NEWS DESK
CEO Kansas trip costs ratepayers Neil Walker neil@baysidenews.com.au
Voices from the valleys: James Marrs, left, Lindsay Richardson and Gordon Donaldson enjoy singing for the Australian Welsh Male Choir’s Frankston group. Picture: Gary Sissons
Wales calling for choir singers MEN with a penchant for singing and who can carry a tune are invited to be part of the Australian Welsh Male Choir’s Frankston group. The choristers, who will perform at a combined concert with the Cranbourne Chorale Frankston this week and are touring Asia next year, are seeking new voices to join up in time for a UK tour in 2018. The Asian tour will take in Taipei, Beijing and Shanghai, and the choir will perform with local groups, including with the Hong Kong Welsh Male Choir. Choir secretary James Marrs said the main requirement was a love of singing and sharing the joy of music with others. “It’s lots of fun and there are opportunities for friendship and mentoring,” he said. Mornington Peninsula resident and choir member Geoff Selby said several men also sang with the School of Hard Knocks, Voices of Frankston, and had forged a supportive,
mentoring role with the singers. The 60-member choir is affiliated with the Association of Welsh Male Choirs based in Wales and sings in four-part male harmony, the traditional format for Welsh choirs. The Australian Welsh Male Choir recently celebrated its 40th anniversary of providing enjoyment and entertainment to music lovers around the world. The choir regularly provide concerts throughout Australia, and in 1984, when touring the UK, became the first choir from outside Wales to sing at the 1000 Voice Festival of Male Choirs at the Royal Albert Hall in London. The choir - directed by Tom Buchanan – is well travelled and has returned to the UK several times since then. Hong Kong, China and Taiwan is on the itinerary for March 2017. The Australian Welsh Male Choir and the Cranbourne Chorale will sing Christmas music at Frankston Uniting Church, High St, on 3 December, 2pm. Liz Bell
RATEPAYERS will foot part of the bill for a trip to Kansas by two Frankston Council executives in September. Council CEO Dennis Hovenden and community services manager Gillian Kay travelled to the US to attend an International City/County Management Association event for 10 days in September, including overseas travel time. Six weeks after initial inquiries about the Kansas trip, Mr Hovenden confirmed expenses of about $5000 including ICMA conference registration, flights and accommodation will be billed to ratepayers. “The ICMA covered costs related to the board meeting, while council paid half of the expenses to attend the conference at a total of approximately $3100,” a statement from Mr Hovenden said. The CEO said council sent representatives to the ICMA conference for “professional development, exploration of contemporary practice, international leadership and mentoring and exploring opioid epidemic and solution”. Mr Hovenden said the ICMA usually covers the costs of board members to attend meetings except when a board meeting coincides with an annual conference. The CEO is an ICMA regional vice president and is one of three international representatives on the 21-member board of the US organisation that
describes itself as “the professional and educational association for appointed local government administrators throughout the world”. “Attendance at both the board meeting and conference is a part of my professional development and allowed which resulted in me having to submit an annual leave request for one day,” Mr Hovenden said. “It should be noted that as is the case always when I am involved in [ICMA] board duties or on annual leave I still make myself available to the mayor, councillors and staff to respond to any issues and indeed follow the progress of various issues.” The mayor Cr Brian Cunial called unanswered questions about the CEO’s whereabouts last month an “abhorrent and deeply regrettable” media intrusion into Mr Hovenden’s family life (“’Intrusive’ CEO trip questions blasted”, The Times 28/11/16). Mr Hovenden attended an ICMA conference in Georgia for three days in November then stayed on in the US for a personal holiday. The mayor said council did not pay any expenses. ICMA board members will meet again in Las Vegas in February next year, Colorado next June and Texas in October. A 2-4 December “conference planners” meeting was held in San Antonio in Texas. Mr Hovenden said in his statement late on Friday afternoon that he did not head to San Antonio. “This is a subcommittee of the main board and I am not involved.”
Nature strip plan Trump-ed Neil Walker neil@baysidenews.com.au THE blossoming of tens of thousands of nature strips across Frankston has been put on ice despite a councillor’s assertion that the looming reality of a Donald Trump presidency in the US showed people want to grow their own food. Councillors at last Monday’s public council meeting decided 4-5 not to push ahead with a feasibility study to determine if Frankston residents could safely plant flowers and vegetables on councilowned nature strips. South ward councillor Steve Toms wanted councillors to back his proposal
to have council officers report back to councillors on any benefits and risks if a ban on planting flowers and veggies was abolished. “This practice is successfully managed within other councils around Victoria and interstate,” Cr Toms’ notice of motion stated. “With its sustainable city reputation, Frankston City Council should support and encourage innovative and creative practices within the community which could also benefit wildlife and be attractive to the eye.” Cr Sandra Mayer supported the planting of veggies on nature strips and said Donald Trump was elected US President because people are unhappy at “the 1 per
cent” controlling the world’s food supply. “Monsanto owns a lot of the seed supply around the world and our food supply,” Cr Mayer said. “People are now rebelling against [it] thus why Donald Trump has been elected. People are fed up. We’ve got to start taking control back. Not everyone has a garden.” Cr Mayer said people concerned about the cost of rates and the cost of living could see financial stress “eased a little bit” if they are allowed to grow their own food on nature strips. Cr Toms said the beautification and food growing potential of nature strips was raised by many ratepayers when he
doorknocked on the campaign trail before last month’s council elections. “Residents were very keen, particularly in Frankston South, to plant on their nature strips – this is commonly referred to as ‘verge planting’ and it’s something that happens around … this wonderful country of ours.” Some other councillors were wary of legal implications for council. Ratepayers could face legal costs if accidents occurred on nature strips depending on any changes made by homeowners, Cr Glenn Aitken said. “You could have garden stakes … at an angle and a kid runs into it, who is liable? Is it the person who put the stake in? The reality is if council said you could put the
stake in and a kid pokes their eye out it could be deemed, I would have thought, that council would have a degree of liability.” Vegetation growing over footpaths could be another problem, according to Cr Colin Hampton. Crs Brian Cunial, Hampton, Mayer and Toms voted to request a council officer report on lifting any ban on nature strip plantings. Crs Aitken, Bolam, Lillian O’Connor, Michael O’Reilly and Quinn McCormack did not back a report. Ratepayers in neighbouring Mornington Peninsula Shire can apply for a permit to make “landscape alterations” with council approval to nature strips.
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Frankston Times 5 December 2016
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