Reef Resort Grounds and Maintenance Sub-committee
Monthly Report for December 2019
AS AT 31 Dec 19
Prepared by Chris Dahlberg

Chairman's directive of 3 Dec 19:
1. There will be no scheduled meetings for December.
2. Caretaker staff should be informed of known tradesmen working on the grounds.
3. Write a charter for the Grounds and Maintenance Sub committee.
4. Do walk-arounds and speak to occupiers about any proactive issues.

27 Dec 19 - Committee voted 4 to 3 on a new structure of management of grounds and maintenance.
It is important to note that the resident committee members and Body Corporate members were not consulted about the proposal by the executive committee before it was voted on.

31 Dec 19 - Charter submitted to committee.

 

Douglas Shire Ratepayers Association
Next meeting is 14 Jan 2020.
I was asked to be the interim secretary until the first AGM.
Plans are underway to become incorporated before our planned first General Meeting which will be before the Local Government elections on Sat 20 March 2020.

The Northern boundary to Reef Resort - 11 Dec 19
Some temporary fencing has been applied to block the pathways to the development land next door. They are not on the boundary but on their land. It is expected that they will be replaced with a more substantial fence on the boundary just prior to construction.

Signage at the main entrance
13 Dec 2019 - 14 signs have been replaced at our entrance on both sides of the road.
The overall effect highlights the stop signs more and it is hoped that the whole area will be safer not to mention our entrance looks brighter now the faded signs have gone.

The weir at St Crispins - 11 Dec 19
The top part of the weir has been removed down to the 1983 level.

Committee members who live interstate may miss out on what is happening in the Douglas Shire.
That is why I include some news items of circumstances that could effect our investment and the management of Reef Resort.
You may wonder why I brought up the Spanish and Portuguese speaking visitors at our last meeting?
Well, they out number all the other backpackers and here is why: Newsport article on how Port Douglas became a haven for Latino travellers part 1, part 2 and part 3.
(English is often their third language and being able to speak it does not necessarily translate into reading and understanding it.)

Bore Water: I was asked to investigate the possibility of having bore water for the resort. It seemed simple enough as some homes use bore water and the bores had been built for as little as $2,500? I talked to our neighbour, The Country Club, superintendent Alec Ross who runs a bore for the golf club:
https://www.newsport.com.au/2019/august/mirage-country-club-to-bring-back-the-heydays-with-upgrades/
Alec explained to me the difficulties he was experiencing with his 90 metre 150mm bore and the fact that it was supplemented by treated sewage from the shire under a grandfather agreement. We simply cannot afford it. With some fine tuning of our irrigation system, which is underway by myself and some help watering plants during tight water restrictions we can get by. The quality of our lawn areas is such that the lawns recover quickly as can be witnessed during most of this December.