Dear residents,
It is good to see the evenings getting longer and also the warmer weather arriving. However, it is now the grass growing season and that means more maintenance and grass cutting requirements.
As most of you already know, Ashefield estate was taken in charge by the council in 2007. This means that the County Council have taken responsibility for the estate’s upkeep and maintenance in a number of areas. The chief areas of the county council’s responsibility include
- Maintenance of the Roads and Footpaths.
- Public/Street Lighting
- Water mains
- Mainline Sewers.
Most other areas are outside the county councils area of responsibility. The most obvious one is grass cutting and general upkeep of the common areas. Ashefield has some large open grassy areas and I am sure you will agree these offer a valuable amenity and play area for the estate’s children. The downside is that that the grass needs cutting to maintain these areas; and this is now the residents’ responsibility.
The cost of cutting the grass and general upkeep of the grass covered areas came to €1680 last year . There were other sundry expenses like waste removal, bin tags etc., that accounted for a further €100. The full accounts for last year are available online on this website.
To cover to the cost of the residents association have been collecting €30 per household. The association also received a donation from the Mullingar Credit Union. Thanks to the residents and other groups for their support in maintaining the estate. As you can see online, the income meets the outgoings with a small surplus carried forward to the following year.
In order to continue the grass cutting the residents from the association will be circulating around the estate in the coming weeks with a view to collecting a contribution of €30 per household. We realises that times are hard and living costs are climbing but your support is being requested once again this year. When broke down this €30 is approximately 60 cents per week, which I am sure you will agree is a modest sum considering the work it achieves. This request is being made to all residents; either renting their home or as owners. However if those renting their home feel that this request is better directed to their landlord, we would appreciate if they forwarded this message to them.
We would also like to thank Ms. Margaret Cavanagh for her work on the residents association over the last 11 years. Margaret has decided to step down after her years of hard work. It is a challenging task that she has left us because Margaret handled most of the day to day stuff involved in the residents association. However, I am sure that we will be able to continue the work she has started.
So once again, sincere thanks to all the residents and community groups for their contributions and support. We are sure that you will do your best to support us in our efforts to maintain our estate.
With Kind Regards;
Joe Gettings (Treasurer). J.gettings@ymail.com