In what looks to be a pretty dull Council meeting next Tuesday it appears that Councillors are just stirring from their month long winter hibernation that once again presents a fair lackluster drawcard worthy of attending in the gallery or even bothering to watch via Live Streaming.
Firstly we have what Council staff have turned into yet another classic Dorothy Dixer responding to Councillor Mayne asking a Question on Notice "How does our Council promote and contribute to safe cycling in our Shire and what other opportunities are possibly available to further enhance and grow our region as a cycling friendly Shire?"
Councillor Mayne, having been the former Eurobodalla Cycling Club president for six years, is well aware of a number of things Eurobodalla Council could to improve and include cycling as a localised transport option with additions to bike racks in townships as per the recent request of the Moruya Chamber of Commerce.
In raising the question of "what other opportunities are possibly available to further enhance and grow our region as a cycling friendly Shire?" the councillor is clearly doing so in order to raise the profile of cycling in our shire in terms of health safety and transport hoping a number of people will address council on Tuesday to share further ideas as to how we can become even more cycle friendly.
Councillor Mayne has said of the response provided "We know off the bat that we need to ensure we use the right size asphalt plus providing appropriate parking bays. It is pleasing to read in the response what our shire has done and I acknowledge the work that the sunset committee undertook a few years ago now.
The response from Council to Clr Mayne's question extolled all that Council do from promoting safe cycling in various ways, sponsoring events and its provision of suitable shared paths and associated infrastructure rabbiting on about promoting cycling routes on its tourism webpages and the Mogo Adventure Trail Hub Strategy but failed dismally to address the question "what other opportunities are possibly available to further enhance and grow our region" acknowledging at least that there is no-where to securely lock your bike conveniently while you go shopping in town.
The meeting will hear of the Funding Acceptance of $475,000 for Netball Courts Captain Oldrey Park Broulee.
The $475,000 in grant funding towards the Eurobodalla Regional Netball Facility Upgrade was applied for in 2018 from the Commonwealth Government under their Community Sports Infrastructure Fund administered by Sport Australia, through the Commonwealth Department of Community Sport & Infrastructure.
While there were photo shoots and 'announcements' made during the lead up to the Federal election the grant allocation was already a done deal and should not have been used for electioneering purposes.
The next issue to be considered is to seek Council’s resolution for the adoption of the Residential Zones Development Control Plan and the draft Tree Preservation Code.
Council staff suggest that, if adopted, the amendments to the Residential Zones DCP and Tree Preservation Code would result in a more consistent and equitable process for people to apply for a permit to remove vegetation stating that the unintended consequences of the Vegetation SEPP means there are now inconsistent assessment and approval requirements for removing vegetation on some non-rural land in Eurobodalla.
There were three submissions received from the public regarding the draft amendments to the Tree Preservation Code regarding clarification of how it would apply or stating that protection of trees in urban areas should be strengthened.
Councillors will then be presented with the Maintenance and Renewal Schedules for Roads 2019-20. Each year a schedule of works is prepared for the maintenance grading of unsealed roads and for the resealing of sealed roads.
If you are interested you can find the full list of both HERE
The meeting will also consider a Five year licence for Surfing Activities at Dalmeny-Narooma to use reserves adjacent to beaches for their competitions and meets.
Next will be a report regarding a licence for a Marine Radio Facility at Moruya Heads that will most likely be approved with the condition of the licence being that the operation of the MRNSW facility must not cause adverse interference with other telecommunications facilities.
Above:The location of Council’s reservoir and the Optus and Telstra lease areas are shown in the diagram below. The MRNSW equipment is to be installed on the site in a location as directed by Council. It will be a condition of the licence that the operation of the MRNSW facility must not cause adverse interference with other telecommunications facilities. The last duty of the day will see Councillors presented with the draft Plan of Management for Moruya Golf Course and Showground Reserve (POM) seeking consent to send the draft POM for assessment by the NSW Department of Industry – Crown Lands (DOI) as the land owner. The draft POM does not apply to the following lots five freehold lots owned by Moruya Golf Club (MGC) fronting the Princes Highway in the north east section of the golf course (Lots 1-4 Sec 30 DP758710, Lot 21 DP551001) Crown land located on the corner of Murray and Evans Street that MGC leases directly from the Crown as the site of its clubhouse (Lot 308 DP752151). You can read the full agenda HERE
