TRC Meeting report 14th June 2022
Here is an overview of outcomes Tamworth Regional Council Ordinary Meeting on Tuesday 14th June 2022:
To support Barraba’s emerging arts scene, Councillors approved measures to prevent the visual obstruction of the ‘Beyond the Wall’ mural on the Treloar Building that depicts Horton’s ‘Little Falls’. This includes the installation of a No Parking zone immediately in front of the artwork and appropriate signage at 77 Alice Street Barraba.
The recommendations of the ‘Audit of Non-Residential Sewer Charging’ report were tonight considered by Councillors, which found that of the 2602 non-residential properties connected to Council’s sewer systems, 2,299 properties sewer charges were correctly applied and 303 properties had the incorrect charge being applied for the 21-22 financial year. For properties identified as being undercharged in the 21-22 financial year, the correct charges will be applied from 1 July 2022. Where properties have been overcharged, Council will provide refunds or billing adjustments where necessary for the 21-22 financial year.
The Tamworth Community Men’s Shed will soon be the beneficiary of Council funded improvements of their facility at the Victoria Park Precinct. To make the facility more comfortable for this community group, a new sewer connection and associated remediation works will be funded by Council at a cost of $23,000.
Councillors have tonight determined to write to the NSW Member for Tamworth, the Hon. Kevin Anderson MP, to request his assistance in securing additional funding from the NSW State Government for the construction of the Organics Recycling Facility. The new facility is proposed to be built on Council owned land on Gidley Appleby Road, for which Council has already secured $3 million from the NSW Environmental Trust (the NSW Waste Less Recycle More Initiative Organics Infrastructure (Large and Small) Grants Program). The Organics Recycling Facility will provide the means for our region to operate more sustainably when it comes to food waste, and avoid this organic material filling up Council’s landfill sites. Additionally, the facility will be capable of processing industrial quantities of Class III organics material.
After asking for community feedback about the opening hours of Council’s rural waste facilities, Councillors tonight agreed to amend the opening hours schedule across all facilities, with the exception of Forest Road Landfill. Changes include standardising the number of opening hours across facilities by size category, the optimisation of start and finish times to assist with staffing requirements, and ensuring that all facilities have at least one weekday and one weekend opening.
Following the discontinuation of the regular kerbside Bulky Household Waste Collection service in 2019, a new proposal about the introduction of a modified Bulky Household Waste Collection service will go on Public Exhibition for a period of 28 days in mid-July 2022. Council is proposing to offer an on-call verge side service, whereby residents would be able to make bookings to have a box trailer load of bulky waste collected from their verge. If adopted, this proposal would assist residents currently unable to transport bulky waste to a waste transfer facility, while also providing a solution that makes better use of Council resources. This proposal includes a 50% reduction in collection fees for pensioners and those with a disability card.
A letter of congratulations from The Mayor of Sannohe, Japan was recently received congratulating Tamworth on the success of the 50th Tamworth Country Music Festival. While unable to attend in person, Mayor Matsuo congratulated the community of Tamworth for what he described as a remarkable feat of staging 50 Festivals and the “extraordinary effort and devotion” of the organisers and the people of Tamworth. Sannohe and Tamworth have a long-standing Sister City relationship.
The Councillors endorsed the 2022-23 Regional Events Marketing Support Program budget which helps events in the region with funding and in-kind marketing support for their events. This program provides much needed support for events which create an economic and tourism benefit for the Tamworth region. Previous recipients of funding through the program include The Great Nundle Dog Race, the Bendemeer Grey Fergie Tractor Muster and various events held at the AELEC just to name a few. Program applicants will be notified shortly as to the outcome of their applications.