It's been a month and a half since my last entry and residents used to dealing with our local council will not be surprised to learn that there has been no further action regarding the issue of flooded footpaths as discussed on March 18th. I would not advise any resident to communicate with our beloved officers by any method other than snail mail. Emailing does not produce a response and telephoning leaves you with no record of your contact. I intend to put pen to paper regarding the shopping centre billabongs and will post any response. Perhaps I could stick on a ps about the as yet unsighted minutes left over from last November's walk.
It's not all inaction in Hobsons Bay though...my beloved chicken shop (cnr Melbourne Rd and Ferguson St) now has designated parking bays on its premises. Of course there's still the issue of a certain Falcon wagon parking overnight with its front end encroaching on the footpath. It must either drive on the footpath or up over the kerb to get there, too. Not everyone needs to go through the rigmarole of applying for a permit and constructing a crossover, obviously!

Back in November when I went on the 'walking council meeting' the problem of water pooling and making the footpath impassable out the front of Burkes' in Douglas Parade and across the road on the corner of the Parade and Stevedore Street after a half-decent shower was raised. Assurances were given that repairs would be carried out. When Wellington Street was remade they did redo a section of Stevedore Street's footpath...but not up to and including the bit that floods. and they certainly didn't make it over the road to Burkes' Lagoon.
Participants in the November event were supposed to be sent some sort of written report regarding matters discussed and any action taking to address them. Four months down the track and I am still waiting for my copy.
The issue of wading down the main shopping street was raised by a resident at the council meeting held at the Williamstown Town Hall on 14th March. As a photograph and precise information regarding the location of the apres rain billabongs has been passed on to Mr Peter McDonald, our man at the Civic Centre, perhaps it's not too much to hope that we might get the paths fixed.
That promised report would be nice, too.

What was that truck doing at the quarry next to Williams Real Estate this morning (02/02/06)? Some kind of testing? We are talking ex-service station, after all. Whatever it was that they were working with was washed it off the driveway at around 10.30am with a sudsy mix and then the lot was hosed away. And where did it all go? Down the 'Drains to the Bay', of course.

Who's the local lad, now an employee of our illustrious planning department, who last year told a resident of Williamstown Junction that his Melbourne Road front fence was too high and that he'd have to shave some off the top of it? He was last seen running off with his tail between his legs after the homeowner pointed out that there were other fences of similar height further along and furthermore council regs. allow for a higher front fence on a main road.

Is it just a coincidence that the pit next to Williams Real Estate was a little hive of activity yesterday, or did it have something to do with an email to a councillor, a phone call to the Civic Centre or a letter to Mr Jaboor? Let's wait and see if the 'temporary' fencing there is upgraded to the same degree that it has been at the big pit on the David Jones site.
Who knows where this sudden flurry will lead. My Christmas wish is that parking officers might forsake the revenue raising at Nelson Place in favour of some safety patrols at the chicken shop on the corner of Melbourne Road and Ferguson Street. They might not rake the money in but they might make things safer for pedestrians.

How long does it take the HBCC to issue planning permission for two rather small signs to be placed on a professional practitioner's premises? Nine months, according to my unhappy informant. You would think that relevant council staff would be too embarrassed to attend the Willi Traders' Xmas function when they deliver that kind of so-called service, but I have been given the name of at least one attendee from planning.

The so-called 'temporary' fencing around the construction site down the Strand end of Ferguson Street fell into the excavation itself during the storm. I always thought that it was far too close to the edge of the footpath myself and was very careful about standing back a bit whenever I wanted to peer into the pit. It's been a big hit with the young, that hole in the ground. I know of several toddlers who love to watch the machines there. Now we know it was more good luck than good management that someone didn't take a header. Perhaps our council should insist that developers who want to dig bloody great holes right up to the footpath should pay for the solid sort of fencing that you see at city construction sites, instead of putting our lives at risk.
There's another mini quarry up on the other side of Ferguson next to the Estate Agents. Once again we've got the same crappy fencing, some of which fell down on at least one occasion. That site is even more of a disgrace in some ways because there has been no activity there since...sorry, it's been so long, I can't remember. If nothing is going to be built in the next decade or so, perhaps our council officers might like to suggest that the owners fill the hole in so that it doesn't become a reservoir full of stagnant water after rain. Are there some rules about how long you can have something 'under construction' for?

According to the account I heard, the Willi Historical Society was invited to send two representatives to the HBCC enquiry concerning use of the Mechanics Institute but the chairperson refused to allow the second person to participate in the proceedings. Why behave in that way? Perhaps the 'Star' article provides a clue. Is it a case of from Chair to Mayor?