UPDATE: October 2023

We have now established a community working group for the Aquatic Committee made up of community members and Councillors. The members of the committee are:

• Tim Gowans
• Elise Frost
• Christine Treloggen
• Sally Faulkner
• Peter Tonkin
• Fiona Gray
• Ian Carter
• Janet Drummond
• Liz Johnstone

The committee had its first meeting on October 9 where they all got to know a bit about each other and their skills and knowledge they bring to the project.

The committee will now work through the Project methodology which you can find below. We aim to keep the community up to date on the progress of this project via this webpage as well as through our newsletters.

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Break O’Day Council is examining the possibility of constructing and operating an Aquatic Facility in our area.

The investigations and ultimately decision making around a potential Aquatic Facility in the area will be the most complex and ultimately future shaping project to be considered by the Council since the amalgamation of Portland and Fingal Councils creating Break O’Day in 1993.  A decision to build and manage an Aquatic Facility will be lived with for future generations.

The provision of an indoor aquatic centre within the Break O’Day area has been wanted by some members of the community for more than 20 years. The push for a centre can be traced back to October 2002 when the Break O’Day Aquatic Centre Committee Inc was formed with the specific purpose of pursuing the establishment of an aquatic centre in St Helens. Previous examinations relating to the feasibility of building and operating such a facility showed it to be unviable for the community and Council at the time.

In May 2021 the Council discussed whether we should have another look at the feasibility of some form of aquatic centre.  Council does not want to create an expectation that one would be built without really looking at what this would look like and mean for our community. Councillors want to review the situation and look in detail at; other similar aquatic facilities; being open to where it might be located; financial costs and fee structure; what our community actually wants and needs; and what the ongoing cost to the community will be when the preferred type of facility is agreed.

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Working with the community

The importance of community engagement and participation in the project cannot be understated.  We want to make sure that this process is as transparent as possible and that our community is with us every step of the way. To do this we will establish a Working Group including 2 committee members from the general community.

The working group will be made up of:

• Break O’Day Councillors (2)
• Aquatic Facility Committee (1)
• General community representatives (2)
• Health sector representative (1)

In practice what is expected of members of the Working Group?

• Represent stakeholders requirements and perspectives so they are considered during project planning and delivery phases;
• Help balance conflicting priorities and resources;
• Consider ideas and issues raised;
• Provide positive and constructive advice to the committee;
• Communicate the outcomes of the Committee meetings to their organisations; and
• Represent the project and its priorities and decisions to stakeholders.
• Respect the confidentiality of information and timeframes for the release of information

So we can make sure we have the right people at the table we are looking for members that have skills or experience in the following areas:

• Management and operation of an aquatic facility or pool
• Aquatic activities
• Health needs
• Financial and asset management
• Business acumen

The working group will be involved with the project from beginning to end and will need to be able to commit to attending meetings and other activities. We have developed draft Terms of Reference of the Working Group which can be found in the Methodology Document Aquatic Centre Project Methodology

First Step

Break O’Day Council has put aside initial funding of $40,000 to undertake a Feasibility Analysis for an Aquatic Facility in Break O’Day.

The feasibility analysis will look in detail at things like:

• Who will be using the facility?
• What does the community think the facility should include?
• Where would the facility best be located?
• How much will it cost to build?
• How much will it cost to maintain?
• How will we fund the build and ongoing maintenance of the facility?

You can find out more information about how we will develop the feasibility study in the Methodology document above.

Progressing the Project

It is important for the community to understand that this project will take some time to develop therefore we are unable to provide an exact timeline. What we can do is outline the stages of the project and an explanation of what will need to occur in order for us to progress this project.

The way we will approach this project is to have a ‘Gated’ approach. This means that there will be a crucial decision by the Council made at the end of each stage which will determine whether the project progresses to the next stage

If you think you have something to bring to this project please fill out the attached form and email to admin@bodc.tas.gov.au   If you would prefer to fill in a hardcopy, you can pick one up from  our office. We would also be happy to email or mail you a form if this is easier.

Once the EOI period closes Council Staff and Councillors will assess the expressions of interest to determine who the community representatives will be.

EOIs CLOSE: 2 June 2023

St Helens Aquatic Facility Working Group EOI 

UPDATE: 26 Septmber 2023

Flagstaff Pumptrack

With our MTB Stakeholder Working Group we determined a brief and location for the pumptrack.
We have now opened the tendering period for this project.

St Helens Pumptrack

With our Working Group we surveyed more than 100 local school students to find out what sort of pumptrack we should build and what they would like to see included.
You can find a report of our findings below

St Helens Pumptrack Community Engagement Report 2023

We are now pausing this project while we focus on delivering the Flagstaff Pumptrack.

UPDATE: 27 February 2023

We have now established two working groups including community members to help Council design two pumptracks. One will be mountain bike dedicated and be built at the flagstaff Trailhead in St Helens. The second will be a multi-discipline (suitable for scooters as well as bikes) and will be built on the St Helens foreshore area near the playground.

St Helens Pumptrack Project

This pumptrack will be a multi-discipline (suitable for scooters, skateboards as well as bikes) and will be built on the St Helens foreshore area near the playground.

So the St Helens pumptrack group can understand what the kids of Break O’Day want their new pumptrack to look like, they have developed a survey. They plan to visit both the St Helens and St Marys Schools to survey the students.

TAKE THE SURVEY NOW

Flagstaff Pumptrack

The Flagstaff pumptrack will be located at the St Helens MTB Trailhead. Council has been working with community members with mountain bike experience including members from the Trails Collective as well as the Pedal Heads Mountain bike Club.

The group is currently developing a brief that will go out to tender for design and construct as well as preparing documentation for teh permit and approvals stage of the project.

UPDATE: 15 September 2022

The Working Groups have now been established.

The Flagstaff Group have already started work on developing a scope and considering locations.

The St Helens Working Group will start work next year so that there is time to survey students.

23 September 2022

INTRODUCTION

The Tasmanian Government has provided Break O’Day Council with $500,000 in funding to construct two pump tracks.

One will be located at the Flagstaff Trailhead and the other will be located in St Helens. The exact sites will be determined through our consultation process and investigations.

To ensure both projects success we will establish two working groups – one for each project.

ST HELENS Pump track

We are currently seeking expressions of interest from interested community groups to join the St Helens Pump Track Working Group.

(We will establish a working group with members from the MTB industry to develop the Flagstaff pump track.)

The Working Group for the St Helens project will help us establish;

• Finding a suitable location
• Surveying the community so the needs of a variety of users of the pump track are understood
• Understanding what other infrastructure may need to be included in the design
• Developing a consultant brief for the design of the pump track
• Consulting the community on the concept

If you would like to join the St Helens Pump track working group please read and complete this form EOI – St Helens Working group

FLAGSTAFF Pump track

The Industry Working Group for the Flagstaff project will help us establish;

• Finding a suitable location
• Identifying features, look feel etc of the pump track
• Understanding what other infrastructure may need to be included in the design
• Developing a consultant brief for the design of the pump track
• Consulting the community and stakeholders on the concept

You can find more information on the Flagstaff Project here;  Flagstaff Pump track Working Group

Fingal Youth Park Project

In 2019 Break O’Day Council received funding through the Federal Government’s Black Summer Bushfire Recovery program. This funding is specifically for projects in the Fingal community including a youth park.

We consulted with Fingal community about the park back in April 2022, after taking this feedback on board we reviewed our plans for the park and want to check-back-in with the community and get their feedback on:

• Where the best location for the park is
• Whether the community has any other big ideas about the park that they may want to share with us.

To make sure that we reach as many people as possible in the Fingal Community, we will:

• Hold a community information and consultation session in Fingal on 20 July at the Fingal Valley Neighbourhood House from 2-4pm.
• Have a survey that can be accessed online HERE or in hardcopy via the Council or Fingal Valley Neighbourhood House. We can also mail one out to you if you are unable to get to either location, just get in touch with us.

CLICK HERE to take the online survey here:

Here is a rough site map showing some potential ideas designed to prompt ideas and conversation:

See the promotional flyer below:

UPDATE 10 August

We have now closed our Business Survey – A big thank you to all those that participated. The information that you provided us with will really help us understand what the challenges and opportunities are in our local business community.

This year we included a random draw prize for one of the lucky participating businesses who will receive a $50 voucher to Raida. This year’s winner was 420 South Surf School – Congratulations!

If you missed out on participating and would like to next time, make sure you are on our Business email database.

We use this database to send our business community information and updates that are relevant to you and our community. To join the database, please email admin@bodc.tas.gov.au and put Business Database in the subject line.

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Understanding the effect of visitation on our economy

In order to understand the effect that the mountain bike trails are having on our business community, we send out a survey twice a year.

The survey allows us to then compile, collate and compare data.

This information is not just helpful to us in terms of understanding growth and gaps in the business community but we can also send individualised reports to businesses if requested.

If you are a business owner in Break O’Day we would encourage you to take part in this survey.

To take the current Survey Please CLICK HERE

Find the collated data reports below:

Business Survey Report July 2022

Business-Data-Survey-collation-Summer 2021

Business Data Survey – collation AUG 2020 

Business Data Survey – collation 2020

June – August 2020 – Survey Results

Business Data Survey – collation- AUG 2019

Submission

Please find a copy of our full submission including community consulattion here:

FoLGR Stage 2 Interim Report – BODC Response COMPLETE FINAL

Community Consultation Activities

Your Voice – Your Council

Have you heard about the proposed changes to our Council area?  Have you thought about how this might affect you?

The Local Government Board (the Board), has recently released its recommendations for Council boundary adjustments proposing three different scenarios for our council area and Council wants to hear from you.

To help Council gather feedback from the community we have engaged local consultant, Sheridan van Asch who will be running community conversations around our area.

How can you have your say?

Take our survey: Click here to take the survey online or contact Break O’Day Council for a hard copy.

Get in touch: Invite Sheridan to your group’s meeting or have a one-on-one chat with Sheridan by emailing: haveyoursay@bodc.tas.gov.au

Keep an eye out: Keep an eye on this page of our website for information on Community Chat events around the area. We will also promote these through our Facebook page.

The Future of Local Government Board Activities

UPDATE: 25 July

The Local Government Board has now collated all feedback from the first round of consultation. You can find a report on their findings here: Stage 1 – Interim Report

The report has developed some themes with questions posed to the community and stakeholders under each theme which the Board is now asking for feedback on.

To find have your voice heard head to the Future of Local Government website.

You can also find more information on the Future of Local Government Review here: Future of Local Government Review

The Tasmanian Government commissioned the Local Government Board to undertake a review of the role, function and design of Local Government in Tasmania. The Review will provide the Government with practical, evidence-based recommendations needed to ensure the future needs and aspirations of Tasmanians are met.

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Session dates for Break O’Day include:

• Community Pop-up – St Helens – Saturday 26 March outside the Bay of Fires IGA from 9am – 11am. You can find the full event details here: https://www.futurelocal.tas.gov.au/event/st-helens-pop-up/
• Community Workshop – St Helens – Saturday 30 April – Location and times to be confirmed. You can find more information on this event here: https://www.futurelocal.tas.gov.au/your-voice/

We will also list the dates/locations and times as well as the survey link on our website here:

https://www.bodc.tas.gov.au/community/community-consultation/

If you are unable to attend in person you can take the survey online here.

For more information go to: Local Government Review