The Northern Rivers Times
8
January 11, 2024!!!
NEWS
Council finds playing Santa a tough job By Tim Howard Clarence Valley Council is finding out playing Santa Claus is hard work as it seeks to find ways of encouraging the Valley to deck itself out with Christmas decorations for coming festive seasons. In the final meeting before the Christmas break Cr Debrah Novak brought a notice of motion that council: 1. call for an expression of interest from interested stakeholders to participate in a focus group to establish a set of guidelines for main street Christmas Decorations across the Clarence Valley. 2. call for an Expression of Interest (EOI) from interested stakeholders who would like to officially partner with Clarence Valley Council to fund Christmas decorations across the Clarence Valley. 3. place this matter on CVC’s online discussion portal Clarence Conversations for ideas and feedback till March. 4. appoint a councillor to be the delegate on this focus group. 5. bring this matter back to a council workshop in April 2024. 6. bring a report back to council no later than April 2024 general council meeting. The outcome was the motion was rejected unanimously in favour of deferring the matter until the February 24 meeting – a foreshadowed motion
Clarence Valley councillors Allison Whaites and Steve Pickering enjoying a choral performance at the 2022 Ulmarra Christmas Magic celebrations.
from Cr Karen Toms – to discuss making Christmas decoration part of the council’s operating plan. But the matter did provoke some passionate responses ranging from Cr Bill Day’s view that It was none of council’s business to Cr Novak’s belief that council must respond to demands from the community. “I just believe that this issue should be driven by the community, not by council and Christmas shopping. It’s a commercial issue,” Cr Day said. “The reason I’ve put forward this NOM is it’s been a hot topic for least six years while I’ve been a councillor,” Cr Novak said. “It’s the same conversation with the same people. So I thought by bringing something to the council
chamber for us to consider would be a way forward.” The notion of deferral came up quickly when councillors questioned general manager Laura Black about the costs and pressures this would exert on council staff. “My response is that I believe that there is opportune time in the new operational plan to do this,” Ms Black said. “And so that would be a different motion of council. I suppose it wouldn’t be this, it would be in something about including it in the draft operational plan for implementation in 24-25.” Ms Black also pointed out that when council did become involved in issues like this, it was generally in areas like traffic control, rather than installations. Mayor Peter Johnstone
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asked Cr Novak if she would withdraw her motion, to allow consideration of Cr Toms’ motion to defer. But Cr Novak insisted on debating the matter. Cr Alison Whaites suggested the council needed to pick up the slack during hard times. “This year, it has been more difficult I think people are in financial hardship,” she said. “Rotary aren’t able to do what they usually do. Chambers of commerce this year have not done anything in the main street like they did in previous years. “I think this is a really good motion. We do need to play a part of it. And we also need to be in a focus group.” Cr Greg Clancy was not sure it was council’s role to be decorating streetscapes. “I do question whether council is the relevant organisation to be organising this,” he said. “I think what I’d like to see as Chambers of Commerce or other community groups who want these declarations to actually come to council and say, ‘Hey, we are organising this we want financial support of X number of dollars’, or something specific rather than this broad general thing that we are taking it on as the organiser.” Cr Day argued there was not much wrong with the status quo.
“If the chambers if the Rotary Clubs, if the churches, possibly, radio stations, as has happened in Grafton, don’t want to get involved in Christmas decorations, I don’t think our world is going to fall apart,” he said. “The cost of offer offering equal services contributing to the cost of decorations across potentially 40 villages and towns, it’s crazy. “But to discuss it, as Cr Toms’ foreshadowed motion suggests in a workshop, yeah, sure. So long as not, we’re not going to rule out totally council continuing what they do now.” Cr Toms said she could understand the emotions that drove the debate, but that should not drive the decision. “It’s all very well to want to have pretty Christmas trees up. I put mine up yesterday. Very late, and I love it. It brings joy to me,” she said, “But Is it council’s core business? Does it come under our Integrated Planning and Reporting System? Is it somewhere in our community strategic plan that we do this? That’s the sort of questions we need to ask ourselves.” Cr Steve Pickering’s passionate description of the way his home village of Ulmarra lit up for Christmas was the culmination of the
debate. He supported Cr Novak’s motion, but was also happy with the foreshadowed motion to defer, but wanted to flesh out Cr Toms view it should be a planning matter. “Our number one aim in our community strategic plan is society, society creating a place where people are healthy, safe, connected and in harmony with the natural environment to retain and improve the quality of community life,” he said. “What more could we do … as per this motion states to to bring our community together, to form a focus group, to set the set the ideas for all of our little towns and villages to try to bring them together so they come up with the ideas.” He added there were more to communities than commerce. “Our CBDs aren’t just shops,” he said. “Our CBDs are our village heart. It’s your city hearts. “It’s not just about shopping. It’s not that’s not what Christmas is. It’s about community. It’s about family. It’s about bringing people together.” Cr Pickering said his home village of Ulmarra could provide a blueprint for how a community could celebrate the festive season. “Ulmarra is a little village with a big heart,” he said. “The Ulmarra community has come together, the businesses, the Progress Association, the residents have all come together and they’ve done this without needing the support of council. “But not all communities can do that. Not all communities have the experience or the knowledge to be able to come together to form these focus groups to be able to determine what’s needed in their communities. “And that’s why it’s up to if council can take a small role in assisting with this, to bring the communities together.”
