Latest / 360 with Katie Woolf / Litchfield Mayor Doug Barden says he plans to meet with the Fred's Pass sport and rec board to address funding concerns over the reserve

Transcript

Litchfield Mayor Doug Barden says he plans to meet with the Fred's Pass sport and rec board to address funding concerns over the reserve · 360 with Katie Woolf

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: If you're listening to the show on Friday, you might
• 0:02
  Speaker 1: have heard us mentioned that recent media reports had claimed
• 0:05
  Speaker 1: that the general manager of Fred's Past Sport and Recreation
• 0:08
  Speaker 1: Board had quit over funding concerns that more than one
• 0:12
  Speaker 1: hundred thousand dollars in council funding.
• 0:14
  Speaker 2: Was going to be slashed.
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  Speaker 1: So the board, as we know, maintains the reserve on
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  Speaker 1: behalf of the Litchfield Council for thousands of users each week,
• 0:21
  Speaker 1: including sporting, business and community groups. I know that I've
• 0:25
  Speaker 1: frequented out there on a number of occasions for different
• 0:28
  Speaker 1: sports with the kids. But it is understood that general
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  Speaker 1: manager Kay Kendall resigned after learning that three hundred and
• 0:35
  Speaker 1: thirteen dollars for repairs and maintenance was once off. So
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  Speaker 1: joining me in the studio to shed a bit of
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  Speaker 1: light on the situation is the Litchfield Mayor, Doug Barden.
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  Speaker 2: Good morning to you, Doug.
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  Speaker 3: Good morning Katie, Good morning listeners.
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  Speaker 2: Thank you so much for your time this morning.
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  Speaker 1: Now, Doug, can you confirm that the general manager, Kaykendall,
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  Speaker 1: has resigned and what the reasons were for this.
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  Speaker 4: I've seen the MEETIA reports as everybody else has, as
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  Speaker 4: well as the emails that came through that were sent
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  Speaker 4: by the board to the public, and the Facebook pages.
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  Speaker 4: I note one of the Facebook pages was up there
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  Speaker 4: for about forty minutes and then it was pulled down.
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  Speaker 4: And I'm surprised that Kay realizes that says this is
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  Speaker 4: a is a run off? Is she surprised that it's
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  Speaker 4: a run off? I mean this piece of paper here,
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  Speaker 4: Katie actually says the additional funding of three hundred and
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  Speaker 4: thirteen thousand dollars provided for twenty twenty two twenty three
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  Speaker 4: is to be used as detailed in the table below.
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  Speaker 4: Reporting for the edition. Funding is outlined in Appendix three
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  Speaker 4: in the form of a quarterly report to counsel, and
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  Speaker 4: this is part of the funding agreement.
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  Speaker 1: So, Doug, was the board advice that that three hundred
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  Speaker 1: thirteen thousand. By the sounds of it, they were advised
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  Speaker 1: that it was additional funding just as once off.
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  Speaker 3: I believe so.
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  Speaker 4: And twelve months ago when we put the municipal plan
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  Speaker 4: out last year, the other user grew sorry. The other
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  Speaker 4: recreationary reserves were ropable that Fred's pass got a fifty
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  Speaker 4: percent increase and they got a marginal increase of one
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  Speaker 4: percent or four percent or something or other. And I
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  Speaker 4: actually said to Kay that the other reserves were cranky
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  Speaker 4: on this, and I did, and I well, I might
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  Speaker 4: not have said it, actually, but I indicated that this
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  Speaker 4: was a runoff. And everybody, everybody knows that this was
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  Speaker 4: a runoff.
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  Speaker 1: So do you think it was a misunderstanding or what
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  Speaker 1: do you reckon has happened here?
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  Speaker 4: I don't know how they can miss how they could
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  Speaker 4: have misunderstood this, but I'm happy to accept that it's
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  Speaker 4: a misunderstanding. But I mean, it's the best kept secret
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  Speaker 4: in my in my whole life that when I say
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  Speaker 4: that when all the reserve recreation reserves were cranky, that
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  Speaker 4: were cranky, that the Fred's pass got a fifty percent off,
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  Speaker 4: I told all the other reserves that this was a runoff.
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  Speaker 4: I indicated decay that this was a runoff.
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  Speaker 1: And so I mean, friends pass, Like, how much do
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  Speaker 1: they receive in annual funding?
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  Speaker 4: In twenty twenty one, twenty twenty one, they were getting
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  Speaker 4: six hundred and fifty two thousand dollars. The last year
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  Speaker 4: they were given a nine hundred and sixty five by
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  Speaker 4: the one hundred and sixty five one thousand dollars in
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  Speaker 4: which the three hundred and thirteen thousand. Additional funding was
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  Speaker 4: in there this year we are giving them. We are
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  Speaker 4: giving them a thirty percent increase. We're giving all our
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  Speaker 4: recreation reserves a thirty percent increase.
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  Speaker 1: So it looks like they're eight hundred and forty seven
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  Speaker 1: thousand is what they'll get for this financial year. It
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  Speaker 1: is still a phenomenal amount of money. I guess the
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  Speaker 1: thing is Fred's Pass reserve. It is utilized by so
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  Speaker 1: many you know, so many users. Isn't it busy here?
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  Speaker 3: That's very correct. And my.
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  Speaker 4: Boys played soccer for Fred's Pass in their younger days.
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  Speaker 4: The CEO's children have played there, most of the counselor's
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  Speaker 4: children have played there.
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  Speaker 3: My boys are all grown up there.
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  Speaker 4: In fact, my boys were still playing for Litchfield Soccer
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  Speaker 4: even four years ago or five years ago before they
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  Speaker 4: moved into state.
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  Speaker 3: Yep.
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  Speaker 2: So it is.
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  Speaker 1: Definitely an area that so many people use, Doug, do
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  Speaker 1: you anticipate the fees for users of that reserver going
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  Speaker 1: to need to go up as a result of this situation?
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  Speaker 4: Well, first, I'm not anticipating anything at this stage. I've
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  Speaker 4: asked the President to talk to our CEO to work
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  Speaker 4: out and an agenda. I believe that the funding that
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  Speaker 4: we're giving Fred's Pass is very very generous, being the
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  Speaker 4: thirty percent increase.
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  Speaker 3: So yes, yep, now.
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  Speaker 2: Tell me, I mean, will is the council?
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  Speaker 1: Is there going to be more done in terms of
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  Speaker 1: the council providing any extra funding or anything like that,
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  Speaker 1: or do you think that that you know, the eight
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  Speaker 1: hundred and forty nine and nineteen dollars in terms of
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  Speaker 1: that operational funding for this financial year coming that that
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  Speaker 1: is sufficient.
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  Speaker 4: Well, this council, unlike previous councils, have always have always
• 6:00
  Speaker 4: looked at looked at things on a case by case
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  Speaker 4: basis and and we believe that we we believe that
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  Speaker 4: this is adequate or more than we believe this is
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  Speaker 4: more than adequate. However, we're willing to sit down and talk.
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  Speaker 1: So you are prepared to sit down and talk to
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  Speaker 1: the to the friends Pass Reserve managemental.
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  Speaker 3: We always have been, We always have been.
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  Speaker 4: I talked, I've talked to the President in the past
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  Speaker 4: when when when it was claimed that they were unaware
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  Speaker 4: of this being a that this was a run off
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  Speaker 4: funding and we're willing to do I mean, we believe
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  Speaker 4: that this is adequate.
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  Speaker 1: Where where to from here in terms of do you
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  Speaker 1: know what has to happen now in terms of them
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  Speaker 1: finding a new general manager or working through that situation.
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  Speaker 4: The board is a complete separate entity to counsel, so
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  Speaker 4: that will have to be that's up to the board
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  Speaker 4: to decide how they operate that and how they come
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  Speaker 4: and see counsel. So it would be like me coming
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  Speaker 4: in here and telling you how to run one day
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  Speaker 4: four point nine.
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  Speaker 2: Will trust me, Doug. We wouldn't allow anybody to tell
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  Speaker 2: us how to do that now. Obviously you know a lot.
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  Speaker 1: It does sound as though is there a bit of
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  Speaker 1: a stalemate here or you know, what's the go Is
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  Speaker 1: there a concern for some of these sporting clubs that
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  Speaker 1: that it's going to mean their fees need to go up?
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  Speaker 2: Or what do you reckon it's going to mean?
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  Speaker 4: I don't believe so. But firstly we need to get
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  Speaker 4: back to the to where has this become?
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  Speaker 3: Where has this come from? Now?
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  Speaker 4: Our municipal plan is out for public consultation and everybody
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  Speaker 4: has the opportunity to put a mission into the public
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  Speaker 4: consultation and council will consider it. I think I think
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  Speaker 4: people are jumping the gun when they seem to think
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  Speaker 4: that this.
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  Speaker 3: Municipal plan is.
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  Speaker 4: Part as part of the Act, we must put our
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  Speaker 4: municipal plan out for public consultation. And everyone has and
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  Speaker 4: everyone has the right to tell us how great we
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  Speaker 4: are or how bad we are, and and and all.
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  Speaker 3: My feedback has been really, really good, Katie.
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  Speaker 1: Now, I know that there's been some clubs that have
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  Speaker 1: been keen to see some lights out there. I think
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  Speaker 1: at Fred's pass as well. Is that something that the
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  Speaker 1: council is looking at?
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  Speaker 4: Yes, well, the board, I assume the board has been
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  Speaker 4: I assume you're coming to our ten million dollar brand,
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  Speaker 4: our sea. Well, myself and myself and and the CEO
• 9:04
  Speaker 4: have met with Marion's scrimsaw when we were down in
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  Speaker 4: Alice Springs and that was and Christie McBain from local
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  Speaker 4: the federal local government minister was there. I hope I
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  Speaker 4: got that name right, the federal government and we just
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  Speaker 4: we just we discussed Fred's past extensively. That in fact,
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  Speaker 4: it was really the only subject we talked about. The
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  Speaker 4: CEO has been talking to the scene of bureaucrats in
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  Speaker 4: in Marion's office.
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  Speaker 3: We have met with.
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  Speaker 4: Different different not user groups. I haven't met with the netball.
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  Speaker 4: I believe my CEO will be meeting with netball. I've
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  Speaker 4: met with this, with football, af L n T, with
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  Speaker 4: the CEO.
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  Speaker 3: So there's quite a lot of work happening behind the scenes. Yep.
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  Speaker 3: And one of the.
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  Speaker 4: Strings that we we thought was part of the grant
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  Speaker 4: was that netball, netball, tennis and basketball was one of
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  Speaker 4: the strings attached to that grant. Where we're negotiating. We're
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  Speaker 4: negotiating that at the moment.
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  Speaker 2: All right, So there is still the opportunity or there.
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  Speaker 1: It certainly sounds as though it's something that the Council
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  Speaker 1: still wants to go ahead.
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  Speaker 2: Those lights and that ten million dollar grant.
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  Speaker 4: Well, we'd love to, but we're going through the negotiations.
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  Speaker 3: Please.
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  Speaker 4: I mean when I say we'd love to, well, we
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  Speaker 4: have to. We have to work these things through their
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  Speaker 4: proper processes and the boarders and we're and talking to
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  Speaker 4: the board and discussing these things with the board is
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  Speaker 4: part of that process.
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  Speaker 1: Well, Doug Barton, the Mayor of the Litchfield Council, I
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  Speaker 1: really appreciate you this morning. I appreciate you coming into
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  Speaker 1: the studio as well.
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  Speaker 3: Yep.
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  Speaker 4: And as I said, all our kids have played at
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  Speaker 4: done different sports and we're out there for the community.
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  Speaker 4: But it is a fine balance of how much we'd
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  Speaker 4: love to give everybody ten million dollars eat but it's
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  Speaker 4: a fine balance and we have to look after the
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  Speaker 4: rate payers money.
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  Speaker 1: Doug, thank you so much for your time today. Very
• 11:25
  Speaker 1: much appreciated.