Cassowary Coast Community Connect #46 23 June 2023

COMMUNITY CONNECT

One Coast - Cassowary Coast

Council seeks community input

Cardwell’s Bowen Street upgrade design

CASSOWARY Coast Regional Council is seeking community feedback on the draft plan to upgrade a section of Bowen Street, between Liverpool Street and Dalrymple Street, Cardwell.

Cassowary Coast Regional Councillor Barry Barnes said Bowen Street is a key road in Cardwell and Council wanted to ensure that any future upgrades were supported and influenced by the community.

“During my time as Councillor, residents have raised Bowen Street as a priority for the community and I am pleased that a plan is progressing to address the issues raised.

“Community feedback will help

shape the final design. Letters will also be posted to directly impacted properties to encourage local residents to have their say on the proposed design.

“The community can visit Council’s Your Say platform, to view the design and provide feedback online. This can be found by visiting www.yoursay.cassowarycoast.qld.gov.au/bowen-street.”

Councillor Barnes said currently the road experienced drainage issues during the wet season and required regular maintenance. The proposed plan will widen the road, between Liverpool Street and Dalrymple Street to a consistent 7 metres wide, which will improve road user experience.

“Drainage will be improved with the installation of a roadside drain on the western side of the road and associated underground drainage.”

“Driveway accesses to the residences will be sealed to the property boundary, while amenity will be improved with the planting of street trees, landscaped islands and refurbished line marking.”

The community consultation period is now open and will conclude on 23 August 2023.

After receiving input from the community regarding the proposed plan, Council will proceed to secure funding for the construction phase, using the

finalised design. In the draft FY23/24 Council budget*, Council has a proposed budget allocation of $300,000 for preliminary activities, including service relocations. The scope of these works will be aligned to the first major stage of the project between Liverpool and Brasenose Streets.

Council is committed to keeping the community informed during project milestones. Updates will be sent out via email to interested stakeholders throughout the project. To join this mailing list, please visit yoursay.cassowarycoast.qld.gov.au/bowen-street and provide your contact details or call Council on 1300 763 903.

To submit your feedback and view a copy of the draft plans for the Bowen Street upgrades please visit www.yoursay.cassowarycoast.qld.gov.au/bowen-street

One Coast - Cassowary Coast

COUNCIL POOL FACILITIES - WINTER HOURS

COMMUNITY members should be advised that pool locations are currently operating under Winter Hours with some facilities closed during the Winter period from June

Innisfail

to August.

To find the most up to date information regarding each pool location, the community is encouraged to check out each facilities Facebook page.

• Closed for winter, will reopen in August 2023.

• Stay up to date on Facebookfacebook.com/innisfailswimschool

Mission Beach

• Heated lap pool and hydro pool open.

• Stay up to date on Facebookfacebook.com/MissionBeachAquaticCentre

Tully

• Closed for winter, will reopen 1 September 2023.

• Stay up to date on Facebookfacebook.com/TullySwimmingPool

Cardwell

• Closed for winter, will reopen 1 September 2023.

• Stay up to date on Facebookhttps://cutt.ly/mwtnBeIV

For more information visitcassowarycoast.qld.gov.au/sport-and-recreation/swimming-pools

BEACH FURNITURE CLEAN UP COMMENCING IN SOUTH MISSION BEACH

NEXT

THE Cassowary Coast Regional Council is set to commence the next stage of a clean up initiative aimed at addressing the issue of items in our beaches and foreshore areas.

While it is delightful to bring a chair along to the beach and relish the picturesque scenery, we kindly request that you bring it with you, enjoy its use, and responsibly take it back home once you have finished. Cassowary Coast Councillor and Environment portfolio holder Jeff Baines thanked the community who assisted in the first beach clean up being a success.

“The next beach clean up will occur in late June, with Council officers visiting South Mission Beach, from the surf club to the boat ramp, to identify and provide owners a period of 14 days to remove the items in question. Notification will be issued by affixing a notice sticker to the respective items.” Councillor Baines said that for many of us, the beach holds a special place in our hearts, serving as a refuge that can be sought whenever needed.

It represents a small piece of paradise conveniently accessible to us and we all contribute to the preservation of these pristine spaces for the enjoyment of future generations.

For more information on the South Mission Beach furniture clean up program, please visit: yoursay.cassowarycoast.qld.gov.au/beach-clean

We want your feedback on current Council Community Grants!

CASSOWARY Coast Regional Council is undertaking a review of our Community Grants Program to understand the program’s effectiveness, accessibility, and impact. Council has a range of grants available throughout the

year to support community programs, events, arts and culture, youth participation, and more.

To help us understand how we can improve our grants process, we would like to hear about your experience

and your ideas for the Community Grants Program via the online survey: yoursay.cassowarycoast.qld.gov.au/ community-grants-review

This survey will be open until 14 July 2023.

One Coast - Cassowary Coast

HEART OF AUSTRALIA PROVIDES SPECIALIST MEDICAL SERVICES TO REGIONAL QUEENSLAND

HEART of Australia provides specialist healthcare and diagnostic testing clinics to Queensland’s regional and remote communities, and most recently, was in Innisfail during the weekend of 17-18 June 2023.

During the recent visit to Innisfail, Cassowary Coast Regional Council team members, Councillors, community members and Member for Hill Mr Shane Knuth were able to take a guided tour of one of the bespoke Heart Trucks that are fitted to a very high clinical standard to enable a full suite of specialist diagnostic services to be delivered.

Founded in 2014 by Dr Rolf Gomes, Heart of Australia services are aimed at complementing and working with public and private health services and operate with the same referral and care pathways as specialist services operating within the “bricks and mortar” environment.

Dr Rolf Gomes said Heart of Australia wants to reduce the health inequities that impact those living outside of metropolitan areas. By bringing these services to the doorsteps of our rural and remote communities, Heart of Australia is improving accessibility to specialist healthcare, enabling earlier detection and treatment of chronic and acute diseases.

By offering a service that provides scheduled visits to regions such as the Cassowary Coast, community members utilising this service will have ongoing, face-to-face contact with the specialist.

Cassowary Coast Regional Council Mayor Mark Nolan said this is of great benefit to members of our community who are

unable to travel two to three hours to seek specialist health services and who may not have a support person or carer able to travel and attend appointments with them.

“With lengthening wait times for both GP and specialist medical services having impacts on all sectors of our community, it is through Council’s support of innovative service providers such as Heart of Australia that we can contribute to improving health outcomes for our community,” said Mayor Nolan.

The Heart of Australia services do not receive recurrent government funding and therefore have a range of corporate and government and not for profit supporters and partners.

“Council is very pleased to be able to support Heart of Australia to offer regular services to community members from Council locations in Tully and Innisfail and we look forward to a long relationship with Heart Australia.

“Health and wellbeing are a high priority of our community as articulated through the outcomes of the 2022 Community Scorecard,” said Mayor Nolan.

Member for Hill Mr Shane Knuth said the service will provide additional options for our community Media contact 0417 721 754 | comms@ccrc.qld.gov.au members to attend to and will fill a gap in what is currently provided.

“The depth of specialist services offered to our rural and regional communities through Heart of Australia is of great importance and certainly shouldn’t be seen as competing with

our hospital and health services but adding another layer of accessibility for our community”, said Mr Knuth.

Heart of Australia is also aiming to minimise their carbon footprint, with its vehicles having solar power.

Cassowary Coast Regional Council acknowledges and is deeply appreciative of the work of all of the healthcare professionals who work tirelessly to deliver health and wellbeing services to our community.

For further information about Heart of Australia community members are encouraged to talk with their GP and visit the website www.heartofaustralia.com.au.

Left to Right - Prof Karam Kostner, Mayor Mark Nolan, Cr Renee McLeod, Shane Knuth MP, Cr Jeff Baines