jjbartels

Mar 4, 20236 min read

Report for MPB Community Assoc. Meeting 04/03/2023

TOPICS DISCUSSED

MPB Community Annex and Master Plan Stage 1 update.
Major Projects Division 1 update
Survey on 4WD vehicle night-time beach access on Moore Park Beach during turtle season
Sylvan Dr MPB Speed limit reduction
Water Lettuce
MPB Lagoon/Wetland System

MPB Community Annex and Master Plan Stage 1 update

Stage 1 of the MPB Master Plan

TEN/1789 – Design and Construct of Moore Park Beach Community Hub

Tender process commenced on the 12/11/22.

Tenders closed on the 20/12/22.

Unfortunately, no tenders were received for the Construction of the Moore Park Beach Community Hub. Council staff have been in touch with the lead consultant and Architect that prepared the Concept design for the Community facilities. We’ve come up with several ideas to encourage contractor engagement in this project.

We are further developing the documentation to a stage where we believe the industry is prepared to bid on the project. Council will again liaise with interested parties and go back to the market inviting Contractors to tender to deliver this project asap.

It is so frustrating that we are so close to this first Stage of the MPB Master Plan works being delivered, with everything ready to go, except it seems that everyone is too busy to build it. I plead to all contractors and builders out there, to submit a tender to construct and deliver this much needed very worthwhile community project.

Major Projects Division 1 updates

Moore Park Beach Hall & Coral Coast Cottage (Pink House) roof replacement

· Contract awarded to Hallstone Constructions (Bundaberg based)

· Delivery timeframes for materials are yet to be provided by the Contractor.

· Until these delivery timeframes are known, the Contractor is unable to determine a construction timeframe.

· We will be working with the tenants of each building once a construction timeframe is known to ensure minimal disruption to their use of the buildings.

Avondale Recreation Park Amenities

· Design has been completed.

· Has been out to tender and no quotations were received.

· Tender will be advertised again next week.

Booyan Road

· Contract for Booyan Road widening has been awarded to Berajondo Earthmoving ad Haulage. They are currently working on Harts Road which has a very similar scope of work. Harts Road has been delayed by wet weather and unsuitable material encountered in low lying areas.

· It is the intention of Berajondo to move onto Booyan Road once Harts Road is complete, optimistically around the end of March. So, it is likely that we will start to see action on Booyan Road after Easter.

Moore Park Beach “Off Leash Dog Facility”

Moore Park Beach has been approved for one of three dog parks being installed in 2023, which is great news for the 850 registered dog owners of MPB and visitors.

The community has been seeking for a fenced dog park at MPB for many years and narrowly missed out when the first 4 were built about 3-4 years ago. I have been advocating strongly since then and the southern end of Lions Park has been chosen, with community input. It is a brilliant location.

The community preferred the Lions Park location due to the shade, existing parking and central location. There were very few suitable sites in MPB. The contract has been awarded to an experienced local builder/fencer TCL builders who are due to commence installation in the next 6-8 weeks.

The site at MPB is brilliant and will be one of the best fenced dog park areas in the region perhaps Queensland. With input from RSPCA both Moore Park and Burnett Heads have mulched/sensory areas we think dogs will like. After Parks asked us to use the existing perimeter fence line, (to protect tree health) we added 150L/m of fencing. This meant we created a small and big dog area...and still within the $80,000 total budget (includes seating/bag dispensers etc). The black powder-coat finish will be superior aesthetically and was important as we are using the existing perimeter of the park.

There will no doubt be a lot of support once completed and some opposition, however this will be an outstanding facility for the people of MPB.

Survey on 4WD vehicle night-time beach access on Moore Park Beach during turtle season

The issue of vehicles on the beach at night during turtle seasons has been a major community concern and safety issue for many years and the matters has been raised many times in the past.

Council received a letter from the Moore Park Beach Turtle Monitoring Group requesting that Council close Moore Park Beach to all vehicle access between sunset and sunrise, during marine turtle nesting season.

At the Consultation Meeting on 7 November 2022, Council requested community consultation be undertaken to gauge community views on the matter. A community survey was undertaken for 13 weeks between 12 October 2022 and 15 January 2023.

A total of 775 surveys were received from residents across the Bundaberg LGA, with 53%of respondents living in Moore Park Beach.

76% of survey respondents were in favour of a night-time closure of vehicle access on Moore Park Beach during the turtle nesting season.

Currently there is 24-hr vehicle access to the two relevant sections of Moore Park Beach.

What has been recommended is - For Council to consider a trial ‘soft’ night-time closure of Moore Park Beach to all vehicle access between sunset and sunrise during the marine turtle nesting season from 1 November 2023 to 31 March 2024.

What is a ‘soft’ night-time closure? Signs would be erected asking that 4WD vehicles do not set off from Moore Park Beach between sunset and sunrise. This would essentially be a voluntary decision based upon the potential impacts they may have on nesting turtles and appealing to their good nature, as Council would not have the ability to enforce the closure. NB: Council has no regulatory mechanism to restrict the hours of vehicle access.

To support the initiative, other educational material such as social media stories, flyers and webpage information will need to be developed to encourage community acceptance of the closure. Full survey results will be available on "Our Bundaberg Region" within the Bundaberg Regional Council website.

Sylvan Drive, MPB Speed limit reduction

This issue has been raised with BRC by many residents and over many years.

The matter was referred to the Speed Advisory Group, which is an independent group of road users and stakeholders ie TMR, QPS, Emergency Services, cycle clubs, BRC staff etc and with supporting information from recent traffic counts/surveys it was agreed that the speed limit should be reduced to 50km/hr to make it safer and more user friendly area for the community.

Sylvan Drive is a residential area that is quite built up and it isn’t considered a connector road.

Water Lettuce

Following a successful treatment program of the invasive Water Lettuce at Moore Park Beach Wetland Reserve, we are pleased to report that the majority of Water Lettuce has now been eradicated.

Where small pockets of Water Lettuce exist in areas where spraying cannot be undertaken - due to the presence of protected marine plants, booms have been put in place to contain the spread of these plants. In these areas the water lettuce is currently not thriving & appears to be breaking down naturally, possibly due to the higher salinity caused by king tides in this section of the lagoon.

Land Protection attempted to obtain the water lettuce weevil from State and local government organisations, but they were unable to assist. However due to the success of the program we no longer have an adequate supply of water lettuce which would be required to sustain the weevil at our biocontrol facility. As such we will consider use of the weevil in the future if required.

Land Protection Officers are now undertaking an ongoing monitoring program to ensure that no new outbreaks occur.

The project page on Our Bundaberg Region has been updated, including the attached images of the wetland taken in January and February 2023.

MPB Lagoon/ Wetland system

I have been asked to give a brief history on the MPB Lagoon/wetland system which runs from Sylvan Dr to the North to Gengers Rd bund wall outlet, some 7.5km’s.

The Lagoon/wetland system is a natural area and as you can see from the historic map from 1873 it hasn’t changed much over that time.

The main changes have been the installation of the bund wall in 2013 (see media release dated 28 Aug, 2013 below) to prevent the Lagoon draining completely in dry times, which was causing major issues, such as fish kills, algae blooms, and odour issues and to also improve drainage in the area.

Being a “Natural” area, the Lagoon/wetland system acts as a habitat and wildlife corridor for many species of animals and the like. It also acts as a drainage system for stormwater and run off. Most of the land that the Lagoon system runs through is privately owned land (see map overlay) and as it is classed as a Natural Area the level of upkeep and maintenance is kept to a minimum and on an as needed bases only. The Lagoon system evolves with the seasons and at times can look unsightly and at other times it can be an area of outstanding beauty, as is the case with most wetlands, reserves and areas left to be natural.