2008 here we go

Well I had a bit of a break from the blog over January. We had a great Christmas.

I feel more settled as a councillor now, more confident to ask questions and press the point when I see fit.

I think the make up of Councillors is good. There are some really good people on board who want to actually do some things.

Lorinna Road is back on the agenda. I have received lots of letters from Lorinna residents, mostly wanting to keep the old road. Council had set aside around $850,000 to go toward building a new road into Lorinna. We will need about the same again to see the project get off the ground. The previous council passed a motion to build a new road once additional funds were found. From what I have read and seen I think this was a wise decision.

Caravan Park. Everybody agrees the town should have one but there has been very little interest from business to get a park happening. I think the previous park location should not be revisited. All the electrical cabling has now been ripped up anyway. We met some Danish cyclists who felt stranded last Sunday night as they arrived in Sheffield after tea expecting to be able to stay at the Caravan Park. It's all a bit strange living in a tourist town with no caravan park. I don't think council should run a park.

Sheffield Streetscape. There was a public meeting tonight at the RSL to let the public know about the coming stage 1 of the Sheffield Streetscape. Raise curbs, new paving, planter boxes and underground electrical cabling. Stage one will bring a dramatic change to part of the main street. The project is estimated to cost close to 1.5 million dollars to complete over the 4 stages. The development will bring disruption to businesses. No pain no gain they say. Hopefully the contractors will work well with businesses.

Tandara Lodge has recently received a huge grant to refurbish the Button Wing. Work that is long overdue. As a Councillor I now sit on the board of Tandara. This is a great achievement. Given the aging population Tandara will keep increasing in importance overtime.

Well that it's for today. Please email me on timintas@gmail.com if you have any comments.

Tim