News from the Mayor- April 2018 Edition

23 Apr 2018 2:55 PM -

Hi Everyone,

This year's biennial Leeton SunRice Festival was, once again, an extremely successful event for Leeton Shire. The street parade was fantastic and the four ambassadors did an amazing job raising just shy of $70,000 for local charities and community groups. I think the massive crowd that attended Mountford Park was the largest yet and made Festival Saturday such a great family day.

A big thank you from Leeton to the hot air balloonists who again provided a great spectacle for our community and visitors. To see up to 20 plus balloons hovering over our township was a fabulous showcase for Leeton.

The Balloon Glow on Sunday night was delightful and I am sure the crowd was another record for our Leeton Town Ovals Complex. The weather was perfect for the Glow and the fireworks that topped off the evening's festivities. It’s been estimated that upwards of 8000 people attended this feature event on Easter Sunday night. Visitors that I spoke to over the weekend had nothing but praise for the entire SunRice Festival. I would like to sincerely thank the Leeton SunRice Festival Organising Committee led by first time Chair Julie Axtill for delivering top class events. And we need to also applaud the dedication of hundreds of volunteers who in one way or another contributed greatly to the success of the Festival.

This month I also met with members of the Leeton Men’s Shed. Again we are fortunate to have a facility that brings people together to build friendships and use their skills to contribute to community projects.

The Economic Development Coordinator and I attended a Public Forum run by the Murray Darling Basin Plan Productivity Commission. The Commission is conducting its first 5-yearly review of the roll out of the Basin Plan to assess the effectiveness of its implementation and water resource planning. Following this forum Council put in a submission that highlights the importance of maintaining productive water so that local communities like ours remain viable.

The General Manager and I also met with the new Officer in Charge of the Leeton Police Station, Inspector John Wadsworth. We discussed how the new Police District is set up and what role Officers in Charge will play. The meeting was very encouraging and I am hopeful that this new structure will see more focused leadership for Leeton and Narrandera. It is important that our community is confident that effective policing can and will be delivered at the local level. Just as with Council, maintaining regular and open dialogue is an important start to any journey of continual improvement. The Inspector, General Manager and I will continue to meet periodically. In the meantime, our local community is encouraged to report all crime and, if you see crime happening, be sure to ring 000 and not the local police station. Inspector Wadsworth has also undertaken to work to improve feedback to the victims of crime.

Last week Councillors, staff and a small group of Yanco residents met in the Yanco Hall with Murrumbidgee Irrigation Ltd to discuss MI's proposed $10M upgrade works at Yanco. The aim of this project is to make the irrigation system more efficient. The project will also enhance the presentation of Yanco village in places and we have asked MI to ensure that provision will be made to keep aspects of the Yanco area's irrigation heritage visible and celebrated for years to come. Council was advised that preliminary works will commence in May with final completion in October.

Take care and best wishes until my May Update. Kind Regards, Mayor Paul Maytom