Stormy but warm welcome for stream of visitors

Hello to all Borough of Queenscliffe residents, ratepayers and visitors.

What a wild welcome it was for our non-resident ratepayers and visitors the other week!

While the brutal storms and heavy winds may have forced some away initially, it’s been great to see a steady stream of people coming back to Queenscliff and Point Lonsdale as we rapidly approach the summer months.

Continuing the storm damage clean-up

The gale force winds we saw in the borough the other week were a force of nature – I can’t recall the last time I’ve heard a storm so heavy.

This obviously created a lot of damage around town, with fallen trees, debris and other obstacles present across the borough.

Council’s initial investigation identified more than 30 locations requiring urgent action.

Since that time, council officers, emergency services and Powercor have worked together to safeguard the areas most at risk to public safety. We’ve cleared roads and key walking routes and will continue to check footpaths across town.

You’ll also have likely seen a number of tree removal and wood chipping contractors removing less urgent trees and fallen branches over the past couple of weeks.

You may be wondering what to do if there are still fallen trees or branches in your backyard.

If the branch small enough to lift and no more than 10cm in diameter, you can cut it into 30cm sections and put it in your green bin for collection.

If an entire tree has fallen, or you cannot lift the branch, you may wish to cut it into logs and take it to the Drysdale Resource Recovery Centre or arrange for a garden clean-up service to do it for you.

More information is available on council’s website by heading to boq.news/storm-cleanup.

Point Lonsdale Tennis Club improvement program officially opened

There were plenty of smiling faces at the Point Lonsdale Tennis Club last Friday week when I joined Minister Lisa Neville and representatives from Tennis Victoria, Tennis Australia and the PLTC to officially open the club’s major upgrade works to the public.

This has been a process more than three years in the making and so it was extremely satisfying to see the jubilation on the faces of the club’s members who will be reaping the rewards of these improvements for decades to come.

Upgraded, more accessible clubrooms have been the centrepiece of the renovation, which have also included resurfacing two courts, and new LED lighting and poles for the remaining courts.

Also installed is an online membership and court booking system, which the club notes has led to a 54 per cent increase in court usage.

Combining the expertise of club members with the funding support of government has helped us deliver an outstanding result for the club.

The project was supported by $250,000 of funding from the Victorian Government, $53,177 from the Point Lonsdale Tennis Club, and $46,000 from Tennis Australia.

The Borough of Queenscliffe provided $30,000 of project funding, as well as project management for the upgrade works. I want to congratulate the club, and I’m looking forward to joining members for some tennis this summer.

Get your vaccination certificate

Do you need help getting proof of your vaccination status, either to print out or display on your phone?

As we enter the next phase of the pandemic, it’s important to have your vaccination certificate on hand to show retail and hospitality workers and make their job a little bit easier.

Navigating MyGov, Services Victoria and linking your vaccine certificate can be complicated. Thankfully, the team at Geelong Regional Libraries are here to help.

You can book a free session with a library staff member to help you add your vaccination certificate by phoning Queenscliff Library on 4201 0663 or popping into the branch during opening hours.

There are also guides on how to do it yourself by visiting the Victorian Government’s COVID-19 website, coronavirus.vic.gov.au.

As always, if you have anything you’d like to discuss with me about the borough, drop me a line via the contact details on our website.

Cr Ross Ebbels
Mayor, Borough of Queenscliffe