Lights out as maintenance contract ended

Public lighting has been out in many areas around the town because the council terminated its maintenance contract with an electricity provider in December. Bonavalley, Killyon Hill, Devinish Court, Northgate Street, Beechpark West, Woodville, Baylough and the Old Batteries were all listed by councillors as places affected by out of order public lighting. Cllr Frankie Keena, in a press release, pointed out that there were three lights in a row out of order near the Bonavalley Bridge at the location where the horrendous attack on a woman took place over a year ago. At the council meeting, councillors were surprised to hear that the council had terminated its contract for public lighting maintenance with Airtricity on December 31 and the work is now carried out on an “ad hoc basis†by local electrical contractors, pending a new tender at local or regional level. “I'm very surprised by that, but the council response does explain why we are where we are,†said Cllr Alan Shaw, who said he had contacted Airtricity himself and was not told this. “Several areas around the town need lighting repaired. I am concerned as to how organised we are with regard to repairs.†Cllr Paul Hogan said that there were four lights out in Bonavalley and about 30-odd lights gone around the town. “Is this a more cost-saving way we're now pursuing? How much is the contract, I presume it was on a county council basis?†Athlone Director of Services Barry Kehoe said that the primary reason for ending the contract was cost. He said that it would probably save both Westmeath County Council and Athlone Town Council €100,000. He added that it was a very late decision taken by the council. “It's cheaper with local contractors. It was necessary for the council to take control of this infrastructure and get a grip on it... We had issues with the service,†he said. “We're only on our own since January 1, and our engineers are only getting a grip on this,†he said. “We need to reduce our energy costs, they are out of control.†He also added that he was disappointed to hear that there were still lights out for weeks. He said that a county engineer in Mullingar HQ was now in charge of putting a lights repair system in place and that repairs will “fall into place†within the next couple of weeks. He added that all the local authorities in the Midlands have terminated the contract and the intention was to get a regional contract in place. Mayor Sheila Buckley Byrne said councillors didn't know that the contract had ended and asked had any lights been fixed during January. Mr Kehoe confirmed they had. “Bulbs blow continuously, the new bulbs we are getting will last 100,000 hours,†he said. Cllr Shaw criticised the “complete lack of communication with membersâ€. “There were no press releases from the council to inform the public. This is a safety issue which should over-ride the cost factor,†he added. “I apologise for the lack of communication, I'll put a press release in the papers to tell the public to report the lights to Athlone Town Council,†said Mr Kehoe. Cllr Kevin ‘Boxer' Moran said yesterday that the town engineer Alan Kelly met with him in Court Devinish and confirmed that the lights would be fixed by today (Wednesday). “I'm sorry for the delay I know people have been waiting a number of weeks,†he added. Meanwhile, this week, Westmeath county councillor Cllr Frankie Keena has raised deep concerns over the council's decision to cease a maintenance contract with Airtricity for the replacement of bulbs on our street public lighting system without having another contractor in place beforehand. “Obviously the council has to get the best value for money in any contract but my difficulty in this situation is that the council should have identified a new contractor before terminating the contract with Airtricity,†he stressed. “It is so important to ensure that there is a continuation of maintenance service to repair faulty lighting. I have taken this matter up with the council looking for an immediate positive response and also for public representatives to be notified of such changes in the future,†he said. “After receiving representations from residents living in Ashgrove, Retreat Heights and also near the Bonavalley Bridge about faulty lamp posts in their area I immediately contacted Athlone Town Council and they informed me that they will check the poles out to see if the problem is due to faulty fuses, which they can repair but if the bulbs need replacement they can do nothing about it as no contractor is in place. “This delay in repairing these lights is unacceptable as the safety of our public is priority,†added Cllr Keena. He concluded: “I encourage the public to contact me if they are experiencing similar difficulties with faulty lights and I will endeavour to helpâ€.