Shoalhaven City council will provide its usual $20,000 donation to the Shoalhaven River Festival under one condition.
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The organisers need to find a chairperson and fill out numbers in the committee before council will hand over the cash.
There was much debate at council’s ordinary meeting on Tuesday night about whether the festival had seen its last day.
Council stumped up more than $60,000 (in total) for last year’s festival as costs blew out.
“We may salvage it in the short term,” Cr Greg Watson said.
“But it's very hard to generate sponsorship and income unless you can charge a gate fee.”
A number of councillors showed pessimism about the festival’s future.
“We can’t continue to provide $20,000 to a committee which has no chair person and is short of current members,” Cr Kaye Gartner said.
“Perhaps it needs to go biennial, find a grassroots motivation for it, and see if it has a future.”
Cr Mitchell Pakes sympathised, while throwing his support behind the River Festival.
“I don’t necessarily disagree with you all but to pull the plug at this late stage would be the final nail in coffin," he said.
“This is all Nowra's really got. I honestly hope it's a success this year.”
A majority of councillors voted to provide initial funds of $20,000 to the festival committee under the proviso the committee makes up numbers.
All councillors agreed it would need somewhat of a “facelift” to survive long-term.
“If you're serious about this, you've got to cough up and employ an events organiser,” Cr Watson said.
“You’re better off coughing up $35,000 early on and making it run properly.
“You can’t force the volunteers to do it perpetually, because they will burn out.”
Cr Bob Proudfoot wrote into the motion that the committee consider re-branding the festival with a name change, suggesting the “Shoalhaven River and Music Festival.”
FOR: Crs Joanna Gash, Watson, Pakes, Andrew Guile, John Wells, Patricia White, Proudfoot
AGAINST: Crs John Levett, Gartner, Nina Cheyne
ABSENT: Crs Mark Kitchener, Annette Alldrick, Amanda Findley