- Conservation Grants; Each year Council allocates $50,000 to help people with heritage houses repair or preserve their homes. Recent changes to Council planning policy means that there are now1801 heritage homes in Unley rather than 356. This means that there has been an increasing demand for funds without an increasing budget allocation. 27 of the 29 applications received will each get 35% of the costs of their project up to $5,000 for houses and $1,000 for trees. This leaves no funds for the second round of applications. I asked for increased funding to be considered in the next budget variation process. Only 4 applications were received from Goodwood South residents even though all of Millswood (west of Goodwood Rd) is now a heritage area. My motion was defeated to both increase the allowance for this year to allow for a second round of applications and to include more money in the budget for 2012/13. It seems that we as Council spend a lot of time saying how much we value heritage and yet when it comes to helping people with their restoration (eg underpinning, stonework ,verandas) we are not prepared to help more than a few in this way. The policy does need to be updated and this will occur in the new year.
- Temporary Road Closures for the Tour Down Under Gourmet Gala; These will be similar to last year. However, the committee has considered ways that underage people who arrive under the influence of alcohol can be better managed.
- Meeting times for 2012; There was considerable debate on this as the order of meetings scheduled was to change. I see many downsides to this and few advantages. The meeting was evenly divided on this relying on the mayor to give a casting vote, he then voted for change while saying that he would support the status quo (the amendment)! We now need to debate the timing of the 'reserving out' process (deciding if the matter will be debated again). If this is not changed then nothing has been achieved by the change and the process and deadlines have become more difficult to manage for staff with no gain for anyone.
- Development Act Delegations Review; This is a statutory requirement and changes reflect legislative changes. One change was made and that was to reflect that a significant tree, by definition, must now have a 3 m circumference.
- Appointment of a Deputy Mayor; Would you believe it this issue is back after being rejected just 3 months ago? The new suggestion was that Councillors take 6 month turns ward by ward. I'm not convinced that this is any more than tokenism. The described advantages are that it would give more Councillors an opportunity to share the responsibilities of the Mayor and would foster better communication between the selected individuals and the Mayor. Council rejected this motion and we still do not have the valuable role filled by anyone despite there being a need and many Councillors competent to do the job.
- Kirinari School -Use of Council land; Kirinari school has had the use of Council land for 11 years at no cost to the school. The school sold the land to Council in 2000. There have been some comments in the Eastern Courier that ignore the facts of this and wish for Council to consider to offer free use into the future. The reality is that the land should never have been free to use by the school and, hopefully, an agreed rent will be paid in the future.
- Electronic Hard Waste; Cr Hudson put a motion for a collection area for e-waste to be established that would be open regularly to drop off e-waste (see separate blog).This was supported and staff will investigate how this might work.
I have represented the Ward in 1995-7 and again from 2006 to the present time. I find being your representative on Council to be very rewarding. Please find out more about current items that I think are of interest as well as my achievements for the Ward and plans for the future.
26 November 2011
Full Council Meeting November 28th 2011
25 November 2011
E-waste collection
24 November 2011
Regulated trees or Significant Trees?
20 November 2011
ETSA Tree Pruning
Kelvin Avenue Update
19 November 2011
Stormwater Management Plan
City Strategy meeting 21st November 2011
Items discussed this month included;
- The Renewal of Home Match Licensing; it was proposed to increase the number of home games from 9 to 10 and non- Saturday games from 4 to 5. This has already been widely consulted in the local area and less than 20% of respondents were opposed to the concept. This was supported.
- Grants Programme Funding; local organisations recommended for funding include the Clarence Park Community Kindergarten (vegetable garden), Clarence Park Community Centre Food Coop (3oth anniversary celebrations) and St Thomas School (Easter Fair).
- Commercial Fitness Training Activities on Council land; this has been to public consultation and some significant changes have been made to the recommendations; these include the fee being reduced by 50%, allowing earlier start times in locations that have fewer residential neighbours, permitting boxing and martial arts in some parks and no bond to be paid. This was passed, although a fee was introduced for small groups of $100 for consistency between groups.
- Food Security Strategy; the focus of this strategy is to allow for more food to be grown in public spaces, toe encourage more food to be grown in back yards and to support local food distribution and use. There are already some outstanding examples in Unley of this, eg the Clarence Park Food Coop, the Goodwood Farmers Market, the veggie gardens at Black Forest Primary School and the Fern Ave Community Garden. This was passed.
- Community Asset Review Stakeholder Engagement; Council have been working for sometime on this and now wishes to discuss with individual stakeholders a future direction. For Goodwood South this includes the Fairmont Tennis Club, Millswood lawn Tennis Club, Millswood Bowls Club, Millswood Croquet Club, Goodwood Saints Football Club, Goodwood Cricket Club, Forrestville Hockey Club, Tennis SA and Goodwood Oval Sports Complex. This was passed.
- Hackett Reserve Extension; Council plans to extend the park to include the existing road that is closed to be part of the park. This would be funded as a Pocket Park.
- Village Living & Desirable Neighbourhoods Development Plan Amendment; this proposes significant change in zoning in Goodwood South. I am happy to discuss the detail of this with any any interested persons.
- King William Rd Pavement; once again Council are wishing to retain this asset to a high standard as replacement cost is almost prohibitive.
The full Agenda can be found at;
http://www.unley.sa.gov.au/webdata/resources/files/Agenda%20CSP%20November%202011.pdf
This was new CEO, Peter Tsokas' first meeting.
14 November 2011
Cloth Nappies make a comeback...
12 November 2011
Lawn replacement- not us!!
Ageing and Disability Advisory Committee
The Access for All Plan is now waiting to be signed off by the Human Rights Commission
The Regional Alliance of Eastern Councils has been developing a strategy to cope with the predicted pressures that will come from an ageing community. Some of the identified strategies include
- increasing education of clients about services offered
- enabling the learning of new skills and knowledge
- ensuring opportunities exist for safe physical activity
- the service fee structure will need to reflect need
- the need for a home support service that will do heavy cleaning (gutters,etc)and gardening
- setting acceptable standards of service delivery
Scooter Mobility Project -the pilot programme will fit GPS systems to particular vehicles and their users (you must be over 65) to identify hazards on the existing footpath network so that preferred routes can be identified and their use encouraged. There are currently no controls around the sale of these vehicles or training in their use once purchased. this also needs to be addressed.
08 November 2011
Dog Exercise: Unley Life
Dogs may be exercised under 'effective control'. Effective control means
- a dog is restrained by a strong lead less than 2metres in length
- the dog responds to a command, is in close proximity to the person and the person is able to see the dog at all times
EXCEPT where organised sporting activity or organised events are being conducted.
Dogs are prohibited
- within any enclosed area where there is children's play equipment
- within 3 metres of children's play equipment if it is not enclosed
- in areas listed on signposts that prohibit dogs.
06 November 2011
Community Panel
05 November 2011
Fairfax Ave and Graham Ave Street meeting 5th November
I went to a great meeting this morning at Goodwood Oval where 20+ people talked to Don and I(as well as Charles Mountain from staff). This meeting was convened as a few people living in the area had suggested that a meeting of interested residents would flesh out some of the issues that have been annoying people. In the end we had a list of about 20 different things, most of which will be cheap and easy to implement, others will need to be budgeted for.
Some of the issues were; (this list is just an example)
- When will the playground fence be installed? This has been budgeted for and should be soon.
- Can the new lines indicating the distance cars can park from driveways be pulled back a metre to allow easier and safer access to properties?
- Should parking be limited to one side of Fairfax Ave? The resounding response from people present was a no. There was some discussion about the parks nearest the playground.
- Can the street trees be replaced in Graham Ave? Some are pretty tatty, one butchered by ETSA, many failing to thrive and others causing damage to infrastructure. The Council arborist will give us some guidance as to a way forward.
- What about the drainage issues?
- Can there be some tidy up of Argyle Ave footpaths?
All participants will be sent an update of the issues identified and possible solutions. If you feel there are issues that you would like me to know about then please send me an email, if you think a street meeting would be useful then one can be convened in your street.
02 November 2011
Smoke Free Needs More Work
Wednesday 2/11/2011
No-smoke bid fails
UNLEY Council's bid to encourage smoke-free outdoor dining areas has failed to win over local restaurant and cafe owners. In August, the council announced owners would receive a 50 per cent reduction in outdoor dining fees if they chose to ban smoking. But, as yet, no businesses have taken up the offer. Councillor Jennie Boisvert, who supported the bid, hoped café owners would still get on board. "I think the initiative needs more education," Cr Boisvert said. "A lot of the restaurants don't realize how many customers they don't have because of smokers outside." Adelaide City Council, which launched a similar scheme in July, has had 58 businesses take up the offer. An ACC spokeswoman said the savings on outdoor dining permits ranged from $120 to $1350 annually.
01 November 2011
International Cities and Towns Conference; Hobart
November Update 2011
Railway diversion; A new committee has been established to lobby state and federal government on the possibility of diverting trains east of the City (through Truro). This group has now met for the first time.
Page Park; A gate will soon be erected on the western entrance, this will make the entire area safer for dogs off leash. The toilets are now not likely to be installed before late December.
Traffic management; There will be a stop sign and associated line marking at the junction of Ripon Rd with Lorraine Ave and Homer Rd. This should make the junction safer. This is a response to concerned residents.
Street meeting; Fairfax Ave and Graham Ave; Residents in this area have requested a street meeting to discuss local issues. This meeting will occur at 10 am on November 5th near the junction of the two streets.
Development (Regulated Trees) Development Act 2009; This Act will come into operation on 26th November 2011. It will change the definition of significant trees and create a two tier system of regulated and significant trees. I will write a separate blog on this when I have more details.
Leister Park; The Park has now reopened after contamination was found. The Park has been fully remediated and is now safe for all users again.
Smoking; So far no cafes have taken up the Council offer to reduce the fees they pay to Council and to make their outdoor eating areas smoke free. I feel that a little more direct contact from staff should see a much higher take up of the initiative. Staff are still working on the report to enable smoke free children's play areas.
Do you like singing, you might like to try this?
Unley Voices meets for practice every Wednesday from 2-4pm in St Augustine's Church, Unley Rd, and everyone is welcome. Information Marianne Piercy 8372-5100.