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Council News
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Weekly newsletter from Wagga Wagga City Council
First Printed Saturday 12 March 2022 | Issue #386
MARKING A MILESTONE The $4.88 million redevelopment of the Museum of the Riverina’s Botanic Gardens site on Lord Baden Powell Drive has reached a milestone, with the structural steel being installed for the new exhibition gallery. The project is funded through the State Government’s NSW Regional Cultural Fund ($3.18 million) and the Federal Government’s Building Better Regions Fund ($1.7 million). Continued inside
MARKING A MILESTONE: Project Manager Tom Lemerle and Museum Manager Luke Grealy inspect the structural steel being installed for the new exhibition gallery at the Museum of the Riverina’s Botanic Gardens site.
Council continues support of city’s Business Chamber Council is continuing its collaboration with the Wagga Wagga Business Chamber, which has contributed significantly to the survival and growth of local business and industry over the last two years.
January and June 2022, with the new MOU expected to commence in July 2022. Under the original two-year MOU initiated in January 2020, Council provided funding of $130,000. Manager City Strategy Chris Barrett said there were mutual benefits for both the business and wider community through Council’s continued support. “It’s incredibly important for the future of Wagga to have a strong and united business voice,” Mr Barrett said. “We’ve seen a significant strengthening in the Business Chamber’s capacity to help individual businesses. At this week’s Ordinary “It has been working Council Meeting, Councillors closely with the local agreed to enter into a sixbusiness community on our month interim arrangement with the Business Chamber behalf, giving businesses a pending finalisation of a new much better understanding three-year memorandum of of Council’s priorities and policies, which in turn helps understanding (MOU). businesses progress. Council will provide “It’s been a mutually $32,500 in funding between
beneficial partnership and we’re happy to see it continue.” Business Manager Serena Hardwick from the Wagga Wagga Business Chamber said support from Council enables the Chamber to provide more resources for local businesses. “We can advocate for businesses and connect them to opportunities and services that will assist them,” Ms Hardwick said “We’re also able to represent the business community in different industry forums, create initiatives and projects such as the Shop Local Wagga Wagga gift card program, and bring additional events to the city to educate and inform the business community. “I believe that our partnership with Council is essential in making Wagga Wagga a great place and an easy place to do business.”
Mr Barrett said Council would use the next MOU with the Business Chamber to focus on two key priorities; recovery from COVID and building capacity for local businesses to be part of major infrastructure projects in our region. “While Wagga hasn’t been as hard hit as many other areas, it’s quite clear a lot of businesses have been very challenged by the pandemic and need support from their local business chamber to return to something like normal operations,” Mr Barrett said. “The other thing we’re very conscious of is the enormous demand on the local workforce and businesses to respond to some of the major infrastructure projects occurring. “It’s estimated that there will be over $10 billion in major infrastructure projects in and around the city over
the next decade. “For our city to reap the benefits, we really need to have a strong Business Chamber and Council needs
to put that seed funding into the Chamber so it can grow and develop and become even more effective as a business voice for Wagga.”
BACKING BUSINESS: Council’s Manager City Strategy Chris Barrett with Business Manager Serena Hardwick from the Wagga Wagga Business Chamber. Council has been working with the Business Chamber to help boost local business and industry.
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