Water Mains cleaning in Drysdale and Clifton Springs

Barwon Water has kindly provided the following information today about cleaning water mains in the Drysdale Clifton Springs Area

Mains cleaning in Drysdale, July 29, 2010

Barwon Water has been cleaning water mains in Drysdale/Clifton Springs as part of an ongoing regional water quality program.

During this work, supplies have been taken offline temporarily.

Customers in the Drysdale/Clifton Springs area were sent letters about the planned maintenance program.

Cleaning mains can sometimes result in air becoming trapped in the supply network. Barwon Water endeavours to reduce the likelihood of this happening but, at times, some air may remain trapped and make its way to customer.

Aerated water normally clears quickly. This water may sometimes appear slightly milky but is safe to drink.

Barwon Water will update its website to reflect works in progress and apologises for any inconvenience.

To report water emergencies and faults please telephone 13WATER (13 92 83). This hotline is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Yours sincerely,

Luisa Munoz

General Manager Customers and Communication

Barwon Water

State Liberal Candidate for Bellarine will review council boundaries

The print version of the Geelong Advertiser today (July 29, 2010 p. 12) reports:

"State Liberal candidate for the Bellarine Kurt Reiter will review plans for a Bellarine municipality of he wins the election. Mr Reiter told the Geelong Advertiser Queenscliff and Point Lonsdale residents were warming to the concept of shifting the boundaries and scrapping the Borough of Queenscliff."

Could this mean creating a Bellarine Council?-It will be interesting to see where the debate heads as it gets closer to the State Government election at the end of November.

Loam Restaurant in Drysdale in the running for awards

The print version of the Geelong Advertiser, (29 July 2010 p. 3) reports that Loam Restaurant chef Aaron Turner is in the running for two prestigious Australian Gourmet Traveller food awards.

A profile on Aaron is available from the Australian Gourmet Traveller.

The September 2010 issue of Gourmet Traveller will have all the winners.

Update to - Is Barwon Water turning your water off during the night?

On Friday July 23, I posted an item asking if anyone else had experienced air in their water pipes and wondered if Barwon Water was turning the water off and not telling any one.

I was very surprised, when I received a phone call late on Monday afternoon from Barwon Water - it appears they read this blog!

And yes the water was turned off on July 21 between 10am and 4pm.  We were supposed to be notified of the work at least a few days prior - but we were not.

I was informed by a very nice customer relations spokesman from Barwon Water that about a year ago Barwon Water outsourced their water work notification service to Australia Post and that every now and then some one misses out on the notification - it appears it was my turn.

Barwon Water was considering posting a response on this blog regarding what had happened, but they must have decided against it.  That is a shame, it would be nice to see them engaging with their customers in this open forum.

So at least the mystery has been solved and yes I still have air in the water pipes, but it is slowly getting better.

Clifton Springs Retirement Village - Map now available

The Pinnacle Living Bellarine Springs Retirement Village now has a map available


200 units are planned for the site.

I guess they are waiting on the outcome of the special charge for drainage in the area which is currently being "discussed" between affected residents and the Geelong Council before they start building.

Clifton Springs Beach Identified as a Priority Area for Marine Protection in Victoria

The Victorian National Parks Association (VPNA) has completed its fourth  Nature Conservation Review which identifies the sheltered marine environment off Clifton Springs as containing flowering seagrass beds that support very high marine productivity.

Clifton Springs is but one of 20 priority areas that the VPNA would like to see be made into a marine park. They are campaigning the Victorian Government to protect an additional 20% of marine and coastal areas by 2012.

Below is a map of the identified areas by the VPNA which they would like to be make into marine parks in Victoria.

An article in the Bellarine Times by Garry Kerr on 20 July 2010 p. 77 states that this review was produced without consultation with all stakeholders and has not taken into account the socio-economic impact on the areas named.

Garry argues that:

"Recreational anglers, tourism representatives and commercial fishing communities need to make an unequivocal and united statement and tell governments and opposition parties across the state that they do not accept these latest proposals from the VNPA... Now, you can either sit back and take the attitude "she'll be right" or you can contact your local MPs - both federal and state, both Labor and Liberal - to get their parties to commit to proper consultative arrangements and inclusion of all parties when discussing our future prior to the next elections."

What do you think?

Finalisation of a Special Charge Scheme for construction of Duke Street, Granville Street, Palmerston Street and part of High Street, Drysdale

The Agenda for the Geelong Council meeting scheduled for Tuesday 27 July 2010 has been published on the City of Greater Geelong website. Of interest to Drysdale / Clifton Springs residents is the finalisation of a special charge scheme for the construction of Duke Street, Granville Street, Palmerston Street and part of High Street, Drysdale - commly referred to as the Duke Street group. Below is an extract from the agenda:
DUKE STREET GROUP OF STREETS, DRYSDALE - SRC 296 - FINALIZATION OF SCHEME
Portfolio: Transport & Infrastructure - Cr Richards
Source: City Services - Engineering Services
General Manager: Gary Van Driel
Index Reference: Subject: Special Rates and Charges
Street: Duke Street

Summary

• This report relates to the finalisation of a Special Charge Scheme for construction
  of Duke Street, Granville Street, Palmerston Street and part of High Street, Drysdale, known as the Duke Street group of streets as shown in the attached plan – Appendix 13-2.
• Council declared a special charge for the scheme on 11 March 2008.
• The scheme involved 58 properties as shown on Plan – Appendix 13-2.
• The scheme has been prepared in accordance with the Special Rates and Charges provisions of the Local Government Act along with Council’s Comprehensive Infrastructure Funding Policy.
• The report seeks a resolution by Council to ‘vary’ the special charge for the works to finalise the Duke Street Group of Streets, Drysdale Special Charge Scheme. The process is shown in Attachment 13-1 – Process Chart.

Recommendation
That Council having declared a special charge on 11 March, 2008 for the purposes of defraying the expenses in relation to the construction of Duke Street between Wyndham Street and Newcombe Street, Granville Street, Palmerston Street and High Street, Drysdale (Appendix 13-2 – Plan) in accordance with Section 163 of the Local Government Act 1989 (the Act) resolves that:
1) the special charges as declared be varied in accordance with actual costs incurred on the project as required by Section 166 of the Act as shown in Schedule A – Appendix 13-1;
2) the General Manager of Corporate Services is authorised to levy and recover the special charges by sending notices to the persons who are liable to pay in accordance with Section 166 of the Act and the Regulations; and
3) in accordance with Section 172, the rate of interest which is payable on the special charges which have not been paid by the specified date is set at Council’s overdraft rate, reviewed every three months (provided that it shall not exceed the rate fixed by the Governor in Council by Order for the purposes of Section 172 2A in which case the rate of interest shall be the maximum rate fixed by the Governor in Council by Order for the purposes of the Section). The interest is to be calculated from the date the special charge is due, with a six months interest free period, providing those persons who choose to pay by instalments adhere to their repayment plan.

A plan of the affect properties is reproduced below:

More information is available from the Geelong council Agenda for 27 July 2010 - in pdf format (6280kb).

Is Barwon Water turning your water off during the night?

This past week I have noticed air in our water pipes when I turn a water tap on first thing in the morning.

You usually get this when the water has been turned off up the line somewhere.

I have not been notified of any "water works" in our local area.

Its like Barwon Water has been turning the water off during the night to do work and not telling anyone.

I checked their website and they have a new page called: Current water interruptions in your area - great news I thought - this might tell me something.

However the content on that page was so illuninating it says: Coming Soon.

Can't come soon enough!

The Australian Fleetwood Mac Show coming to Clifton Springs

On Saturday August 28, 2010, the Australian Fleetwood Mac Show is playing at the Clifton Springs Golf Club.

Cost is $50 a head for a 2 course meal including entertainment - drinks are extra.

To book phone 5251 3391.

Geelong Council trialling new energy efficient street lights in Clifton Springs

The Geelong Council is trying to reduce its CO2 emissions by installing energy efficient street lighting in Clifton Springs.

"Forty seven conventional streetlights in Clifton Springs will be replaced with 28 watt T5 ‘Streetworx’ lights."

More information is available from the media release from the City of Greater Geelong: Energy efficient street lights trialed in Clifton Springs

Panel Review hearing on Drainage set for Tuesday 20 July at 4.30pm

The Geelong Council has scheduled the Panel Review hearing on the drainage issue in Central Road, Ada Street, Thomas Street and Jetty Road for this Tuesday 20 July at 4.30pm.

The lucky residents who have the opportunity to be heard received letters in the mail on Thursday (15 July).  Not much time given the council previously advised residents they would receive 2 weeks notice for the date of the hearing.

One might assume they did not want anyone to attend, but am I being too cynical about this so called consultative process? So much for open and transparent government.

More information is available from Dryclift Days article entitled: Local Voices Down the Drain?

Update: 2.15 pm, 19 July - the Geelong Council has now postponed the hearing until Tuesday 17 August - those affected were notified by phone today.  This is a good outcome for residents, now they will have adequate time to prepare for the hearing.

Curves Members donate more than 1000kg of food to the Drysdale Food Bank

The month of June saw members of the Curves women's fitness gym donate more than 1000 kg of non perishable food to the Drysdale food bank.

Many other members of the community also donated including the Drysdale Football Club

The food will be used in the Food Bank Plus program at Drysdale Family Support.

As an aside, Curves has a special on at present - you can join now and get your 30 minute workouts during the rest of winter for free. You can contact Curves on 5253 3029 for more information.

Portarlington Passenger Ferry Survey Results Released

The results of a survey into potential patronage numbers for a ferry service between Portarlington and Melbourne were released last Friday - 9 July.

The study information is available to the public, interested parties and potential proponents for ferry services.

Around 400 residents across the Bellarine region were interviewed by telephone on a ferry service.

Residents who regularly travel to Melbourne were also invited to meetings held at Ocean Grove and Portarlington to discuss transport options and their likelihood of regularly using a ferry service and what ticket fare they would be willing to pay for a return trip.

The survey results 132 page report entitled: PORTARLINGTON TO MELBOURNE FERRY SERVICE - Passenger demand estimation is available from Parks Victoria.

Key conclusions were:

Best estimates are for approximately 400 return trips by commuters each weekday, taken mainly in the morning and afternoon peak periods, and 500 discretionary trips per day taken by non-commuters, spread throughout the day and on weekends. It needs to be understood that the estimate of commuter demand is subject to a higher margin of error than the estimate of non-commuter demand.

Both estimates assume a $30 return fare, inclusive of connections in Melbourne. This fare amount is open to conjecture and would depend upon the actual costs of the ferry operation and the extent to which it may be subsidized. Latent demand among potential visitors from Melbourne in particular should also be considered as longer term potential for the ferry service, as facilities and transport connections are developed at Portarlington and Port Melbourne; as should projected population growth and changes to this growth brought about by the existence of any future ferry service.

At this stage, it would appear prudent to conduct some basic analysis to determine whether a ferry service of the type envisaged would be viable in the near term, given the passenger numbers estimated in this report.

Beacon Point Pre-School - Mum's night out July 23

On Friday July 23 at the Springdale Neighbourhood House in Drysdale,  Beacon Point Pre-School is hosting a Mum's night out.

There will be food, wine and great shopping stalls from 7.30 - 10.30pm.

Cost for entry is $5 at the door.

For more information please contact Melissa: 0401 405 441.

Geelong Council seeking grant to extend Drysdale Netball Courts

Geelong Council seeking grant to extend Drysdale Netball Courts

The Geelong Council is seeking funidng from Sport and Recration victoria to extend the Netball courts at the Drysdale Recreation Reserve.

"Option 1 (Recommended): Drysdale Football Netball Club – Netball Court Extension Construction of one new netball court including lighting, at Drysdale Recreation Reserve . This project will provide the club with the ability to move its operations from the disused tennis courts to the main netball courts currently used by the Peninsula Netball Association. This project has a high level of support from Netball Victoria, and leads to an increase in participation numbers at the reserve. Funding sources confirmed – Grant (if successful): $60,000 Council contribution required - $100,000..."

More information is available from the Geelong Council's agenday 13 July 2010 - page 28 - in pdf format.

Christmas in July at the Drysdale Bowling and Croquet Club

On Friday July 23, the Drysdale Bowling and Croquet Club is hosting a Christmas in July dinner.

Tickets are $20 per head for a two-course meal. Drinks are at bar prices.

There will be entertainment provided along with door prizes and raffles.

Dinner is at 6pm for a 6.30pm start.

You can pre-purchase tickets from the club bar between 4.30 and 6.30 pm  Drysdale Club Rooms in Collins Street.

Clifton Springs Men's Shed gets grant of $35K

The Bellarine Times reports this week (6 July 2010 issue p.3) that the Department of Planning and Community Development (DPCD) has awarded a grant of $35,000 to the Clifton Springs Men's Shed.

Improvements will be made to the plumbing, wiring, paving and insulation as well as upgrading telecommunications.

Further information about Men's Sheds grants applications is available from DPCD's grants website.