YOUR AU GU ST 2012
MAYOR’S I hope you find this colourful little publication to be a good read and packed with useful information about council services and what’s on around the region.
There are plenty of events to help you enjoy the final burst of winter. National attention will focus on the Jackie Howe Festival of the Golden Shears at the Jondaryan Woolshed from August 31 to September 2. Life on a 1890s Darling Downs grazing property will be recreated over the three days in a spectacular salute to the region’s agricultural pioneers. On Friday, August 31 the glory days of the woolshed will be revived when wool classers, shearers, tar boys, rouseabouts, shed boys and bullock teams will transform the historic precinct.
It is part of our plan to better inform residents directly. There are more improvements on the way and I’m looking forward to hearing from our residents. I hope you enjoy this monthly update on your council. Paul Antonio MAYOR On Saturday, September 1 gun shearers from across Australia and overseas will vie for the Jackie Howe trophy. For more details, please visit www. goldenshearsfestival.com Busy time for Millmerran Millmerran is gearing up for a busy round of events starting with the ninth annual Sheep Races on Saturday, August 25. The nation’s top bush cooks will test their skills at the Australian Camp Oven Festival on October 6 and 7. Championship and beginner’s cooking competitions are among the featured events along with a host of bush poetry and top music acts. For more details please visit our website.
Swing into spring at Flower, Food and Wine Festival Join the festive buzz at the Toowoomba Carnival of Flowers opening weekend in Queens Park from Friday 21 to Sunday 23 September. Carnival events continue around the city up to Sunday, September 30. Upper Queens Park bursts to life with the return of the popular Ergon Energy Flower, Food and Wine Festival. Leading Scottish floral designer Alison Bradley will offer expert tips. Green thumbs and novices also can brush up on gardening and horticultural advice. Better Homes and Gardens’ Graham Ross will headline speakers at the Garden Space from 10am-7pm over the three days. His colleague and popular chef Fast Ed Halmagyi will transform regional delights at the new Farm to Plate attraction. Chefs will run cooking demos and match regional food and wine in a series of talks from 10am-4pm daily. Visitors can sample the goodies.
Junior festival-goers will be catered for with their own food, design and play sessions and a display of native wildlife. Music lovers will be treated to eight headline acts at the Heritage Bank Live Concert Series. Tickets can be pre-purchased via the Carnival website. Daily adult tickets are $25 or $60 for a three-day pass. Daily concession and children’s tickets are $12. Visit www.tcof.com.au for all Carnival bookings, news and timetables.
Recycling, garden waste service expanding from July 2013 A 240 litre yellow lid recycling bin service will be provided to residents in all serviced areas across the Toowoomba region from July 1 next year when the eight current contracts expire. Existing contractual arrangements make it impossible to expand recycling services before the new contract starts. Green waste bins will also be available where there is a demand and it is financially sustainable to provide the additional service. Council awarded the Waste, Recyclables and Garden Waste collection services contract to J.J. Richards and Sons at the July ordinary meeting. The fortnightly recycling bin service will be extended to all serviced areas for the first time under the $73.9 million contract.
The agreement initially is for seven years with an option to extend to 10 years. Interested parties were invited to submit offers to provide the collection services as part of a public tender process that was advertised in February 2012. Tenders closed in April 2012 and over the past three months council officers evaluated the tender documents received. Council plans to deliver recycling bins to properties in serviced areas in June 2013 before the new service starts in July 2013. Council also has the capacity to expand affordable services across the region where it is cost effective and the road network is suitable for collection trucks to operate. Details of the new service areas will be announced at a future date.
25 July – 9 September Gallery 1
g.w. bot: the long paddock A 30 YEAR SURVEY This touring exhibition showcases Bot’s prints, paintings, artist’s books and sculpture. This exhibition is supported by Visions of Australia, an Australian Government program supporting touring exhibitions by providing funding assistance for the development and touring of Australian cultural material across Australia.
g.w. BOT Australglyph deciphered, mother and child, 2006 linocut on Magnani paper 92 x 52cm
531 Ruthven Street • P 07 4688 6652 • E art@toowoombaRC.qld.gov.au Gallery hours Tuesday - Saturday 10am - 4pm, Sunday 1pm - 4pm
MO N THLY CHANGE for the better
The new CHANGE Project aims to help you fit healthy changes into your life by providing free and low cost programs to get active, live well and eat well. For more information phone 131 872, email change@toowoombarc.qld.gov.au or visit www.toowoombarc.qld.gov.au/change
A warm welcome
Toowoomba’s Warm Welcome function, hosted by TRC, gives newcomers to the region the chance to meet councillors and other new residents. It also lets attendees learn more about their new home, services and community groups in the area. The next event is on Friday, September 7 from 5.30pm to 7.30pm at the Toowoomba Regional Art Gallery, 531 Ruthven Street. To attend, please contact Barbara Gooch by email Barbara.Gooch@toowoombaRC. qld.gov.au or call 131 872.
Highfields Sports Precinct
The plans for Kratzke and Kuhls roads are progressing well with consultation ongoing between council and many sporting organisations, community groups and residents. These groups
have provided constructive ideas and contributed to the successful future planning of both reserves ahead of the more difficult challenge of sourcing funding for identified upgrades.
Literacy, numeracy classes
Literacy and numeracy sessions are held at Toowoomba City Library, Victoria Street from 1pm-3pm on Tuesdays. As part of the National Year of Reading 2012 council is offering the tutorials with Southern Queensland Institute of TAFE. A specialist teacher takes lessons. Please ask at the library enquiry desk or call 4688 6670.
Council meetings
Council committee meetings are held on the second Tuesday and second Wednesday of each month. The Planning and Development, Water and Waste and Infrastructure committees meet at 9am on Tuesdays. The Environment and Community and the Finance and Business Strategy committees meet at 9am on Wednesdays. The next committee meetings will be Tuesday 14 and Wednesday August 15. The Ordinary Meeting of Council is held on the third
Tuesday of each month, from 4pm. The next Ordinary Meeting of Council is on Tuesday, August 21. All meetings are held at City Hall, Ruthven Street, Toowoomba.
Join a global Festival
Toowoomba’s Languages and Cultures Festival promises to be a fun day for the whole family. The festival will be packed with visual treats, entertainment, international foods, language workshops, dance displays and school activities as well as food and market stalls offering gifts and culinary treats from around the world. The event is on Sunday, August 12 from 10am to 4pm in Queens Park, Toowoomba with entry just a gold coin donation.
TRAG first floor closed
Toowoomba Regional Art Gallery’s first floor will be closed for renovations until August 29. Council apologises to the public for any inconvenience. Patrons can make prior plans to gain access to items in the Bolton Reading Room. The ground floor remains open as usual with all exhibitions as scheduled.
Check Youth Connect activities
Check council’s website for coming activities in the Youth Connect program. More sessions are planned for spring. Also keep up to date via facebook.
Download waste calendars
The 2012/2013 calendars listing waste collection dates for Toowoomba City residents (former Toowoomba City Council area) are available to download from council’s website at www.toowoombaRC. qld.gov.au Council libraries offer free internet access to residents. These calendars will not be delivered to letterboxes. If you are unsure which calendar is relevant to you, or you are unable to access the internet, please call council on 131 872.
Donate a book for Angels
Toowoomba Regional Library Service is supporting a program run by children’s charity The Pyjama Foundation to ensure the joy of reading reaches as many young people as possible in this year’s National Year of Reading. Residents are encouraged to leave donations of new and clean reading books in the box near Toowoomba City Library’s lift on the ground floor.
After hours emergencies
Don’t forget in a life-threatening situation call triple zero (000) but for matters such as burst water mains, blocked sewers or dog attacks after hours, please contact council’s emergency number 131 872.
Gowrie Glencoe Road is now complete.
Flood recovery program moves south A significant dent has been made in council’s flood recovery roadworks program over the past six months with almost 200 projects now completed.
Rest pedestrian bridges in Crows Nest and several other major projects nearing completion, many motorists will be seeing improvements on their roads.
The NDRRA (Natural Disaster Relief and Recovery Arrangements) funded program involves around 1300 individual works projects identified across the Toowoomba region, funded 75% by the federal government and 25% by the state.
Wet weather in June and July caused the delay of several projects. Constructions crews from Probuild Civil, Civil Mining and Construction (CMC) and F K Gardner and Sons (FKG) continue to work through their project lists while supporting the local economies in areas where they’re based.
The works have been packaged according to northern, central and southern parts of the region. With the central region – in and around Toowoomba, Oakey East and Oakey West - now 99% complete, the main focus of the program has shifted to the southern areas. With the completion of Jellicoe Street bridge, Emu Creek Road culverts, Evanslea Road, Gowrie Glencoe Road and Bullocky’s
Due to the sheer volume of flood repair works happening across the region, some interesting statistics can be extracted: • 5000 tonnes of gravel being used per day • 5km of gravel road being laid per day • About 1.7 million tonnes of material will be used across the region during the program.
Council slashes development red tape Council has changed the way development applications may be lodged to help reduce the time and cost to applicants. Applications can now be lodged using a CD or thumb drive, with two hardcopy versions to be submitted as well. The files must meet certain standards which are detailed in the following information sheets: INFO 005 Minimum Documentation and INFO 028 Guide to Making Development Applications, found on council’s website. Applications may still be lodged in hardcopy only format however, five hardcopy versions of all documents must be submitted. Council is conscious of the environmental impact of the hardcopy lodgement process and that’s why reducing the number of hardcopy applications required from five to two will significantly reduce the amount of paper used in the assessment process, thereby reducing our carbon footprint.
It will also reduce ‘red tape’ associated with application submissions leading to a quicker lodgement and assessment process. This change has coincided with the start of council’s new Regional Planning Scheme which commenced on July 1, 2012. For more information, please see the article “Toowoomba Regional Council adopts new Regional Planning Scheme” on council’s website or call 131 872 to speak to a planner.
Top service rewarded Council’s customer service centre nudged out a strong field early last month to emerge as the State winner of the 2012 Contact Centre of the Year (in the category of 30 or less fulltime employees). And more good news could be on the way when the centre is judged among finalists in the National Award for Implementation Category in September. In addition, Coordinator of Customer Service Allan Luther was named a finalist in the Champion of the Year (Operations). As Australia’s peak body for the Contact Centre industry, the ATA Awards are highly
Executive Project Specialist Paula Grant and Customer Service Manager Malcolm Angell accept the award from Paul Edmondson, of platinum sponsor Avaya at the ceremony.
sought after and represent the very best in contact centre service.
Park users have say on dog areas Park users have called for a voice on dog off-leash areas in the TRC area. And council has listened. A campaign which began on July 4 invited the community to provide their opinions and ideas on the creation of dog off-leash areas in council parks around the region.
Large blue signs alerting park users to the survey were erected throughout the region. TRC staff members were available at various times during the four-week survey period to help with any enquiries or to assist residents fill out their questionnaires.
Planning blueprint points to future Bringing eight different former separate planning schemes into one has been no mean feat for council’s planning team. To be the first amalgamated council in the State to develop a planning scheme under new legislation introduced in 2009 is worth crowing about. The new scheme has created a vision and set of planning requirements for the region - one region one plan. Soon after amalgamation in December 2008 council officers commenced preparing the new planning scheme. Over 700 submissions were received and considered during the exhibition period The campaign aimed to involve as many people as possible to help make the right decisions for all park users. The survey closed in late July. Council received an outstanding response with almost 1000 questionnaires completed. This information will be used as council decides on any amendments to the Local Laws - we’ll keep you informed.
from July to September 2011. The scheme was modified in response to issues raised in the submissions and the final planning scheme was adopted by council in March 2012 and commenced on 1 July this year. So what are the highlights of the new planning scheme and what were the main challenges in its creation? Creating greater diversity in housing to meet the needs of all residents was an important consideration in formulating the new planning scheme. Housing over 90,000 new residents over the next 20 years is a key challenge for all of us - check out the scheme through PD Online, via council’s website.
If you’d like to know more about council’s services and facilities, make sure you tune in to Council Connections, TRC’s weekly television segment on Channel 7. The program is broadcast each Sunday around 5.50pm and is repeated the following Monday during the Sunrise program. The new series starts on August 12.
Everything you need to know - Toowoomba Regional Council - @ToowoombaRC
You can view council’s website www.toowoombaRC.qld.gov.au for weekly updates on the following: • Jobs available at council • Roadworks planned for each week • Community Information Directory • Events register • Online mapping • Pet registration forms • Grant information • Library catalogue • Cemetery search • Art collection catalogue Please contact us if you need help finding particular information on our website.
PO Box 3021, Toowoomba Village Fair QLD 4350 P 131 TRC (131 872) E info@toowoombaRC.qld.gov.au W www.toowoombaRC.qld.gov.au