Happy birthday to Tamborine Mountain Creative Arts Inc which celebrated its 50th anniversary on February 22. TMCA offers a very wide range of group activities and anyone interested is encouraged to visit their website – there is something for everyone.
Volunteering – there was an interesting article on loneliness in the Weekend Australian magazine of February 15 and 16.
Social isolation can affect anyone in any age group and one way to overcome this is to join a group as a volunteer.
There are groups covering a multitude of interests from Landcare, helping out at the Botanic Gardens, op shops and the Visitor information Centre (Volunteers needed Contact Janice 0414 522 812 or via email:manager@visittamborinemountain.com.au) and many more.
Volunteering is a rewarding win-win situation and as a volunteer for more than 20 years, I can recommend joining in, particularly to new residents who are at a loss as to how to meet people and make new friends.
Last week the mountain lost several long-term community members each of whom made significant contributions to life on the Mountain. Vale Phil Giffard, Bill Geissmann and Gary Rosser.
The mountain is poorer for your absence.
There are 3,480 rateable properties in Division 1 which generate around $9m in rates per annum.
Of these, 2,555 are Principal Places of Residences (PPR), 59 are accommodation providers (less than seven rooms), 56 PPR with a second dwelling, 566 residential non-PPR (ie owners reside elsewhere), 10 non-PPR with a second dwelling, 40 Rural PPRs, 15 Rural non-PPRs, eight breweries/wineries and five commercial water extractors (which combined pay a very low amount of rates).
From my observations driving around the Mountain, there appear to be far more second dwellings and “accommodation providers” than the number registered and paying the correct rates.
Time for a review perhaps and a couple of new rating categories to level the playing field.
Moring Glory vine is rampant, invasive vine found across the mountain and is easily recognised by its blue/purple flowers. It can quickly engulf trees.
Please look up how to remove this pest and act before it sets seed and spreads further.
Also time to dead-head agapanthus and yellow-flowering ginger.
To the light-fingered lady caught on surveillance cameras furtively helping herself to plants provided and planted on Beacon Road by local residents, your actions in lifting your dress and stuffing plants into your underpants provided some light relief for the hard-working locals.
To the lady in the yellow car, observed about to help herself to the dahlias in the same location, you, too have been captured on video. The next instances will be reported to police.
… and to the person operating a business from a residential property in Division Two which has outgrown the requirements of a “home-based business” and needs to park a truck on a council road in Division One overnight, clearly your business has out-grown your site.
Time to consider moving to an appropriately zoned and sized property perhaps?
… and thankyou to the person who could not simply send me an email to remind me that I had not responded to theirs.
As insinuations were made that I was biased against a certain industry (not tourism!), had tunnel vision and “a S*+#-house attitude towards rate-payers”, I self-referred the complaint (sent directly to the Mayor) to Council’s Governance area.
Apparently Council’s (not mine!) recognition of Roads of Regional Significance is an attempt by me to stop progress!
Councillors often receive 20-40 emails per day, most of which require a response.
I apologise if my response times do not always meet expectations, however I prioritise in order of urgency.
By Amanda Hay
