Face-to-face chats put local issues on the table

Residents shared both praise and concerns on Wednesday, July 22, as South Gippsland Shire’s Coastal Promontory Ward councillors hosted their second community drop-in session for the year, this time at the Meeniyan Community Hub.

People were already arriving as early as 10am, as the session opened, with Cr Scott Rae and Cr Steve Finlay welcoming residents into the hub’s meeting room for informal and relaxed conversations about various local issues.

Cr Rae said previous drop-ins had highlighted many similar topics that are regularly raised with councillors.

“There have been planning discussions and comments about roadside trees and their overhang,” he said.

“There were discussions about the arts cubes and where they were going and when they were moving and how they were moving, footpaths, drainage and general localised items that come up time and time again, roads, rates and rubbish.”

Cr Rae said that while the conversations are often similar, the face-to-face format gave residents an opportunity to discuss them in a more relaxed setting.

“It’s nice to actually sit down with someone and have a chat sometimes,” he said.

He emphasised that events such as this one are important because not everyone is comfortable contacting council through their preferred channels.

“Not everyone can get to you everywhere, and it’s nice to actually just come and sit down in a relaxed space in public and have a chat to your local residents within your ward and hear their concerns,” he said.

Residents are encouraged to provide photos or information, either through Snap Send Solve or by emailing councillors, so matters can be formally referred to council for an organisational response.

Cr Finlay said receiving all the details together made it easier to follow issues through.

“If they can send us an email with all of the details, rather than sort of bits and pieces, that makes it easy for us to present it, pass it on, and get an organisational response,” he said.

They aim to hold these drop-in sessions three or four times a year, and Cr Finlay also reminded residents they can make presentations to the council at the beginning of each month.

Among those in attendance was 2024 South Gippsland Citizen of the Year Kathryn Smith, who praised council staff for their willingness to help, despite her preference for reporting issues in person rather than digitally, such as Snap Send Solve or email.

“They’re quite amazing,” she said.

“There was a very long-standing puddle in the path between the town and the Rec Reserve. They were there and fixed all that. They fixed all the potholes, graded all the roads, so I’m just going to say three cheers to the Shire.”

However, it wasn’t all positive, as one passionate Meeniyan resident expressed concerns about Meeniyan’s stamp in the Great Southern Rail Trail Passport, which was revealed only recently as part of the Great Southern Rail Trail Activation Project.

She said the stamp featured what appeared to be a curtain, rather than the town’s long-standing logo, which is a moon over a body of water.