Mount Isa 100 year celebrations get budget boost: Cr MacRae

With Mount Isa celebrating its centennial next year, Cr MacRae, who is chair of the 100 year committee and whose portfolio is tourism, events, sport and rec and the library said a 60:40 grant will help kickstart festivities in 2023.

Ahead of a council budget feedback session on Thursday Cr MacRae said they got a $724,000 grant with council putting up an additional 40pc.

"With that we've got a 100 years coordinator and most of the funding is going towards the events we are going to have during the year," Cr MacRae

"It.s for things to do with events we already have such as rodeo, Minex (renamed MPX in 2022) the Isa Street Festival and the Mount Isa Show and there will be some specific events for that year."

Cr MacRae said they were planning Mount Isa day for the day of the city's founding, February 23 which is a Thursday in 2023.

"We are talking about making it over a long weekend but the 100 year committee really hasn't nailed that down yet whether that is going to happen or not but definitely there will be things on the 23^rd," she said.

In tourism and events, Cr MacRae said the work planned for the lookout upgrade was "shovel ready" and they were looking out for funds to finance it from either active funding grants or the Local Roads and Community Infrastructure Program.

Cr MacRae said the had a $1.7m grant to push ahead with Centennial Place.

"We're hoping it gets done by half way through 2023," she said.

Cr MacRae agreed with Cr Barwick that the budget was reasonable.

"We've had lots of consultation around the budget but the cost of everything's going up, fuel's going up, we have to buy fuel for our fleet," she said.

"We're in negotiations with the award for our staff and we don't know what their wages are going to be going up by, so we really need to be able to cover those costs."

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