community groups Archives

2010 Maroondah Festival

Posted on 7 November 2010 by alex

The Maroondah Festival is one of the largest community events within Melbourne’s eastern suburbs, attracting approximately 30,000 attendees and featuring dedicated community, business, sustainability, fitness, teenagers and children.

The weather remained largely pleasant throughout the day, providing a contrast to the hot weather experienced in previous years. The new location at Town Park also provides additional shade and ensures that activities are closer together making the festival easier to attend.

As the Mayor I delivered the opening speech for the Maroondah Festival, welcoming community members and highlights the partners that assisted in delivering the event:

Alex at the opening of the 2010 Maroondah Festival.

On behalf of the Maroondah City Council I would like to welcome everyone to the 2010 Maroondah Festival.

In the spirit of Reconciliation, we acknowledge that we are meeting on land for which the Wurundjeri people have been custodians for many centuries, and on land which the Indigenous Australians have performed age old ceremonies.

We, Maroondah City Council, accept, respect and have shared with the Wurundjeri people in their customs of welcome.

The Wurundjeri people support the coming together of all people, respecting their individuality to focus on a unified and cohesive nation.

This year marks the 21st anniversary of this wonderful community event and we invite you and your families enjoy the beautiful sunshine and take part in the huge array of activities available here today, including some fresh new initiatives and of course the old favourites.

I would especially like to extend a warm welcome to Ringwood Honda as the principal sponsor of the 2010 Maroondah Festival. Be sure to visit the Ringwood Honda stand next to the Information tent to collect your free Honda merchandise and check out the latest range of Honda vehicles on display. There will also be an opportunity to talk to the friendly staff from Ringwood Honda and enter the draw to win some fantastic prizes including a Honda lawn mower valued at over $800.

At the Festival today, over 150 local groups and businesses have come together to provide information on their networks, goods and services. With their continued support, the Maroondah Festival has grown to become the most well supported community Festival in Melbourne’s east.

I invite everyone to visit the Denso Australia Group – Community Expo today and learn more about the valuable work undertaken by our fantastic local community groups.

We are also fortunate that we have many businesses in our municipality who support the Maroondah Festival. I would like to thank the following businesses for their generous sponsorship at this year’s festival:

Ringwood Honda: The principal sponsor of the Maroondah Festival
Bankwest – sponsor of the Main Stage
Denso Australia Group – sponsor of the Community Expo
Maroondah Weekly – our media partner
Anaconda – sponsor of the Fun and Fitness Arena
Ventura – sponsor of the Park n Ride service
Jalna – sponsor of the Fun and Fitness Walk breakfast

An event the size of Maroondah Festival requires a lot of planning and hard work and I would especially like to extend a huge thank you to all of the volunteers and staff assembled here today. In particular I would like to acknowledge the assistance of St John Ambulance and Victoria Police, and I would also like to thank the staff of Maroondah City Council and Fruitbowl Productions.

I hope that you enjoy the rest of the day, visit the Festival Information tent to find out about the huge array of activities on offer and be sure to take advantage of the free sunscreen.

Thank you all for being part of this fantastic event and celebrating our wonderful Maroondah community.

I would now like to welcome to the stage, the Yarra Valley School band.

November Broadcast on 98.1 Radio Eastern FM

Posted on 5 November 2010 by alex

Radio Eastern is a community based organisation located at Wyreena Community Arts Centre, that broadcasts on 98.1 FM.

Each month Councillors are invited to participate in an on-air interview on 98.1 FM and this morning I discussed upcoming Council activities, as well as reflected on the year as Mayor. During the interview I highlighted the governance reforms that were undertaken this year, including the encouragement of debate and discussion in the Chamber and presentations through deputations to Council. This ensures that decisions are being made in an open and transparent nature and ensures that community groups and individuals can make formal presentations to Council.

In relation to upcoming events I discussed the the Maroondah Festival, which will be held on Sunday the 7th of November. The Festival is Maroondah’s largest event, featuring community organisations, interactive displays, music and stage performances, including dedicated areas for community, business, sustainability, fitness and a youth precinct.

I also reminded the community that nominations for Maroondah’s Australia Day Awards close on Friday the 19th of November. The Australia Day Awards provide an opportunity to recognize prominent Maroondah citizens and community events.

Details on the Maroondah Festival and the Australia Day Awards are available from the Council website at www.maroondah.vic.gov.au.

Media Release: Maroondah’s top youth recognised

Posted on 27 October 2010 by alex

Maroondah City Council recognised the efforts of more than 45 young people at the 2010 Youth Volunteer Recognition Evening on Thursday, October 21.

Maroondah Mayor Councillor Alex Makin, who attended the night, said the event recognised the outstanding contribution made by young volunteers and leaders in the Maroondah community.

“Young volunteers in Maroondah play an important role in our society, and it is important to have events like the 2010 Youth Volunteer Recognition Evening to officially recognise the efforts that these young people are putting in to help others in their community,” Cr Makin said.

“Whether it be by organising events for young people or acting as a role model for new settlers in the community, all of these volunteers have dedicated their own time to better the lives of others, and they should be applauded for their efforts,” Cr Makin said.

“It is great to know that we have such generous and dedicated young people working to better our community,” Cr Makin said.

Guest speaker for the 2010 Youth Volunteer Recognition Evening was Gerard Pidoto, owner of Fist2Face Music Store in Ringwood.

“Gerard spoke about his own past involvement in volunteering for a number of organisations including Maroondah Youth Services and talked about how the skills he learned through volunteering had helped him in his journey to become a successful business owner,” Cr Makin said.

The individual awards went to:

Matthew Allard, Joshua O’Toole, Frances Rowlands, Lane Tukiri, Kristie Stark, Matthew Bass, Katelyn Smith, Melissa Nicholls, Georgia Appleton, Naomi Corbett, Jonathan Medlin, Scarlett Sobota, Shenae Kerr, Darcy Krenn, Mikaela Kos.

The group awards went to:

EV’s Festival Crew: Josh Kerr, Ashley Mallett, Marissa Lee, Alex Wakeley, Jessica Wilson, Jackson Miller, Kayla Jones, Sophie Gill and Sarah Ross.

Beaut Buddies: Anyang Majok, Rosetta Ivy, Mary Mabior, Parku Khup Lian, Mitch Gowland, Tania Tuima, Jodie O’Donahue, William Smith.

Audio District 2010 Maroondah FReeZA Group: Athena Soldo, Christie Taylor, Stephanie Luff, Brittany Josephs, Eleanor Savage, Gage Roberts, Shane Barton, Ratih Grayson-Widarsito, Keely Lohman, Montee Douglas, Gavin Styles

1st Croydon Hills Scout Group: David Nicholls, Tahlia Purdie and Rochelle Anderson

– ENDS –

Launching the Missing Piece – Advocacy for Ringwood Station

Posted on 13 October 2010 by alex

Ringwood Station fails to meet disability compliance standards and is perceived to be unsafe due to the poor station design, including narrow and steep ramps. The community has continually called for the full redevelopment of Ringwood Station into a safe, accessible and integrated interchange that will meet the needs of Ringwood as a vibrant urban centre.

While public transport is a State Government responsibility, Council must advocate on behalf of its community and it is clear that Maroondah is seeking a commitment for the redevelopment of Ringwood Station.

Council has been circulating a petition for the past month which has now attracted over 2000 signatures with approximately 1000 visitations through social media tools, including Facebook and Youtube. This evening Council officially launched the Missing Piece campaign with a direct call to action for all political parities to commit to the station upgrade.

Alex with Margaret launching Maroondah's Missing Piece campaign calling for the upgrade of Ringwood Station into an accessible, safe and integrated transport interchange

Ringwood Station is the Missing Piece in a vision for Ringwood, since a lack of commitment diminishes the residential, commercial and community investment that is taking place. Margaret Stevens, a renowned accessibility advocate who spent a week at Eastland collecting signatures for the petition, joined me in launching the campaign and calling on all political parties to commit to Ringwood’s future.

Council’s video highlighting the condition of Ringwood Station was displayed throughout the launch reinforcing the accessibility difficulties that exist.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MSKJvKKnwoo[/youtube]

The speech provided during the launch is available within this post:

We, Maroondah City Council, accept, respect and have shared with the Wurundjeri people in their customs of welcome.

The Wurundjeri people support the coming together of all people, respecting their individuality to focus on a unified and cohesive nation.

As you have gathered here this evening, you will have seen the video playing overhead showing the difficulty people in our community, and particularly those with a disability, have accessing Ringwood Station and the 50 year old ramps leading to the station platforms.

This video has been an important element of an advocacy campaign Council has been running over the past six weeks.

The campaign is seeking a funding commitment from all state political parties in the lead up to the State election for the upgrade of Ringwood Station within the next term of government.

The campaign has been running for six weeks with significant support and media coverage from Maroondah’s two local papers, editorial has appeared each week for the past 6 weeks.

Community support has been extremely strong, and to date we have over 2000 signatures to the petition, from individuals and community groups.

One of these individuals is here with us tonight, and I would like to acknowledge Margaret Stevens for her dedication to the cause in securing over 600 signatures from the Maroondah community and beyond during a week at Eastland. In addition, several members of the community, including Dawn Oliffe spent time at Ringwood Station securing signatures for the petition.

Margaret is one of many voices demanding action for Ringwood Station. I have spoken with many people during the course of this campaign and the message from the community is clear, Maroondah residents are tired of waiting, they want a safe, integrated, accessible and vibrant Ringwood Station, and they want it in the term of the next government.

Tonight, Council is launching “The Missing Piece – Ringwood Station” in the lead up to this evening’s Eastern Transport Coalition Forum.

Significant investment and development continues in Ringwood, with support from the State Government and private enterprise, however the commitment to fund the redevelopment of Ringwood Station remains the missing piece of the vision for the Ringwood Central Activities District.

As you can see within the Ringwood Central Activities District jigsaw, we have EastLink providing an important road transport corridor from Mitcham to Frankston, an area responsible for 40 percent of Victoria’s manufacturing output and over 1.3 million people living in the area and providing more than 350,000 jobs.

The sporting, recreational and leisure facilities that either currently exist (Maroondah Federation Estate/Maroondah Art Gallery, tennis, croquet, football and cricket), are under construction (Soccer), or awaiting funding (proposed Maroondah Aquatic and Leisure) in the Jubilee Park precinct are within walking distance from Ringwood Station and the Central Activities District.

New businesses and services are moving to Ringwood, bringing increased employment and spending, as evidenced by the Connect East building perched over EastLink.

Ringwood Lake Park is an icon of Ringwood, providing enormous leisure and recreational pleasure all year round for people of all ages and abilities.

The $39million bus interchange is poised to change the face of Maroondah Highway, however, it does not provide an interface with the existing Ringwood Station.

Residential housing development is showing consistent growth within the Central Activities District with private building developers showing their support for the vision of Ringwood. The new 10 story co-operative housing development will soon be home to over 100 people early next year.

Eastland and the Ringwood Market site are expected to see construction and expansion of retail, community and business floorspace, changing the face of Ringwood significantly.

The Lake to Creek project will see pedestrian and cycling links between the Mullum Mullum Creek and Ringwood Lake, adding another vital layer to the accessibility of our city.

It is time to add the missing piece to the Ringwood Central Activities District jigsaw, a new Ringwood Station.

It is time for each state political party to not only acknowledge the need for an upgrade to Ringwood Station, but to actually stand up and commit to fund this important piece of public transport infrastructure that remains the missing piece of the vision for the State Government’s own Ringwood Central Activities District.

The Maroondah Seniors Festival Expo

Posted on 13 October 2010 by alex

The Seniors Festival is held from the 3rd of October through to the 10th and Maroondah holds a range of activities for seniors throughout the festival.

The Seniors Festival is designed to empower seniors and to highlight the activities and groups that focus on the needs of senior residents. This morning I had the pleasure of launching Maroondah’s Seniors Expo, an information day held at Eastland and supported by many of the senior based groups within the municipality.

The speech I provided is available within this entry:

Continue reading “The Maroondah Seniors Festival Expo”

Overwhelming support for the upgrade of Ringwood Station

Posted on 1 October 2010 by alex

The community has overwhelmingly supported Maroondah City Council’s campaign calling for the upgrade of Ringwood Station, with several residents devoting their time to secure signatures for Council’s petition.

The petition was circulated through community groups and several residents have encouraged neighbours and family to sign the petition. In addition, residents Dawn Oliffe and Margaret Stevens both volunteered their time to collect signatures at Ringwood Station and Eastland.

Margaret handing over signed copies of the Ringwood Station petition to Alex to submit via Council. Margaret spent the week at Eastland Shopping Centre supporting the petition and asking members of the community to sign the petition.

Margaret secured a stall at Eastland, where she spent the week encouraging community members to support the petition. During this time several hundred signatures were collected with a strong interest in the petition and I would like to thank Margaret, Dawn and the many members of our community that are supporting the petition and Council’s advocacy campaign.

This afternoon I accepted Margaret’s completed petitions on behalf of Maroondah City Council and thanked her for her commitment and time in supporting this campaign. Margaret is a well regarded accessibility advocate, who has first-hand experience with the access difficulties at Ringwood Station.

Media Release: Councillors show support for Ringwood Station petition

Posted on 22 September 2010 by alex

Maroondah City Councillors have thrown their support behind the Ringwood Station Petition and are urging other members of the community to get behind the campaign.

All nine Maroondah Councillors have signed the petition which is calling on all state political parties to commit to an upgrade of Ringwood Station within the term of the next government.

Maroondah Mayor Alex Makin, who was the first signatory on the petition, thanked the community for their ongoing support of the campaign.

“There have been many community groups and individuals, who feel strongly about the station upgrade, circulating the petition around the region,” Cr Makin said.

“We appreciate the community support, but to make the signatures count, the petitions need to be returned to Council by Friday October 1,” Cr Makin said. “The petition will then be collated and presented to State Parliament in the final sitting week before the state election.”

“The more signatures and community support we can generate through the petition the stronger our voice is to ensure the funding commitment is made. So it’s not too late to sign the petition at one of Council’s service centres or on council’s website,’ Cr Makin said.

To sign the petition or find out more about the campaign:

Visit one of Council’s service centres:

City Offices Service Centre
Braeside Avenue, Ringwood

Eastland Service Centre
Level 2, Eastland Shopping Centre, Ringwood

Croydon Service Centre
Civic Square, Croydon

Go online to watch the video, to complete an online submission or to download a copy of the petition:
Maroondah Council website – www.maroondah.vic.gov.au
Maroondah Youth Services website www.maroondahyouthservices.com.au
Facebook – www.facebook.com/ringwoodstation

– ENDS –

Media Release: Draft Community Facilities Occupancy Policy and Pricing Policy on public display

Posted on 22 September 2010 by alex

Maroondah City Council has endorsed the draft Community Facilities Occupancy Policy and the draft Community Facilities Pricing Policy for public display.

The policies were presented at the Council meeting on September 20.

Council currently owns or manages more than 100 sports fields, pavilions, halls, meeting rooms and other facilities on behalf of the community.

Maroondah Mayor Councillor Alex Makin said the draft policies were developed concurrently and were directly aligned.

“The draft policies provide a comprehensive framework for the community use of Council owned or managed facilities,” Cr Makin said.

“The draft Community Facilities Occupancy Policy and the draft Community Facilities Pricing Policy will guide the process of determining appropriate occupancy agreements and pricing structures for all Council owned or managed facilities and ensure the agreements are consistent and transparent,” Cr Makin said.

“The draft policies aim to establish clear frameworks so the community groups know what they are paying for, why they are paying and that other users groups in similar situations are contributing in a consistent manner,” Cr Makin said.

“Under the draft Community Facilities Occupancy Policy community groups wishing to use Council owned or managed facilities will have to undergo an assessment to determine the suitability of the proposed arrangement and the length of tenure. Once this assessment has taken place Council will then discuss the rate of rental,” Cr Makin said.

“There are two existing policies relating to the occupancy and the pricing of community facilities, however these policies have not been updated for a number of years. During this time there has been changes to legislation, increased emphasis on risk management and occupational health and safety requirements and changes to the way the groups are using the facilities,” Cr Makin said.

“To meet these new needs Council has also reassessed the pricing structure associated with the use of Council facilities. The current pricing structure has been in place for the past 11 years and was established with the intention that Council could recover an estimated 30 per cent of facility maintenance costs,” Cr Makin said.

“In the past 11 years that margin has dropped significantly and Council is currently recovering on average 3 per cent of maintenance costs for the sporting grounds and 15 per cent for the pavilions,” Cr Makin said.

“Council believes the sporting grounds and community facilities are integral to the development of a strong community, which is why we subsidise and support the many groups which use them,” Cr Makin said.

“We need to have a system in place which allows for the reasonable, transparent and equitable use of these facilities,” Cr Makin said.

The policies cover most Council owned facilities or grounds including:

Council Owned Community Halls
Community Centres
Kindergartens
Senior Citizens Centres
Sporting Pavilions
Sports Grounds and sporting activity surfaces
Scout and Guide Halls
Facilities managed by Council Committees of Management
Maroondah Federation Estate

The draft policies will be on public display until October 26. Those wanting to make a submission must do so before this date. Following consideration of the submissions the policies will be amended where appropriate and Council endorsement will be sought.

– ENDS –

Eastern FM – discussing Council’s advocacy role

Posted on 3 September 2010 by alex

Radio Eastern FM is a community radio station that broadcasts on 98.1 FM from studios at Wyreena Community Arts Centre. The radio station has a variety of programs, including interviews with Councillors on the first Friday of each month.

This month I was interviewed on Radio Eastern FM to discuss Council’s role in advocating on behalf of the community and to provide further details on Council’s campaign calling on all political parties to commit to the upgrade and redevelopment of Ringwood Station.

The State Election in November provides the ideal opportunity to secure a commitment towards Ringwood Station, so that it becomes an accessible, safe and integrated transit interchange. While the State Government has committed $39 million to redevelop the bus interchange and station forecourt, further funding is required to improve the station itself, including ramps that fail disability compliance standards.

The redevelopment of Ringwood Station is essential to transforming it into a vibrant, sustainable and accessible urban centre. Ringwood will only be successful as a Central Activities District if it is provided with public transport infrastructure and services that are accessible, safe and easy to utilise. The current station does not meet this criteria and needs a State Government commitment to secure its redevelopment and upgrade.

Council is working in partnership with the community to secure the upgrade of Ringwood Station. A petition is available at Council Service Centres, as well as online at www.maroondah.vic.gov.au so that community members can demonstrate their support for the redevelopment of Ringwood Station.

In addition, I will be writing to community groups to outline how they can get involved in the campaign and assist in securing a commitment from all political parties towards the vital redevelopment of Ringwood Station.

Council will be continuing this campaign in the lead-up to the State Election and will be holding an official launch in mid October. Regular updates will be provided on the progress of this Campaign and I look forward to working with the community to advocate for a safe, accessible and integrated Ringwood Transit Interchange.

Maroondah Community Volunteer Luncheon

Posted on 4 August 2010 by alex

The Maroondah Community Volunteer Luncheon provides an opportunity to thank the many volunteers that dedicate their time to community groups and causes within the City of Maroondah. In addition, the luncheon provides an opportunity for groups to meet and network with each other and thus share their experiences in volunteering within the community.

Our community is enriched through the active involvement and participation of people who volunteer within the municipality. Maroondah City Council appreciates the work of these volunteers and the luncheon is our way of showing our support.

The speech I delivered is available within this post:

Continue reading “Maroondah Community Volunteer Luncheon”