G'day Dungog Shire. I'm doing the Council video this week. It's a pretty brief one, so you won't have me for too long.
I'll kick it off with the Community Small Grants Program. Applications are now open! So if you've got a great idea that'll make a difference in the community, now is the time to apply. Grants of up to $2,500 are available to support projects, events, and initiatives to help and strengthen the community. So, whether you're part of a sporting club, community group, or local organisation, we'd love to see your ideas. Applications are now open. They close on 30 August, so you do have quite a bit of time. If you jump onto the council's website, you can find out more, and more importantly, you can apply now.
Another item currently on public exhibition is Council's Draft Business Improvement Strategy. I would encourage people to have a look at this if you have a few minutes. Now, I know a document called Business Improvement Strategy doesn't exactly sound thrilling, but it is an important piece of work. It essentially sets a road map of how Council will improve and how we will operate over the next 10 years. The aim of it is ultimately to deliver better outcomes for you, the community. So the strategy focuses on five key areas, things like improving customer service, making better use of technology, strengthening councils' long-term financial stability, which obviously is a really important one here, and working more closely with our community and our regional partners, which we absolutely have been doing a lot over the last couple of years. Council's today are expected to do a lot more than ever before, and we saw reports of record high cost shifting from state and federal, and often with limited funding. Obviously I've talked about it here in Dungog shire quite a lot, so I'm not going to go back into it, but community expectations are still there for the services, so having that clear strategy really helps ensure that we're investing our time and resources into the right areas. If you want to have and provide your feedback, the draft strategy is on public exhibition until the 17th of July. If you would like to have your say, jump over to the Council's website, have a read through it, and provide your feedback. Community input really does help ensure that long-term plans reflect the priorities and expectations that the people ultimately want in the community.
Now to the Clarence Town Bridge project. I'll just give you a quick update on that. So, the Duke and Durham Street works will start soon. So, if you're traveling through Clarence Town every day like I am, you'll start to see some works getting underway at the Duke and Durham Street intersection there. Part of this new bridge program is not just the bridge, but it's also the connecting roads to it. These works will deliver a new permanent road layout, which was included through a public consultation period that was held earlier during the design. This will close the existing Durham Street intersection and create a cul-de-sac there. I think this design does reflect the best overall safety outcomes and really does reduce conflict between vehicles and pedestrians, cyclists, and more importantly, it also maintains access to the Williams River Holiday Park, which is obviously the big asset right next to the bridge.
Lastly, NAIDOC Week. Here in Dungog we'll be holding celebrations at the Dungog Library. Next Friday, the 10th of July, everyone's invited to join us at the library to celebrate NAIDOC Week. The morning kicks off at 10am with a Welcome to Country and Smoking Ceremony by Uncle Justin Ridgeway in the library grounds.
Then, from 10:30am there's going to be Didgeridoo performances, community Yarns, there'll be some light refreshments, and then everyone will be heading inside, where there'll be a range of free family fun activities, including weaving, story time, and clay workshops with Kara Clements. It's a wonderful opportunity to come together, learn, connect, and celebrate NADOC week, which is what the whole week is about. So, if you guys are interested in that, please just contact the library, and they'll be able to hit you up with all that relevant information.
I think that's it for me this week. If you have any issues or concerns, please feel free to contact me. I'm always there for a chat, and to listen.
Have a good week. Thanks Dungog
