Narrandera Shire Council voted to dissolve the Railway Station Facilities Advisory Committee at last week’s October council meeting due to a lack of numbers available to conduct meetings. According to its Terms of Reference, the committee was formed to provide the council with expertise to help it make decisions and/or help engage community resources and opinion. Initial recruitment of community members for the committee took longer than expected and recruitment had to be extended to gain sufficient members. A repeated lack of a quorum resulted in an inability to conduct regular meetings for the committee, which was established in 2004. Since then, attendance at meetings has remained low and one member also recently resigned from the committee due to ill health. It was recommended at the committee’s most recent meeting at the Narrandera Railway Rooms on 10 September that it should cease to exist in its current form and be disbanded, opting for community engagement and consultation when required. The committee stated it felt its purpose had changed over the years and “probably no longer fulfilled a practical benefit at its regular meetings”. During the meeting, the committee members expressed their long-term wishes to try to find a suitable tenant to occupy what used to be the caretakers’ residence, which should be “an appropriate business/activity to complement the other residents of the station”. The previous committee on 14 May was an informal discussion due to a lack of quorum. Council resolved to revoke the Terms of Reference and dissolve the committee effective immediately, while accepting the transfer of any physical or financial assets to council ownership. The dissolution of the committee will not result in any change to the facility’s operations. The council will seek community consultation regarding future use and management of the facility when required. The council staff, led by the Community Development Manager, will continue to oversee operations and liaise with Transport for NSW under the current lease agreement. The council will also continue to engage with user groups and the community on future use and management. The council thanked the current and past committee members for generously donating their time and for the effective running of the Railway Station facilities. A special mention went to Tony Andracchio, a member for the entirety of the committee’s duration, “for going above and beyond in his volunteer activities”.
