The southern Granite Belt village of Ballandean has been given hope that it may receive some help towards mowing after the topic was brought up at a Connecting with Council session at the Ballandean Hall on 11 October.
John Cody, newly re-elected as president of the Ballandean Hall and Sports Club, told councillors and officers at the meeting that vehicles carrying council mowers regularly drove past Ballandean to mow at Wallangarra but no council mowing of verges was ever done at Ballandean.
He said that before amalgamation of the local councils, $2500 a year was provided by the council towards the mowing but that had dried up a year after amalgamation.
He said the community owned the hall, gun club, soccer club and two sheds that were on railway land, but needed assistance with a mowing programme and for water tanks for the public toilets that the group cleaned and maintained on a regular basis.
“We are quite asset rich but we’re struggling to meet some of the costs that are involved in maintaining these properties,” he said.
“You go to Wallangarra and mow their verges but we do it all here. You guys are well aware of the maintenance cost of mowers.”
Council CEO Dave Burges suggested the club’s committee apply for a community grant.
“It’s a maximum of $2000 but this is something that you could apply for straight away and it’s a simple process,” he said.
Mayor Councillor Vic Pennisi said if the committee wanted to ask for money as part of the budget they would have to put in an application that would be ideally submitted by January to be considered in next year’s budget deliberations.
On a more positive note, the community grants were open to individual groups, so the soccer club and gun club as well as the hall committee could apply.
