Livingstone Shire Council has decided to go ahead with a large town entry sign for Marlborough during another meeting that went for nearly two hours.
The small town 106km north of Rockhampton sits just off the Bruce Highway and is one of the only tiny towns north towards Mackay, and the signs are aimed at getting people to stop there.
They will be funded with part of a $140,000 Works for Queensland Grant, with $40,000 allocated towards welcome signage and $100,000 for placemaking in the town.
But $56,000 already spent on the sheet metal and design would have gone to waste if the council voted to scrap the entry signs.
Premium Content
Subscriber only
The important role neighbourhood houses and community centres play within the community will be in the spotlight this month, as part of Neighbourhood House Week 2021.
Neighbourhood House Week, which is held across Australia from May 8–14, is a nationwide initiative to celebrate the role of community, neighbourhood, and resource and learning centres in the community.
The theme of this year’s initiative is Loneliness: the solution is community.
To help celebrate and highlight the importance of this initiative, The Community Centre team in Yeppoon will have a stall outside Yeppoon IGA in James Street on Wednesday, May 5, from 9.30am to 11.30am.
Premium Content
Subscriber only
The Livingstone Shire Council has voted to install new signage to promote local Indigenous culture, but not every councillor was satisfied with the process the project would take.
Renowned local artist Bill Gannon was selected by the Darumbal people to design artworks for the shire to promote their traditional culture.
The ordinary council meeting on April 20 discussed that Mr Gannon had a close relationship with the Darumbal people and would be the sole supplier of the artwork.
But the Local Government Regulation 2012 generally requires the council to invite quotes and tenders for projects valued over $15,000, unless the council resolved there was only one supplier reasonably available, or that it would be impractical or disadvantageous to put out a tender due to the specialised or confidential nature of the project.
When the varied financial position of Central Queensland Local Government was put under the microscope of the Auditor-General, Rockhampton and Central Highlands councils were revealed as the only financially stable entities.
The analysis by Auditor-General Brendan Worrell found one-third of Queensland councils were at “high risk” of not being financially sustainable and 70 per cent spent more than they earned in 2020.
The report ranked councils financial sustainability measures and risk.
Gladstone, Livingstone and Woorabinda councils were all found to have average asset sustainability ratios less than 50 per cent, considered to be high-risk.
In his report into the audit, Mr Worrell studied the finances of 77 Queensland councils, highlighting the impact the COVID pandemic had on council finances.