What a fantastic day on Saturday for the Wiradjuri community celebration. Everyone who attended really enjoyed the stalls, amusement rides and food vendors – it was especially appreciated that we supported our local indigenous vendors.

Thank you also to the Forbes Junior AFL Club for organising the Marngrook games for the community. What a unique sporting event – playing with a possum skin ball. Don’t worry I was reassured this was New Zealand possums!

It really is wonderful to support the longest living culture in the world and I am incredibly proud to be living on Wiradjuri country.

Hasn’t it been great to see all those amazing Chevrolets in town? What a great bunch of people too. Not only did we have the National Festival here on the weekend, we have had the vintage and veterans members here all week for the 55th Chevrolet Rally. They are such a wonderful crew and they are also sticking around for our Forbes Motorshow on Sunday. Gates open at 8am for registration, and the show will be on South Circle Drive from 10am to 2pm.

This is the second time we have hosted the Chevrolet National Rally. They came to town 25 years ago in 1997 with 200 beautiful Chevrolets and around 500 guests.

It’s happening this weekend – the Forbes Olympic Pool is opening. Welcome to our new pool contractors and we can’t wait for you to enjoy the pool after considerable work has been completed during winter. It looks sparkling and we can’t wait for another successful pool season for all.

 

First, my sympathies to everyone since the passing of our beautiful Queen, Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II.

Personally, I do not know life without her as our Queen, like many in our community. Her 70 years of selfless service was an inspiration.

Council has already received many messages of condolences which will be sent to the National Library and will become part of the lasting record of this moment in time.

Following the Prime Minister’s announcement for the National Day of Mourning on Thursday, 22nd September, Forbes Shire Council will be holding a short service to commemorate Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II. We are inviting members of the community to join us at 10:30am to lay wreaths and flowers and observe the minute’s silence at 11am.

There is a lot of water and more expected at the end of the week. Forbes Shire Council will be meeting with key stakeholders to develop an emergency plan for medical and immediate needs of communities restricted by roads and floodwater at this time. Don’t hesitate to contact me if you have any concerns – we will be prioritizing medical requirements. Good luck to all the wonderful events this weekend. It will be wet but a bit of rain can’t dampen our spirits. Surely the riders at the Australian Dirt Track Senior Championships will love a bit of rain on the track.

Don’t forget to join the Forbes Wiradjuri Community Celebration on Saturday, 24th September from 10am to 2pm at Gaggin Oval for cultural games, arts, crafts, interactive displays and bungee trampolines.

If any eagle-eyed residents noticed some extra scaffolding on the Vampire Jet it has been recommended to support the tail when work commences on the nose. The jet has now been inspected by a structural engineer and we are expecting the jet’s condition report and suggested best practice to repair it soon. 

Our hearts are with the poor family whose child was attacked by a dog last week. We send our support and well wishes for the child’s recovery. Our rangers are working hard to educate and enforce our rules around dog ownership. If you are a pet owner, please make sure you take this responsibility very seriously. Just as our very diligent rangers do. 

What a busy few weeks we have coming up. The town will be buzzing next weekend with Grazing and the first ever Amazing Grazing breakfast as well as the 2022 Australian Senior Track Motorbike Championships. 

On Monday, following these fabulous events we are honoured to be hosting the Lexus Melbourne Cup Tour. You are invited to don your Melbourne finery and join us for lunch in the Forbes Town Hall. You must RSVP to Jolene Jones at Council by Monday, 13th September. This is your chance to have your photo taken with Australia’s most famous trophy made from locally sourced gold. Very exciting. Hope to see you all out and about. 

Your Mayor
Phillis Miller 

We know the roads are bad. This is the case everywhere in NSW. If you can afford the fuel to go on a trip, you will know roads are shocking well beyond the Forbes Shire. 

We are doing the best we possibly can, but we need your help to make sure we know about all the road damage. Particularly any new, large or dangerous potholes so they can be included in our works program and at least filled until the weather improves enough for us to properly patch them. Please be kind to our limited staff if there are delays to get through. 

To report a pothole phone 6850 2300 or leave your name, phone number and the location on our website at Report an Issue | Forbes Shire Council (nsw.gov.au) 

The former Spotlight building is almost completely demolished. Council was fully insured and is ready to rebuild to get businesses in place as soon as possible. 

News that the cement slab can remain is excellent for the project moving forward for cost and the rebuild timeline. 

Council has this week announced the new pool managers, Belgravia Leisure – the largest leisure management group in Australia and New Zealand (who also manages Parkes Pool). Our pool is a really important community asset and we are looking forward to another fantastic and safe season of swimming starting the October long weekend. 

Go the Magpies in Dubbo on Sunday against Dubbo Cyms – they are playing at Apex Oval in Dubbo from 3pm. Wishing you all the best of luck. 

Your Mayor
Phylls Miller 

Please be aware of the current situation with flood waters rising in our shire and do not drive through water, it may be deeper and faster flowing than anticipated or the road may have suffered damage and large potholes may be hidden beneath the water. Plan your trip to ensure that you do not enter water. 

As we are again experiencing low level flooding, it is quite timely to share your thoughts and input to help revise the Forbes Flood Risk Management Plan. The revised plan will also guide evacuation plans during floods and development controls on flood-prone areas. Flood Risk Management Plans need updating with each new flood event to make sure they stay current and take current conditions into consideration. 

We are looking for information, stories and images from the 2016 and 2021 floods to help inform the revised Flood Risk Management Plan. All the information we gather will help us to better understand more recent flood behaviour. 

The community has a wealth of knowledge and experience, so please share your thoughts. You can complete the survey online at yoursay.forbes.nsw.gov.au. 

Copies of the survey can also be collected from Council offices or attend a drop-in session on Friday, 2nd September.Another fantastic event has been added to the busy Forbes calendar. The 2022 Australian Senior Motorcycle Track Championships, hosted by Forbes Auto Sports Club, on 17th and 18th September. It will attract the fastest competitors in Australia to compete in Australia’s fastest flat track racing. 

By Deputy Mayor,
Cr Chris Roylance 

Another year and another win for Forbes Shire Council! We were a winner again at the Local Government Awards announced last week. Council won the prestigious Leo Kelly OAM Arts and Cultural Award – Division A (population less than 30,000). The award is for the partnership between community, industry and Local Government for the Sculpture Down the Lachlan project. 

It is an honour to be a part of this partnership fostering an inclusive, creative and culturally rich community. This just goes to show how much partnerships between the community, industry and Local Government can achieve. This world class permanent art trail is almost complete and the next major achievement will be the Forbes Cultural Centre Development. 

With more rain predicted this week, I want to reassure the community we are working very closely with State Water and monitoring the Bureau of Meteorology to stay informed about the Wyangala Dam releases. 

It is very wet here at the moment and we are acutely aware of the impacts of these releases and will keep the community informed. 

Talking about staying in touch, I pride myself on being accessible to the whole community. I am often at the office and happy to talk over the phone but please know, I will not respond to the public on social media. Council has very specific civic and procedural obligations on how we report to enquiries and information requests. So, if you want to talk to me, pick up the phone or email me anytime to make an appointment. My door is always open! 

It is Local Government Week! Let’s celebrate and recognise all the critical work we do across our communities. From managing roads and infrastructure, to running community events, maintaining facilities, parks, gardens and so much more. 

We promote local business and attract investment. Our council is staffed and run by local people, for local people. 

Councils in NSW look after more than $178 million of community assets – parks, pools, libraries, lighting, cemeteries, museums and more, and manages 164,000km of local and regional roads – around 90% of the state’s road network. Including 1,755km of local roads in the Forbes Shire and 24km of footpaths. 

NSW Councils manage an estimated 35 million tonnes of waste per year and spends $2 billion on recycling and waste management, stormwater management, preserving and protecting our native flora and fauna. Local Government in NSW employs over 48,000 people in local communities. 

I’d like to give a big nod of acknowledgement and appreciation for my fellow elected councillors, as these figures doesn’t include all the hours we spend at meetings, briefings and official business. 

As part of Local Government Week the NSW LG Excellence Awards will be announced and Forbes Shire Council has been nominated and shortlisted for several awards: Leo Kelly Delivery of an Arts and Culture Project; two entries in the RH Dougherty Awards for the Senior’s Festival and the Master Planning for Sporting Precincts; Youth Week Program is a finalist in the Best Small Council with Most Outstanding Youth Week Program. 

It was with great pleasure our Local Member Phil Donato and I welcomed our newest citizens at a ceremony in Forbes last week. We welcomed Wafi Rahim, his wife Rubaiya Haque and their daughter Ayra. 

Wafi is our Geographical Information Systems Officer here at Forbes Shire Council and he and his family are valuable members of our Forbes community. 

Have you got your tickets for the Agribusiness Today Forum at the Forbes Golf Club on 4th August? Guests will hear from 13 expert agricultural speakers. It is also an opportunity to catch up with the Central West agribusiness community. You can get your tickets on Eventbrite. 

The General Manager, Councillors and I are away at the National Saleyards Conference which I imagine this year will be vital for keeping up with Australia’s action again Foot and Mouth Disease. 

Another reminder, Sunday is National Tree Day and in Forbes we will be planting trees out near the Homemaker Centre. All welcome. We hope to see you there. 

Goldridge landowners are in fact exactly that this week. After what has been a long wait, the Land Registry Services has registered the individual Stage One lots and our very first purchasers are making the move to settle. 

Council has received several development applications already and work is expected to commence on the first house this month. A newsletter will be going out in the next week for all purchasers and those hoping to purchase land in one of our future block releases. 

Following the news of Forbes’ expected population growth of 32% (substantially higher than the State’s expected growth) there has never been a better time to buy a block of land in Forbes to build your dream home. The development of Goldridge Estate has been designed to provide lifestyle size blocks for new homeowners while freeing up the supply and availability of housing in other areas around town. 

Talking Forbes growth, when Council completed its 2018-2030 Agricultural Strategy it identified ways to sustain and develop opportunities for rural production. Next week we will be hosting the Agribusiness Today Forum organised by Regional Development Australia – Central West. 

This key agricultural event has been giving producers access to high calibre and leading speakers for more than 25 years. 

The theme for this year is Mixed Farming Enterprises – adapting to a changing climate and takes place in Forbes on 4th and 5th August. 

Now that the rain has briefly cleared all major projects are drying out and great progress is being made on all.