Maroondah City Council has a new Mayor, following an election by Councillors at a meeting of Council on Wednesday 9 November.
Cr Rob Steane was elected as Maroondah's 27th Mayor during a special ceremony livestreamed to the Maroondah community.
Cr Tasa Damante was elected to the role of Deputy Mayor. The position will provide support to the Mayor in what will be a busy year for Council.
Cr Steane said it was a great honour to be elected to represent the Council in its third year of the current four-year term. This is Councillor Steane's third Mayoral term and he will hold the position for the next 12 months.
"I am immensely proud to be given the opportunity to lead our Council for the next 12 months. Representing the community is a privilege and an exciting opportunity to make decisions that have a positive impact on our city's future," he said.
"I'd like to thank my fellow Councillors for entrusting me to lead this Council and our vibrant and diverse City over the next year," Cr Steane said.
"Together I know we will strive to make Maroondah a better place for our community. I will continue to advocate for our community needs and build on the work that has been done over the years," Cr Steane said.
"Regardless of the outcome of the state election in a few weeks time, I look forward to working with the new government, and to continue to advocate to our local members of parliament to ensure that they are fully aware of the needs of our community. Maroondah has had a good success rate with our advocacy efforts, which is highlighted by the number of programs and facilities that have been provided over the years."
"After the impacts of the pandemic I am looking forward to 2023 continuing to be a year where together we support and reconnect our community."
"Our job as Councillors is to represent the community, and the recent Maroondah Festival was a great opportunity for us to come together after some challenging years. What a wonderful sight it was to see so many people enjoying the sunshine and the atmosphere at what is our largest community event for the year."
"And I'm looking forward to this year's Maroondah Carols event on December 3, which will be another opportunity for our community to come together and celebrate the festive season."
Cr Steane thanked the outgoing Mayor Mike Symon for his strong leadership, passion and dedication over the past 12 months.
"Maroondah is fortunate to have councillors with such a diverse knowledge base and a passion to bring about positive changes to our community," he said.
"Cr Symon has led this Council with dedication and unwavering enthusiasm. His support to his fellow councillors and our community is to be commended."
Cr Steane said one of his first priorities would be the continued implementation of the actions identified in the Council Plan, which is the blueprint for the four year Council Term, and is underpinned by the community vision, Maroondah 2040: Our future together.
During Cr Steane's term of office new facilities will be completed at Cheong, Ainslie and Jubilee Parks, which will be used by a range of community and sporting organisations; work will continue as we develop the Croydon Community Wellbeing Precinct, in particular Hub A; and we look forward to creating a new Croydon Town Centre as we work in partnership with the Victorian Government to remove the Coolstore Road level crossing and create a new Croydon station and bus interchange.
"Each of these exciting projects will bring many new opportunities to Maroondah," Cr Steane said.
