Toodyay Herald

About 60 people attended the meeting at the Toodyay showgrounds sports pavilion.

Mr Scott outlined the shire’s plan for a new $11.8 million sport and recreation precinct, which includes a 25-metre, six-lane pool near the Toodyay District High School.

The project involves a $4.7 million Federal Government grant announced in July and features a rectangular field for hockey, soccer and rugby, courts for tennis, basketball and netball, changerooms and a swiming pool.

Mr Scott said all contracts had to be signed by next March to meet a funding deadline.

Several people said the town needed an eight-lane pool for short-course swimming competitions and school sports carnivals.

Mr Scott said it would cost about $480,000 more to build an eight-lane pool – adding extra lanes would be raised with the architect.

He said the shire also planned a bowling green near the pool – “but not at this stage”.

It would take two and a half years to build the new sports precinct but there were no plans to move the town’s football oval there “for at least a decade”, he said.

Councillors have imposed similar restrictions on two other big Perth companies – Austral Bricks and Midland Brick – which had sought shire permission to operate a further 90 trucks a day on Toodyay Road, including on Saturdays.

The shire’s new tourist strategy describes tourism as a key driver for Toodyay’s economic development.

It says there is a “significant opportunity” to increase weekend and day trips from Perth.

 

Shire President Brian Rayner voted in July to prevent Boral quarry trucks operating on Saturdays but spoke against similar bans imposed last month on the two other quarries.

He said there had been no agreement at a recent SAT mediation meeting in Toodyay between shire and Boral representatives.

“Saturdays was the sticking point”, President Rayner said.

“They were not willing to concede – they’ve been doing it for 30 years so why cut back now?”

“Tourism came up strongly but it’s hard to defend when something has been going on for 30 years.

“It makes it very hard to cut out.”

President Rayner said he had made his views known at the mediation meeting, which was attended by a shire lawyer and “probably cost about $5000”.

“If it goes to a SAT hearing, it will probably cost the shire another $15,000,” he said.

“We now have to come up with a solution and it will go back to council.”

Shire Deputy President Therese Chitty – who also spoke against the Saturday truck ban at last month’s council meeting – said she had not heard any complaints from tourists about heavy truck traffic on Toodyay Road.

However Cr Bill Manning said tourists stuck behind quarry trucks on Toodyay Road were unlikely to call the shire to complain.

“They simply wouldn’t come back to Toodyay,” he said.

Perth landfill company Opal Vale’s plan to operate a further 60 heavy trucks and trailers a day between Perth and Hoddys Well means heavy haulage on Toodyay Road could increase by up to 270 vehicles a day, or one big truck every two and a half minutes.

Toodyay Chamber of Commerce and Industry President Bob Schrader said the chamber had not discussed the issue.

However, his personal view was that the town’s future relied on tourism, and allowing more trucks on Toodyay Road on weekends would be detrimental to that future.

“Anything that impedes the flow of traffic to Toodyay on Saturdays would be a retrograde step,’ he said.

By chance, the CCTV camera momentarily captured a shot of a 4WD vehicle which was driven away by an unidentified man.

Officers used a multi-screen display at Toodyay police station to replay a video recording which briefly captured the vehicle‘s registration number.

“We were lucky because that camera is useless most of the time – it hops about everywhere, including at the sky, which provides little assistance to us,” police said.

The registration number was sent to metropolitan police who located the vehicle in an outer Perth suburb where the girl was recovered unharmed and the man assisted police with their inquiries.

Toodyay police have long been frustrated that three shire video security cameras at key town locations haven’t worked properly on and off for years and often fail to capture vital evidence that could help solve local crimes.

In addition, one end of town has been left unguarded for more than 12 months because the shire has installed only one of two new cameras with advanced vehicle number plate recognition capability that it bought last year.

Councillors are understood to have raised concerns about faulty cameras with Shire CEO Stan Scott several times over the past two years.

Mr Scott is currently undergoing a $20,000 performance review conducted by an independent Perth consultant and is on a month’s leave until November 26.

“There’s always a different reason given why the cameras don’t work properly and that isn’t good enough,” one councillor said.

“We’ve already spent money on it and it needs to be sorted quickly.”

Shire President Brian Rayner criticised The Herald for asking about the shire cameras.
“The Herald often gets things wrong,” he said.

“It is not for the public to know that the cameras are not working.”

He also blamed an unnamed councillor for wanting shire rates to be cut while the council was voting in August to spend another $20,000 on video security cameras.

President Rayner said he was waiting for local police to say where they want new cameras installed but provided no explanation for why the shire’s existing cameras haven’t worked properly for the past two years despite repeated requests by councillors to get them fixed.

Cr Bill Manning criticised a four-paragraph statement issued by President Rayner the previous day which failed to answer any of The Herald’s questions, including how much ratepayers’ money has been spent on buying and installing cameras that don’t work properly, and asking when will they be fixed.

“Brian, this is not a time for meaningless platitudes,” Cr Manning responded in an email copied to all councillors.

“I agree with other councillors that this matter needs to be fixed urgently.”

The Herald’s questions are expected to lead to the matter being added to the agenda for a shire forum due to be held at 4pm on Tuesday November 13.

“I hope it will be discussed publicly,” one councillor said.