Mayoral Column 1st October 2021
Published on 01 October 2021
Project updates with local MPs
This week I’ve had the opportunity to tour our two largest capital works projects within the region with our NSW Member for Goulburn Wendy Tuckerman, and Federal Member for Hume Angus Taylor; being the Aquatic Centre and the Performing Arts Centre.
It was a great opportunity to see the incredible progress that has occurred over the past few months, despite the headwinds of COVID which has caused some delays.
In Auburn Street at the Old Town Hall (formerly known as the McDermott Centre) we are approaching the final months in building a 400 seat state of the art theatre for our community and region. It is an incredible project that has been complicated due to the heritage building we are working within as well as the tight confines of the site. Behind the scenes Council is employing staff who are developing the operational plan and the season of shows for 2022, and they are working hard to create a brilliant first year.
The building is really coming together now, with plastering, tiling and service fit off being completed; alongside the installation of technical theatre equipment. In the coming months focus will turn to jobs like cabinetry for the bar and café areas, patching and fixing of walls in the old portion of the building and then final fit out. We hope to open the GPAC (Goulburn Performing Arts Centre) on the final weekend of March with a huge community based show. The Federal Government have contributed $1 million towards this project through the National Stronger Regions Fund, while the NSW Government have contributed $4.5 million through the Regional Cultural Fund.
In Deccan Street we had the opportunity to tour the Goulburn Aquatic Centre Redevelopment which residents have no doubt seen due to the huge size of the project. This is going to be a wonderful new facility for our community, with much improved indoor pools, a hydrotherapy pools and more facilities for our young children. A café will also be located on site and will open out onto Victoria Park, meaning parents can grab a coffee while the kids swim or play at the Adventure Playground.
Tiling of pools is well underway, and the roof of the pool hall is now completed. External cladding of the pool hall is also now nearly complete, meaning the area is water tight. Our outdoor pool is now open for the summer season, but following a strict COVID Safety Plan. $10 million has been contributed by the NSW Government to this wonderful project, with Council tipping in $20 million.
We also walked Deccan Street itself, and I’m pleased to confirm that $1.56 million has been received through the NSW Government Fixing Local Roads Program to improve this stretch of road. It is a very busy street with it being one of the major access points to Goulburn High School, Victoria Park and our Aquatic Centre. It is also a key road within the route to the Crookwell area, which means these works will really improve the trip for our heavy vehicle users.
Join Business Community Resilience Program
All businesses have been affected differently by COVID-19 with many having to close their doors for weeks at a time and experiencing significant turnover declines, while others have been able to remain okay with many actually doing okay.
A new grant funded program is kicking off now, and being led by consultancy corporate2community who are delivering the ‘Business Community Resilience Toolkit’ program.
Over the next 12 months, local businesses and business communities in Southern NSW who participate will learn how to better prepare, connect, and build resilience over the course of 26 fortnightly modules.
They’ve created a program that’s easy, interesting and fun. And with just two questions in each module, you won’t need to give up much of your free time – however you will benefit significantly.
The program is completely free for businesses, and will help you think and plan ahead for challenges, disruptions and disasters in the future. The first module will go live in October, and registrations are now open; just head to https://grants.corporate2community.com/
If you have questions you can contact Jackson Reardon at Council via 4823 4515 or Jackson.reardon@goulburn.nsw.gov.au
Next week’s council meeting
Due to COVID-19 restrictions we continue to hold our meetings online via zoom, however as usual you can tune in on webcast through our website to watch live. We are also including presenters through zoom as normal. There are a number of items we will be discussing next week that will be of interest to the community:
- A modification application for a dwelling and detached shed in Theatre Drive
- A report following the consultation on the CBD 40km/hr High Pedestrian Activity Area and Load Limit Consultation
- A submission renewable energy & regional cities
- The draft Tarago Village Strategy
- 2021/22 Local Heritage Grants and CBD Grants
- Tenders for continuation of the Goulburn Reuse Irrigation Scheme and the next stage of the Wollondilly River Walkway.