Last night’s Council meeting (20 February) considered proposals to improve CBD car parks, a review of the former Lords Place upgrade and giving support to life-saving equipment.
Council to offer support for LIFE VAC equipment in schools
Orange City Council will join the push for equipment to potentially prevent choking deaths to be installed in local schools.
Last night’s meeting voted to support a motion from Cr Tammy Greenhalgh to “advocate for the supply and introduction of Life Vac devices in all NSW Schools/ Childcare Centres by lobbying our Local and State members for funding”.
The suction equipment, worth around $165, can be used in an emergency to remove a throat blockage when a child is choking.
The meeting also voted to “encourage all local sporting clubs to consider including them as a must have in addition to a defibrillator as part of their first aid toolkit” and to write NSW Education Minister Ms Prue Car in support of this initiative.
Council defers plans to upgrade car parks
Proposals to upgrade the surface of car parks across the CBD were deferred at last night’s Council meeting.
The car park work, to cost between $1.5 million and $2.2 million, was on a list of eight projects proposed to begin this year, to be funded from the current FutureCity budget.
The car parks proposed to be upgraded include the Ophir Car park, the northern section of the Woolworths car park, the Lords Place car park off Kite Street and the Parkview car park.
The eight projects could include extending the Summer Street festoon lighting west from Sale Street to Hill Street and upgrades to Orange CCTV camera system in the CBD.
Last night’s night decided to defer a decision until more information was provided.
Council to gauge interest of CBD businesses in using former Lords Place furniture
CBD businesses will be asked if they’re interested is making use of street furniture, used in the former Lords Place upgrade.
The equipment, including dining decks, bench seats, large flower pots and shade structures, has been in storage since it was removed from Lords Place last year.
Last night’s meeting endorsed a proposal to seek ‘Expressions of Interest’ from CBD businesses.
Businesses which are interested in using the furniture will need to outline how it would be used, as well as possible impacts on pedestrian access and parking.
The Council will also investigate using the furniture at other Council parks and locations.
After the 28-day ‘Expressions of Interest’ process, a report will be brought back to a future council meeting.
Independent investigator to look into Lords Place upgrade
An independent review will be held to investigate “the planning, approval, and construction of the Lords Pl South” upgrade, following a decision at last night’s Council meeting.
A motion from Cr Frances Kinghorne proposed that the investigation provide more information about seven aspects of the upgrade which was removed.
The meeting heard it would cost around $20K-$25K to conduct a review, and an independent investigator would be appointed from a Local Government Dept panel.
The Lords Place review would be asked to consider:
- Whether all relevant accurate information was officially given to councillors prior to the approval. 2. Whether all required/usual planning protocols and procedures were undertaken in relation to this matter.
- Whether there were any concerns raised by staff involved in the development, especially in relation to the apparent haste in implementing the project, and, if so, how were these concerns addressed?
- Whether the immediate start on the project was consistent with regulations, especially in relation to the effective blocking of any potential rescission motion.
- Whether there was effective consultation/communication with the business owners during the development. Did the minutes of the meetings held, accurately reflect the content of those meetings and were these minutes adopted at subsequent meetings?
- Whether the differences between the concept plans and the actual development were necessary, specifically in relation to the arrangement of the double tree pits as perpendicular to the footpath rather than angled to align better with the parking spaces.
- What internal reviews have already been conducted to date, and what is the outcome of any such reviews?
The meeting heard that the aim of the review is to draw out the learnings from the project.
