Mayoral Column – Wednesday 16 September 2020

Community groups are encouraged to apply for the upcoming round of Council’s donation and sponsorship program.

In the last round of donations, Council handed out around $50,000 to organisations across our Snowy Monaro Region. We supported a range of wonderful causes and projects.

To receive assistance you need to apply. We want to help as many organisations as possible so I encourage all groups to put an application in.

Applications open on Wednesday 30 September and close at 5pm Wednesday 11 November. This latest round of funding will support community projects and initiatives between January to June 2021.

The September Ordinary Council Meeting will be held this Thursday in Cooma. Due to COVID-19 restrictions, meetings are still closed to the public and will be broadcast online.

Council will consider and vote upon a number of items including the Delegate water supply options report, a proposal from the Youth Council to extend the mosaic time walk memorial at Centennial Park Cooma, and the election of the Deputy Mayor for the remaining one-year term of this Council.

We will also discuss the state government’s vision for Crown Land. Crown Land comprises 42% of land in NSW and is held in trust by the government to support communities, businesses and the environment.

I encourage residents interested in following the proceedings of this week’s meeting to watch the live webcast on Council’s website.

Bredbo residents have been placed on level 4 water restrictions. The water in the bores that normally supply Bredbo has failed to improve in quality after recent rainfall caused minor flooding of the Murrumbidgee River.

Thank you to all Bredbo residents for following the restrictions and conserving water where possible.

As we approach the end of our snow season, we have so far avoided any COVID-19 cases. We must still remain vigilant and follow social distancing measures to ensure we end the season on a successful note. Well done to all business operators, health officials, locals and visitors for adhering to health guidelines.

After missing the majority of our summer tourism, we are grateful to have had a winter season. This has helped many of our local businesses and the region’s economy.

Councillor Peter Beer Mayor of Snowy Monaro Regional Council.