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Egg-citing Easter fun The Easter Bunny will hop into town on Sunday, bringing chocolatey treats for kids across the west. Alara, 2, and Ari, 3 (pictured) are already getting into the spirit of Easter and are eagerly counting down the days until the Easter Bunny arrives. Easter-themed activities will be held across the west in the lead up to Easter Sunday, with egg hunts, story times and festivals taking place. Maribyrnong council is hosting an Easter EGGStravaganza for young people aged 12-17 on Thursday, April 17, from 10am-2pm at the Phoenix Youth Centre, 72 Buckley Street, Footscray. Younger kids can go on an egg-citing hunt through Bacchus Marsh’s Lederberg Library and listen to Easter songs and tales also on April 17, from 10am-11am. Maddingley Park will host the Bacchus Marsh EasterFest on Good Friday, from 9.30am-4pm, featuring egg hunts, an Easter bonnet parage and local performers. Wyndham Harbour Marina will host its Easter Festival from April 18-20, featuring a circus workshop and performance by the Werribee Concert Band on April 19 and an Easter market, egg hunt, petting zoo and face painting on April 20.
ALARA, 2, AND ARI, 3
Millions in storage By Prealene Khera Millions of dollars could be freed up for local projects greatly needed by the community if Brimbank council decided to consolidate two of its depots into one site, according to a proposal put forward by the Brimbank Progress Association. Currently, council’s maintenance and service staff work out of two depots in Keilor Park and Sunshine. According to association president and former Brimbank mayor Bruce Lancashire, these depots are no longer fit for purpose, are poorly located and not appropriate for usage. “They’ve been around a long time so they’re
quite old and need to be refurbished but there’s a better solution available,” he said. The association – which is a community group formed recently to “make Brimbank better“ – is pushing for council to scrap the existing depots and instead construct a new consolidated site at the energy park in Albion. “These depots are located on valuable land that could pay for the construction of the new depot once sold,” Mr Lancashire said. “Given that energy park has direct access via the signalised intersection off Ballarat Road, this would make an excellent location for a new consolidated depot. “Additionally, the federal government has
provided $500,000 for the energy park – this would pay for the necessary design and approvals of the new depot.” In its preliminary proposal outlining the benefits of a combined space, the association states council could make a hefty profit if it implements the plan. As per the association’s data, income from the sale of the two depot sites would amount to $86 million. It said construction of a new consolidated depot is estimated to cost $12 million. While the report is based on rough estimates generated from secondary sources and research, Mr Lancashire believes the scheme has legs.
“The purpose of this analysis [was] to determine whether the proposal was … worthy of greater consideration,” he said. “Even if it takes double the money to construct the new depot, there’s still millions left over.” Mr Lancashire said these funds could be redirected towards other important initiatives. “There are numerous council projects that are greatly needed by the community and are presently unfunded,” he said. “We think our proposal has merits and should be afforded a more detailed professional analysis [by council].” Brimbank council declined to comment.
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