Frankly my dears....

the the gloves are off and the clothes too it seems, with much talk of nakedness in yesterday's Telegraph - which it being the Tele, is all very appropriate I suppose! The subject as promised previously in this blog, is the Iemma government's " planning reforms ". In fact Frank Sartor's journalistic style does exhibit an element of the burlesque with lines such as " Stripping back to basics " and his repetition of the [hero] worshipful " by the age of 24, Alexander the Great had conquered the known world in less time than we could get three approvals through council " (er..excuse me, which Council..?) Whilst I'm not at all suprised to learn that Frank admires the kind of 'can-do' ness embodied by the young empire builder, the parrallels are not entirely comforting when it comes to suburban Willoughby. Just how good do you feel about his assurance that "around half of all development applications could be determined within 10 days" - including those of your neighbour?! As Genia McCaffery, President of the Local Government Association (and popularly elected independent Mayor of North Sydney) puts it " the first you'll know is when the scaffolding goes up! " That young whippersnapper from the Property Council will be very pleased this Xmas! The NSW government is clearly delighted with Morrison and his gang, finding them to have been very good boys indeed this (and last!) year. Very fortunately Alan Jones "gets it". Hear him at his strident best, with Genia...
(p.s Sadly the software I'm using is having trouble uploading the audiofile so if you want to hear it let me know your email & I'll send it - K)

TravelSmart

Pre-book trips anywhere within Willoughby City for just $4.

CouncilCab has been extended to Saturday - especially for the holiday season!

Older residents in particular have appreciated and made good use of this service. More sustainable and more convenient. If you know of someone who might benefit from this service, please help to spread the word!

Buy books of vouchers (5 for $20) from Council offices (31 Victor St, from the Dougherty Centre or from the driver. To book phone 8332 8338

Its just one of the smarter ways to travel..

StreetFilms.org-The Case for Separated Bike Lanes in NYC

Here's a fine piece of advocacy raising awareness about cycle access in car dependent cities.
Competition for space is hot - in NYC just like Sydney!

HarbourLink

Ever cycled across Sydney Harbour Bridge?

Its a great experience - except for the 5 flights of steps at North Sydney....
So its hats (helmets?) off to Russ Webber (North Shore Bike Group) and North Sydney's Councillor Nick Ritten for their work in advocating for the visionary HarbourLink project! The concept is an elevated 2km shared path at minimal grade (about 3%) extending from the deck level of the Harbour Bridge up to St Leonards Park at Falcon Street. If you were amongst the thousands (yes, thousands) of people who crossed the Bridge by pedalpower on October 17th, Ride to Work Day (when these pics were taken) you might have met them spruiking for the project. Russ tells me he handed out over 800 brochures within an hour

Considering climate change, fuel costs, unfit adults and overweight children - active transport has to be part of our solution doesn't it?

Johns vacate top jobs

Whilst I'm happy to see Howard's end, I'll miss John Owen. After 10 years as Willoughby's General Manager, John has decided to retire at the end of the year. He has been a wonderful GM with a special talent for creating a happy workplace. Last night the Councillors resolved to offer the job to Nick Tobin, currently our Corporate Services Director. Nick has boundless energy and enthusiasm for the work and Willoughby has already benefitted greatly from his skills - I have particularly noticed his ability to attract excellent staff - Linda Cardew Civic Place Project Manager & Tracey Crouch who manages Customer Services being two of the finest. Here's a pic of the Nick and the Mayor out surveying some of the city's tags....

Snakes Alive (well fresh anyway)

Well here's something for you.

A resident of Burra Rd took this pic of a kookaburra with its mouth full - over the back fence. We think it might be a black bellied swamp snake. ( Please click on the pic - stunning detail)
In 2001, Council commissioned Dr Arthur White to conduct a fauna survey of Willoughby's remnant bushland. His method included corroborated historical data, "baited hair tubes" search for and collect tracks, burrows,shed fur, feathers and scats, spotlighting, examination of trees for scratchmarks and drays. Of Artarmon Reserve however, he wrote "intensive surveys were not carried out here because of the high public exposure of the site and its complete isolation from other reserves". Fauna records were confined to "opportunistic observations made by the public during the survey period" and these amounted to :

• 4 types of mammal (Ring & Brushtail possums, Grey headed flying foxes & dogs)
• 4 types of reptile (Eastern Water & Garden skinks, Green Tree & Golden Crown snakes, the latter having been run over in the carpark)
• 2 types of frog (Common Eastern froglets & Striped Marsh) and
• 40 species of birds (subject for another day!)

Naremburn Matters

There’s a bit of a shakeup happening at Naremburn Community Centre. Council Officers have developed plans which involve providing increasing space for the preschool and library and improved meeting spaces for community groups. Importantly, a recommendation to “relocate & rename” the Council run After School Care Service has recently been adopted by Council. The relocation is to Bales Park, Willoughby.

The population age structure of Naremburn/St Leonards is interesting and unlike the rest of Willoughby Council area in several ways. On the basis of Census data, we know that the suburb has a significantly higher number of residents aged 25 – 34 years. As you would expect, these people are starting families as evidenced by the steady growth of under 4 year old children. In 1996 there were 382, in 2001 463, and last year there were 596 – a clear upward trend.

The closure of Naremburn Public School was such a mistake wasn’t it? Council’s unsuccessful attempt to resist the sale of this public asset in the 1990s was the first unpleasant lesson for me as a new Councillor, in understanding the nature of the relationship between state and local government. Council’s decision to ‘relocate’ the After School Service 10 years later is a consequence, since the children must attend school in Cammeray, Artarmon and Willoughby, those are the preferred locations for out of hours care services. I think it sad that as the number of children in our suburb grows, the services to support them are withdrawn.

On the other hand, we are very fortunate in having two faith based communities in Naremburn St Cuthbert’s and St Leonard’s, both of which are doing a fine job of community building, something which school communities especially primary schools provide a focus for. I was especially pleased and excited to hear that Irma di Santo’s ambition to bring an icon from her family home in Italy to its new home in St Leonard’s Church has now been realised. Our Mayor Pat Reilly told me that he had attended recent celebrations associated with this friendship across the seas and that the festivities extended to a procession along Merrenburn Avenue as well the as much feasting in the best of Italian tradition!

Another development which you will have noticed and which we hope will bring great opportunities for the local community to come together is the refurbishment of the Walter Burley Griffin designed Incinerator in the Bicentennial Reserve. Council was successful in obtaining a federal grant to treat and restore this iconic heritage item which has suffered neglect and extensive ‘concrete cancer’ as a result of poor management by the previous leaseholder/s. The building is now happily, back in our hands and our plan is to establish an exhibition space, a café and hopefully some ‘artist in residence’ facilities at the lower level. Importantly we will install a lift - sensitively designed so as to add to and not detract from the original fabric of the place – to allow access for people with disabilities.

Finally, Willoughby Leisure Centre is now being managed directly by Council. This should allow us to provide services better related to your needs. Kate Day, the Centre’s Manager would like to hear from you about that. There may be some scope for physical extensions and personally, I have been advocating to establish a bike hire service, such as those servicing Centennial Park.