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Anyone able to attend council meeting tomorrow?
If you take a look at the council agenda for tomorrow...
http://www.warringah.nsw.gov.au/council_then/War...
... you'll see that 12.2 is a motion to 'Reinstatement of Manly Dam Mountain Bike Track Volunteer Days'.
This is a great move, but... there are rumours circulating that something bad regarding the dam is going to be discussed.
I know this will be boring as watching paint dry, but if anyone local is able to attend this meeting and report back it would be much appreciated.
Update: Actually, it would be even better if someone could attend and speak in support of this motion. Speakers have to register by 3pm today by calling 9942 2737. The meeting is 6pm to 10pm and speakers talk for 3 minutes at the beginning of the meeting. If anyone would like to speak please mention:
- Bike riders have been using the circuit without incident for many years (since the 90's at least).
- Riders have a vested interest in protecting and enhancing the environment.
- The cycling community is responsible (point to our trail status and education of people on forums, etc).
- By allowing volunteer maintainence riders are invested in the trails they ride and thus more likely to respect them.
- When volunteer days were run they were always popular and went very well with great outcomes for the track.
- Other user groups (eg. Bush Regen.) are able to supply volunteer labour so why cannot bike riders?
- It is a worry that without proper maintenance the trail could become degraded. As Manly Dam is the only legal single track in the area it's important that the trail remain open and well maintained.
- Volunteer maintenance of the trails at the Dam should be allowed now and in the future, irrespective of the layout and length trails take at the time.
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I've registered, and am speaking on behalf of myself and NobMob.
Rob, we'll speak separately on the material that needs to be covered in the three minutes I'm allotted.
If others of you would like to turn up to support me with numbers, it would be greatly appreciated. Those speaking to agenda items are up very early in the meeting, so your commitment would be from 6pm to 7pm at the latest, probably leaving well before 7pm.
I'll be in business attire for the shock value, but here's a chance to wear your Nobmob t-shirts and use them to make a serious difference.
Better go get my hair cut.
I recommend you clap enthusiastically after each individual MTB'er speaks.
Thanks John!
Sadly I can't be there as have to attend another tedious meeting in our building.
However, if anyone can spare even half an hour (the public statements are meant to be done by 6:30) to go and support John please do. Perhaps you can even use it as an excuse for a cheeky brew after?
I'm out this Tuesday night.
Are we all wearing our NoBMoB T-Shirts
See ya's there
Pikey
News on this??
For turning up to offer some support.
It was an interesting experience watching a bit of faction politics go on at the start, for which we got delayed half an hour or so.
I said our bit, hopefully it went over well and we'll get a good result.
After Johns excellent 3 min talk (his allocation) in which I must add covered all the important things we needed to get across, I sat there and listened to there petty bickering , too and thowing over the most trivial matters......change their meeting break from 15 mins to 5 mins......have their meetings every 4 weeks instead of every 3......by 9:37 when they started discussing what sort of fricken paver they should use for the mall I uped and left.
The meeting ends at 10 and they were only half way through the agender.......I spoke to Councilor Virginia Laugesens partner, David I think, on the way out who told me that this trivial time wasting, factional crap is not uncommon.
So nothing to report........No news on the reinstatement of the Manly Dam volunteer trail maintenance days and no comment on the Draft Bike Plan.
Painfull
Thanks again John (Hawkeye) for speaking
Greg
I got there at about 6:20 and sat right at the back. Listened to 12.3 and 12.4 and then they seemed to jump around with the agenda.
My highlight was listening to De Luca [sp?] quibble about the out-of-pocket expenses around the conference in Adelaide versus the conference in the Blue Mountains...
I bailed at about 7:30 as I was commuting and didn't have lights. How the heck did you guys last til 9:30? All the other speakers from the public left straight after their 3min speech...
Side note - Politicians are like diapers. They both need changing regularly and for the same reason.
You must have been sitting in the coffee lounge in the back corner? Never saw you, obviously.
I had the pleasure to attend about 4 x council meetings, regarding a local street issue we had, back in the days when we had an administrator Dick Pearrson, there was none of the childish crap I experienced last night, especially from Councillor De Luca..........
(He personally owes me 1.5 hours of my life back)
Sack this lot too!
Except Councillor Virginia Laugesen, she and her partner are well and truly on the side of cyclists
A serial whinger I know from decades of company annual general meetings was up first, then a dude who spoke to the pavers matter, and then me. I needed to get the car back to the missis for child taxi duties, so couldn't stay.
Are you saying Pikey that our item was deferred?
First off, big thumbs up to Hawkeye for speaking out for riders. But...
It would appear that the council didn't get to discuss the volunteer motion.
It would also appear that there were some deliberate delaying tactics to prevent that.
You can view the details of the elected council here:
http://www.warringah.nsw.gov.au/council_now/elec...
I will be writing to every one of them expressing my disgust with last nights performance and asking when the motion will now be considered.
Here is the document for:
Notice of Motion No 66/2009
Reinstatement of Manly Dam Mountain Bike Track Volunteer Days
http://www.warringah.nsw.gov.au/council_then/doc...
That's the 'Motion' document that was available prior to the actual meeting so it has nothing new, post last night's meeting.
... we get more time to lobby the members of both factions
Reported on here:
http://manly-daily.whereilive.com.au/news/story/...
De Luca sites the Mayor's lack of leadership as the reason for "chaos". I swear, for the relatively short amount of time that I was there (50mins), De Luca was the instigator of most of the time wasting. It seems like it's nothing more than good ole politics... the downside of democracy!
Doesn't he get enough of those games in his work (he's a solicitor)?
That is all.