Decisions on a new Sleepbus service, dual-naming for Mt Canobolas and Bins4Blokes were on the agenda for last night’s (2 August) Council meeting.
New Sleepbus service supported
Orange City Council will set up a working party with the Sleepbus charity to explore a new way of tackling homelessness in Orange, following a decision at last night’s Council meeting.
A motion from Cr Jack Evans was passed which decided that Council would look for the best way to work with Sleepbus.org to implement a new mobile accommodation service.
The meeting also decided that Council would engage with local businesses and fund-raising organisations to secure financial and in-kind assistance for the annual up-keep of the Sleepbus service.
Cr Jack Evans argued the new service provides homeless people with a place to sleep while they work on longer term solutions to the barriers they face with affordability.
Council to support Bins4Blokes
Last night’s meeting backed a motion from Cr Tammy Greenhalgh to support the Bins4Blokes initiative in our community by installing incontinence bins in male public toilet facilities.
The meeting heard that the Bins4Blokes campaign is aimed to assist men of all ages who have to deal with incontinence.
The Council decision will also encourage local businesses to install the bins by promoting the campaign on Council’s social media channels.
A report to the meeting suggested it would cost the Council around $10 thousand year to provide the service in public toilets.
Council to add Wiradjuri Country to its postal address
Orange City Council will add the words ‘Wiradjuri Country’ to the postal addresses of all Council buildings and agencies, following a decision at last night’s meeting. 
The change came following a motion brought to the meeting by Deputy Mayor Cr Gerald Power, to bring the Council’s address into line with a recent Australia Post addressing guidelines.
The new address would be:
- Orange City Council
- Wiradjuri Country
- 135 Byng Street
- Orange NSW 2800
Last night’s meeting also gave unanimous support to a proposal to adopt the dual naming of Mt Canobolas to include its name in Wiradjuri language of Gaanha-Bula.
The meeting heard the Orange Local Aboriginal Land Council had made an application to the Geographical Names Board for dual naming as a step towards reconciliation and was also seeking support from Cabonne Council.
Local elder, Uncle Neil Ingram, spoke to last night’s Council meeting.
More mental health resources online
A list of mental health resources will be added to the Orange City Council website, following a decision at last night’s meeting.
Cr Glenn Floyd brought a motion to the meeting asking for a new page on the site with a detailed list of Mental Health providers in the Orange area.
The list would include details of services provided, emergency contacts and details of nationally recognised bodies such as, Beyond Blue, Headspace, Lifeline etc.
Council to look into free CBD WiFi
Council staff will look into the costs and feasibility of making free Wi-Fi available in the Orange CBD.
The motion from Cr Steve Peterson, argued the suggestion of free Wi-Fi in the CBD was made by the Youth Action Committee at the council meeting 19 of July. It was suggested free WiFi would encourage people to linger in the CBD longer, visiting local stores.
A preliminary report to last night’s meeting suggested free WiFi could cost around $100K to install and $10K each year to maintain.
Council to count the number of empty government-owned houses
Orange City Council will work with state authorities to count the number of government-owned houses in Orange, following a decision at last night’s Council meeting.
The motion from Cr Frances Kinghorne also aims to find the reasons why the houses are empty.
Cr Kinghorne argued the numbers of empty houses could be used to develop strategies to ease the problem of housing accessibility in Orange.
Council backs DA for heritage area
Last night’s meeting approved a DA for modifications to house in a heritage area of Kite St, after earlier rejecting the DA.
In July last year, Council refused a DA to install a remote-controlled roller-door on a driveway at the front of the house. The applicant then asked for the DA to be re-considered, and made a number of changes to the original proposal.
Last night’s meeting accepted the staff recommendation to approve the new proposed to install a remote-opening mechanism on the house’s existing wrought-iron gate. The new DA also includes plans to stain the current blonde-coloured bricks in approved heritage colours.
Latest report-card shows sign of progress
The latest six-monthly report on how Orange City Council is getting on with meeting key targets outlined in its Operational Plan is showing signs of progress.
Last night’s meeting noted the report on the period from 1 January to 30 June 2022.
The report showed that 88% of the activities in the plan had been completed.
The list of main achievements mentioned in the report included:
- Completion and official opening of Orange’s Art Gallery extension.
- New playgrounds installed at Larance Park, Matthews Park and Sullivan Circuit reserve.
- Naylor Pavilion upgraded to include toilet facilities and café.
- Average usage rates for the six Children’s Services centres were 81.15% for the past six months. This is a slightly lower usage rate due to COVID impacts to families and staff.
IN BRIEF:
- Last night’s meeting selected six Councillors to represent Orange City Council at the annual Local Government NSW Conference in August. The delegates are Crs Whitton, Duffy, McDonell, Kinghorne, Mallard and Floyd.
- Council adopted a recommendation from the Companion Animals Community Committee to allocate $10,000 to pet desexing programs in the financial year for concession card holders.
- Council approved providing $10,000 in sponsorship to the Australian ³Ô¹ÏÍøÕ¾ Field Days to be held on the 20-22nd October 2022.
- Council approved a donation of $2,000 to support the Teach Learn Grow program at Glenroi Heights Public School.
- Last night’s meeting refused an application to remove a large Pin Oak tree in the front yard of a house in Lucknow.
