Merry Christmas to everyone

 

Keep safe.

News from DIT

 

Since we released the Reference Design in late November, we’ve had more than 45,000 visits to the T2D website and over 300 responses to our online survey. We want to hear from you, so we’re extending the feedback period to mid-January 2022 to give people a chance to have their say.   So far, we’ve heard the following are important to the community: Road access and traffic management, especially from local streets to and around South Road Compulsory acquisition of properties and timings Design of the motorway, including its footprint and alignment The timing and possible effects of construction The impact of the project on the local environment, heritage sites and community facilities Urban design, greening and landscaping, and opportunities for community involvement. To provide feedback and complete the online survey, please select the button below:   Have Your Say       If you have any questions about works in your area and/or would like to speak to a member of our project team, please don’t hesitate to contact us on 1300 951 145 or T2D@sa.gov.au  You can also visit the ‘current works’ page on the T2D website for any updates on local works in your area https://dit.sa.gov.au/nsc/torrens_to_darlington/works/current_works

Full Council meeting: Dec 13th 2021

 The last meeting for 2021. You may find the following of interest?

• Petition regarding Unley Library hours: clearly a large number of people are concerned at the acceptance by Council at is November meeting to reduce opening hours. After some  discussion between Cr Palmer, Cr Dodd and myself Jordan took the responsibility for preparing the motion
• Proposed Active Participation Framework: Council will trial a new consultation model  regarding parking.
• Performance Report of CEO's Key Performance Indicators: These are comprehensive and worth a read. 
• Rescission motion on library opening hours?
• Goodwood Community Centre Management Model: CONFIDENTIAL
• Waste Management Services prudential and Probity Review: CONFIDENTIAL

Time to rethink significant tree legislation

 

It seems that the large  trees left in Unley are diminishing. Usually  as they are in the wrong place and too close to an existing dwelling, in the way of development or deemed to be unsafe. I had an interesting conversation with a resident last week as her neighbour has asked her to remove a large tree in her front yard as it allegedly damaging the neighbour's property. The tree is a regulated tree. A  recent court case between the City of Unley and a resident and his arborist. had an interesting result. Council lost both the court case and an appeal against the decision. The resident was being sued by Council as he had engaged an arborist to remove overhanging branches of his neighbours trees. All while the neighbour was away. The trees were essentially cut at approx. 6m from the ground. This decision now sits as precedent for all other trees. This means that it is time to rethink the legislation so that this decision is clarified and,, hopefully overridden. If I was rewriting the legislation I'd like to see:

• smaller trunk sizes protected
• no removal if  a tree is less than 10m  from a dwelling
• less species specifity
• no removal due to development (developers must work around existing trees).

What additional assistance does the Mayor get?

 Questions on Notice over the last couple of meetings have started to raise real concerns in my mind about what support is needed for a Mayor to do their job well and what is excessive. Our Mayor receives a little under $80,000 per annum plus the use of a car, which he has declined. All Councillors are able to ask for and obtain legal advice as required. Additionally we are all supplied with a computer with remote access (when required). We do not get a phone or the cost of internet connection..

These include:

• Secretarial support at approx. half time
• Recruitment of this service (5 times in the last 3 years) costing other staff time, advertising costs, training
• CEO's time: this being up to 2 days per week and estimated to be at a cost of $120,000.

We still need to know how much per hour the secretarial support is costing to get a full picture. In may estimation the total cost could be as much as $200,000 per annum. This seems like a lot to me?