Bulloo Buzz 01 March 2019 MAYORS MESSAGE ……………..………….………………………. Congratulation to Councils new CEO Mr Lew Rojahn. Council and Lew made this appointment official at the February Council Meeting by signing a 3 year contract. Mr Rojahn has been involved in Local Government Administration and State Government administration for over 38 years as a Chief Executive Officer and other Director appointments. He has worked in very strategic roles with the elected bodies whilst ensuring the organisation was as efficient and effective as it could be when utilising public and government funds. Mr Rojahn is a qualified Local Government Clerk and his specialist skill is the implementation of governance across public service organisations. In the past he has worked in South East Queensland with Laidley and Mundubbera Shires, both now amalgamated, and went on to spend more time in North Queensland in Cape York working with Indigenous Shires. From here he was appointed to the State Department of Local Government and later joined the Etheridge Shire located near the Gulf. For the last four and a half years he has worked as a consultant to northern and mainly south western Shires finally being appointed to Bulloo Shire in 2019. Mayor John (Tractor) Ferguson YOUR Cr Donna Humphris Cr Shirley Girdler Ph: 0427 553 145 Ph: 0459 980 869 COUNCILLORS E: [email protected] E: [email protected] Cr John (Tractor) Ferguson, Mayor Cr Allison Petty Cr Jon Cobb Ph: 0427 418 438 Ph: 0428 593 386 Ph: 4655 4366 E: [email protected] E: [email protected] E: [email protected] Bulloo Shire Council PO Box 46 Thargomindah 4492 T: 07 46218000 Fax: 07 46553131 A/H Emergencies: 0429 611 872 Email: [email protected] Website: www.bulloo.qld.gov.au A WORD FROM THE CEO ……………….………………………. After all the rain events in North Queensland and the bittersweet outcomes, it is a case of careful what you wish for. Certainly we could do with some rain out here but we’d like to control the tap if only we could. In the meantime though it continues to pour sunshine. Council is currently working through all the “Works for Queensland” (W4Q) projects around town, namely the walking track, the upgrade of the old Gaol with the Anzac Park amphitheatre about to commence shortly. We have had the Kerb and Channelling work approved and also $250000 for the restorative work to be carried out at the DIG tree. As mentioned last month, Council has also been advised of the release of new funds for the 2019/21 period for “Works for Queensland” (W4Q) programme. We have been lucky to receive $1,040,000 in funding for community projects that will help increase employment in the community but can’t be applied to any part of Council’s ordinary work programme. To follow through with this, Council needs to be submitting projects before the 15 March 2019 and as such Council will be having a workshop on Monday 4 March 2019, to provide a decision on what projects should be submitted. These types of grants have been incredibly advantageous to Councils like Bulloo because they have the opportunity to extend employment but to provide amenities that would not necessarily be on any priority list. I will be attending a SWRRTG meeting (Regional Roads Group that decides the allocation of funding across the region) and a SWRED (Regional Economic Development group for the South West who seek to define the best way forward for the region as a whole and how can we all benefit from this) meeting in Charleville this week. On the 7th March, there is a “5 Issues” Forum” being held in Cunnamulla. This has been organised by the RDA (Regional Development Authority) who manage Federal funds for the larger projects of Council that can have regional benefits. Council currently has an application with them for $10 Million dollars for work on the Warri Gate road. Our RMPC expenditure has been increased to $296000 for the month. This will be in line with us meeting the rate of expenditure as defined by the Transport and Main Roads Dept. This programme along with all the other grants mentioned above, need to be expended by 30 June 2019. Whilst this appears we have been put under pressure we have also planned out the activities to ensure we meet these deadlines. Council is currently speaking with the DLGRMA to change the scope of our original geothermal programme. It was found that our bore water was too cool to generate the required energy economically so we are in the process of now changing the scope of that original programme to include, solar on our buildings, a large solar farm and a small geothermal plant all combined with batteries to power the Council infrastructure and some of the town. The intent being to reduce our brown outs, reduce the cost to the community and ensure the security of the supply to us. Obviously Ergon is on board because it will provide an opportunity to provide a consistent supply that would have cost a lot of money if they were simply going to upgrade the existing lines etc. It’s still about getting power out here. Our biggest news though is our recent Work Health and Safety audit that was carried out on the whole of Council. We have a requirement to achieve at least 70% to meet compliance for TMR and other government contracts. Its looks like we will well and truly exceed that. My congratulations to all our staff who work hard to make Bulloo a safe workplace. Again I don’t hesitate to say that Bulloo Shire punches above its weight!! Lew Rojahn Chief Executive Officer. SPECIAL PROJECTS …………..…………….………………………. You may have noticed that a few projects have already commenced with contractors working around the town on the following: Walking Track Stage 3: Contractors arrive in Thargomindah next week to commence work for the concrete pathways. This will add approximately 3.5km to the current pathways to enjoy all year round. Please see image below for the proposed pathways around town. Old Jail: Renovations to the Old Jail have commenced this month allowing a connection to the walking track for tourists and locals to explore on their walk around our community. Memorial Park Amphitheatre: Work is also underway and is to be completed in April. This new modern amphitheatre will be shelter covered and attached with an ablution building for public use all year round. Chris Woodland Project Design and Construction Manager Special Projects …………..…………….………………………. INFRASTRUCTURE Here is a short note on the current works that is happening within Infrastructure on the Bulloo Shire Council. Thargomindah: A grant application had been lodged for the upgrade on the Main from Bore 01 and the connection to the Cooling Ponds. This work replaces the deteriorating Main currently supplying water to the town and introduces Cooling Pond #2 which is now in the process of being completed. Hungerford: Hungerford reticulation upgrade was successfully completed earlier this month. This work has allowed existing mains, valves etc. to be located, repaired and replaced where required. Public Notice: Council is again seeking feedback to the type & amount of rubbish to be removed from your properties. Tourism season is once again approaching us and Council is always looking at keeping our town clean and tidy. To enable Council to allocate the days and resources for collecting large items of rubbish (i.e. Trucks, Loaders etc.) to carry out this project efficiently, please assist by advising Council of the large rubbish items you would like collected on 4621 8000. Date to be confirmed. Wayne Mills VISITOR INFORMATION CENTRE ....….………….………… HEALTH & EVENTS NEWS The tourist season is fast approaching and while there aren't many visitors at this time of year, staff do have a list as long as a piece of string, of things to do to continue moving forward. Tourism staff work hard for both the community and our visitors, providing health promotion, events, library programs and of course a visitor experience. LIBRARY Last month Council submitted two grant applications to bring the library into the 21st century. The first submission was for a multi-touch hub which will be able to send you to the moon and the rest of the world through virtual reality. The other was to apply for a First Five Forever grant which will develop a brand new program and resources for all of our new mums and their babies - so fingers crossed that at least one of them will be approved. IMPROVING THE VISITOR EXPERIENCE This year Council will be running weekly movie nights in conjunction with the Explorers Caravan Park. One movie will be held outdoors at the caravan park and the other will be held in the town hall. This will also provide opportunities for community groups to raise some money by providing catering and selling movie snacks. Another new part of our tourism program is to run a series of trivia and bingo happy hours at the Bulloo River Hotel and Oasis Motel. We are also offering community groups the opportunity to run these mini events and to sell raffle tickets in order to raise some money for their organisation. The last part of Councils new tourism program is a weekly River Walk & Talk tour. Tours will be conducted every Tuesday morning and then head over to the Roadhouse or Café for morning tea. EVENTS A huge part of the tourism staff’s job is event management and they have been flat out organising Clean Up Australia Day, Rural Men’s Night, ANZAC Day, Channel Country Quick Shears and the Channel Country Music Muster.