The Regand Park masterplan has become the topic of hot debate at Dubbo Regional Council [DRC] of late, with an amendment by councillor Josh Black splitting council down the middle at the latest standing committee meeting.
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Cr Black's amendment, which became the motion after a close vote, recommended the Chief Executive Officer provide a report to the September ordinary meeting of council, detailing all formal contact between proponents of the sporting facility proposal (St Johns Junior Rugby League Football Club) and DRC, including the dates of meetings and proper summary of what was discussed.
The attachment of all documents that have been provided by the proponents to DRC, or associated documents generated by DRC and any plans/diagrams/images/overlays of possible layouts of the sporting fields shown to or developed by DRC staff including those shown to councillors, was also recommended.
Cr Black said he put the amendment forward to provide full transparency of the DRC to the community and to acknowledge the concerns of residents.
...hopefully this will dispel some fears.
- Councillor Josh Black
"There could be no harm in the report being accurate in detailing everything from original meetings with proponents back in 2021 through to now," he said.
"Putting this in the public domain will create great public confidence in the process with the whole community."
A comment was also made to Cr Black about fears of a parallel process being underway in regards to the Regand Park masterplan.
"This will hopefully show the masterplan process is the only process underway," he said.
Cr Black said he would encourage the community to engage with the consultation process, and that any groups that want to lobby council are "well within their rights too".
"Council will keep an open mind, and use the processes that should be done...hopefully this will dispel some fears," he said.
Deputy mayor Richard Ivey, who voted against both the amendment and then the motion, felt disappointed by the idea that he wasn't able to make an "objective" decision, something that Cr Black stated the motion wasn't trying to suggest.
"I was elected to this council and I consider myself to be an independent, clear thinking, objective person who is looking at this Regand Park masterplan in a very independent fashion," he said.
"I don't know anything about the St John's rugby league proposal, I don't want to know about it, if they want to put forward a proposal they will put it through the channel we voted on at the first meeting in January."
Cr Ivey said this council was starting fresh having appointed independent consultants and environmentalists that would consult with the community.
"That includes anyone who wants to build rugby league fields there, it includes anyone who wants to turn the whole area into an arboretum, we have a process in place where that can happen," he said.
...I'm quite capable of making a decision based upon facts that are put before me.
- Deputy mayor Richard Ivey
"It will come back to the council as a revised masterplan and it will come back to us where we can vote on it and that's what I intend to do and I do not need, sorry Councillor Black, I do not need that amendment to make my opinion count."
Once the amendment was passed, Cr Ivey took offence.
"It's implicit in that motion that I as a councillor, and I extend that to the other councillors, aren't capable of making independent and unbiased and uninfluenced decisions on the future of this area," he said.
"I find that in some ways to be quite offensive... I'm quite capable of making a decision based upon facts that are put before me."
The deputy mayor said he was happy if different sectors wanted to make submissions.
"But to say that something that happened two years ago should be put on the cards so that the community will therefore know that I'm independent, I find that objectionable," he said.
Mayor Mathew Dickerson said he believed council took a "very positive" step forward in regards to Regand Park earlier this year by taking everything off the table and starting again.
"That's the process we are going through and anything we do with this amendment undermines this entire consultancy process, if we are going to do this amendment and target St John's, then I think to be fair what we should be doing is targeting every group," he said.
"It seems to me if you give a consultant a job, let them do their job."
Cr Dickerson said gathering the information on the St John's football field plans would be "wasting" time of DRC staff who have to gather all of the information.
To have community members out there saying save Regand Park, I find a little bit offensive because I'm not sure what they are saving it from, what does it need to be saved from?
- Mayor Mathew Dickerson
He also said the idea of there being a parallel process or hidden agenda would not come out through this particular amendment.
"I'm a little bit offended by the community inferring there is some secret process and it really questions the credibility of all the councillors sitting around the table here," he said.
"It questions the credibility of our professional staff who are out there undertaking their roles as staff members in this community.
"I really think this amendment can undermine all the good work we've done in the first seven months of council."
Councillor Black said in his conversations with the public, none of them questioned the integrity of the current councillors.
"I think it would be wrong to look at it like that and would be misunderstood, the fact of the matter is there is still an active proposal with a $1 million grant from a sporting club that wants exclusive use of major public park land," he said.
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"This should hopefully dispel any fears or concerns they have on that, and shows council is being completely transparent about private proposals at Regand Park."
Cr Dickerson reiterated that he believed the motion would not dispel fears or concerns from community members.
"To have community members out there saying save Regand Park, I find a little bit offensive because I'm not sure what they are saving it from, what does it need to be saved from?" he said.
"Once we get those draft masterplans...and if there are four footy fields in there, then they can jump up and down and say save Regand Park.
"The amendment is a waste of time, because we will see the masterplan, the answer is the masterplan."
Councillors Josh Black, Pam Wells, Jessica Gough and Vicki Etheridge voted for the motion. Mayor Mathew Dickerson, deputy mayor Richard Ivey and councillor Shibli Chowdhurry voted against the motion.
Councillors Lewis Burns, Damien Mahon and Matthew Wright were absent from the meeting.
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