By JOLENE OGLE
IT’S NOT every night you get to dine with the mayor, but the Cooroy Chamber of Commerce brought together the man at the top and local community members for a night of questions and answers.
The ‘Dinner with the Mayor’ event, held at the Cooroy Hotel on 29 August, brought together the local community and mayor Noel Playford, who addressed diners with a summary of his eight months in the top job.
Mayor Playford said council had been busy ridding the shire of bureaucracy and reducing the bill for cars, phones and staff, before addressing the recent furore surrounding de-amalgamation costs, adding there were no “black holes” when it came to council’s finances, with the Queensland audit team expected to sign off on the accounts shortly.
Among the good news, Mayor Playford said the repeal of the carbon tax should result in a reduction of costs and council would now work hard to assess roads and bridges to develop a long-term capital works program.
When it comes to the EDV boundary argument, Mayor Playford said it all came down to listening to the community and said the suburbs would be welcomed “with open arms” should the change eventuate.
Council’s recent decision to move towards a permanent recreation vehicle (RV) stop in Cooroy was also discussed, with Cooroy Chamber of Commerce president Danielle Taylor applauding council’s recent decision to trial a 12-month RV stopover at 17 Mary Road, Cooroy.
“We are really excited about the RV parking for Cooroy.
“The Cooroy Chamber of Commerce has been working on this project with various government for more than 10 years, lobbying to get caravan and RV day parking and some overnight stops in Cooroy,” she said.
Ms Taylor said it’s common to see RVs parked on the roadside and across multiple car parks throughout Cooroy.
“Many of our members have reported they are constantly asked by visitors if there is a place they can stay overnight with an RV.
“So we know there is a need, but it has been a challenge to find an appropriate spot,” she said.
“This is a really positive step and a big thanks to the Noosa Council for getting us closer to a solution.
“There is still a bit of work to go, and it will be a few months away at least but this is the biggest step forward we’ve had to date.”
Ms Taylor said the Cooroy community would benefit from the addition of an RV stop, as travellers only stayed for a few hours at this point because there was nowhere else to stop.
