Cr Brett Ireland, Mayor, Nhill Free Press & Kaniva Times
Congratulations to the community groups and businesses who received grant funding at our last council meeting through our Business Assistance Grants and Community Action Grants. We hope this money enhances or completes a variety of projects within our shire.
We met with community members from Dimboola regarding the future of the senior citizens building in their town. Due to it needing extensive costly repairs the building will remain closed for public use. The main ask from community members who attended was for Council to investigate heritage listing of the olive tree in the rear yard. Officers will liaise with Heritage Victoria to determine if the tree can be heritage listed.
In our current economic climate, a lot of difficult situations will arise in future such as retaining or selling buildings that are at end of life and become a significant liability to Council.
Note: The shire has an asset for every 70 people within it, whether this be a building, toilet block, sports pavilion, pool etc. The replacement or refurbishment of these is not sustainable on a small rural council’s budget. We feel in this instance, the Dimboola library/hub to be a great alternative should the Dimboola Senior Citizens group reform. I applaud the community for this commonsense approach.
In October, we have council elections coming up. It is our intention to hold a range of information sessions at various times to give community members an understanding of the role of a councillor. We want to attract a range of candidates, so informing them of their commitments in time etc, is seen as paramount. I urge anybody who may be considering becoming a Councillor to attend one of these sessions or contact a Councillor or the CEO for a confidential chat, I am more than willing to field calls. I have found it to be a highly rewarding experience.
We have the opening of the Nhill Cane Ball Court on Saturday 16th March at 12:30pm followed by the Jeparit Swimming Hole Redevelopment opening at 4:30pm followed by a live band and free BBQ (BYO), everybody is welcome these events.
Also, remember to save the date for the upcoming Nhill Air Show on the 13th of April, this is a wonderful community event not to be missed!
This article appeared in the Nhill Free Press & Kaniva Times, 13 March 2024.
