We live in one of the best parts of the world (with the Plateau being the best and Ballina/Lennox a close second), we have the perfect mix of weather and thus we’ve got the perfect climate for sports activities all year round, but we need the facilities to go with it.
Myself and my fellow C ward councillors have been active in the process now for 4 years in the Wollongbar Sporting Fields, when finished (shortly) it will be the best sporting field complex in the shire and one to be proud of.
However, the work doesn’t end there but, in 2015 I moved a motion that council get on with the job and build an indoor sports centre, find the money and just get in done.
Since that time, opportunities have rose with the department of education to partner with an build a facility on the Ballina High School site. Negotiations are pending but we need to be conscious of the fact that as negotiations continue to take place our indoor sports are suffering with lack of facilities, Almost every week of the year Basketball for example has it’s competitions disrupted due to the lack of availability of Southern Cross K-12’s gym (Which council paid for 20 years ago).
We need to make sure we don’t repeat the mistakes of the past, we need to make sure we don’t delay things and not get the outcome we want, we need to be strategic but also we need to make decisive decisions that don’t delay access to indoor sport in our shire any longer than necessary.