Council Update November 2020

Message from the Shire President

For the first time in some years, the Shire is in the process of selling off a number of blocks of land in Mingenew for development. At its November meeting, Council signed off on the recent submissions to our $1 block campaign – and I’m happy to say that the initiative was oversubscribed. I want to thank the Shire staff for their work putting this together and look forward to seeing new buildings and welcoming some new people to our town in the coming years as a result of this program.

Council also signed off on a list of priorities that we would like to see for Mingenew as the State Government moves towards the March election. Some of the items that we would like the State to help us address include stacking distance issues at the Midlands/Mingenew-Morawa Rd railway crossing, infrastructure support to help Mingenew’s space sector grow, further investment in agricultural technology to support the Digital Farms roll-out and funding for the Mid West Secondary Grain Freight Route project. We will be advocating to both the State Government and opposition parties on these items in the lead-up to March 2021.
Council also endorsed commentary on several legislative proposals and the recent City of Perth Inquiry report. With a new Local Government Act in development, there are a lot of legislative amendments and recommendations being proposed. Whilst some are common-sense and fit with the State’s goals of a more efficient and agile local government sector, many are developed with much larger Councils in mind and would burden small Shires like ours with even more red tape. As such, it’s been a focus of ours to ensure we are making our voice heard, and pushing back on measures that we believe would reduce the levels of service we can provide, or the quality of local democracy, for out community. Again, I think the Shire staff for the extensive work they have done to help progress these numerous responses.

With harvest in full swing, our recent hot weather has provided some timely reminders for us all to be prepared for fire season. For those living in town, this might mean cleaning up your yard and gutters to make sure there’s not too much fuel around. For those in rural areas, it’s about making sure your firefighting units are in working order and any water sources you might need to rely on are full.

– Cr Gary Cosgrove, Shire President

Transfer Station Transition Process
The process of transitioning from our current landfill to a manned transfer station facility is progressing – as anyone who has visited the tip site lately would have noticed. In the new year we expect to see the new facility operational, and this will mean some changes to the way things have operated previously. This will include:

• Reducing the hours that the tip is open
• Restricting (and controlling) the type and volume of waste accepted
• Charging to accept some waste types and/or introducing charges for those who are not Shire ratepayers
• Manning the site to better monitor and manage this

Many of our neighbouring shires have already moved to a similar model, and this process will bring Mingenew in line with modern waste management approaches and current waste management legislation. In addition to the regulatory pressure which is making these changes necessary, we have also recently been receiving significant amounts of waste, like tyres, at the landfill.

It is acknowledged that some of this is coming from outside the Shire, due to the fact that our tip is open 24/7 and free. The current lack of a control mechanism means that it is going to be the Shire (and ratepayers) that are required to pay for these to be properly disposed of. By transitioning to a transfer station, we will be in a position to better manage situations like this.

For more details, you can view our Draft Environmental Plan here and contact the Shire. No transition date has been finalised as yet, and it will be well-advertise when known.

COVID-19 Registration Requirements

From December 5, some WA businesses and venues (including community facilities) will be required to maintain contact registers.

To assist, the WA Government has developed the Safe WA app, which will use QR codes for visitors and staff to register their attendance. Keep an eye out for QR barcodes and written registers at relevant Shire facilities from 5 December onwards.

You can learn more about this new system here.

Mingenew Youth Precinct Update

The two new playgrounds at Cecil Newton Park are now open, but there is still plenty more to do as part of our Youth Precinct project. The flying fox is being installed in mid-December, our pump track design is being finalised and we are locking in the skate park revamp in March 2021. Expect to see more great things happening here in the coming months.

For more information contact Margaret Rowe, Community Development Officer on 9928 1102 or cdo@mingenew.wa.gov.au.

Take it Easy on the Roads this Harvest

The Shire has been approached by some agricultural road users requesting seasonal speed reductions on some of our unsealed roads in a bid to improve safety and preserve the condition of our road surfaces.
Rather than mandating speed limits, we are asking all road users – particularly those in heavy vehicles – to ensure they are driving to the conditions and moderating their speed as possible on our unsealed roads, especially when cornering and passing other vehicles. Whilst the Shire can introduce speed restrictions on RAV vehicles throughout our road network, we would like to provide our road users with the opportunity to demonstrate their ability to take it easy on our unsealed roads.

Fire Season

Fire season is upon us. Please keep in mind these key dates:

Prohibited Burning: 1 Nov 2020 – 31 Jan 2021

All burning is prohibited during this period.

Restricted Burning: 1 Feb – 15 Mar 2021

Permits are required for burning activities during these times.

Permit Issuing Officers:

Murray Thomas 9928 1122 | 0428 281 157

Nick Duane 9972 6058 | 0429 726 058

For more information consult the Firebreak Notice sent out with the annual rates notice and available online here or contact the Shire.

Shire SMS Service

To improve our public communication the Shire sends out text messages for key fire, road and community-related matters. It’s easy and free to get on the list. If you would like to be added to the database, please fill in a form at the Shire office or complete one online here.

Tidy Blocks

With fire season approaching, in addition to ensuring your block is safe, it’s a great time to do some tidying.

Our Environmental Health Officer and Ranger will be conducting inspections to identify any locations which may harbour vermin, provide habitat for snakes or mosquitos. These blocks typically:

• Contain debris or rubbish, including places where water collects and stagnates
• Are overgrown or untidy

What will Council do?

We will contact property owners and request that they address any issues that are found. We can also help to discuss possible solutions. Council can assist with transportation of large items to the rubbish tip and with block slashing through private works arrangements. We may also be able to assist with the treatment of standing water to eliminate mosquitos.

In general, we much prefer to help owners tidy up rather than issuing infringement notices.

What can you do?

Store materials on your block in a tidy manner and tip out any standing water, reducing the places for vermin, snakes and mosquitos to live and breed

• Remove debris/rubbish from your block
• Keep the vegetation on your block trimmed so that it doesn’t become a home for vermin or, come the end of the rains, a potential fire hazard
• Contact Council if you have large items, like car bodies, that you need help to remove

What is the outcome?

• There are less places for vermin, snakes and mosquitos to breed
• There are less overgrown lots and a smaller fire risk
• Our town looks tidier and more appealing
• Mingenew is a safer and more pleasant place to live and visit

We know that most of our residents work hard to keep their properties tidy, and we are confident that these are outcomes everyone would like to see. If you have any questions, please get in touch with us at the Shire and we will do our best to help.

Fixed Wireless Coverage for Mingenew

Just a reminder that the Shire, with assistance from the Federal Government’s Drought Communities Program, has completed an upgrade of a telecommunications near the Mingenew townsite. This upgrade has made Node1’s Fixed Wireless internet service available to residents and businesses in town.

Fixed wireless broadband is already available to many in the rural parts of the Shire through the State Government’s Digital Farms program, which the Shire project built upon.

For more information, visit this link.

Mosquito Activity

Shire officers have been testing and treating standing water for mosquito larvae and fogging. If you are have issues with mosquitoes at your property, please let the Shire know (visit the office, call 9928 1102 or email enquiries@mingenew.wa.gov.au) so that we can investigate and treat the issue.

Council Meeting Review – November 2020

Council’s November meeting saw a range of items passed, including:

• The allocation of nine blocks of land in the Mingenew townsite, following a recent public tender process; successful tenders will have two years to build on the blocks they have purchased at significant discount
• A number of planning items relating to the construction of a new shed and dwelling in town, as well as approval for a new food van business which will operate both in town and out at Coalseam Conservation Park
• Responses to a range of legislative amendments and reports, as part of the ongoing review of the Local Government Act.

For all the details, you can check the minutes on the Shire website.