COUNCIL: Wide-reaching CCTV plan approved

CCTV plans, green space strategies and fee changes for the Royal Flying Doctor Service will headline today's council meeting

Fraser Coast Regional Council meeting. Picture: Alistair Brightman

UPDATE:

AN AMBITIOUS policy to rollout CCTV across the Fraser Coast has been unanimously endorsed by councillors after a lengthy debate in today's meeting.

The policy outlines acts as a guideline for how the council will install new CCTV cameras, assessing if locations are suitable, the cost of installation and if there are appropriate risks of putting cameras in.

The Fraser Coast Regional Council has installed about 434 cameras across the Fraser Coast to date.

Of those, 226 are accessible by council staff only, 54 are stationed at the Fraser Coast's airports and 137 cameras can be accessed by police. A total of 114 cameras are used to monitor streets and parks across the region.

Earlier in the meeting, David Lewis questioned whether the policy was worth the cost while Denis Chapman said CCTV would make the city a safer city to live.

"I feel this money we're putting into our CCTV is deterring people from doing the wrong thing because there's an eye watching them," Cr Chapman said.

EARLIER (12.38PM):

METERED parking in Maryborough's Bazaar St carpark will be scrapped and the council will undertake a review of parking in the entire Maryborough CBD.

The motion, approved by councillors 7-3, follows mayor George Seymour raising concerns of the parking section along Bazaar St - the only paid parking section in the Fraser Coast outside of the Hervey Bay Airport.

As part of the motion, a review of parking in the entire Maryborough CBD will be conducted.

Darren Everard, Zane O'Keefe and David Lewis opposed the motion.

EARLIER (11.38AM):

A NEW light tower at the Hervey Bay Rugby League Club will be replaced after it was damaged during storms.

The council will re-imburse costs for the new light tower, which was blown over at the grounds in 2016, to the tune of $20,188.

EARLIER (11.18AM):

LANDING fees will be waived for Royal Flying Doctor Service pilots landing at the Hervey Bay Airport after a unanimous council motion.

The council will enter into a sponsorship agreement with the RFDS, which could outlay more than $60,000 a year in landing fees.

EARLIER (10.37AM):

IN CELEBRATION of their new award nomination, members of the Hervey Bay Historical Village and Museum have handed out copies of their new book Moments in Time to councillors.

The book chronicles a photographic history of Hervey Bay and its surrounds from 1890.

Historian John Andersen said the group's book had been nominated as a finalist in the Gallery and Museum Achievement Awards (GAMMA).

Mr Andersen said it was very rewarding to see their hard work paid off.

"There's something special about books, about picking up a hardcover and turning the pages," he said.

EARLIER (10.07AM):

CCTV plans, green space strategies and fee changes for the Royal Flying Doctor Service will headline today's Fraser Coast Regional Council meeting.

Councillors are in Hervey Bay for the monthly meeting.

An ambitious strategy that will guide future installations of CCTV cameras across the region will be one of the major agenda items up for discussion today.

Councillors will also vote on waiving fees for the Royal Flying Doctor Service at the Hervey Bay Airport.

More to come.