SOME $584,000 was allocated in council’s 2023/24 budget for a new truck wash that is being touted as a potential game changer for livestock carriers and transport businesses that pass through the area.
Community members of a truck wash committee say the relocation of the current truck wash at the Euroa Saleyards, which is listed in council’s budget as a capital works expense, will result in a larger, more useful washing facility.
Nutrien Euroa branch manager Russell Mawson, who is a member of both the truck wash committee and the Euroa Saleyards committee of management, said the new double bay drive-through truck wash will be able to accommodate “B triple” size trucks.
Mr Mawson said users of the current truck wash need to spend a “long, long time” backing their trucks in, but the new truck wash will remove this burden by allowing trucks to drive through and for two trucks to be parked beside one another.
“It's like going from a T Model Ford to a brand new Lexus,” he said.
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“It’s faster, it’s more modern, it’s not going to have the blockages that the old machine would have.”
The payment system will also be modernised – instead of a coin slot like the one in place now, payment will be “all electronic”, Mr Mawson said, with users to receive a data key from council to claim the wash off their taxes.
He said Euroa will be the first town out of Melbourne on the Hume Freeway to have a high quality truck wash.
Dene Burls, who operates five livestock trucks out of Euroa as the owner of Burls Livestock Transport, is also on the truck wash committee.
Mr Burls said waiting time is one of the biggest issues with the current truck wash for livestock carriers.
“Because there's only one bay line, if there's a truck on there, it can take between 30 minutes and two hours to wash the crates out,” he said.
“So, if you're sitting there waiting for someone in front of you, you could potentially sit there and wait two hours before you can get your turn.”
He said usage time would be sped up by improved pumps and water flow, in addition to the new truck wash’s double bay and drive through capacity.
Mr Burls said he believes these improvements will see the relocated truck wash better utilised and council will recoup the funds spent on construction.
He stressed the truck wash is an income-generating asset for council, which patrons pay to use per minute.
Council’s 2022-2023 budget shows $500,000 was borrowed for the project, with the allocated funding appearing under the budget’s “borrowings” stream.
The work has been carried over into this year’s budget.
Farmer Richard McGeehan, another member of the truck wash committee, said he was sceptical council had priced the project appropriately.
“If you can't put in a concrete slab for $500,000, I'll go and jump in the local creek, because it's probably no bigger than a house when you think about it, just a different configuration – a rectangular piece of concrete,” Mr McGeehan said.
But Mayor Laura Binks said the facility “goes beyond being a simple ‘concrete slab.’”
She said the design takes into account regulations and standards set by the Environment Protection Authority (EPA), and gives careful consideration to ensuring safe vehicle turning movements and the installation of proper drainage infrastructure.
Mr McGeehan also said he was amazed by how drawn out the process of working with council on the project has been.
“It's just incredible how long things take local government,” he said.
“I mean, it's been going on for a couple years now.”
Cr Binks said council’s decision to revise the original design, which added on time to the project, was prompted by a significant increase in associated costs.
“In response, a thorough redesign was carried out to ensure the project remained within budget,” she said.
“Now the design has been finalised, the project will move forward to the tendering stage, where contractors will be invited to submit their proposals for the construction work.”
