“I furthered my education in Geelong, which led to employment in Melbourne and returning to the Wimmera four years later, where I opened my first business and started my family.
“Since then my experience in the Wimmera has been broad, specialising in retail and hospitality, as a small business owner-manager through to administrator-finance-marketing.”
Mrs Bell’s community involvement has included being part of sporting and school committees and organisations such as Blue Ribbon Raceway, Horsham Greyhound Racing Club, Sunnyside park, tourism and parking committees, CBD group, City to River Community Reference Group and Kannamaroo Festival.
“Community building is my core passion. Having heard many amazing ideas during my involvement with the community, we must find the right way to gather feedback on what we value, what needs to be improved and what is missing. Then plan how we develop and build for the future, while retaining what we use and worked hard to build,” she said.
“Despite giving hours to groups and advisory committees, history shows community representatives have very little input in decisions made by the council. The recent community satisfaction poor result supports this discontent, so perhaps it’s time for community advisory groups to be set up by the community.”
Mrs Bell said important core projects for Horsham included –
• A second river crossing for vehicles, long identified by the community as important.
• A regional indoor-outdoor sports hub to boost sports activity and the district economy when hosting regional championships.
She said plans ‘sitting on the shelf’ needed to advance before paying for more consultants for other projects. These included –
• Horsham railway yards – an opportunity for Horsham to break the division with Horsham North with an inviting space.
• Community plans for Horsham North, Haven, Jung, Mitre, Natimuk, Dadswells Bridge and Laharum-Wartook.
• The Open Space Strategy reported that playground equipment across Horsham was outdated.
“No matter where we live in the municipality, or whatever our age or ability, it should not limit our life opportunities or services,” Mrs Bell said.
“We must set targets to reduce waste and spending, to make sure that rates remain fair to all, including farmers.
“Our community matters, so let’s tackle these tough times together.”
• The Weekly Advertiser welcomes written submissions from candidates standing for Horsham, Ararat, Northern Grampians, Hindmarsh, Yarriambiack and West Wimmera municipal councils in local government elections next month. Submissions should outline their reasons for standing and be no longer than 350 words.
The entire September 23, 2020 edition of The Weekly Advertiser is available online. READ IT HERE!
