Ashlee brings her personal qualities to council

ASHLEE Fitzpatrick is hoping to enter her third term of council if elected for the Wareena Ward at the upcoming Rural City of Wangaratta Council election. While being a voice for young people, Ms Fitzpatrick's personalised approach to life gives her a desire to work with all people no matter their generation or interests who are living in the Wareena Ward and greater rural city community. She is still passionate about council and wants to continue and she loves to see new candidates, but for her, she said she will bring stability and experience to help with other councillors who might be new to the fold. "I'll bring some commentary to what we have been doing for the last nearly eight years, so that's really important," Ms Fitzpatrick said. The mother of an 18-month-old, with partner Michael Groves, said she's at a different stage of her life than when she entered council as one of the youngest ever councillors in Victoria, and she now believes she can bring something new. "For me when I raised the question that I might retire from council I wanted to get community feedback and the people I spoke to felt they still wanted someone at the table they can feel comfortable in talking to and someone who looks like them and represents them," she said. "That was my decision to say okay, we still need that representation for the next generation at the table. "I'm a safe person people can talk to and resonate with and feel comfortable to approach and have their feedback, because this is so, so important. "I acknowledge that the way we communicate for everybody is different and being mindful on how we communicate to get the best outcome." Ms Fitzpatrick wants to focus on the multi-generational facility planned for Wareena Park, as she believes there should be a place for everyone in our vulnerable communities including the elderly, people living with disabilities and young children too. "My family are all from Wareena and Appin wards in the West End area so I felt that this really aligned with me," she said. "I really want to see the masterplan of the multi-generation space at Wareena Park to come because it's a safe place for people to enjoy. "This really sparked with me to be that voice and try and get that grant funding to see how that whole precinct progresses. "It's such a special space and there's that great masterplan there so let's try and activate that in stages to get it going for everybody." The hub will become the new home for the senior citizens group, all abilities, young families with sporting facilities, and a playground for kids to use while families are attending sporting facilities. It will be a multi-million-dollar facility and state funding would be required to back the development. Ms Fitzpatrick wants to hear from residents in the immediate area about the need for the facility so she can then take this to council and champion the cause. "There would be families across Moyhu or Springhurst who have children playing football or are using the precinct who want to have a say too and it's important for those people to make submissions too and make conversation with us about what they would like to see," she said.

Ashlee brings her personal qualities to council

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