It's showtime!

Click image to enlarge. More details online.

Esplanade improvements

IT certainly was great weather for ducks on Saturday morning when I went down to the river to check out recent improvements at our Esplanade.

Recent council budgets have provided a footpath at the lower end of Ferry St and new playground equipment nearby. At the river end of the same street, a new pontoon and retaining wall has been installed with the support of Marine and Safety Tasmania (MAST).

The council has recently established a committee to oversee the sensitive, sympathetic and sustainable development of the Esplanade at New Norfolk. There will be places for several community members on the committee and applications will be accepted until the close of business on Wednesday, March 4, 2015.  If this appeals to you, send an email to executiveassistant@dvc.tas.gov.au

Council meeting this Thursday

Notice of Council Meeting - 19 February 2015 

The next monthly meeting of council will be held at the Court House, Circle St, New Norfolk on Thursday, February 19, 2015, at 6.30pm. The public is invited to attend the meeting.  Please join us - and if you would like any assistance or information about the meeting, please do get in touch. The meeting agenda is available online and in hardcopy from the council chambers.

Community survey results

MY sincere thanks to everyone who contributed to my recent community survey. The results were tabled at the council meeting on Thursday night. I'm pleased to say that it was unanimously agreed "that council note the following concerns expressed through a recent community survey and work to address the issues raised".

This is the report I wrote for the council agenda:

"Following the electorate’s clearly expressed desire for change as evidenced by the outcome of the recent council election, I invited the community to get in touch with me about their top three issues of concern. It was not a scientific survey but a chance for the community to give voice to specific concerns. Responses were received via a coupon published in the Derwent Valley Gazette, via email, in person, and several detailed letters.

"The result does not reveal a groundswell of support for major structural change, but simply a desire for the council to be better at doing its job. People want better roads and footpaths, they want roadsides and vacant properties slashed and kept safe and tidy and they want dead trees removed from creeks and rivulets to prevent flooding. They want rubbish cleaned up, more rubbish bins, and for our dog waste receptacles to be emptied more often. They also want a better way of knowing if the tip has closed unexpectedly. They would also like dust and water mitigation on our unsealed roads.

"Many in the community are concerned about smoking outside the council chambers and if we are honest we knew that already. I raised this five years ago but it has taken until the arrival of this new council to see some change there.

"There is general dissatisfaction with our town entrances and "welcome" signage, and disbelief that we have tourism signs promoting businesses that have been closed for years. Other tourism signage on Hamilton Rd was completely removed some years ago, leaving behind the skeleton of its framework on a railway wagon. Volunteers in various sectors advise that some visitors have trouble finding Willow Court – and our public toilets – and say that better signage would help. On the subject of Willow Court and Royal Derwent, many would like the council to get tough on apparently stalled developments and derelict buildings on those sites – including our own.

"Some of the responses are a little unclear and this is a shortcoming of the survey method which did not leave much room for additional details. Some people provided phone numbers and I have followed up with them where possible.

"I welcome all the responses received – especially the one thanking the council for sealing the car park at the Olympic pool. I have started working on some of the issues raised and others have already been the subject of council attention. I encourage all councillors and staff to work together to resolve the individual issues and the list as a whole."

The following concerns were recorded via the survey:

• Roads and footpaths
• Trees and deadwood clogging creeks and leading to flooding
• Men’s Shed
• Glebe Road reconstruction and line marking
• Cost of landfill operations
• Upper Moogara Rd clean-up – blackberries
• Return of train to Mt Field
• Seafood restaurant needed in New Norfolk
• Litter – particularly near Woolworths/McDonalds – lack of rubbish bins
• Some people don’t clean up after their dogs
• Dog waste bins not emptied often enough
• Suggest mowing parks at end of week to be ready for weekend users
• Unsealed section of Sharland Avenue – water  runoff problem for houses on lower side – no footpath
• Dust problem where trucks and buses enter Hamilton Rd from private property
• Smoking outside council chambers
• Town entrances and welcome sign
• Unfinished developments – eyesores – RDH and WCC sites in particular
• Tourism signage advertising closed businesses
• Visitor centre needs upgrading
• Better signage needed for Willow Court – what it is and where it is
• Signage for finding public toilets
• Mowing/slashing – fire abatement

Next meeting and workshop

Notice of Council Meeting - 15 January 2015 

The next monthly meeting of council will be held at the Court House, Circle St, New Norfolk on Thursday, January 15, 2015, at 6.30pm. The public is invited to attend the meeting.  Please join us - and if you would like any assistance or information about the meeting, please do get in touch. The meeting agenda is available online and in hardcopy from the council chambers.

 

Notice of Council Workshops
A council workshop will be held at the Court House, Circle St, New Norfolk, on Thursday, January 22, at 6.30pm. The format is an open session with the general public for the first half hour. The remainder of the workshop is closed to the public. This is an informal workshop of council and no agenda is provided. Workshops are now generally held on the first, second and fourth Thursdays of the month.

General manager

A SPECIAL closed meeting of council was held on December 18 to discuss the general manager's contract, which is due to expire at the end of the financial year. The meeting resolved to issue the following statement:

"THE Derwent Valley Council will advertise the position of general manager in accordance with the Local Government Act.

"The present general manager's contract will expire at the end of June 2015. The council thanks Stephen Mackey for his 15 years of service and has advised him that he is welcome to reapply for the position when it is advertised.

"A committee of councillors will meet shortly and will make a recommendation about the advertising process no later than the monthly meeting in February."

Christmas closure details

THE Derwent Valley Council office and depot will be closed from noon this Wednesday, December 24, until 8.30am on January 5, 2015.

• Garbage and Recycling Collection will operate as normal.
• The National Park Waste Transfer Station will operate as normal.
• The Peppermint Hill landfill site will close at 11.30am on December 24 and will be closed on Christmas Day. The site will reopen on Boxing Day.
• New Norfolk and Bushy Park swimming pools will be closed on Christmas Day.
• The Valley Children’s Centre will be closed from December 24 and will reopen on January 5.

The council’s emergency telephone number is 6261 8500 (24 hours).

• For police, fire and ambulance emergencies call 000.
• For non-emergency police matters call 131 444.
• TasWater, phone 136 992
• Aurora Energy, phone 132 004