Minutes of the Berry Forum Meeting
Held on 9 February 2017 7:30pm at the Pavilion Hall in the Showground

Present: 72 attendees   Apologies: Cllrs Patricia White, Nina Cheyne and John Wells

Welcome and Introduction (David Carter – Chair)
Minutes from meeting held on 8 December – Approved

Berry Bypass progress (Shannon Chisholm – Fulton Hogan)
– 98 responses to the FH survey were received and results were mostly positive.
– The Foxground bypass between Toolijooa Road and Austral Park will open before Easter 2017.
– Access to The Berry Bypass will open ahead of schedule, before Christmas 2017.

Rockfield Park, Land & Environment Court Appeal (Ian Goss)
The L&E Court onsite hearing is open to the public and will be held on 20 March at 801 Kangaroo Valley Road. The appeal is based on changing the name of the function centre to a restaurant and moving two cabins from a boundary. An extension of the closing date for submissions to Council is being requested. Council is committed to defend its refusal of the application.

Council’s Proposed Rates Increases (Stuart Coughlan)
Council is applying to the Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal (IPART) for a gross increase of 13% in 2017/18 and 14% in 2018/19, to financially support the ongoing provision of service levels to the community and increase levels of asset maintenance and renewal. Council has agreed to consider establishing a Citizens Panel to provide recommendations on priority areas for expenditure and to investigate potential additional sources of revenue related to tourist accommodation.

Berry District Park (James Robinson)
The first meeting of the newly formed District Park Review Group, chaired by the Forum in partnership with Council, will take place on Tuesday 14 February. The Review Group Committee will work with various interest groups and develop a process so all community members can be engaged in the project.

Strategic Plan Focus Areas (David Carter)
Review Groups have been established for the following Focus Areas –

  • Town Centre – Develop an inviting Town Centre that highlights Berry’s atmosphere & appeal
  • Infrastructure & Facilities – Provide a high level of well maintained infrastructure and facilities
  • Sustainability – Establish Berry as an environmentally aware community with sustainable practices

Initial meetings have taken place and the membership and terms of reference for each of the review groups can be found on the website.

Boomerang Bags (Liz Dubbelde)
The bags made from recycled fabric will be introduced into the IGA in a box with a message ‘Borrow & Bring Back’. The bag will include a flyer to explain the purpose of Boomerang Bags and the goals for a “plastic bag-free Berry”. Anyone interested in helping sew or to find out more, contact Liz on 0431 663 189.

Changes to Recycling and Waste facilities – David Hojem, Fiona
Council has proposed the following recommendations for the Berry facility–

  • Change the operating days to Friday/Saturday/Sunday and open the buyback facilities only on Saturday and Sunday mornings
  • Continue operating for 7 days per week from Christmas to the end of the January school holidays
  • Close the recycling and waste facilities on all public holidays
  • Close and remove the bottle bank from the car park behind the IGA

The community is invited to comment on these recommendations and state preferences.

Other Business –
Discussion on Berry Trails project.

  • Two concerned landowners felt the Forum had not kept the community informed regarding the plans for cycle paths that crossed private land.
  • In response, specific information concerning potential trails that might cross their land was provided by Derek Jorgensen.
  • The Chairman explained that the Forum was not running the Trails Project

Action: History of communications from the Forum commencing November 2015 to be provided to all Forum members, including presentations at Forum meetings, Town Crier articles, emails to Forum members and postings on the Forum Website and on the Community Noticeboard.

Next Forum Meeting is on 20 April 2017 at the School of Arts at 7:30pm