Hello everyone
Community effort is essential
To everyone in the Howard Springs area if you have been driving past the Howard Park Recreation Reserve you would have noticed the works being undertaken on the BMX track and skate park. I have been asked why is it taking so long and what is happening with the project. This project is being undertaken by volunteers, and sometimes it takes longer to do than if it was does under a contract. I have asked for a completion date and have been told that the job is being done by volunteers. Volunteers are people who contribute their time and effort and money at no cost to the community. With volunteer projects like this one it will take longer to complete the job.
If you would like to speed the job up by contributing your time your effort or your money, please contact Gerry Wood as he is coordinating it.
I would like to thank Mark Brustolin and his crew of volunteers for all they have done, in all they are going to be doing, this isn’t a small job so if your going past and you see them working hard give them a wave and a toot to say thanks for all their efforts as volunteers.
The By-Election for the Central Ward,
I have to say thank you to Terry Richards for his commitment to the Community and the work he put in for the time that he was Central Ward Councillor. Now I would like to congratulate and welcome aboard the new Central Ward Councillor Judy Cole. I know Judy will bring with her a lot of community ideas and is committed to the Central Ward. Judy will be a very hard working Councillor, not only just for the Central Ward but for the whole Litchfield Council area.
Council has had Consultation Dog meetings of two a week for the last three weeks. They have been long days when you arrive at work at 7.30 a.m. and you don't get home till 9.00 p.m., 13 odd hour days. The dog meetings have been very educational for Council with the very diverse areas out there, from Knuckey Lagoon to Livingstone, Berry Springs to Humpty Doo. You learn that what one lot would like to have the other lot would not, but we will come up with a compromise to suit most of the 3100 square kilometres that everyone lives in. You can see a pattern forming and a way through to an answer for a problem that will be ongoing forever and a day.
I attended the launch of the TIO helicopter Care Flight in Darwin. On the day at the football field they also had a police car and fire engine, it was a good launch, I only hope that you never get to use it. Thanks TIO for making us safe. I also attended the Mayors and Presidents Forum of LGANT that consists of all Mayors and Presidents within the Northern Territory. The discussions were on the changes that are happening within the shires. I spoke about the hospital in the Litchfield Council area and suggested that we should give it a name not a location, meaning don’t call it Palmerston hospital or Litchfield hospital, give it a name of someone who has done good things in the medical arena.
I also congratulated the Mayors and Presidents for the 17 months that we have been in this job keeping the stability within our communities, while the leaders have been changing around us, three Prime Ministers, three Chief Ministers, and many ministerial changes. It is hard work keeping up with all these changes and trying to plan for the future, you just get a working relationship with the Minister of the day and then it gets changed. One could only hope that things will settle down and we get some stability for our community.
With the election behind us now, I hope the winning candidate comes good with the six bridges that I asked for.
Until next time, take care and drive carefully.
Allan McKay
Litchfield Mayor