Not letting the grass grow under our feet
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I want to thank and acknowledge some of Council’s outdoor staff who do not get a lot of time off during the holidays, particularly the Parks and Facilities team.
With all the warm weather and rain, everything is growing quickly and they have been working hard to keep our parks in good shape.
Taking advantage of the school holidays, other staff have been working on the water mains at Scone Grammar School.
I hope you enjoyed the Christmas and New Year holidays.
I certainly enjoyed a break with the family and am looking forward to another busy year on Council.
Check out the Scone Bypass Plans
This year there are a number of big issues on Council’s agenda as 2016 kicks off.
One of the most important is the finalisation of Roads & Maritime Services’ (RMS) plans for the Scone Bypass and Rail Overpass.
You may have already heard about Council’s opposition to aspects of the latest plans, and if not please visit, www.upperhunter.nsw.gov.au under Hot Topics.
Council will make a submission to RMS detailing our concerns and alternate proposals.
However, council does not make the final decision on the plans.
Please take the time to attend one of the RMS community drop-in information sessions to be held at Scone Motor Inn on:
Thursday January 21, 3pm to 7pm; Thursday February 4, 3pm to 7pm, and; Friday February 5, 10am to 2pm.
The RMS Scone Bypass proposal is available on the RMS website: www.rms.nsw.gov.au.
Give your views on public holidays in the Upper Hunter
On page one of the Scone Advocate on January 7 was about Council’s current consultation over holidays in 2016 and 2017.
I was pleased to see public debate about the pros and cons of public holidays and particularly whether the Scone Cup should have a part day public holiday, finishing at 6pm, which would ease the penalty on hospitality businesses.
Traditionally there has been a half day public holiday for the Scone Cup which applied across the Upper Hunter but not the Merriwa and Cassilis districts.
Just because we have done it this way in the past, doesn’t mean things can’t change.
Local holidays only happen if there is support from the community.
I urge everyone to take a few minutes to fill in the survey on Council’s website at www.upperhunter.nsw.gov.au under ‘Hot Topics’ by Friday, January 29.
Big Achievements of 2015
Before 2015 disappears into the rear view mirror it’s worth noting a few of Council’s big achievements.
Of course, this doesn’t include the ongoing work we do repairing roads, sewer lines, replacing water mains, running libraries, childcare centres, and youth programs.
* council was declared ‘Fit for the Future’ by the NSW Government as a result of changes we have made to improve our budget bottom line;
* assessed almost 200 new development applications (DAs), modifications and complying development approvals;
* completion of the new 52 metre concrete Garlands Bridge and gives all weather access for visitors and residents of Woolooma and Stewarts Brook;
* work at Moonan Cutting is progressing well to make this a much safer stretch of road;
* replacement of Starrs Crossing at Timor is also well underway;
* a number of outdoor recreation facilities were completed or refurbished including the Aberdeen Outdoor Recreation Hub;
* introduced new online planning tools the Electronic Housing Code (EHC), Interactive Buildings, Planning Viewer and Application Tracking available 24/7 on Council’s website which means faster, easier planning approvals;
* introduced the MyPost Digital Mailbox where residents can receive and pay their water and land rate notices securely and easily online;
* an independently conducted community survey of over 400 Shire residents found satisfaction with Council’s performance had risen significantly and was above the average for NSW Local Government Areas. Residents also identified priority areas where Council will focus on improving performance;
* planning work began on the $14 million water pipeline from Scone to Murrurundi thanks to a grant from Restart NSW.
Recognition for Upper Hunter Family Day Care
Upper Hunter Family Day Care (UHFDC) was nominated for a Family Day Care Australia ‘Coordination Unit of the Year’ Excellence in Family Day Care Award for the third year running.
Furthermore, around than 50 per cent of our UHFDC Educators were similarly nominated for Educator of the Year Awards. Congratulations to all involved.