Bobin School of Arts Hall has secured two grants of $10,000 each to assist the hall and the local community in bushfire recovery, one from Member for Myall Lakes Stephen Bromhead's office, and the other from Hunter New England Health District.
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Electricity bills at the hall have soared as the hall has been, and is still being, used as a bushfire recovery centre. As well as being used for basic living necessities such as doing laundry and having showers, people are using it as a base for working from home, for lack of internet access and/or electricity on their properties.
Services NSW couldn't help, and the electricity provider refused to.
"I'd rang Origin Energy and as far as they're concerned the bushfire was over and done with in January so there was nothing they would do to help us, even though I explained to them I was providing a community service," Bobin School of Arts Hall committee member, Mark O'Brien said.
Stephen Bromhead's office came to the rescue to the tune of $1000 toward the electricity bill and encouragement to apply for funding for solar panels, something that has been on the hall committee's wish list and would reduce the electricity bills.
After supplying Mr Bromhead's office with quotes for solar panels, it was only two days later that Mark was told Bobin Hall would get $10,000 toward solar panels.
"So hats off to them," Mark said. "I put the application in at 2pm on Tuesday last week, and Gary phoned me Thursday morning to say 'I've got you your money'," Mark said.
Taree company Mackies Electrical and Refrigeration was chosen to do the work as they are local.
"The quote from Mackies was $10,200 and Bromhead got us $10,000. Gary asked Mackies to knock the quote down to $10,000 and they agreed to it, so we won't be a cent out of pocket," Mark said.
The work will be completed quickly as the committee wants to install a sprinkler system on the roof in time for the beginning of the fire season, and the solar panels must go up first. The sprinkler system will cost the committee $7000, which they will pay for through their own funds.
Hunter New England Health awarded the hall a community grant of $10,000 for mental health assistance under the Bushfire Recovery Access Program.
Part of the grant will be used to paint murals on an old unsightly old shipping container that is being used to store belongings of people who have lost houses. Bobin artist Peter Schouten AM will be heading the project and liaising with Bobin Public School children who will assist in the painting.
The work will help the container blend into the landscape and be less of a stark visual reminder of the bushfires.
The rest of the funds will be used to create a community garden.
A member of the community who was living onsite in a caravan when she had nowhere else to live after the bushfires established a little vegetable garden. She has moved on, but comes back to harvest it.
"I thought let's take this little humble beginning and expand it and we'll make it a community garden for when we do our Sunday lunches, or if people need it they can just take it," Mark said.