Mayoral Column 15th July 2020
Published on 14 July 2020
Demolition to begin at Goulburn Aquatic Centre
In some exciting news for our community, the contractor for stage one of the Goulburn Aquatic Centre Redevelopment is nearing completion of the plans and approvals necessary to begin demolition for this project.
This is an enormous project that is the result of a number of years of hard work, including by the original Aquatic Centre Community Working Party in 2016 and 2017. We are currently working through design amendment finalisation and the required modification to the development application, but as seen in the photo for today’s column the progress is outstanding. The project itself has not changed in any major way, but focus on connection with Victoria Park has been improved. This will allow families using the Adventure Playground to grab a coffee and sandwich without having to formally enter the Aquatic Centre.
We will see movement on site at the end of July, with the first step being the setup of temporary site amenities for FDC Contracting, which is scheduled to occur on Wednesday 29th July. In order for this to be undertaken safely we will be closing the skate park on this day, but expect this will only be for the one day.
Is your business COVID Safe?
As the threat of COVID-19 begins to pick up again we are advising businesses they need to ensure you have a COVID-19 Safety Plan in place. These are very simple, with a number of templates available on the NSW Government website for different industries.
Businesses have an obligation to comply with the Public Health Order in relation to the COVID-19 pandemic which requires each business to develop and comply with a COVID-19 Safety Plan. For your information we’ve been informed that the NSW Government is looking to crack down on this issue to minimise the risk involved with further spread of COVID-19. All enforcement actions and fines remain the jurisdiction of the NSW Police, not Council’s compliance team.
We do not want to end up in a similar situation to Victoria, and the reality is we could be facing further lockdowns if we don’t follow the guidelines and advice of the NSW Government. I’m calling on all businesses and individuals to make sure we as a community step up again with social distancing and hygiene – let’s not get complacent!
Regional Disaster Preparedness Program
Following the extreme summer bushfires we faced, Resilience NSW (formally the Office of Emergency Management) is taking a holistic look at the way we as a State prepare for and respond to natural disasters.
The Regional Disaster Preparedness Program is focused on increasing the capacity and resilience of local councils and communities to prevent, prepare, respond and recover from natural disaster events. The reality of these situations is that local organisations such as the Rural Fire Service, and Councils, are on the ground and know the region best, therefore are best placed to coordinate the responses to emergencies.
Resilience NSW is very keen to hear from local people about your understanding of disaster preparedness in your community and region. Please share your perspectives by completing a short anonymous survey at www.research.net/r/rdppevaluationcommunitysurvey