The following is a report provided by a spokesperson for the Our Towns Our Say group outlining the public meeting they held, hosted by the Tomakin Sports and Social Club on February 1st 2020. The spokesperson wrote "OTOS ( Our Towns Our Say) hosted its 7th, and arguably its most successful, Public Meeting ever at the Tomakin Sports & Social Club today Saturday 1st February 2020 2:00pm to 4:00pm. The Topic of focus & the only Agenda item was: ”The Bushfires-What We Have Learned Together. Sharing OUR Stories and ideas for OUR future.” "Emotions ran high & the adrenaline pumped with an incredible buzz & intensity in the auditorium as the facilitator led the audience of more than 50 Eurobodalla community members through the “King or Red Dot Process”. "This proven renowned process was the paradigm delivered by our two experienced facilitators, Jan Day & Liz Coggan, both retired School Principals from the ACT government department of education & training. "The “King or Red Dot Process” process is ideal for eliciting key points on contentious issues from a large audience, the spokesperson advised. "Today all participants had the opportunity to present & prioritise their ideas that were all recorded. These will be collated & presented to Council & other relevant Government bodies. “Working together to develop a response to future events will be an important part of our healing as a community.” "Eight table groups produced 10 to 15 key points (more than 100) on the topic . These will be prioritised & recorded in “The Report “ ready for presentation to Council & others before their first general meeting on Tuesday 11th February .
“The Report” will be published as “A Snapshot” drawn from primary sources ie. some of Eurobodalla people who were directly impacted by the Fire Event of 31st December 2019. "We have all lived this devastating experience & deserve the respect of having our views heard as part of the decision -making process. Our Council can only represent the views of the community if it has heard those views. "In the glaring absence of a Council led ‘post fires’ public meeting OTOS is once again filling the void.” The Report” will be issued to all who attended as well as to media including “The Beagle”. NB. OTOS is planning a similar meeting at Narooma ASAP: date to be announced.
