Glen Park Community Centre is located in Glen Park Road in Bayswater North and has strong emphasis on community development, as well as providing courses for the local community. The Community Centre was recently redeveloped, through a partnership between Glen Park and SCOPE, to provide an accessible facility that can provide an inclusive environment for all people within our community.
Alex with the Arrabri Ward Councillors; Tony Dib, Paul Macdonald and Natalie Thomas along with Shaune Leane, MLC and Mike Symon, Member for Deakin, at the re-opening of the Glen Park Community Centre
This morning Glen Park Community Centre Council held a Picnic in the Park to celebrate the redevelopment of Glen Park Community Centre, as well with other recent improvements, including the redeveloped Sports Pavilion and the new Men’s Shed. Further improvements, such as a new play space will be completed later this year.
The Ringwood Spiders is a football team for people with disabilities and competes within the Football Integrated Development Association (FIDA), where they are fielding two teams for this season.
This morning I attended the Ringwood Spider’s Home Game at Jubilee Park where they competed against Mazenod for the Christian Ampt Memorial Trophy, in recognition of a former player of the Spiders who battled depression. The trophy will be played for each year in honour of Christian who had some of his best games against Mazenod. The match coincided with the Spiders Sponsors Day and provided an opportunity for sponsors to see how their support of the Spiders assists the Club and its members.
They gave their all in the second half and kicked away to a four goal buffer. But Mazenod were not done and two late goals tightened things up. It was a jubilant Spiders though that held on and ran out winning by 13 points.
The Ringwood Spiders has a strong community focus and prides itself on community inclusion. Initiatives such as the junior development squad and cheer squad continue to grow and enable people of all abilities to become involved within the Club and to be a part of the Ringwood Spiders.
While the match was the Spiders last home game for the season there are additional games throughout the season. For furhter information on the Ringwood Spiders please visit www.ringwoodspiders.com.
Lion Clubs,a part of an international movement of service organisations, which operate under the motto “we serve”. Maroondah has two Lions Clubs within the municipality, the Lions Club of Croydon and the Lions Club of Heathmont.
This evening I was invited to speak at an introductory evening for the Lions Club of Croydon, where I discussed the importance of service clubs within the community. The club held tonight’s information evening to introduce members of the public to the Lions Club of Croydon and to promote service clubs within the community.
The Lions Club of Croydon is involved in a range of community activities with a particular emphasis on social inclusion and community wellbeing. Projects include leadership development for schoolchildren and assistance for people with disabilities.
The Lions Club of Croydon meets on the first and third Monday of each month at the Dorset Gardens Hotel in Croydon. For further information please visit croydon.vic.lions.org.au
Eastern Volunteers is a not-for-profit community based organisation that provides volunteer recruitment and transport services for the frail aged and people with disabilities.
The organisation is preparing a number of events over the course of this year to strengthen volunteering within our community, including a Multicultural Spring Festival at Ringwood Lake.
As a board member of Eastern Volunteers I have been chairing the Festival’s working group, which is charged with seeking sponsorship and organising the event.
While the football season might be over for 2009 the Ringwood Spiders, are still meeting regularly in preparation for next year’s season.
This morning the Spiders organised a barbeque to reflect on their successes over the past year, including winning the 2009 Football Integration Developnent Association (FIDA) Premiers Cup.
The cheerleader squad and players demonstrates how our community can include people with disabilities.
Pre-season training is due to begin in February and the Spiders are enthusiastic about the year ahead where they will be defending their title as Premier winners.
2010 should continue to be another sucessful year for the Spiders as they defend their Premiership win.
Eastern Volunteers provides volunteer recruitment and transport services for the frail aged and people with disabilities. The organisation has approximately twenty staff members and is supported through at least a hundred volunteers who assist in program delivery and services.
Tonight’s dinner provided an opportunity to thank the staff and volunteers who devote their time to the organisation and ensure that Eastern Volunteers is able to deliver its service professionally and sustainably.
Eastern Volunteers continues to experience strong growth and is planning on undertaking a series of major events over the course of next year to further its goals of securing funds for a new premises.
These events include the Fun Run in March, a Business Networking Dinner for April, the second Annual Regional Conference for August and the Multicultural Food Festival for October.
These events will assist in raising the profile of Eastern Volunteers and encourage new organisations and community members to become involved in the organisation.
One of my first acts as the Mayor of Maroondah was to refuse the mayoral car.
I have been undertaking my council duties utilising a range of transport options, including public transport and walking. I believe it is imperative that we continue to encourage the use of sustainable forms of transport.
The Maroondah Leader has reported the decision to refuse the mayoral car:
Maroondah’s new mayor has vowed to ditch the mayoral car and use public transport instead.
“I’ll be taking the train and the bus and we’re going to have the mayoral Metcard, or the mayoral Myki depending as to when they introduce it.” Cr Makin said. “Given that I am a resident in the centre an area where we are encouraging people to use sustainable forms of transport, I want to lead by example.”
The usage and provision of public transport is vital to transformation of Ringwood into a vibrant, accessible and sustainable urban centre. The usage of public transport must be encouraged to enhance the mobility of Maroondah, through mitigating traffic congestion and improving social inclusiveness.
Cr Makin said he had not driven for years but got around his ward and performed his council duties successfully using public transport and walking.
While the centres of Ringwood and Croydon are relatively well-served by public transport, there is a need for further improvements to bus services to provide an alternative to driving to stations, as well as more frequent rail services during off-peak times.
Maroondah’s first Generation X mayor, aged 29, said he would focus on the environment and social inclusion. He invited constituents to contact him on Twitter, Facebook, his website or the phone.
As a council it is imperative that we are open to input and provide a range of methods to encourage discussion with our community. The Internet provides new methods of encouraging community participation and we should be at the forefront of using these tools to encourage dialogue and discussion.
As the mayor I will be continuing to regularly update my blog, as well as posting updates on Facebook and Twitter. I encourage members of the community to contact me so that we can continue making a difference in Maroondah.
In his inaugural speech on December 2, Cr Makin said the recent burning of the Ringwood Miners’ Cottage should prompt a public discussion on values to create “a civic pride that collectively demonstrates that such malicious destruction will not be tolerated”.
As a municipality it is imperative that we discuss the values shared by our community and work to reduce apathy and encourage civic participation. Acts like the destruction of the Miners Cottage should not be tolerated or accepted by our community and we need to create pride within our community to prevent such acts from occurring.
Cr Makin named priorities as the central Ringwood redevelopment, more venues for community organisations and access for people with disabilities.
The redevelopment of Ringwood provides a once in a generational opportunity to ensure that we get things right for Ringwood and to create an inclusive, accessible and sustainable urban centre. Pivotal to this will be the creation of community space where we can ensure that organisations can meet the needs of our community.
I hope that over the course of the next year I and my council colleagues will be able to achieve these goals.
Please continue visiting my website or follow me on Facebook and Twitter to discuss your visions for the City of Maroondah.
The Ringwood Chamber of Commerce aims to represent the business community within Ringwood and organises regular meetings for its members.
Tonight’s occasion was the final chamber meeting for 2009 and included discussion around the former Ringwood Market site, as well as an update on works for Ringwood Station, which are expected to begin from the middle of the year.
These developments, along with progress within the Eastland site should mark an exciting year as Ringwood begins its transformation into a vibrant urban centre.
In addition, VicRoads is undertaking consultation over Maroondah Highway, with consideration being given for the removal of clearways between Ringwood Street and Warrandyte Road. This would enable additional car parking to benefit shops along the Highway, as well as provide bicycle lanes and better access for buses.
Traders within the inner city are actively campaigning against clearways, given the detriment it has on shopping strips. The removal of clearways along Maroondah Highway and the encouragement of sustainable forms of transport will assist in revitalising the shops along Maroondah Highway.
In addition, this will also provide accessibility improvements for people with disabilities through making it easier to access Ringwood Station and its commercial district.
The VicRoads consultation concludes on the 1st of February, Maroondah Council will be supporting efforts that assist in the revitalisation of this part of Ringwood.
I would like to sincerely thank my colleagues for their support and confidence in me as we enter the 2010 Council Year and I begin my term as the Mayor of Maroondah.
The changeover of the Mayor from Cr. Peter Gurr to myself
It is indeed an honour and a privilege to be able to serve with such distinguished colleagues, all of whom have such a wide range of skills and experience. I look forward to this year as we strive to deliver the very best for the Maroondah community. We need to harness the collective experiences and skills of the people around this table and our community as we consider the decisions we will make in the oncoming year and beyond.
The challenge we need to set ourselves is to ensure that the decisions we make today are not regretted by future generations or future councils. We need to ensure that the decisions we make today are the ones that ensure the economic, social and environmental wellbeing of our community into the future. We must not leave a legacy where in people in 10 or 20 years or beyond wonder about the choices we made today.
Tomorrow is the International Day for People with Disabilities and this serves as a reminder of the need to create a society where everyone can fully participate in civic, commercial, recreational and residential opportunities.
We have a once in a lifetime opportunity to ensure that we get things right with the transformation of Ringwood into a vibrant, sustainable and accessible urban centre. I look forward to working with all levels of government to achieve this vision. Our community expects government to work in cooperation so that we can achieve the best outcomes for our municipality. It is through a collective vision that we can harness the full potential of governments working together to achieve positive outcomes for the community.
Alex delivering his acceptance speech for the 2010 Mayoral Year
I’ve lived in Ringwood since I was two years old, so my memories of growing up are centred around Ringwood and Maroondah, to be in a position where we can shape the future is one that is humbling and I want to ensure that our future generations respect the decisions that we make today.
While the transformation of Ringwood is obviously an exciting project, the City of Maroondah covers many suburbs and we need to ensure that all of our communities and their aspirations are heard and considered.
We also need to be mindful of the many community organisations that are in need of additional accommodation within Maroondah. The strength of a municipality can be measured by the vibrancy of the community organisations within it and we need to ensure that our actions take into account the need for community organisations to grow and develop so they continue to meet the needs of our municipality.
I am truly appreciative of the many community organisations that are present this evening, many of you have been with me during the highs and lows of council and I thank you for your ongoing support and for celebrating that occasion with us. Likewise, I extend my ongoing appreciation to my family who are here tonight and have stood by me during election campaigns and years of council. While the experience of being on council has been extremely positive, there have been times where it has been difficult; and it has been this support from my colleagues, family and the community that has kept me going.
Alex being inaugurated as the Mayor on the 2nd of December 2009
Approximately a fortnight ago the Ringwood Miners Cottage was tragically destroyed by vandals. We need to stop and reflect on the values of our community and work towards creating a civic pride that collectively demonstrates that such malicious destruction will not be tolerated.
We can only do this if we discuss the values that the Maroondah community holds true and I ask each of us to reflect on what it means to live within this municipality. We need to begin a narrative and a discussion about these values and ensure that we hold these principles true to ourselves and to others. I ask each of you to let me know how you would describe the values of Maroondah.
Many people know about my passion for technology. Let us embrace new technologies to lead this discussion and to encourage people to contribute to our community. Please send me your thoughts on Twitter, Facebook, my website or via phone.
These values will not be defined overnight but we should start this discussion and lead in creating this narrative and ensuring we have an inclusive and welcoming society.
Alex delivering his inauguration speech as Mayor on the 2nd of December 2009
In coming weeks I will be asking my colleagues to discuss their visions for Maroondah over the next twelve months. I want to ensure that we have a council that is focused on outcomes and on the wellbeing of our community.
I look forward to achieving these outcomes with my colleagues, as well as the corporate management team and staff of this council.
In closing I would like to thank our outgoing Mayor Peter Gurr for serving the City as Mayor over the past twelve months. I look forward to the future and I look forward to working in harmony with my colleagues, staff and the community as we plan and deliver for the future.
Monkami is a service provider for adults with intellectual disabilities and strongly believes in providing a range of opportunities for its clients, including drama and the arts. This year’s performance was another demonstration of Monkami’s commitment to the wider community and it was great to see the actors developing increasing confidence and skills during the production.
On the 5th of November I attended the Youth Volunteer Recognition Evening, which provides a chance to recognise the volunteering commitments of younger people. It was great to see the young people themselves involved in the preparation and conduction of the evening and to see that volunteerism is certainly strong within young people.
The 8th of November marked the new date of the Maroondah Festival and while the weather followed us to that date, it was great to hear the ongoing positive feedback about the new format and community involvement. I would like to commend the staff for their many hours in preparing and holding the event.
The 11th of November saw the launch of From Horse Shoes to High Heels, a history of Eastland, written by Richard Carter and introduced by our Director of City Development Phil Turner. This documented history of the Eastland site is timely given Ringwood’s status as a Central Activity District and the change that is proposed to occur.
While I believe that many people within our community would welcome change to Ringwood, it is always important to recognise the history of the area so that we can learn from the past and plan for the future. The book documents the history of the lots within what is now Eastland Shopping Centre and I do encourage people to read this history of one of the prominent locations within Ringwood.
Lastly, on the 12th of November I attended the Maroondah Volunteer Recognition Function, where we formally acknowledge the many volunteers within our City. I would like to add my congratulations to our residents that do dedicate their time to volunteering within our community.
