AGM 2024
Lough Cumnel Group Water Scheme Co-operative Society Ltd.
Annual General Meeting
8:00pm, 17th June 2024
Killeen Community Centre
Draft minutes
Lough Cumnel Group Water Scheme Co-operative Society Ltd.
Annual General Meeting
8:00pm, 17th June 2024
Killeen Community Centre
Draft minutes
Present at AGM:
[redacted]
Deirdre O'Neill from the NFGWS has sent her apologies.
Chairperson's Address:
The chair, Sal O'Malley welcomes the members and delivers her address.
Minutes:
The secretary reads out the minutes of the previous meeting in 2023.
The minutes are proposed by Francis O'Malley. They are seconded by Michael O'Grady.
Auditor's Report:
The auditor's report is dealt with first to allow John O'Toole to leave early for another appointment.
The figures are not dissimilar to the results of the previous financial year. There is an exceptionally low outstanding amount of €267.
Proposed by Majella and seconded by Francis.
Connie proposes to retain O'Sullivan as auditors, Michael seconds.
Managers’ Report:
Fiona presents the following managers' report:
In the last twelve months, Killeen Group Water Scheme has continued to deliver and worked tirelessly on improving the quality of water and service delivered to customers and protecting our water supply and the environment. We have continued to do so by using all resources available to us in an effective and efficient manner.
The scheme believes in future planning and the 2021 SDS report and maps, has been a great asset to secure local knowledge. The information contained in the report can be built on and the maps created have been crucial to our application for funding under the new Multi Annual Rural Water Programme 2024 – 2026.
September 2023 saw myself taking over from Louise and I certainly had a fantastic role model to follow. It has been a busy twelve months with progress made on several issues.
Maintenance on the Scheme – Killeen GWS appreciate that ongoing maintenance and upgrade works are essential to ensure that the scheme continues to deliver a high quality water supply to it’s members. This maintenance programme is managed and implemented by Patrick O’Malley and Austin Francis O’Malley and focuses on leak prevention and detection.
We have 10 remote loggers on the mains throughout the scheme which are monitored every morning. Any variances in these lead to the team manually investigating what is the cause, this pro-active approach has resulted in reducing wastage and improving conservation. Approval has been given for the installation of three further loggers which will further progress our efforts at same.
GlanNua – GlanAgua rebranded as GlanNua in 2023 and continue to operate and maintain the plant on our behalf. We have an excellent working relationship with their team, and they produce monthly monitoring reports to us which are consistently satisfactory to both parties. We are members of the Local Monitoring Committee which consists of members of Mayo GWS and GlanNua, Austin Francis is chairman of this committee, and we hold meetings on a bimonthly basis.
Chlorine Testing – We monitor the daily chlorine levels at the plant and carry out daily testing of chlorine levels at two domestic locations further down the scheme. This is carried out by Austin Francis O’Malley and Jackie Hedley to whom the scheme is extremely grateful. This allows is to ensure that the treatment of the supply is proper and sufficient.
National Federation of Group Water Schemes – The scheme uses the resources of the federation to ensure that the services we provide to our members achieve the highest standards in terms of water quality and consumer service. The Federation works in partnership with government departments, local authorities and other state and non-state stakeholders to deliver support services to us such as advice, mentoring and training.
Board members and staff have attended the national conference and various training courses. The recent one on governance, has resulted in a new draft business plan now being under consideration by the board.
We are very proud to have our Board Member Connie O’Driscoll elected onto the Board of Directors of the National Federation of GWS.
Alternative Power at the Plant – The feasibility of this continued to be investigated. We discovered that the issue of installing solar panels at the plant by the GWS is not viable at present as the terms and conditions of the electricity scheme would not allow the GWS to sell the electricity back to GlanNua who operate the plant, we will continue to monitor this situation into the future.
The Scheme also looked at the possibility of erecting a Wind Turbine at the plant in conjunction with the Climate Action Louisburgh Locality, however as this would involve erecting a wind turbine in an area outside of the land owned by the scheme at the plant, this proposal is considered not viable and has been parked for now.
Community Water Development Fund 2023/2024 – This fund supports community groups to enhance the quality of local streams, rivers, lakes and coastal areas. The scheme applied for funding and were successful in receiving funding for a hydrologist to conduct a yield assessment of Lough Cumnel, this survey is currently being undertaken and will provide the basis for further conservation of our water source, through monitoring of the lake water levels and abstraction levels.
Water Refill Station – The scheme was enabled by a 100% department funded grant administered through the NFGWS to install a Water Refill Station at the graveyard in Killeen. This is an excellent benefit to our community and is being used by locals and visitors alike, usage is monitored, as this connection is metered like all others on the scheme.
Multi Annual Rural Water Programme 2024 – 2026 – January 2024 saw the announcement of the long-awaited funding programme for Group Water Schemes. A new application was drafted and overseen by staff from Mayo County Council.
The proposed necessary upgrade works include:
Total grant aid payable, if successful, is €1,360,000 and the Local Contribution required on the full amount would be €240,000. Mayo County Council will require evidence that the required Local Contribution is in place before they will issue approval for Killeen GWS to enter into a contract for the works. If the Scheme does receive an allocation under the 2024-2026 MARWP the works would have to be substantially complete by the end of 2026.
If the scheme is successful in receiving the full grant of €1,360,000, the maximum payable per household would be €200 per annum over 3 years. This is separate to your water charges. This is a Local Contribution towards upgrade works on the scheme.
Mayo County Council have notified us as follows:
“Schemes can collect the Local Contribution by way of a Capital Replacement Charge to their members which can be collected over a number of years, it is important to note that this must be clearly identified on any bills as a Capital Replacement Charge and can only be used for the purposes of funding the Local Contribution, it is not a Standing Charge and it cannot be used for the Operation and Maintenance of the Scheme.”
School Visit – In conjunction with keeping water conservation high on the agenda for school children in the community, the NFGWS, GlanNua and staff of the scheme held a very successful information morning for the children of Killeen NS. This involved a number of speakers giving talks to the children, a tour of the treatment plant and each child received a refillable water bottle together with a booklet on their role in minding the environment
I would like to take this opportunity to thank you all for your assistance and cooperation, in particular Austin Francis and Patrick.
Election of Members:
Mary Kilcoyne is a candidate for the board.
Francis proposes and Patricia seconds.
Under the rules of the scheme Sal O'Malley, Egbert Polski, and Séamus O'Malley resigned from the board. There is a proposal to re-elect them by Michael and it is seconded by Majella.
Michael resigns from the board with effect on the 31-7-2024.
Capital Contribution:
The membership was informed with the invitation to the AGM of a requirement to collect a capital contribution in order to obtain funding under the multi-annual rural water funding programme.
The suggested resolution reads:
"The AGM authorises the board to collect a local capital contribution for the multi annual rural water programme 2024-2026 of maximum €600 per household."
Connie proposes and Patricia seconds.
In order to have the funds demonstratively in place, revenues might temporarily transferred to the capital account until they can be replaced with the members' capital contributions.
Members will be billed for the total capital contribution even if they spread the payment over time.
Water Charges:
Francis proposes to keep the water charges at €1.10/m³. Ian seconds.
A.O.B.
Information about requirement of planning permission and the process for a specific connection.
The chair thanks everybody and closes the meeting.
[redacted]
Deirdre O'Neill from the NFGWS has sent her apologies.
Chairperson's Address:
The chair, Sal O'Malley welcomes the members and delivers her address.
Minutes:
The secretary reads out the minutes of the previous meeting in 2023.
The minutes are proposed by Francis O'Malley. They are seconded by Michael O'Grady.
Auditor's Report:
The auditor's report is dealt with first to allow John O'Toole to leave early for another appointment.
The figures are not dissimilar to the results of the previous financial year. There is an exceptionally low outstanding amount of €267.
Proposed by Majella and seconded by Francis.
Connie proposes to retain O'Sullivan as auditors, Michael seconds.
Managers’ Report:
Fiona presents the following managers' report:
In the last twelve months, Killeen Group Water Scheme has continued to deliver and worked tirelessly on improving the quality of water and service delivered to customers and protecting our water supply and the environment. We have continued to do so by using all resources available to us in an effective and efficient manner.
The scheme believes in future planning and the 2021 SDS report and maps, has been a great asset to secure local knowledge. The information contained in the report can be built on and the maps created have been crucial to our application for funding under the new Multi Annual Rural Water Programme 2024 – 2026.
September 2023 saw myself taking over from Louise and I certainly had a fantastic role model to follow. It has been a busy twelve months with progress made on several issues.
Maintenance on the Scheme – Killeen GWS appreciate that ongoing maintenance and upgrade works are essential to ensure that the scheme continues to deliver a high quality water supply to it’s members. This maintenance programme is managed and implemented by Patrick O’Malley and Austin Francis O’Malley and focuses on leak prevention and detection.
We have 10 remote loggers on the mains throughout the scheme which are monitored every morning. Any variances in these lead to the team manually investigating what is the cause, this pro-active approach has resulted in reducing wastage and improving conservation. Approval has been given for the installation of three further loggers which will further progress our efforts at same.
GlanNua – GlanAgua rebranded as GlanNua in 2023 and continue to operate and maintain the plant on our behalf. We have an excellent working relationship with their team, and they produce monthly monitoring reports to us which are consistently satisfactory to both parties. We are members of the Local Monitoring Committee which consists of members of Mayo GWS and GlanNua, Austin Francis is chairman of this committee, and we hold meetings on a bimonthly basis.
Chlorine Testing – We monitor the daily chlorine levels at the plant and carry out daily testing of chlorine levels at two domestic locations further down the scheme. This is carried out by Austin Francis O’Malley and Jackie Hedley to whom the scheme is extremely grateful. This allows is to ensure that the treatment of the supply is proper and sufficient.
National Federation of Group Water Schemes – The scheme uses the resources of the federation to ensure that the services we provide to our members achieve the highest standards in terms of water quality and consumer service. The Federation works in partnership with government departments, local authorities and other state and non-state stakeholders to deliver support services to us such as advice, mentoring and training.
Board members and staff have attended the national conference and various training courses. The recent one on governance, has resulted in a new draft business plan now being under consideration by the board.
We are very proud to have our Board Member Connie O’Driscoll elected onto the Board of Directors of the National Federation of GWS.
Alternative Power at the Plant – The feasibility of this continued to be investigated. We discovered that the issue of installing solar panels at the plant by the GWS is not viable at present as the terms and conditions of the electricity scheme would not allow the GWS to sell the electricity back to GlanNua who operate the plant, we will continue to monitor this situation into the future.
The Scheme also looked at the possibility of erecting a Wind Turbine at the plant in conjunction with the Climate Action Louisburgh Locality, however as this would involve erecting a wind turbine in an area outside of the land owned by the scheme at the plant, this proposal is considered not viable and has been parked for now.
Community Water Development Fund 2023/2024 – This fund supports community groups to enhance the quality of local streams, rivers, lakes and coastal areas. The scheme applied for funding and were successful in receiving funding for a hydrologist to conduct a yield assessment of Lough Cumnel, this survey is currently being undertaken and will provide the basis for further conservation of our water source, through monitoring of the lake water levels and abstraction levels.
Water Refill Station – The scheme was enabled by a 100% department funded grant administered through the NFGWS to install a Water Refill Station at the graveyard in Killeen. This is an excellent benefit to our community and is being used by locals and visitors alike, usage is monitored, as this connection is metered like all others on the scheme.
Multi Annual Rural Water Programme 2024 – 2026 – January 2024 saw the announcement of the long-awaited funding programme for Group Water Schemes. A new application was drafted and overseen by staff from Mayo County Council.
The proposed necessary upgrade works include:
- Replacement of almost 10km of 6” watermain
- Replacement of undersized watermains
- Replacement of existing consumer meters
- Installation of additional bulk meters
- Installation of additional scour valves
- Installation of fire hydrants
Total grant aid payable, if successful, is €1,360,000 and the Local Contribution required on the full amount would be €240,000. Mayo County Council will require evidence that the required Local Contribution is in place before they will issue approval for Killeen GWS to enter into a contract for the works. If the Scheme does receive an allocation under the 2024-2026 MARWP the works would have to be substantially complete by the end of 2026.
If the scheme is successful in receiving the full grant of €1,360,000, the maximum payable per household would be €200 per annum over 3 years. This is separate to your water charges. This is a Local Contribution towards upgrade works on the scheme.
Mayo County Council have notified us as follows:
“Schemes can collect the Local Contribution by way of a Capital Replacement Charge to their members which can be collected over a number of years, it is important to note that this must be clearly identified on any bills as a Capital Replacement Charge and can only be used for the purposes of funding the Local Contribution, it is not a Standing Charge and it cannot be used for the Operation and Maintenance of the Scheme.”
School Visit – In conjunction with keeping water conservation high on the agenda for school children in the community, the NFGWS, GlanNua and staff of the scheme held a very successful information morning for the children of Killeen NS. This involved a number of speakers giving talks to the children, a tour of the treatment plant and each child received a refillable water bottle together with a booklet on their role in minding the environment
I would like to take this opportunity to thank you all for your assistance and cooperation, in particular Austin Francis and Patrick.
Election of Members:
Mary Kilcoyne is a candidate for the board.
Francis proposes and Patricia seconds.
Under the rules of the scheme Sal O'Malley, Egbert Polski, and Séamus O'Malley resigned from the board. There is a proposal to re-elect them by Michael and it is seconded by Majella.
Michael resigns from the board with effect on the 31-7-2024.
Capital Contribution:
The membership was informed with the invitation to the AGM of a requirement to collect a capital contribution in order to obtain funding under the multi-annual rural water funding programme.
The suggested resolution reads:
"The AGM authorises the board to collect a local capital contribution for the multi annual rural water programme 2024-2026 of maximum €600 per household."
Connie proposes and Patricia seconds.
In order to have the funds demonstratively in place, revenues might temporarily transferred to the capital account until they can be replaced with the members' capital contributions.
Members will be billed for the total capital contribution even if they spread the payment over time.
Water Charges:
Francis proposes to keep the water charges at €1.10/m³. Ian seconds.
A.O.B.
Information about requirement of planning permission and the process for a specific connection.
The chair thanks everybody and closes the meeting.