Susanna Freymark
Here is a summary of the Kyogle Council meeting held at 2pm on Monday, March 11.
You can listen to the meeting on the council podcast here.
All councillors were present at the meeting with Hayden Doolan on screen through video conference.
When a councillor can’t be physically present at a meeting, there is a vote to accept them attending via video.
Councillor James Murray opposed Mr Doolan’s video presence saying it had “gone on too long.”
“The rules state you should attend most meetings,” Mr Murray said.
Any councillor who cannot make a meeting must ask for a leave of absence and also get approval from the group of councillors to attend via video conference.
In the past year until now – there have been 13 meetings as no council meetings were held in January 2023/24.
IndyNR.com looked at the minutes of each meeting and listed below, the number of video links and absences from meetings by each councillor.
| COUNCILLOR | VIDEO PRESENCE | ABSENT |
| Hayden Doolan | 5 | 2 |
| Maggie May | 3 | 1 |
| Danielle Mulholland | 2 | 1 |
| Rob Cullen | 2 | 1 |
| John Burley | 0 | 2 |
| Kylie Webster | 0 | 2 |
| James Murray | 0 | 0 |
| Tom Cooper | 0 | 0 |
| Janet Wilson | 0 | 0 |
At least one of the meetings by video was because councillors were at a Local Government conference. Some absences were because councillors were unwell and sometimes for work commitments.
In the council financial report, you can see how much councillors spend on travel.
What was discussed at the meeting?
The first item was a Notice of Rescission about the general manager. Read about that here.
$1000 for charity auction at Woodenbong
Ms Mulholland asked the council to sponsor the Stock Horse Challenge Charity Auction that raises funds for Tommy Johnston and Abigail Sweeper who need medical care.
It was agreed to give the event $1000 in sponsorship.
Tracking council cars and trucks
Mr Cooper wants the council to prepare a report on the cost of using a GPS tracking system for council equipment.
“It’s about safety for our staff,” Mr Cooper said.
Staff were called out to difficult and sometimes dangerous situations, he said.
Mr Cooper said he was in the RFS and they use a tracker called Home Safe.
Tracking on council cars and trucks means we can better coordinate activities to be more efficient such as when gravel is moved by contractors, he said.
Mr Burley suggested looking at what neighbouring councils used for tracking.
Questions from councillors
Mr Murray: Council has made $1.125million available for the upgrade of Woodenbong town centre. Will this money be put towards upgrades to McPherson Street pavement and parking redevelopment?
The Woodenbong Masterplan is focused on the upgrade of McPherson Street. The funds available will be confirmed at the tender stage. At the present time, the long term financial plan includes funding for these works in the 2026 financial year, subject to Council successfully accessing additional grant funds.
Ms Mulholland: My question has not been tabled. I sent an email to former GM Brett Kelly and asked why some people were knocked back for public access at the February meeting.
Acting general manager Chris White said he was not in contact with the former GM and had not been aware of public access being denied.
Ms Mulholland: Are any works planned for Dingo Gully Road? If yes, what kind of timeline are we looking at?
Works to repair flood damage on Dingo Gully Road have been approved and are funded. Work is expected to be finished by the end of June this year.
Ms Mulholland asked about the cost of a street sign on the corner of Geneva Street and Summerland Way for Kyogle Family Support Services.
The council report showed the cost for this street sign was $271 as there is already a post there.
Ms Mulholland asked if the council could repeat the cat desexing program done in 2023.
The Keeping Cats Safe at Home program runs for four years and is funded by the State Government.
Since July 2022, 265 cats have been desexed. There is still funding for about 70 more cats to be desexed. The program ends December 2024.
What about the pool upgrade?
Mr White said the pool upgrade – called the Health & Wellbeing Hub – has $4.5million State Government funding with another $1.5million coming from council.
This gives a total of $6million.
The designs have been done and costing has come back at $9.4million.
“The State Government asked us to look at the scope of the project,” Mr White said.
The budget for the pool project was done before covid and costs have changed.
“We need to do a re-scoped project to go back to the State Government in April,” he said.
Ms May said an important part of the project was the relocation of the Community Gym as it was vulnerable to floods at its current location at the showgrounds.
Asking the people if they want to pick their own mayor
A referendum is coming – and will be held in conjunction with the council elections this September.
There was a discussion about the number of wards – should they be reduced to two?
Corporate Services manager Marcus Schintler said it came down to workability.
An odd number of councillors, including a mayor was important for voting.
Ms Wilson said there needed to be public activities to let residents know how it would work.
“Something closer to the election with real people talking,” she said.
The final question councillors decide on will be sent to the NSW Electoral Commission to check it is workable, Mr Schintler said.
The meeting ended at 3.45pm.
You can read the March agenda here.
All Kyogle Council stories are in one place here.
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