17 February 2022

Mount Barker District Council has been successful in their bid to receive funding from a Federal Government grant program to support communities to recover from the 2019-20 bushfires.

The $390 million Black Summer Bushfire Recovery Grants program provides support for the medium and long-term recovery needs identified by communities affected by the bushfires across Australia.

Senator for South Australia Andrew McLachlan CSC said the grants will fund a broad range of recovery and resilience projects, from social and community wellbeing right through to projects that support local jobs, small businesses and infrastructure.

Three Mount Barker District Council projects can now get underway thanks to a total of $620,000 from the fund.

Over two thirds of the funding - $440,000 - will enable the Council to continue removing fire affected burnt, dead and dangerous roadside tree material within the Cudlee Creek fire scar, and replacing road markers damaged during the fires.

Mayor Ann Ferguson said this is such important work that not only provides safety to road users but has mental health benefits for the people of Harrogate and Brukunga as the remnants of the devastating fires are removed from their community.

Remaining funds will go towards a series of workshops to provide business support and technology solutions to help local agricultural businesses build productivity ($110,000), and a mural on the walls of Wallis Cinemas representing various themes and including an augmented reality component to bring the mural to life ($70,000).

“Agriculture is a critical part of the districts economy and has recently lost jobs”, Mayor Ferguson said

“This funding will help us support this sector through education and access to new products, services and technology.”

“The Wallis Cinema played a big part in supporting the district’s population during both the Cudlee Creek and Cherry Gardens fires” Mayor Ferguson added

“The cinema buildings were made available as refuge spaces for affected residents and their pets during these fires. With the cinema business now struggling due to the COVID pandemic, this art project will create a unique interactive experience for visitors to the area”.

A number of other projects by community organisations in Mount Barker or as part of a multi-council submission have also been funded including $135,000 to the Harrogate Hall Committee towards a landscaping upgrade which aims to create a community gathering space in the township.

Planning work for these projects can now start with workshops to commence and the mural to be completed in 2022.

Roadside clearance and maintenance in the fire scar areas will carry on from work already undertaken and is expected to be finished in 2023.

17 February 2022

To cater for existing and future sewerage flows going to Council’s wastewater treatment plant, a new sewer trunk main and inlet pump station is being built from Hampden Road to the plant on Springs Road.

Following an open and competitive procurement process Council has awarded the tender for the design and construction of the 1km sewer main and pump station to Leed Engineering and Construction Pty Ltd.

Construction of the pipeline has now started and during the works, vehicle access to Hampden Road businesses and residences will remain open. There is likely to be some restrictions along the Linear Trail throughout the course of construction and signs will be put in place in advance of any changes to access.

Mayor Ann Ferguson said the new trunk main, which will replace ageing infrastructure, will be the largest sewer pipe installed to date by Council.

“The old pump station in the reserve at the rear of Bernhardt Court has needed monthly servicing in the early hours of the morning” Mayor Ferguson added,

“This new construction will replace the old pump station and eliminate the need and cost for this servicing. Catering for future flows and reducing the risk of overflows to the environment are the biggest benefits of this project”.

The work requires removing a small section of short lived Swamp Wattle planted near the treatment plant which are, nonetheless, in poor condition and suffering from extensive borer infestation.

Several points along Mount Barker Creek will require the removal of blackberries, a known pest plant, and there will be a temporary impact on reeds due to pruning however re-growth will naturally occur.

An Ash Tree at the eastern end of Hampden Road will also need to be removed. This has been approved in accordance with Council’s Tree Policy and will be replaced with six new street trees along the road.

Throughout this project, the contractor will continue to work closely with Council’s Environmental Management team to make sure the local environment such as the Mount Barker Creek, flora and fauna are protected during construction activities.

It is anticipated that works will be completed in early 2023 dependent on weather and ground conditions.

28 January 2022

Mount Barker district has an extensive range of trees in the public realm. These range from mature species along streets and in reserves to natives and exotics planted in new development areas.

A number of formal tree audits by qualified arborists have been undertaken over the years with data on over 20,000 trees having been collected.

“It is so important that we have a good register of our trees” Mayor Ann Ferguson said,

“Knowing what we have, what condition they are in and their significance helps us to properly manage and maintain them on behalf of our community.

It also helps us to keep track of shade and canopy cover in urban areas to help lower temperatures, improve air quality and alleviate the effects of a changing climate on townships.”

Council continued their audits in 2021 with 1872 trees in the 13 recreation grounds across the district being assessed. Data collected includes tree species, health, defects, any risks to public safety and level of significance of the tree.

All existing tree data and the newly captured data will be transferred to a new web based tree management system called Forestree.

Forestree is locally developed in South Australia and is in use by more than a dozen councils including City of Marion, City of Burnside and City of Tea Tree Gully.

“Use of Forestree for our tree management delivers significant benefits to the community including improved tree planting and establishment, better risk management and more efficient maintenance planning” Urban Forest Officer, Chris Lawry said.

“Our staff will also be able to access and update tree data while in the field using a mobile app which means that we can easily track when maintenance work is required or completed and can update data on the fly to have real-time information on the status of trees in the district.”

Council plans to audit more trees in 2022 with a focus on those that may pose a risk to public safety.

18 January 2022

Three Mount Barker District Council projects will proceed in the 2022/2023 financial year thanks to $1.353 million of Federal Government funding under the Local Roads and Community Infrastructure (LRCI) program - phase 3.

Council has approved the use of the funds to go towards upgrades to Keith Stephenson Park, Stephen Street streetscaping and improvements to the Callington Recreation Ground.

An upgrade of Keith Stephenson Park has been allocated $600,000 for the redesign of the playground to incorporate nature play and updating of the play equipment. The total cost of this upgrade is $795,000 with the remainder to be funded from Council’s playground asset renewal budget.

Stephen Street will become the primary link from Gawler Street and the City Centre site and has been allocated $720,000 of the total project cost of $920,000 to renew and upgrade the streetscape suitable for its expected future use.

The balance of $200,000 will come from Council’s asset renewal budget as the road pavement and kerbing is now at end of life.

Callington Recreation Ground will receive a pump track, court renewal, fencing and associated recreation equipment. The $93,000 improvements will be co-funded by the Rural City of Murray Bridge who are contributing $42,100. Council will add a further $17,900 to add to the $33,000 from the LRCI funds to complete the project.

Construction of the three projects will occur in 2022/2023 with preparation for construction to take place in the remainder of this financial year.