Susanna Freymark
Here is a summary of key issues from the Richmond Valley Council meeting on March 21.
Broken levee
The state of the levee at Bungawalbin was reported by IndyNR.com in this story.
The levee was discussed at the March council meeting.
The levee is the responsibility of Rous County Council and repairs are estimated to cost $1million.
Mayor Robert Mustow said there had been nine attempts to gain funding.
“Rous have tried really hard to get funding,” Mr Mustow said.
“We keep getting knocked back. After this election we will go to the politicians.”
The community of Bungawalbin deserves to have this fixed to protect the community and the communities downstream, he said.
Supermarket wanted
Councillor Robert Hayes brought up the issue of Woodburn losing its only supermarket in the floods. Here’s the story.
Bad beach driving
The issue of bad behaviour from some drivers on Airforce Beach in Evans Head came up in the February council meeting and again in the March meeting.
Protecting the environment
Council adopted the Sustainable Communities Strategy 2023-2028.
More than 100 people completed the survey rating the importance of five sustainability principles. The council held face to face consultations with 30 people total in Casino, Coraki and Evans Head.
The report looks at adapting to climate change, keeping rivers clean, protecting native plants and animals. Read the report here.
Saleyard fees
Council endorsed a rise in fees for agents at the Northern Rivers Livestock Exchange.
Council said it was not putting up vendor fees which have remained fixed since 2020, Mr Mustow said the fees for farmers will only go up if agents pass them on.
Council general manager Vaughan Macdonald said in the past agents had passed fee rises on to farmers.
“We are looking at ways to minimise that from happening,” Mr Macdonald said.
Vendor fees at NRLX remain competitive and comparable to similar saleyards, the council’s report said.
Agent fees would be 0.2% of the gross sale price to make fees competitive with other saleyards. Read a previous story about this here.
The next council meeting is on April 18 at 6pm in the council chambers in Casino.
Watch the video of the March council meeting here.
