News from Council Meeting - 8 November 2021

Published on 08 November 2021

The City of Hobart will provide $445,000 worth of in-kind support to assist the delivery of the upcoming Taste of Summer waterfront festival.

Equipment such as umbrellas, tables, seating, kitchens, bean bags, astro turf, decorations, signage and other site-specific infrastructure will be supplied to the festival organisers at no cost.

Discounts or waivers have also been provided for venue use, promotional banner displays and road closures.

The 2021-22 Taste of Summer is being run by a private consortium of local businesspeople with relevant experience in hospitality and events, following an Expressions of Interest process by the Tasmanian Government.

Orange Sky Laundry, which provides free laundry services for people experiencing homelessness and income stress, will operate from the Hobart Town Hall.

The volunteer service supports the Hobart City Mission’s Safe Space program and operates regularly from the charity’s premises in Barrack Street but is unable to keep up with demand. In the past 12 months, the service has washed and dried around 1800 loads of laundry.

The City of Hobart has offered the use of the Town Hall’s parking deck for a weekly service, operating on Thursday evenings, under a 12-month trial arrangement.

Provision of Active Travel Plans to reduce pressure on road networks by large developments will be considered by the Council.

A report will be prepared to look at including Active Travel Plans into the planning approval system for large developments that would likely contribute to increased traffic movements and parking demand.

A technology hub designed to improve the City’s ability to monitor and enhance safety and security across Hobart is ready to be activated.

The Safe City Hub was partially funded by the federal government’s Safer Community Round 5 Infrastructure Grant Program as an initiative to improve safety for residents, workers and visitors in the city.

The hub provides a central location for the operation of the City’s public safety camera network and storage of video data in accordance with Australian privacy requirements, as well as data analytics.

In an emergency situation, the hub will allow the City to monitor activities in real-time and provide essential information to relevant agencies. It can also act as a multi-agency operations hub during major events to identify risks to public safety.

Also through the grant, new or replacement public safety cameras are being installed in 85 locations over a three-year program.

This evening’s Council Meeting opened with an address by the recently selected Children’s Mayor and Deputy Mayor.

Alex Johnstone and Edie Tracey were selected from a field of local entrants who each submitted a manifesto about what they would do if they were Mayor of Hobart.

The winning manifesto was titled Saving the Earth on Two Wheels! and encouraged a greater focus on active transport.

Edie’s manifesto titled Hobart 360: Closing the Loop, addressing the growing problem of recycling soft plastics, earned her the runner-up prize.

Both students read their manifestos to the full Council and took questions from the Elected Members at tonight’s meeting.

Ends