There’s an old Chinese proverb that says: “May you live in interesting times.”
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To say 2016 was an interesting year for Cabonne Council would be an understatement and 2017 is shaping up to be very interesting indeed.
Ever since the NSW Government announced a proposed amalgamation of Cabonne, Orange and Blayney Councils in December 2015, we have been operating in a merger proposal period under a number of strict guidelines.
It could be an excuse for indecision and inaction, but for Cabonne it was the opposite.
Not only was it business as usual, but we have experienced an exceptional year of achievements.
We are in the middle of implementing a record $67 million budget, with a record $32 million being spent on roads and transport.
Cabonne is experiencing probably the busiest period of roadworks in its history.
As well as implementing our record roadworks program, our staff have been extremely busy repairing all the damage caused by months of heavy rain, floods and the diversion of Newell Highway traffic through our Shire.
It is remarkable that all the heavy patching due to the detoured traffic from the Newell Highway was completed in two and a half months.
This work, undertaken by Cabonne on behalf of Roads and Maritime Services, started in October and was finished before Christmas at a cost of $3.8m.
Cabonne’s staff have done a remarkable job of carrying out these repairs.
In fact, the way Council staff in all departments have performed in difficult circumstances is a credit to their dedication and professionalism.
Away from roads, there have been many other major highlights in a remarkable year of achievements for Cabonne.
In Canowindra these included preparing for the construction of a $600,000 fossil storage and research centre at the Age of Fishes Museum at Canowindra, after receiving a $300,000 NSW Government grant to match $300,000 from Cabonne.
Conducting the highly successful Discover the Riches television and social media marketing campaign to promote Cabonne towns and villages, which reached more than four million people.
Donating $20,000 to the Canowindra community to help buy an ultrasound machine for the Canowindra hospital.
