Items of Interest – Wednesday 20 February 2019

Following the positive response from last year’s approved animal inspection program, Council will again be conducting a doggy door knock to ensure pet owners are being responsible.

The selective inspection program aims to ensure that the owners of dogs comply with the registration requirements under the Animal Management Act (Dogs and Cats) 2008. The purpose of the program is also to ensure that owners comply with their duty to provide a proper enclosure to prevent the animal from wandering as per Council’s Local Law (Animal Management) 2018.

Mayor Tom Gilmore is strongly urging residents to ensure their dogs are registered with Council and comply with regulations. “There are serious fines for dogs that are roaming at large, and if they’re unregistered of course there are even more serious consequences,” he said.

The program will commence on 1 April and will run for three months. It will operate between the hours of 6.30am and 6.30pm, Monday to Sunday, with the majority of inspections to be carried out during normal working hours. While the program is Shire-wide, the focus will be on the Mareeba are surrounding areas.

Council voted today to slightly increase the sale of land price at the Mareeba Industrial Park to meet rising construction costs and the demand for future development.

Mayor Tom Gilmore said the existing sale price of $55 per square metre is not adequate to self-fund future stages of the development. “We have decided to marginally increase the sale price per square metre by $10 to support economic growth while remaining attractive to investors,” he said.

“Pricing for sale of lots was intended to be set low enough to attract investment while providing adequate cash flow to self-fund development of future stages,” Cr Gilmore explained.

Councillor Gilmore said the Industrial Park is continuing to thrive and Council is mindful of the demand and cost the adequate cash flow required to self-fund development of future stages.

“The park is pushing ahead with development and it is quickly becoming what it was always intended to be, and that is to be a nursery for employment, investment and business opportunities in Far North Queensland,” he said.

“We are confident that this slight price increase will not detract the appeal to investors but rather create further opportunity for the development and ongoing maintenance of the Park.

“To allow for current and potential interested parties to appropriately consider their options, the price increase won’t come into effect until 1 July 2019.”

The Kuranda Cemetery is nearing capacity and Council today put forward a proposed site for a new resting place for loved ones.

Within 12-18 months, the current cemetery will be unable to service the community and a new cemetery needs to be established.

Mayor Tom Gilmore said a number of sites were considered including existing cemetery and park reserves however the only suitable and feasible location for the new Kuranda Cemetery is in Koah.

“Council will undertake further investigation to determine the viability of the site located opposite the Koah service station off the Kennedy Highway as a new cemetery to service Kuranda and surrounding communities,” Cr Gilmore said.

“Although this isn’t in Kuranda itself, we have exhausted all other options and this option is the only site deemed suitable for a new cemetery.

“We need to plan for the long-term. This site is much larger than the current cemetery and if viable will service the community well into the future,” he said.