One of the last financial decisions of the current Wattle Range Council on Monday night was to allocate grants totalling more than $100,000 to sporting and community groups at Millicent, Beachport, Glencoe and Southend.

The council held a special meeting in Millicent ahead of moving into a “caretaker mode” for two months on account of the four-yearly state-wide electoral cycle.

Staff recommendations about the grant allocations were endorsed with little comment.

The largest grant of $35,000 will be spent at McLaughlin Park at Millicent where the Millicent Footballers Cricket Club and the Millicent Black Hats Cricket Club have a proposed $230,000 project.

They wish to build shared clubrooms and install a cover for the synthetic cricket pitch on Norm Facey Oval.

The Southend Community Club has been given a council grant of $13,000 which is half the cost of installing roof-top solar energy panels.

An $18,000 council grant will assist the Glencoe Football Club extend its storage areas including a walk-in cool room at its licensed clubrooms.

The total project cost is $41,000.

The Beachport Golf Club’s grant of $33,000 is equal to 50% of the cost of redeveloping the first tee and installing a new putting green.

It will cost $4700 to replace the roof at the Millicent Croquet Club and council is providing a $2000 grant.

Meanwhile, the council agreed to a $50,000 variation to its 2022/23 budget to upgrade the hot water systems at its Southern Ocean Tourist Park at Beachport.

A further budget variation of $10,000 will bolster the ability of the Wattle Range Youth Development Foundation to fund the participation of locals in young leaders training programs.

Other financial matters relating to tenders and contracts were discussed in a closed portion of Monday’s meeting.