have had a good working relationship with the pair sharing a passion for the future of Cobar.
After 10½ years helping to shape Cobar’s
future, Cobar Shire Council general manager
Peter Vlatko has made the difficult decision to
retire, with family ultimately winning out
over a job and community he says he will
greatly miss.
Peter and his wife Anna plan to relocate to
Adelaide at the end of the year.
Anna’s family lives there, along with one of
their sons, and it will allow them to spend more
time with their grandchildren.
The move will also allow them greater
flexibility to travel to Sydney to visit their three
other sons and Peter’s elderly parents.
“My dad’s 91 and not well,” Peter said.
“It was a difficult decision to make but we
think that it’s the right one for us now.”
Peter said leaving a council where he had
enjoyed the trust and support of councillors and
staff made the decision particularly hard.
“I wanted to leave the place better than I found
it,” he said.
“When I first came here I was told I had to
plan for when the mines die.
“That hasn’t happened. It’s been the
opposite.”
Peter believes he has made the town a better
place as Cobar has changed considerably during
his tenure, with Council focusing not on
preparing for the town’s decline but investing in
its future.
“What we’ve been saying is: How are we
growing? What do we need to do to change the
place? What do we need to do to make it more
attractive?”
He credits his Council staff, many of whom
are “home-grown locals” and elected members
for sharing that vision and helping bring it to
fruition.
Among the achievements he is particularly
proud of are upgrades to the Great Cobar
Museum and its new underground mining
experience, Ward Oval improvements, the
construction of the Early Learning Centre and
Sound Chapel, the purchase of the old hospital
site for potential residential development and
Council’s investment in the appearance of the
CBD.
He also points to millions of dollars of
government funding invested in replacing
Cobar’s ageing water infrastructure and new
bridges at Euabalong as examples of Council
“setting the foundations right”.
Peter said one of his earliest challenges was
changing Council’s financial mindset from
holding onto money to strategically investing it.
“You need to spend money to make money.
And you need to invest to make money,” he said.
That philosophy also extended to improving
Cobar’s image through landscaping,
beautification and projects such as purchasing
and improving the former Grand Hotel.
“We’re a destination now, not a pass-through,”
Peter said.
He believes Cobar has increasingly
demonstrated that it can “punch above its
weight”, pointing to the internationally
recognised Sound Chapel as one example.
Peter has enjoyed a strong working
relationship with Mayor Jarrod Marsden.
“He did his apprenticeship with Lilliane
[Brady] and he’s learned the ropes.
“Jarrod has a presence.
“He has the vision and he wears that on his
sleeve because he’s committed to the whole
community.”
Peter also praised the current Council chamber
for its passion, discipline and mutual respect.
While looking forward to retirement and more
time with family, Peter admits he is leaving at an
exciting point in Cobar’s development.
“I’m going to miss the excitement of what we
are doing here in Cobar, the good people and
the community,” he said.
“I’ve very much enjoyed my time in Cobar.”
At age 68, however, Peter said the time had
come to put family first.
He leaves comfortable in the knowledge he
gave the job his best.
“We’ve got a great little town that is busting
to grow,” he said.
