Late yesterday, the CEO and I were informed that the Mayors of Albury and Wodonga have secured a meeting with the Victorian Health Minister to air their concerns about the current plans to refurbish the Albury hospital rather than build a new hospital on a greenfield site.

This is extremely positive news and for now means that our plans to take a delegation of Mayors, CEOs and community members to the steps of the Victorian Parliament are on hold.

Efforts to secure an audience with the State Government have to date been unsuccessful, so we are very pleased to hear that Health Minister Mary-Anne Thomas has agreed to a meeting, which I believe will take place next week.

Indigo Shire is one of up to 17 councils in the Albury Wodonga hospital catchment that are advocating for a new single site hospital, citing the current refurbishment plans as inadequate and falling critically short of meeting the current and future health needs of the region.

This is without doubt the most important issue facing our communities. We deserve better and as your representatives, we will do everything we can to reverse the current decision and to advocate for a new single site hospital.

Our position is clear; we want the State Governments of Victoria and New South Wales to pause the current redevelopment and redirect efforts towards a fully funded, new single-site hospital built in either Albury or Wodonga.

Over the next few weeks, our new Council group will settle into a regular routine of weekly Councillor briefings and the monthly meeting cycle. Our first Council meeting is scheduled for 25 February, and we have a full agenda with several important planning decisions to consider, so we expect high community interest. Remember if you can’t attend a Council meeting in person, you can watch it live via YouTube or view a recording after the meeting.

Please take care, especially in this ongoing hot weather.

Cr Sophie Price.

As we endure another week of extreme weather, with temperatures consistently soaring above 35 degrees, I want to take a moment to acknowledge all workers whose job requires them to work outdoors, and this includes our operations crew members.

Despite the challenging conditions, our crews continue to serve our community, working on projects such as road repairs and maintenance, constructing new footpaths, and maintaining our parks and gardens.

Not only are they having to navigate the heat, they’re also dealing with an escalation in poor behaviour in and around our job sites. Despite implementing various legislative and mandated safety measures, including signage, stop/go signs, and flashing lights, we're receiving concerning reports from our frontline workers about an increase in motorists disregarding these safety protocols. This behaviour makes an already high-risk work environment even more hazardous.

I want to emphasise that these safety measures are not just procedural requirements, they protect both our workers and the public. Our crew members are more than just employees; they are valued members of our local community. They are our neighbours, friends, and family members who live among us and contribute to making our Shire a better place to live. Each person deserves to return home safely to their loved ones at the end of each workday.

The toilets at Chiltern's Martin/Tourist Park will be temporarily closed for approximately the next two weeks while our contractors undertake refurbishment works as part of the construction of the new Changing Places facility.

While we have portable toilets available at the site, there are no accessible toilets. The nearest alternative accessible facilities are located at the Chiltern Community Hub on the corner of Main and Crawford Streets, which is open on Mondays and Wednesday to Saturday.

Wondering when you'll get your annual supply of green kitchen caddy liners?

Delivery will commence in early autumn.

Don't forget that Halve Waste only accepts council approved liners so if you run out before the next delivery, head into one of our Customer Experience Centres in Chiltern, Yackandandah, Rutherglen and Ford Street, Beechworth to pick up some more.

Women artists of all ages are invited to showcase their work at an upcoming exhibition at the Beechworth Contemporary Art Space.

Expressions of interest are open until Friday 14 February. 

The special exhibition will launch on International Women's Day, Saturday 8 March.

Parks Victoria has advised that it will soon commence works in the Reedy Creek area of Chiltern-Mount Pilot National Park to upgrade five access tracks.

The works will improve visitor access to the
camping areas on Reedy Creek, and will
include the installation of new drainage lines, sheeting and grading of the track surface, and new signage.

Ausnet is urging residents to be power prepared following another week of high temperatures.

Electricity outages are more likely in summer due to periods of peak demand and extreme weather, but there are some simple steps you can take to lessen the impact.

Hit the button below to find information on:

• What to do before, during and after an outage.
• How to save money on power bills.
• Ausnet's bushfire mitigation technology.
• What Ausnet is doing to upgrade and strengthen its network.

Works are underway to upgrade the footpath on Beechworth's Albert Road.

The footpath frame has been installed, and our crew will pour concrete in the coming week.

Please be aware that the section near the rotunda is currently unavailable for pedestrians.