After years of hard work and lobbying by the Pomonal community, they can now see the light at the end of the tunnel.

The Pomonal Hall redevelopment tender has been awarded to the Searle Brothers and building will commence soon.

The project will see a new multipurpose community hub built on the existing hall site with many new features.

The success of the project is testament to the resilience and determination of the Pomonal community.

Council also endorsed the draft Youth Charter.

This includes an Action Plan to establish realistic opportunities for meaningful engagement with youth throughout the Municipality.

We welcome feedback on the Charter and are looking forward to the possibilities this will deliver.

The Arts Precinct Redevelopment has begun with a number of project control group meetings with State Government, Council and local user representatives.

The next step is to tender for the full architectural services to undertake the detailed design over the next six months.

Building is expected to start in early 2016 and continue into early 2017.

A major hard rock quarry to be located at Dunneworthy, 17 kilometres from Ararat was also approved.

This quarry will provide up to 20 new jobs and is a valuable resource to the region that is low on hard rock reserves.

In a great win for the local community, this quarry will take 8000 truck movements off Ararat's roads, provided an agreement can be reached with the nearby Ararat Wind Farm.

As a new financial year begins and State budgets are discussed we need to actively lobby as hard as possible to achieve the best outcomes for our region.

Next week we will visit Parliament House to meet with Ministers and Shadow Ministers.

We will lobby for a range of projects and initiatives which have been identified as priorities by Council.

These meetings allow us to explain the issues and desired projects for our region and define the support required by the State Government for these priorities to succeed.

Working in partnership with the Government has seen many excellent results in the past and we look forward to seeing positive results from these meetings again this year.

For ratepayers or residents who wish to see me or enquire about Council, I am available on most Tuesdays between 9am and 10am at the Ararat and Grampians Visitor Information Centre, 91 High Street, Ararat.

No bookings required.

Mayor, Ararat Rural City Council