Communication and community the key

Township plans, the citizen jury, shared paths completion, financial sustainability and the community campaign to tackle a proposed Offshore Windfarm all loom as the highlights in the year of the Grant District Council and its Mayor Kylie Boston.

And there’s no doubt the most public of those highlights was the Offshore Windfarm issue.

“We celebrated a significant community achievement supported by council when the Minister for Climate Change and Energy Chris Bowen announced that the proposed offshore windfarm zone would be situated in the Southern Ocean off Western Victoria only,” Mayor Boston said.

“The community worked hard to address the threat of offshore wind farms off the coast of Port MacDonnell, resulting in a positive outcome through collective engagement.”

The Essential Services Commission of South Australia gave the District Council of Grant a good report card, deeming it financially sustainable and that was good news, given the financial challenges council faces.

“Despite the disappointment of not receiving funding in the Growing Regions Round 1 Program, we persisted and secured the continued funding from the Malinauskas Government which is bi-partisan State Government Financial Support, and this week secured a funding commitment from the Federal Liberal Party for the Mount Gambier and Districts Saleyards Transformation Project,” Mayor Boston said. “We are still hopeful to achieve Growing Regions Round 2 funding.”

Council is also cognisant of the impact going forward of the recent dry season and the rising cost of living that continues to put pressure on their communities.

And it’s that care for the many townships that make up the council are that saw council implement a citizen jury, along with its usual township meetings, to formulate a blueprint for the future.

“We proudly adopted the Inner Townships Master Plan which identifies amenity projects to support our connected and growing smaller communities,” she said. “We commenced this plan working with Tarpeena on the ‘Truly Tarpeena’ project.

“We also adopted our Strategic Management Plan 2024-2034, which was reviewed via a citizen’s jury and endorsed by the council, setting a clear vision for the next decade.”

Those plans will now underpin the 2025/26 Budget, while the Mount Gambier and Districts Saleyards Transformation Project remains priority one with hopes high, works will start on the critical infrastructure project in 2025.

Keeping the lines of communication open for all council decisions remains a top priority too.

“Ensuring that our community remains at the heart of all our efforts,” Mayor Boston said.

The completion of the Mil Lel shared path and the path between Carpenter Rocks and Pelican Point, funded by the Local Roads and Community Infrastructure Program, was another huge step forward for the Grant townships.

“It’s been a productive year for us at the council, with many goals achieved and more to come in the New Year,” Mayor Boston said. “We appreciate the community’s support and look forward to continuing our work together in 2025. On behalf of the Elected Members and Council Staff, I wish all our residents a very Merry Christmas and a safe, happy Festive Season.”