March 7, 2016
The Murgon Sports Association will soon no longer need to buy water from the South Burnett Regional Council to keep Murgon’s Showground green.
The Murgon Business and Development Association (MBDA) was told at its last monthly meeting the Sports Association has secured a grant for $33,000 which will allow it to alter the watering system used at the Showground.
The Association had found the Council’s water charges were beyond its means.
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A project to improve parking near Murgon State School which was scheduled to be completed in January has been delayed.
Cr Kathy Duff told the MBDA she had organised a meeting with key stakeholders prior to Christmas to discuss the design.
They had decided to make some modifications including adding bollards to prevent people parking in front of the child care centre and the grassed area in Gore Street, introducing angled parking, and adding drop down and pick up bays.
The changes have required Council staff to rework the original plans.
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Cr Duff also advised the meeting she is working on getting Murgon’s CCTV camera network upgraded.
Cr Duff said she is meeting with representatives from Murgon Police who are keen to apply for a grant through the Safer Streets program to upgrade lights and CCTV cameras in the CBD.
The grant application would be forwarded to Member for Wide Bay Warren Truss’ office when it was prepared.
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The South Burnett Regional Council accepted a tender from a Kingaroy company to seal the Murgon-Kingaroy Rail Trail with bitumen in January, Cr Duff said.
She was hopeful the project would be completed by June 30, but the Council doesn’t have to finalise the project until November 30 so it has a measure of leeway if there are any unexpected delays.
At present, the project is on track and bridge construction is proceeding to schedule.
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Murgon doctors were keen to see the Lady Bjelke-Petersen Community Hospital re-open because they relied heavily on the hospital’s visiting specialists.
Cr Duff told the meeting she had supported a motion for the Council to take over the hospital licence because of the “overwhelming support” she’d received from Murgon’s medical fraternity.
She said the Council had appointed a health professional to assess all options to make the project cost-neutral for ratepayers.
A final decision on the hospital’s future will be made on March 31 when the business plan is delivered.
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New lighting installed by Ergon on Lamb Street near Huston Motors has won the MBDA’s approval.
The meeting was told the new lighting provided excellent light coverage.
The MBDA will now approach Ergon to see if this could be expanded into Murgon’s CBD.
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The next Business Excellence Awards will be held in 2017, and South Burnett Directions are hoping Murgon can host the Awards dinner that will accompany it, SBRC Economic Development Manager Phil Harding told the meeting.
South Burnett Directions also plan to roll out a “Shop Local” campaign later in the year in conjunction with an online company.
The campaign will track shoppers electronically through swipe cards and offer rewards for participation.
South Burnett Directions are also planning to roll out a one day customer service course for retailers and their staff that will be delivered through TAFE.
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Murgon Ambulance has received a $35,000 grant to assist its CPR training program, and it will become a 24 hour ambulance station from March 5.
New paramedics have also recently come board, bringing the total staff at the base to 20.
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NRL footballer Gavin Cooper and his wife and son will be coming to Murgon with the NRL trophy on Easter Saturday, Mark Smith told the meeting.
A range of public events will be held including a dinner and a fundraiser for the Murgon Mustangs Junior Rugby League.
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MBDA President Leo Geraghty advised the meeting the Murgon Men’s Shed have secured some railway carriages to augment what will ultimately become Murgon’s Rail Trail railhead, based around the old railway station.
Meanwhile, the Murgon Court House has been operating from Murgon Town Hall while repairs to the courthouse building are carried out.
Both the ANZ and Westpac Bank will be moving to operate out of Murgon Post Office and will be offering a reduced range of services. However, it is anticipated that Bendigo Bank will be coming to Murgon to take up any shortfall.
The South Burnett PCYC is going well and new programs are being rolled out this year. The PCYC’s Friday Night Live events currently attract around 170 children.
Castra is also going well. It’s respite section is full until September, and every bed at Castra is full too.
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MBDA would like the South Burnett Regional Council to base a dog catcher in the town to combat problems with stray dogs.
At present, Council’s dog catcher is based in Nanango.
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The next MBDA meeting will be held on Thursday, March 10 at the Royal Hotel at the corner of Gore and Lamb Streets at 6:30am (entry is via Gore Street).
Breakfast is $15 per head plus coffee, and an RSVP to Margaret on (07) 4168-2922 would be greatly appreciated for catering purposes.
The meeting will feature several guest speakers, and will introduce a number of new MBDA members.
All interested people are very welcome to attend.
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The MBDA will also be hosting a Candidates Forum at the Murgon Services Club the same day for Mayoral and Division 6 candidates in the March 19 Council elections.
The forum will begin at 6:00pm and is open to the general public.
There is no admission charge to attend.
