Councillor Cuc Lam
Here in Maribyrnong we have a diverse and welcoming community and, as your councillors, we want to ensure we play our part in facilitating opportunities for them to come together and connect – especially as we begin the journey to recovery.
This is why I proposed a Notice of Motion (NOM) at this month’s council meeting for us to look at ways ‘Free Movie Nights’ could be hosted at some of our reserves using the LED scoreboards that are already in place for sporting events.
We’ve funded these new scoreboards at Henry Turner North Reserve, Hansen Reserve, and Yarraville Oval and one is also currently being installed at Skinner Reserve in Braybrook, as part of the upgrade to the Oval there.
These locations represent a broad geographic spread across our municipality and, given the space and technology at these reserves, I have asked council, as part of its community events program, to look at how we can, in consultation with tenant sporting clubs, make more use of these scoreboards outside of game time.
My idea was to see these LED scoreboards double as an outdoor cinema screen to not only encourage our community to connect, but also enjoy our open spaces while watching a film under the stars. My fellow councillors are on board with this and have supported my notice of motion.
Council intends rolling out an ‘outdoor movie program’ in collaboration with local sporting clubs in the 2022/23 financial year. This will be a great way we can activate our open spaces – especially those that have facilities that have more than one use – and provide free activities for our community that are safe and accessible.
It was great to see the new turf that has now been laid on the Skinner Reserve Oval has had its first mow. I am looking forward to seeing the redeveloped space – including the new athletics track (and of course the new LED scoreboard) – returned to the community within a
matter of weeks, weather permitting. We just need to give the new couch grass time to establish first.
