NEWSLETTER SUMMARY
Asset management was in the spotlight at the council meeting on 29th of September 2021. I know it doesn't sound that interesting but it is of vital importance to the city and its residents. Dulwich Community Centre has long been left unmaintained and cannot be left unattended any longer. The council previously made a decision to renovate the community centre and on Tuesday we received the proposed designs for the replacement centre. I am concerned that the usage of the new facility will be low, but the administration is confident that the community use will justify the expense. Unfortunately the cost of the build was held in confidence, I will ask for an indicative figure to be released give it is your council rates we are spending (a previous report indicated a range of $1M to $1.7M). We reviewed a number of internal policies and considered a few items in confidence.
ALSO land management agreements are an old way of regulating development applications. Essentially council would enter into a contract with a person seeking development approval such as protect a tree or not expand a garage etc. Council is concerned that a few of the land management agreements haven't been adhered to so we are going to audit 10% of the existing 125 LMAs currently in place.
Here is some more detail on each of the items:
COMMUNITY MATTERS
Pool Reopening
The George Bolton Swimming Centre Burnside reopened on Saturday the 25th of September. Due to COVID-19 conditions, you will have to book your visits but come along and do some exercise or just have fun, you deserve it. Visit https://bit.ly/GeorgeBolton2021 for more information.
Bell Yett Reserve
Give your input into the new master plan for the Bell Yett Reserve. We want the community to be a strong driver of this plan and therefore there is a working group that you can be involved in. Provide your feedback that is available until the 18th of October at https://bit.ly/BellYettMasterPlan
Australian Citizenship Day
At the Regal Theatre, on the 13th of September, Australian Citizenship Day, we had a citizenship ceremony. 68 people from 20 countries became new citizens of our great country. These moments can define a person’s life and I thank all those involved for their part in making it a very special day. Photos can be found on Citizenship Ceremony 13 September 2021 - City of Burnside
Community Grant Recipient
The Burnside Youth Concert Band is one of the recipients of the Council’s Community Grant 2021/22. The grant will contribute to the annual workshop in October that the Band has, which is great for improving the skills of these young musicians and allows them to socialize with one another.
Heritage Home Demolition
The house at 2 Wootoona Terrace, St Georges will not be demolished after a request was made to the Council Assessment Panel. Frankly I am glad as this is a house full of heritage, over a hundred years old, built in 1919 for Mr and Mrs Duncan and it became a Local Heritage Site in 1998. This is a win for those that respect heritage and tradition.
Fruit Flies
The Primary Industries and Regions (PIRSA) SA are checking gardens in Burnside to eradicate the fruit flies. PIRSA teams, who will be in orange overalls and will carry ID cards, are coming around and it would be very helpful to us all if you could let them come into your yard. Go to https://engage.burnside.sa.gov.au/.../assisting-pirsa...
Young Leader’s Forum
Secondary students across Burnside came to the 2021 Young Leaders Forum on the 21st of September. Following Welcome to Country by Mickey O’Brien, keynote speaker Natasha Despoja AO spoke and answered questions from the audience. Other panel members were Fiona Dorman;Chair of the Premier’s Council for Women, John White; the Young Australian of the Year for Burnside, and Amber Brock-Fabel; the Young Achiever of the Year SA Environment Award. This was a great event that invigorates the younger generations and I hope there are many more.
Rugby Win
Congratulation to the Burnside Rugby Club for their victory in senior rugby in this winter season. In their respective grades, the premier, reserve, senior women and thirds teams all won. A magnificent performance!
Black Spot
$141,900 has been granted by the 2021/22 Australian Government Black Spot Program for works at the Hallett Road and Greenhill Road intersection. The line markings and kerb alignments will change and a seagull traffic island will be built. This has been a problematic intersection that I have always had problems with. The two lanes turning right freaks me out every time turn and so I am glad some work is being done. Hopefully it will be finished by June 2022. You can find out more at https://engage.burnside.sa.gov.au/.../greenhill-road...
Nature Festival
The Nature Festival will be on until Monday the 4th of October. So get to it and have a visit. There are a heap of different activities such as yoga, nature walks and historical tours and even stuff for the kids. The full schedule is at https://www.naturefestival.org.au/schedule
AGENDA SUMMARY
11.2 Dulwich Community Centre
The council approved the renovation of the Dulwich Community Centre which will follow the concept design proposed in the 2022/23 draft budget for community consultation. Additionally, $75,000 has been approved to be placed into an operating budget to facilitate the creation of detailed designs. A qualified architect, a licenced cost estimator, relevant internal teams and management and existing DCC users have all been consulted.
The proposed concept designs include:
a reduction of the size of the boutique community centre;
façade and landscaping that will complement the character of Union Street;
improved access;
an additional four off-street parks to reduce the impact on local residents;
a new driveway; and
a new plaque to be installed into the Daisy Salotti hall to recognise the contribution of the Lions Club of Burnside and Daisy Salotti.
However, three key users of the DCC have withdrawn their hire agreements, this should be kept in mind in considering its future use.
11.1 Bluestone Kerbing Policy
The Council voted to adopt the revise Bluestone Kerbing Policy. As the Policy is due for a review every four years, the Council’s Leadership Team and relevant staff were consulted and a draft policy that was provided to the Elected Members. This was followed by a workshop with those Elected Members who gave feedback on the draft policy. The proposed changes were:
to add a definition of Bluestone in the policy, to make an alteration to the Strategic Plan Desired Outcomes;
to make the current length of 14.2km of bluestone kerbing be excluded from the policy;
to make sure that the policy include any new bluestone kerbing that will be discovered;
to make, if fulfilling certain criteria, the area outside the Historic Conservation Zone only use dark tinted concrete for the gutter whilst keeping the upright bluestone kerbing;
to replace regular concrete kerbing with standard concrete kerbing; and
to replace the word 'significantly' from clause 6.6.
I am glad these changes are being made as the Burnside Council must stay up to date if it wants to thrive as the best district in Adelaide.
11.3 Land Management Agreements (LMA) Compliance
Land Management Agreements were documents used under former planning rules, to bind land owners who were seeking development approval in respect of their property. They are no longer used as a tool but there are 125 LMAs that Council can continue to enforce. Recently, the Council realised that one of the LMAs we had entered into had been breached. This led to the understandable worry that there may be further LMAs that the Council is party to that are also non-complying. Therefore, we voted to do a 10% audit of all current LMAs relating to trees with a lawyer being engaged to assist us as LMAs can be very technical. This decision was made through consultation with the Team Leader Building, Team Leader Planning, the Director Corporate and Development and the Group Manager City Development and Safety.
11.4 Volunteer Policy and Code of Conduct for Volunteers
The revised Volunteer Policy and Code of Conduct for Volunteers was not overly contentious. Policies such as this come up for review on a rotating basis, clause 8.3.2, regarding the requirement that volunteers abide by the Council media policy and social media code, was removed. Additionally, the Council will no longer have the responsibility to ensure, 'Department of Human Services/Department for Communities and Social Inclusion screening is in place for all volunteers where it is a requirement of the Council’s funding agreements, policy, protocol and/or legislation.'
11.5 Library Service Policy
The Library Service Policy has been updated in consultation with the Council’s Leadership Team and the Elected Members. There are only minor edits but it is important for our policies to remain up to date no matter how small those changes might be.
11.6 Burnside Retirement Services Inc – Appointment of Board Members
Levi Mitchell, Mel Ottoway and Elena Muller have been appointed by the Council as Independent Board Members of the Burnside Retirement Services Incorporated. These are two year appointments and will begin at the BRSI Annual General Meeting on the 26th of November 2021. BRSI Chairperson, Paula Davis assisted in the interview process and each Elected Member were provided with the applications. These three new appointments will take the number of Board members to six and I wish them all the best.
11.7 Eastern Health Authority Charter
The Council has voted to support the Eastern Health Authority (EHA) Charter amendment to change the formula for the cost contributions among the constituent councils. This means that during the 2020/2021, the additional cost would be $6,857. Additionally, the CEO will now undertake immunisation services for Unley Council and Adelaide Hills Council. These developments come from consultation with the Group Manager City Development and Safety, the CEO and the Director Corporate and Development of the EHA and it was supported by an independent review of the EHA. Ultimately, the amendment means there will be a 1.57 % cost increase to the Council.
11.8 Finance End of Month Report – August 2021
We received and noted the August 2021 Financial Report this session. It was made after consultation with key internal stakeholders. The most notable aspect of the report is that the assets that are ready for use, ‘at the end of the 2020/21 financial year will be capitalised to finalise Council’s 2020/21 Financial Statements.’ The other multi-year projects that will go into the next financial year of 2021/22 will be part of the Works in Progress balance until they are ready to be used.
11.9 Constitution Amendment
The proposed amendment to the Burnside War Memorial Hospital Constitution has been approved by the Council. Following consultation with the CEO of the Hospital; Clause 7.1 has been amended to say, ‘The Board must be comprised of not more than 10 persons, including at least one medical practitioner.
11.10 Minutes – Eastern Health Authority
The Council voted to receive and note the Minutes of the Meeting of the Board of Management of the EHA that was held on the 8th of September 2021.
11.12 Chief Executive Officer Report – August 2021
The Council received and noted the CEO’s report on August 2021. These reports are aligned to the Burnside 2030 strategic plan. His report is good summary of the administrative actions of the staff:
the Reconciliation Action Plan will be presented to the Council once Reconciliation Australia have provided a conditional endorsement of the Plan;
an information report will be given to the Council about the implementation progress and success of the Disability Access and Inclusion Plan;
the Laurel Avenue Pirkurna Wirra/Peter Bennett Organic Community Gadren will be open to the wider community in November. Works will continue on the Tusmore Park Wading Pool redevelopment for the rest of 2021;
following a workshop on the State Planning System, the Council will report a response to the State Planning Reforms;
a workshop will occur with Council Members on the 19th of October 2021 to draft opportunities for the Council’s Urban Form and Transport City Master Plan;
stage 2 consultation on the Recreation and Sports Strategy will occur to engage the broader community in the Strategy;
a progress report on the Regal Theatre and Marryatville Precinct Master Plan will be presented to the Council soon;
once the works on the Greenhill Road Pedestrian Activated Crossing are completed they will be handed over to the Department of Infrastructure and Transport;
the construction period on the Dulwich Avenue Traffic Calming will be from November to December due to a 4 week delay;
public access will return to the Kensington Gardens Reserve South-East Corner gradually from early November following the development; and
construction on the Magill Road Redevelopment will begin in late 2021.
You can raise any other council issues with me by emailing me at:
Or find out what I have been working on by visiting my website:
That's all from me this week! If you have any queries or just want a chat, I will link all my social media down below. I hope everyone has a lovely week and I look forward to updating you all again very soon.
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