RESIDENTS in the District Council of Loxton Waikerie will see plenty of works around the area for the coming year, as council staff look to complete major projects and seek funding opportunities.
Loxton Waikerie CEO David Beaton said significant Federal and State Government stimulus in 2020 allowed the council to bring many projects forward.
“It’s been very busy this past year and we expect it to be very busy this year as well,” he said.
“There will be a focus on putting into place the projects we have been funded for and getting those jobs done.
“We received money to upgrade a number of key intersections across the district to make them safer for B-doubles – that is a $6 million project – and we also have some other road funding that we need to implement as well.
“We have to complete the mezzanine for the Loxton Recreation Centre, and the Waikerie river front is another big project that we are halfway through.
“There’s also several projects to complete in Waikerie with the money we have received down there, and we have funding to build a new hall in Loxton.
“There are a number of things we need to get on and complete, and we will be looking for some extra funding that might be available within the State Government stimulus at the moment.”
Mr Beaton said the $1.6 million Loxton Recreation Centre mezzanine project was being fitted-out.
“We’re hoping that will be finished in the next couple of months,” he said.
Mr Beaton also said works were progressing as planned on the redevelopment of the Waikerie river front.
“We were able to open part of it and have put down 14,000sq m of new lawn and plenty of new paths,” he said.
“There will also be a new boat ramp that we received funding for, some new toilets and some shelters which will expand the area available for the community and visitors to use.
“Waikerie has been very popular over the Christmas and New Year, and we are hoping we can continue to build Waikerie into a popular tourist destination.”
Mr Beaton said the council had been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, and would continue to assist the community with its recovery in 2021.
“The council was deemed an essential service, so we were able to get on with a lot of the things we needed to despite the pandemic,” he said.
“It has obviously restricted our operations and our interaction with the community, but we’ve been able to get on with a lot of the jobs and tasks that we have needed to.
“We’ve had two years where we haven’t had rate rises to try and help the community because not only have we had COVID-19, but also two years of drought that had a significant impact on the community.
“The council has implemented some stimulus measures ourselves to try and help the community out, but we will be trying to maintain our costs so that we are not passing on an additional burden to ratepayers and businesses who may still be in the recovery phase.”
Despite the number of projects currently under way, Mr Beaton said council was still seeking funding for further projects.
At the council’s December meeting, elected members voted to endorse a $5.2 million plan for the Loxton library, visitor centre and public toilets, $2.5 million for stormwater reuse and a new wetland in Waikerie, and new facilities for the Waikerie Football Club.
“We’ve been able to bring forward a lot of projects, and we will be trying to apply for more in the upcoming rounds of funding,” Mr Beaton said.
“Hopefully we can partner with the State Government to improve amenities and get better resources for our community.”