First Council Meeting

Well last Tuesday was my first council meeting at Barrington Hall. We read our declaration that we would be good councillors, do the best we can in our roles and act with integrity.

There were probably around 20 people who came to see proceedings. Some of it must have been pretty boring for them. We spent a long time working out which councillor would be on which committee. It was hard to choose committees as we didn't have the dates and times that some of them met.

I have joined a few committees. Tandara meet monthly and Rivercare meet monthly. I will join the Wilmot Hall committee and the Sheffield Recreation Ground as a proxy.

I led my first motion at this meeting. I moved a motion that we discount the rental of the town hall for the Kentish Lions Club. The Lions Club received a bill for $1665.50 from council. This was the list price that Council charges. The Lions Club had intended to apply for a concession rate as they have in the past. So the Lions Club wrote to ask retrospectively for a concessional discount.

The Lions Club are great contributors to the Kentish Community. They have given $2000 for a sound system in the Sheffield Town Hall and over $11,000 for an Enabler unit at Tandara that helps residents in muscle movement. Pretty impressive.

A concessional discount seemed more than fair to all councillors. So I proposed a discounted rate of $500 and an amendment to add cleaning costs was added by Councillor Willock. It was passed unanimously by the councillors. After the motion was passed the gravity of being a councillor hit me. The decisions we make affect people's lives in Kentish. So decisions are not to be made likely.

I had a local tell me that he thought we made a mistake and we should not have charged the Lions Club a cent for the use of the Town Hall. I have had a good think about the comment and given the very tenuous financial climate in which Kentish Council finds itself I still feel the fee is fair and balances the need to support a valuable community group while also acknowledging that Council needs to be careful about it's spending.

So on the topic of financial sustainability I suggest that if you want to get a feel for some of the challenges facing especially smaller councils in Tasmania have a read of this. It is very sobering reading and will not be ignored by me. We really have to be responsible with the finances that we have. Going broke is not a good look and we must avoid that path at all costs.

Well that's it for now.

New Mural at the Working Art Space

Well I attended the opening of a new mural yesterday. The mural depicts an elderly man looking back over his life and remembering his life in the Lighthorse. The drill hall where the Working Art Space is located was used to host a ball to raise money for the local soldiers.

Having the mural located at the Working Art Space is a very good idea. The mural will be added to the Mural Map of Sheffield. This will bring more tourists around to Albert St. The location of the Working Art Space is a little out of the way for tourists. SO I hope the mural helps to bring them.

I only learnt today there is another Working Art Space at Wynyard.

Pictured is Mayor Don Thwaites officially opening the mural.

Sheffield School Show

I went to the School show today. I was really out of my depth with the cattle. Where I grew up there were sheep, wheat and cherries. I was amazed at how technical the judging was. Terms like "pins", "feminine qualities" and "good udder" were among the many that were new to me. I was told numbers were down. This surprised me as there seemed a lot of people when I was there. I took my son Joshua with me.

We were given a "special pass" which meant that food and refreshments were provided over lunch. Josh must have had 4 jelly slices and kept hovering around the sweets.

The big politicians were also there. Richard Colbeck (Liberal Senator), Geoff Page (Liberal candidate for Lyons) and Rene Hidding. I know Richard from the mid 90's when we did the New Enterprise Incentive Scheme together at TAFE. His career has really taken off since then. It was a bit strange to be introduced to them as a councillor by Don Thwaites. It is all a bit strange being a councillor now. I am sure the shine will wear off over time.

The Kentish Area

I did some letter box drops in both Railton and Wilmot during the elections and spent time at both places talking to locals.

I was struck at how large many of the house blocks were in Railton. There seems to be lots of space around houses. While in Railton I booked the Kings Hall in case any locals wanted to come and talk about issues that were a concern to them. Only one came! However the fellow who did come was a wealth of information for me. Railton and Sheffield are towns with similar populations but have a very different feel. I suspect that the Cement Works has shaped much of the feel in the town today.

WIlmot is a very rural area. Some locals feel "out of sight and out of mind". It is a 35 minute trip to WIlmot from Sheffield. As th crow flies it is a much smaller distance. The creation of Lake Barrington has isolated WIlmot within Kentish. It has not been good for Kentish as a whole. Yes it is a lovely complex but it has made access much harder.

I made it!

It was a real roller-coaster ride getting onto the council. Once the first preference votes were counted I really didn't think I was going to make it. With only 77 first preference votes it placed me in 11th place.

Thankfully once Don Thwaites and Andrew Keddie's quotas were broken up things started to look brighter. I moved from 11th to 8th. Brian Inder, Coralanne Walker and I tussled for 7th and 8th place. I finally ended up being 7th.

So this is how the new council looks:

Mayor: Don Thwaites

Deputy Mayor: John Deverell

Councillor: Andrew Keddie

Councillor: Penny Lane

Councillor: Annie Willock

Councillor: Peter Cooper

Councillor: Jan Rootes

Councillor: Tim Wilson 

Councillor: Coralanne Walker

We have our first induction tomorrow night. Get to meet the other councillors and check out the lay of the land.