My first official Mayoral duty was an interview with Eastern FM at their studios based at the Wyreena Arts Centre.
Eastern FM broadcasts on 98.1 FM and has a monthly radio segment scheduled for the first Friday of month, where interviews are conducted with one of the Councillors. As the newly elected Mayor I was invited to attend the the December interview and to discuss my vision for the oncoming year.
Topics included the need to encourage community participation, through a conversation of the values shared by the Maroondah community. Council has already begun working towards this through the Maroondah Community Wellbeing Plan but there is a need to keep the community engaged in this discussion.
I also spoke about the need for further work on Ringwood Station to ensure an accessible and integrated transport interchange that encourages sustainable forms of transport and serves as the catalyst for the transformation of Ringwood.
As the Mayor I will not be using the Mayoral Car so as to demonstrate that public transport is a viable form within our municipality. While further public transport improvements, such as more frequent buses and train services, are required to further encourage sustainable transport within Maroondah, I believe I will be able to undertake my Mayoral duties using public transport.
As the Mayor of Maroondah I welcome community discussion and debate. Please contact me on alex.makin@maroondah.vic.gov.au if you would like to discuss life within the City of Maroondah.