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July 2010
Newsletter
Family
Fun Weekend
Another successful Family Fun Weekend is
behind us despite losing the last hour or so because of rain. From the many comments we have received
it seems we now have a very popular event and one that is becoming widely
recognised within the wider community.
Initially we set out as one of our objectives to showcase Forster
Keys and now find it is being used successfully to promote the Great Lakes region.
However, this growth in popularity brings
with it added responsibility to ensue the event is as professional as
possible and to include activities to satisfy a wider range of
visitors. It is also sorely testing
our reserves of willing volunteers to work on food and beverage preparation
and sales, setting up and dismantling the necessary facilities, traffic
control and parking, cleaning, fencing and many other essential tasks. With this in mind we have decided that
next year we will investigate how we can involve other community groups in
some of these tasks.
All of us are aware of the wonderful job
our Dad’s Army and Navy do each week and whilst Council is very supportive
in the supply of equipment there are costs associated with our operations
such as insurance cover, maintenance of the boat and other equipment, our
meeting hall, correspondence and newsletters.
In the past, costs of this nature were
covered by the income for the food stall run for the triathlons. The Family Fun Day was then created to
replace this source of funding. It
is now important for support of Dad’s Army and Navy that we continue with a
fund raising activity and the Family Fun Weekend is now a way to do this.
Having said all of this we must also
ensure the event retains its popularity and meets the expectations of our
target audience which is clearly family groups.
With this in mind we have included with
this newsletter a survey aimed to discover what fresh ideas our residents
can come up with for the activities we provide over the weekend.
There has been discussion on the way in
which the power boats have become a major feature of the weekend and
whether there might be some way of incorporating a major event involving
the Dragon Boats as an alternative to the power boats. Perhaps, both groups might be given a day
each of the weekend.
We will also welcome your thoughts on how
the event might be better managed and how we can encourage the continued
support from our volunteers.
We hope you will take the time to complete
the survey and return it by the designated date.
Revetment
Walls
This issue has been raised once again
recently by some residents who are selling their property and the Real
Estate agents acting for them. Some
prospective purchasers have asked Council for compliance certificates to
include the walls that have been protected using the product installed by
Australia Pacific Seawalls. Sadly,
Council is still unable to issue such certificates.
Some of you might remember the condition
of the walls installed some 30 odd year ago have been deteriorating and in
some cases had collapsed. When the
canal subdivision was constructed it included a barrier between the
properties and the canals of Super 6 Asbestos
Cement sheeting. This material has limited life when
exposed to the elements, particularly sea water.
Council refused to accept any
responsibility for the maintenance of the walls and a proposal was put to
Council in 2007 to allow those residents who wanted to repair their walls
to use the Superloc Sheet Pile Seawall System recommended by Australia
Pacific Seawall Pty Ltd.
Because the canals are legally designated
drainage reserves and are permitted to be used by the public they have now
become in legal terms “Community Land”. As such Council is unable to approve any private
structure that encroaches into the canals.
In a letter to the Association in
September 2008 a process was described to reclassify the “Community Land” to ‘Operational Land” which would allow
new revetment walls to be constructed using the “Superloc” process or its
equivalent within the drainage reserves.
We were advised this process would take some 18 months to complete
because of the Council staff workload.
Since the issue has again been raised
Council was contacted to determine the latest position. We have been advised by letter this month
that the initial action plan was not legally achievable and that Council is
now preparing a new Plan of Management to address the issues.
It has advised that the draft Plan of
Management requires a process of public exhibition, consideration of any
submissions received and formal adoption by Council before it can be used
to approve any of the structures.
Council anticipates that the process will take about 6 months to
complete.
In the meantime Council staff dealing with
applications for S149 certificates will be made aware of the process so
that they can provide appropriate advice to enquiries.
Any residents who have had these new revetment
walls constructed and are considering the sale of their property should
make themselves aware of the Council’s position and we will be happy to
provide them with a copy of the Council’s latest letter.
Association
Annual Subscriptions
It is that time of the year again when our
Treasurer, John Murrell will be sending out the subscription notices. There will be a change this year in that
the payment can be made at John’s address, 32 King George Pde or with Di
and Trevor at the Forster Keys Mini Market.
Phil at the “No Bull” butchery has
provided this service for a number of years and we are very grateful for
his wonderful support in this matter.
Annual
General Meeting
Please note in your diaries that the AGM will be held this
year on Friday 24th September at our meeting hall in Progress
Reserve. A further notice will be
sent out closer to the date.
Vili’s
Pies
A feature this year at the Family Fun
Weekend on the Sunday was the Vili’s pie van which was manned by Mum’s Army
and sold a big variety of pies. They
proved to very popular and it has been agreed they will be on the menu for
future events.
We have a few boxes of the Beef, Beef and
Mushroom and Chicken pies left. They
were snap frozen at a commercial freezer immediately after the event and
the manufacturer advises they can be kept for two years frozen. We are offering them to our residents at
a greatly discounted price of $40 for a box of 24.
Please contact one of the Executive listed
below if you would like to purchase a box.
Association Contact
Details
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President:
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Don Sheffield
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1 Victor Ave
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6557 6877
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Secretary:
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Rod Lawton
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114 Elizabeth Pde
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6555 2371
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A/ Secretary:
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Marion Carney
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32 King George Pde
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6555 3314
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Treasurer:
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John Murrell
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32 King George Pde
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6555 3314
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This newsletter is produced by Don Sheffield
on behalf of the Executive Committee of the FKRPA
Newsletter Archives
June 2010 March 2010 January 2010 November 2009
Back to top
June 2010
Newsletter
May
General Meeting
On Friday 21st May we held a
General Meeting of the Association and it was well attended. Reports were
given from the various areas of our activities by members of the Executive and
I will cover some of those matters in this newsletter.
We also had a presentation from Country
Energy staff on ways in which residents might save electricity and
hopefully offset some of the increases which seem to be inevitable in our
power bills. The presentation was well received and there was ample time
for questions over coffee, tea and scones.
Water
Quality Issues
You are probably now well aware that the
blockages to the channel from Pipers Creek to Wallis Lake have been cleared
with a Council contractor dredging the sand that had built up at the
southern end of the channel through to the channel markers in the Lake.
The sand was pumped into a holding basin
formed on the reserve at the southern end of Victor Ave and as soon as it
is dry enough to be moved will be trucked to a deposition site off Cape
Hawke Drive as part of the extension of the Southern Parkway.
There was a delay in commencing this part
of the project as very fine silt was dredged from where the new channel
connected with the deeper water in the Lake. With the continued wet weather
this material was proving difficult to move and the Council looked at a
number of methods to handle it. The solution that has proved to be most
effective was to mix woodchip mulch with the fine silt and this has dried
the silt sufficiently for it to be trucked away.
It is now expected that the sand can be
removed over the next two weeks and a commencement made on restoring the
reserve.
Council staff is aware of the concern of those
residents close to the holding basin about
delays to the work has and that several Casuarina trees along the
waterfront have apparently died. The Council has commenced the removal of
the holding basin and will level and lay new turf on the damaged reserve as
a matter of some urgency. Unfortunately, it has also added significantly to
the cost of the project.
On the bright side we now have a channel
from Pipers Creek to the lake approximately 2 metres deep and this should
be capable of accommodating any of the craft normally used in Pipers Creek
and our canals. We also hope that it will reduce some of the impediment to
tidal flow in this part of the waterway.
The other positive from this project is
that Council is now confident that clearing channels within our lake system
can be undertaken without any serious or long term damage to the ecosystem
that is so important to the health of the Lake.
Your Committee believes there are still
other works needed to significantly improve tidal flow and in turn water
quality in the Keys such as:
·
A second channel from Pipers Creek to the north into Wallis Lake
·
A connection across King George Pde between the two
canals as originally planned when the subdivision of the Keys was approved.
·
A continuation of the treatment works Council is
providing in the drainage catchment area feeding into the Kenrose Canal.
Council has advised that the Wallis Lake
Estuary Management Plan calls for continued investigations into opening up
the northern end of Pipers Creek to increase flushing. The oyster industry has some objections
to this and Council has made its priority the improvement of water quality
flowing from the catchment into the Kenrose Canal.
A grant is being sought from the State
Govt. to carry out ecological health monitoring in Pipers Creek. This will
help to determine the ongoing condition of the waterway and will help
establish the value of a northern channel from Pipers Ck. We will continue
to monitor these investigations by liaising closely with Council.
In the meantime Council presently has two
more water quality gardens under construction in the Palms Estate and
applications have been made to the Federal Govt to continue this work.
Council has also awarded a separate
contract for the hydrodynamic study required for a new channel to be
constructed across the “Step”. Hopefully this will mean a commencement of
the new channel across the “Step” in 2011.
Forster
Keys Family Fun Day
The preliminary work needed prior to this
event is now well underway. It will be held over the weekend of 10-11 July
2010.
The Taree Aquatic Power Boat Club will be
presenting power boat displays including a range of craft from some of the
old classics to the big hydros. There will be boats from the 60s and 70s
and blown boats, both operating on the water and in static displays.
This year we will have the local Dragon
Boat Club providing a demonstration and they also plan to provide
opportunities for you to try your hand at this very popular sport.
On the Friday before the Fun Day weekend
there will be a 9 hole golf event at the Forster Golf Club and a Gala
Dinner on the Saturday night at Club Forster. These two events are being
organised by the “Boaties”. You need to contact Fred Williams on 6555 2662
for tickets and bookings for these two events.
On the Sunday we will have the markets,
displays from the Historic Car Club, Scouts, SES, Rural Fire
Service and many other community groups. There will be a wide range of
activities for the children with our usual ring events, Bouncy Castle, Face
Painting and the very popular Dog Show.
To
overcome the problems of catering we have experienced in the past, we are
planning to have several different food outlets as well as the stall that
our Association operates. This will
help spread the workload and provide a greater range of food and beverage.
We are seeking volunteers to assist on the
weekend and hopefully enough will come forward to spread the workload more
effectively than previous years.
We require helpers with various tasks,
mainly on the Sunday, such as parking control, the cooking and serving of
food, setting up and dismantling of the tents etc. We would like to attract
sufficient helpers to ensure they only have to work for a few hours and to
have enough time to enjoy the activities on display.
Please contact Rod Lawton on 6555 2371 if
you can help. A couple of hours’ assistance is all we are seeking.
Dad’s
Army and Navy
Over the past few weeks the Navy boys have
collected 10 very large treated logs from the waterways around Pipers
Creek. These logs are some 2.00 to 2.50 metres long dressed to
approximately 300 mm diameter and in excellent condition. It is a mystery
where they have come from but they were an extremely serious hazard to
boats using the waterways.
We have been contacting various local
organisations to try and identify where they might have been used but so
far this has been unsuccessful. If you have any thoughts on this please
contact Bob Porter on 6555 9191.
We would also warn you to keep a close
lookout when travelling around the Keys and Pipers Creek by boat and report
any further sightings to Bob.
Back to top
Newsletter Archives
June 2010 March 2010 January 2010 November 2009
Back to top
March
2010 Newsletter
Water Quality Issues
In the last newsletter I mentioned that there was some light
at the end of the tunnel in respect to the dredging of the channel from Pipers
Creek to Wallis Lake. Well at long last that light is now burning a lot
brighter.
Last meeting Council awarded a contract to a Maclean based
company to dredge three channels including our channel. The work is
scheduled to commence during the third week in April and the first job will
be the clearing of the channel at Tuncurry near Boatland’s Marina. This is
expected to take 5 weeks and then the clearing of our channel will commence
at the end of May. It will take approximately 4 weeks. Some preliminary
work will commence before that date to cater for the sand which will need
to be dried on the reserve at the southern end of Victor Ave prior to it
being trucked away for use on playing fields near the proposed extension of
the Southern Parkway.
There will be some disturbance to the reserve and it is
likely that some damage will be caused to the road pavements during the
removal of the sand. However I understand Council has plans to undertake
maintenance of the pavements when the work is completed.
The third project is the dredging of the Corrie Channel in
the Myall River at Tea Gardens.
Council has also awarded a separate contract for the
hydrodynamic study required for a new channel to be constructed across the
“Step”. Hopefully this will mean a commencement of the new channel in 2011.
Your Committee has been working on this project now for more
than 7 years and we are delighted that it now seems as though it is finally
coming to fruition. The introduction of the extended environmental levy by
Council has provided the funds needed for these projects together with a
grant from the State Government.
Importantly, this work will now re-establish this important
and only entrance for boats to and from the Keys to Wallis Lake as a
clearly designated channel and future maintenance may be more readily
available than it has been in the past.
It is also important to recognise the co-operation we have
received from Council’s Environmental and Engineering staff over the past
18 months or so. They set a timetable for this project and so far have
delivered exactly on schedule. After the frustrations of previous years
dealing with the professional staff has been most refreshing.
Still on the issue of water quality, Council has now
completed another series of bio-retention devices in the catchment area
draining to the Kenrose Canal. Another two are to be commenced shortly and
Council is confident of obtaining further funding next financial year to
continue this work.
The bio-retention gardens are designed to assist in removing
contaminates from the stormwater runoff in the catchment before it enters
the canals and eventually the Lake.
Elizabeth Reserve
Boat Ramp
The work on new boat ramp has recently been competed with
the construction and sealing of the car park. The new ramp is now double the size of
the old one and the all weather car park will be much easier to maintain
and over more user-friendly.
This work was funded by a grant from Maritime NSW and
Council funds. Your Association agreed to contribute financially to the
work to demonstrate the community support for the project but this may not
now be required.
Forster Keys Family
Fun Day
The preliminary work needed prior to this event is now well underway.
It will be held over the weekend of 10-11 July 2010.
We are working closely with the Taree Power Boat Association
again this year and there promises to be a great display of boats on shore
and exciting events on the water. Working with this Association has helped
to reduce our insurance costs which you may remember was a major problem
for us last year.
The markets that have been with us for the last 3 years are
not available this year but we have been able to obtain the markets that
are held each month at Blackhead. It is therefore probable that there will
be more and varied stalls that previous years and this will help to make
the Sunday a very special day.
To overcome the problems of catering we are planning to have
several different food outlets as well as the stall that our Association
operates. This will help spread the workload and provide a greater range of
food and beverage.
We will be requiring volunteers to assist on the weekend and
hopefully enough will come forward to spread the workload more effectively
than last year.
We require helpers with various tasks, mainly on the Sunday,
such as parking control, the cooking and serving of food, setting up and
dismantling the tents etc.
Please contact Rod Lawton on 6555 2371 if you can help. A
couple of hours’ assistance is all we are seeking.
5a Kenrose Street
You are probably aware that we were helping the residents in
the vicinity of this property who were protesting against the State
Government constructing Affordable Housing on this site. Unfortunately the
protests fell on deaf ears and the Government will go ahead with the
construction of 19 units in lieu of the 20 initially proposed.
As this was part of the Federal Government’s Economic
Stimulus Package the project was rushed through with only token community
consultation. It is to be hoped the completed project will not have the
adverse implications for the residents in the vicinity of the site that the
preliminary plans presented at the public meetings indicated.
General Meeting of
the Association
We have scheduled a General Meeting to be held on Friday 21
May 2010 at our meeting hall in Progress Reserve off Elizabeth Parade,
commencing at 10.00am. The meeting will present reports from your Executive
and we are hoping to have a presentation from a representative of Country
Energy of the important topics of:
·
Reducing your electricity bills by becoming more
energy efficient.
·
Payment options to spread your bills throughout the
year
·
How to access the Country support program for those in
financial hardship.
·
Updates on the NSW Govt solar bonus scheme
·
Involvement in community events
·
Planned upgrades to the electricity network
The meeting will be followed by a sausage sizzle and the opportunity
to meet and enjoy the company of some of your fellow Keys residents.
A
reminder notice will be sent out closer to the date.
Back to Top
January 2010 Newsletter
A very happy and healthy New Year from your
Executive.
Dad’s Army and the Navy are back in action
again after a two week layoff and there is plenty of grass to control so it
may take a week or two to get on top of it once more.
It is good to see the waterfront reserves
being so well used and plenty of boats of all descriptions using the
waterways. We certainly live in a
very special part of Forster.
Water Quality Issues
I have received an update from Council
regarding the dredging project and confirmation that the program is on
target for a contractor to be appointed by Council in March. A number of preliminary tasks have been
completed such as:
·
A hydrosurvey of the channel
·
A survey of the seagrasses
·
A sediment and acid sulphate soils assessment
·
The investigation of the temporary deposition site and
a basic design of the dewatering system
·
A successful and positive meeting with Fisheries as a
prelude to the approval for the dredging.
Clumps of ribbon grass along with a family
of sea horses were located in the channel which is a good indication of the
quality of the water. The sea horses
will be relocated on the day the dredging takes place to ensure they are
not damaged and Fisheries have recommended additional channel markers to
reduce the possibility of damage to the seagrasses. We will support Fisheries in seeking the
additional markers through Maritime NSW.
The tender documentation is being prepared
for advertising in February and in the meantime the formal approval for the
dredging is being sought from the appropriate Government agencies.
The site of the temporary deposition site
is the reserve at the southern end of Victor Avenue and it is proposed
that levy banks be constructed to hold the wet sand and silt until it is
dry enough to be trucked to the final deposition site on one of Council’s
playing fields. Alternatively, a
section of the reserve will be excavated and the sand transferred to the
playing fields and then the dredged material used to refill and restore the
reserve. Either way there will be
disturbance to the reserve, but this will be restored as quickly as
possible. Depending on the quality
of the material to be dredged there may be some odours until it dries. Hopefully, there will be minimal
inconvenience to the homes in close vicinity and we seek your forbearance
in the interests of seeing this project completed after so many years of
waiting.
Council will be contacting the owners of
properties in the vicinity of the site with further details when the
contract is being finalised.
The first two water quality gardens are
nearing completion in the catchment leading to the Kenrose canal. A field trip to show the gardens is being
planned for when they are completed and when the date is known it will be
notified in a later newsletter.
These gardens are designed to help filter
the sediments and other impurities out of the storm water before it reaches
the canal.
5a Kenrose Street
We have been helping the residents in the
vicinity of this property with a protest against the State Government
constructing Affordable Housing on this site. You may not be aware that Council had
approved 9 Villas on the site next to the Church but the developer did not
proceed and the Dept of Housing purchased the site. The Dept now proposes to build 20 fibro
and timber two storey units with 4 car spaces and 2 of those reserved for
disabled drivers.
It is a poorly designed project for the
target group expected to live there and it is likely to have significant
adverse impacts on the properties in Kenrose St particularly. The project is part of the Federal Govt’s
Economic Stimulus package and is being rushed through to meet the deadlines
set by the Federal Govt.
Unfortunately, the adverse impacts of the
project will live on long after the Package is forgotten.
Representations have been made to both
Government and Opposition Members to try and have the project reduced in
size and we are awaiting the results of those endeavours.
Elizabeth Parade Boat Ramp
The new ramp has been installed and is
being used extensively. Council was
planning to seal the carpark before Christmas but other work took
priority. We hope however that this
project will be completed after the summer holidays to avoid too much
disruption. But before the Family
Fun Day in July please!
Family Fun Day
The future of this event was discussed at
the last AGM and there was unanimous support for
it to be held again this year. It
will be held over the weekend of 10/11 July to coincide with the school
holidays and to fit in with the program of the NSW Power Boat
Association. The Association will
again oversee the boat activities and assist with the Public Liability
Insurance needed for such an event.
We are still investigating the most economical
way of obtaining the insurance that we need for the land based activities.
The failure at the last moment of a sponsor last year severely impacted on
our takings for the weekend when we had to buy the insurance quickly.
We have approached the Council through the
Information Centre to investigate some form of cover for the many events
such as ours that are held within the Shire but it seems unlikely this will
be successful. It is a shame to
think the insurance companies are the big winners in these events.
The planning of the event will kick off in
earnest shortly and we will be again seeking the support of our residents
as in previous years. The success of
the event has provided us with the necessary finances to run your
Association since the loss of the triathlon.
Please note your diaries with the 10/11
July.
Annual Subscriptions
With the New Year comes our second formal
request for subscriptions. To jog
your memory, our financial year runs from July 1 to June 30, but somehow
many members think in terms of the calendar year. This January newsletter therefore acts as
a timely reminder. It is
particularly important now because we have recently incurred some extraordinary
costs, not the least of which is the Dad’s Navy boat that can be seen patrolling
our waterways. As you know the Navy cleans up waste, litter and foliage in
the waterways as well as testing the water quality to enable the Council to
monitor the purity of the water in the Lake.
More recently, our photocopier that has
served us for many years required replacement as parts became impossible to
obtain. We were lucky to be able to
acquire a good second hand replacement at $500 to serve us while we look
for a government grant to finance a new one.
Strangely enough, despite the best weather
for quite a few years, the recent Christmas BBQ was not as well attended as
is the past with takings down by 30% from last year. Perhaps there is a hidden message there,
in which case we would like to know what we are doing wrong.
Marion reports that last
year we collected $2848 in annual subscriptions and only $1645 has been
raised so far this year, reflecting a 15% downturn. So please renew your membership now. If you cannot remember whether you have
paid or not give Marion a ring on the number
below.
Boat Speed in the Canals
This is problem each year at holiday time
mainly associated with the large number of visitors to the Keys. Whilst there are a lot of signs
indicating a 4 knot limit the real problem can occur at any speed that creates
a wake which in turn can damage the now quite frail revetment walls.
If you notice boats causing such problems
Maritime NSW can act on evidence. A
photo or note of the boat description and/or registration number provided
to the office will generate some action either with a warning or legal
action in the case of repeat offences.
The contact numbers are:
Phone 65546004, 0419982127
or email bryan@maritime.nsw.gov.au.
Back to Top
November 2009 Newsletter
Annual General Meeting
The AGM was held on
Thursday 1st October and some 39 residents attended. The Executive was re-elected for another
year and the reports from the Officers were considered, discussed and
accepted. I will expand on the key
issues later in this newsletter.
The Executive for the next year is:
President: Don
Sheffield
Secretary: Rod
Lawton
Treasurer: John
Murrell
Membership; Marion Carney
Catering: Bill
Campbell
Dad’s Army Leader: Dave Sharrock
Logistics Officer: Alby Dean
Dad’s Navy Leader: Bob Porter
Water
Quality Issues
We have now received written confirmation
that Council has commenced the work leading to the dredging of the channel
from Forster Keys to Wallis Lake as part of
Council’s 2009/2010 Works program.
The works will include:
1.
Maintenance dredging of the channel at the entrance to
Pipers Creek.
2.
Maintenance dredging of the channel at Tuncurry.
3.
The hydrodynamic study of the former channel at the
Step and the review of environmental factors needed before the channel can
be dredged.
4.
A study of the feasibility of depositing sand from
dredging around the oyster leases in the lower estuary onto Tuncurry beach.
The first two items will be carried out by
contractors and this will involve the preparation of tender documents. Under Council’s program the tenders
should be called in December/January.
The assessment of the tenders should go to Council in March next
year and preference will be given to contractors who can deliver the
projects by the end of June 2010.
Discussions have been held with the
Council Officers responsible for the projects and we are working through
the issues of how the dredged material can be transported to the final
disposal site with the least interference to the environment of the Keys
and the inconvenience of our residents.
We will keep you informed of these discussions in future
newsletters.
Council has now commenced the first of
four bio-retention systems to be constructed in the Palms Estate and this
work will take about two months to complete. Council has offered to hold an open day
for our residents to inspect the work either during or at the completion of
the project. Dates for the
inspections will be determined and included in the next newsletter.
These devices under construction are
designed to reduce the amount of silt and debris being washed into Pipers
Creek via the Kenrose canal.
It has been a long hard struggle on the
water quality issues, but the light at the end of the tunnel is starting to
get a lot brighter.
Elizabeth Parade Boat Ramp
Council has commenced work on the
construction of the new boat ramp and it should be in place by the time
this newsletter is delivered. The
construction of the all weather car park is expected to be finished by the
end of the month.
Another project nearly delivered.
It was suggested at the AGM that we
investigate the provision of a fish cleaning facility in conjunction with
the new ramp and this investigation is underway. Funds can be provided through grants from
the Department of Fisheries and we are working with Council to find a suitable
design.
Family Fun Day
The future of this event was discussed at
the recent AGM and there was unanimous support for
it to be held again next year. The
2009 event was a great success and generated a profit of $3500 despite us
having to find nearly $3000 for insurance cover at the very last
moment.
The crowds were up again from the previous
year and the Taree Power Boat group provided Fred Williams with the
expertise that ensured an exciting and professional display.
We will be starting to gear up for 2010 early
in the New Year and in the meantime investigating how we can find more
affordable insurance cover.
King George Parade entrance to the
Keys
One of the suggestions from the AGM was to investigate
proposals for improving the entrance to the Keys. It was agreed we should look at a
landscape design perhaps incorporating a brick or stone wall with the name
Forster Keys prominently displayed.
A number of the newer subdivisions have
this form of treatment and one that comes to mind is the new estate off Kullaroo Drive.
This is not the sort of project we could
expect Council to fund but there may be government grants available to
community groups such as ours that would help to defray some of the costs
and there will be some works that our willing band of Dad’s Army workers
can provide.
But we need suggestions for the
design. If you see something that
you think might be suitable please let us know about it and hopefully
provide us with a photo, a description and/or a location where it might be
inspected.
Dad’s Army
There is no doubt this group of volunteers
together with Dad’s Navy are not only responsible for the excellent
appearance and condition of the parks, reserves and canals within Forster
Keys but they also provide the backbone for the strong community spirit
that prevails within our subdivision.
The strong attendance at our meetings and Christmas BBQs and the
timely delivery of these newsletters all add to the friendly atmosphere
that seems to be part of our community.
Council is very much aware of the value of
this group and is now very supportive in such things as the replacement of
equipment as it becomes necessary, the recent extension to the storage shed
and maintenance matters within the meeting hall.
Our group of volunteers has become a model
for similar groups within the Great Lakes. Recently I
attended a meeting of Council Engineers from all of the Councils along the
Mid North Coast and they were extremely interested in the way in which the
volunteer scheme works at Great Lakes and particularly
the resulting community spirit that is evident at Forster Keys.
Vandalism has not been a big problem at
the Keys but last week one of the bridges on the reserve off Pipers Creek Rd was damaged by a
group of young guys and Dad’s Army spent the morning restoring it. If you see any of these acts of vandalism
please report them to the police.
Dad’s Navy
You may have noticed that the Navy has a
new vessel that was acquired and launched with great fanfare a few weeks
ago. This is another second hand boat a little more suitable than the
previous one and now proudly displaying the Dad’s Navy title.
As well as keeping the canals clear of
floating debris the Navy carries out water testing for the Council. The test results assist in monitoring the
quality of water within the Lake system and in the
location of devises to control pollution.
The Navy recently found part of a jetty
floating down the creek so if you have lost it contact Bob Porter.
Membership Subscriptions
Our financial year is from July to June
and Marion tells me we have a
number of new members this year and a few of our existing member’s
subscriptions are outstanding. It is
only $10 per household or $5 for a single so not a great deal for what is
provided in return.
It is really very pleasing and encouraging
to see the membership of the Association growing each year.
Christmas BBQ
This will be held on Sunday 29th
November at Elizabeth Reserve near the boat ramp. Another notice will be sent out closer to
the day but please mark it in your dairies now. Hopefully this year we will not have the
change the date because of rain.
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