Coronavirus (COVID-19) is the talk of the world at the moment, and is an unfolding situation. On Tuesday night we looked at it from a regional perspective, and have made a number of decisions to get on the front foot. These decisions have not been made lightly, and are in line with the Australian Federal Government guidelines:
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Council strongly recommends to sports clubs that utilise council sports fields to cease competitions until end of April 2020 at this stage. Council also encourages sporting and social clubs on private facilities to suspend activities until the end of April.
Council is strongly recommending all community/social/cultural organisations suspend meetings and gatherings until the end of April 2020.
The Veolia Arena and Basketball Stadium have been closed for all events until the end of April.
Council will cease programs such as Learn to Swim and close the gymnasium at the Goulburn Aquatic Centre
A number of events have been cancelled including:
- Rocky Hill War Memorial Museum opening (both official and community opening)
- Goulburn Library Bookfest (Reader Writer Festival)
- School Holiday programs at Goulburn Mulwaree Library, Goulburn Regional Art Gallery and Youth Services
- Aussie Night Markets at Goulburn Recreation Area
- Goulburn Art Award official opening
All committee and working party meetings where no urgent decisions are required have been cancelled until the end of April.
Council will cease programs at the Goulburn Community Centre.
Programmed events at museums and the art gallery will cease, but they will remain open for daily visitation with signage and precautions in place
Signage will be installed at all public toilets, playgrounds, dog parks and other community facilities with hygiene practice reminders.
The general manager was also asked to identify essential services that council must maintain, and will report back on how these will be operated if the coronavirus significantly impacts the workforce.
Community Energy for Goulburn
This week I wanted to give congratulations to the group behind Community Energy for Goulburn, who have toiled away through four years of hard work. A generous $2.1 million grant means they are now able to start construction on this community solar farm, which is a great achievement.
The 1.8MW solar farm will include battery storage, and CE4G estimates they will generate enough electricity to power 450 homes! I look forward to seeing the project underway, and I expect to see a number of local contractors and labourers involved in construction - which I understand is the intention of CE4G.
Goulburn Aquatic Centre Redevelopment
At our meeting on Tuesday we also approved the contract for construction of the Goulburn Aquatic Centre Redevelopment - a huge occasion for our region. Due to limited space in this column I will discuss this project in detail next week, but keep an eye out for a media release that will have gone out by now. Exciting times for Goulburn!
