14 February 2023
Council met again last night, just two weeks since our last meeting but still with a full agenda. This included consideration of the Quarterly Progress Report against the Annual Business Plan. While the High River Event has required a significant commitment by Council in time, effort and resources, it was comforting to see the amount of progress that has been made against the Annual Business Plan.
The role of Council through the High River Event has been to support the lead State Government Agencies and ensure the safety of our Community. Our key priorities throughout this period have been to ensure that at all times we could provide the most up to date advice to our communities and that we managed and protected critical infrastructure within the Rural City of Murray Bridge. Importantly, this involved installation of a Defencell Levee around the Murray Bridge Regional Centre and Community Club and a temporary Levee Bank at Mypolonga.
Capital expenditure to the end of December totalled $5.032m reflecting good progress on the Capital Program. Key Projects expenditure to the end of December totalled $1.136m and saw the delivery of the Rural City of Murray Bridge Local Legends Program including the Spring Garden Competition, Annual Sports Awards and Christmas Lights Competition.
It was also noted that the Events season is close to the end and Council noted the success of Pine Park as a venue for the school holiday program this year. It is anticipated that many future events will start to use this wonderful, centrally-located site as their venue.
Council considered and approved a revised Public Art Policy. The current policy has been in place since 2018 and has seen a number of significant public art projects undertaken during that period.
The revised Policy is intended to provide a more secure funding arrangement, with up to $180,000 available each year to support public art. This will enable the Arts Development Team to work closely with artists and the community to further enhance the amenity of our region