Items of Interest – Wednesday 18 September 2019

The Mareeba Waste Transfer Station will undergo a $1.5 million redevelopment to improve the facility’s capacity to deal with waste and make it more user-friendly for residents.

Mayor Tom Gilmore said the upgrade was overdue. “There are no ready-made areas for recycling stockpiling of e-waste and no ability for staff to suitably supervise customers. Furthermore there are ongoing traffic management and safety concerns, which will be addressed in the redevelopment,” he said.

A financial analysis of future waste disposal options at the Mareeba landfill was undertaken to help identify the best value for money option for future waste disposal for Council over the next 20-30 years.

The project will include a new layout to accommodate bulk waste collection, additional transfer bins and more space for recycling.

The Mareeba and Dimbulah Swimming pools are on track to reopen at the end of the month, following the replacement of critical water treatment infrastructure, including the filtration systems.

Mayor Tom Gilmore said the existing pool infrastructure has been in operation for many years and has reached the end of its functional life. “Works have gone ahead as planned with minimal disruption and we thank the community for their patience while these works were completed,” he said.

The replacement of the filters at the Dimbulah Pool is partially funded under the Queensland Government’s Get Playing Places & Spaces program and the Queensland Government’s Works for Queensland program. The Mareeba Swimming Pool project is funded by the Queensland Government’s Works for Queensland Program.

Cotters Aquatic Swim & Fitness will continue to operate the swimming pools at Mareeba and Kuranda and also takeover the lease management agreement for the Dimbulah pool and Caravan Park. Council awarded the tenders for these community facilities at today’s meeting.

The expansion of the Mareeba Industrial Park is on track to be completed by the end of the year. The multi-million dollar expansion is to allow for increasing demand of investors wanting to set up their business in Mareeba. The Mareeba Industrial Park Expansion – Stage 3 project is funded through Round 4 of the Queensland Government’s Building our Regions program and Mareeba Shire Council.