Geelong councillors are hoping to connect with the community by enticing locals with free snags and live music in Little Malop St mall next Tuesday.
The long-troubled mall, which made national television last year for anti-social behaviour, has received $315,000 from council for a makeover.
Brownbill ward councillor Peter Murrihy described the meet-and-greet, prior to a ‘community focus’ meeting, as a great chance for locals to check out the improvements.
“I encourage community members to come say hello and enjoy a free feed and entertainment, before heading across to City Hall for the council meeting,” he said.
The central Geelong BBQ begins at 5.30pm with Bellarine musician Jack Meredith performing live, followed by a meeting at City Hall at 7pm.
Cr Murrihy will begin council’s first community focus meeting for the year with a snapshot of local projects from Brownbill ward, which encompasses central Geelong.
He was “excited” for the BBQ in the mall, where council had “implemented a number of activations to attract more visitors”.
Workers removed the mall’s public toilet last September, and have installed a new performance stage, water features, seating and play equipment since.
An entertainment program ran across January featuring local performers Andy Pobjoy, Josh Dance, Andrea Robertson and Kieran Tobin.
Geelong Mayor Stephanie Asher looked forward to meeting community members at the free BBQ and hoped they would enjoy the entertainment.
“These meet-and-greets are an important opportunity to discuss projects and issues, in a convenient location,” she said.
Council’s next community focus meeting will take place in Geelong’s north on March 10.
