COUNCILLOR COLUMN – July 12, 2018

Armstrong Creek community facilities taking shape
With Armstrong Creek continuing to expand, Council is well aware of the need to provide great facilities for the growing community.

Two excellent projects in Armstrong Creek East are making fast progress.

The area’s first sports pavilion is on track to be finished by November, with the slab now poured and framing to be all done in the coming weeks.

This is a $3.6 million building featuring social rooms, community meeting spaces and three sets of gender neutral changerooms.

It’ll sit beside a reserve with two ovals, two floodlit netball courts and cricket nets.

Likewise, the $17 million children’s and community centre is moving along well.

During July builders will finish installing the roof on the northern section of the building, and start framing and roofing in the south section.

It’s due to open by January next year, providing day care for up to 92 children and a kindergarten for 99, along with community spaces, a parents’ lounge and an outdoor playground.

New look for old Ocean Grove favourite
Kingston Park has been a place of happy memories for many children in Ocean Grove over the years.

Council has set aside $200,000 in this year’s budget to give the much loved playground a major facelift, with the state government providing another $100,000.

The draft plans are quite exciting – it’s going to be a space for kids of all ages to really explore and challenge themselves.

We’ll be holding a community session in Ocean Grove in the near future where you can view the plans and give feedback. Keep an eye out for details.

Building a smart city
One of the 11 key strategies in the four-year Council Plan we’ve just finalised is to deliver innovative finances and technology for the region.

The technology aspect is really exciting and will stretch across a variety of areas.

We’re about to install a range of smart sensors, which will help us save money and deliver better service to the community.

For example, they’ll tell us when our public bins are full, allowing us to empty them more quickly. Sensors in park lighting will tell us when no-one’s around, meaning we can dim the lights and save energy.

We’re also working with the state government on a major initiative that would see free WiFi in public spaces.

While the deal isn’t finalised yet, once in place it will be a valuable resource for workers, visitors, tourists and the general community. Stay tuned.

New home for City staff
I’m part of a committee that’s exploring the best future office options for the City of Greater Geelong’s staff.

At the moment, City staff are spread around 10 different locations in the Geelong CBD, and we believe it’s important to bring everyone together under the one roof.

This will lead to big cost savings and allow for better collaboration between different departments – ultimately for the benefit of Geelong ratepayers.

The options are to construct our own building, or lease one from a developer.

We’ll be presenting a report to Council at the end of July seeking endorsement for our recommendations.

Celebrating Aboriginal women
This week is NAIDOC Week, and Council is joining the nation-wide celebrations by putting on a public arts project called ‘Streetface’. It features 40 pictures displayed on 18 different buildings around the region.

This year’s theme is ‘Because of her, we can!’ so the pictures are of local Aboriginal women who have made valuable contributions to our community.

Nearby venues include the Ocean Grove library, Grovedale Neighbourhood House (45 Heyers Road) and Narana Cultural Centre (410 Surf Coast Highway, Grovedale).

I encourage you to go and have a look.

Grovedale Tigers score funding win
It was great to see the state government announce it will add $100,000 to Council’s $260,000 allocation for a much needed upgrade of Burdoo Reserve, home of the Grovedale football, netball and cricket clubs.

This will see the construction of new gender neutral changerooms at the venue, helping to cater for the club’s expanding base of female footballers.

The growing participation in women’s sport is a wonderful thing for the health of our community, and Council wants to make sure our local facilities are of a high standard and offer a welcoming environment.