TRC Meeting report 28th Feb 23
Here is an overview of outcomes from the Ordinary Meeting on 28th Feb 2023:
➢ Councillors tonight agreed to approve a fee waiver request for the Tamworth Women’s International Rugby Tens Tournament, to be held at the Plain Street Sporting Fields on the Easter long weekend (7-11 April 2023). If the organisers choose to proceed with the booking, it will be the first time the tournament is held in Tamworth. The event would bring over 2000 visitors to Tamworth, with 48 teams travelling to our region.
➢ A requested fee waiver from the NSW Primary School Sports Association and North West Schools Sport Association was also approved. Organisers are currently planning to host a multi-sport state championship week for basketball and hockey at the Tamworth Sports Dome and the Tamworth Regional Hockey Complex. Held for the first time in 2022, the event is set to return to Tamworth on 29 May – 2 June 2023.
➢ Council’s sponsorship of the NSW Country Rugby Union Championships over the next three years was also approved, with the event scheduled to be held at Scully Park Regional Sporting Precinct in June 2023. The event consists of approximately 25 teams and 850 players, and is expected to bring over 1000 supporters to Tamworth. Councillors agreed to provide sponsorship of the event to the value of $16,500 based on the economic return of the event.
➢ Councillors noted and received a report on “CSIRO Wastewater Treatment System Trial Outcomes”. The CSIRO are currently researching the potential of an integrated Forward Osmosis (FO), Reverse Osmosis (RO) wastewater treatment process and approached Council in late 2020 to consider installing a pilot treatment plant at Council’s Westdale Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP). Council was granted funding from the NSW Government to assist with undertaking the trial in the amount of $136,800. Following the completion of work by the CSIRO, Beca HunterH2O assessed the CSIRO’s trial report and provided a high-level technical and commercial assessment of the technology based on the results achieved during the trial. On the basis of this assessment, FO-RO technology would not be suitable on a commercial scale at this time without further investment in larger scale trials.
➢ Councillors noted and received a report on “Dungowan Dam Catchment – Dungowan Starbush Replanting”. The Department of Planning and Environment – Biodiversity and Conservation Division, propose to re-establish a population of the critically endangered and locally extinct Dungowan Starbush on Council owned land upstream of the existing Dungowan Dam. Asterolasia beckersii, Dungowan Starbush was initially discovered in the Dungowan Dam Catchment in the mid 1990’s. Recent environmental stresses from drought and direct impacts from the 2019/2020 bushfires have led to possible local extinction of these populations. DPE have recently been successful in propagating the species from cuttings and are proposing a translocation program to reintroduce the Dungowan Starbush to the natural environment in March / April 2023 and 2024. The proposed locations being upstream of the existing Dungowan Dam should not impact any works planned for the new Dungowan Dam, should it proceed. The project is fully funded by the DPE, however Councill staff will assist with site access and site safety inductions.
➢ Councillors have agreed to approve the following funding allocation to the total of $31,647.00 as part of the “2022/2023 Facility Improvement Fund Program”.
o Bendemeer Town Hall Committee - Secure storage cupboards $910.00 o Dungowan Hall Trust Committee - Undercover BBQ area with concrete floor $8,500.00
o Kootingal Recreational Reserve Committee - Kootingal multi-purpose basketball court re-surface $10,000.00
o Piallamore Recreation Reserve Committee - Tank relocation and Memorial Garden $10,000.00
o Weabonga Hall and Recreation Reserve Local Committee - Weabonga Recreation Reserve Shed access and pathway $2,237.00 This program is an opportunity for Section 355 Committees to enhance community facilities by applying for matching funding and/or in-kind contributions from Council for each project.
All five applications received in round one of the program have been supported, totalling $31,647.00. Council has allocated $50,000.00 to the 2022/2023 Facility Improvement Fund project, the remainder of which will be made available in a second round of program in March 2023.
For more information, see the full reports at www.tamworth.nsw.gov.au/business-papers