Horsham Rural City Councillors will meet twice in September, after resolving to schedule an extra meeting to consider "urgent tenders and other matters which will be impacted by the election period".
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It could also consider the City to River masterplan again, six hours before the council goes into caretaker mode.
At its meeting on Monday night, the council debated whether an extra meeting was needed, a week before the one scheduled on September 28.
The 32-day election period begins at 12.01am on Tuesday, September 22, and lasts until 6pm on Saturday, October 24.
The updated election period policy, which Horsham council adopted at Monday night's meeting, precludes it from entering into any business venture valued at more than $266,850 during this period.
Before debate, chief executive Sunil Bhalla told the meeting which tenders could be considered urgent due to the impact of the council's election period.
In response to a gallery question from the group Horsham Rural Ratepayers and Residents, he said the seven tenders would be presented for councillors to decide on at the September 21 meeting.
These include the design and construction of two synthetic bowling greens for Coughlin Park Bowls Club, construction of Dooen Landfill cell three, and Drung-Jung Road roadworks which are subject to a funding announcement.
During debate, Mayor Mark Radford said the tenders for consideration amounted to $5 million in value.
Councillor Pam Clarke, who moved the motion, said it was "vital we get these contractual issues dealt with".
Councillor David Grimble asked whether the September 28 meeting would proceed if this special meeting was agreed to.
Mr Bhalla said there could be some flexibility on meeting dates.
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"One option is for us to reschedule that (September 28) meeting... if we don't have enough items," he said.
"The reason being we don't have a scheduled meeting in October, because the election is scheduled for just before our meeting day, the fourth Monday of the month.
"These are matters that can't be dealt with in the caretaker period. Contracts are major matters so things can keep ticking along in the new financial year.
"We probably would also be ready to bring the concept and schematic design for the first stage of City to River project by then. Submissions for the plans closed on Sunday, so depending on the community feedback, there is an opportunity for us to put it all together and make a recommendation to council on September 21."
Cr Grimble said he believed the City to River work should be held over to the council elected in October. He said he thought the council would come under scrutiny for entering into the project a day before caretaker mode.
Mr Bhalla said stage one designs for the Riverfront Activation aspect of City to River were subject to funding agreements, which council had to honour my meeting deadlines.
"There is a risk that if we don't take the opportunity to consider the plans, which have previously been discussed and endorsed, it may impact on the funding agreement," he said.
In June, the council applied to the state government for $3 million to develop a natural water play area between Horsham Caravan Park and Horsham City Rowing Club. Last week, it found out this application had been rejected, but vowed to continue seeking funding for the project.
Cr Grimble said he thought state and federal governments would understand if the council asked for extensions.
Cr Radford said the $5 million value of the tenders to be presented "underlined the importance of making these decisions at the right time".
"There are a lot of local job involved in these tenders," he said. "We were late getting our budget through, and the next step is to put some if the budget's items into action."
Cr Clarke said the motion was "About jobs, and about keeping this community moving forward".
"I don't agree the federal and state government are going to understand our situation," she said. "We would lose that (riverfront activation) funding, it's as simple as that."
The motion to hold a second meeting passed five votes to two, with councillors Robinson and Grimble voting against it.
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