Community cash allocated – Golden Plains Shire council meeting briefs

COUNCILLORS signed off on a number of funding allocations for local groups and projects during their regular meeting on Tuesday evening.

Forming round two of the municipality’s Community Strengthening Grants program, nearly $80,000 was awarded to 13 successful applicants.

A review of the grant scheme’s funding criteria and application guidelines is set to be undertaken, and although he praised the current round of allocations, Cr Owen Sharkey said it’s a necessary move.

“There is some fine tuning if we decide to continue to go forward with this… with regards to some of the grant money that’s given out,” he said.

“Every dollar we give out to a community group is a dollar we take away from someone else in the community. We’ve got to make sure the money we spend is in the right areas.

 

New bins to roll out

With the State Government’s Circular Economy (Waste Reduction and Recycling) Act 2021 mandating a four-bin cycle from 2024, council made headway with some of the requirements.

As for all municipalities, a new glass service is set to begin in October next year with 140-litre glass bins to be bought through Golden Plains Shire’s waste reserve as well as cash from the State Government.

Cr Les Rowe said the provided funding would not be enough.

“Whilst it is favourable to help out with the rollout of the new glass bins, it isn’t anywhere near enough,” he said.

“The State Government had a landfill waste levy and well over $1 billion in reserves. It’s a shame some of the funds from this bucket of money isn’t forthcoming for the roll out. Once again, ratepayers will foot the difference.”

The glass service is set to be adopted alongside the recycle bin kerbside collection changing from weekly to fortnightly.

The fourth bin in the cycle, for food and green organics, known as FOGO, will likely be introduced in 2026 to coincide with the opening of the Region Renewable Organics Network.

 

Path forward

The municipality’s draft tracks and trails strategy is out for public exhibition following a unanimous vote by council.

On display until Thursday 11 January, the document will serve as a guide in the direction of public tracks, trails, and paths in Golden Plains Shire for the next decade.

With 36 trails audited in the region and 18 sites mapped for potential future development in researching for the strategy, Cr Helena Kirby said the community has the opportunity to highlight unidentified pathways missed by the municipality.

“This is opened up to the whole of the Shire to come out and let us know what is out there in our own backyard that we don’t even know about,” she said.

“On the other hand, we also have trails, for example the Teesdale to Bannockburn one that has been on council’s agenda for 15 years. We’ve got to get this moving.”

 

Slate Quarry Road work

Councillors awarded the nearly $788,000 tender for improvements to Slate Quarry Road at Meredith to Bild Infrastructure.

The construction will convert the single-lane road which connects Ballan-Meredith Road with Geelong-Ballarat Road, into a two-lanes.

Cr Ian Getsom said the widening would come in handy at times when Meredith sees a larger traffic intake such as events like the upcoming Meredith Music Festival.

 

Finance report

Councillors looked back on three months of municipal spending ending in late September as part of their regular finance report.

Nearly $500,000 added to a total surplus of $21 million, with $1.4 million so far spent on capital works out of the annual budget’s $3.4 million allocation.

Cr Gavin Gamble said it was unfortunate to see flood damage continue to burden municipal finances while Cr Rowe noted a key issue in an inability to sell development lots at Lomandra Drive.

“We’ve only sold one. We’ve budgeted to sell, I think, four in the 2023/2024 budget. We’re not travelling too hot at the moment selling them,” he said.

Shire officers may pause expenses on the Lomandra Drive lots should they continue to go unsold.

 

Path ahead for plan

With one year left for the document’s lifecycle, councillors noted the progress made on the Council Plan 2021/2025.

The document highlights 82 actions to be implemented for the third year of the plan, which Cr Kirby said were tracking well.

“We can see so many things have gone ahead,” she said. “We’ve seen different projects the community has asked for be implemented.

“The paths and trails strategy was one of the things the community was wanting. We’ve had the adoption of the Smythesdale and Gardens Brewery Dam Reserve Masterplan. The skate park and bowls club have been energised.

“We’ve had a lot of different things happening.”

 

Futsal player recognised

Young futsal player Patrick Bennett received the municipality’s Citizen Recognition Award at the start of council’s regular meeting.

Patrick, from Haddon, has been playing the sport for about a year and was presented the award due to his being selected to represent Victoria in the state’s under 8s team at the National Club Championships in January.

 

Council cost

Councillors’ spending and meeting attendance was reported for the first financial quarter with nearly $4500 utilised out of a $51,000 budget.

With more than $25,000 put aside for training expenses, Cr Gamble suggested more could be spent on professional development.

No cash was reserved or spent on childcare expenses, and Cr Kirby encouraged young parents to consider making use of the allocation as a councillor for the next council term.