Page 8 - Wattle Range News Today

By Raquel Mustillo WATTLE Range mayor Des Noll has lambasted an interstate campaign focussed on upgrading the Green Triangle region’s key freight routes as “Victorian-centric” and warned unless a change of direction occurs it should be “scrapped”. Mr Noll took aim at the Green Triangle Region Freight Action Plan, an initiative involving South Australian and Victorian border councils, the timber and freight industries and the Port of Portland. Among the key actions of the plan is tar...

DRAFT RELEASED: A concept design for a pedestrian crossover in the heart of Penola featuring kerb build outs and improved landscape treatments. INCREASED outdoor dining, developing a “park and wander” strategy and growing Penola into a regional cycling hub are key considerations in the township’s roadmap for the future. Wattle Range Council has released the Penola Town Centre Draft Concept Design for public consultation following extensive community consultation to create a vision for fut...

By Raquel Mustillo THE future of the Millicent Saleyards hangs in the balance as Wattle Range Council continues to consider extending the operations of the facility for another five years or close the facility in June. The council-owned facility was originally slated to close last year due to declining throughput, but elected members voted to give the saleyards a 12-month lifeline through to the end of this financial year in an attempt to improve numbers. Councillor Moira Neagle’s sought supp...

OFFICE CHANGE: Wattle Range mayor Des Noll jumps for joy following the decision to construct a $5.5m council office at the former netball court site. Councillors have since expressed concerns the decision was rushed and the six to five vote was not a clear result. By Raquel Mustillo THE Millicent RSL as the site for Wattle Range’s proposed new council office could again be in play as elected members flagged a motion to reconsider the former netball courts as the location of the $5.5m facility...

COVERAGE BOOST: Wattle Range Council chief executive Ben Gower, Member for Barker Tony Pasin, Telstra South Australian regional manager Mark Bolton and Wattle Range Mayor Des Noll celebrate the commissioning of the Tower Road base station south of Penola. MOBILE phone coverage south of Penola was given a significant boost this week as the switch was flicked on the new Tower Road base station. Jointly funded by the Federal Government’s Mobile Black Spot Program, the South Australian Government...

By Raquel Mustillo LIMESTONE Coast councils have discussed hundreds of items behind closed doors in the last financial year, with figures revealing staff and elected members met in private 210 times during 2019/20. An investigation by The Border Watch has shown the region’s seven councils have collectively invoked confidentiality provisions more times in the 2019/20 period than in the previous five years. State legislation allows councils to have secret debates for commercially sensitive rea...

By Raquel Mustillo TENSIONS flared at the December Wattle Range Council meeting as elected members split on their support of Community Infrastructure Grant recipients, with councillors labelling the application assessment method as flawed. Standing orders were suspended on Tuesday night to allow free discussion on a staff recommendation to award grants to the value of $94,489 to the Millicent Croquet Club, the Nangwarry Museum and Community Hall, the Kalangadoo War Memorial Park and Community ...