Susanna Freymark
Here is a summary of the Richmond Valley Council Meeting on May 16.
Despite a full agenda, the meeting only took an hour.
Here’s our summary.
Re-opening the Casino Court House
The court house was damaged in the floods. Read more about this here.
Funding our emergency services
Like most regional councils, Richmond Valley is facing an increased cost in funding emergency services because of State Government changes. Read more here.
Rous report
A report from Rous Council was included in council papers. The report discussed the Lismore levee but no mention was made about Rous fixing the Bungawalbin levee.
Read the Rous report here.
The next 10 years
The draft Community Strategic Plan is on public exhibition.
General manager Vaughan Macdonald said the document will guide what the council will do in the next 10 years.
The plan covers some key targets for 2040.
These include:
● flood recovery
● starting the jobs precinct at Reynolds Rd
● securing a long term water supply for Casino and surrounds
● unlocking new sites for housing
● growing tourism and service industries
● planting 15,000 shade trees
● building a $60 million sewage treatment plant for Casino and completing the Evans Head plant
● completing the rail trail and the showground upgrade
This is a lengthy document but one residents should read and give their feedback on. Read the plan and let council know what you think.
Fixing bridges and roads
The quarterly financial report and capital works program can be read here.
Mr Macdonald said the roads budget was $180million to fix all roads.
“We’re currently working at Pikapene,” he said.
“Naughtons Gap has benefited by betterment funding (a government funding program.”
Councillor Robert Hayes said there was “little mention of Broadwater in the budget”.
Mr Macdonald said the bridge at Broadwater, down to one lane, is “fully designed and shovel-ready”. It is likely to cost $3-$4million to repair.
“It is a shared asset as it is a boundary bridge and this is a 50/50 project with Lismore Council,” he said.
The council was waiting for the State Government’s Bridge Renewal Program to be announced to get the Broadwater Bridge back in action, Mr Macdonald said.
Funding was also need for Tatham Bridge.
“We will build a new bridge while continuing to use the old bridge,” he said.
This is likely to take 1–2 years.
The Richmond Valley road network is made up of
● 553km of sealed roads
● 622km of unsealed roads
● 75% of roads were impacted by the floods
● 80% of all unsealed roads have been repaired and work continues on repairing sealed roads such as the Woodburn-Coraki Rd and Manifold Rd.
Work has started on the Busby Flat Rd Pikapene slip.
The next stage of work at the Evans Head footpath minor landslip will be finished by the end of June.
Woodburn facelift
The upgrade of the main street has been awarded to an Eltham architect firm. Read more here.
Community funding of groups and events
The list of community groups receiving financial assistance is here.
Events included in the Event Support Scheme are Casino Show, Casino Gymkhana, Woodburn Riverside Festival, Casino Campdraft, Ellangowan Hall Centenary, Evans Head Fishing Classic, Peach Festival, Evans Head Malibu Classic, Evans Head Christmas Parade and Carols.
The events received cash (up to $5000) or in-kind support from the council or a combination of both.
The Evans Head Farmers Market did not receive funding because it is a commercial activity and did not meet the criteria of the scheme.
Next council meeting is on June 27 (this is a budget meeting). The public can attend and listen to the meeting or watch it live on council’s Facebook page.
and then