MAGNETIC ISLAND RESIDENTS AND RATEPAYERS ASSOCIATION INC
The July meeting of the Association was held on July 2 with 52 people in attendance, including Mayor Jenny Hill, Cr Ann-Maree Greaney and Council Infrastructure Manager, Claudia Brassard.
Claudia addressed the meeting first and said the DRFA funding was approved to upgrade West Point Rd., and a survey had been commissioned to determine what residents wanted that had received 537 replies with 59% against sealing the road so Council is now considering its options.
Horseshoe Bay Rd upgrade: Work has started on the project with guard rails done first, then some kerb and channelling and finally the re-seal. Work should be completed by the end of October.
Arcadia Bus Stop location: Claudia called for a vote on where residents wanted the bus stop which serviced the Hotel/Alma Bay area. A near majority wanted it moved back to the newsagency. Nobody voted for the other two options i.e. 1. Its present location and 2. In Hayles Avenue. Council will advise bus company and also stated that accessibility is the focus for these decisions now.
Car Parking at Arcadia and Horseshoe Bay: Several attendees complained about parking. M/S Brassard said council would soon be trialling a new limited parking system with 8 hour limits which will alleviate some problems.
Apjohn St. Drainage: Claudia advised this work was nearly completed and there should be no more flooding.
Picnic Bay Public toilets: Claudia said funding for this project was in the recently approved budget and planning was under way with an early thought of locating them in the old luggage shed at the top of the jetty. On a related topic, council testing had shown the smell from the creek on which the old and temporary toilets were situated, was from detritus and old leaf material and not from leaking sewage.
Picnic Bay Hill: The roadway will be redone by the contractor for the third time after the first two attempts failed miserably.
Walkways on road bridges: The bridges on Birt St near Magnetic St at Picnic Bay and on Hayles Ave near Mirimar Cres at Acadia do not have a pedestrian walkway and are causing problems for walkers. Council will look into it.
State of the roads on the Island: Claudia said it was a budget issue and she would try again to get some more money but pointed out the nearly $9 million being spent on the Horseshoe Bay Rd.
Block used for material storage at HSB drainage: Claudia said the block will be thoroughly remediated as a part of the contract arrangements.
Old dump at Picnic Bay: Claudia was asked how long before the land covering the old Picnic Bay dump could be used. She said she thought it was 20 years but would check and let us know.
Buses: Claudia confirmed that the buses on the Island were run by Translink but did take advice from Council.
Structure for Anzac Day in Alma Bay Park: Claudia said this would receive consideration given what had happened at this year’s commemoration.
Mayor Jenny Hill then addressed the meeting and answered questions. She said new rules had come into effect that prevented Councillors from instructing council staff what to do and all requests had to go through the CEO.
Council compliance officer: Council is struggling to recruit staff generally for these positions as unemployment is so low. One was appointed to the Island but left after a few weeks following a confrontation with a resident.
Picnic Bay Waste Water Facility: A resident, who is building three houses, complained about paying $75,000 for biocycles because the Department of Environmental Services (DES), under new legislation will not allow clean water, which is the end product of the facility, to be distributed into Reef waters. Even though nearly all storm water does, in fact, flow into the sea off Magnetic Island. GBRMPA and DES keep passing the buck on this issue so Mayor Hill is proposing a meeting with herself and DES and GBRMPA to sort it out. Stay tuned. Rates: As most know, land valuations on the island, on some properties, have skyrocketed meaning rates in many cases will go up. Council will limit value changes at a maximum of 10per cent up or down to ease the burden on ratepayers.
Overcrowding: A resident complained about many new housing developments, particularly in HSB, and the resultant increase in cars on the island. Mayor Hill responded that these developments were approved in 2016,
Printing Costs: Mayor Hill also commented that one off grants were offered by Council for community groups to assist with printing and office costs.
Cr. Ann Maree Greaney addressed the meeting briefly saying she would follow up on the Picnic Bay Rd Hill roadworks and also the site generally as it has been described as a bomb site. She will also follow up on the Compliance Officer, and the state of the roads generally.
Camping: She said Council officers were still working on this and perhaps there would be more at the next meeting.
Rental scooters: Ann Maree acknowledged there were problems with scooter renters not observing scooter and road rules. She said new state government legislation should help with these problems, but also said due to the need for transport scooters were here to stay.
The mayor’s group then had to leave to catch the ferry and the President closed the meeting.
Next meeting Saturday August 6 at 10 am