There were a lot of big topics in this week’s Richmond Valley Council meeting on Tuesday, October 18.
You can listen to the meeting live on the council’s Facebook page or website.
At the beginning of every council meeting, there is a public access section. Any resident who wants to address the meeting about an item on the agenda can speak for four minutes.
You have to let the council know by 5pm on the Friday before the Tuesday meeting you’d like to speak at.
Residents Jill Lyons and Liz Stops used the public access time to ask the council questions about energy from waste facilities, sometimes called incinerators.
More on waste
Council has written a lengthy report about alternative waste treatment options – it will be available to the community for feedback next year.
Councillor Patrick Deegan said there was an information webinar hosted by the Environment Protection Authority in March but most people were caught up with flood recovery at that time.
In a motion Mr Deegan put forward at the meeting, he acknowledged there was currently no development application for an energy from waste facility in Casino and he asked for community consultation.
Mayor Robert Mustow rejected Mr Deegan’s motion and councillors voted against it.
He had confidence in council staff consulting the public on the waste issue.
The Richmond Valley Jobs Precinct Masterplan needed to be completed first.
“Councillors are advised of the consultation. It is an operational issue – the staff do that,” he said.
Mr Mustow said the council was doing what was covered in Mr Deegan’s motion including the consultation – which would be done next year.
It was a tense moment in the meeting and there continue to be concerns surrounding discussions around waste options and in particular an energy from waste facility.
Let’s talk about money
Council’s draft financial statements are complete. The external auditor will be at the November council meeting.
In the latest financial year, council achieved a surplus of $19.987 million. Council revenue increased to more than $101 million but this was mainly because of an increase in grants of $28 million as a result of the flood disaster.
Read the financial report here.
Casino Water Security
The council has been researching future water supply options for Casino for the past 10 years. Here is a summary of the water supply options.
How long do council callers wait?
Council received 9824 calls between July 1 and September 30. Contact centre staff answered 84% of these calls within 20 seconds. The average time a caller spends in the queue is 18 seconds.
Granted we get grants
Council received funding from four grants totalling $1,259,211. These grants were for the South Casino Sewage Transfer System, for council to host six community events and for the Broadwater-Evans Head and Woodburn-Evans Head shared pathways.
Staff are waiting to hear about a further five grants they have applied for.
To DA or not to DA
There were 18 development applications determined during September with a total value of $3,076,992.
Last month, the Iron Gates subdivision DA was refused by the Northern Regional Planning Panel. Developer Gold Coral Pty Ltd has said it will take its case to the Land and Environment Court.
Better showgrounds
Council has $275,531 from the State for a new amenities block at the Casino Showground.
The funding is part of $9.2 million from state and federal governments to upgrade the showground.
Tenders were called on May 27 for this exciting project. Two submissions were received. One was non-conforming and the second was above the council’s available budget. Council then directly negotiated with the market and Steve Ryan Builder Pty Ltd will begin a 16-week program of work starting in November.
There were a lot of big topics in this week’s Richmond Valley Council meeting on Tuesday, October 18.
You can listen to the meeting live on the council’s Facebook page or website.
At the beginning of every council meeting, there is a public access section. Any resident who wants to address the meeting about an item on the agenda can speak for four minutes.
You have to let the council know by 5pm on the Friday before the Tuesday meeting you’d like to speak at.
Residents Jill Lyons and Liz Stops used the public access time to ask the council questions about energy from waste facilities, sometimes called incinerators.
More on waste
Council has written a lengthy report about alternative waste treatment options – it will be available to the community for feedback next year.
Councillor Patrick Deegan said there was an information webinar hosted by the Environment Protection Authority in March but most people were caught up with flood recovery at that time.
In a motion Mr Deegan put forward at the meeting, he acknowledged there was currently no development application for an energy from waste facility in Casino and he asked for community consultation.
Mayor Robert Mustow rejected Mr Deegan’s motion and councillors voted against it.
He had confidence in council staff consulting the public on the waste issue.
The Richmond Valley Jobs Precinct Masterplan needed to be completed first.
“Councillors are advised of the consultation. It is an operational issue – the staff do that,” he said.
Mr Mustow said the council was doing what was covered in Mr Deegan’s motion including the consultation – which would be done next year.
It was a tense moment in the meeting and there continue to be concerns surrounding discussions around waste options and in particular an energy from waste facility.
Read more about what was said on waste here.
Let’s talk about money
Council’s draft financial statements are complete. The external auditor will be at the November council meeting.
In the latest financial year, council achieved a surplus of $19.987 million. Council revenue increased to more than $101 million but this was mainly because of an increase in grants of $28 million as a result of the flood disaster.
Read the financial report here.
Casino Water Security
The council has been researching future water supply options for Casino for the past 10 years. Here is a summary of the water supply options.
How long do council callers wait?
Council received 9824 calls between July 1 and September 30. Contact centre staff answered 84% of these calls within 20 seconds. The average time a caller spends in the queue is 18 seconds.
Granted we get grants
Council received funding from four grants totalling $1,259,211. Staff are waiting to hear about a further five grants they have applied for.
To DA or not to DA
There were 18 development applications determined during September with a total value of $3,076,992.
Last month, the Iron Gates subdivision DA was refused by the Northern Regional Planning Panel. Developer Gold Coral Pty Ltd has said it will take its case to the Land and Environment Court.
Better showgrounds
Council has $275,531 from the State for a new amenities block at the Casino Showground.
The funding is part of $9.2 million from state and federal governments to upgrade the showground.
Tenders were called on May 27 for this exciting project. Two submissions were received. One was non-conforming and the second was above the council’s available budget. Council then directly negotiated with the market and Steve Ryan Builder Pty Ltd will begin a 16-week program of work starting in November.
and then