[Bermagui Community] Bermagui Community Forum Update - 29 September 2021

[Bermagui Community Forum]

The latest news from the Bermagui Community Forum

https://facebook.us15.list-manage.com/track/click?u=9030b531e962ad02c68a923c8&id=1a27c062be&e=34e977e1dc Visit our Facebook page (https://facebook.us15.list-manage.com/track/click?u=9030b531e962ad02c68a923c8&id=b491257016&e=34e977e1dc)
View this email in your browser (https://mailchi.mp/75a16e6f3956/bermagui-community-forum-update-29-september-2021?e=34e977e1dc)
Bermagui Community Forum Update
In this issue

. Additional Shooting Days for  (#Shooting) Clays Club  (#Shooting)
. H (#Whales) igh Local Vaccination Rate (#Vaccine)
. Bruce Steer Pool Complete (#Pool)
. Optus Tower Proposed for Country Club (#Optus)
. Aged Care Home Services (#Aged)
Management Committee

Coordinator:                       Geoff Steel (mailto:geoffsteel1 at bigpond.com)
Deputy Coordinator:      Narelle Myers
Phil Coates
Fergus McWhirter
David Monro
Bill Southwood

At last Wednesday’s Council meeting they confirmed their support for 9 additional shoot days for training by the Bermagui Field and Game Club. Councillors in support were Allen, Bain, Nadin and Mayor Fitzpatrick; Councillors against were Griff, Dodds and Seckold.
These new shooting days are not to be held in January, on public holidays or long weekends, and with hours limited to 5 from 10am to 3pm. The Club will now have 21 shooting days per year.

It was confirmed that all the test and report conditions for noise, soil contamination, site remediation and bush fire prevention emergency plan have to be met before practice days commence. The one extension of terms is that the number of noise test days was extended from 2 to 6 to allow for cancellations on unsuitable days to test. It was noted that once a test day was nominated the Club was to attempt testing.

Prior to the Council meeting there was a Public Forum held, with three speakers against and one speaker in support of the additional shoot days. Geoff Steel, Four Winds, described the size and scope of Four Winds business employing 10 staff, generating over $4m of spending per year in the community and now scheduling 22 Sunday events in calendar year 2022. With shooting from the Club being within 2km of Four Winds site and virtually no restrictions on selection of shooting days by the Club, it will be very difficult for Four Winds to avoid event clashes in scheduling their events, which could make booking of some artists not possible. Four Winds will be reliant on the ongoing goodwill of the Club to avoid scheduling clashes.

The other two speakers against were local resident Enrico Coiera, who criticised the quality of the soil contamination report and local resident Robert Bertram who spoke of the effect on animals of noise pollution and lead contamination. 129 local residents had previously lodged a petition with the Council opposing the additional shoot days. Nev Brady spoke in support of the additional shoot days and against the level of Council DA conditions, which will be expensive and some may be unachievable.

Councillor Griff spoke at the Council meeting, saying the issue of additional shoot days had been debated for years, and whilst it ticks all the planning boxes for Council it doesn’t make it right. There are many distressed residents and it doesn’t work for Four Winds. She noted that several gun clubs have recently been shutdown due to noise and soil contamination environmental issues.

The EPA NSW has just issued a Draft Noise Guide for Local Government. With regard to Outdoor Shooting Ranges it calls for councils to achieve a “balance between different interests”. Going forward there will be a need for flexibility by all parties to make the current shooting arrangements work for all.

It is again pleasing to note that our local postcode 2546 area including Bermagui and Narooma has continued to have the highest COVID vaccination rate on the NSW South coast. As of 27 September we have 90+% partially vaccinated and 70-79% fully vaccinated. This is a commendable effort given nearly all of these vaccinations to date will have been delivered through our local medical centres and pharmacies.

>From the Monday after NSW hits the 80% double dose vaccination target, eased restrictions will allow those that are fully vaccinated to have up to 10 people visit their home, participate in community sport and access hospitality venues. Travel between Greater Sydney and regional NSW will only be permitted when the state reaches 80% double dose.

You can check for updates of these percentages on the ABC Website (https://facebook.us15.list-manage.com/track/click?u=9030b531e962ad02c68a923c8&id=48fa4a8553&e=34e977e1dc) .

In recent weeks Council has completed the final stage in the redevelopment of the Bruce Steer Pool with the construction of the accessibility ramp into the pool. This will be highly valued by our disabled and less mobile community members making water access achievable for them.

The accessible ramp is the final element in the Bruce Steer Pool Coastal Accessibility project, which also included new public amenities, accessible parkland pathways, picnic shelters, park furniture, landscaping, stairway link to upper level, and accessible car park line-marking.

The project was made possible by funding of over $575,000 from the Restart NSW Fund, as well as a Council contribution of nearly $60,000.

The Bermagui Country Club has advised that they will be submitting a Development Application to Council for a proposed 26 metre high Optus communications tower at one of their old tennis courts.

This tower will be in a prominent position in the middle of town. In the Club’s opinion, “the net benefit that the facility brings in terms of providing essential telecommunications services outweighs its unavoidable visual presence.”

There is a need to relocate the existing facility from the Pacific Drive location on the old water tower. Other locations could be investigated, that are on higher ground and on a less visual impactful site, eg at or near the Nutleys Creek Reservoir tower at the back of the Bermagui Heights Estate. Putting this tower at sea level in the middle of town is maybe not the best choice.

It is noted that CPS Global, on behalf of Optus, sought resident feedback, including by consultation with 70 residences in the immediate vicinity of the proposed tower. The Club advises that no feedback nor objections were received.

The Club advises that a DA will be submitted to Council for this project by the end of September. If you have any views on this issue it is suggested that you submit comments on the DA to Council at the DA Tracker website (https://facebook.us15.list-manage.com/track/click?u=9030b531e962ad02c68a923c8&id=7a7b8d7f14&e=34e977e1dc) .

Residents of Bermagui waiting on a Home Care Package to be issued to them can receive aged care home services in the interim period delivered by IRT, thanks to funds from the Thomas Cairney Estate. Five local residents were in receipt of this financial support during the financial year to 30 June 2021.

The following key criteria will apply to be eligible for the Thomas Cairney Scheme:
-    Be 65 years or above or experience issues associated with aging
-    Be a citizen or have permanent residency in Australia
-    Have been a resident of Bermagui NSW for at least 1 year
-    Be able to establish their identity
-    Be financially disadvantaged
-    Receive or be eligible to receive a full pension, or in extenuating circumstances pass an alternative income and assets test
-    Be eligible to receive a Government funded home care package, or in extenuating circumstances have relevant care support needs as determined by an IRT assessor.

If you are interested please discuss with your local GP or contact IRT on 134 478
If you have any friends that may be interested in joining our email list, please refer them to our sign up page on Facebook (https://facebook.us15.list-manage.com/track/click?u=9030b531e962ad02c68a923c8&id=2f6d1ff253&e=34e977e1dc)  or the BCF website (https://facebook.us15.list-manage.com/track/click?u=9030b531e962ad02c68a923c8&id=3ce410ef7b&e=34e977e1dc)

============================================================

This email was sent to bermaguicommunity at scpa.org.au (mailto:bermaguicommunity at scpa.org.au)
why did I get this? (https://facebook.us15.list-manage.com/about?u=9030b531e962ad02c68a923c8&id=3081361a0d&e=34e977e1dc&c=0f00379f84)     unsubscribe from this list (https://facebook.us15.list-manage.com/unsubscribe?u=9030b531e962ad02c68a923c8&id=3081361a0d&e=34e977e1dc&c=0f00379f84)     update subscription preferences (https://facebook.us15.list-manage.com/profile?u=9030b531e962ad02c68a923c8&id=3081361a0d&e=34e977e1dc&c=0f00379f84)
Bermagui Community Forum . 30 O'Connells Point Rd . Wallaga Lake, NSW 2546 . Australia

Email Marketing Powered by Mailchimp
http://www.mailchimp.com/email-referral/?utm_source=freemium_newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=referral_marketing&aid=9030b531e962ad02c68a923c8&afl=1
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://scpa.org.au/pipermail/bermaguicommunity_scpa.org.au/attachments/20210928/67177192/attachment.htm>