Clarence Valley Council held its monthly Ordinary Council Meeting on Tuesday, 23 August at Maclean Council Chambers.One Notice of Motion was discussed followed by 11 of 25 items debated and the other 14 adopted by consent in a meeting which lasted two hours two minutes before entering a closed session fora Confidential Business matter on Grafton Airspace Development.Allcouncillors were present. Letter of appreciation to retiring MP Mayor Ian Tiley opened the meeting by acknowledging the political career of ³Ô¹ÏÍøÕ¾s Member for Clarence Chris Gulaptis, who this week “I first met Chris when the Maclean bats were at their crescendo … and he was the president of the P&C back in 1998,” Mayor Tiley said. “He stormed into Maclean Shire Council in 2000 on the back of the bats and was the Mayor until the merger which occurred in March 2004. “He then was the first elected – but didn’t become the mayor – on the first Clarence Valley Council, where he stayed until 2008. In 2011 he was elected in a bi-election as the state member. “I publicly acknowledge him today and I move from the chair that we convey to him a letter of appreciation for his service to the Clarence over the years.” Cr Toms, who has served as a councillor throughout Mr Gulaptis’ 11 years as the Member for Clarence, seconded the motion. Changes to Bulky Waste Collection Service Councillors unanimously endorsed the recommended Waste Collection and Processing Contracts for the next ten years from the options presented to the Council meeting. As a result, from1 July 2023, Council will switch to an annual on-call bulky waste collection service. Instead of a scheduled annual service, the key difference isthat householders will be able to call and arrange an annual collection (within two weeks) that suits the householder. A review of the current bulky waste collection service undertaken during the development of the Solid Waste Management Strategy 2020-27 identified a number of issues with the current scheduled bulky waste clean-up service, primarily visual amenity and health and safety risks. The current service also generates many complaints and takes significant staff time and resources over an extended period to manage. The on-call service to be introduced will cost an average of $16.96 per household compared to $20.72 for the current scheduled service. 1761 jacaranda trees counted in urban street audit A report revealed there is a total of 1761 jacaranda trees in the Grafton and South Grafton community areas. The figure from a 2019 urban street tree audit was part the Jacaranda Tree Stocktake – Data Capture report compiled by staff upon the request of Cr Jeff Smith via a Notice of Motion at the Julymeeting.The report was formally noted at Tuesday’s meeting. “I didn’t expect anything as detailed and thorough as this report,” Cr Smith said. “I was very, very impressed. I’d like to thank (Open Spaces Coordinator)Dave Sutton and his team. “As we know jacarandas are very important to Grafton and South Grafton for their social, cultural and economic impacts.” Cr Smith will present the report to the community groupFriends of the Jacarandas at a meeting this Thursday. Findings in the report include:
ABOVE: Newly planted jacarandas in Grafton. Delay to opening of Grafton Pool for 2022-23 season The opening of the Grafton Olympic Pool for the 2022-23 season will be delayed to address potential risk and safety concerns. Water loss has increased in recent years, includinga $187,234.70 water bill (up 153%) in the 2021-22 financial year. Due to the declining state of the Council-owned facility, there is an estimated cost of $50,000 to $100,000 to complete required maintenance, and additional work may be required if further issues are identified. Council instead resolved not to proceed with any maintenance at this stage, and to delay opening until full consideration is given to the current issues, costs and risks associated with continued operation of Grafton Olympic Pool. Built in 1959, the asset management plan has identified that the poolhas reached the end of its useful life and requires replacement.A new has been slated for future construction to replace the existing facility. Clarence Valley Citizen of the Year Awards Plans have been set for the 2023 Clarence Valley Citizens of the Year Awards, with the annual event to be held inGrafton at 10am on Wednesday, 25 January2023. The report addressed the following two significant changes:
The event will be combined with an Australian Citizenship Ceremony. Cr Steve Pickering was elected unopposed as the Councillor Advocate to be involved in the order of service, on the selection panel, and participate in advertising materials to encourage people to nominate. Cr Jeff Smith was the advocate in 2022. Nominations open on 12 September and close 18 November. More details released soon.
2022 Clarence Valley Citizen of the Year – Barbara Linley. |
