EUROBODALLA SHIRE COUNCIL GENERAL MEETING 14TH November 2019 Good morning My name is Leah Burke and I would like to thank Council for the opportunity to give this presentation today. Today I am representing the group Supporting Albert Ryan Park. I would like to discuss the motion 4635NOM/011 pertaining to the Park and Toilets that is Albert Ryan Park. We appreciate that today we have the opportunity to discuss this issue at an Ordinary Council Meeting. At this point I would like to thank the councillors that have helped so far with this issue and that includes Councillor Lindsay Brown for the Notice of Motion on the agenda today. Councillors Phil Constable and James Thomson who tried on several occasions at council briefings to get a Notice of Motion. Councillor Anthony Mayne for meeting to talk over the issues and Councillor Patrick McGinlay for always answering our emails with constructive answers. At a meeting last Wednesday 8th November with the Mayor Liz Innes and Director Community Arts and Recreation Services, Kathy Arthur Councillors Lindsay Brown and Patrick McGinlay, along with Trish Hellier, Betty Debney, and also Stephen Dunne and myself; the notice of Motion that is presented here today was discussed, and we were satisfied with the explanation of the three points. Following this a meeting between our group it was felt the matter that the community has long been campaigning for had not been addressed and that is the recommendation for the decommissioning of the toilets in the 2010 ROSS Report and the Public Toilet Review of 2015. We agree with the Motion's items 1,2 and 3 and Council's need to cross the T's and dot the I's in this issue as the paper trail is incomplete, but the community also need that same closure. As quoted from the considerations in this Notice of Motion “the aim of this notice and the proposed recommendations is to progress the matter and provide clarity and certainty for the community.” As long as decommissioning of these toilets remains in the councils 2010 ROSS report and 2015 Public Toilets Report the clarity and certainty for the community will not be addressed. Until this happens the communities wishes will not be dealt with completely. We are asking that today a fourth item be added to the Notice of Motion and that is “that the toilets decommissioning be rescinded from the 2010 ROSS report and that the motion to remove the toilets in the 2015 PTR also be rescinded”. We are talking about a Park with amenities that the majority of the Batemans Bay community want. A Park that has a history, from Albert Ryan's daughter perishing in a house fire to the days of the DMR depot on the site, the slipway used for Ferry repairs, some posts still evident. Also as a quarry for rocks used for the foreshore. Most significant is Sir Roden Culter proclaiming it a Public Reserve. Sometimes its only when you are foreshadowed with the loss of something that you really start to acknowledge its importance to your community. Albert Ryan Park is just that. At times you have to stop and have a good look, and see this park as an important part of the fabric of our community. On more than one occasion the community has spoken emphatically that they want the park, toilets and other amenities retained. Adding one more item to the Notice of Motion as stated earlier will give the community certainty surrounding the Park. So today we are asking each councillor to ask themselves how can you best serve the community on this issue, its a simple as that. Leah Burke
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NOTE: Comments were TRIALED - in the end it failed as humans will be humans and it turned into a pile of merde; only contributed to by just a handful who did little to add to the conversation of the issue at hand. Anyone who would like to contribute an opinion are encouraged to send in a Letter to the Editor where it might be considered for publication
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