NEWSLETTER SUMMARY
This week's Burnside Council meeting address two key issues. First was the Annual Report and secondly was the future of a Wheel Park in Burnside City Council.
The Annual report paints a picture of Burnside's operations over the last year. It was a tumultuous year however we retained an operating surplus whilst still delivering on key infrastructure upgrades.
A point of contention in our community has been the issue of establishing a Wheel Park within the City of Burnside. A statistically valid survey reported that 55% of residents were in favor of a Wheel Park whilst 23% were against, the remainder being neutral. We discussed the possibility of the Wheel Park being built at Newland Park.
COMMUNITY MATTERS
National Recycling Week
This week is National Recycling Week so refocus your recycling efforts to reduce landfill, reduce our emissions and help to reduce our council rates. Head to
https://www.eastwaste.com.au/waste.../co-mingled-recycling/ for more information.
Ride2Work Day
Wednesday the 10th of November 2021 is Ride2Work Day where we celebrate commuter cycling. You all know the benefits of cycling, the exercise is great and reduces our Co2 emissions. Go to
https://www.bicyclenetwork.com.au/.../ride.../ride2work-day/ for more information.
Greenhill Road Crossing
We opened a new crossing on Greenhill Road on Friday which creates safer access to and from Hazelwood Park. Crossing to Hazelwood Park from the other side of Greenhill has always been a nightmare especially being so close to the Feathers Roundabout. I am sure residents and visitors will benefit from a safer and easier crossing. (well done to Cr Sarah Hughes for being such a strong advocate for the crossing).
Business Awards
The Burnside Business Awards were held last Friday where we celebrated local businesses who have had a positive impact on the Burnside community. The winners included Regions Cellars, Foodland Frewville, Desert Flower Landscaping, Glenside Lions Club and Clarke Hemmerling Lawyers. Congratulations to the winners and thank you for your and all those that were nominated.
City of Burnside Photography Competition
Another reminder; returning on the 13th of November 2021 is the Burnside City Photography Competition. This year the competition is exclusively on Instagram. It is very simple to enter. You must:
Post an entry on Instagram; and
Tag @cityofburnside and use the hashtag #burnsidephotocomp.
There will be three winners and if you are one of them you will receive a double pass to George Bolton Swimming Centre or to the Regal Theatre. Entries are open from the 13th of November and close on the 10th of December. Go to
https://bit.ly/BurnsidePhotoComp for more information. All entries must be photographed inside the City of Burnside. ( I am happy to pose for any photos)
AGENDA SUMMARY
11.1 2020/21 Draft Annual Report
The Burnside Council voted to adopt the City of Burnside 2020/21 Annual Report and the Audited Financial Statements for the same year. I think it is worth giving you an overview of what the Report tells us about the previous financial year.
I suggest that you also take the time to check out the full report... or wait till the final version has been completed. You can see the draft here:
First, there was a total expenditure of $49.11 Million which was comprised of the following:
$2.84 million on library and community learning;
$5.98 million on community support and wellbeing;
$14.99 million on city maintenance and traffic management;
$2.37 million on community centres and events;
$1.01 million on communications and engagement;
$1.64 million on the George Bolton Swimming Centre;
$6.50 million on city development and safety;
$1.26 million on customer experience in our call centres;
$1.19 million on strategic projects;
$5.06 million on environment & infrastructure management; and
$1.72 million on the Landscape Levy.
Our total income for the 2021/21 year was a solid $52.33 million. This came from:
$41.55 million from rates such as the property tax;
$3.27 million from User and Statutory Charges like fees/fines levied through animal registrations and parking fines;
$5.25 million from Federal and State Government grants;
$0.89 million from reimbursements; and
$1.37m in other income such as earnt interest, recyclables etc.
However this is a bit too numbers heavy so here are some concrete examples of the infrastructure that have been installed in the last financial year:
10 benches;
9 bicycle racks;
6 sites with recycled plastic bollards;
128 Bpods installed;
6 bus shelters;
87 street lights were upgraded with LED lighting;
3 footpaths;
4.1km of footpaths were renewed;
7.2km of kerb and gutter;
1 basketball court was resurfaced;
5 picnic tables;
3 playgrounds were renewed;
4 retaining walls;
11.1km of road was resurfaced;
653m of stormwater pipes;
3 public toilets were upgraded;
1,291 Council facility work orders have been actioned;
$764 thousand was invested in the renewal of State Heritage listed facilities; and
$1.02m was invested in the renewal of community buildings.
So 2020/21 was a pretty industrious year especially considering it was the first full financial year since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic.
11.2 Report on Financial Results 2020/21
We received and noted the Report on the Financial Results of 2021/21. The report was made with communication and consultation with the External Auditors, the Finance Department and the Audit Committee and reveals how our finances over the year diverted from our original plan.
As you can see from the above graph, the actual operating surplus is larger than planned. This is a positive sign and due to the hard work of the Administration in reducing costs. Savings of $1.154m were achieved through a saving in employee costs of $850,000 and $304,000 in material costs. We had also adopted a savings target of $307,000 in the 20/21 Budget. We also had higher than planned parking fees which resulted in a variance of $367,000, Grants and Subsidies of some $1,038,000 and other income of $1,023,000 adjusted for volunteer services that were not included in the Adopted budget. This lead to a the surplus of $3,696,000.00.
11.4 Newland Park Wheel Park Feasibility Study
Another update on the Newland Park Wheel Park plan is that the Feasibility Study has been completed but the council resolved to reconsider the the potential location of a Wheel Park within the city.
The feasibility set out a number of challenges for the site. There were two options as depicted below. Site 1 would have removed a tennis court, site 2 would have removed part of the oval impacting on the Kensington Baseball/Football club. Through the Annual Community and Strategic Surveys, the community has indicated a strong wish for a wheel park in the city and we are currently working the best location for that Wheel Park.
The council has gone back to the drawing board and will consider all options again.
11.3 2021 ANNUAL COMMUNITY SURVEY (STRATEGIC) THEMES FROM COUNCIL MEMBERS
The Council will include in the 2021 Annual Community Survey some new themes. We want to gage the community’s feelings on certain matters in the city like the idea of:
A 40km/hr speed limit on local streets;
Access to passive recreation opportunities;
Revoking and selling land to resolve historic encroachments of structures into community land;
If the community is satisfied with the preservation and maintenance of the urban tree canopy; and
How that preservation can be improved.
These questions will be put to the community so that we can determine what is most important to our community. The survey is a statistically valid survey that will go to 800 people.
11.6 Burnside Country Fire Service – Proposed New Lease
We have authorised the CEO to grant the Minister for Police, Emergency Services and Correctional Services a lease for the CFS Station on Glen Street which is next to the depo. The lease had run out so it was necessary to give another 10 years to the CFS for the site and a renewal period of another 10 years. As a former CFS volunteer myself, I am glad the CFS will retain the utility such a building has and I think it is the duty of all Burnsiders to show respect and appreciation to those volunteers.
11.7 LOCAL GOVERNMENT INFRASTRUCTURE PARTNERSHIP PROGRAM DEED (SIGN AND SEAL) – MAGILL VILLAGE
The Mayor and the CEO will sign and affix the Common Seal of the City of Burnside to the Local Government Partnership Program Deed for the Magill Village Project. I am sure you have heard of the project; it is a joint development project between Burnside and Campbelltown and will revitalise the streetscape in Magill. We received $5.75 million from the State Government under the Local Government Infrastructure Partnership Program and $2 million from the Federal Government as part of the Community Development Grants Program. Specifically:
The Penfold Road/St Bernards Road intersection will have improved traffic flow;
There will be a 40 kmph zone in the ‘Village Heart’;
More pedestrian crossings and pram ramps;
More full-time cycle lanes;
Better footpaths and streetscapes; and
Public artworks and custom-designed street furniture and seating.
This is a major project that I am very proud to see come to fruition further strethening Burnside's claim as the jewel in the Crown of South Australia.
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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