Being editor of the Tribune gives you a privileged place from which to view the issues in the Yass Valley. This is my last edition and therefore fitting for me to outline what I think will be the major issues for this community going forward.
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Yass' biggest current issue is not development, not local roads, not even the discoloured and bad-tasting water that people so often complain to the Trib about.
It's the dissonance between Yass Valley Council and many of the populace.
There is a perception, largely held in the community, that council is unhelpful, difficult to work with, stamps on good ideas, all while forcing its own agenda through.
It's a perception that is not always based on reality, when you dig deeper into the issues - which we frequently do at the Trib.
Council has been making efforts to be more open and transparent but in some cases it has backfired. A good example was when it held a Main Street Strategy meeting a couple of months ago with mainly shopkeepers on or near Comur Street invited. As the Park & Ride was a big issue at the time, council put that on the agenda to discuss, thinking it was providing another avenue for discussion and feedback. Instead, the rumour mill got wind of it and it became a 'public meeting' that no one knew about and reflected very badly on council at the time.
It's hard to combat this kind of ill-feeling; it feeds on itself and needs very few facts to continue to have traction. Even the best intentions by council can be misinterpreted.
It's also a sad indictment on this community that gossip and rumours thrive here.
We'd exhort council to continue to be as open and transparent as possible, to frequently gauge community sentiment on issues that arise, and to deal with them with the levity that the community believes they deserve. Council needs to understand that the issues that upset or galvanise the community will not always match the ones it thinks are most important.
Press releases from council on positive stories just won't go far enough, we'd submit.
Council should commit to a major repair job on its community relations. If not, it will be very difficult for this council to move forward on major projects.
The other big issue for this community is, of course, the Barton Highway. Council and many local residents have fought a good fight on this but it is ultimately up to the federal government to allocate the funding. As the community most impacted by this road, it's up to us to keep the pressure up through letters, emails and phone calls to federal MPs. Duplication may still be a long way off but if we do nothing it will never happen.
