Ash Street rail crossing/Huntley Road upgrade
The plan to close the Ash Street rail crossing for up to six months during the upgrade of Huntley Road will continue as planned following Council's vote against a recent rescission motion.
If the rescission motion passed, the Ash Street rail crossing would have remained open for the duration of the works. However, Council voted against this due to the cost of traffic control to keep the road open.
The upgrade is set to include road rehabilitation and widening on Huntley Road, an intersection upgrade at Ash Street, kerb and guttering, stormwater management, a footpath and sealed parking areas near Sir Jack Brabham Oval.
Works are scheduled to begin in August.
Councillor briefings
A motion has been passed for Council to investigate the legal status of Councillor Briefings in NSW.
Briefings are usually held on Friday afternoons and are designed to allow staff to give information directly to Councillors on different topics, before they are debated in the Chamber.
It follows concerns raised by some long-serving Councillors, who claimed the regular Friday briefing sessions on Council operations may be 'illegal'.
Council will now determine whether these briefing sessions breach any part of the Local Government Act 1993 or other state or federal laws.
Weather station
Council has supported a motion to investigate the possibility of establishing a Bureau of Meteorology registered Automatic Weather Station at the NSW Air Quality Monitoring Station at Jaeger Reserve on Hill Street here in Orange.
At the moment the purpose of the station is to measure air quality, however it can also provide other weather measurements such as temperature, humidity, precipitation, wind speed and wind direction.
Currently the data used in weather apps is reported from measurements at the Orange Airport Automatic Weather Station, which is about 12km from the centre of Orange and sits 80m higher.
Council will ask NSW and Commonwealth Government agencies to investigate whether data from the Jaeger Reserve Station can be incorporated into the BoM's official weather reporting.
Advancing menstrual equity in Orange
Council will defer a decision on further actions to advance menstrual equity in Orange.
Advancing menstrual equity may include promoting existing free period product dispensers in the community and improving their visibility and awareness. It could also involve Council advocating for a rebate on reusable period products.
The decision has been deferred to allow for a revised proposal for a rebate trial, capped at $5,000. The trial would offer a $100 rebate per household, available to up to 50 households. Data collected during the trial will be used to evaluate its impact.
Amendments will be made for Council to consider at a future meeting.
Waste
Orange City Council, along with 5 other NetWaste Councils, will go to tender later this year for new 10-year waste contract.
This follows Council's community engagement to gauge support for changes to waste service levels, including red, yellow and green bin collections, as well as the bulky waste pick-up.
The engagement focused on a standard three-bin service, with options for residents to customise based on their needs - at a higher cost for a higher level of service.
The tenderer will be asked to price up all options and come back to Council. The community will be consulted again once Council knows the price of these options.
It's recommended the community feedback be used in the tender to help shape service options and pricing for Council to consider.
Funding for Orange Regional Gallery
Council will ask state government representatives to support funding for the Orange Regional Gallery's annual program in the next Create NSW funding round.
After missing out on the four-year Create NSW funding round, Orange is now hoping for success in the two-year funding round in September. It is an important chance to help keep the Gallery's programming sustainable.
Gnoo Blas Classic Car Club museum
Council has passed a motion to support, in principle, the Gnoo Blas Classic Car Club Inc's proposal for a museum.
It will also support the club in exploring options to use a part of Crown Land at Jack Brabham Park to help progress the project.
The club has contacted Crown Lands directly and received advice that there may be challenges with constructing a museum on Crown Land.
Council will also support the club in investigating alternative nearby sites.
