Archive: Crisis At Macedon Ranges Shire Council 2014
Last Updated : 31/3/14
See also
On This Page
Black Spot Funding At Straw's Lane
Hanging Rock (archive) / Hanging Rock (this page)
Lancefield Park Community House
Riddells Creek Supermarket / Formation of Getting Riddell Right community group
Bad Council Behaviour Sparks Community Rally, Wednesday 26 March, Gisborne
(25/3/14 - C) Combined community action stirs against a Council that no-one likes
A Community Rally will be held outside the Shire Offices in Gisborne, tomorrow Wednesday March 26, starting at 6.00pm and finishing by 7.15pm.
The rally's theme is to call on Council to exercise Equality, Respect, and Inclusion (consultation), something it is not doing now.
Representatives of several Macedon Ranges' community groups, who all have issues and complaints about Council, will speak briefly on this theme. The rally is an initiative of Friends of Daly Nature Reserve, designed to allow community voices from all over the Shire to be heard.
The monthly Council meeting will start at 7pm at the same venue, Gisborne Shire Offices.
MRRA Says:
The revolution begins. Council is out of control, and not listening to or interested in its community. It's time to stand up and say we are not going to take any more of it.
(17/11/13 - C)
What is it ? Someone stumbled on this http://ourlandscapes.mrsc.vic.gov.au/ and asked MRRA what it was. We don't know. Do you? Surely not another secret Council project our money has been spent on, but we weren't consulted about?
Lancefield Park Community House
(17/11/13 - C) Or rather, former Community House
Add this to the growing list of examples of Macedon Ranges Council ignoring the community. Late 2013. Community wants to keep community house. Council wants to demolish it. Council says the house needed $60,000 of work. Community says not so, and 60 of them protested at the house (some shutting their shops to attend). Council remained deaf to community voices, and demolished the house.
MRRA Says
Wouldn't have anything to do with a land grab for housing, or some still secret economic development opportunity, would it? The question is, did Council actually have ownership or any right to demolish the house?
There is some fiddling around going on with this land in proposed Amendment C74 where its aboriginal heritage overlay schedule entry seems to be deleted, and the former house site is instead added to the overlay over the Lancefield Park. Council is asking the Minister for Planning to approve Amendment C74 without notice and without exhibition. Hands up who guessed that means Council doesn't want anyone to know or have a say on the several mysterious things its doing in Amendment C74? From what MRRA has seen of the proposed amendment, no wonder.
31/10/13 - C
CEO Has To Go
Link to MRRA Letter to Editor (Midland Express, 29/10/13) http://www.elliottmidnews.com.au/story/1872097/ceo-has-to-go/?cs=1983
21/10/13 - C
THE MRSC CEO HAS TO GO
Macedon Ranges Shire doesn't just have a problem with (most) councillors, it has an even bigger problem with the administration. Sacking councillors won't change a thing. The CEO has presided over the Shire across Councils, and it just keeps getting worse. He must GO.
Hanging Rock On ABC 7.30 Victoria
(21/10/13 - C) Lightning strikes twice: pants on fire - Council caught out again.
Council sends financial figures to ABC for Hanging Rock, apparently to prove CEO didn't get it all wrong on 7.30 Victoria on 11 October, but instead figures confirm Council's claim Hanging Rock is making a loss / not making a profit is a lie.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-10-18/hanging-rock-development-update/5032782 ABC 7.30 Victoria
Council's own figures show Hanging Rock in surplus for 9 of the past 10 years, making a profit in 7 of the last 10 years.
NOW COUNCIL SAYS HANGING ROCK IS NOT MAKING ENOUGH PROFIT TO PAY FOR SUBSTANTIAL CAPITAL WORKS NEEDED.
HOW MUCH DOES IT COST TO REFURBISH A TOILET??!!
MRRA Says:
COUNCIL LIES: We don't believe a word Council says. Neither should YOU, and this shows why... And what's the betting the "private investor" is already lurking around and known to some at Council...
Black Spot Funding at Straw's Lane
(25/3/14 Update - C) Road Safety, Or A $186,000 Federally Funded Advantage For Council's Hanging Rock Proposal?
25/3/14 Update:
Council approved giving itself a planning permit to remove 11 trees for this project at its 18/12/13 ordinary meeting, where an officer couldn't produce accident figures for the intersection, and one 'pro' councillor accused a dissenting (female) councillor of misleading the chamber, and being mischievous, in revealing there had been only 4 injury accidents at the intersection in the past 20 years.
Now Council (or an investor) doesn't have to foot the bill to improve this part of the road as a development cost. Nice work if you can get it.
The funded project's description at the Federal government's Black Spot funding projects webpage http://investment.infrastructure.gov.au/projects/ProjectDetails.aspx?Project_id=048030-13VIC-BS is:
"Widen and seal the shoulder,
seal intersection approaches,
remove an embankment and tree;
to install line marking and signage; and
to complete drainage works",
which isn't an exact match to how the Council report described the works:
"It is proposed that the tree removal [i.e. 11 trees] will help to improve sight distance,
as well as allowing for the shoulder widening to both sides of Romsey Road, to the east and west of the intersection.
The project also includes minor drainage works running from north to south along Straws Lane,
installation of a traffic island as per VicRoads standards to the southern side of Straws Lane and
the installation of rumble strips to Straws Lane to the north and south sides of the intersection. Council Agenda, 18/12/13, Item PE1
Council Agenda, 18/12/13, Item PE1: "This tree removal is proposed as part of a Macedon Ranges Shire Council Engineering project that is funded by VicRoads under the "Black Spot‟ program. This intersection was identified as a Black Spot intersection / has been identified as a Black Spot intersection by VicRoads as there have been a number of serious injuries at and near this intersection."
Criteria for Black Spot Funding can be found at http://investment.infrastructure.gov.au/funding/blackspots/
"Black Spot projects target those road locations where crashes are occurring."
What makes a site eligible for funding?
"For individual sites such as intersections, mid-block or short road sections, there should be a history of at least three casualty crashes over a five-year period."
"The Black Spot Programme also recognises that there are road locations which could be considered as 'accidents waiting to happen'. Therefore, some programme funds may be used to treat sites where road traffic engineers have completed a Road Safety Audit and found that remedial work is necessary."
NB: No mention of Road Safety Audit in the report to Council on 18/12/13.
21/10/13 - C
Council is removing native vegetation from the road reserve at Straws Lane and Romsey Road: Why? Why does any vegetation need to be removed? You can sit in the middle of Straws Lane, and only occasionally will need to move to let a car go by. Photos of trees included with Council's permit application (Spear Reference No. S037925J, lodged 27 June 2013) say (1) there isn't a proposed design for whatever Council is doing yet, and (2) that tree removal offset will be proposed with the new Hanging Rock works in the eastern paddock. And this was in June, well before Councillors made their 5 to 4 decision to exclude community consultation...
One more thing, rumour has it that the tree removal and "works" at Straws Lane/Romsey Road have Black Spot funding. SURELY NOT - why would anyone waste Black Spot funding upgrading a rural intersection that rarely has cars, let alone accidents, and no known fatalities? Wouldn't have anything to do with Council's secret plans for Hanging Rock and the traffic that humungous development would create, would it? More Council lies? Not a green Council - thinks it's OK to demolish valuable native vegetation at Daly Nature Reserve as well...
Links:
"Hanging Rock For Sale" online petition: http://www.communityrun.org/petitions/hanging-rock-for-sale-have-your-say
Hanging Rock Action Group - Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HangingRockActionGroup Email: hangingrockactiongroup@gmail.com
18/10/13 - C
ABC 7.30 Victoria http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-10-18/hanging-rock-development-update/5032782
Lightning strikes twice: pants on fire - Council caught out again. Council sends financial figures to ABC but figures confirm Council's claim Hanging Rock is making a loss / not making a profit is a lie. Figures show Hanging Rock in surplus for 9 of the past 10 years, making a profit in 7 of the last 10 years.
NOW COUNCIL SAYS HANGING ROCK IS NOT MAKING ENOUGH PROFIT TO PAY FOR SUBSTANTIAL CAPITAL WORKS NEEDED.
HOW MUCH DOES IT COST TO REFURBISH A TOILET??!!
COUNCIL LIES: We don't believe a word Council says. Neither should YOU, and this shows why... And what's the betting the "private investor" is already lurking around and known to some at Council...
11/10/13 - C
ABC 7.30 Victoria: http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-10-11/hanging-rock-development-no-picnic-for-council/5017990
CEO exposed putting up 'misinformation' on Hanging Rock finances: Hanging Rock isn't making a loss, it's just not making [enough] profit = PeterJohnstonomics
Councillors made decision to go ahead with ginormous development at Hanging Rock based on officer misinformation.
10/10/13 - C
Watch "7.30 Victoria" - ABC, Friday October 11 2013
Macedon Ranges Council hands an international icon and public land to private developers, subsidised by ratepayers, for massive commercial development, without a shred of consultation. There is no democracy in Macedon Ranges. If they can do this with an icon, what else is going on?