THE Millicent and Penola shows have each received a conditional grant of $5000 from Wattle Range Council.
Letters from the show societies in both towns were tabled at the December monthly council meeting and were looked upon favourably.
Both societies want to secure local government support in order to leverage more funds from a recently announced Federal Government grant scheme.
If all goes to plan at Millicent, the kitchen in the older show hall will be renovated.
This will allow meals to be served again in that dining room.
In the case of Penola, the ageing Warner Pavilion is set to be replaced by a new open-air structure which can be used on show and sports days.
The two $5000 grants are dependent on successful applications to the Federal Government.
The correspondence from the Penola Show Society arrived after the deadline to assemble the agenda.
However, Mayor Des Noll used his discretion to allow it to be considered.
Council chief executive Ben Gower said there would be many applications from show societies in the Barker electorate and Wattle Range would be fortunate if both the Penola and Millicent show bids were successful.
Mr Gower said his staff had the delegated authority to waive certain development and demolition fees in such cases.
Councillor Dale Price asked about the budget line for the two projects and deputy chief executive Paul Duka said this would be done via a budget amendment.
Cr Price urged council staff to carry out due diligence inquiries on both projects and Mr Noll assured him this would be done.
Cr Sharon Cox said the annual Millicent Show provided a great service to the community.
“It brings people together and there are mental health benefits,” Cr Cox said.
Similar sentiments were expressed by Cr Dean Burrow about the Penola Show as he described it as a great community event.
Development services director Steve Chapple said the closing date to apply for federal funds was December 13.
