Updates from Council Ordinary Meeting held on 22 Jan 2015 New Outdoor Seating for Atherton Library Tablelands Regional Council is extremely grateful for the donation of two wooden outdoor bench seats for use by Library and Regional Gallery patrons in Atherton. Tolga Lions and Soroptimist Tropical Tablelands generously donated the materials, with the Atherton Men’s Shed constructing the bench seats. Malanda Falls Caravan Park – New on-site Managers Janine and Robert Rielly have been successful with their tender to provide on-site management of the Malanda Falls Caravan Park for 2015 – 2016. Council expresses thanks to the interim managers Peter and Lesley Van de Water for their exceptional contributions to the park during 2014. Toilets Clean Up on Savings A review of the costs of cleaning Council’s public amenities, namely toilets throughout the region, and the awarding of new tenders for undertaking 1060 cleans annually, will save TRC approximately $350,000 annually. This is just one of many initiatives that Council is investigating in the journey to ensure long-term financial sustainability of our regional Council. Change Commission to Assess Councillor representation Hon David Crisafulli MP, Minister for Local Government, Community, Recovery and Resilience has deferred his decision on Council’s request to increase the number of councillors to seven, including the Mayor for the 2016 local government quadrennial elections to the Change Commission for assessment. He has indicated that he supports increasing councillor representation and divisions. Mr Crisafulli MP has also indicated that he is unlikely to approve an application to conduct the 2016 elections by way of postal ballot for the whole or part of the region. Approach to Maintaining Sustainability Today, Tablelands Regional Council endorsed the creation of a Sustainability Review Project Team to proactively identify and recommend actions to maintain the sustainability of TRC into the future. This follows tight financial constraints realised in 2014 due to de-amalgamation, dwindling State and Federal government financial support and reduced avenues of funding streams. Council will continue to investigate options to ensure its operations are run as efficiently as possible. Channel Road Safety Audit Council will implement the main findings of the Channel Road Safety Audit prepared by consulting engineering firm Jacobs with existing maintenance funds, following endorsement of the report today. The main findings include: • Undertaking a detailed assessment of the road widths and all sections less than 6.0m widened • Seal gravel shoulders • Remedial works carried out on several sharp corners with narrow seal. Atherton Roads get additional Asphalt Due to some unspent funds in the asphalt budget for 2014/15 works, today Council endorsed including three additional sites in Atherton for asphalt overlay including Evans Street (Lloyd Street to Johns Parade), Lloyd Street and Golflinks Road. Compliance Issues to be resolved at Landfill Sites TRC is currently maintaining four old landfill sites at Herberton, Yungaburra, Malanda and Atherton that are not compliant with Environmental Authorities. Landfill closure plans will be implemented to bring Council into compliance with the Department of Environment and Heritage Protection requirements. The implementation of a Transitional Environmental Program for these sites will not impact resident’s current use of existing Transfer Stations; however it will resolve all compliance issues at the sites. Currently all waste delivered to TRC Transfer Stations is transported to compliant sites at either Innot Hot Springs, Atherton or Springmount landfill facilities. Council agendas and meeting minutes are available at trc.qld.gov.au.
Posted on: Tue, 27 Jan 2015 03:17:54 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015