Message from the Mayor: 1 March 2024

Published on 01 March 2024

Hello, I'm John Connors, the Mayor of Dungog shire, bringing you this week’s Mayoral update.

During this week and Friday of last week, I've been traveling around the shire on the Meet the Mayor program. Today, Friday is the last of those sessions and it is at the Clarence Town School of Arts between 4-6pm. So if you've got anything that's causing you concern, any issues that you'd like to raise with me, or with Council, please feel free to pop in between 4-6pm at the Clarence Town School of Arts this afternoon.

The Munni Bridge was significantly damaged by a motor vehicle accident earlier in the week and as a result of that the bridge been narrowed to three metres. The school bus and the like can still get back get through. It's anticipated that repair works will commence on Tuesday of next week and will be carried out until Thursday of next week. During that period, the bridge will be under traffic control. So there will be some inconvenience from Tuesday to Thursday, but after Thursday, it's anticipated on the current programming that the bridge will be back to normal.

Hunter Water’s ‘Love Water’ grants are open at the moment and Hunter Water this year returned the total grant funding for Dungog shire to $25,000. So go to the Hunter Water website if you're interested in applying for a grant under that scheme. I urge you to do so. The limit of any one grant is $10,000 so bear that in mind, although I'm sure it's clearly stated on the application form and on the website.

As part of the ‘Meet the Mayor’ on Monday of this week, I was at Gresford and not unexpectedly, the dominant issue at Gresford was the work being carried out on Durham Rd. That has raised issues of great concern to people who carry our businesses on the road and those who use the road on a regular basis. It's unfortunate, but any road works particularly significant ones such as that, will of necessity cause inconvenience to road users and people who either live or carry on businesses in the vicinity of the works. Following on from those who met with me on Monday a meeting was arranged with the General Manager and the Director Assets and Infrastructure on Thursday and following that, the Director Assets and Infrastructure and I will attend a meeting of the Gresford Community Group on Monday night. So hopefully, it can all be put into some perspective. But in any event, it's certainly acknowledged that there's inconvenience and perhaps matters of great concern to businesses who’ve been impacted by those works.

Tomorrow at Newcastle Jockey Club at Broadmeadow will be the inaugural Dungog Cup. It's being run in conjunction with other events at Newcastle Race Club. And the Cup itself is race #7 on the card tomorrow and I encourage you to show interest and if possible, attend the meeting and don't grow. We, Dungog Shire, and the Tourism Board will be using the event to publicise the Dungog shire and publicise the great attributes that exist within the Dungog shire. There'll be a competition conducted at the event, with the chance to win a weekend away in Dungog, which again the purpose is to showcase things and activities within the shire. So hopefully we can capitalise on the good work that's been done by business houses within Dungog in not only organising and causing the Dungog Cup to come about but also in the financial assistance that they're provided in sponsoring races and in attending the event. So hopefully, many more will benefit from the contribution that a small number have made to this event.

So I think that's it from me for this week, apart from mentioning some road issues. Apex Park in Dungog, some drainage works are going on in that vicinity. In Clarence Town at the sporting complex the cricket net facility has been constructed but it's awaiting contractors to install the synthetic turf, and I'm sure from my visit to Paterson yesterday that Paterson residents will be pleased to know that tar patching is to take place on the streets in Paterson this coming week.

So with that, that's it from me for this week. So goodbye and good luck until next Friday.