Council Comments Archives - Page 22 of 49

Mayoral Notes

January 28, 2022 by Maggi Barnard

Happy New Year to you all. I know we are almost into the second month but as this is my first column for the year I wanted to wish you all the very best for what I hope will be a great year. I look forward to working with my fellow Councillors to bring out the best in this great Shire we live in.

The year has started however with many cases of COVID-19 in our community and as our politicians have stated it is a virus we have to learn to live with. I encourage those who are eligible to get booster shots.

The Shire is in for a busy year in the sense of the projects we have on the board to complete. Goldridge Estate is progressing very well and Stage Two is now on the market. Works continue at the old Lachlan Vintage Village to turn this space into our new Tourist Information Centre and Café.

The Lake Forbes Activation Plan beautification work will also continue this year with the turning of the old Ambulance Centre into a world-class art gallery about to begin very soon.

Our industrial land is set to expand with the development of more sites at Central West Industrial Park. As our industrial site and Landrace is nearly at capacity proving business is growing here in Forbes, and we need to provide the land for it to do so.

Take care and God Bless.

Your Mayor,
Phyllis Miller

Mayoral Notes

November 5, 2021 by Maggi Barnard

Wow, wasn’t Taste on Templar spectacular last weekend! I want to congratulate the Forbes Business Chamber on this wonderful event, I’ve heard nothing but positive comments from everyone. This event space will see many events over the coming years and I can’t wait to share the next installment of improvements in the coming months when pergolas will be installed at all corners of the street.

This week will be our last Council Meeting for this Council term. It has been a long term, that is for sure, but I would like to thank my fellow Councillors’ in achieving as much as we have over the last five and a bit years. We truly have the community’s best interest at heart when we are making decisions in the Chamber.

We have had our challenges during this time; drought, Covid-19 and a record capital program to deliver on. We are all very proud to have the largest residential estate in Forbes’ history on the market and new developments around our beautiful Lake. This coupled with the developments at the Central West Livestock Exchange and our Industrial Estates sees a very bright future for our manufacturing, agriculture and industries in the Shire. We are also very proud to do all of this and not be in the red!

This column will be handed over to our General Manager, Steve Loane, for the next 6-8 weeks while the Local Government elections take place.

Take care and God Bless.

Your Mayor,
Phyllis Miller

Mayoral Notes

October 29, 2021 by Maggi Barnard

We are so excited to see Templar Street host the first event since the refurbishment of this wonderful space. Taste on Templar tickets have sold out and the Business Chamber is expecting over 300 people to attend the event. I would like to congratulate the team for pulling this event together through such a tumultuous time.

Council is aware of the local snake handler planning to retire. Whilst snake catching isn’t part of Council’s core community function we can announce that two staff are being trained to help with snake catching duties around town. Council will provide snake catching services on an ‘as available basis’ between the hours of 8am – 5pm Monday to Friday during the seasons of high snake activity. Council has approached the retiring Forbes’ local reptile handler to provide mentoring and support to our Council Rangers throughout the cur-rent snake season.

Take care and God Bless.

Your Mayor,
Phyllis Miller

Mayoral Notes

October 15, 2021 by Maggi Barnard

This week has been dubbed Freedom Week by our State Government but I know many of you are feeling less free than you were before.

We understand your frustration but we ask you bear with the changes as it won’t be for long. Our vaccination rates are looking very strong and when the State gets to 80% you will see a lot of the new rules disappear.

Some of our Council facilities require you to prove your double vaccination status. This is stated in the Public Health Order. The facilities include; Forbes Visitor Information Centre, Forbes Library, Forbes Olympic Pool and the Youth & Community Centre.

Town Hall and the Central West Livestock Exchange are currently exempt from the double vax rule but do have capacity limits of 1 person per square metre indoors and 1 person per square metre outdoors. We will keep you updated as the rules change.

I would like you all to get excited about Australia Day 2022 and start nominating people for the prestigious Citizen of the Year Awards. There are three awards; Citizen of the Year (any age) Young Citizen of the Year (25 years or younger) and Senior Citizen of the Year (65 years and older).

Next year we hope to be able to all come together to party! Then on Australia Day we will have a full day of fun.

Take care and God Bless.
Your Mayor,
Phyllis Miller

Mayoral Notes

October 8, 2021 by Maggi Barnard

Well what a week in politics! First the resignation of the Premier Gladys Berejiklian and then the deputy, John Barilaro. I welcome Dominic Perrottet to the Premier role and wish him all the very best. I want to extend my sincere thanks to Gladys and John for their time in government, I feel they have served the State very well and I wish them both well in their future endeavors.

Now have you heard the incredible news, Goldridge Estate has gone on the market and the first Stage is nearly completely sold! Our Ballot Night last Thursday was a huge success and all 13 lots sold on the night. The following day another eight were under offer, leaving only 2 blocks left in Phase 4! This is a tremendous result with 21 blocks sold in 36 hours of launch, a record and proves the need for more housing. We are fast-tracking Stage 2 now to get this on the market as soon as possible. Stay tuned, we will let you know more very soon.

In other great news our COVID vaccination rates are well over the 90% for first dose and the ADF and Western Area Health are back again at Town Hall this coming weekend to administer second doses of AstraZeneca as well as any first doses of either Pfizer and AstraZeneca. No need to book an appointment, you can just walk in.

Take care and God Bless.

Your Mayor,
Phyllis Miller

Mayoral Notes

October 1, 2021 by Maggi Barnard

We are very excited to have our amazing Olympic Pool open for the season this weekend. The newly renovated toddlers pool will also be open to be tried out by the littlies. There are a few new rules associated with the opening during COVID times to keep staff and fellow patrons safe. These include checking in with a QR code and capacity limits are in place. If you are unwell please do not come to the pool. Get tested and when you receive a negative result you may go then.

Thank you to all the wonderful attendees at the Be Road Ready for Harvest Virtual Field Day last week. It was a huge success and looks like we are in for another bumper harvest season.

Speaking of roads, we are asking everyone to be careful this long weekend on our roads. Please be careful this weekend, we want you all back safe and sound. Police will be out and they are promoting their “stop it or cop it” campaign.

I would like to encourage everyone to get behind our NAIDOC celebrations this year in November. We are calling out for nominations for the awards component and this year we will be awarding two awards; Indigenous Young Achiever Male and Female (Under 18 years of age). We have some amazing young people in our community and we would like to recognise them.

Take care and God Bless.

Your Mayor,
Phyllis Miller

Mayoral Notes

September 17, 2021 by Maggi Barnard

It’s the question on everyone’s lips at the moment, how is the COVID situation in Forbes? We haven’t had any new cases this past week which is really good news. The Australian Defence Force is back in Forbes this weekend to administer the second doses to those who took part a few weeks ago. You will be contacted by West-ern NSW Local Health District by either text or telephone to confirm. Make sure you bring your Medicare card.

There has been some concerns about the pool not opening the beginning of October and we are working with NSW Health to see if we can rectify this. We will keep you updated.

Our wonderful Works team along with Darren Cowan Welding and Knights Cranes have been very busy during this lockdown. We are planning to party when the rules change and this is the location we want to hold that party!

Some of you may have seen the visuals of the future furniture work to be done in Templar Street on social media. It is so exciting, I cannot wait to see this street come together. This work has been funded by Stronger Country Communities and Building Better Regions and we cannot be more thankful to the State and Federal Government’s for this amazing contribution.

Fingers crossed we will be out of lock-down very soon, say a prayer we can open up to our new normal life.

Your Mayor,
Phyllis Miller

Mayoral Notes

September 10, 2021 by Maggi Barnard

What a wet welcome to Spring we are having. There is a lot of water around and it is important we do prepare for flood, particularly if you are in low lying areas of town, should a flood come. This may involve tiding around your yard, talk to neighbours about what the flood was like last time and gather those important numbers like the SES 132 500, just in case you need them. The flood can behave differently every time and it is important we are prepared whichever way it decides to come. Rocky from Forbes SES has been busy preparing sandbags should you need them, just give them a call on 132 500.

I want to thank Deputy Premier, John Barilaro, for the amazing job he is doing for us in rural and regional NSW during this pandemic. He is ensuring we are not forgotten in Sydney and the community feels safe and very grateful for all that you are doing.

Work continues down at Lions Park constructing the new stage area and the Lachlan Vintage Village conversion to our new Visitor Information Centre is looking great. The wet weather has slowed up some of the road works and development up at the new Goldridge Estate but with this fine weather on the radar, we can get back into it. We will keep you updated through Facebook as we know you can’t get out and about to see.

Take care and God Bless.

Your Mayor,
Phyllis Miller

Mayoral Notes

September 3, 2021 by Maggi Barnard

Thank you to all who came down to Town Hall over the weekend to be vaccinated at the Western NSW Health District pop-up clinic. 1,224 people came through the doors to get vaccinated and this is fantastic news for our community, as at 1st September 2021 the Forbes Shire sits at 79% having received their first dose. This is great news and I encourage everyone to continue to seek vaccination through our Medical Centres and Pharmacies to ensure the majority are vaccinated. This is the way out, majority vaccination and life can go back to a “new” normal.

You may have noticed or heard there is a lot water around Forbes at the moment. Wyangala Dam has been releasing water gradually and is sitting at 99.7% at the moment, last week it was well over 100%. WaterNSW do need to manage the dam levels though as a result. I urge everyone to sign up to our SMS emergency messaging system, should there be a flood come through which could affect houses we will notify everyone so everyone can activate their flood plans. Either call Council or email forbes@forbes.nsw.gov.au your mobile number and name and we will pop you on the list.

Goldridge Estate has now gone on the market. The Estate will be sold through the local Real Estate Agents; Century 21, LJ Hooker, Michael Robinson and Ray White. Please contact them for more details.

Take care and God Bless.

Your Mayor,
Phyllis Miller

FSC Wants You To Have Your Say!

August 27, 2021 by Maggi Barnard

Council is excited to be continuing the development of the Central West Industrial Park (CWIP) to the advantage of economic opportunity locally and across the region.

The Forbes Central West Industrial Park boasts access to the most affordable water in the Central West with secure availability and access to each site. With a strong, established agricultural sector and the nearby Parkes Special Activation Precinct (SAP), this area is ripe for the development of water-intensive businesses like no other industrial precinct in the Central West. Strategically located on the Newell Highway, halfway between Melbourne and Brisbane, with approved road train access to the site, it presents unparalleled benefits for industrial developments. The CWIP has the added bonus of sizing a block to the purchaser’s needs due to its ability to create bespoke lots as a result of its Greenfield nature, thus, giving developers a unique ability to expand in the future.

Council is seeking feedback from the community to help us choose the name for a street located in the Central West Industrial Park.

You can put forward your suggestions by writing a letter to Council or completing the YourSay Survey. Head over to Your Say here: https://yoursay.forbes.nsw.gov.au/

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