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5 Tuesday, 21 August, 2018
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Hay - here’s some help By Casey Neill Lilydale Rotarians and Gruyere farmers are helping drought-stricken farmers in Bairnsdale. The Rotary Club of Lilydale received a $10,000 donation from the estate of a former Rotarian. Member Lynn Whelan said that he was also a farmer, so the club thought it fitting that his generosity would support other farmers in need. They sourced hay from Rob Bennett in Gruyere. "We're farmers ourselves," Rob's wife Liz told the Mail. "We have a property that's in drought and a property that's not in drought. "We had to help." She said it had been too cold and there hadn't been enough rain. "The grass is just not growing," she said. "We've bought water." On Friday 17 August, two trucks rolled onto they property and were loaded with 78 bales of hay, including six donated by a Seville East farmer. Ms Whelan had reached out to truck
Rotary Club of Lilydale's Ron Haines and Lynn Whelan.
manufacturer Kenworth and sourced free transport through Grinter Transport Services and Willaton Transport Group. Two drivers volunteered to make the four-hour, 300 kilometre journey free of charge. Rotary Club of Lilydale president Ron Haines said he spoke to the Department of Agriculture. "And they indicated the farmers in Bairnsdale were in drought and struggling," he said. "We wanted to keep it in Victoria." The National Farmers' Federation and the Rotary Club of Bairnsdale will distribute the donation at the end of its journey. Mr Haines said this would also include $6000 in grain and fuel vouchers. "It's fantastic. We're pretty excited about it," he said. "Every cent is going to farmers." The Rotary Club of Lilydale meets every second Tuesday at 6.30pm at L'auberge in Lilydale. Call Mr Haines on 0412 252 344 to donate to the famers or get involved with the club.
Demolition delay Cr Jim Child rebutted Cr Heenan’s alternate recommendation and said he believed there was little interest from community groups in utilising the space. “We’ve gone through a considerable exercise with this building,” he said. “Cr (Noel) Cliff raised the issue months ago and that didn’t come to fruition, and I believe if we had people waiting in the wings they’d be coming forward. “I think we as councillors get a feel for what’s happening on the ground and we’d know if someone was waiting there to take up this building...it’s just the next step in finalising the development of that site.” Mayor Len Cox was quick to mention that the Montrose Men’s Shed had raised interest in
using the site and that if removed, there would be no available public amenities in Montrose. “A group of them are interested in steel work and asked me a few weeks ago whether they could use this building," he said. “It’s possibly worth just giving them a chance.” According to the council report, no formal consultation has been undertaken in relation to redeveloping the maternal centre site, apart from what was originally mentioned in the feasibility study for the Montrose Town Centre redevelopment. Crs Heenan, Avery, Clarke, McAllister and Cox moved to conduct a review of public interest in the site and to delay the demolition for another six months.
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Yarra Ranges councillors voted to delay demolishing the former Montrose Maternal Child Health Centre. At the Yarra Ranges Council meeting on 14 August, Councillor Tim Heenan spoke about his hesitation to ‘write-off’ the building. The demolition has already been delayed by several months, after councillors deferred the decision in November last year to undertake a feasibility study into whether the site could be used by Mount Evelyn social enterprise Tasty Az. Since then, Tasty Az has found a new location and rather than demolish the building, Cr Heenan requested that another six months be made available to find a suitor.
“I have an adverse objection to how we are going to take buildings down, demolish buildings or get rid of land - anything that’s a council asset without having due consideration for the possible future,” he said. “It shouldn’t be that when a facility is finished in its present use that we need to have it demolished or sold. “I’m sure if we dig much deeper we might find a use for this.” In the council report, it is proposed that the property be retained and the existing building be demolished to provide the town centre with a larger open space. One of the suggestions is to use this space as car park for Montrose Town Centre facility users.
12395468-RA35-18
By Derek Schlennstedt