♦ Campbelltown councillor Anoulack Chanthivong got elected to the state parliament at the recent election on March 28. But he told the council the first thing he wants to do for his constituents is fix up a major bat problem. Apparently during his campaign Anoulack was approached by residents regarding a bat colony in the vicinity of Myee Road and Waratah Crescent, Macquarie Fields. Concerns were raised regarding the droppings and stench in the area. “When I was in the vicinity myself I could smell this very strong odour,’’ he told his fellow councillors last week. “It was really bad,’’ he said. While council will investigate what to do with the bats, the issue is not as simple as it seems, because the bats are a protected species.
♦ Over in Liverpool, some people want to get rid of the smell coming from the financial drain that is the Casula Powerhouse Arts Centre. Responding to council’s invitation of submissions from the public, former mayor Gary Lucas let them have it with both barrels. Not that he wants the arts centre closed down; he just wants to put one in a better location. This one he argues, is out of sight
and out of mind and is losing too much of the ratepayers’ hard earned money. Lucas says it will cost $3.3 million to run the arts centre in the 2014-15 financial year. But this will increase by $300,000 next year, and by 2025 council will have to fork out a cool $6 million to keep it running. Close it down, find a better site for an art gallery and save a lot of money, Lucas argues.
♦ EXCLUSIVE! No, make that WORLD EXCLUSIVE! Liverpool Council now has a time machine at its disposal. The South West Voice found the evidence in this paragraph from council’s agenda for tomorrow night’s meeting (Wednesday, April 29): “Council held a workshop on 29 November 2015. At the workshop, councillors outlined their vision for the Liverpool CBD as follows…’’ I wonder if they brought back with them newspapers with the race results in them.
