Message from the Mayor: 27 September 2024
Published on 27 September 2024
Good morning everybody, and welcome to this week’s Mayoral Message on behalf of Mayor Connors.
On that note, we should know very shortly from the NSW Electoral Commission the outcome of the election. My understanding from the Commission's website and the advice to Council is that postal votes are being received up until today, and then hopefully, over the weekend, they press some buttons and determine any preferences for those contests that are not yet resolved. My understanding is they have indicated that by Tuesday, the 1st October, we should have results, so let's wait for that day and see what happens in terms of the declaration of the election. I'm quite looking forward to it so that we can get cracking on our Councillor briefing schedules, our Councillor induction, and obviously the council meetings so that we can get all the decision making happening again.
To our roads and infrastructure update this week. The Lord Street works are coming along really well between Hooke Street and Brown Streets in Dungog; there's a lot of curb and guttering and drainage works going on, and it's looking really good. They were trying to get as much work done before the rain came and it’s good to see they got a fair bit done. and Those works will continue next week as well. Lewinsbrook Road in Gresford, from the Allyn River Road intersection to the end of the seal on Lewisbrook Road, the crews are continuing to rehabilitate that area and there are some shoulder and drainage works scheduled in that area next week, so keep an eye out for those. We've also got a bit of unsealed road and maintenance grading on Allyn River Road; there are other works happening out there as well, so keep your eyes open for that. There is plenty of slashing going on on roadsides in Pine Brush Road, Glen Martin Road and Limeburners Creek Road. It’s good to see the footpath works have concluded down in Clarence Town near the sporting complex, so that’s great for the community as well.
There is a grants program open at the moment from the NSW Veterans Affairs, part of the NSW Government, and interested people can apply. If you need more information on that, head over to Council's Facebook page. We've got all the links that you need, and if you're interested in looking at the eligibility guidelines and whether or not you can apply, all the information can be found there. The grants are for up to $3,000 and they are for projects that support activities that benefit the NSW veterans community, people who've actually put in service on behalf of the rest of the community. It would be lovely for people to look at getting some grants for projects that can help give back to those veterans. Applications close on Monday, 11th of November at 5pm.
In other great news, the swimming pool season reopens this weekend! Dungog and Clarence Town swimming pools reopen on Saturday 28th September. I can't believe it’s swimming season already! I encourage you all to get ready, get your goggles and your cozzies on, and get down to the pool and do some laps. They open at 8am tomorrow morning, both in Dungog and Clarence Town. So take advantage of the new spring season by getting down to our pools.
That's the message for this week. Hopefully, next week, we'll find out what happens with the election, and we'll have further updates from there. Have a great weekend.