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Carwoola News

Stoney Creek Gazette Reader Survey
8 Feb 2012 - 3:00pm

Here is a summary of the results of the Gazette reader survey undertaken in December. A total of 67 responses were received. This represents, we believe, just over 12% of the households in Carwoola, based on the circulation of the Gazette. All but five of these indicated they have access to the Internet. But from there, things aren’t so rosy. 39 people (58% of respondents) indicated they would read the Gazette if it was only published online, but apparently not all were keen to do so as only 31 (46%) provided an email address so they could be advised when it had been published. We have no way of contacting those people who didn’t provide an email address.

The popularity of the regular articles in the Gazette seems to emphasise what the CCA Committee believes is the purpose of the Gazette: to present the community with locally relevant information. For those who have tried to sell something through the classifieds in the regional newspapers, the value of advertising in the classifieds in the Gazette is obvious and the survey clearly shows why: very nearly everyone reads them!

The value of advertising in the Gazette might be inferred from the fact that 83% of Gazette readers responding to the survey claim to shop at or use the services of Gazette advertisers at least sometimes, and 38% often do so. Extrapolating to the Gazette circulation, that’s potentially over 450 households in the Carwoola district would sometimes shop at or use the services of Gazette advertisers.

More than 50% of survey respondents are willing to pay for a Gazette, and of those, half are prepared to pay $2.

Respondents to the survey also provided a lot of very welcome comments and suggestions on how to improve the Gazette and the website. We have posted the results, and the comments received, on the CCA website. A copy can be downloaded from the link below.

As highlighted in the previous issue, the Gazette is facing two problems: the time and energy it takes to prepare a Gazette for publication and the cost of producing it. The Survey has prompted a number of residents to offer assistance; some are willing to assist with getting material on line, while one person considered the Gazette to be so important to the community to prompt their offering assistance to prepare it for publication. That leaves the cost issue which the CCA Committee believes might be resolved if the community is willing to show how much it is on side.

Monaro Landscape Connectivity project
21 Jan 2012 - 4:27pm

Having received some good interest from people at the workshop in Bungendore on 1 December, particularly from around Carwoola - Captain's Flat - Hoskinstown, the Monaro Landscape Connectivity project team is now planning to hold the first MLC workshop in this area.

The details for the workshop are not yet finalised, but at this stage expect a 1-day workshop in the Captains Flat valley (ideally on the property of an interested landholder) in late April or early May. The workshop will help land managers to get a better understanding of native vegetation on their property, and also to look at managing it in the context of its connectivity to surrounding patches, through aerial photos and maps (which will be provided to all attendees) of native vegetation types across the landscape around their individual properties. There will also be sessions on Indigenous land management principles, and how people can begin to apply these on their property, if they are interested.

Following the workshop, interested land managers can receive advice and support from the three partners in the project (MLi, K2C and the CMA), and may also choose to apply for incentive funding through the project, to assist them to better manage native vegetation on their properties. The project team can also provide species lists for their property, and a Management Plan with recommendations to assist them in managing their native vegetation.

The Captains Flat workshop will be the first of six workshops to be held over the coming 18 months, at various locations across the Monaro. The exact location of workshops will be dependent on the EOIs received, but the aim is to ensure good coverage over the Monaro.

To express your interest in becoming involved, complete and submit the EOI form (link below).

For more information, contact Nicole Maher (Regional Landcare Facilitator):

Palerang Council Draft Community Strategic Plan

4 Dec 2011 - 9:03am

Palerang Council has released its draft 20-year community strategic plan (CSP).

The plan reflects the more than 7,000 comments received from community members at the 10 forums conducted throughout Palerang earlier this year. Councillors and staff were very encouraged by the level of participation in these forums and the ideas that flowed from them.

Palerang's General Manager, Peter Bascomb, said, "As mentioned at the forums, our goal was to reflect the spirit of all the conversations - there was no way we could capture the precise wording of all 7,000 comments received!

"We decided to keep this 20-year plan brief and easy to read. It is after all an over-arching document describing broad objectives for the
next 20 years," Mr Bascomb added.

Council will be holding two more public forums, the first on Monday, 12 December in Bungendore, and the second on Tuesday, 13 December 2011, in Braidwood. These will take the form of a panel session with staff and Councillors available to answer questions from the floor. The forums will again be facilitated by Martin Bass from the University of Technology, Sydney.

"Councillors, staff and I are looking forward to this next stage in the development of the community strategic plan," said Mr Bascomb.

Once the CSP is formally adopted, Councillors and staff will develop a number of supporting documents that really breathe life into the plan. These are:

  • 4-year Delivery Plan
  • Yearly Operational Plan
  • Workforce Plan
  • Asset Management Plans
  • Financial Management Plan

It is these documents that will have specific delivery timetables and key performance indicators. Staff have been working on the Asset Management Plans, and the first, for roads and drainage, was published early in 2011.

The Delivery Plan will be linked to the 4-year local government election cycle, and will be reviewed following the next general elections scheduled for September 2012.

The Operational Plan is a 12-month plan, expanding the Delivery Plan for the current financial year. The first Operational Plan, for the 2012-2013 financial year, will be developed in conjunction with the
Delivery Plan. The Operational Plan is developed each year in a manner similar to the current yearly management plan and budget.

The Financial Management Plan will reflect Council's long-term strategy to ensure that it has sufficient funds to maintain and develop Council's assets and services.

The draft Community Strategic Plan (PDF - 168.1KB) can be downloaded from Palerang Council's website at www.palerang.nsw.gov.au.

The Future of the Stoney Creek Gazette
30 Nov 2011 - 4:00pm

The Stoney Creek Gazette for the last 25 years has helped draw the community together, keeping people informed of current local issues and events; informing people about living on and managing small blocks; and raising funds to help conduct community activities and pay the insurance for the Community Association. In addition, it keeps Carwoola residents aware of an array of services that are available locally and encourages residents to support local businesses, who reciprocate by supporting the Community Association through the Gazette.

The Stoney Creek Gazette is experiencing difficulties because of:

  1. The time taken to prepare the Gazette; it really requires at least 2 days / month. The current editor cannot afford that amount of time.
  2. The cost of printing has risen by 60% to publish 26-28 pages and we have increased advertising rates commensurately. Because of the increased cost, some advertisers have ceased advertising or reduced their ad size, reducing the advertising income and number of pages that can be included in the Gazette. We are now looking at producing only 14-18 pages without making a loss.

The Community Association is considering options available to address the issues and has developed a questionnaire to accompany this issue of the Gazette for readers to complete. Please take the time to read the information below and to complete the questionnaire. The solution may end up being a combination of these options.


  1. Online only version:

    Advantages:

    Producing an online-only publication would be less demanding on the current Editor’s time as arrangements could be made for contributors to upload their own material to be included in the online version.

    An online version opens lots of options such as interaction within the community, commenting on articles, and posting questions.

    Although it would be expected that circulation of the Gazette would decrease markedly and that advertisers would be justified in seeking lower advertising rates. Since the cost of printing would no longer be a significant cost, the advertising rates could be significantly reduced without significantly affecting overall advertising revenue. (Doing the numbers, a current advertising page is worth ~$10 net to CCA; a half-page ad in an online version might cost $10 instead of $40.) This might in fact increase net revenue. We need to know if this is the case and how many advertisers are likely to continue to advertise.

    Disadvantages:

    The Community Association recognises that not everyone has an Internet connection that would enable them to download an online copy of the gazette, but has no idea how many people would download and read an online Gazette. Keeping track of who wants a hard-copy version and who is happy to download becomes an additional task. We need to know how many households would require a printed copy.

    We may be unable to find sufficient advertisers to fully support the Gazette and may be forced to charge for a printed Gazette for those unable to access the online version. A subscription-only printed Gazette would require keeping track of subscribers. We need to know how much people may be prepared to pay for a Gazette.

    Currently the Gazette is delivered to all mailboxes in the “Gazette catchment area” – Carwoola from the Kings Highway, Primrose Valley, and parts of Hoskinstown and Rossi. Feedback from new residents indicates that they feel part of the community when the Gazette appears in their mailbox; many seek to have a “Welcome to Carwoola” Information Pack delivered. With an online-only version, new residents (especially those without Internet access) may have no way of knowing of the existence of the online or printed Gazette, without some other way of being informed.


  2. Increase advertising:

    If sufficient new advertisers could be found, it would be possible to fund a printed Gazette with the current number of pages by increasing the advertising revenue to support it.

    Advantages:

    The Gazette would be able to continue in the current format, with the potential to increase circulation as new subdivisions are developed.

    Disadvantages:

    The burden on the Editor remains unchanged. Possible remedies to this might include sharing the task of producing the Gazette. Specifically, there would probably need to be a dedicated “advertising manager” to seek advertising and manage customer relations.

    We may be unable to find sufficient advertisers to support the Gazette and may be forced to charge for the Gazette. A subscription-only Gazette would require keeping track of subscribers. We need to know how much people may be prepared to pay for a Gazette.


  3. Reduce the number of pages:

    The layout of the Gazette could be “tweaked” to be more efficient with space, and continue to be published in printed format. A decision would probably have to made about which articles would be published, as there would be only a limited number of pages that could be printed. One criterion might be to publish only those articles that are relevant to living on and managing a small property in Carwoola. Another option might be to vary the range of articles each month. We need to know which articles are most popular.

    Advantages:

    The Gazette would be able to continue in a different format, with the potential to increase circulation as new subdivisions are developed.

    Disadvantages:

    The burden on the Editor is reduced, albeit slightly, once the “tweaked” format is finalised, but probably remains unsustainable for an individual. Again, a solution may be to share the production of the gazette – specific tasks might include receiving and collating articles, receiving and preparing advertising, responding to enquiries, and collecting printed Gazettes from the printer and preparing them for distribution.

    The content of the Gazette is reduced significantly and the readership may fall.

The survey was available until 31 December 2011.  Results are be published on the Gazette Reader Survey Results page.

Bush Fire Danger Period begins
28 Aug 2011 - 9:33am

The NSW Rural Fire Service (RFS) has declared the start of the statutory Bush Fire Danger Period (BFDP) for areas across the Lake George Zone.

From 1 September any person wishing to light a fire will require a permit in the following local government areas:

  • Queanbeyan
  • Palerang

“With conditions becoming more conducive to the spread of fire, people need to be extremely careful when using fire,” said Superintendent Tim Carroll.

The commencement of the season has been brought forward by one month due to an increase in escaped burns. There is heightened concern due to high grass fuel loads following the wetter than average conditions leading up to winter.

“Anybody wishing to light a fire on their property during the Bush Fire Danger Period will require a permit from their local fire brigade or Fire Control Centre.

“However, even with a permit you need to check whether a Total Fire Ban is in force before lighting any fires.”

Supt. Tim Carroll encourages all residents to have a Bush Fire Survival Plan, so all members of their household know what to do on days of increased fire danger, and if their home is threatened by fire.

Residents should also continue with their hazard reduction activities.

“We have all seen the devastation that bush fires can bring to a community, so I strongly advise residents to contact their local brigades and use their expertise to assist in carrying out safe hazard reductions,” said Supt. Doug Willcoxson.

“Residents also need to ask whether they need a Bush Fire Hazard Reduction Certificate.

“Never leave a fire unattended and if a fire does escape, it is essential to call Triple Zero (000) immediately so that emergency services can respond accordingly and minimise the damage.”

For more information contact Lake George Zone RFS on 6297 1840 or visit www.rfs.nsw.gov.au



by Dr. Radut.