Re-elected Mount Alexander Shire mayor Bronwen Machin will prioritise the creation of a health hub in Castlemaine over the next 12 months.
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Councillors voted 5:1 in favour of Cr Machin at a special meeting on Tuesday night, with one councillor abstaining. Councillor Tony Cordy was elected deputy mayor.
“The health hub is at the top of our list at the moment, there’s a high need for rehabilitation services,” she said.
According to the Mount Alexander Shire’s annual plan, Castlemaine Health faces $40 million in costs to keep the current site safe and compliant with standards over the next 15 years.
“With an ageing population the demand for health services continues to increase in our shire while our much loved outdoor swimming pool in Castlemaine is at the end of its viable life. Council is working towards securing a year-round aquatic centre for rehabilitation and improving the health and wellbeing of our community,” the report states.
A mixture of state, federal and local government funds would be required to get the $150 million project off the ground.
Read more:
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- Third Mount Alexander Shire councillor resigns: Robin Taylor quits
- Confidence in Mount Alexander Shire plummets after year of turmoil
- Castlemaine health service considers options for new hospital, aged care accommodation
Securing funding for gravel roads and footpath maintenance within the shire was also a priority, Cr Machin said, as was a $52 million plan to create a new interchange at Fogartys Gap Road where it crosses the Calder Freeway at Ravenswood South.
Cr Machin will serve her second full term as mayor after being elected mayor in October 2017 following the resignation of former mayor Sharon Telford.
Ms Telford’s resignation sparked a spate of departures from the Mount Alexander Shire council, with two more councillors leaving over the next four months.
Since then, Cr Machin has overseen a rebuild at the council.
Community confidence in the shire and its ability to make effective decisions for its community has dropped considerably though, results of an annual survey revealed in September.
The survey was conducted between February and March, when the Victorian Electoral Commission was conducting countbacks to replace the departed councillors.
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