Mayoral Message - July 2024

Published on 01 August 2024

As we draw closer to Local Government Elections, it is important to look outside of the politics and see some of the wonderful things that are taking place in the Yass Valley Region!

Yass Public School and Berinba Public School recently celebrated 100 days in Kindergarten. I was honoured to celebrate this milestone with the pupils and look forward to seeing them continue to thrive in their new lovely schools.

We welcomed three new Australian Citizens to the Yass Valley. It is perhaps one of my favourite aspects of being Mayor to have the privilege of conducting Citizenship ceremonies. Congratulations and welcome Carrie, Nadia and Martyn. I wish nothing but the best for you.

We saw Gundaroo awarded the Best Tiny Town in the Top Tourism Awards. Gundaroo will now represent the Canberra and surrounds region at the Australian Top Tourism Town Awards to be held at Parliament House in September. I’d wish you luck, but those who have been fortunate to visit Gundaroo (or better yet, to live there), would know that Gundaroo is something truly special indeed. Nevertheless, you’ve got all of the Yass Valley cheering you on. Congratulations to Council’s Destination Marketing team and Media staff who submitted the nomination, and for the community and local businesses who form the foundations of this wonderful town. Well deserved.

Yass saw the final installation of the refurbished heritage park benches on Comur Street. This is a very rewarding project that has been undertaken by the tireless team at the Men’s Shed in Yass. 16 benches were removed and disassembled before sandblasting the cast iron ends and repainting them. Almost all of the timber was replaced, sanded and painted with over 400 rusted nuts and bolts being replaced. This has been a favourite project of mine, and it’s good to see our streets lined with the fresh benches.

Council has successfully applied for and been offered two grants to construct an Active Circuit in Bowning ($1.3M) and a detailed design of the Yass Rail Trail ($0.7M). These projects are from the 2024/25 NSW Get Active grant program. It is good to see initiatives taken to improve the accessibility and longevity of our towns by catering to everyone within the community,

My fellow Councillors and I had our first Council meeting outside of the chambers as our previous residence has been demolished to make way for the new Crago Mill Precinct. In partnership with the Yass High School, we were pleased  to host our first meeting in our temporary location. We looked at several potential venues to host our Council Meetings to meet the criteria of: Adequate heating/cooling, accessibility for our cameras with power to livestream to our Youtube page, appropriate space to fit ourselves and those that may wish to attend in person.

I recently met young Oliver Casey. For those who have not been lucky enough to meet this talented youngster, Oliver of Oliver’s Lawns (12 years old) has been offering gardening services for free for those in need within the community as well as spaces such as St Clements and Zac’s Place. It was a pleasure to meet Oliver and Caron (Oliver’s mother) and have a chat about the incredible initiative that has been taken. The Yass Valley is fortunate to have such an outstanding citizen in their midst. It was a pleasure to gift Oliver with a high vis jacket and cones to ensure his safety when working out on the streets.

The Yass and District Historical Society recently celebrated their 63rd birthday. The celebratory lunch was held at the Yass Café, 63 years after the first meeting was held in 1961. These outstanding citizens are doing great work to preserve the history of our great town and district.

Yass saw the Wollondilly Waste to Art exhibition at the Community Centre. It was an honour to attend the opening of the exhibition and listen to Maisie’s Choir entertain us amongst the art. All pieces in the exhibition were created by innovative artists using waste materials. It’s great to see such initiative to reduce the amount of waste going to landfill.

On July 4th, Yass said thank you and goodluck to Senior Constable David Lutze as he marched out of the Yass Police force after 35 years of service, 22 of which were dedicated to the Yass Valley Community. Constable Lutze is now enjoying retirement and I wish him well on the next stage of his life.

The Yass Valley is full of wonderful people and communities, and it is a privilege as Mayor to meet so many of you on a daily basis. As we come up to the Local Government Elections, it’s important not to let politics deflect us too much from the great things that are happening every day. The Yass Valley is a beautiful place to live in, and it’s important to stop and appreciate the small things that are happening around us.

Service as a Councillor has its ups and downs, but if anyone is considering nominating, please do so. It is important that our community has a wide range of candidates to choose from.

Until next month,

Allan McGrath