Annual Report 2008-2009 Summary - City of Greater Geelong

A Word from our Mayor
I’d like to welcome you to Council’s Annual
Report for the 2008-2009 financial year.
It has been a year of two Councils, with an election in
November 2008 returning eight councillors and introducing
four new councillors.
We, the new Council, quickly established what
we wanted to achieve in our four year term. We
reviewed the 13 priorities of the previous Council
and agreed to continue the focus on big picture
priorities, but I’d like to mention three particular
projects that were major priorities with the
previous Council.
The Geelong Ring Road Stage Two opened in
December 2008 and Stage Three opened in
June 2009, six months ahead of schedule.
Already this road has made a difference to
traffic flows.
It was also a proud moment when the Bellarine
Aquatic and Sports Centre opened in December
2008 with a free family fun day.
Lastly the East-West traffic improvements have
continued at the following locations:
> Myers Street / Yarra Street.
> Latrobe Terrace / Ryrie Street.
> Ryrie Street / Swanston Street /
Sydney Parade.
I’d like to think that in the current Council’s
term we will make significant progress on three
priorities in particular:
> Developing the industrial land at
Heales Road.
> Gaining a commitment to extend the Ring
Road to the Bellarine.
> Building an exhibition and convention centre
for Geelong.
Looming large in the 2008-2009 year has
been the global financial crisis. We knew
we needed to respond with courage and
determination, working closely with both
Federal and State Governments to keep our
local economy ticking over.
On 7 December 2008, the Prime Minister Kevin
Rudd held the ninth Community Cabinet at
Corio Bay Secondary College. We were able
to present our case for Geelong to the Prime
Minister and other key ministers and provide
all Cabinet members with a kit of information
about our great region.
Early in 2009 Council was allocated $2.6
million through the Federal Government’s
Regional and Local Community Infrastructure
Program to spend on projects that were ready
to start. A list of the projects funded through
this grant program can be viewed in the
Annual Report.
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8 Annual Report 2008-2009 | City of Greater Geelong