By JESSE GRAHAM
FOR the Dandenong Ranges, this year’s council budget is all about big ticket infrastructure, footpaths and roads, with millions of dollars in capital works money coming into the area.
Mayor Maria McCarthy said the 2015-’16 Yarra Ranges Council budget was “pro-active and realistic”, balancing the need to save funds with $39.2 million in new capital works projects.
The project features two new sporting pavilions, with $800,000 for Healesville’s Don Road Sporting Pavilion’s construction and $100,000 for the design of the Upwey-Tecoma Community Recreational and Sporting Hub (UTCRASH).
Residents in the hills will have a number of new footpath works underway in the coming year, and Ferny Creek Primary School will be one of the benefactors, with $160,000 to be spent on footpath works in School Road.
Belgrave, Monbulk, Upwey, Ferny Creek and Kallista will all receive footpath works, while $430,000 will be spent reconstructing a retaining wall and car park at the Hayes car park in Belgrave.
A $78,000 trail from Belgrave to Birdland and Lysterfield will be funded under the budget, and Moores Road in Monbulk will have a truck turnaround area constructed for garbage trucks, at a cost of $100,000.
The big ticket items for the hills are $2 million from the council for the construction of the Monbulk Regional Soccer Centre, which also has funding guarantees from the State and Federal Governments.
Meanwhile, Montrose Town Centre will receive $500,000 for improved facilities, including its library and maternal and child health services.
The Save the Olinda Pool Group will also be grinning, with $570,000 allocated for the restoration of the pool from the council, which will supplement funding from the Victorian Government.
The pool is expected to be open sometime before the end of the year.
For more information on the budget, see mail.starcommunity.com.au.
