The Cassowary Coast Regional Council, which currently spends $1.5 million per year mowing and slashing parks, roadsides, sports ovals and other open areas, is looking for ways to cut its grass cutting bill.

CCRC Parks and Natural Environment Manager, Paul Devine, recently prepared a report on the subject for the council’s Service Review Panel, which is reviewing council operations to identify service delivery areas where efficiency can be increased and savings subsequently made.

Mr Devine’s report detailed current service levels for the 3200 hectares of grass currently maintained by council staff.

“Much of that area is being over-serviced,” he said. “Sometimes it is being mown up to 24 times a year, which is fine for a feature area or a high-profile park, but not areas that are rarely used or rarely seen.”

A council senior management working team has now been asked to undertake an audit of all parks, sporting ovals and open spaces to assess their level of usage. The working team will then develop a Level of Service Program designed to ensure that the frequency level for mowing these areas is dependent upon their level of use.

“In some instances, the audit may show that certain land is never used, is surplus to requirements and would be cheaper to manage and provide greater biodiversity benefits if revegetated and turned back into natural bushland,” Mr Devine said.

“In other places, as long as the high-use portions of the park are maintained for safe use, the grass in other parts can be allowed to wait a little longer to be mown.”

The management working team will also be working to ensure that council work crews responsible for mowing are either integrated or their efforts are aligned through the works program.

“They will also assess whether the existing mowers and slashers used by the council are the most efficient and suitable for the task,” Mr Devine said. “They will contact other organisations in the region, as well as other councils, to gather information on the subject, before making decisions.”

Mr Devine said about 10 percent of grass areas maintained by the council were sporting fields, many of which are well used, while others were under-utilized.

“Many of these areas are leased to sporting clubs, but in most cases it is rate-payers who pay for the maintenance, including mowing,” he said.

The council will consult all sporting groups who currently lease ovals, as well as the broader community, to explore how to achieve a more equitable distribution of costs.

“A good example in this regard is the Tully Cricket Club, which successfully sought government funding to purchase an out-front mower and now mows the area that they lease to the standard that they require,” Mr Devine said.

Memories Rebuilt

Date: 18th August, 2009
Time: 10:00am – 12:30am
Location: Innisfail Shire Hall
Cost: $5.00

Free Bus departing Tully, morning tea, light lunch & entertainment provided.

Tickets are available at Councils Offices in Tully/Innisfail and at Mission Beach/Cardwell Libraries.

Funding has been secured from the Australia Council and Arts Queensland to arrange for Queensland-born International Pianist, Piers Lane, to perform at a Gala Recital to introduce the Steinway Concert Grand Piano to the people of Far North Queensland, especially residents of the Cassowary Coast Region. (This piano was purchased from Theme and Variations, after the piano in the Innisfail Shire Hall was badly damaged in Cyclone Larry.) The repair and refurbishment of this heritage listed Art Deco Hall has only just been completed. The Cassowary Coast Regional Council is facilitating the recital to which Piers Lane has agreed to perform on the Saturday, 4th July, 2009 with an addition of master class on the 3rd. An added attraction in inviting Piers is that, as a teenager, he played his first concerto publicly in Innisfail with the orchestra playing for the operas. His mother and grandparents were former residents of Innisfail who will be known by some residents of the Shire. This local connection will certainly influence the audience.

This Steinway was purchased by the Johnstone Shire Council when the former grand piano was badly damaged during Cyclone Larry. The Johnstone Shire Council has since been amalgamated with the Cardwell Shire Council and the combined area is now known as the Cassowary Coast Regional Council. The Innisfail Shire Hall which housed the previous grand piano was also very badly damaged so that, by the time it is re-opened in July 2009, the hall will have been out of use for the three years since Cyclone Larry.

This is only the second Steinway Grand to be installed at a public venue in Far North Queensland. The only other similar piano in the Far North is in Townsville, 280 kms to the south of Innisfail. Cairns, an hour’s drive to the north of here, has no piano of this quality.

The Australian Festival of Chamber Music based in Townsville has graciously agreed to mentor this project and to help showcase Innisfail’s Shire Hall and Steinway Grand D piano cultural facility. The recital planned will tell people in North Queensland that the Steinway piano is now a fact. While the programme for the 4th July, 2009 is in the classical area, top artists in classical, jazz and/or popular music will be welcomed by the Cassowary Coast Regional Council.

A hard copy may be obtained from Customer Services Innisfail or Tully office at a cost of $30.00 each.

The due date for the payment of these rates notices is the 24th of September, 2008.

While some information resides here, other content is available through the former Councils’ Web sites.