six years ago to enjoy an idyllic retirement with her husband. The seaside town, where they had enjoyed a pre-marriage holiday, ideally situated between their three children and eight grandchildren that call Melbourne, Bendigo and Adelaide home.<\/p>\n
A Ruffell retirement was never going to be just long lunches and walks on the beach \u2013 they run two businesses and have immersed themselves in a variety of community groups \u2013 but things have taken an interesting turn with Lisa now sitting in the mayoral chair after the town was initially left without a candidate for the top job.<\/p>\n
Elected unopposed at the recent supplementary election, Lisa has hit the ground running in her new role after fellow councillors encouraged her to put her hand up for the vacant position.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat encouragement from the councillors around the table saying they were in favour of me putting my hand up made it an easy decision,\u201d Mayor Ruffell said. Her resume includes plenty of local government experience \u2013 she spent eight years as a councillor and mayor in Bendigo.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve always been involved in local government,\u201d she said. \u201cThat\u2019s the grassroots of a community and if you want to achieve anything that\u2019s where you need to be. You can advise the State Government and the Federal Government about what your community needs.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt the end of the day, you are there for the community and you need to put your voice out there.\u201d In Bendigo, Mayor Ruffell was working with a $269million dollar budget \u2013 in Robe that is a $6-7million dollar pot of money but the skills transfer.<\/p>\n
\u201cEven when you have the large budget in a big council, you still have attract funding to get things done \u2013 you probably just need that support even more in a small council,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe (Robe) really have to rely on funding from State and Federal Government and we have to help the community understand we can\u2019t have everything,\u201d Mayor Ruffell said.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut that being said you can plan. If you have some kind of five, 10 and even 20 year plan, it shows the next generation what you are trying to achieve.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen I was in Bendigo I found it worked really well to do projects in stages and while it might take more time but it gets done.\u201d An example of that is Bendigo\u2019s White Hills Botanical Garden \u2013 a project started under Mayor Ruffell\u2019s leadership and completed just recently.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou can achieve more for your community if you budget in stages,\u201d she said. Mayor Ruffell believes Robe is a town of untapped potential and she looks forward to working with the elected members to starting tapping into the potential.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is just so beautiful here,\u201d she said. \u201cYou can retire here, can have a family life here, can run a business and can be an entrepreneur.\u201d<\/p>\n
As with most regional local councils, infrastructure heads the priority list.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou need to have the facilities for both the locals and tourists,\u201d Mayor Ruffell said.<\/p>\n
She has already been shocked to find out there are not even basic requirements in the town\u2019s industrial area.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe bring their own water in \u2013 that can\u2019t happen,\u201d she said. \u201cRobe is rapidly growing and we need infrastructure to meet the needs of a growing community.\u201d And she has other ideas floating around, including the establishment of a surf life saving club, a stadium for sports like netball and basketball, and angle parking adjacent the school, especially to cope with the influx of visitors.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe roads have been neglected and the entrance way to our town needs to be glowing \u2013 that is a priority for me,\u201d Mayor Ruffell said. She also has earmarked working towards an alternate road in and out of the town as a crucial development.<\/p>\n
\u201cI know it\u2019s been talked about and we really need to address it \u2013 things like the big trucks going down the main street,\u201d Mayor Ruffell said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s really so much opportunity here and that\u2019s why we opened the jewellers and opened the chocolate shop and there is so much potential for Robe to grow into the future.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Experienced local government advocate has ambitious vision for the future of Robe six years ago to enjoy an idyllic retirement with her husband. The seaside town, where they had enjoyed a pre-marriage holiday, ideally situated between their three children and eight grandchildren that call Melbourne, Bendigo and Adelaide home. A Ruffell retirement was never going […]<\/p>\n