Gunnedah Shire Council held a community information session at Carroll Community Hall on Tuesday last week regarding the proposed Special Rate Variation.

As reported in the Gunnedah Times last week, a small crowd showed, but concerns regarding village issues were made known.

Multiple crowd members felt the responsibilities council had to Carroll were falling short but yet they may need to pay more.

“All I am saying is we do not really get anything,” a crowd member said.

One of the Carroll Progress Association members at the meeting was Robyn Hattam who has been in the community for 21 years.

She understood why the Special Rate Variation was proposed, but was concerned that Carroll would continue to be overlooked.

“We have been waiting too long for things to be done,” she told the Gunnedah Times.

“It is frustrating when we want to get it all set up and make it look good for the community and the children in particular.

“We do everything for the children.”

One of the biggest ongoing concerns brought up at the session, was located just outside the hall.

Not only was there a dire need from the community to fix the public toilets in Carroll Park, but there seemed to be an ongoing push back issue.

Ms Hattam stated that February was meant to mark the beginning of fixing the public toilets, but a requirement in the Local Government Act had placed the development on hold.

She said the sewage currently needed to be pumped out once or twice a month, which in turn costs money.

“The new system [council will be] putting in will eliminate that cost, they will not have the truck coming out all the time,” she said.

“It is no good when it is leaking, the kids are playing there.

“Basically, as [outgoing mayor Jamie Chaffey] said, it is only paint holding it together because all the tin is rusted.”

Her concerns for the toilets are so firm that she believed it should be shut.

She estimated there would be days when about 50 to 100 cars stop by those public toilets.

“It is council not doing its job, as far as everyone is concerned,” she said.

Another point she raised to the Gunnedah Times was the lack of services Carroll residents have, questioning why they should bear those costs.

“We do not have curb and guttering, we don’t have drains, we do not have water [bore or tank water is used],” she said.

“It is a bit unfair. That is what I am feeling from people.”

Roads are also an issue Ms Hattam wants to see more done about. She believed one of her access roads has gone about five years without being graded.

“It just seems as though Carroll is forgotten sometimes, well a lot of the time,” Ms Hattam said.

“[Council] allocates money to Carroll, somewhere else needs it, so they take it out of Carroll and it misses out again.”

To back up the same point, another at the meeting had witnessed mowers coming up near Carroll but turning back around before reaching the village. She also made the point that children walk up along the road.

Council responded that staff likely had not completed the job and would return.

Cr Chaffey made the point that the new council will be looking for community aspirations and there would be further opportunity to relay the individual and progress association’s perspective.

Another concern raised during the meeting was to acknowledge the maintenance the Carroll Progress Association does, and whether those were made out of pocket.

The council confirmed there are annual contributions made to the association.

The council encouraged the association to make a submission along with the individuals.

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