Tag: Eastern FM

Acknowleding the Wyreena Committee of Management

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The Wyreena Community Arts Centre is a Council facility located in Hull Road, Croydon, which provides a range of art and cultural activities for people within Maroondah.

Wyreena was formed due to the dedication of the Croydon community which fought to save the historic building from demolition in the 1970s. A committee was formed which successfully saved Wyreena and was constituted as a Committee of Management to oversee the direction and planning of the Centre. In recent years, the involvement in the Committee of Management has diminished and Council is now forming User Groups, which will provide ongoing community involvement in the planning of Wyreena Community Arts Centre.

This afternoon Council hosted an afternoon tea to acknowledge the dedication of members from the Committee of Management, including the efforts of former Councillors Maureen Naylor and Peter O’Callaghan. Over the past thirty years Wyreena has grown to include a community art gallery, cafe, art based classes and the studios of 98.1 Radio Eastern FM and this is due to the partnership formed between Council and the community to deliver these facilities.

November Broadcast on 98.1 Radio Eastern FM

Posted on 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.

Discussing Maroondah’s Draft Budget on Eastern FM

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Radio Eastern 98.1 FM is a community based station based at Wyreena Community Arts Centre and covers the municipalities of Maroondah, Knox and Yarra Ranges. The station interviews Councillors from Maroondah City Council on the first Friday of each month and the segment is used to discuss Council activities.

This morning I was interviewed in regard to the Council Budget, where I provided some context behind the 2010-2011 Draft Budget. Unlike State and Federal Governments which simply deliver their finalised budgets in May, Councils are required to undertake consultation in regard to draft budgets.

As a result, Council held a special meeting of Council on the 12th May, where Councillors adopted the Draft Budget by placing it on public exhibition, whereby written submissions can be made until 5pm on Tuesday the 15th of June.

In addition, submitters have the option of speaking about their submission in front of a panel of Council comprising of Cr. Nora Lamont, Cr. Rob Steane and myself that will meet at 7pm on Wednesday the 23rd of June.

The 2010-2011 Draft Budget with the accompanying four year Council Plan proposes a vision for Maroondah, where Council provides a new standard of community facilities, complemented with a return to an operational surplus within two years. Maroondah City Council has consecutively delivered an operational deficit and this situation cannot continue if we want to be in a position where we can deliver the best results for our community.

One of the new initiatives proposed in the Draft Budget is a new Regional Leisure and Aquatic Centre for Ringwood. The 2010-2011 Draft Budget proposes to undertake detailed design work, including community consultation, to ascertain the composition of this facility. This detailed design work, equates to 1.1% of the overall rate figure of 9.8%.

The detailed design work will ensure that the community consultation that is undertaken by Council will deliver tangible results and ensure that the proposed aquatic centre meets the needs of the community.

Council will be considering all submissions prior to the finalisation of the Council Budget, which will be held at a special meeting of council on Monday the 28th of June.

For further details on Maroondah’s Draft 2010-2011 Draft Budget please visit www.maroondah.vic.gov.au.

Eastern FM – discussing the process of filling a vacancy on Council

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This morning I spoke briefly to Eastern FM to discuss the process for filling a vacancy on council, given Peter Gurr’s resignation.

The method for filling a vacancy depends as to the whether the council has a multi-member or single member ward structure.

Maroondah now has three wards electing three Councillors each and under this system no by-election is required. Instead the votes that were cast for Peter at the 2008 election are distributed in order of preference and the candidate that receives an absolute majority of these votes (50% + 1) will be deemed elected. The successful candidate will be deemed to be elected for the remainder of this council term.

The counting will be undertaken on the 27th of January after the Victorian Electoral Commission (VEC) contacts each Arrabri Ward candidate from the 2008 election to confirm whether they wish to be included in the ballot.

Similarly to a standard council election, this process will be undertaken by the Victorian Electoral Commission and is independent of Council.

I ask members of the community to respect Peter’s decision and I wish Peter and his wife Helen all the very best into the future.

Tour of Eastern FM’s studios and Interview

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Eastern FM is a community radio station based at Wyreena Community Arts Centre in Croydon.  The station broadcasts on 98.1 FM and has coverage throughout Maroondah, Knox and the Shire of Yarra Ranges.

Eastern FM broadcasts to over 600,000 people in region and approximately 200,000 listeners.  This afternoon I was invited to a tour of the station’s studios and facilities, along with Wyreena Ward Councillors, Michael Macdonald and Rob Steane.

Eastern FM began full-time broadcasting on the 23rd of February 1991 from its studios at Wyreena and outside broadcasts at community events. Like many other community organisations, Eastern FM has plans to grow and continue meeting the needs of the municipality and the region. In particular the station is keen to develop additional studio space and further expand its outside broadcast program.

After the tour I joined Michael and Rob for an interview with Peter McArthur, a presenter at Eastern FM on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday mornings. The interview discussed the year ahead and looked back on 2009.

A recording of the interview was kindly provided by Eastern FM and is available from this website:

[flv width=”400″ height=”50″]http://www.alexmakin.com.au/audio/2009-12-24-eastern-fm.mp3[/flv]