By REBECCA BILLS
Input sought for putting empty building to good use
MOUNT Evelyn residents will have a chance to speak up on the future use of empty community buildings along Wray Crescent.
After the recent closure of Morrison House, the count of unused buildings along Wray Crescent has increased – including the Community Link building, Station House and Youth Enterprise Shed.
Mount Evelyn Environment Protection and Progress Association (MEEPPA) president Tim Heenan said he was dedicated to breathing life back into Wray Crescent.
“We can’t go on waiting for something to happen, we need to be proactive in making it happen,” he said.
“I just can’t stand by and watch nothing happen in our township – it’s just dead, it just makes me feel sick.
“These buildings are our greatest assets, they are well treasured by the community, but everything is dead – it doesn’t help businesses at all.”
A community meeting is scheduled to be held at the Mount Evelyn Station House on Wednesday 28 May from 7pm to 9pm, so the community can come together and voice their opinions to the council.
“We have no idea at this stage what is going to happen with everything and we don’t, I believe as a community, want to sit on our backsides and wait for the shire to tell us what’s going on,” Mr Heenan said.
“I’m very hopeful that I will not only have Yarra Ranges Council CEO Glenn Patterson and director Social and Economic Development Ali Wastie as well as the Billanook Ward Councillor Maria McCarthy attend on the night.
“They need to come and listen to what the community needs to say to them.”
A Yarra Ranges Council spokesperson said Mr Patterson and Ms Wastie would be happy to answer questions on how the council had assisted with the transition of services that Morrisons used to manage, however Mr Heenan said this would not be a meeting to dwell on the past, but rather a time to look to the future.
“This time it is not about the ‘same old, same old’ coming together to voice their views as there are lots of young families in Mount Evelyn and I would be desperate to hear their views,” he said.
“Their views are just as important as someone who has lived here for 35 years and in some ways even more important.
“We’ve got these fantastic facilities, maybe we need to reinvent them,” he said.
The former mayor said Mount Evelyn was a fabulous little community, but at the moment it had reached a crossroads in the 21st century.
“In order to move forward, we really need input from these new people,” he said.
“I know there are hundreds and hundreds of families that have moved here because of environment, walking tracks and the little township all located within close proximity to where they work.
“We need to move forward together and the moment is now.”
Mr Heenan said he encouraged all Mount Evelyn residents to visit the MEEPPA Facebook page to voice their opinions on what they want to see happen with the community buildings and what they want discussed at the meeting.
“Anyone can post their questions or opinions to the page which we hope to be running live throughout the town meeting.”
