Murray Bridge council watch: November 2023

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Councillors question whether to fund Maori Evangelical Church

When it comes to community grants, how much money is too much for one group?

That question gave Murray Bridge’s councillors pause on Monday night as they considered whether to grant $10,000 to the Maori Evangelical Church of SA for a 2024 Waitangi Day event.

The church organises a public celebration for New Zealand’s national day each year, featuring food and live music and usually attended by several hundred people.

But Councillor Clem Schubert objected to the fact that the church had already been granted $41,000 for various projects over the past three years.

Cr Tom Haig even questioned whether the council should be funding the church at all.

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“I have a real problem … (with) the precedent we set when we give funds to a specific religious group when there are several within the community who could be presenting equally compelling cases for funding,” he said.

Cr Airlie Keen went in to bat for the Maori church, who she said did a lot to help low-income families in the district, and its “extremely active” leader, Dawn Matthews.

But councillors eventually voted to seek more information about the church’s reliance on council money before approving any grant.

$650k upgrade planned on Sunnyside Road

Sunnyside ratepayers should soon get more bang for their buck after Murray Bridge’s councillors agreed, in principle, to a $650,000 upgrade of the road into the shack area.

Staff presented three options for an upgrade of Sunnyside Road on Monday night, two and a half years after residents petitioned the council to do something about the dangerous, badly eroded single-lane track.

The option councillors chose would involve the construction of two passing lanes, a gutter to divert rain water along the road’s western edge, and a railing to stop drivers going over the precipice near the bottom.

The council will now consult local residents about the plan.

The work would not be completed until 2024-25 at the earliest.

Monarto roundabout would cost $4.3 million

The state or federal government will need to come to the party if a notorious Monarto South intersection is to be made any safer.

A preliminary study commissioned by the Murray Bridge council has shown that building a roundabout at the intersection of the Old Princes Highway, Ferries McDonald Road and Schenscher Road would cost $4.3 million.

The case for an improvement is reasonably strong, especially now that a traffic study has shown that there is more north-south traffic – going against the give way signs at the intersection – than east-west traffic.

Local residents’ calls for improvements to the crossroads have grown louder since 2021, when a man was seriously hurt in a crash there.

The council had already agreed to advocate for a roundabout, and is looking to establish a new freight bypass through the area, too; a feasibility study presented to Monday night’s council meeting was the next step.

The council will now present its plans to the state Department for Infrastructure and Transport, the RAA and anyone else who might help the project move forward.

Public transport, less truck traffic: Councillors set out their vision for 2051

Sure, Murray Bridge will make room for up to 8000 houses over the next 30 years – but there are things the community will need in return.

Councillors have made a list of demands of the state government in response to its Greater Adelaide Regional Plan, including:

• Public transport: more of it is needed, both within Murray Bridge and between the rural city and Adelaide
• A freight bypass: to divert trucks out of suburban Murray Bridge
• An airport: if Adelaide needs a second airport, it should be built at Monarto
• Protection for the Bremer Valley: industrial growth should be centred on Monarto and Pallamana, not Callington

“Elected members of the Rural City of Murray Bridge are very supportive of the need for Murray Bridge to grow, and the opportunities associated with this,” the council’s submission said.

“They are, however, keen to ensure that growth is matched with the provision of suitable infrastructure and provides for the wants and needs of the local community.”

The Greater Adelaide Regional Plan, a draft version of which was published in August, identified Murray Bridge as a satellite city and important to South Australia’s population growth.

Pedal boat hire business is one step closer to launch

An entrepreneur’s plan to open a pedal boat hire business on Murray Bridge’s riverfront has received a tentative thumbs-up from the city’s council.

Councillors voted on Monday night to endorse Steven and Grace Waterhouse’s planned business, Murray River Pedal Boat Adventures, at Sturt Reserve – pending advice from the council’s lawyers and insurers.

Cr Airlie Keen worried that the council could be held liable if a tragedy occurred aboard one of the business’ boats.

But CEO Heather Barclay reassured her that the council was responsible only for approving the company’s operations on land; the state Department for Infrastructure and Transport was responsible for on-water stuff.

Quote of the month

“We have these pedal boats on the crappy River Torrens. Let’s put them on a real river.” –Cr Tom Haig