Capri Theatre: A concert for the farmers

An Ode to Mexico Ignites City of Unley Outdoor Cinema

The City of Unley will honour Mexico’s Day of the Dead with an outdoor screening of the family-friendly film Coco on Friday, November 2.

The event marks the return of the City of Unley’s popular Ignite Unley Outdoor Cinema series, which runs throughout summer each year.

Day of the Dead – or Dia De Los Meurtos as it is known in Mexico – stems from 3,000 years of history. The holiday is a celebration of life and death and while it originated in Mexico, it is celebrated all over Latin America.

City of Unley Acting Mayor Peter Hughes said the film screening would be an excellent chance for the community to get involved and learn about the Mexican culture and history.

“This significant day is all about commemorating life and its joys through colourful displays,” Mr Hughes said.

“It’s an opportunity for people to celebrate those who are missed but not forgotten, with an altar to place photos and pay respects.”

Coco is a 2017 animated fantasy film produced by Pixar animation studios and released by Walt Disney. The concept for Coco is inspired by the Mexican Day of the Dead holiday. The film has been awarded many accolades and is a firm favourite amongst global audiences.

The film offers insight into the deep-rooted cultural beliefs behind the festival and its prevalence in the Mexican community.

Attendees are encouraged to bring along their entire family for a night full of learning and laughter. Pre-screening activities start at 6pm and include Day of the Dead face painting and live entertainment with Mexican music and dancers.

Delicious food from tacos to tamales will be on offer, while drinks will be available from an on-site bar. Attendees can also participate in the breaking of fresh bread supplied by traditional Mexican bakery Salon Chihuahua.

Attendees are encouraged to bring a picnic rug and arrive early to snap up a good spot as space is limited. The film will start at sunset and the event is free.

For more information, visit unley.sa.gov.au/igniteunley

WHERE: The Village Green, Unley (Cnr of Oxford Tce and Rugby St)

WHEN: November 2, activities start at 6pm, film screening starts at sunset

WHAT: Coco (PG)

MEDIA CONTACT

Erin Thompson, City of Unley Communications Officer, 0420 507 599

Ready,Set, Build

Today's Sunday Mail had an article about improved planning consent. Under the heading cutting red:

• Pools, sheds, garages and carports-less rigorous assessment
• Lodgement and  tracking of planning assessments on-line
• Accessible on-line comparison tools
• Delegation of more planning authority power to the private sector
• Fewer public notifications and no appeal rights for less complex developments

If you are the developer most of these seem like progress. If you are the concerned neighbour then you would no longer have any right to represent or appeal category 2 applications.

It all seems rather too much to give up when only 14 of 777 Development Applications in Unley were initially  refused (less than 2%).

Some of my accomplishments and proposed actions

If you haven't already voted and need one more reason. These are just a few projects that I have made happen. I will continue to improve your amenity. Vote 1 Jennie Boisvert

Planting of trees that will become significant

Better cycling infrastructure

Protecting significant tress

Improving cycling infrastructure

Improved landscaping

Parking controls at Goodwood Oval

Improved landscaping along the train line

Graffiti removal program

Parking controls in Millswood

Planning what next for this piece of land

Trip hazards identified in paving for repair

Re-opening of Millswood Station

Walk lights on Goodwood Rd

All footpaths are paved

Where are Unley's defibillators?

Do we know how to use one? These questions came to mind when reading today's Sunday Mail.  As part of my first aid training (essential for registered teachers) I have practiced using one and am familiar with how they look. However, at my school no-one knew where the only one we have was stored! This raised the question, one I will ask of staff if re-elected, how many does the Council have and  where are they located?
How many are in other locations in Unley, eg main streets and where are they located? This vital information will have the capacity to save many lives.

New Baby Toys

A bright, colourful and musical range of baby toys have just hit the shelves in the toy library. Stack and Tumble Elephant is great for developing fine motor skills as baby stacks the rings onto elephant’s trunk. Learn colours, shapes and sounds plus make the elephant sneeze and blow the rings off the trunk by pushing the tail. The Triangular activity centre has a mirror so babies can watch themselves which is great for developing baby's sense of identity. There are gears to turn, an animal puzzle to flip and a track for animals to follow.   Pop up friends train is perfect for developing push and pull skills. Pull the train along with the cord, push and twist the buttons on the wheels to make the animals pop up on top of the train. With lots of fun noises and music baby will be engaged for ages. The Shaker and bells set will help baby with grasping, holding and shaking. Baby will love to make music and delight in watching the balls moving around inside the shaker.  The Unley Toy Library Team The Unley Toy Library can be found in Unley Civic Library, 181 Unley Road, Unley.

VOTING TIME IS NOW

Vote 1 Boisvert

Your ballots for the Clarence Park Ward election should have arrived by the end of this week, most of you will already have them. Please take the time to vote, as I'm sure all of you usually do. If you haven't voted before now should be the start of something new. Can you please consider, when voting, that I have represented you well in the time that I have been your elected member and that much of the amenity that you enjoy in your suburbs today is a legacy that I have proudly provided, or assisted in providing, during this time. I am the candidate who you know will continue to provide you with a high level of service to assist you and others in the community to continue to improve your amenity. Please give your first preference to me and you second preference to Don Palmer. 

In with the new in CP

I read a flyer authorised by a Mayoral candidate today, Dario Centrella. First I was little disappointed that any mayoral candidate would add this rider onto what appeared to be a pretty professional piece. I note that other Mayoral candidates have not, and nor should they, give preference in their public information for one ward candidate over another. While my first thought was that he would prefer a new team rather than the incumbent councillors, I decided to interpret this in a positive manner.
So thank you Dario for telling the ward that:

• you support people with new ideas
• you support people with new ways of doing things
• you support new ways of getting funding
• that you support people who can help others adjust to change
• you support teamwork
• you support an effort to work with and inform new residents in our ward
• you support people who are thinking about new events

Because this is exactly what  Don I have been offering for all of our  time on Council.

Thank you for your endorsement.

Run your own campaign

I've spent a little time reading the electoral material of a lot of candidates. I'm getting a bit of a collection. What l love is the vision that so many candidates have for a better city: how they believe they can build on the legacy that their existing council has created and is leaving to them.
What l don't like is the  tacit comments that seem innocuous enough but are actually trying to win votes at someone else's expense. Ones that go like this:

• I 've lived in the ward all my life
• I'm the only person who.....
• I'm an independent candidate
• I can do this full time
• I can fix the mess that......

For the record, I've lived in Unley for longer in my adult life than any other candidate (for Clarence Park), I don't belong to any political  party.  I work full time: that takes 40 hours and sleep about 56 hours: that leaves 60 hours available for Council work at a time that is convenient or scheduled. I've always been able to respond to inquiries on the same day. I'm the only person that ..has done a lot of things but you generally achieve more by working collaboratively with a group. Lastly, I want to know  what the alleged mess is and how it can be fixed.

Mainstreets winning Awards

At a Mainstreet Award ceremony late last week Unley won the following categories:

• Public space and streetscape design award- Goodwood Road
• Events with expenses under $50,000 - Celebrate Goodwood Alive 
• Events with expenses over $50,000- Unley Gourmet Gala

These acknowledge the hard work of staff, with the support of elected members, in producing fabulous outcomes for the community. Earlier in the week Design King William won an award for the design process and concept designs for the upgrade of this much loved street.

Goodwood Grandstand new plans avaiable

In the November Council Agenda the new plans have been released. The consultant and architect have tried to get the plan closer to the funded amount and fine tuned the plans to better fit the feedback received from the community. You can find the agenda item here , (page 133 and 134) A development application will be lodged next month. This will go back to consultation through this process and you will have time to make a representation if your are happy or not happy for it to proceed in the current form.

Why you should vote?

For me the campaign is nearly over. I have knocked on nearly every door and distributed a couple of leaflets to each home. I still have a How to Vote leaflet to distribute this weekend. Then it's over to you. The hard work was not done in the last few weeks but over the last 4 years in this  term of office. It's now up to all of you to take your turn and complete the ballot when it arrives in the mail next week. This is the best way for you to say thank you.
You should vote because:

• it reinforces to me that I have been doing the job well
• you are happy with the progress that you can see
• you like the team effort that my co-councillor and I have made to work together 
• You appreciate the regular newsletters and our informative blogs

Now is the time to talk to family members, neighbours and friends and ask them if they have voted intend to vote and discuss the benefits of each candidate. When it comes to experience and achievement I hope I'm on the top of your list.

Freight train diversion

This matter raised awareness again during the state election campaign with the elected government promising to fund a study called Globelink that would see both road and rail freight diverted from Murray Bridge to north of Adelaide. The following link has a more detailed story. The project would also include moving freight by air. https://www.saglobelink.com.au/freight_corridor 
The diversion of freight would make the amenity of those living near the line better and allow for a regular passenger train service to Mt Barker.

Corflutes; do we really need them?

Friday was the first day that corflutes were allowed to be put up in this election campaign. There seems to be a plethora of them advertising for one Mayoral candidate and a few for hopeful ward councillors. While the corflutes do nothing to enhance the character of the city, I wonder if they result in increased votes for the candidates concerned. And what a waste of plastic as they are single use. Unlike state corflutes where they can use younger images (and can recycle),  in local government the photo should be less that 12 months old. I looked carefully at them all and it reinforced my view that they are unnecessary in any campaign. They are worse in state and federal elections even when they might as well be blue, red or green as people generally vote for the party and not the candidate.

Dads, Lads & Daughters

Dads, Lads & Daughters

Playtime is an excellent way to help your child's development, and research shows that Dads appear to be the key factor in their child's physical activity levels. This program involves a series of games to develop fundamental movement skills (running, jumping, throwing, catching, kicking and striking). So come along, have some fun, and spend some quality Dad/Lad/Daughter time together. You can attend one, several or all of the sessions. For ages 5 - 9 years. For more information, please contact deb.agnew@flinders.edu.au. This program is funded by an Unley City Council Community Grant and run by Flinders University.

FRIDAY 2 NOVEMBER, 5.30 - 6.30PM GOODWOOD COMMUNITY CENTRE 32/34 ROSA STREET, GOODWOOD Free, bookings essential, book via Facebook or book online

Double Shot is back on Sunday 4th Nov

The Double Shot Coffee Fiesta will once again be hosted by the City of Unley and presenting partner Milk Lab – suppliers of quality milk and non-dairy products to cafes throughout Australia.

What: Double Shot Coffee Fiesta

When: Sunday, November 4, 10am to 4pm

Where: Soldiers Memorial Gardens, Unley Road, Unley SA

For more information, please visit the event’s Facebook page (facebook.com/doubleshotcoffeefiesta) or the City of Unley website unley.sa.gov.au.

Glyphosate : time to try new options

A resident has asked me to put a motion to Council early in the new year if I am re-elected. Her complaint was about the heavy use of glyphosate to kill weeds on council land. This chemical has received some bad press this week and rightly so. It is already banned for use in the USA and may European countries. My undertaking is  that I will ask that Council staff investigate the use of this chemical and report back on alternative methods of killing weeds. I understand that Adelaide Hills Council is currently trialling a program that use steam.

Confidence in recycling slips!

A new report has found that people are increasingly losing confidence in recycling. New research  has uncovered systemic flaws in recycling services across Australia.

Most people, across all states and demographics, believe the recyclables they put out in their council bins are ending up in landfill.

While this is not entirely true there are rising stockpiles and some is ended up in landfill. 

We need to wait 7 years ( until 2025) for a new National Waste Policy that will ensure that all packaging is re-usable, compostable or recyclable. However, green micro factory technology is already available and could be used to convert common waste into re-useable, high value materials

What I do know is that waiting for China to find a solution to our waste is not a long term solution.
 For the full report click here.

Let the neighbours have a say!

This was not what people wanted on Unley Rd

Following a few articles in this week's paper. My thoughts are as follows

• Let the state government set the bigger picture for where they want development (because they will anyway) then
• Let Councils decide individually how that will achieve the desired outcome
• Let Councils work with their residents to come up with sensible heights, sensible block sizes, reasonable access to sunlight (currently in Unley that's 2 hours of direct sunshine per day on your northern windows in June) and setbacks.
• When a development application is lodged and it breaks any of the agreed rules then the proposal should run the gamut of the opinion of neighbours (usually the 8 nearest neighbours). The Council Assessment Panel (that now has 5 members, of whom only one is a Councillor) will then listen to what the neighbours have to say and make a decision based on the agreed planning rules
• Problems will continue to arise as people wish to build on boundaries, build a second storey addition and/or install solar panels and it is these that the CAP makes decisions about

People banded together can be very powerful.  Without such people power heritage as we now know it would have been depleted in the 1980's. Character zones in Black Forest would now be receiving applications for 3 storey town houses (as is happening along Fullarton Rd).

My response to FOCUS

I have been asked to write 100 words about my views on Unley. However, I will keep this to heritage and connservation matters:

I was instrumental in getting the successful submission for listing (Local Government register) of hundreds of houses in 2010

• I worked with and supported the classification of neighbourhoods as Heritage Conservation Areas and Character zones
• I have continued to support the Heritage Conservation scheme that gives grants toward the restoration of heritage listed and heritage zoned houses
• I have restored 3 dwellings that fall into the above categories
• I also support the retention of the tree canopy and would support lobbying state government to deliver meaningful ways that it can legislate to achieve an increase to their desired 32%.

Please don't be the 29%!

The left hand column gives the best comparison.

'The people have spoken' according to the Sunday Mail and  have made some observations about local government. These include:

• 60% saying that they vote in Council elections and yet only 31% voted in 2014 (in Unley it was even lower than this) . So please don't be that 29% that intend to vote but don't. Vote for those people who have dropped a flier in your letter box, have knocked on your door (even if you were not home), have a record of achievement and are community minded.
• 66% agree that voting in Local Government elections should not be compulsory
• 66% are in favour of council mergers. Check out the rate in the dollar in other areas as well as the average rate and see if it is cheaper to live in larger Councils. You'll find it's much dearer to live in Playford that Unley.
• 40% think we should get rid of it all together and another 20% would rather get rid of state government
• 75% are in support of rate capping. I'm in support of minimising rate increases but not with an additional layer of bureaucracy that the current state government proposes that will add to costs for no additional benefit.

GET TEA INSPIRED

If you're a tea enthusiast get Tea Inspired!    In November we will be launching an exhibition about all things tea!  There will be tea related activities, tea inspired artwork by Tristan Louth-Robins and Ray Harris, a special Unley Museum tea blend to taste and much more.      Join us for the launch. Local expert Stu Hay will be hosting an introduction to tea tasting and we'll throw a tea party to celebrate!   Sunday, 25th November, 3-5pm Unley Museum 80 Edmund Avenue, Unley FREE

Dying trees in Aroha Tce

This might help?

Many of you will have noticed that the iron bark trees on Aroha Tce, near the corner of East Ave, appear to be dying. It is evident that they have most likely been poisoned. Staff have been assessing the trees and the loss of amenity to the area if they do not survive. At this point it is likely to be a police matter and staff are monitoring the health of the trees.

My promise to you: 2018

• Improved traffic  management in Clarence Park and all areas East of East Ave: following the results of the recently completed survey of residents Councillors will be able to look at the recommendations and decide on an implementation order. After door knocking all of this area I've got a much better idea of what people want.
• Advocating with Department of Planning and Infrastructure as the South Rd upgrade comes closer; the manner in which this upgrade takes place is a matter for concern for most residents. I hope that their will be an advocacy role for your elected members in tweaking the plan and ensuring, as best we can, the traffic diversion into local streets is minimised
• Good governance practises: equity, communication, effectiveness, accountability,efficiency, transparency, responsiveness and the rule of law need to drive council to deliver concensus driven, free from corruption in a democratic manner.
• Completion of the facilities at Goodwood Oval, including the club rooms and a score board: there remains some concern regarding the building of this facility especially from residents that live closest. This is still being worked on by architects who need to produce a plan that is within budget. Once completed, the plan will go to Council, then residents for comment, then the Council Assessment Panel. Liquor licensing and hours of use will be dealt with later when lease agrees and drawn up with the clubs.
• Consultation with all interested parties regarding the future use of the hockey field: This will be consulted with residents well before the hockey moves to its new facilities. Ideas will be sort from residents and clubs.
• The building of new club rooms for Millswood Croquet; this needs to be kept simmering so the the good work already done can be developed into a functional plan that is deliverable. Clubs, such as this one fit well into Council's Active Aging Policy and need to be ready to attract external funding if and when it becomes available.
•  Landscaping upgrades in streets including identifying more places for street trees: this is self evident and yet there are hundreds of spots where additional plantings could occur.
• Identifying sites where trees that have the potential to become significant  can be planted: on my walk this morning I noted how healthy the 3 trees, that have the potential to become significant, are that were planted on the walkway, Cranbrook to Victoria. It shows what can be done. There are many other sites that could grow such trees and have better landscaping. I note that the landscaping along the Cromer Pde is in need of more suitable plantings in may places.
• Continuing to protect Black Forest and Clarence Park from smaller block sizes and higher building intensity: The state governments Better Development planning, many of the details that are currently unknown or being developed may pose a future threat to block sizes and allow greater infill development.
• Continuing support of the graffiti removal program: I noted how well volunteers are keeping up with the painting out of graffiti. However, areas inside the train corridor must be done by government workers, hence are much slower in their response times. The area next to the freight trains must be done by ARTC and have been painted out a few times in the last 20 years or so. I will meet with Nicole Flint, member for Badcoe, soon to get an undertaking for this work to be done.
• Implementing LED lighting upgrades in all streets; This is fully funded in the current budget and will result in brighter street. Council will also identify ares that  need additional lighting
•  Identifying more sites suitable for murals:  have had a great discussion regarding the Sugar and Spice wall but there are many others that would add to the vibrancy  of Clarence Park
• Improving consultation processes: Closing the loop when complaints are made is imperative but still too often does not occur. This still needs to be 
• Activation activities for everyone; young and old need to get out more and do stuff. it is heartening to see the use of the fitness equipment at Page Park and the parks for children's play, exercise  and dog walking. We still need to address the fact that the start time  start for off-leash walking needs to start earlier in the winter.