Hasn’t the spring weather been simply amazing! I do hope everyone has been outside enjoying it. This week I’ve been busy catching up on many things like the future tourism strategy, Forbes’ economic development and heritage conservation for the Shire. It is so important we continue to plan for future tourism despite what is going on with travel being discouraged. Forbes is situated in an ideal location on the Newell Highway with many accommodation options and wonderful attractions to draw people to stop and stay for a few days. We do however need to have a plan to ensure we can provide all the amenities to entice the intrepid traveller.

Last weekend the Cumberland Bird Observatory came to Forbes to visit our Gum Swamp Wildlife Reserve. They were blown away with the area and the diverse array of birds to be found there. Their words were “first class!” Currently Council is working with the Forbes Art Society to install new bird hides and the area has been closed off for the installation and construction stage.

In the coming months you will hear many helpful hints and encouragement from Council to join in throwing your scraps into the green bin and not in the red bin. I hope you will all join me in trying to reduce organic waste going into landfill and instead, be processed into beautiful organic soil for our farmers.

Winter has most certainly made its presence felt last week and with it brought more welcome rain which we are ever so grateful for. I would like to remind everyone that the Community Funding Program round is due to close on Monday, 31 August 2020. If you have not already applied for the grant, you need to get your applications in as soon as possible. With limited funds and a highly competitive process you must get in quick to ensure your project or service is in the running.

Some of you may have noticed the red garbage bins being audited last week in the early hours. We did not intend to alarm any of you at all however, this investigation was important for us to conduct and it had to be done unannounced to ensure that we achieved the most authentic results.

It was found that there are large amounts of food scraps going into landfill which could be placed in the Food Organics and Garden Organics (FOGO) bins. The investigation was conducted in order to achieve a baseline for which we hope to improve on. The scraps decomposing in our landfill goes on to release excess methane gases into the atmosphere and we wish to reduce this significantly. I beg you to take a small amount of time to dispose of your waste considerably. If you do not have a Kitchen Caddy, please contact our Waste and Environment Officer and he will arrange a new one for you. If you have chooks, which a lot of you do, or maybe a neighbour does, you can also feed them. We must all do our part to stop excess waste going into our landfill.

This week is our August Council Meeting and I am excited to see all the wonderful projects Council has been busy with. You would have noticed work has begun in Templar Street with the new sewer pipes being installed. This work will be staged so traffic can continue to travel through the street without too much disruption.

I have inspected the new planter boxes which are going in as well. These are being manufactured locally and they look amazing!

Work has begun in Lions Park with new toilets and a car park on Junction Street. This Park never ceases to amaze me, it is such a lovely place to have a picnic, watch the local bird life, or to grab a coffee. The new parking bays will hold 20 spaces.

This month I have written to the National Cabinet calling on the NSW Premier to help ensure Local Government is represented on the National Cabinet. It is important our voices are heard on a National level. Local Government is on the ground and we know the issues in our community.

It has been a wet week here in Forbes and we do appreciate your patience with the road and carpark issues we are experiencing from the wet weather. Our crews are out and about trying to rectify these issues. After such a long period of little to no rain, we must be thankful for this rain, hopefully it continues so our farmers can get through the season with some great rewards.

Templar Street work will begin next week with the new sewer channels being installed. One lane at a time will be closed whilst this work is carried out. Your patience is appreciated, but it will look great when the work is done, which will be before Christmas.

Work on the Junction Street Carpark at Lions Park will be beginning very soon, pend- ing weather conditions. This will see twenty, all reverse parking, 45 degree spaces installed.

Just reminding everyone the COVID-19 drive through clinic in Hill Street is operating Monday, Wednesday, and Friday from 8am until 1pm. You must have a doctor’s referral though before heading to the service. I want to remind everyone we are not out of the woods with COVID-19 and we must all continue the good work by socially distancing, washing our hands and coughing into our elbows. We can’t afford to be complacent when you see how easily this virus can spread, we need to remain vigilant.

It has been another busy week in our Shire and the growing uncertainty around the situation in Victoria swells. I want you all to know I am working hard to ensure our community is safe and I ask you all to continue the good work of remaining socially distanced when out and about. If unwell, stay home and get tested. This week a COVID-19 testing centre has opened in Forbes. We have partnered with Western NSW PHN to provide a COVID-19 testing clinic three days a week in Hill Street at the back of JREC. This testing clinic operates on a referral system so you will need to contact your GP to arrange a referral before heading down to the testing clinic. This service will be open on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays between 8am and 1pm. Even the mildest of symptoms can be associated with the disease so please get tested.

NSW Health are recommending wearing a mask when out in public. I have been wearing one and it is uncomfortable but I do believe it is necessary so I will keep wearing it. There has been talk in

the media about masks being compulsory at the Central West Livestock Exchange. We have not made it compulsory to wear masks, but safety at this site is key. This means responsibility is being taken at all levels and one of our buyers, Fletchers are insisting their staff wear a mask on sale day. We continue to ask people to remain away from the yards if they are not required to be there and if unwell, not to come to the yards at all. This facility is essential, and we need to ensure it can remain open and business can take place as usual.

Last but not least, we have been celebrating Local Government Week this week. It gives us the opportunity to highlight all the wonderful things Council does in the community. It is often thought Council only deals with roads, rates, and rubbish, but we do so much more than that! The last 12 months have been one of the toughest years to date with droughts, fires and now the pandemic. They all affect our community and it is Council’s job to ensure we get through it as best as we can, both personally and economically. We don’t want to blow our own trumpet but we do want to share the ways in which we help our community, share the services we provide and how we would like our community to grow and prosper.

God Bless
Your Mayor,
Phyllis Miller