THE Millicent Road Safety Centre will receive a $50,000 funding boost from OneFortyOne Plantations in the new year to upgrade its facilities.
The building is set to undergo a major refurbishment ahead of its 50th anniversary in 2018, with the donation kickstarting upgrades to the centre.
Wattle Range Mayor Peter Gandolfi welcomed the funding announcement, which will assist in the complete renovation of the building’s interior and exterior.
“For many decades, children from across the region have been taught road safety at the centre in Millicent, which is unique to the Limestone Coast and the upgrade will improve the facility and encourage further public access and use,” he said.
“The plan for the building will replace all the fascias and eves and part of that includes the removal of asbestos.
“The outside and inside walls will be plastered and the front windows will be removed and replaced with aluminium windows and a new door.
“The toilet block will be developed to allow outside access and disability facilities will be installed.
“The office will be made larger by the removal of a partition wall.
“Importantly, there will be an outside times button installed to encourage more out of hours use of the facility.
“It’s a very generous offer from the company towards a long-standing community asset.”
Established by the Millicent Lions Club in 1968, the centre aims to help children become familiar with correct road signage, pedestrian safety and road rules.
The fully-fenced centre incorporates realistic streets, including an intersection with traffic lights, a roundabout and numerous different traffic signs to observe.
Led by volunteer Sue van der Heul, young cyclists learn about road and traffic safety and practice their riding skills in a safe environment.
Ms van der Heul heralded the funding as “a godsend”.
“To get the funds to enable us to do this upgrade was going to be a lot of hard, hard work,” she said.
“Most of the funding available to groups like ours is not in large amounts and you cannot really get a lot done at the same time with those smaller amounts.
“This money is going to go a long way in letting us get a lot done at the same time, which means less costs in the long run.”
Wattle Range Road Safety Group secretary Di Egan said the funding would greatly assist in the planned upgrades.
“Our group saw there was a need for upgrades to the facility and it has been on the drawing board for a long time,” she said.
“This is such a huge donation and it will go a long way towards the major upgrade of the centre.
“With this funding, it is going to change the whole image of the centre and bring it up to a more modern standard.”
OneFortyOne’s Green Triangle general manager Willie van Niekerk said the company was delighted with the opportunity presented by the council to provide funding support for the centre.
“We are always looking for opportunities to invest into the community and road safety is something we are passionate about,” he said.
“At OFO, safety is at the forefront of everything we do as we know how important road safety is for our forestry industry and the wider community.
“This is a great local safety initiative and we are happy to support it as it plays such an important role in road safety education.”
