The funding application was submitted to the Federal Government just two weeks ago, with the backing of State Member for Murray Plains Peter Walsh and State Member for Nicholls Damien Drum.
C4EM chief executive officer Deanne Armstrong said a grant of $30,000 was used toward the planning and preparation of the submission.
“We are applying for a Commonwealth Government Communities Grant to get the CCTV cameras erected around the Echuca community,” Ms Armstrong said.
“The application for these funds was submitted on August 16 and we hope to hear back in November.
“Our aim is for the erection of the cameras to start in December this year.”
The project has been set out in three stages, with the final stage hopefully to be completed within 18 months.
The erection of CCTV cameras has been a long-term goal of the organisation after feedback from its membership base.
“We have identified all the areas where the cameras would be placed and worked in collaboration with a variety of community members and the police,” Ms Armstrong said.
“Echuca locksmiths have been able to help us with our planning.”
The 92 CCTV cameras will all be linked back to the Echuca police station.
“There have been ongoing concerns for some time from the business community about the lack of cameras,” Ms Armstrong said.
The group is one of only a handful of regionally based C4 groups in Victoria and is this year marking its 10th anniversary.
Ms Armstrong said she had a goal of doubling the size of the group’s membership by the year’s end.
“There are a lot of opportunities for Echuca Moama and we would like to double the size of the organisation,” she said.
“What we want to concentrate on is supporting our manufacturing and agricultural sectors, which hasn’t been an area we have focused on previously.”
American Hotel owner Dean Oberin has been chair of the group since February this year and will head, along with the enthusiastic CEO, the membership drive, along with a re-brand, new website and a new strategy review before 2022.
“There are opportunities to get some projects going locally,” Mr Oberin said.
C4EM is another of the local organisations to benefit from the support of Moama Bowling Club, which has been a supporter of the group ever since it started as a member.
The C4 group was one of the 26 groups part of this week’s ClubGRANTS announcement.
“They have supported us with several different projects.”
C4EM has also had a grant approved for its youth project.
The $1500 grant will be used to support a Dare to Dream video that will be produced by five young people looking at the challenges that face Echuca Moama's youth.
Youth mental health, bullying and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander awareness and engagement will be the three focus topics of the video.
“These five young people are giving us their views on where the gaps are.
“The video will be launched at our re-launch event later in the year.”
Ms Armstrong, who has been in the role since September last year, was in a similar role at Shepparton
She said there were a number of C4 groups (basically funded by local business membership) in Australia, mostly metropolitan, and one in New Zealand.
“There is a catch up twice a year, the next meeting will be in October, probably via zoom,” she said.
“We were planning to catch up in Canberra and go to parliament, and meet up with ministers, but that is now out of the question now.”
She said there ware only a handful of active regional groups, spread through Gippsland, Portland, Mornington, Ballarat, Shepparton and, of course, Echuca.
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