query, it was decided to “ask formally” for a special grant for water schemes to create green energy. Proposed by Ian Donald and seconded by Sal O’Malley.
Louise asked Paul if there is any update on County Council funding to carry out repairs to the network, as proposed in our plans submitted to the Council. Paul replied that things are very slow with only 24% of the previous programme funds drawn down. He recommends that we get back to the County Council to get funding this year, as the pipes in our scheme are very old.
Paul thanked the members for the invite to the AGM and promised any help and support he can give in the coming year.
The meeting was closed by the Chairperson.
[redacted]
Sal O’Malley (Chairperson) opened the meeting and asked for the minutes of the previous AGM to be read by the secretary, Michael O’Grady.
Minutes:
Michael O’Grady read the minutes of the previous AGM which was held by Zoom on 3rd June 2021. The minutes were proposed by Austin Francis O’Malley, seconded by Ian Donald and signed by the Chairperson, Sal O’Malley.
Chairperson’s Address:
Sal then welcomed everyone to the AGM and while it was good to have the previous AGM via Zoom, it is nice to be back having this year’s AGM in person.
She extended condolences to the family of John Tiernan, recently deceased and who was Treasurer of our scheme for 40 years. He was meticulous in the keeping of records and kept good details of all transactions.
She welcomed Paul Connolly and thanked him for his support and advice during the year.
Likewise, she welcomed John O’Tool (accountant) and thanked him for his help and advice and on being generous with his time to the benefit of the scheme.
Thanks to Louise and Austin Francis, our joint managers, who continue to put in a lot of time and work to keeping the scheme in the good financial state that it’s in. Thanks to Egbert, our website manager.
Thanks to John McGreal, our maintenance man, who worked in all weathers up to his retirement at the end of 2021. She welcomed our new maintenance man, Patrick O’Malley, and wished him well in his new role.
She thanked and complimented the members of the scheme for the prompt payment of water charges and the board members for attending meetings to keep the scheme running. If anybody has any questions, this is the time to ask, and every effort will be made to answer them.
Audited Accounts:
John O’Toole then gave his financial report and noted the audited accounts run to 17 pages. The most relevant are on 3 pages and if anyone wants the full document, he will eMail it to them on request.
Objectives are to maximise income and use that income to keep the scheme up-to-date. The board are doing very well. The network has value but is not reflected on the balance sheet, as is the water treatment plant.
The managers have done good work with debtors and members obviously respect the scheme.
It is important to maximise income and spend it well for the benefit of the scheme. There was a net profit of €7,719.
There are 370 houses on the scheme, responding to a question of how many houses go over the threshold of the free allowance of water, John didn’t know at hand. Paul Connolly stated that 60% of households nationally pay nothing for water.
Managers’ Report:
Louise Noble presented the Managers’ Report, which was comprehensive, outlining what works had been done and plans for the future.
Over the summer of 2021, the scheme employed the services of an engineering company (SDS based in Castlebar) to map our whole network in great detail and to carry out a full survey and review of our network. SDS presented their report to the scheme in August 2021. The report included drawings of the existing distribution network as it stands and drawings of the network with proposed changes. It provided numerous spreadsheets including design demands, alongside actual demands throughout the network. We were also provided with a hydraulic model (using EPANET programme) to allow us to see where there are any pressure and demand issues. It found there are differences in pressure throughout the network and we should aim to have a more balanced network. This model also allows us to predict how new additions e.g. new connections will affect the current flows and pressures.
The recommendations made on this report were to:
- Replace any bulk meters that were not working (this has since been done and the meters are working correctly at that point )
- Install 8 new PRV (pressure release valves) and 4 booster pumps along the network, to balance out the pressure throughout the network
- Replace 1.3km of 6” main due to poor condition of this section of main (which has resulted in 6 major leaks in the prior 18 months)
- Replacement of 10km of other mains where problems occur.
- Regular scouring programme (which has since started)
This report was submitted to support the scheme’s application to the Mayo CoCo last summer as part of the 2022-2024 Multi Annual Rural Water Programme, for a grant for capital works to upgrade and improve our network. Unfortunately there has been major delays in the finalising of details of this programme and we are still awaiting confirmation of funding allocations.
One of the reasons SDS was employed by the scheme last year was to try solve ongoing issues with supply to the Cregganbaun area. While these investigations were taking place, a valve close to our treatment plant was found to be clogged up with debris. Once this was cleared, the pressure increased throughout the network but particularly on the Cregganbaun pipeline. Thankfully, this seems to have solved the supply issue to the area but we continue to monitor the flows to that area (and all areas) on a daily basis.
The scheme recognises the part we must play in trying to protect our environment. We’ve taken some small steps in this area but realise there is so much more to be done.
Last year we received a small grant of €500 from the Community Water Development Fund 2021, through the Local Authority Waters Programme. This grant was to be used towards the planting of native hedgerows, trees and wildflowers on our plot alongside our water treatment plant, to assist in the improvement of the biodiversity in the area. This work commenced earlier this year with some more works to take place this Autumn. If anyone has any logs or old branches on their land that they don’t need, we would be very grateful for them – to build a large insect and bee hotel running along the wildflower beds.
We have submitted an application to the local Leader office for funding of a feasibility study to investigate the viability (physically and financially) of alternative methods of powering our water treatment plant, e.g. hydro-electric turbines within our raw water pipes, solar panels and wind turbines. We are awaiting their decision on our application.
In the coming months, we will be installing a small rain-harvesting system at Killeen NS. This water will be used to water the school’s garden. We’re keen to educate the children and their parents on the importance of water conservation. We would encourage all our members to install a simple rainwater harvesting system.
As a scheme, we see that our water supply is precious and needs to be protected. We have been busy in the last year working to reduce our daily water consumption – particularly in reducing any wastage through leaks. Additional stop valves and bulk meters have been installed, which have allowed us to identify problem areas and find leaks quicker.
We’ve also started to carry out a scouring programme on the network, cleaning out small sections of pipe at a time. This will be continued over the coming months, as it requires a large quantity of water to flush out each section of pipe.
2021 brought about a change we thought would never happen – Johnny McGreal has stepped down from his role as our maintenance man (in his case – Maintenance Guru). Johnny has literally kept the water flowing during storms and the most horrendous of weather conditions. We will be forever grateful for his dedication and, on some occasions, stubbornness, in making sure water got through to the water treatment plant and onwards. His knowledge of the network is immense and thankfully he has been passing some of his knowledge onto our new Maintenance person – Patrick O’Malley, who joined us in December. We welcome Patrick and look forward to working with him.
Election of Members:
Connie O’Driscoll and Ian Donald stepped down as members of the Board and offered themselves for re-election. Sal O’Malley proposed Connie for re-election and seconded by Austin Francis. Joe Cannon proposed Ian Donald for re-election and was seconded by Austin Francis. Both were re-elected to the Board.
A new board member, Majella Tiernan, was proposed by Sal O’Malley and seconded by Austin Francis. Majella was elected to the Board. That completed the voting.
Water Charges:
Water charges were discussed, and Sal proposed that the water charges for the year remain the same at the previous year, at €1.10 per m3 for all water usage over the free allowance of 160m3 for domestic connections and €1.10 per m3 on all water used in field connections. This was seconded by Joe Cannon and was carried.
Sal proposed that Sullivan Auditors be appointed for the coming year and Austin Francis seconded, the motion was carried.
A.O.B.
Paul Connolly delivered a very interesting talk referring to the large amount of work on-going with biodiversity in water schemes throughout the country.
Referring to the cost of booster pumps, he said how some schemes have very large expenses in the cost of electricity and that we are very luck we have a good “gravity fed” system and how it is working well since a problem was identified and repaired last year.
He expressed condolences to the family of John Tiernan, who he had the pleasure of knowing and working with him on the scheme for a number of years.
There is a great need to get more young people on-board. There are motions to Congress to improve the age profile and gender balance. He noted that the gender balance is good on our board.
Ian Donald asked Paul that with 13 schemes in Mayo, can a case be made for grant schemes to generate electricity? Following a discussion on this query, it was decided to “ask formally” for a special grant for water schemes to create green energy. Proposed by Ian Donald and seconded by Sal O’Malley.
Louise asked Paul if there is any update on County Council funding to carry out repairs to the network, as proposed in our plans submitted to the Council. Paul replied that things are very slow with only 24% of the previous programme funds drawn down. He recommends that we get back to the County Council to get funding this year, as the pipes in our scheme are very old.
Paul thanked the members for the invite to the AGM and promised any help and support he can give in the coming year.
The meeting was closed by the Chairperson.
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