At Hilltops Council’s meeting last Wednesday, they reviewed a number of submissions regarding fees and charges as part of the yearly operational plan.
The response was great enough that the voting on adoption of the plan was deferred for next month.
Two locals took the time to speak at the Council meeting itself, expressing frustration with fees for camping at the Boorowa Showgrounds. Both representing Ellmore Driving Club, they requested a waiver or reduction of camping fees for equestrian events.
“Since 2021, the Elmore Driving Club has undertaken significant works to establish a carriage driving course at Boorawa Showgrounds. In that time, we’ve run two major events in the form of State and National titles at the venue. Further major events are, or perhaps I should say, were planned for the future,” the first speaker said.
“I’m speaking today in support of our submission regarding Council’s fees and charges policy, specifically in regards to the fees levied for camping in conjunction with the event at Boorowa Showgrounds.
“What I would like to do…..is highlight some factors that may not have been fully considered. The scale of the camping fee is a significant deterrent to attendance at events. We saw that firsthand with the cancellation of our event planned at Easter.
“The approximate increase in costs to attend for an average competitor or volunteer at one of our events will be in the region of $200. If you don’t think that’s unreasonable, try adding that amount to your kids’ next sporting event……It does bite.
“The fee structure will not result in some magical revenue stream for Council. Quite the opposite, in fact. It will drive events away to venues that do not impose the same charges. No event equals no income. Full stop.
“We are one of the few groups running major multi-day events at the grounds, events which bring people into the town for an extended period and help support local businesses.
The fee structure hits our events disproportionately.
“As you may be aware, our members have cleaned up and vastly improved two disused and unmaintainable areas of the grounds and continue to maintain those areas at no cost to Council. Zero. Council does not have to mow, clean up fallen timber, maintain trees or control weeds in these areas at all.
“There’s also a significant question that needs to be clarified with regard to what the daily camping fee actually provides. For previous events, our members have serviced and cleaned amenities over weekends and public holidays, avoiding the need for Council to provide this service. If the camping fee is imposed as planned, the expectation will be that Council will provide this service in full.
Consider what the overtime for Council staff will be for that.
“The condition of some of the amenities on site will also come into focus. $35 per day is at the upper end of comparable charges. Compare, for example, with the Young Showroom. People paying the fee at Boorowa will quite rightly start to question if they are getting value for money, given the standard of the toilet and shower…..This has a detrimental effect on the reputation of our events, but it’s even more damaging to Council’s reputation.
“The logic behind setting a fee, a lower fee, for casual grey nomad campers is baffling in the extreme. Consider what an event attendee will likely spend in town over a period of four to five days versus a self-contained camper stopping two nights just to make use of the dump point.
“We also note that Boorowa Showgrounds is not a Council-owned facility…..Council is the Crown land manager, but is obligated to ensure that the facility is administered in the best interest of the community and facility users.
Whilst we’re obviously concerned about the impact of these charges on our events and activities at Boorowa, we’re also very concerned that by focusing on a policy of cost recovery above all else, Council is actually missing a significant opportunity. With the right strategy and a pragmatic approach to pricing, Boorowa Showground has the potential to become a major equestrian event venue.”
Another Boorowa local spoke, saying, “We requested that Council waive the camping fees for our event at Easter, a simple request as we were also paying a ground hire fee. Previous events run at Boorowa, we had paid around $1,300 for ground hire and no camping.
“The camping fees were set at $30 per head, per night. For people staying for five or six nights, that is a huge cost on top of the entries and the fuel to get here.
“Many successful events are held at Boorowa…….What we have built at the Showground is now an asset to Boorowa and another form of income for the grounds. Since construction, till this day, all work carried out has been done by our members. We mow and maintain the obstacles and the areas at least five times a year, seven or eight when we’re running an event, at no cost to Council. Working on four people with mowers, whippersnippers and spray units, I guess Council’s charge-out rate would be, say, $100 or more per hour. That would be a cost saving to Council of over $10,000 per year or $50,000 over the last five years. How much does the pony club, adult rider, or, for that matter, the team sorting cost Council? Zero. What all those groups do is bring income in for the use of the ground and business to the town.
“At Easter this year, competitors were not willing to pay a camping fee, so the result was lost revenue for the Council and local businesses. On the weekend of the 11th and 12th of April this year, an event was conducted at the Boorowa Showground and had a camping fee of $10 per open rider for the weekend. I found out today or this afternoon that there was an event on the weekend, and it was $30 for the weekend for the people that were at the dog trials. Next Easter will be the 50th anniversary of combined driving in Australia. The very first event was run by the Ellmore Club here locally. The Ellmore Club members are hoping to host this event at the asset that we built at the showground at no cost to Council and continue to maintain that area at no cost.
“Whilst I personally don’t agree with the camping fees for equestrian events at the Showground, I’m not asking Council to change the fees and charges, just simply saying don’t make the same mistake again and lose ground hire fees and the loss of income to businesses in Boorowa. Hold on to the two assets that we have…..and don’t turn it into a liability by adding more cost to Council.
“All it takes is a simple resolution passed by Council that carriage driving in the future be exempt from camping fees at Boroowa Showground.”
Jack Murray
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