WINTER / SPRING 2018 Edition 13

COMMUNITYColac Otway

Matters

COMMUNITY grants RESPONSIBLE cat ownership

NAIDOC event

KANYANA’S Recipe FOR Success

2 | Colac Otway COMMUNITY MATTERS

Cr Chris Potter 0427 821 435 councillor.potter@colacotway.vic.gov.au

Cr Chris Smith 0400 964 791 councillor.smith@colacotway.vic.gov.au

Cr Terry Woodcroft 0417 559 258 councillor.woodcroft@colacotway.vic.gov.au

@ColacOtwayShireCouncil

Email inq@colacotway.vic.gov.au

Visit www.colacotway.vic.gov.au

Call customer service 5232 9400

KEEP In Touch

LIVEABILITY, DIVERSITY AND PROXIMITY

Your C ouncil lorsCr Joe McCracken (Mayor) 0427 749 918 councillor.mccracken@colacotway.vic.gov.au

Cr Jason Schram (Deputy Mayor) 0428 326 410 councillor.schram@colacotway.vic.gov.au

Cr Stephen Hart 0407 962 412 councillor.hart@colacotway.vic.gov.au

Cr Kate Hanson 0409 038 843 councillor.hanson@colacotway.vic.gov.au

It has been little over a month since I joined the Colac Otway Shire team as the organisation’s new Chief Executive and I’m pleased to say it has been a busy and exciting time.

I’m proud to be in the position and I look forward to meeting more and more community groups, residents, business people and other stakeholders in the municipality over coming months.

It has been enjoyable to work closely with our Mayor Joe McCracken and to get to know all the Councillors who represent the Shire’s diverse communities.

While my role has only just begun, I already feel like I am gaining a grasp of our region’s challenges and opportunities and strongly believe the organisation can maximise outcomes for our communities and drive prosperous futures for our towns.

Some of the great opportunities I see for Colac Otway Shire are its liveability, diversity and proximity to other major regional centres and attractions.

When the highway duplication is completed Geelong, and Melbourne for that matter, will be much more accessible and it’s clear to me our towns have a lifestyle to offer that appeals to many people who spend their working life in the city. This will bring pluses and minuses. We must look for ways to maximise the pluses and minimise the minuses.

Colac Otway Shire has so much to offer and it is incumbent on our Council to take these economic opportunities to drive growth, service delivery and investment and to make sure the Shire continues to be a wonderful place to live, work and visit.

Having already met with a number of stakeholders along our magnificent coastline, a key challenge for our Council over the next generation is to protect what we all love about our seaside towns. Striking the right balance with economic development is something the Council is acutely aware of.

It was particularly pleasing in recent weeks to see our 2017/18 Community Satisfaction Survey results had improved on previous years.

The results showed a positive shift in how ratepayers perceive the work done by Colac Otway Shire and naturally we want to see that trend continue this financial year.

I’d like to thank the staff, Councillors and broader community for welcoming my wife Wendy and I to the Colac Otway Shire. We’re excited to be here and look forward to many great times ahead.

By Peter Brown

Colac Otway COMMUNITY MATTERS | 3

Council’s new look Community Grants Program has already funded more than $230,000 to 77 applicants this year and Round 2 applications have just closed for a further $68,000.

In June Councillors approved 77 grant applications totalling $233,182. When combined with the community’s cash and in-kind contribution the successful projects total $2.35 million in value.

The Grants Program includes four categories – Community Grants, Community Events and Support, Small Grants and Building Façade Improvements.

Mayor Joe McCracken said he was pleased that 27 new applicants were

among those funded. He said he was also thrilled that the new consolidated grant program would also benefit traders this year, with improvements to eight building façades in Murray Street funded.

“The decision to revamp our grants programs into a single process earlier this year, and for it to incorporate a building façade improvement category for the first time, has delivered some great projects,” he said.

“Nearly $15,000 has been granted to the eight Murray Street applicants who will complete nearly $75,000 worth of upgrades and improvements to their business frontages and that’s a great outcome.”

Cr McCracken said 18 projects totalling $97,069 were successful in the Community Grants Program, $99,597 had been funded to 32 events via the Community Events and Support Program and 19 applications had received a total of $21,652 in Small Grants.

“These grants provide Colac Otway Shire with wonderful opportunities for strong partnerships with community groups, progress associations, arts and cultural groups, committees of management, sporting clubs, schools and now businesses,” he said.

A full list of the successful applicants can be found on the Council’s website, in the ‘Community Services’ section.

REVAMPED COMMUNITY GRANTS PROGRAM off to a great start

If you head in to Kanyana around lunchtime on any given Wednesday you’ll be greeted with the aroma of a delicious cooked lunch, the sound of people enjoying a chat and the sight of happy people appreciating each other’s company.

Kanyana Senior Citizens Club has been a part of the Colac Otway community for 58 years, recently celebrating its birthday with a special luncheon.

During that time, Kanyana has provided the region’s senior citizens with a great place to socialise, join in activities and meet other people - and also come along and sit down to lunch on a Wednesday.

According to Kanyana Senior Citizens Club vice president Win Jones, Wednesday’s weekly lunches are a popular part of the club activities.

“People come along for a meal and then stay on to play pool or join other activities,” Win said.

Colac Otway Shire Older Persons and Ability Support Services team members provide the weekly centre-based meals for the senior citizens at Kanyana – serving meals and doing the clean-up, and in some cases, picking up

community members who may otherwise not be able to take part.

“The girls from Council pick up the food and serve and do the dishes for us - that’s lovely. We have about 16 people on average turn up for that,” Win said.

“The lunches are social and the and activities are an opportunity for people to get out of the house.” Kanyana club has 84 members and Win, a club member for six years, said the group was currently renewing its memberships and was always happy to welcome new members.

Win said the activities Kanyana offered included indoor bowls on Tuesdays and Saturdays and cards on Mondays and Thursdays.

Members enjoy a game of 500 and euchre Win said, with Thursday seeming to be the more popular day for those interested in playing cards.

“We also have bus trips occasionally around the district that one of our members organises,” she said.

Kanyana has an indoor bowls team in the local pennant and Win said sometimes the bowlers also go along to social bowl days around the district.

Kanyana Senior Citizens Centre is located at 55 Hesse Street, Colac. Anyone interested in joining can contact Council for more information.

KANYANA CLUB ALL ABOUT getting together

4 | Colac Otway COMMUNITY MATTERS

WORK CONTINUING ON APOLLO BAY’S Sand removalColac Otway Shire’s Apollo Bay port management team has started its third sand removal project to address sand build up in the harbour.

The project is the third of four sand dredging projects planned for the harbour to improve vessel access and began late last month.

Works involve dredging 2500 cubic metres of sand and relocating it to the adjacent beach above the high tide mark.

The sand build up entered the harbour through normal ocean currents and tidal activity and has now reached critical levels.

Colac Otway Shire General Manager of Infrastructure and Leisure Services Tony McGann said sand had accumulated under the floating marina to the point where the infrastructure grounded on the sand at low tide. The grounding of the marina had caused it to buckle in places and it was at risk of breaking apart if not addressed quickly.

He said Council’s port team had worked quickly with its project partners Transport for Victoria and the Department of Environment Land Water and Planning (DELWP) to identify and fund a solution.

“The sand removal project wil l involve the port team operating its dredge plant in coordination with an expert dive team, it’s anticipated the project wil l take approximately two to three days and wil l ensure the structural integrity of the f loating marina,” he said.The works area will be fenced off for the duration of the dredging works but the public will still have access to the port and beach.

Research for the fourth and final sand removal project for the port is complete and currently in the planning stage awaiting State Government coastal consent and funding. This project will involve dredging the entire harbour to remove 96,000 cubic metres of oceanic sand accretion to ensure the harbour is safe and navigable in the long term.

The port team is also working closely with DELWP to manage any environmental risks associated with a local infestation of the Japanese pest seaweed Undaria pinnafida. They’re also continuing to work in partnership with the Otway Coast Committee to manage sand renourishment of the local beaches affected by recent storm activity.

DO YOU KNOW WHO MANAGES Your Road? Did you know Colac Otway Shire Council shares the management of roads in the shire with VicRoads?

Council has a handy reference page on its website for anyone wanting to know who looks after their road or the roads they travel on.

Community members can find out who manages their road at this link.

www.colacotway.vic.gov.au/Community-services/Roads-drains-footpaths/Whose-road-is-it

Recent community survey results put Council’s road management and responsibility in the spotlight.

The community responses in the State Government-commissioned survey showed Colac Otway Shire residents were unsatisfied with road management - giving a score of 39 for sealed local roads and 36 for unsealed local roads.

Cr McCracken said the Council was keen to focus on areas where the community perceived the organisation operated below expectation.

“What we’ve identified while looking at ways to address this is that more than two thirds of the sealed roads cited by residents are not Council roads - they’re VicRoads managed roads,” he said.

“We’re addressing not only how we can address the roads we manage, but also how we can continue to advocate to the State Government for specific action on its identified roads.

“The bulk of concerns relating to unsealed roads are of course managed by council, so we’re reviewing our maintenance schedule for those roads to see if our available resources can better meet community expectation.”

Colac Otway COMMUNITY MATTERS | 5

PLEASE BE RESPONSIBLE & Desex Your CatsDid you know that if a male and female cat and their offspring are left to breed on their own, they can produce over 2000 cats within five years?

Council’s compliance coordinator Graeme Murphy said research suggested the number could grow to over two million after 10 years!

“I can’t stress enough how important it is for cat owners to make sure their pets are desexed and if they aren’t desexed it is critical they are kept indoors or contained to cat enclosures,” he said.

“Cats can make wonderful pets, but unless they are owned responsibly they can cause a lot of devastation for other wildlife and be quite a nuisance for residents.

“We receive reports of nuisance domestic cats all the time and of course these cats, if they aren’t desexed, contribute to the other problem of feral cats.”

Mr Murphy said there were lots of benefits of desexing cats.

“They make better, friendlier companions and are less likely to roam, run away, get into fights and bite,” he said.

“There’s also evidence they are less likely to develop certain kinds of cancers, but ultimately the best reason is preventing unwanted kittens.”

Mr Murphy said Compliance Officers didn’t enjoy impounding pet cats. He said it was incumbent on all cat owners to register their cats by the time they were three months old and to do everything possible to contain them to their property.

“The fine for failing to register a cat, or dog, is $317 and that has been set by the State Government for a good reason,” he said.

“Please do the right thing, be a responsible cat owner and help us reduce the number of unwanted and feral cats roaming throughout Colac Otway Shire Council.”

More information can be found on the Council’s website.

MAPLE THE CAT RIGHT at homeColac’s Alannah Bloomer adopted Maple the cat from Colac Otway Shire Council’s pound and she’s purr-fectly happy with her new friend.

Alannah moved from Colac to Wagga Wagga four years ago to commence studying at university but, having always had pet cats when living at home, missed having a feline companion.

With family ties still in Colac, Alannah sought her new roommate through the Colac Otway Shire Council pound and Maple fast became her new study companion.

Speaking from her experience, Alannah said there was something a bit special about adopting a rescue pet and knowing you had given an animal a second (or third, or fourth) chance at life.

Alannah encouraged people wanting to add a pet to their family to make the pound their first port of call. Alannah said when Maple first came to her new home she was shy at first however it wasn’t long before she showed off her true personality.

“I highly recommend visiting the pound before buying an animal from a pet shop. Trust me it is worth the search.

“Maple's crazy antics, cheekiness, and never-ending energy bring plenty of laughter. She even ‘helps’ me study, flopping down on my text books when I’m reading – so she must be clever!

“We’re a perfect match, and I love her very much. Her company brings me great happiness, especially when she is purring; I think she enjoys my company too,” Alannah said.

If like Alannah, you’d like to add a new member to your family you can stay up to date with animals available for adoption by liking Colac Otway Shire Council on Facebook, or contacting Local Laws on 5232 9400.

We’re a perfect match, and I love her very much. Her company brings me great happiness, especial ly when she is purring; I think she enjoys my company too,

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DETOX YOUR HOME IS COMING TO A Saleyards near you! Saturday, October 20 From 10am to 1pm Colac Saleyards

Come and dispose of any unwanted household chemicals, such as solvents, poisons, cleaning products, fertilizer and car care products for FREE. Last year this service saw 43 residents from Colac Otway Shire, Golden Plains and and the Surf Coast use this FREE mobile service. Let’s see if we can lift that number even more this year!

Paint and fluorescent light bulbs can be disposed at Western Waste Management all year round through the permanent detox site.

All collected items are recovered and diverted from landfill, so start looking around your home now so you are ready for the FREE detox your home on Saturday 20th October.

For more information please check out Council’s website or visit the detox your home website.

EXTRA ORGANICS C ol lections

Get ready for a garden spring clean-up with the additional kerbside organics collections starting on Monday 22nd October and running for six weeks. Council is again offering extra kerbside organics collections due to the high uptake of this service over the past two years. Please check your waste calendars for the start dates in your area. Look for the squares on the calendars.

It’s easy just place your red bin and green bin out each week.

BIN Inspections

Random bin inspections are carried out throughout the shire. Council’s waste department would like to thank the community for keeping the green organic bins contamination levels at an all-time low. Keep up this fantastic work as the more we can put in our green bins the less that goes to landfill. Now let’s start working on our yellow recycling bins, as it’s just as important to get that right on bin night. If you are unsure of what can be placed in your yellow recycle bin please check out the recycling brochure on the council’s website, or hard copies are available from the Customer Service centres in Apollo Bay and Colac.

$743.5 million dollars worth of product is imported into the shire annually. That is why the Colac Otway Shire has partnered with Localised to provide ColacOtway.Localised - a FREE business-to-business digital network to help our local business community keep our business local.

This FREE platform for local businesses will help you:1. Advertise your goods and services to the local business

community and boost your website listing visibility

2. Engage with other businesses to get local quotes

3. Discover networking and professional development events across our region

If you run a local business, get connected today

colacotway.localised.com.au

DID YOU KNOW…

ColacOtway.Localised - Launch Coming Soon

7 | Colac Otway COMMUNITY MATTERS

WHAT’S ON Events

AUGUST

REGULAR

EventsSEPTEMBER

MEETINGS

OCTOBER

WinterWild

DEATH - FRI 10 TO SUN 12BIRTH - FRI 24 TO SUN 26

Apollo Bay foreshore &multiple venueswww.winterwildapollobay.com.au

ORDINARY COUNCIL Wednesdays at 4pm22 August at Beeac Recreation Reserve Hall, Beeac26 September, COPACC, Colac 24 October, Apollo Bay Senior Citizen’s Centre, Apollo Bay28 November, COPACC, Colac

PLANNING COMMITTEE Wednesdays at 4pm8 August at COPACC, Colac 12 September at COPACC, Colac

Apollo Bay Community MarketEvery SaturdayApollo Bay Foreshore

Colac Sunday Market3rd Sunday of each monthColac Showgrounds, Colac

Otway Growers and Makers Market4th Sunday of each monthEchidna House, Kawarren

Apollo Bay Farmers’ MarketThird Sunday of each monthApollo Bay Youth Club

Colac Regional SaleyardsStore sales – first Friday of every monthFat cattle sales – every ThursdayBobby calf sales – every ThursdaySheep sales – third Thursday of every month

SATURDAY 18 6PM – 9PM

Cape Otway Lighthouse ‘Beacon of Hope’ https://www.lightstation.com/you-light-up-my-life/

SATURDAY 1 Friends of Colac Botanic Gardens - Wattle Day Colac Botanic Gardens, Fyans Street, Colac 3250 10am to 11am

FRIDAY 7 & SATURDAY 8 Hiking for Bowel Cancer Prevention 2018 Great Ocean Walk, Apollo Bayhttps://app.jodileefoundation.org.auevents/the-jlf-trek-vic-2018

SATURDAY 15 & SUNDAY 16 Amy’s Gran FondoGreat Ocean Road, Lorne and Apollo Bayhttps://amysgranfondo.org.au/

SATURDAY 22 Colac Garden & Lifestyle Expo Colac Showgrounds 9am – 3pm

SATURDAY 22 – SATURDAY 6 OCTOBER Hunt for the Golden Gumboot Old Beechy Rail Trail

NOVEMBER

SATURDAY 22 – SATURDAY 6 OCTOBER Hunt for the Golden Gumboot Old Beechy Rail Trail

SUNDAY 7 Hunt for the Golden Gumboot – BBQ and prizes Old Beechy Rail Trail

FRIDAY 12, SATURDAY 13, SUNDAY 14 Birregurra Festival and Art Show Main Street, Birregurra

SATURDAY 13 AND SUNDAY 14 Colac Orchid Club Annual Show Colac Showgrounds

TUESDAY 6 Melbourne Cup Luncheon COPACC, Colac 11.30am – 3pm

WEDNESDAY 24 Warrion Flower ShowWarrion Hall

Colac Otway COMMUNITY MATTERS | 8

The first ever Colac Otway Shire NAIDOC flag raising was fantastic

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By Ebony Hickey

Council’s NAIDOC Week event, a flag raising ceremony, was held on Tuesday 10th July at COPACC. The event included a Welcome to Country from Ebony Hickey – a local Gulidjan Woman and key speakers - Aunty Vicki Couzens a Gunditjmara woman from the Western Districts of Victoria, Richard Riordan MP - Member for Polwarth and Greg Fletcher – Colac Otway Shire, Manager Community Services.

Koontapool Karween performed and presented Peter Brown – Colac Otway Shire, Chief Executive a ceremonial spear.

NAIDOC

Caracaramigen – The Colac Aboriginal Gathering Place Co-ordinator Community Development Officer

The first ever Colac Otway Shire NAIDOC flag raising was fantastic, with over 250 community members in attendance it really was a huge event and a great start to NAIDOC Week.

I think that since the establishment of the interim Colac Aboriginal Gathering Place site at 4 Miller Street, we have been able to begin to weave into the social fabrics of Colac’s society and promote cultural safety and we are beginning to meet the social and emotional needs of the Aboriginal Community, we still have a long way to go but this is a great start.

There’s often a lot in the media about the negative discourse surrounding first nations’ people and I think that together we managed to highlight and promote a positive discourse in this event.

Greg Fletcher and his team at Colac Otway Shire along with Kristen Lee’s and Aunty Denise Charles spent a lot of time and spirit ensuring this event was well organised and well attended, I think it’s one for the history books of Colac.