Cr John Wells.
MOVES that could downgrade the powers of the CBD Action Committee might cause its collapse, with one member resigning and another two threatening to follow suit.
It was to be recommended to last night’s Policy and Resources Committee meeting that council either define what expenditure limits apply to the committee for maintenance and improved works and reword the delegations to make its intentions more clear or withdraw delegated authority and make Nowra CBD Action an advisory committee.
Members are frustrated that despite being established by the previous council and endorsed in September by the new administration, which gave it delegated powers, they now face becoming an advisory committee.
A report by general manager Russ Pigg said council had not yet defined the committee’s expenditure limits but would need to if it intended delegating responsibility to determine priorities and works.
At a meeting on February 6 the committee recommended tenders be called for maintenance works in the Nowra CBD.
“Council cannot delegate the acceptance of tenders so expenditure limits must be restricted to below $150,000,” Mr Pigg wrote.
“Of significance and concern is that many members of CBD Action have declared pecuniary interests in relation to the committee’s role and this will have to be managed well to avoid any potential breaches.”
Mark Crowther, Paul Dean and Scott Baxter said without the delegated authority they saw no point being in the committee.
Mr Crowther resigned from the committee this week, frustrated at the lack of achievement.
“I don’t think the system is working,” he said.
“This process is going nowhere.
“There has been a lot of talk, a lot of money spent on consultant reports and nothing has happened.
“Paul Dean and I worked with other local business people and council for nine years on the cancer care centre and we achieved it.
“I don’t see I’ve got another nine years left in me to see what we need done in the CBD,” he said.
His frustration was echoed by Mr Dean, who said it was odd council had endorsed the committee and its members only to now consider reducing its delegated powers.
“I’m not happy to operate as a committee without delegated authority. There’s no point and it takes us no further than we were,” he said.
“It is meaningless being an advisory committee.
“The new council knew who was on the committee and endorsed those people as they were experts in their fields,” he said.
“We know how business works; these are not people who don’t know what they are doing.
“We were looking at projects in Junction Court, the bus interchange, parking, graffiti and maintenance.”
Cr John Wells said committees were not the elected council and needed to keep in mind there were more projects vying for council funds than just those in the Nowra CBD.