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President’s Report, TCC Meeting 4 February 2014

President’s Report, TCC Meeting 4 February 2014

eric portraitWelcome all to our first meeting for 2014. I hope you all had a relaxing time over the Xmas/New Year break and are looking forward to the year ahead. It’s been two months since our last meeting in December so I’ll start by mentioning a few things that happened during that time.

On Saturday 7th December, Mick Gentleman MLA announced the successful ‘Footsteps to Follow’ candidates at a ceremony at the entrance to Tuggeranong Town Park. Eight TCC members (past and present) were recognised for their contribution to our community. They were Glenys Patulny, Alison Ryan, Rusty Woodward, Bill Heins, Bob Weight, Rosemary and David Lissimore and Don Thomas. My congratulations to all. Each now has a small plaque mounted on the wall at the main entrance to the Park.

The Executive met with the Chief Minister on 10th December. This was a continuation of the regular practice of annual meetings. She did say at the outset that she valued these meetings and thought that of all the Community Councils, the TCC was the most interested in having them. We only had 30 minutes with her so we had to restrict the number of topics on the agenda. We spoke about Lake Tuggeranong water quality, potential loss of jobs if FaHCSIA (now DSS) re-locates, Ashley Drive duplication, increasing CIT facilities in Tuggeranong, Kings Swim at Calwell, Tralee and Light Rail.  In general, she agreed with or at least understood our views. We need to continue to beat the drum during this year as opportunities arise.

The Development Application for the Mugga Lane Solar Park was open for public comment until 20th December. The TCC did lodge a brief submission, the main issue being a lack of community consultation by the developer Zhenfa before the closing date. I’m still waiting for a reply.

I wrote to Treasurer Barr requesting that the ‘late fees’ being imposed on two projects in Tuggeranong (Kings Swim at Calwell and the Lanyon GP Centre) be waived. He replied advising that he couldn’t waive the fees but they were being significantly reduced.

So much for December/January, now what about the rest of this year? Here’s a few topics that we’ll be following with interest:

We expect to see the final recommendations for the proposed cemetery on Mugga Lane submitted to the Government. This is sure to generate considerable public interest.

The Department of Social Services (formerly FaHCSIA) will decide on its future office locations. This could potentially have up to 1,000 employees moving out  of Tuggeranong which would have a significant impact on businesses in the Town Centre. I spoke to the DSS manager responsible for this project today. He may be able to tell us the outcome at the March meeting.        

The South Quay residential development opposite Bunnings is moving along with the first land sales expected by mid year. More people living close to the Town Centre will bring new life outside business hours.

Lake Tuggeranong water quality is an ongoing problem especially during the warmer months. The TCC will continue to advocate for measures to be implemented to reduce the inflow of nutrients into the lake.

The Government is undertaking a review of the need for CIT services on the southside of Canberra. We are hoping that this will lead to an expansion of CIT courses run in Tuggeranong.

There are many other issues that we will be addressing during the year. If you have some concerns, please raise them with the Committee.

One comment

  1. Kambah Kid

    Dear Mr Traise,
    I attended the 4 Feb meeting and was impressed by your chairmanship. It is good to see the TCC meetings back on track and under control. At least you can stick to an agenda and don’t hog the microphone. Keep up the good work

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