sustaining sydney’s green heart. b lu e t t m e m o r i a l awa r d s u b m i s s i o n 2 0 1 3 / 2 0 1 4
Council Name Ku-ring-gai Council
Council Address 818 Pacific Highway, Gordon
Contact Person John McKee
Email mckee@kmc.nsw.gov.au
phone 02 9424 0711
Fax 02 9424 0001
Mayor Jennifer Anderson
General Manager John McKee
We re c o g n i s e t h e t r a d i t i o n a l custodians of the land, the Guringai people, on whose land we stand.
Cover image: Twilight Concert 2013, Killara
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Bluett Memorial Award submission 2013/14
Total Population - Council Area (Source: ABS – Regional Population Growth Table)
114,704
nationally significant ecology
134,000 people by 2036
Population – Urban 114,704
significant regional productivity
Population – Rural N/A
Council Area (sq km) 85km2
Number of Staff
highly skilled workforce
(Full-time equivalent staff at the end of the reporting period)
462.89
Date of the most recent organisation structure review
strategic location
(Sec 333 LG Act)
June 2013
Previous Integrated Planning and Reporting Category 1
specialist health, education and service sectors Ku-ring-gai Council
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Bluett Memorial Award submission 2013/14
contents Council Details .................................................................... 02 B r i e f S t a t i s t i c s f o r 2 0 1 3 / 2 0 1 4 .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0 3 E x e c u t i v e S u m m a r y .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0 6 C o m m u n i t y S t r a t e g i c P l a n .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0 8 Principal Activities
Sydney’s green heart
C a p i t a l Wo r k s a n d S e r v i c e s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 3 C u l t u r a l a n d H e r i t a g e .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 9 S p o r t a n d R e c re a t i o n . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 3 E c o n o m i c a n d S o c i a l D e v e l o p m e n t .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 7 B u i l t a n d N a t u r a l E n v i ro n m e n t . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 7 E n v i ro n m e n t a l I n i t i a t i v e s.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 7 Health and Community Services......................................... 81 C o r p o r a t e a n d G o v e r n a n c e.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 3
L i s t o f P ro j e c t s c o m p l e t e d b y 3 0 J u n e 2 0 1 4 . . . . . . . . . 1 0 0 L i s t o f P ro j e c t s i n p ro g re s s a t 3 0 J u n e 2 0 1 4 . . . . . . . . . 1 0 3 Aw a rd s a n d C i t a t i o n s.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 0 5 S u p p l e m e n t a r y I n f o r m a t i o n .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 0 7 Ku-ring-gai Council
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Sydney’s green heart executive summary
Ku-ring-gai Council manages a large and diverse area encompassing a growing urban population, vibrant shopping precincts, flourishing business areas and awe-inspiring national parks. Known as the ‘green heart’ of Sydney, Ku-ring-gai is a unique blend of bushland and urban areas, encompassing the natural rugged beauty of national parkland and the convenience of inner city living. In Ku-ring-gai residents have access to world-class sporting facilities, fun-filled playgrounds and parks, quality health and community services and an abundance of art, music and cultural events. During 2013-14 Ku-ring-gai Council has continued to work hard at achieving our community’s visions and aspirations expressed by the Community Strategic Plan. Our challenge is to manage a relatively large and diverse population while continuing to protect our natural environment. It’s a challenge that we both relish and take seriously in every aspect of our operations.
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During the past 12 months, Ku-ring-gai Council has been responsible for some groundbreaking projects, works and services. While this submission spells out our achievements in detail, these are the notable examples:
As we move forward we believe we have a clear vision of an innovative and sustainable future. We are very proud of our diverse achievements and these are reflected in our entry to the 2014 AR Bluett Awards.
• The nearing completion of the Ku-ring-gai Fitness & Aquatic Centre costing $17 million, scheduled to open in October 2014.
We commend our entry to you.
• Completion of a substantial redevelopment of the Ku-ring-gai Library at Gordon costing 1.7 million • Creation of a new youth space at Gordon next to Ku-ring-gai Library • Construction of two new wetlands in Turramurra which are already attracting wildlife not seen for decades in the area
s Jennifer Anderson Mayor, Ku-ring-gai Council
In this we are supported by the community, who have endorsed our submission to retain the environmental levy for a further five years until 2019. They also supported our recent application to the Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal (IPART) to have the current infrastructure levy made permanent. This was granted by IPART in June 2014.
• Creation of a 99 hectare biobanking site for biodiversity conservation • A reduction in our legal costs of over $360,000 and slashing of development-related court appeals by 60% through a mediation program
s
The 2013-14 financial year has been one of further upgrading and construction of community assets that will last for generations. We are mindful that residents aged under 30 form a significant part of our population – higher than the NSW average. We are also mindful that our population will grow by more than 17% in just over 20 years – from the current 114,000 to 134,000.
• Expenditure of $4 million on upgrading and creating new parks and playgrounds
John McKee General Manager, Ku-ring-gai Council
Bluett Memorial Award submission 2013/14
• Numerous partnerships with government and community organisations to deliver services and facilities. For example, the Fresh Tracks rehabilitation program for young residents with an acquired brain injury.
Ku-ring-gai Council Chambers, Gordon
Ku-ring-gai Council
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Sydney’s green heart c o m m u n i t y s t r at e g i c p l a n
Priorities identified in Council’s Community Strategic Plan
Capital Works and Services Continued renewal of roads.
Sport and Recreation Increased participation in social, sporting and recreational activities.
High quality urban design integrated through plans, guidelines and urban design services.
A program and funding strategy adopted to implement new community facilities.
New local parks.
An established program that provides funding to maintain Council’s assets at a sustainable standard.
Parks, recreational facilities and other public spaces are a focal point for the community.
Comprehensive Integrated Principal LEP and Development Control Plan (DCP) completed for the local government area (LGA) that addresses the Metropolitan Strategy and North Subregion objectives.
Established service level agreements for all asset maintenance areas.
New an upgraded open space, community and recreational facilities that meet the needs of our changing population.
A transport network that complies with accessibility standards
Cultural and Heritage
Aquatic leisure needs of our changing community met. Multi-use sport and recreation facility progressed at North Turramurra Recreation Area as part of a staged development process.
Ku-ring-gai has a recognised cultural, ecological, heritage and tourism program.
Social and Economic Development Increased integration of Council and the community through Council events.
Business sustainability strategies developed and undertaken with participating NSROC councils. Promotion of Ku-ring-gai as a place to invest in business and employment generating activities. Tourism business is strengthened.
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Built and Natural Environment
Bluett Memorial Award submission 2013/14
Improved conservation and recovery of flora and fauna. Increased corporate understanding and implementation of best practice ecological management. Management of bush fire risk for extreme to high prioritised areas addresses our need to protect life, property and the local ecology. Improved condition of Ku-ring-gai waterways and riparian zones. Improve the adoption of integrated water cycle management. Decreased potable water consumption of community and Council. Increase the use of non-potable water in Council’s major water using facilities.
Environment Initiatives
Health and Community Services
Increased volunteer participation, and recognition of volunteer contributions to the community.
Community services developed in response to emerging local needs.
Alternative energy sources used to supplement conventional energy use.
Libraries and information centres that meet and adapt to changing needs of the community.
Council recognised as a leader in resource use efficiency.
Established partnerships with other community service organisations.
Remediation of former landfill sites at St Ives and North Turramurra.
Continued community confidence in our assessment, regulatory and environmental processes and educational events.
Increased environmental awareness within Ku-ring-gai. Council and community better adapted to climate change. Reduce Council’s carbon footprint. Reduce the community’s carbon footprint. Council recognised as a leader in sustainability planning, action and reporting. A sustainability culture established that is engaging and innovative.
Corporate and Governance Long Term Financial Model provides funding options to address council’s infrastructure renewal gap and local centre facilities plans and to maintain and improve service delivery to the community. Asset asset management strategy that integrates into Council’s Long Term Financial Model and capital works program. Term Financial Model incorporates Council’s Long strategic plans. Council’s revenue base is broadened and increased to reduce our reliance on rates. Keep Council’s financial and business services implemented to identify areas for improvement. Development assessment and regulatory service provided that is consistent with Council’s statutory, policy and planning objectives. Policies are regularly reviewed to ensure they are maintained and effectively communicated across the organisation and, where appropriate, across the community. Council has in place an integrated information system and trained staff to facilitate the provision of services to all our customers. An expanded e-business capability to enable internal and external customers to conduct business with Council and access information electronically. The range of human resource services is enhanced and remains current with organisational needs. Ongoing organisational commitment to our customer service standards to ensure customer satisfaction through the delivery of quality service.
Note: priorities have been revised in the updated Community Strategic Plan 2030 as of July 2013
A better informed community. Ku-ring-gai Council
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Vision Ku-ring-gai will be a creative, healthy and liveable place where people respect each other conserve the magnificent environment and society for the children and grandchildren of the future.
10 Bluett Memorial Award submission 2013/14
Values
Ku-ring-gai’s values are to:
• Care for the local environment and people • Respect the ne eds of future generations • Learn and share knowledge • Behave ethically • Take responsibility for our actions • Lead in sustainability Ku-ring-gai Council
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Ku-ring-gai Fitness and Aquatic Centre 12 Bluett Memorial Award submission 2013/14
C a p i ta l wo r k s a n d s e r v i c es Ku-ring-gai Council
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C a p i ta l wo r k s a n d s e r v i c es
$17
million
spent on new
f i t n es s & a q u at i c centre
14 Bluett Memorial Award submission 2013/14
Ku-ring-gai Library at Gordon
We are delivering two major capital works projects in 2013/14 with the construction of the Ku-ring-gai Fitness & Aquatic Centre and the redevelopment of Ku-ring-gai Library at Gordon.
W h at w e a c h i e v e d i n 2 0 1 3 /14 N ear completion of the Ku-ring-gai Fitness & Aquatic Centre costing $17 million Completed redevelopment of the Ku-ring-gai Library at Gordon costing $1.7 million
Ku-ring-gai Fitness and Aquatic Centre Ku-ring-gai Council
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K u - r i n g - g a i F i t n es s & A q u at i c C e n t r e
Ku-ring-gai Library at G o r d o n
The Ku-ring-gai Fitness & Aquatic Centre replaces the former West Pymble pool with a multi-faceted health & recreation centre. The centre contains outdoor covered 50m and 25m pools, an indoor heated 25 metre pool, a health and recovery pool suitable for aqua-aerobics and hydrotherapy, a water feature playground, child-minding facilities, a gym, café and change facilities. The centre is located in the idyllic surroundings of Bicentennial Park, close to public transport, cycleways and walking trails.
The Council has given the Ku-ring-gai Library at Gordon a brand new look and increased the range of services as a result. The emphasis has been on making the library an inviting social space full of activity, with quieter areas for study and work.
Benefits of the Ku-ring-gai Fitness & Aquatic Centre are:
• A children’s area with relocatable furniture, interactive magnetic tree walls and acoustic panels for noise reduction
• A family-friendly centre with a range of uses • Its proximity to public transport and residential areas • The range of health and wellbeing facilities and activities offered
Features include: • Dedicated study and work rooms with device and laptop connectivity • A youth area with booth seating for group study
• A large group communal table with portable acoustic panels for noise reduction • A leisurely reading area with a garden outlook
• Raising awareness in the community of the benefits of exercise
• Centralised service area with self-service features, newly refurbished workroom and staff areas
• Recovery programs for the injured and unwell normally only offered by health providers
• Recycled, reused, refurbished furniture as a sustainability initiative
• Ample free parking for vehicles
• Open, spacious and lounge room feel to the new library – more seating, more study spaces, colour and function
• Providing a brand new facility for community based service providers such as local swimming clubs.
• Installation of RFID technology to track items and speed up borrowing. Benefits of the new Ku-ring-gai Library at Gordon • An attractive communal space for work, leisure and study • Proximity to another new facility for young people – the AWOL youth centre • Handy location close to public transport and the local shopping centre • The latest in technology including self-scanning of borrowed items and ports for individual devices such as laptops • The widest possible range of formats for reading and study materials.
16 Bluett Memorial Award submission 2013/14
Ku-ring-gai Council
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C u lt u r a l a n d H e r i ta g e
Ku-ring-gai Council
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C u lt u r a l a n d H e r i ta g e
Over 6 5 ,0 0 0
people at t e n d e d our events 20 Bluett Memorial Award submission 2013/14
Curtilage Park, Wahroonga
Art, music and literature play a large role in forming the culture of Ku-ring-gai. As our demographics are changing, so too is the culture of Ku-ring-gai, and we are promoting inclusion through our programs and events in the areas of visual and performing art, music and food. Ku-ring-gai comprises beautiful leafy green suburbs surrounded by national parks, Blackbutt and Blue Gum forests, beautiful bushland at the Ku-ring-gai Wildflower Garden, as well as landscaped gardens at Swain Gardens, large private estates and the gardens at railway stations. Ku-ring-gai contains a significant amount of striking residential architecture, with houses designed by many of Australia’s prominent twentieth century architects such as John Sulman, Howard Joseland, Hardy Wilson, Leslie Wilkinson, Ken Woolley, Russell Jack and Harry Seidler. Ku-ring-gai also has a number of significant Aboriginal heritage sites, which we are helping to protect by supporting the Aboriginal Heritage Office and raising awareness through the annual Guringai festival and Naidoc Week.
W h at w e a c h i e v e d i n 2 0 1 3 /14 Opened the redeveloped Ku-ring-gai Library at Gordon Completed two collaborative public art and environmental projects Over 8,000 children attended the library storytime programs Attracted over 65,000 people to our major and minor events Conducted 184 major and minor events P roduced a sustainable event policy and guidelines for Council events Introduced new events such as the St Ives Medieval Faire to be hosted in September 2014 and the Ku-ring-gai’s Got Talent competition for young performers in March/April 2014 Created a Heritage Committee to oversee protection for heritage items Completed Curtilage Park in Wahroonga. The park is situated between two grand homes - Mahratta and Yaamba - which form part of the Mahratta Heritage Conservation Area P romoted awareness of Aboriginal culture and heritage through the annual Guringai festival and Naidoc Week
Ku-ring-gai Council
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C u lt u r a l S e r v i c es & Programs Council provides an array of cultural facilities and services for the local community, including visual and creative arts, libraries and a variety of cultural events.
Ku-ring-gai Art Centre Established in 1980, the Ku-ring-gai Art Centre is the largest community art facility provided by local government anywhere in Australia. The centre attracts hundreds of students who participate in term classes, master classes and school holiday activities. The centre also runs night classes to ensure working professionals have access to involvement in the arts. The wide variety of classes include visual arts, creative writing and guitar classes for all levels of experience. The centre also offers classes on new trends such as glass bead making and silver jewellery making. The art centre hosts monthly exhibitions including an annual tutors show.
Public Art
Council has purchased and commissioned a number of public art pieces over the years including a new sculpture commissioned at Sir Phillip Game Reserve in Lindfield. The sculpture, completed in July 2013, provides a destination for people walking along the boardwalk and is also designed to encourage microbats to roost. It was designed by Macquarie University student Uma Jeyaseelan and is made of steel and timber. Another innovative sculpture using recycled steel was unveiled at Ku-ring-gai Wildflower Garden during 2013-14. Using vehicle parts and pre-loved woks, the sculpture provides a bird bath and protective habitat for small birds. The sculpture was funded by the Council’s environmental levy and is another way of encouraging the public to think laterally about recycling and protecting the environment. 22 Bluett Memorial Award submission 2013/14
Library Life
Our philosophy on libraries is that they should be vital sociable spaces full of activity. Ku-ring-gai Library’s four branches in Gordon, Lindfield, Turramurra and St Ives host a vast array of popular events and programs for people of all ages. The monthly Author Encounters are very popular with hundreds of people attending. One of the most popular author encounters featured Richard Glover talking about his latest book George Clooney’s haircut and other cries for help. Other programs such as the Seniors Week’s Internet for Seniors course and library tours were fully booked with long waiting lists. Our libraries run weekly storytime sessions to cater for children of various ages. The Rock ‘n’ Tales story time for children aged three to five is extremely popular with four sessions per week. Last year 4914 children attended. The Rock ‘n’ Rhyme and Rock a Bye sessions held twice a week are aimed at babies up to 36 months. Last year 1330 children attended Rock a Bye and 1850 children attended Rock ‘n’ Rhyme. The Little Bang Science Discovery Club co-ordinated by Ku-ring-gai Library has become an ongoing program. It gives children the opportunity to discover the wonderful world of science, participate in basic experiments, and be introduced to our libraries’ collection of scientific resources to aid in the discovery. Our wheelchair accessible Libraribus is a free door-to-door transport service to our library for less mobile residents to provide them with books, DVDs and music, and also go to the grocery store, post office and local shops. We deliver this service to around 70 residents each week.
Top: Library Lovers Day, Gordon Library Above: Author Encounter with Richard Glover Ku-ring-gai Council
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During the closure of Ku-ring-gai Library for renovations, staff completed a project to digitize more than 2000 photographic images from the Local Studies collection. These were then added to the library catalogue for easier viewing by the public and Council staff. In February 2014 the Blind Date for Library Lovers event was held, as part of a national event to encourage people to borrow more books. In May 2014 St Ives Library hosted a storytime session as part of the National Simultaneous Storytime in both Mandarin and English. The English book reading was conducted by the Prime Minister’s wife, Margie Abbott. The Mandarin book reading was screened on SBS Television.
Community exhibition spaces
The Council held its photography competition Capture Ku-ring-gai for a second year in August 2013. Over 300 entries were received and the Council continues to use the images in its social media, digital advertising and on its website to showcase the quality of the entries. The Ku-ring-gai Art Centre holds regular free exhibitions for the public and also provides exhibition space at very low cost rates to the local community. Exhibitions during 2013-14 include the Abstraction & Contemporary Painting Exhibition in April 2014 and the Mixed Media exhibition in November 2013.
D u r i n g 2 0 1 3 / 1 4, K u - r i n g - g a i l i b r a r i es w e r e v i s i t e d b y people who b o r r o w e d 9 0 4,1 4 9 i t e m s
456,287
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St Ives and Wahroonga Food & Wine Festivals The Council actively supported two community-based food & wine festivals held during 2013-14 with grants of $3000 and $8000 respectively. The St Ives Food & Wine Festival saw 3,000 people attend, while the Wahroonga Food & Wine Festival attracted a crowd of 6,000. Ku-ring-gai Council
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Cultural Events Council provides a wonderful array of major events, which are free for the public to attend.
Pe p p a P i g
was a big hit with the 3 5 ,0 0 0 a t t e n d e e s a t t h e Fe s t i v a l o n t h e G re e n 26 Bluett Memorial Award submission 2013/14
The events held in Ku-ring-gai continue to grow in popularity each year, with attendance to our signature event, Festival on the Green, attracting over 35,000 people in May 2014 – our largest audience ever. All Council events provide a great opportunity for local suppliers, stallholders, businesses and performers the opportunity to showcase their products and services to the local community. Events also allow people to experience a variety of cultural diversity through a wide range of performance groups, crafts, food stalls and information about community organisations. The 2014 Festival on the Green held in May 2014 included over 750 local community performers entertained on two stages. Highlights included a performance by Peppa Pig and cooking demonstrations by Masterchef’s Jay Huxley. The festival offers a fantastic day out for the family, with free entertainment, stalls,
food and wine, rides and activities for all ages. In addition to ongoing sustainable event management initiatives, the festival implemented a number of new waste and sustainability initiatives such as bin monitoring with assistance from the University of NSW ‘Volunteer Army’ and ‘Love Food Hate Waste’ cooking demonstration by Jay Huxley. Other major events include Australia Day celebrations, Twilight Concert in the Parks Series, the Guringai Festival, Dogs Day Out and the Wildflower and Garden Festival. Over 65,000 people attended Council’s major events during 2013/14, with event surveys showing 98% satisfaction was achieved. The two Twilight Concerts during 2013-14 featured Daryl Braithwaite and Rhonda Burchmore attracting thousands of concert-goers. The Festival of Wildflowers is a popular event in the unique setting of the Ku-ring-gai Wildflower Garden. The free event provides something for young and old, and showcases the garden’s bush land in beautiful wildflower season. Over 100 smaller-scale events were also held at the Ku-ring-gai Wildflower Garden throughout the year.
P r o t e c t i n g o u r H e r i ta g e In July 2013, 38 Heritage Conservation Areas (HCA ) were approved in Ku-ring-gai. An HCA is an area recognised and valued for its special historical and aesthetic character. Items of heritage significance may include architectural buildings, trees, gardens and kerbs. A Heritage Conservation Area protects not just single homes but whole areas from inappropriate development.
S u s ta i n a b l e E v e n t Management
Ku-ring-gai’s Local Environment Plan (LEP) also introduced planning provisions to protect biodiversity and riparian lands. The biodiversity provisions in the new LEP seek to protect, maintain and enhance biodiversity in Ku-ring-gai. The objectives of the clause relate to the protection and recovery of native flora and fauna, (including species and ecological communities listed
as threatened in state or federal legislation), their habitat and linkages between habitat areas. The riparian provisions seek to protect or enhance waterways and riparian land in Ku-ring-gai and its downstream catchments. Scenic and cultural values are also sought to be protected. The Council has formed a community-based heritage committee including representatives from the National Trust and the Kuring-gai Historical Society to oversee protection for heritage items in the local area. Among the initiatives the committee will consider in coming months are implementing a series of heritage walks and setting up a fund for owners of heritage homes to assist in conservation.
Council has introduced a sustainable event management policy in order to make our events more environmentally sustainable. Some initiatives that have been introduced at all Council’s major events include: • New bin caps and clear signage to help people know which bin to place their waste. These caps and signage were purchased with grant funding from the Keep Australia Beautiful beverage container recycling program. • All event generators are run on 100% biodiesel made from soy oil, which is a by-product of soybean processing and is much more environmentally friendly than petroleum diesel. • All food stallholders must supply biodegradable serving ware. • We encourage and, in some cases, only accept fair trade products. For example, all coffee vendors must use fair trade. • Event promotional material is printed without the use of water, with soy-based inks on 100% recycled paper and cardstock. We re-use as much event signage as possible including laminated standard event signage and making dates generic on banners. We also reduce printed materials by using our website, Facebook page and e-newsletter to promote the event. • Provision of a free shuttle bus from the nearest train station if the event venue is not in walking distance of a train station. Ku-ring-gai Council
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Curtilage Park, Wahroonga Curtilage Park at 1536 Pacific Highway Wahroonga was upgraded by the Council at a cost of around $300,000, with work completed in February 2014. The park takes its name from the term ‘curtilage’, which refers to an area of land surrounding heritage items. The park is situated between two grand homes– Mahratta and Yaamba – which form part of the Mahratta Heritage Conservation Area. Yaamba was built in 1897 by a pastoralist and lies to the north of the park. In 1902 the land on which Yaamba stands was subdivided and a new home built called Heverlee. This home was eventually demolished in 1939 by another prominent pastoralist Thomas Field and Mahratta was built in 1941. Mahratta was heritage listed in 1999. A further sub-division in the 1990s saw nearly 2000 sqm of the land where Mahratta stands given to the Council. The land remained undeveloped until it was made into a park earlier this year. The upgrade of the park includes a new playground in an open lawn with surrounding gardens, accessible pathways, plus a drinking fountain, seats and fencing. A feature of the park is its emphasis on access by pedestrians rather than vehicles.
Aboriginal Heritage
While the original inhabitants of Ku-ring-gai, the Guringai people, have all but gone, they have left behind many traces including middens, rock drawings or carvings and remains of shelters. These Aboriginal sites within Ku-ring-gai are under constant threat from development, vandalism and natural erosion. In order to preserve the many Aboriginal heritage sites in the area, Ku-ring- gai is a member of the Aboriginal Heritage Office (AHO). In addition to protecting and preserving significant sites, the AHO also studies Aboriginal life before colonisation and runs a series of educational walks and talks for school groups and the general public. A film documentary, “Aboriginal Sights and Sounds” was produced jointly by Northern Sydney Aboriginal Heritage Office and Ku-ring-gai Council in 2011.
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extending the hand of
friendship to
P o z i e r es , France The Council presented an author talk by well-known author, social commentator and Wiradjuri woman Anita Heiss as part of the Guringai Festival in June 2014 and created a special program of children’s activities to celebrate Naidoc Week in July 2013. The Guringai Festival is an annual celebration of indigenous culture and heritage, run in collaboration with nine other Northern Sydney councils. The festival commences in May with National Sorry Day and runs through until the end of NAIDOC Week in July. The aim of the festival is to raise awareness of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people living in this region of northern Sydney once inhabited by the Guringai tribe, and the need to close the gap in health and wellbeing between indigenous and non-indigenous Australians. Also as part of the Gu-ring-gai Festival, the Council held its annual Children’s Voices for Reconciliation at Ravenswood School for Girls involving many local school groups.
Heritage Reference Committee
The Heritage Reference Committee comprises Councillors, representatives from National Trust Australia, Australian Institute of Architects and the Ku-ring-gai Historical Society. The newly formed committee will provide advice to Council on heritage matters as well as promoting an understanding and appreciation of heritage through specific activities and events. The committee was formed in June 2014 and will meet quarterly.
Friendship agreement with Pozieres
Ku-ring-gai Council approved a new friendship agreement with the French village of Pozieres, in recognition of the approaching First World War Centenary. The decision follows the recent acceptance by the Mayor of Pozieres of a mutual agreement recognising Ku-ring-gai’s historic ties as a result of the Great War. Pozieres became the final resting place for more Australian troops than any other First World War battlefield, many of whom came from Ku-ring-gai. The Pozieres Cross, an original carved wooden cross from the battlefield belonging to the 18th Battalion, is housed in the St John’s Anglican Church in Gordon. A strong bond has developed between the battalion, the church and the Council in their commemorations of ANZAC Day. The agreement will underpin a series of commemorations in Ku-ring-gai of the First World War Centenary starting in August 2014.
Historical Society
Council supports the Ku-ring-gai Historical Society through provision of a community venue and grant funding. The society collects, preserves and disseminates information on the history of the Municipality of Ku-ring-gai. The Society uses grant funds to produce their regular newsletter and in 2013 ran a history writing competition to celebrate their 50th anniversary.
Curtilage Park, Wahroonga Ku-ring-gai Council
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C a l e n d a r o f e v e n t s 2 0 1 3 /1 4 July
August Introduction to energy efficiency (Energy Smart program) Natural Green Cleaning Workshop
Bees in your Garden talk Create your spring veggie garden Workshop Raingarden Construction Workshop
September Bushcare’s Major Day Out Library Author encounter with Fiona McIntosh
Library Author encounter with Julia Quinn NSW’s diverse forests talk
Library’s Book Club Gettogether with Belinda Alexandra
Seniors in Action - Seminar on Taxation changes Seniors in Action - Excursion Christmas in July Citizenship Ceremony
Wildflower & Garden Festival
Cryptic Crosswords at Turramurra Library Moon Festival Celebrations at Killara High School
Firewise/ Bush Neighbours Street Meeting
Citizenship Ceremonies
Abbotsleigh School visit to Library
Welcome Basket Morning Tea for New Residents
Introduction to Bushcare
Bees and Antibiotics talk
International Day of People with Disability
Raingarden Design Workshop
Rainwater Tank Workshop
Twilight Concert at Selkirk Park - All That Jazz featuring Rhoda Birchmore with the Ray Alldridge Jazz Ensemble and Galapagos Duck Climate Wise Aged Care Workshop Understanding Local Bushfires Talk Grow your own food at home
Talking Ticks Seminar
Library Author encounter with Ber Carroll, Dianne Blacklock and Lianne Moriarty
Seniors in Action - Seminar Diabetes Management
Introduction to Water Sensitive Urban Design Seminar
Seniors In Action - Excursion Rododendron Festival
Seniors in Action - Seminar Are You Prepared
Seniors In Action - Excursion Guide Dogs
Seniors In Action - Seminar The Role of Grandparents
Saving energy – the next steps talk (Energy Smart program)
Seniors in Action - Excursion Tour of the Town Hall
Library Author Encounter with Richard Glover
Get Savvy on Solar Talk (Energy Smart program)
Seniors In Action - Cooking Demonstration and Restaurant Experience
Citizenship Ceremony
Warrimoo Oval Water Project Tour
Seniors in Action - excursion ANSTO
Habitat Stepping Stones project talk 30 Bluett Memorial Award submission 2013/14
December
Remembrance Day at the Council Chambers
Library Author encounter with Pamela Burton - The Waterlow Killings
Library Author encounter with Dick Whitaker - Old Sydney on camera
Knit-In at Turramurra Library
November
Library Author encounter with Dr Brian Boettcher - Six theatres of war : the true story of Australian fighter pilot Nat Gould
Twilight Concert at Wahroonga Park featuring Daryl Braithwaite, Karl Broadie and Joe Moore
National Tree Planting Day at Golden Jubilee Oval
October
Library Author Encounter John Martyn Raingarden Construction Workshop
Ku-ring-gai Art Centre Exhibition Mixed Media, Drawing and Pottery Exhibition Fire Wise/ Bush Neighbours Street Meeting Loving Leftovers & Healthy Lunchboxes Seminar Cryptic Crosswords at Turramurra Library
Library Author Encounter with Rena Patten Everyday Quinoa Fire Wise/ Bush Neighbours Street Meeting Chanukah - Lighting of the Menorah at Council Chambers Mayoral Volunteer Christmas Function Researching Eastern Pygmy Possums talk Preserving Garden Produce Workshop Citizenship Ceremony
Gordon Library Official Re-opening Library Author Encounter with Carol Baxter The Peculiar Case of the Electric Constable Droppin’ Hammers Skate and Scooter Competition Library Author Encounter with Judy Nunn Small Spaces Gardening Talk with Indira Naidoo Citizenship Ceremony Seniors Seminar on Dementia Energy Smart program wrap-up Gordon Library Upgrade Open Day
Natural Christmas Decoration Activity Library Author Encounter with Tony Park
January
February
Ku-ring-gai Art Centre Exhibition Children & Teenagers
Shorefest Shootout Band Comp New Resident Welcome Bus Tour of Ku-ring-gai’s Natural Environment Creating bird friendly gardens in bushfire prone areas Ku-ring-gai Art Centre Exhibition Annual Tutors Show Library Lovers Day
Library Author Encounter with Jan Latta Talk
Australia Day Citizenship & Family Fun Day
Ku-ring-gai Wildflower Garden Mini-beasts at Night
Seniors Week Festival concert & Mayoral awards Clean Up Australia Day at Ku-ring-gai Wildflower Garden Ku-ring-gai Wildflower Garden Australian Plants Society Walks & Talks
April Digital Photography workshop Ku-ring-gai Art Centre Exhibition Abstraction and Contemporary Painting Raingarden Construction Workshop
Shorefest Youth Music Festival
Bandicoot Talk
Ku-ring-gai Wildflower Garden Murder Mystery Night walk
Ku-ring-gai Art Centre Exhibition Jan Vincent Revisited
Ku-ring-gai Wildflower Garden Australian Plants Society Walks & Talks Citizenship Ceremony
Earth Hour with Jay Huxley
Lunar New Year themed Primary School Storytime Library
Discobility - Disco for Young People with a Disability
Library Author Encounter with Frank Coates at St Ives Library
Australia’s Social Bees Talk
Lynne Rees Tick talk
Loving Leftovers and Healthy Lunchboxes
Harmony Day event at Gordon Library - Colourfest Film
Little Bang Discovery Club at Gordon Library Smart Units
Citizenship Ceremony
Pool to Pond Conversions talk Raingarden Design Workshop Seniors Fall Prevention Classes Gordon - February to April Seniors In Action - Seminar Macular Degeneration
Open University Australia seminars at Gordon Library Lifeline Talk at Gordon Library
Ku-ring-gai Art Centre Exhibition Clayworks and Life Drawing Festival on the Green Ku-ring-gai Wildflower Garden Australian Plants Society Walks & Talks
Rainwater Tank Workshop
Nola Hancock Local Provenance Talk
Citizenship Ceremony
May
Ku-ring-gai Wildflower Garden World Migratory Bird Day – Bird Watchers Breakfast
HSC Legal Studies Information Resource Session at Gordon Library
Ku-ring-gai Wildflower Garden Seniors Week Event - Creating an Australian Garden with Angus Stewart
Natural First Aid Making Workshop
Nocturnal Walk
March
Creating a Wildlife-Friendly Garden talk Mother’s Day Craft at Library Citizenship Ceremony Residents Composting Workshop at Kimbriki
June Ku-ring-gai Wildflower Garden Australian Plants Society Walks & Talks Ku-ring-gai Wildflower Garden Freaky Friday 13th Night Walk Citizenship Ceremony Ku-ring-gai Art Centre Exhibition Printmaking, Botanical Art, Colour & Design and Silver and Beaded Jewellery New Resident Welcome Bus Tour of Ku-ring-gai’s Natural Environment Author Encounter with Anita Heiss for the Guringai Festival Open University Australia seminar at Gordon Library
Little Bang at Lindfield Library
Building Sustainable Homes workshop
Legal Resources Talk at Gordon Library
HSC Workshop at Gordon Library
Diabetes Awareness Talk at Lindfield Library
Introduction to Bushcare and WH&S
Australia’s Biggest Morning Tea at St Ives Library
Ku-ring-gai Parent Forum Anxiety and Adolescence
Author Encounter at Lindfield Library Cecile Yazbek
Guringai Festival Event Children’s Voices for Reconciliation
Seniors In Action - Seminar Assertive Communication
Computer Pals for Seniors talk at Lindfield Library
Ku-ring-gai Parent Forum Alcohol Fuelled Violence
Hornsby Ku-ring-gai Youth Forum
Seniors In Action - Seminar How to Read Food Labels
Seniors in Action - Japanese Cooking Demonstration and Restaurant experience
Seniors In Action - Excursion Kurrajong Radio Musuem
Seniors in Action - Excursion Morpeth
Library Author Encounter at St Ives Library - Peter Grose
Ku-ring-gai Art Centre Exhibition Mixed Media, Drawing and Pottery Exhibition
Social Media for Groups Seminar at Gordon Library
Seniors Fall Prevention Classes Lindfield. February to April 2014
Ku-ring-gai Parent Forum Help! I’m a parent of a teenager
Seniors in Action - Excursion Our Big Kitchen
Seniors in Action
Seniors In Action - Seminar Hearing Forum
Dogs Day Out
Movie Night - No Impact Man
Seniors in Action - Excursion Sydney Observatory
Ku-ring-gai Council
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Greengate Park, Killara 32 Bluett Memorial Award submission 2013/14
Sp o r t a n d r e c r e at i o n
Ku-ring-gai Council
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Sp o r t a n d r e c r e at i o n
$8.8
million
spent acquiring land for
new lo c a l pa r k s
34 Bluett Memorial Award submission 2013/14
Roseville Chase Bowling Club, by JRoussel, 2013 Capture Ku-ring-gai Photo Competition
Sport and recreation is important to Ku-ring-gai. It helps to create a happier, healthier and more connected community. We encourage people to embrace active lifestyles by providing a variety of places and opportunities to play and relax. This is significant on a regional level as Sydney’s North Shore has a growing population and a shortage of local parks and sports facilities. To address this, we are implementing our Open Space Acquisition Strategy which is funded by development contributions. To date, Council has identified and re-zoned land for new parks and roads in St Ives, Turramurra, Gordon, Lindfield, Killara and Wahroonga and has spent over $42 million in the past few years acquiring land. These new parks will provide recreation areas for all local residents, particularly those living in new apartment buildings. To address the shortage of sports facilities, we are working closely with sports clubs and residents to build sustainable sports grounds, playgrounds, parks, swimming pools, netball, tennis and multi-sport courts and clubhouse facilities.
W h at w e a c h i e v e d i n 2 0 1 3 /14 We spent $8.8 million in acquiring land for new local parks. $ 4 million on upgrading parks and playgrounds $ 2.8 million on upgrading sports fields N ear completion of the Ku-ring-gai Fitness & Aquatic Centre costing $17 million Continued work on the $24 million North Turramurra Recreation Area project Completed Curtilage Park – a heritage themed pedestrian-friendly park in Wahroonga Completed construction of Greengate Park in Bruce Avenue, Killara Began detailed designs for an extension of Cameron Park in Turramurra Began detailed designs for streetscaping of St Johns Avenue in Gordon Received multiple awards for Ku-ring-gai’s open space acquisition program and Greengate Park Increased participation in the Active Ku-ring-gai Program by nearly 5% and in the Active Kids program by 40% Jubes Moutain Bike Park, Wahroonga by MKesby, 2013 Capture Ku-ring-gai Photo Competition Ku-ring-gai Council
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N o r t h T u r r a m u r r a R e c r e at i o n A r e a The North Turramurra Recreation Area will provide much needed sports and recreational facilities to Ku-ring-gai. We are remediating the disused waste tip and landfill site next to our North Turramurra Golf Course to create a new $24 million sports precinct that will include: • Eleven newly constructed golf holes and an overhaul of seven existing holes to deliver a longer, more challenging golf course • A fully constructed artificial wetland. • State-of-the-art irrigation from dam and sewer mining systems making the use of water at the site fully sustainable year round 36 Bluett Memorial Award submission 2013/14
•N ew floodlit synthetic and turf multipurpose sports fields covering over 33,000m2 • Four new floodlit practice netball courts • Separate off street parking for golf patrons and sports field users
This year we finished construction of the sewer treatment plant, integrated the water storage dam, relocated the telecommunication tower and constructed five new golf holes. Stabilisation and capping of the former landfill site is complete and the artificial wetland is fully constructed.
• New surrounding parkland with children’s playground, barbecue and picnic facilities
The community has shown overwhelming support for the project, which is funded by a special rate variation, Section 94 funds, a $2 million Federal Government grant and Council’s Golf Course Improvement Reserve.
• Walking track linking the recreation area to bushland trails.
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• New change rooms and community meeting rooms
K u - r i n g - g a i F i t n es s a n d A q u at i c C e n t r e Nestled within the 16-hectare Bicentennial Park at West Pymble, this multi-purpose facility worth $17 million will meet the current and future needs of our community.
The Ku-ring-gai Fitness & Aquatic Centre features:
• Increased number of car parking spaces
• Refurbished outdoor 50-metre pool and learn to swim pool
• Landscaping and shade trees
• New indoor 25-metre heated pool with eight lanes
• Grey water recycling
The original West Pymble 50-metre outdoor pool was no longer meeting the growing demand for aquatic facilities and services in the local area. Our community told us they wanted year-round swimming, new facilities and amenities, play areas for kids and a place to socialise and catch up with friends.
• Warm water program pool
• Co-generation heat exchange system.
• Indoor and outdoor toddlers pool and water play area
Council has entered into an innovative management model with the YMCA which moderates the risks and rewards associated with the first few years trading of the new centre.
The indoor aquatic centre, opening in Spring 2014, will better meet the needs of our community into the future, providing new services that will comfortably accommodate our growing population.
• Child minding/play room • Change rooms and amenities • Gym with multi-purpose fitness and meeting rooms • Cafe with internal and external serveries for centre patrons and Bicentennial Park users • Community swim club facilities
Funding comes from numerous sources, a significant one being the development of a 26 lot subdivision combining Council’s surplus land holdings at South Turramurra with the NSW Department of Planning and Infrastructure’s residue land from the abandoned B2 Freeway link.
Ku-ring-gai Fitness and Aquatic Centre Ku-ring-gai Council
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Greengate Park, Killara
C r e at i n g n e w p l a c es t o p l ay Through land acquisition and other methods to increase capacity at existing sites, we are creating new places for play and leisure activities
Greengate Park, Killara (Acquisition $6 million embellishment $1,200,000) Council identified the need for a new local park in Killara to support the development of medium-density residential apartments and provide passive recreation, healthy outdoor pursuits and community building opportunities. Council purchased three houses on the corner of Greengate Lane and Bruce Avenue to develop new parkland, and after public consultation, the park was designed to be a safe, open and child-friendly venue within walking distance for local residents. This new local park provides a range of accessible and visible spaces for activities such as free running play, an amphitheatre embankment for informal community events and gatherings, a picnic shelter and barbecue, a children’s playground, and a quiet contemplative space, all within a landscape setting of native and exotic trees and shrubs that complement the character of the neighbourhood. A perimeter fence set among the gardens contains most of the park. The park was completed and opened to the public in December 2013. 38 Bluett Memorial Award submission 2013/14
Cameron Park extension (Acquisition $6.1 million; embellishment $1,250,000) Turramurra’s popular Cameron Park is set to double in size following Council’s purchase of four residential properties in Gilroy Road. A concept design plan has been approved by Council, which includes open grassy areas, trees, gardens, toilet and a multi-use area with picnic shelter, barbeque, outdoor ping pong table and perimeter fencing. The park will provide for passive and active play and recreation and add to the existing popular playground and junior cycle track site. Documents are nearing completion for the park to be tendered for construction, planned to be completed by the end of 2015.
Charles Bean Sportsfield, Lindfield ($1,000,000) Ku-ring-gai’s first all-weather synthetic playing field and a new community centre were completed at the former UTS Lindfield oval site and dedicated to Council as part of a voluntary planning agreement between Council and the developer of the site, Defence Housing Australia (DHA). Instead of paying Section 94 development contributions for a medium-density residential project, DHA has provided infrastructure benefitting the whole community. This is a great way of providing new community facilities for our growing population at relatively small cost to Council. Under the agreement, Council paid the cost difference between a natural turf field and a synthetic field, as well as adding floodlights and an extra storey on the community centre for change rooms and accessible public toilets. Other partners contributing to the project include Northern Suburbs Football Association ($100,000) and the NSW Community Building Partnership ($40,000). The oval and community centre were completed in 2013 and are now being extensively used by sporting groups such as soccer and hockey.
s pa c es a n d p l a c es f o r l e i s u r e a n d r e c r e at i o n We upgraded many of our existing sport grounds, parks and playgrounds
Curtilage Park, Wahroonga ($315,000)
Allan Small Park ($900,000)
Curtilage Park, at 1536 Pacific Highway Wahroonga, is land given to Council in 1992 that has finally been opened to the public for use as a local park. The park takes its name from the term ‘curtilage’, which refers to an area of land surrounding heritage items. The park is situated between two grand homes– Mahratta and Yaamba – which form part of the Mahratta Heritage Conservation Area.
East Killara’s sport and recreation precinct has undergone a major upgrade to increase capacity of the space and improve drainage to enable water to be stored and recycled for irrigation. The works have included staged delivery of:
Curtilage Park at 1536 Pacific Highway Wahroonga was designed by Council to be sympathetic to the surrounding heritage properties. After the completion of a Conservation Management Plan, the design was approved by Heritage NSW for construction. The park retains the existing open lawns, perimeter gardens and front fence and gates of the original property with added seats, playground, paths, fences, bubbler and interpretive sign. The construction was completed in February 2014.
• A multi-sports court – a fenced and enclosed space with a rebound wall that allows tennis, basketball, netball, touch football and soccer to be played in it. This was partly funded by a $37,000 grant from the NSW Department of Sport and Recreation. • Stormwater harvesting and storage facility for irrigation, plus a stormwater filter garden, all funded by our environmental levy • Reconstructed sports field with a newly graded surface, synthetic wicket and field drainage, including recycling leftover fill material from the Ku-ring-gai Fitness & Aquatic Centre project. $20,000 was funded by the NSW Government’s Community Building Partnership.
• Floodlights jointly funded by Northern Suburbs Football Association, Gordon Soccer Club and a NSW Department of Sport and Recreation grant. • Upgrading the tennis pavilion and amenities block to include an accessible unisex toilet. • Construction of a storage room with the assistance of a $2,000 contribution from Gordon Football Club. Works currently being finalised include the toddlers’ playground upgrade and improvements to the access roadway and car park as well as the accessible space to meet revised access standards. Runoff from the car park will be collected into rain gardens for treatment prior to entering the stormwater system. This final stage of the work is planned for completion in early 2015.
Charles Bean Sportsfield, Lindfield
Ku-ring-gai Council
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Archdale Park ($27,000) This local park, originally built to provide an attractive and peaceful spot for respite to visitors to Neringah Hospital, has been embellished with an accessible shelter and chess table to improve capacity and leisure options for the increasing numbers of local residents..
Bancroft Park Playground ($136,000) New play equipment has been installed at Bancroft Park. The revitalised play space includes a dinosaur climber and sandstone dinosaur eggs, speaking tubes, a Viking swing and playhouse set within the toddler’s cycle path that provides new play opportunities for local children and attendees of the school holiday program at Council’s adjacent Ku-ring-gai Art Centre and sculpture garden. The next stage is a unisex accessible toilet to be installed nearby, due for completion by the end of 2014.
Wahroonga Park ($600,000) The much loved playground at Wahroonga Park built in 1996 was a priority to be refurbished in the adopted Wahroonga Park Precinct Landscape Masterplan. Plans were completed and tenders called with works commencing in March 2014. The works include a fenced area with enlarged toddlers’ playground under shade sail with equipment for inclusive play, a cubby house, train with platform, musical elements, chalk drawing, swings, slide and rocker, and plenty of seating and a bubbler. The remaining area contains an imaginative play area with a sunken shipwreck, spinner track ride, and rodeo springer that will suit older children. The existing swing area has been increased to provide an additional net swing and an accessible swing. The site planting includes new feature trees and ornamental shrubs and groundcovers in keeping with the existing site landscape character. Works are due to be completed by September 2014.
Cricket pitches at Primula Oval and Barra Brui Oval ($40,000) In partnership with the North Shore Junior Cricket Association and Northern Suburbs Cricket Association, we upgraded the cricket pitches at Primula Oval, Lindfield, and Barra Brui Oval, St Ives. The new synthetic pitches have been made longer and wider to cater for all ages and allow all-weather play. The projects were equally funded by the two cricket associations and Council. 40 Bluett Memorial Award submission 2013/14
Koola Park, East Killara
Golden Jubilee Field ($1,430,400)
Koola Park ($3,500,000)
One of the busiest baseball grounds in Sydney, Golden Jubilee Field is built on a rehabilitated landfill site in North Wahroonga, prone to settlement, sink holes and minor landslides. It is also the site shared by model aeroplanes, soccer and dog off-leash users. We are now implementing the masterplan, which improves the safety of the grounds as well as adding great new features including:
Ku-ring-gai’s largest recreation facility, Koola Park in East Killara is set to become even bigger with a major upgrade of staged works. Works completed by June 2014 include:
• Two senior and six junior baseball diamonds
• the sewer upgrade connection, from a septic system
• Floodlights to allow night time training and competition games including power upgrade
• cricket backnet fence extensions
• Practice batting cages
Planning and design works for tender documents to deliver future stages are well underway for:
• Recycled leachate irrigation system and storage tank
• An innovative stormwater harvesting system that collects water from nearby Rocky Creek when flows are high and pumps the water uphill and underground for 500m to a 600,000-litre storage tank located under the four new cricket nets.
• removal of environmental weeds
• Twin barbecues
• Reconstruction and levelling of the three existing playing fields with new sub-surface drainage, irrigation and turf, including an extra playing field, bringing it to four
• Installation of dugouts and scorers’ shelters
• New turf wicket table and synthetic wicket
• Car park upgrade with more spaces
• Perimeter exercise path. The existing playground will be refurbished in 2015.
• Floodlights for night competition and training • A shared exercise circuit around the park’s boundary for walking, jogging and cycling
• A children’s playground
Tennis Courts ($330,000)
• Additional parking spaces and drop-off zone within the park to ease parking pressure and improve safety at peak periods for park users and high school students opposite the site
As part of our annual sports courts refurbishment program, we re-surfaced 10 tennis courts across four locations, including six acrylic surface courts and four synthetic grass courts.
• New fencing, landscaping and tree planting
Turramurra Memorial Park and Karuah Park ($37,000 for design works)
• Drainage swales to manage stormwater runoff into surrounding bushland. We secured a $332,000 NSW Office of Water grant for installation of a stormwater harvesting system and a NSW Sport and Recreation grant of $100,000 to help fund the construction of the additional playing field. North Shore Junior Cricket Association also secured a $30,000 grant from NSW Sport and Recreation to assist with the relocation and expansion of the cricket nets. Works on the staged project began in May 2012 and will be complete by end of 2016.
Design was completed and tender documents are underway for an additional recreation activity area as proposed in the adopted Turramurra Memorial Park and Karuah Park Landscape Masterplan. While most playgrounds in Ku-ring-gai cater for infants and primary school children, the recreation precinct will cater for older children and families and include a picnic shelter, ping-pong table, basketball practice area, spinning net climber and hammocks surrounded by accessible paths and seating walls. The static exercise area will be relocated and renewed and link paths are being designed to enable access around the park while retaining a large open grassy space for informal games. This visible new activity area will add to the recreation
opportunities for everyone in the local community and beyond. Works are due to be completed in 2015.
Roseville Park Master Plan ($20,000) The Council is proceeding with a master plan for Roseville Park, located between Clanville Road and Chelmsford Avenue in Roseville. Consultants were appointed in April 2014 to undertake the Landscape Masterplan, including community consultation. Two community meetings were held with residents in May 2014 to gain insights and feedback into how the park is currently used and potential future uses. Residents in the area were also invited to complete a survey. Following the meetings, and including consideration of the site heritage and existing vegetation, a draft master plan has been prepared, incorporating facilities and improvements to guide any future the development of the park over the next 10 to 15 years. The masterplan will be finalised for public exhibition in August 2014, before being finalised and presented to Council.
Curtilage Park, Wahroonga Ku-ring-gai Council
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Warrimoo Oval Clubhouse and site works ($1,082,000) We completed construction of a new community hall and clubhouse with kitchen, canteen, meeting room, storage and an accessible unisex toilet which were opened in September 2013. The project is a community partnership with St Ives Football Club funding the kitchen in the new building, which is much larger than their previous premises. They also replaced the kitchen and roof in their old clubhouse before moving out, which is a great asset for the new tenants, the St Ives Guides. At the same site Council received development consent to undertake alterations and additions to the St Ives North Scout Hall, with work ongoing jointly between Council and the scouts. This work is expected to be completed in September 2014. The existing amenities block has been upgraded and landscaped with improved access and parking for the whole site. All of these works will make it possible to begin construction of the St Ives Village Green youth precinct in 2014/15, which will include a BMX skate park, youth event space, basketball half court and expanded children’s playground at the site of the old St Ives Girl Guides and Scout Halls, for which demolition has been approved. The Warrimoo Upgrade Project was jointly funded by a $150,000 grant from the NSW Government’s Community Building Partnership, Council, the Scouts and St Ives Football Club.
42 Bluett Memorial Award submission 2013/14
Sp o r t s f i e l d, Pa r k a n d p l ayg r o u n d wo r k s
11
15
8 6 1.Curtilage Park 2.Greengate Park
1
13 3
3.Cameron Park 4.Charles Bean Sportsfield
10
5.Allan Small Park 6.Archdale Park 7.Bancroft Park
12
8.Wahroonga Park
5
9.Primula Oval
2
10.Barra Brui Oval 11.Golden Jubilee Field 12.Koola Park 13.Turramurra Memorial Park & Karuah Park 14.Roseville Park
9 Sports field, park or playground
14 7 4
15.Warrimoo Oval Works completed or in progress in 2013/14
Ku-ring-gai Council
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Awa r d s f r o m Pa r k s & Leisure Australia In March 2014 Greengate Park in Killara was awarded the NSW Open Space Design and Management Award by Parks & Leisure Australia. A second award – the NSW Open Space Planning Award – was presented to the Council for its Open Space Acquisition Strategy. The program was also recognised in 2014 with an award from the Australian Institute of Landscape Architects.
44 Bluett Memorial Award submission 2013/14
Ac t i v e Ku-ring-gai Program While providing places and spaces for play is an important part of our sport and recreation program, we also run fitness activities to directly encourage healthy lifestyles. Our Active Ku-ring-gai Program is growing from strength to strength, offering a variety of fun and affordable activities to suit people of all ages, interests and fitness levels. We adjust our program every year to suit fitness trends and community needs. The program included tai chi, Pilates, gym without walls, ballroom dancing, social tennis, junior golf, walking groups, yoga and the Active Kids school holiday program. Compared with the 2012-13 financial year, the Active Ku-ring-gai program achieved nearly a 5% increase in participation, from 984 attendees to 1025. The Active Ku-ring-gai school holiday program achieved a 40% uplift in participation rates from the previous year, from 795 to 1113.
Ku-ring-gai Council
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Australia Day 2014 46 Bluett Memorial Award submission 2013/14
Social and Ec o n o m i c D e v e lo p m e n t Ku-ring-gai Council
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S o c i a l a n d Ec o n o m i c D e v e lo p m e n t
C apture
Ku-ring-gai photo competition a s u cc es s -
over
300
e n t r i es 48 Bluett Memorial Award submission 2013/14
One of Ku-ring-gai’s up and coming small businesses, The Bakerie at 773 Pacific Hwy, Gordon
Ku-ring-gai is an area of local centres and villages. Our economy revolves more around small businesses, boutique stores and cosy eateries than large commercial ventures. For us economic development is about creating an environment that promotes sustainable business growth, investment, employment generation and making it easier for people to do business with Council. Social development involves strengthening the identity and brand of Ku-ring-gai by listening to residents and providing platforms for them to share their views with each other and build community. Led by local councillors and directors, our economic development and social advisory committee sets direction by prioritising initiatives that deliver real economic outcomes for Ku-ring-gai. Initiatives include strengthening support for local business, upgrading neighbourhood centres, finding new ways to activate local spaces, increasing our use of social media and improving our website. We are also investigating opportunities to better promote our shopping centres, attract new investment into the area and expand tourism.
W h at w e a c h i e v e d i n 2 0 1 3 /14 Established Local Economy and Employment as one of six key themes in our 2030 Community Strategic Plan Continued the Economic and Social Development Advisory Committee (ESDAC) N egotiated an agreement with Transport for NSW to guarantee commuter parking in Killara P lanned a new computer-based tool called Web Map Launched the Activate Ku-ring-gai program to stimulate civic pride and economic development Sponsored the Welcome Basket, supporting local business and welcoming new residents Increased our database for e-news to 6500 subscribers dded Instagram to Ku-ring-gai Council’s A Facebook, Twitter and YouTube sites Capture Ku-ring-gai photo competition held with over 300 entries H eld a Family Fun Day to engage the community in ideas for the Lindfield master plan P lanned new community events such as St Ives Medieval Faire
Ku-ring-gai Council
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Economic and Social Development Advisory Committee (ESDAC)
To help drive the change in Ku-ring-gai, ESDAC was established as an advisory group. Comprised of councillors and directors, ESDAC ’s primary function is to listen and discuss ideas and initiatives, and make recommendations to where and how Council should invest resources to support our economic development program. The group meets every quarter.
Partnership with Transport for NSW
The Council has entered into an agreement with Transport for NSW to guarantee permanent commuter car parking at the Culworth Avenue car park in Killara. The car park is located next to Killara railway station and currently owned by the Council. In a deed of agreement signed in June 2014, Transport for NSW will acquire 3667 sqm of the site in return for taking over the permanent management of car parking on this portion of the site. An independent valuation has ensured the best possible return for the community, which has a high level of interest in the car park’s future. In July 2014 the Council received $7 million from Transport for NSW for the compulsorily acquired portion of the site.
St Ives Medieval Faire
Continued improvements to website
A reclassification process for the remainder of the site to change its use from community to operational land is continuing in 2014.
Following its decision to create a tourism and visitor precinct around St Ives, the Council has planned a new event called the Medieval Faire which will take place in September 2014.
•F ind out what’s near you: a function allowing residents to enter their home address and find out their bin collection dates, ward/Councillor information, what’s on nearby and Council facilities within 5km
Ku-ring-gai E-News During 2013-2014 we increased our database of subscribers to this monthly e-newsletter to 6500. The monthly e-news provides a summary of events and news about the Council and every page on our website allows viewers to subscribe to it easily and quickly.
50 Bluett Memorial Award submission 2013/14
A field of the world’s best jousters – including knights from Germany, the Netherlands and Norway – along with the top Australian jousters will re-enact the centuries- old sport of jousting. Another highlight of the Faire will be a Viking battle reenactment. Live birds of prey with falcons, recreating medieval hunting and falconry. Also on offer will be traditional archery complete with a ‘have-a-go’ section; a trebuchet in action which is a giant catapult used in medieval sieges, plus wandering minstrels, a medieval tavern and displays of arts and crafts from the Middle Ages. The event is expected to draw over 10,000 visitors over two days.
• Find a facility: allows the public to search for a facility that suits their needs. For example, searching for a park in St Ives with a playground and picnic table • Online bookings for clean-up services • Dynamic keyword search: starts looking for relevant pages before you even press ‘search’ • Live chat: allows the public to instant message with a customer service officer online • Social media integration: allows people to ‘share’ pages on their Facebook, Twitter or email networks.
2013 Capture Ku-ring-gai Photo Competition winner in Our streetscapes category, Mona Vale Road, Pymble, by Max Poignand
• Dynamic translation: ability to translate the entire site into the four most popular languages spoken in homes in Ku-ring-gai • A cut-down mobile version of the site: this includes a “Report a problem” form that allows residents to take a photo and report problems direct to Council on the go such as pot holes, fallen trees and blocked drains • Accessibility: a number of new accessibility features have been included to allow everyone, including people with disabilities, to access the website more easily, ensuring we met our obligations under the Website Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.0.
Capture Ku-ring-gai Photo Competition
The Capture Ku-ring-gai Photo Competition was held for a second year and attracted over 300 entries. As part of the competition we included a community voting section on Facebook, which really engaged the community, receiving many positive comments about the beauty of Ku-ring-gai and generating a sense of community pride. A selection of evocative images now feature on the Council website and the competition will be run again in 2014/15.
Using social media to build community
Ku-ring-gai Council embraces social media as an effective way to communicate and engage with the public, and administers various social media channels relating to different audiences and interests. In May 2014 we added Instagram to our existing social media sites and will use this channel to further promote the Capture Ku-ring-gai photo competition. Our followers on social media continue to grow. For example, Ku-ring-gai Council’s Facebook site now has nearly 5000 ‘likers’.
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5 ,0 0 0 ‘likers’ Ku-ring-gai Council
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New computer tool – Web Map
Web Map is an easy-to-use online mapping service that will help people plan their activities and find services they might need. The service unlocks a comprehensive range of information and search functions for the first time, allowing people to make decisions and access items of interest at a time that suits them. Web Map will be publicly launched at the end of 2014. Some of the available functions include: • Land parcel mapping and legal descriptions • Property related information • Aerial photography of Ku-ring-gai from 2012, 2011, 2005, 1988, 1975, 1968, 1956 and 1943 • Find a facility – schools, childcare, playgrounds, parks, dog off leash areas etc. • Heritage items and areas • Map layers – planning zones, development standards, topography, bush fire prone land, vegetation etc. • Federal, State and Local Government Electoral boundaries • Measurement and printing tools • Link to Google Street View
Welcome Basket sponsorship
We are the major sponsor of an innovative business enterprise by a local Turramurra resident, The Welcome Basket. New residents are welcomed to Ku-ring-gai by a friendly face delivering a gift basket that includes useful community information and discounts from local businesses. This supports our social and economic development objectives by creating a village atmosphere when welcoming new residents to the area and encouraging local shopping. As part of the sponsorship, Council holds welcome morning teas with the Mayor twice a year, increasing the social and community benefits.
The new Web Map tool will be launched to the public later in 2014
Princes St Shops
• Garden walls low enough to provide seating
A new design for Princes Street shops in Turramurra delivered expansive public areas with good accessibility and safety and a better shopping experience for customers.
• Garden beds with low shrubs for transition from the upper footpath level to the lower level
The improvements have to revitalised the shops with new paving, seating and landscaping, making it easier for people to park, shop, dine and socialise.
• Steps and ramps at key locations
The new shops have: • Wide concrete footpaths at the lower level in front of the shops for pedestrians and outdoor dining 52 Bluett Memorial Award submission 2013/14
• Fixed timber seats and litter bins
• Bundling’ overhead power lines so large deciduous trees can grow on the upper level for shade and shelter . Construction began in July 2013 and was completed in August 2013.
2013 Capture Ku-ring-gai Photo Competition winner in Environment and sustainability category, Turramurra Community Garden by Ashley King Ku-ring-gai Council
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Ac t i vat e K u - r i n g - g a i The Activate Ku-ring-gai program was launched in 2013. It aims to stimulate civic pride and economic development – both public and private – in key suburbs in Ku-ring-gai. So far the program has been rolled out in two suburbs – Lindfield and Turramurra – with more to come. The main drivers of Activate Ku-ring-gai are community engagement through informal events and surveys; master planning based on community ideas and feedback and consultation with local business owners and on-the-ground action to stimulate civic pride and a sense of community ownership in local centres.
54 Bluett Memorial Award submission 2013/14
Activate Lindfield
In February 2014, we held a Family Fun Day in Lindfield to attract feedback and ideas from the community on what they would like to see happen in Lindfield in the future. The event attracted several hundred local residents and business people to talk faceto-face with councillors and staff about the possibilities. A petting zoo, free drinks and food and face painting added atmosphere and a relaxed setting for people to share and discuss ideas. From this event we used feedback to form a preliminary plan, including a new multi-purpose community facility and library, a new public street, road improvements, a major new park and public plaza, short-stay and commuter parking and commercial uses to activate the precinct. Council will now finalise a masterplan for the site in partnership with Transport NSW.
Activate Turramurra
The master planning process commenced for Turramurra in late 2013, with an independent consultant surveying residents and business owners on future needs. This feedback will form the basis of a Community Facilities Study which will be finalised by September 2014. A Family Fun Day is planned for early August in Turramurra, backed up by an online survey which is open until mid August. In the interim, an anti-litter campaign and ‘adopt a planter box’ campaign was launched in Turramurra in June 2014. The campaign will see attractive new litter bins installed in the shopping centre, streets and footpath cleaning and maintenance stepped up and planter boxes pruned and cleaned. Business owners are being encouraged to take care of planter boxes located outside their businesses.
St Ives Precinct
As an initial step to activate the St Ives precinct, which includes the Ku-ring-gai Wildflower Garden, St Ives Showground and Ku-ring-gai Community Nursery, we created a new position of the St Ives Precinct Coordinator. The precinct coordinator aims to attract tourism to the area through increased events and marketing. A new event to be hosted over two days is the St Ives Medieval Faire at the Showground in September 2014. This event will feature jousting, birds of prey, re-enactments of historic battles, giant catapults and an array of stalls featuring arts and crafts from the Middle Ages. As part of plan to increase visitation numbers to the Wildflower Garden, a new interpretative visitor centre is being built, which is expected to open by October 2014.
Business Breakfast Seminar Series
This seminar series starting in August 2014 will feature inspirational stories, practical presentations and opportunities to quiz industry experts, Council staff and successful local businesses. The seminars aim to provide an overview of the common issues involved in setting up and running small business and offer practical advice on how to tackle these issues as well as networking opportunities. The Breakfast Series will also offer specialised sessions for aspiring entrepreneurs, helping them turn their creative talents and ideas into a business.
Free advice for local businesses
In July 2014, the Small Biz Bus visited Gordon and in August it will visit Turramurra. The Small Biz Bus provides practical, free and independent advice to local business owners. Also planned for later this year are How To Guides to help new businesses better navigate Council processes.
Building Better Business Partnerships
Ku-ring-gai received a grant from the EPA’s Waste Less Recycle More program valued at $246,000. The Building Better Business Partnerships project is ongoing and aims to grow the skill base of small businesses in the four partner Council areas of Ku-ring-gai, North Sydney, Lane Cove and Willoughby. A key achievement was the launch of a new in-depth analysis system for the existing small business members. This review looks more thoroughly at the potential for a business to maximise its efficiency in energy, water and waste. Recruitment of new businesses is continuing via face-to-face visits, participating in Council events such as Festival on The Green and conducting workshops for small business. The highly successful ‘Your Business Can Change the World’ seminar was presented in June 2014. Ku-ring-gai Council
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250kL tank at Council’s South Turramurra residential sub-division development, which will be used to augment the existing underground tanks at the nearby Auluba Ovals.
56 Bluett Memorial Award submission 2013/14
B u i lt a n d n at u r a l environment
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B u i lt a n d n at u r a l e n v i r o n m e n t
In just
over
20 years
Ku-ring-gai’s p o p u l at i o n will
increase b y n e a r ly
17%
Ku-ring-gai’s population is currently 114,700 and growing at a steady rate. The projected population is 134,000 by 2036. Council has expertly navigated conflicting objectives from the community and the NSW Government in developing Local Environment Plans (LEPs) and Development Control Plans (DCPs) that meet our requirements under the Sydney Metropolitan Strategy. It’s allowed us to plan for more development and reflect the community’s aspirations in preserving the vibrant village character of Ku-ring-gai. We are committed to sustainability and have introduced water and energy saving initiatives in our construction projects. In Ku-ring-gai, cycling is a wonderful way for the community to interact with our urban and natural environment in a sustainable way. We developed a Bicycle Plan and map to encourage cycling and are introducing new cycleways in the near future. Managing our bushland and urban interface is an important part of what we do, particularly considering the high bushfire risk in the area. We have implemented a number of initiatives to educate the community on fire dangers, preparing their homes and what to do in case of an emergency, as well as direct action to reduce fire risk through hazard reduction burns and fire trail works.
58 Bluett Memorial Award submission 2013/14
W h at w e a c h i e v e d i n 2 0 1 3 /14 A new LEP and DCP prepared Created a development application mediation process that has reduced legal costs by over $360,000 Created a 26-lot sub-division through a partnership with the State Government utilising jointly owned and under-used land in Turramurra
Xxxxx.
Xxxxx Began
a master planning process for the Council-owned Gordon golf course Increased our solar capacity to 52kw
W ea nnd per oet edc t otu rom a npm ald a n e and n at u r a l e n v i r o n m e n t to
absorb
the impending p o p u l at i o n i n c r e a s e
Saved 11,500 kL of drinking water through leachate reuse and stormwater harvesting Reduced drinking water consumption in Council buildings by 2% Constructed two artificial wetlands, with one attracting wildlife not seen for decades Created a 99 hectare bio-banking site for biodiversity conservation Spent nearly $250,000 upgrading 42kms of fire trails
St Ives Chase, by DSpira 2013 Capture Ku-ring-gai Photo Competition Ku-ring-gai Council
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Managing d e v e lo p m e n t n o w and in the future With our population expected to increase by 17% in around 20 years, the Council is focussing on the sustainable management of development. We want to retain the unmistakeable character of Ku-ring-gai, while accommodating an increase in population from 114,000 to 134,000 by 2036. During 2013-14, the Council prepared a new Local Environmental Plan (LEP) and Development Control Plan (DCP).
New LEP and DCP
Mediation the key to DAs Our management of development applications noticeably improved during 2013-14. Ku-ring-gai’s philosophy is now one of mediation and assistance to applicants before a DA is submitted and decided. Although this has increased the time taken in discussing applications with clients, two significant outcomes have been achieved. One is a $360,000 reduction in legal costs associated with court appeals; the other is a substantial reduction in the number of development applications proceeding to appeal. In 2013-14, 47 complex or deemed refusal development applications were successfully mediated. In 2013-2014 the number of DAs proceeding to court was 14. This compares with 23 in 2012-2013.
New sub-division at Turramurra
Now awaiting gazettal by the NSW Government, Ku-ring-gai’s Draft Ku-ring-gai Local Environmental Plan 2013 will replace the existing LEP that has been the subject of over 200 changes since 1971. The new LEP will provide the framework by which local land use planning can be undertaken in a more integrated and strategic manner. It addresses planning issues such as sustainability, physical and social Infrastructure, natural and built environment, heritage, housing and employment. The new LEP provides greater environmental protection through the introduction of new environmental zones, as well as map overlays linked to local biodiversity areas and riparian lands. Another significant inclusion is heritage conservation areas and additional heritage items. The DCP sets out detailed guidelines for the location and design of future development on all land covered by the Draft Ku-ring-gai Local Environmental Plan 2013. The DCP will help ensure new development is consistent with the local character; that development retains valuable elements of the site and its surroundings; the amenity of neighbouring properties is not compromised by development and any development is of a high design standard.
Right: New sub-division site at Turramurra 60 Bluett Memorial Award submission 2013/14
Work is nearing completion on a 26 lot residential land subdivision in South Turramurra - a rare opportunity to purchase new residential land in Ku-ring-gai and an example of another successful partnership between the Council and the state government. The project includes the creation of 26 residential lots ranging from 844 square metres up to 1,563 square metres; the
construction of a new link road between Chisholm Street and Barwon Avenue, South Turramurra and significant upgrade works along the creek corridor, including construction of an artificial wetland. The site, owned jointly by Council and the NSW Department of Planning, was previously part of the planned B2 road corridor to link the F3 and M2 motorways. This option was abandoned by the then state government in 1996. Once construction of the road is complete, lots in the sub-division will be offered for sale by the end of 2014.
Master planning for Gordon Golf Course Ku-ring-gai Council currently operates and maintains two public golf courses, with a further four private golf courses servicing the Ku-ring-gai golfing community. A substantial investment is currently being made to improve the facilities and amenities at North Turramurra Golf Club. Ku-ring-gai Council resolved to begin a masterplan for a regional park at the Gordon Golf Course site. This project will involve extensive community consultation and communication with all residents and stakeholders.
A s u s ta i n a b l e wat e r s u pp ly a n d p r o t e c t i o n f o r wat e r way s We are leaders in implementing innovative water projects to reduce our reliance on Sydney’s drinking water supply. These projects are sustainable, reduce the impact of stormwater runoff on our bushland, save ratepayers’ money and can help maintain our assets in the future. Since 2007 we have installed15 stormwater harvesting systems, one rooftop filter garden, two leachate systems, two sewer mining systems, 20 biofilter gardens, 70 Gross Pollutant Traps (GPTs) and 141 pit litter baskets.
Wat e r projects Major water management projects completed to date
In 2013/14 we installed a 250kL tank at Council’s South Turramurra residential sub-division development, which will be used to augment existing underground tanks at the nearby Auluba Ovals. Through a $50,000 grant from the Greater Sydney Local Land Service, additional Council funding and in-kind contributions of $221,800, weed removal, creek stabilisation works and installing sediment and filter basins is in progress in the Avondale Creek Catchment. Works in Sheldon Forest, Rofe Park and Comenarra Creek Reserve are reducing the effect of nutrients and litter washing into the creek and protecting the critically endangered Blue Gum High Forest and endangered Sydney Turpentine Ironbark forest in this area. Two artificial wetlands - at North Turramurra Recreation Area and the South Turramurra residential sub-division development - were constructed during 2013-2014. These wetlands will act as natural absorption for sediment and run-off, as well as encouraging native birds and animals back into these suburbs. In the case of the former, a survey conducted early in 2014 revealed the presence of over 30 species of native birds and animals, some of which have not been seen in North Turramurra for decades. Through Council’s bush regeneration works program, 28 hectares within our riparian zones received weed removal and bank stabilisation works. Through the Council’s staff sustainability network, the Ku-ring-gai Greenbacks, staff also participated in a tree planting day at Ku-ring-gai Creek as part of a creek remediation program.
LEGEND Filter Garden Water Harvesting Reuse System Water Leachate System Sewer Mining Small Stormwater Filter Device Riparian Instream/end of Pipe Device 26 Small Pit Filter Baskets
Water saving projects in Ku-ring-gai since 2007
Ku-ring-gai Council
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E n e r gy s av i n g i d e a s in action Council continues to implement energy-saving initiatives in the key areas of street lighting, buildings and outdoor lighting. In 2013-14, Council upgraded 12 of its hot water systems to solar hot water and heat pump systems, as part of the Local Government Energy Efficiency Program (LGEEP). A Greenhouse Gas Inventory and Target Report was prepared in 2013-14, and a utility costs and net present value (NPV) conducted, which informed the development of a Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Action Plan for achieving Council’s current GHG reduction target of 20% by 2020 based on 2000 levels. This Action Plan will guide Councils energy management program until 2020. Performance against this target will be measured through Council’s sustainability data management and reporting system. Tracking Council’s greenhouse gas emissions is important to ensure we are meeting our carbon reduction targets and playing our part in reducing global emissions. Recognising the potential for energy efficient lighting and LED technology to cut electricity consumption and costs, an open space lighting audit was completed last year, which outlines a number of recommendations for Council to consider and further evaluate – including installation of timers, active reactor controllers and LED luminaire/lamps. During 2013-14 we installed a solar PV system at the Bancroft Art Centre which has helped to lower electricity at the Centre by 18% (11 MWh), or equivalent savings of $2,090 per annum. The Ku-ring-gai Art Centre also had its lighting upgraded to energy efficient LED lighting which is expected to reduce electricity consumption by a further 20% (10MWh) with estimated savings of $1,900 per annum. Council’s total solar capacity is now 52kW. Our latest energy snapshot shows that since 2010 we have reduced electricity consumption within our asset portfolio by 6%. We have reduced greenhouse gas emissions from our fleet by 29% since 2000. We have 8 Prius vehicles and 80 diesel vehicles out of total 110 in our fleet. In 2013-14 we introduced a staff bus from the Central Coast, which has reduced private car use by staff, with a second bus to be introduced in 2014-15. 62 Bluett Memorial Award submission 2013/14
P r e pa r i n g o u r community for b u s h f i r es
conjunction with the NSW Rural Fire Service, Fire and Rescue NSW and Hornsby Shire Council and the first of its kind in NSW, street meetings are being held in high priority locations. During 2013-14 three street meetings were held in North Wahroonga, St Ives and Gordon, attended by 150 residents.
Ku-ring-gai Council is responsible for the management of 1,100 hectares of bushland that largely intersects with densely populated residential areas. Much of the bushland connects larger natural areas to the north, south-west and east, making it one of the most bushfire-prone areas in Greater Sydney and Australia-wide.
A custom built bushfire education trailer is used at street meetings and other community events to provide an interactive experience in bush fire preparedness, plus bushfire preparedness kits in CD format distributed to residents.
The management of bushfire is driven by the core objectives to protect life and property, ensure the long-term conservation of natural values and responsibly care for our community. Ku-ring-gai Council implements a comprehensive bushfire risk management strategy, which includes the creation of Asset Protection Zones (APZs) as well as improving building resilience, property maintenance and evacuation risk measures. Through Council’s Community Bushfire Education Strategy, developed in
Ku-ring-gai Council staff manage a 44km network of fire trails and 24.5km of asset protection zones.In 2013-14 Council undertook fire trail upgrade works on the Gwydir Samuel King Oval Trail, Bedford Waipori Trail and Lister Daly Trail, worth $248.000. Seven hazard reduction burns were undertaken totalling 33.94 hectares and three ecological burns. These burns were located in reserves containing Sydney Turpentine Ironbark Forest and Duffy’s Forest which are identified as Endangered Ecological Communities.
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Managing our Bushland We have around 1,100 hectares of bushland and in 2013/14 conducted bush regeneration works in around half. Council has developed a bushland condition rating tool to measure the ongoing condition of the areas actively managed in our bushland reserves. This includes a recovery, weed and threats rating. Site management plans are currently being developed for the 34 bushland reserves that are actively managed by Council, which will help provide information for the bushland condition rating.
bush r e g e n e r at i o n projects
Through the NSW Government’s Linking Landscapes program, a biobanking site was created at Rofe Park, Sheldon Forest and Comenarra Creek Reserve. Annual funding of over $1.6 million dollars is being received for the managing these reserves for biodiversity conservation. Our bushland regeneration program is supported by our 812 passionate Bushcare, Streetcare and Parkcare volunteers at 179 sites. The map shows areas of bushland that are regenerated by both our Bushcare volunteers and Council.
Regenerated by Council Regenerated by Bushcare volunteers
Bushland regenerated by Council and Bushcare volunteers 64 Bluett Memorial Award submission 2013/14
Cycling and s u s ta i n a b l e transport Through the Ku-ring-gai Bicycle Plan, we completed line markings, sign posting and resurfacing for over 3.6km of new cycle ways at Lindfield through to Roseville. Works are currently underway to extend the cycle way by an additional 5.5 kms through Killara and Gordon. During 2014/15 the cycle way will be further extended to Turramurra. Ku-ring-gai Council
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66 Bluett Memorial Award submission 2013/14
Environment I n i t i at i v es
Ku-ring-gai Council
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E n v i r o n m e n t I n i t i at i v es
Over
140,0 00
h av e v i s i t e d our e n v i r o n m e n ta l
Youtube channel 68
Mayor Jennifer Anderson launched Council’s Compost Revolution program for Ku-ring-gai residents at Lindfield East Public School, which has shown great leadership by teaching its students about reducing food waste, composting, worm-farming and growing fruit and veg.
Ku-ring-gai has a vast, beautiful and unique natural environment with over 30% of area covered in bushland. Overall, the area supports 690 fauna species and more than 800 plant species including endangered ecological communities. This diverse natural environment is treasured by our active and passionate community and dedicated staff. Nearly 90% of residents supported the continuation of our Environmental Levy, which is pioneering initiatives and community partnerships to protect and preserve our environment for future generations.
W h at w e a c h i e v e d i n 2 0 1 3 /14 Won the Division C and Overall Category Climate Action Award at the Local Government NSW Excellence in the Environment Awards Climate Wise Communities program Internal training and promotion of a culture of sustainability to staff Secured $2,068,000 in environmental grants Over 3300 residents participated in our environmental programs Over 90 local businesses are receiving tailored sustainability advice 3 50 stingless native bee hives distributed and 70 pool-to-pond conversions Over 140,000 visits to our environmental YouTube channel Diverted 60% of domestic waste from landfill through recycling, compared with the NSW average of 47% Trialled a new program for commercial businesses to convert food waste into green energy products Ku-ring-gai Council
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C r e at i n g a c u lt u r e o f s u s ta i n a b i l i t y Sustainability is at the heart of everything we do and we have created an organisational culture where staff actively reduce their environmental impacts.
Environmentally Sensitive Lands Training
The Ku-ring-gai Green Backs
Council delivers an Environmentally Sensitive Lands staff training program across topics such as Ku-ring-gai ecologically sensitive lands overview; ecologically sensitive lands mapping; environmental risk management; weed identification; threatened species & vegetation community identification; riparian environment, water sensitive urban design and bushfire management for planners and operational staff. To date, this training has been delivered to 629 participants.
The Ku-ring-gai Green Backs are Ku-ring-gai Council’s staff sustainability network, which promotes and facilitates sustainable actions and work practices amongst staff. Their initiatives during 2013-14 included:
In addition to ensuring staff meet their legislative requirements, the training has resulted in on-ground improvements in environmental management, for example rain gardens and stormwater harvesting being incorporated into capital works projects and the development of an ESL checklist for operational staff working close to sensitive areas.
• Biodiversity walk
• A series of lunchtime workshops educating staff on environmental issues including: • Your energy future
• Biodiversity talk
Policy development
• Christmas decorations using recycled materials
Council has recently introduced a Sustainable Event Management Policy, to provide a framework for the integration of sustainability principles and practices into the planning, management, delivery and evaluation of events held in the Ku-ring-gai Local Government Area (LGA). Supporting this Policy is a Sustainable Event Management Plan (for large scale community events) and a Sustainable Event Management Checklist (for internal Council events).
• Staff tree planting day at Ku-ring-gai Creek • Worm farms in staff areas to divert food waste from landfill • Soft plastic recycling collections in staff areas • The purchasing of organic milk, with the added bonus of reduced plastic waste now that containers are 2 litres and not 1 litre • A sustainable celebrations display to encourage staff and the community to reduce their impact over the festive season • Boomerang Bags – reusable shopping bags continue to be placed near all staff exits along with reminders to use the reusable bags instead of plastic bags and to return the bags when finished.
70 Bluett Memorial Award submission 2013/14
In consultation with every team across Council, the 2014-2017 Corporate Sustainability Action Plan was reviewed this year, with implementation of the Plan to commence in July 2014. Through the CRC for Water Sensitive Cities policy- partnership program, CRC researchers have been collaborating with Council to transition its Integrated Water Cycle Management Policy and Strategy into a Water Sensitive Cities Policy and Strategy. A policy development workshop was held in May with researchers from the CRC, representatives from other Sydney councils and the Greater Sydney Local Land Services and a number of Kurin-gai Council staff. Based on the outcomes of this workshop, a draft Water Sensitive Cities Policy has been developed, with development of the Strategy to follow. Actions from the existing Integrated Water Cycle Management Strategy continue to be rolled out.
O u r c l i m at e i s changing and we are adapting Ku-ring-gai is particularly vulnerable to severe weather events such as storms, heat events and bushfires. With over 28km2 of bushland and an estimated 300,000 street trees, these events can be devastating to the community and costly for Council. The severity and frequency of storms, heat events bushfires is increasing as our climate changes so we are implementing our award-winning Climate Change Adaptation Strategy to increase the resilience of Council and the community.
Climate Wise Communities Our Climate Wise Communities program won the Division C and Overall Category Climate Action Award at the Local Government NSW Excellence in the Environment Awards in December 2013. This program delivered 7 community resilience workshops in 2013/14, with 141 participants in total. These workshops have targeted those community sectors deemed to be most vulnerable to extreme weather events, including Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CALD) communities, seniors, aged care providers, residents in high bushfire hazard zones, in-home care providers for seniors living alone and children’s’ services providers. In addition, a workshop was conducted for the North Turramurra Action Group (NTAG), in partnership with the RFS, Police, NPWS and local RFS brigade volunteers, to examine emergency evacuation capacity in North Turramurra. During the workshops participants are actively engaged in a series of activities to assess their vulnerability, identify their strengths and determine priorities actions to strengthen their resilience to extreme weather events. Participants are guided through a series of activities including: mapping local hazards, identifying property vulnerabilities, working through evacuation scenarios, testing plans with ‘what if’ contingency planning cards and sharing local knowledge and experiences.
Above: Local Government NSW Excellence in the Environment Awards in December 2013 Below: Local residents participating in a Climate Wise Communities workshop
Workshop resources including scenario cards, vulnerability assessments and action cards act as triggers to encourage participants to establish clear intentions of follow up actions to improve their resilience at a personal, property and community level. Ku-ring-gai Council
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Enhanced decisionmaking and performance Sustainability data management and reporting system Council utilises the Envizi sustainability data management and reporting system to improve the type of information that staff can use to manage energy and water consumption, and to assist staff to measure the effectiveness of other sustainability programs and initiatives. The system i) automates data entry, ii) generates organisational level reports, iii) generate site level reports, iv) integrate utility meters and private sub-meters, v) reports on carbon, energy, water and waste metrics, vi) defines and tracks KPIs / targets, and vii) flags anomalies in consumption trends. Greenhouse Gas Action Plan.
C o m m u n i t y a n d b u s i n es s pa r t n e r s h i p s Through Council’s ‘Loving Living Ku-ring-gai’ program we deliver a range of environmental initiatives and programs to engage the community and local business on a range of sustainability issues.
Energy Smart In 2013 Ku-ring-gai Council launched the Energy Smart pilot program, testing the use of smart energy devices to enable residents to track their electricity use via their smart phone, tablet or PC. Our desire was to move beyond purely informationbased energy efficiency campaigns and activate the education we provide with information relevant to the participants. Twenty households were involved in the trial and participants were supported with energy efficiency workshops, educational emails and support via Facebook and over the phone. During the three-month project period participants collectively reduced their electricity consumption by 27% compared to the same period in the previous year. Based on the success of the 2013 pilot program, we have recently launched the Energy Smart Saver program, this time with the aim of engaging 200 houses over a one-year period through an innovative online community network, where members engage with one another as they invest in energy efficiency, renewable energy and smart energy devices and take control of their energy use, and reduce their bills and household greenhouse gas emissions.
72 Bluett Memorial Award submission 2013/14
Love Food Hate Waste
In 2013/14 Council secured a NSW EPA grant to deliver a community food waste avoidance program. The behavioural change program aimed to increase residents’ awareness of the environmental impact of food waste and to reduce the amount of edible food going to landfill. A total of 120 Ku-ring-gai residents participated in 4 practical and engaging workshops and an estimated 1200 people engaged with the program via social media channels or at cooking demonstrations held at two community festivals.
Compost Revolution
In 2014, in an effort to further address food waste and reduce waste to landfill, Council introduced the Compost Revolution website for residents. The Compost Revolution is a fun and convenient online platform where residents can learn how to compost or worm-farm with some quick tutorials. By successfully completing the online tutorial, residents qualify for a 25% discount on a worm farm (with worms) or compost bin which will be delivered to their home for free. In just three months we have quadrupled the number of worm farms and compost bins distributed by Council to the community, compared to 2012/2013, with 26 compost bins and 14 worm farms ordered and delivered.
Water Smart
Ku-ring-gai Council has delivered a number of projects to manage urban stormwater run-off in our local area. However, a series of catchment studies has identified that the most effective way to protect our local waterways is to partner with the local community to deliver stormwater treatment measures on both Council and private land. Following the success of last year’s pilot, the Water Smart program has expanded to offer rebates to residents across the entire LGA, to assist them to install a rainwater tank or raingarden on their property, to improve the health of our local creeks and to help the community save water and money. Three raingardens have been installed on residential properties and 21 rebates have been awarded for the installation of rainwater tanks, or connections from tanks to internal domestic water systems (laundries and toilets), with a combined total capacity of 85,000 litres. A total of 111 residents participated in 7 workshops designed to increase their skills and knowledge to confidently make installations.
Smart Units
Council’s Sustainable Apartments Program, Smart Units, has engaged with nine owners’ corporations of residential strata plans. These nine corporations collectively represent 624 residential units. Smart Units has provided eight common area energy audits and reports and nine water/waste audits and reports. As a result of the energy audits, a potential collective annual saving of 1,207,491 kilowatt-hours of electricity or a total of $229,826 within the common areas has been identified, with numerous energy-saving measures recommended for the buildings participating. This represents a potential total collective carbon footprint reduction of 1,204 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions. As part of the program, 103 residents have attended 2 workshops.
Smart Homes
Council’s Smart Homes program is intended to engage the Ku-ring-gai community on the benefits of including sustainable design features in their retrofit, renovation or new-home build. We are trying to make residents aware that sustainable features make your home more comfortable to live in and cost effective to run, in addition to making it more environmentally friendly and in harmony with the natural surroundings of Ku-ring-gai. To initiate engagement on this topic we held a very popular workshop on ‘Building sustainable homes’ for residents. An informative web page has been created, while a comprehensive guide on the opportunities to make your home build or renovation more sustainable is being developed in consultation with Council’s Development and Regulation Department. Ku-ring-gai Council
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WildThings Ku-ring-gai Council has pioneered an innovative program, WildThings, which has connected over 450 people with urban wildlife and improved our local environment.
Native beehives
Bees are essential members of our ecological communities as they pollinate our food crops. However, worldwide bee communities are under threat and bee numbers are decreasing. Tetragonula Carbonaria is a stingless bee that is native to Sydney. We have distributed over 350 stingless native beehives to Ku-ring-gai residents. In May 2014 we launched Beecam, a project that is completely unique in Australia. It involves placing cameras at the entrance of native bee hives and monitoring activity of the native bees in real time. Beecam is accessible to the public via the WildThings website at www.wildthings.org.au. In 2013 WildThings commissioned 60 solitary bee hives, to distribute to Ku-ring-gai residents. The hives provide habitat for a large number of the over 160 solitary bee species that live in Sydney, a relatively unknown group of insects that are important pollinators and an essential component of Ku-ring-gai’s biodiversity.
Pool to Pond
After their children grow up and leave home, many Ku-ring-gai residents have a backyard pool they maintain but no longer use. We have helped over 70 local residents convert their unwanted pools into easy-to-maintain ponds, which are an eco-friendly, cost-effective alternative that promotes biodiversity. Switching off the pool pump and filter saves residents up to $1000 a year on their electricity bill, reduces toxic chemical use and their new pond provides a source of water for garden irrigation. We supply native fish, aquatic plants and technical advice for the conversion. 74 Bluett Memorial Award submission 2013/14
Community gardens
Council supports two community gardens, at Turramurra and West Pymble, with over 70 members. In the past year the Turramurra community garden members have terraced their site to assist with drainage and have built extensive and impressive stone walls to delineate the garden, and built a greenhouse (funded through the Environmental Levy small grants scheme) to grow seedlings for their own use and for sale to the community. They collect vegetative waste from local shops, including coffee grounds and fruit vegetables, for garden compost. The West Pymble community garden is currently undergoing a refurbishment to align it more closely with the successful Turramurra model. This will entail the development of a number of individual plots which at the moment are communal.
wildthings program
P o o ls t o ponds converted
N at i v e S t i n g l es s B e e h i v es distributed
LEGEND Pool to Pond conversion Native beehive locations
Ku-ring-gai Wild Things program: Native Stingless Beehive (Tetragonula carbonaria) and Pools to Ponds locations
8 1 2 v o lu n t e e r s wo r k i n g to improve o u r lo c a l
bushland
Artificial wetland at North Turramurra The 500sqm wetland was created on the site of the existing water course and is located north of the former North Turramurra landfill site next to the National Park, which has been reclaimed, capped and stabilised. The wetland includes the third green and fourth tee which golfers access by crossing the wetland via timber bridges. It has been extensively landscaped and planted with large numbers of aquatic and land-based native plants. Controlled flows release water from the wetland into the existing creek and then on to Cowan Creek.
Once the course is opened to the public at the end of this year the wetland will be accessible via a fire trail at the end of Curagul Road. Since its completion in May 2014, the wetland is rapidly becoming home to increasing numbers of wildlife. Recent surveys have noted 31 species of birds, including ducks, eagles, powerful owls, parrots, finches and blue fairy wrens. Unusual native animals including swamp wallabies, echidnas, lace monitors, pythons and green tree snakes have been observed, as well as more common ones such as possums, micro bats and frogs. Ku-ring-gai Council
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Food waste to green energy products A new project is helping local businesses convert food waste into garden fertiliser and methane for power generation. Thirty-five Ku-ring-gai businesses are currently enrolled in the trial, which began in April 2014 and is funded by a grant from the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA). Businesses range from delicatessens and bakeries through to fruit shops, cafes and restaurants. The trial is testing the feasibility of using specially marked 120 litres bin delivered free of charge to participating businesses. Unwanted food is placed in the bin which is then collected twice weekly. The collected waste is sent to the EarthPower alternative waste treatment facility at Camellia, where it is turned into garden fertiliser and ‘green energy’, using methane to produce electricity. The trial will continue until August 2014, resulting in a financial feasibility study to assess whether the project can become a permanent service to local businesses. Businesses participating in the trial reported they had cut general food waste by up to 40% and as a result, nearly half of them have been able to reduce the frequency of commercial waste collections.
Small grants for community environment projects
Our environmental levy funds a small grants scheme, which provides money to community groups or individuals to complete projects that benefit our natural environment. During 2013-14 we gave out 16 grants valued at over $50,278 for works that included weed removal at a number of environmentally sensitive sites, wildlife education and a weed awareness display/campaign. Since the scheme’s inception in 2006, we have funded 158 environment projects worth $557,000.
Julie Thiele and Callum Parsonage from Turramurra Scout Group receiving their small grants scheme cheque with Mayor Jennifer Anderson
Eco-events Running environmental events is a great way to connect with the community and to facilitate behavioural change in our community. In addition to the events delivered through our ‘Smart’ programs, in 2013/14 we ran a series an environmental event series which attracted over 1,000 residents. This included: • A candle-lit sustainable feast at a local Better Business Partnership restaurant, for Earth Hour, with 65 people attending in two sittings • National Tree Planting Day at Jubes Mountain Bike Park, attracting over 100 residents who planted 1,500 tube stock
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• Spring veggie garden and wildlife-friendly garden workshop workshops • Natural green cleaning workshop and natural first aid workshops • Tick protection talk • Night spotlight walk • Native fauna talks, including on the bandicoot, native stingless bee and grey-headed flying-fox • Botanical digital photography workshop • No Impact Man movie screening • Gondwana rainforest talk
Personalised sustainability advice Through our Greenstyle Program, we visit residents at their home to provide free, personalised home sustainability and garden advice. After the visit, residents are given a range of recommendations to save energy and water and reduce waste in their homes, as well as improve biodiversity in their backyard. These recommendations can range from behavioural changes to purchasing environmental products such as rainwater tanks. We encourage residents to use our Climate Clever Shop, a website platform with reliable information on a range of quality discounted solar hot water, rainwater tank, heat pumps and solar PV products, all available from local suppliers.
Our residents caring for the environment
We have one of the largest Bushcare and Streetcare programs in NSW with 812 volunteers working to improve our local bushland, parks and streets at 179 sites across the Ku-ring-gai LGA. See the map for the locations on page 64.
Community outreach
Utilising Council’s Loving Living Ku-ring-gai (LLK) sustainability brand, we are making an effort to reach a broader audience in Ku-ring-gai. The brand has had excellent traction with the community and has been effective in creating recognition for Council’s environmental and sustainability programs, particularly those funded by Council’s Environmental Levy. Under the LLK brand, the we have created a monthly sustainability e-news (1662 subscribers), printed What’s On calendar of environmental and sustainability of events which is distributed three times a year to 999 residents, a LLK Facebook page which has 1968 followers and a LLK Twitter which has 92 followers. Environmental and sustainability videos from the section are shared on Envirotube which has now had more than 140,000 unique visits, equating to 1,000 unique visits per month. As part of efforts to engage a wider, more mainstream audience, the environment and sustainability team now hosts two bus tours a year for new residents, to showcase our environmental sites and programs.
Better Business Partnership In 2013/14 the Better Business Partnership (BBP) program was successful in obtaining a grant of $246,000 under the Waste Less Recycle More program, which will shift the focus of the program to business waste management. There are still over 90 active Ku-ring-gai businesses in the program that continue to receive tailored advice to improve their sustainability performance. Recently the BBP program introduced the Energy, Water and Waste Saver Service, which provides more specialised assistance to businesses, by benchmarking their energy, water and waste performance and identifying opportunities for efficiency improvements. Recruitment of new businesses to the program is also continuing, via face-to-face visits and a workshop series, which attempts to grow the skill base of the businesses in the four Council partner areas.
Below Left to right: Earth Hour candle-lit dinner and some of the local business owners participating in the Better Business Partnership
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Senior event at Ku-ring-gai Wildflower Garden 80 Bluett Memorial Award submission 2013/14
H e a lt h a n d community s e r v i c es
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H e a lt h a n d c o m m u n i t y s e r v i c es
over
$ 1 3 1, 8 3 4
in
grants
given to help fund
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community group projects
Ku-ring-gai Council plays a vital role in supporting all members of our community by offering a wide selection of services for all ages - from young children, teens and families to older residents. We also provide support to residents who require specialised services such as new migrants, people with disabilities and parents with teenagers. The demographics of our community are changing, with nearly 25% from non-English speaking backgrounds and a higher than average number of residents aged over 60 and under 19 years. (Source: NSW Office of Local Government comparative data 2012-13)
82 Bluett Memorial Award submission 2013/14
W h at w e a c h i e v e d i n 2 0 1 3 /14 Reopened the upgraded Gordon youth centre as the AWOL Youth Hub Increased the range of forums for parents of teens Offered various activities and workshops for 12-18 year old residents H osted the Fitz Band Competition for young residents for a 22nd consecutive year H osted the Ku-ring-gai’s Got Talent contest in conjunction with local Rotary clubs Widened our fitness and recreation programs for seniors H ighlighted the needs of the disabled in our community J ointly hosted a month-long Seniors Festival with other community groups and organisations Immunised 389 children through our free monthly immunisation service P rovided high quality care for over 244 children with our Family Day Care service Increased the range of activities and services to migrants G ave over $131,834 in grants to help fund 55 community group projects AWOL Youth Hub next to Ku-ring-gai Library at Gordon Ku-ring-gai Council
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Y o u t h s e r v i c es Young people aged under 19 years make up 27.9% of Ku-ring-gai’s total population compared with the NSW average of 24%. We provide a variety of services for this dynamic age group and continue to find new ways to connect, engage and listen to our younger residents.
Youth centres
Council operates three successful youth centres in Gordon, St Ives and Turramurra where local teenagers are always welcome to drop in for a chat, study or just hang out. We also operate one of the most comprehensive youth programs in Sydney out of these centres. AWOL Youth Hub at Gordon Formerly the Gordon youth centre, the AWOL Youth Hub was reopened in June 2014 after a six-month renovation and refit. The refurbished youth centre has benefited not only from a name change but an upgrade valued at $30,000. This includes new furnishings, IT equipment and other renovations. Many of the furnishings have been made and supplied by the volunteers of the Community Shed at St Ives Showground. AWOL Youth Hub is located next to the Gordon Library at 799 Pacific Highway and offers free computer access and wi-fi, café facilities and creative spaces where young people can socialise or study. The centre is open Mondays to Fridays between 3:30pm and 6:30pm, staffed by professional youth workers. Youth workshops A series of classes was offered during 2013-14 to help increase self-esteem in young people. Examples of popular classes we ran include: - Slam Skate & Scooter Comp - Eclectic Art Class - Recording and Production Workshop - Shorefest Shootout Competition - Shorefest 2014 - Discobility - David Taylor Music Gig - Harjot RnB Gig 84 Bluett Memorial Award submission 2013/14
Ku-ring-gai’s Got Talent
Ku-ring-gai’s Got Talent (KGT) was a talent contest that aimed to showcase and uncover the amazing performance skills that exist amongst young people in the local community. The contest was coordinated by Ku-ring-gai Council in partnership with Rotary Club of Turramurra, Rotary Club of St Ives and the Youth & Enterprise Legal Centre. Contestants were given the opportunity to perform live in front of entertainment industry professionals and judges who provided tips and valuable industry advice. Judges included Ian ‘Dicko’ Dickson from 2UE and Lynda Wehipeihana from LMF Music, Christina Constani, Choregrapher, creator and owner of Dance to the Limit, David Hatzimarkos, talent scout at AIM Australian Institute of Music and Matt Barlett, Professional Musician and Guitar Mentor. KGT attracted a wide selection of performers including singers, dancers, magicians and musicians. In total there were 35 acts, 90 performers and over 300 audience members involved in the 3 Heats and Grand Finale.
Ku-ring-gai Youth Forum
Hornsby Ku-ring-gai Youth Network (along with other partners and financial sponsors) organised the Youth Forum. The objectives of the forum were; • To bring young people together to discuss issues of mental health, resilience and leadership in a safe environment. • To understand the importance of looking after your own mental health and explore ways in which this can be achieved. • To normalise the issue of mental illness amongst young people and the wider community. • To gain insight into service provision gaps in the school system and the wider community. • To receive feedback on how schools and communities can better work to engage young people on the issue of mental health. • To educate teachers, carers and parents about the key drivers of mental health issues amongst young people and how to assist.
Celebrated its 22nd year anniversary last year and offers local up-and-coming bands the chance to have their music heard and played on stage to big crowds.
A total of 350 students, 27 schools and 41 teachers attended the forum held at Knox Grammar School in Wahroonga. A highlight of the day was the ‘Take It Back’ session, in which students gathered in their school groups to discuss how they can introduce positive mental health outcomes into their school.
Fitz recording studio
Parent Forums
Annual Fitz band competition
We allow young music artists to record their songs/tracks at our state-of-the-art production studio.
School holiday program
Successful program that hosts a variety of fun activities and excursions including ice skating, skateboarding and Luna Park.
Youth Support Programs
Provide a safe space at our three youth centres for young adults to approach us with issues, where we can then advocate on their behalf or refer them to appropriate services.
We provide a very successful series of Parent Forums for parents connecting them to issues facing teenage children. Last year we held five parent forums to provide guidance, create a dialogue, and provide a powerful support network for parents who are experiencing problems. Topics for forums held during 2013-14 were Help! I’m a parent of a teenager; Problematic Internet Use; Binge Drinking and Young People; Drugs and Alcohol; Youth Suicide and Youth Depression.
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K u - r i n g - g a i ’ s G o t Ta l e n t acts, performers
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300
& over audience members
Ku-ring-gai’s Got Talent finalists Ku-ring-gai Council
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C h i l d r e n ’ s s e r v i c es We’re dedicated to keeping the younger members of our population happy. We provide an extensive variety of community services supportive of young families and facilities that are children and infant friendly. Families are flocking to Ku-ring-gai as a fantastic place to raise children, thanks to our greenbelt suburbs that embrace community spirit. This means that 28% of our population is currently 19 years or under. As a result we offer a wide selection of child care and school holiday services and health services. Our parks and playgrounds encourage children to run, play, climb and explore while an array of fun and educational activities are on offer to keep young minds and bodies active.
School holiday activities
Many working families in Ku-ring-gai rely on safe, affordable and quality care for their children during school holiday periods. In recognition of this need Ku-ring-gai Council offers an extensive range of school holiday activities. From toddlers to young teens we have fun and educational activities to suit every interest ranging from art, sport, nature and more.
Vacation Care
A full-day care service offers a program full of fun arts, sports, excursions and educational experiences. Spaces for this popular program are usually filled within the first few days after bookings open.
Active Kids
A popular full-day sports program encourages primary schoolers to get active, have fun and meet new friends, while developing important skills in team work and leadership. There was a 40% increase in the participation rate in this program during 2013-14 compared with the previous year.
86 Bluett Memorial Award submission 2013/14
Art classes
Ku-ring-gai Art Centre offers a stimulating program for young artists, encouraging children to tap into their imagination to create their own unique works of art. Program includes pottery, beaded jewellery, crafty gift cards, mask making and more.
Library
Offers a fantastic school program across our four library branches full of fun and educational activities.
Bushkids
School holiday environmental activities for kids and toddlers who love nature, all held at Ku-ring-gai’s Wildflower Garden.
Family Day Care
Operating for over 30 years, Ku-ring-gai Council’s Family Day Care service is responsible for providing high quality child care in a home environment.
There are over 244 children currently being provided with care, with an average age of 12-18 months. Our Family Day Care service provides support to registered educators, organising regular play sessions, providing an immunisation service, giving support to parents, and even driving a bus. The staff at our Family Day Care service also all hold a bus licence as they transport educators and children to playgroup sessions in St Ives.
Immunisation
We have been providing a free immunisation service to our local community for over 50 years. We employ trained immunisation staff to administer vaccines on the third Wednesday of every month, protecting children from diseases such as tetanus, whooping cough and measles. Last year alone we immunised a total of 389 children.
S e n i o r s ’ s e r v i c es With 23.1% of our population aged 60 years plus, compared with the NSW average of 18%, our seniors make up a very important part of our community. As a result we have plenty of activities, events and services to keep older residents active and fulfilled. We have finalised an Ageing Strategy to help us plan for the needs, interests and aspirations of older people living in Ku-ring-gai. This strategy is based on findings from feedback we received from the wider community, seniors and service providers, which we gathered through consultation workshops and surveys. The strategy will be considered by the Council in August 2014.
Seniors in Action
This offers a wide variety of activities for Ku-ring-gai residents over 55 years of age including educational experiences, guided tours, half-day or full-day tours, coach trips and overnight explorations to locations throughout Sydney and beyond. During 2013-14 they offered excursions to: • Berowra Waters • Parliament House • Guide Dogs • Town Hall • Blackheath Rhododendron Gardens • Fox Studio Gourmet Markets • The Big Kitchen • Kimbriki
Vietnamese and Japanese cuisine and restaurant visits. We also hosted seminars on topics including: • Tax help & estate planning • Extreme weather preparation around your home • Diabetes management • Social media • How to read food labels • Assertive Communication • Safe driving Two forums were also held; the Grandparents Forum and the Hearing Forum.
Seniors Festival
386 seniors attended 10 events run by Council during the Seniors Festival in March 2014. This included over 100 seniors at the Mayoral Awards & concert held at Turramurra Uniting Church. Five individuals and one community group received certificates of appreciation for their service to the community. The audience was then treated to an enjoyable performance by the Ku-ring-gai Philharmonic Orchestra.
Helping seniors stay fit
The Fallproof classes being run in Gordon and Lindfield continue to be booked out with 45 seniors attending the 10 week series of classes. These classes are a very important tool in assisting seniors stay active and independent in the community for as long as possible.
• Morpeth
A health seminar on Macular Degeneration was held in February with 36 seniors attending. Macular degeneration is the leading cause of blindness and major vision loss in Australia and accounts for up to 50% of all blindness. Other seminars were held on dementia awareness and keeping your brain healthy, hosted by Alzheimers Australia.
• The Rocks and Sydney Observatory
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• Concord – Kokoda Walkway • Alexandria and Kensington • Movies at Macquarie and Cremorne • Kurrajong Radio Museum
Other activities offered were cooking demonstrations in Spanish,
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Help for migrants We provide a helping hand to settle newly arrived migrants, refugee and humanitarian entrants through a range of services. During 2013-14 we hosted a range of services and activities specifically aimed at new migrants. We partnered with the Community Migrant Resource Centre (CMRC) to introduce a range of services and events targeted towards Ku-ring-gai residents from Chinese and Korean backgrounds. This includes the introduction of a whole range of services and classes including English conversation classes, children’s Chinese language classes, fitness classes as well as an cultural events such as celebrating the Chinese Moon Festival. The partnership was formed to provide assistance and increase visibility to this growing segment in our community, with 2011 Australian Bureau of Statistics data indicating that 11.9% of Ku-ring-gai residents had Chinese ancestry and 2.4% had Korean ancestry.
International Women’s Day 88 Bluett Memorial Award submission 2013/14
Classes and events that were organised in partnership by CRMC this past year include: Family Fun Day and Moon Festival A family event that included Chinese and Korean performances, traditional games and a delicious free lunch. International Women’s Day Attendees were treated to inspiring speeches, African drumming performances, the Chinese Cha Cha, a zumba dance workshop and free pampering make up sessions. Talk! Share! Learn! Group Regular classes that encourage migrants to make friends while practising their English. Chinese Class for Kids Language classes for children interested in learning Chinese. Colourful Fitness Class A free fitness class that combines yoga, balancing, stretching, dancing and more.
At Home in Australia Through one of our community grants, we helped fund At Home in Australia, a book written by 33 students who tell their story about migrating to Australia. At Home in Australia challenged migrants to write and converse using the English language and document their unique and often inspiring stories. The book also acted as a useful teaching aid during classes, as volunteer teachers prepared lesson material around the project and to help students develop their stories. Copies of the book are available at Ku-ring-gai Council Library branches in Gordon, Lindfield, St Ives and Turramurra. Interpreter services Key publications such as the Ku-ring-gai Update resident newsletter carry details of interpreter services available via the Council. The Council also has a dedicated migrant worker from a non-English speaking background as well as key staff to provide interpreter services on an as-needs basis.
D i s a b i l i t y s e r v i c es Providing events and activities for the disabled in Ku-ringgai is a priority for our Council, as is long-term planning for their needs.
Disability Action Plan
During 2013-14 the Council reviewed and rewrote its Disability Action Plan to ensure that all Council buildings and facilities are accessible in the future. The plan covers capital works such as footpaths, playgrounds and new buildings through to providing information that is accessible via our website and customer service centre.
Fresh Tracks project
The Council supported a partnership with the Fresh Tracks Foundation, NSW Health and the HARTS driving school to create a rehabilitation program for young acquired brain injury patients. Fresh Tracks improves coordination, balance and mood by providing an exercise program using fixed bikes. The program was officially launched in May 2014 at the HARTS driving school in St Ives.
International Day of People with a Disability
In conjunction with the South Turramurra Uniting Church, we marked this anniversary with a concert featuring students with a disability from five schools in Ku-ring-gai. The aim of the concert was to showcase young performers and highlight the fact that they are defined by their ability to perform, not their disability. The concert was attended by over 100 people.
Discobility
The youth services team hosted a dance party for young residents with a disability during 2013-2014, with around 100 attending.
Outreach services
The Council provides referral and outreach services to disabled residents on an ongoing basis.
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Ku-ring-gai Community Grants Ku-ring-gai Community Grants program provided $131,834 in grants last year which allowed 55 local community groups the chance to get their projects off the ground. This program aims to increase the range and to improve the quality of community services in Ku-ring-gai, and to inspire artistic and cultural pursuits. Local organisations can more easily develop new and innovative programs with funding support from Council grants. When setting up the grants program, Council identified areas in which we believed needed improvement in Ku-ring-gai and set up categories for groups to apply around these which included small equipment, community development programs and arts and cultural programs. We also negotiated a sponsorship agreement with Turramurra and Lindfield Community Bank branches resulting in a successful community capacity building program, which empowered local community groups to make real change in their chosen field, as well as encouraging residents to participate in and to engage with their community. Successful applicants included graffiti removal projects, acquiring materials for a new arts program, funding for teaching aids to assist with English language classes and Aboriginal cultural awareness projects for children.
90 Bluett Memorial Award submission 2013/14
C a pa c i t y b u i l d i n g wo r k s h o p s f o r community groups To further empower groups to action change within their community, we ran a series of workshops to assist the long-term sustainability of local organisations and promote cross-sector collaboration. Topics that were covered: Media & Public Relations Provided participants with a basic understanding of media management and public relations skills and how to use these skills effectively to promote their organisation. Community Asset Building This workshop identified community assets, activities and benefits and ways to strengthen them, heighten social impact and support future growth. Effective Advocacy and Lobbying Guided groups through how to engage in the political process and create successful campaigns to influence public opinion.
D o g s D ay O u t Over 2500 dog-owners and 500 dogs attended the Dogs Day Out event at St Ives Showground in March 2014. There were 35 stall holders present and these included local veterinary surgeries, dog grooming, dog accessory providers, pet food product suppliers, boarding kennels, animal rescue organisations, breed clubs and dog training clubs. The educational message at the event was “update your pet’s details” to prompt owners to check and register their pets. Animal behaviour experts were also on hand to assist residents with queries on training, barking dogs, aggressive dogs, etc. On the day, dogs competed in many activities including doggie races; fetch the paper, fancy dress, so you think your dog’s got talent and a dog/owner look-alike competition. Entry to the competitions were by gold coin donation which resulted in over $300 being donated to Guide Dogs NSW.
inaugural ‘Ku-rin
c r e at i n g a h a pp i e r a n d h e a lt h i e r K u - r i n g - g a i Mental health
Sports and fitness
Health and wellbeing
• Youth workshops and programs aimed at building confidence and self-esteem
• We maintain and manage 71 tennis courts and 51 sports fields in Ku-ring-gai, with over 36,000 people from 37 sports clubs use our sportsfields
• Our sustainability team provide regular workshops promoting healthier and more sustainable lifestyle choices
• Youth support and outreach program, which provides one-onone support for teenagers that are experiencing issues • Regular parent forums which help parents to better understand issues facing their teenage children • Regular seniors’ seminars that address a range of issues facing seniors including social isolation, health issues and building strength.
• Active Ku-ring-gai, which aims to encourage people of all ages and fitness levels to participate in fun physical activity. Activities include yoga, tai chi, tennis, walking groups and more
• We provide a free immunisation service for young children • We offered two free child safety checks for parents, where we arrange child restraints and booster seats to be checked for correct fit by a Roads and Maritime Services authorised fitter.
• Functional fitness for seniors which improves strength, mobility, balance and coordination • Active Kids aims to encourage primary school-aged children to get active, have fun and meet new friends, while developing important skills in team work and leadership.
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C o r p o r at e a n d governance Ku-ring-gai Council
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C o r p o r at e a n d g o v e r n a n c e :
r at es r es t r u c t u r e
providing
$36
million over
20 years
for asset r e n e wa l 94 Bluett Memorial Award submission 2013/14
Director of Community Services Janice Bevan received the LG NSW Women in Local Government Award in 2013 Councillor Elaine Malicki also received a high commendation in the same award
We strive to make Ku-ring-gai Council the best organisation it can be so we can achieve the community’s vision and aspirations. Integrated corporate planning and consultation underpin everything we do, and ensure we are making the right decisions on behalf of our community. Our sound financial and asset management means our service delivery is sustainable for the future and our commitment to staff health and wellbeing creates a safe and productive work environment to deliver those services.
W h at w e a c h i e v e d i n 2 0 1 3 /14 Completed rates restructure providing $36 million over 20 years for asset renewal ssessed in top 16 councils of NSW in TCorp A review of financial sustainability Continued implementing the Asset Management Strategy Infrastructure levy approved by IPART in June 2014 as a permanent part of the rating structure Integrated the Community Strategic Plan, Xxxxx.
Delivery Program and Operational Plan, Long Term Financial Plan and Asset Management Strategy in consultation with 4,500 people
Xxxxx
Implemented recommendations from 2012 service review by external consultants Morrison and Low Won a Silver Award in the Australasian Reporting Awards for the 2012-2013 Annual Report Saved $1 million in workers compensation premiums since 2012 through the Safestart program Two Women in Local Government Awards Reduced legal costs by over $300,000 Implemented successful Health and Wellbeing Programs for staff
Wahroonga local resident by JLorschy, 2013 Capture Ku-ring-gai Photo Competition Ku-ring-gai Council
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S u s ta i n i n g o u r assets
Our future is f i n a n c i a l ly s o u n d
Our assets are vital in delivering our community services.
Ku-ring-gai Council was assessed as being in a ‘sound’ financial position with a ‘neutral’ outlook for the future in the NSW Treasury Corporation’s ( TCorp’s) Financial Sustainability of the NSW Local Government Section – April 2013.
In 2013 Ku-ring-gai Council adopted an impressive Asset Management Strategy that integrates with other strategic, financial and delivery plans. This ensures the strategy is adequately funded and maintenance and upgrades are scheduled into annual work programs. To develop the strategy, we conducted a complete audit of our assets and consulted closely with the community. The audit helped us to determine the value, condition and remaining life of all infrastructure assets and found we had an annual funding gap of $5.6 million. The consultation identified what assets were most important to our community and if they would support a levy to sustain them. Roads, footpaths and drainage are our community’s highest priorities and over 80% supported a levy. We successfully applied to IPART to continue the infrastructure levy in perpetuity and IPART granted this application in June 2014. This will provide an extra $2.6 million every year from 201415 to upgrade our roads. A rates restructure has also provided an extra $36 million over 20 years for asset renewal and improved operating efficiencies have diverted $18 million over 10 years. We are well on the way to closing the funding gap and having sustainable assets that provide improved service delivery now and into the future.
Legal costs slashed Ku-ring-gai Council continued to reduce its legal costs during the 2013-14 financial year, down to $502,000 from $863,000 the previous year. It has also continued to focus on mediation as a means of resolving disputes with applicants, with a 60% reduction in appeals compared with the previous year lodged in the Land & Environment Court during 2013-14.
This puts us in the top 16 councils in NSW and is the result of prudent and innovative financial management over many years. This is a significant turnaround considering in 2000 we were on the Department of Local Government’s financial watch list. Council’s overall guiding principle is to maintain a healthy financial position. This is underpinned by a sound income base and commitment to control and delivery of services, facilities and infrastructure demanded by the community in an effective and efficient manner. Council’s Long Term Financial Plan is reviewed each year and focuses on funding capital works and upgrade and renewal of our infrastructure assets to meet community expectations. In 2013/14 we: • Completed the implementation of the rates restructure, which will provide $36 million over 20 years for asset renewal. The rates restructure was made in response to our growing population. It recognised that land value did not necessarily correlate with people’s capacity to pay and unit dwellers use Council facilities just as much as owners of large properties. This has resulted in a fairer distribution of the rates burden and extra funding to improve our infrastructure. • Redirected approximately $18 million of savings from operations over the next 10 years during the annual budgeting process towards expenditure on renewal of infrastructure assets. • Achieved an operating surplus which has fully funded the depreciation of Council’s assets. • Rationalised our records storage system to comply with state legislation and free up badly needed storage space • Funded the acquisition of a new administration building via a dynamic capital strategy. • Successfully applied for permanency of the Infrastructure Levy, which will be used entirely to fund Council’s road works.
96 Bluett Memorial Award submission 2013/14
All of these initiatives have ensured a sustainable and secure financial future for Ku-ring-gai Council and the community it serves. Financial strength and planning The Council continues to refine and strengthen its Long Term Financial Plan by fully integrating it with the Asset Management Plans & Strategy. The emphasis is on providing additional funding for infrastructure and major capital works. Ku-ring-gai’s strong financial position was further underlined during the 2013-14 financial year. Working capital increased to $4.6 million in 2013-14 and a strong investment performance achieved with $3.9 million in interest and investment revenue against a budget of $3.8 million. The Council’s investment portfolio outperformed the benchmark for the majority of the year. Another operating surplus was achieved during 2013-14 – the eighth consecutive surplus. A Quarterly Budget Review System and associated training for managers was introduced, allowing them to record, review and report on budget variations on a quarterly basis. Financial reporting systems were further improved with the implementation of monthly budget reporting to managers and directors. More enhancements in financial reporting are in progress and will be implemented in the coming financial year. Infrastructure levy approved The Council successfully applied to IPART for a permanent continuation of its infrastructure levy which was granted in June 2014. The funds generated from the levy will be used to consolidate and widen Ku-ring-gai’s road construction program and will generate around $2 million in extra funding for roads each financial year. Records storage program The Council implemented a Records Preservation and Disposal Program over the past four years which was completed last year. The program has involved extensive appraisal of all Council records and appropriate storage (whether physical or online) to ensure the Council is meeting its obligations fully under state records legislation. The result is all Council records have now been comprehensively sorted and stored and extra workspace has been freed for staff and document storage.
I n t e g r at e d p l a n n i n g a n d r e p o r t i n g In 2009 Ku-ring-gai Council was one of the first groups of NSW councils to adopt a Community Strategic Plan (CSP) under the new Integrated Planning and Reporting legislation. That plan was substantially informed by the ground breaking Sustainability Vision Report prepared in 2008. That report was prepared from a comprehensive visioning process involving intergenerational workshops with residents aged 9-99 years of age. The Community Strategic Plan 2030 was complemented by a four-year Delivery Program, one year Operational Plan and corporate governance initiatives previously implemented by Ku-ring-gai Council. In particular, it established a Long Term Financial Plan, asset management policy and corporate performance reporting system. In 2013/14 we reviewed our CSP in line with the new Integrated Planning and Reporting Guidelines. The review’s key objectives were to: • Ensure the plan reflected the changes that had taken place in community thinking, needs and expectations over past years. • Express the community’s long-term aspirations and priorities in a contemporary manner.
• Documenting Ku-ring-gai – The review provided an opportunity to take stock of and document the changes taking place in the area as well as broader external influences and government policy change. • Aligning the plans with community priorities – The plans more closely align with community priorities including statements encapsulating the sentiments of the community now and into the future and across generations. Issues and priorities are grouped under six themes, which provide the foundation from which the four-year Delivery Program and one-year Operational Plan were developed. • Clear roadmap to delivery – The new plans provide a clear integration between the Community Strategic Plan’s policy statements through to resourcing and funding options detailed in the resourcing strategy and finally critical actions, tasks, projects and services detailed in the Delivery Program and Operational Plan. This provides the community and Council with a clear roadmap for the delivery of priorities. Key local plans and policies are also integrated with the documents with implementation actions incorporated into the plans.
S i lv e r Awa r d f o r 2012 - 2013 Annual Report The Council is continuously improving its reporting processes so residents, stakeholders and the wider community can obtain accurate information about Ku-ring-gai and the organisation is able to make informed decisions about its future. In June 2014 Ku-ring-gai received a Silver Award from Australasian Reporting Awards for the high standard of its 2012-2013 Annual Report. The annual report, which was compiled and produced inhouse, was recognised for the ‘quality coverage’ of Council’s performance and achievements during the 2012-2013 financial year. The Awards, which are open to all public and private industry sectors, provide an opportunity for organisations to benchmark their reports against the ARA guidelines, based on world best practice for preparing reports.
• Structure all integrated plans to clearly show how Council would deliver those aspirations and priorities. The resultant suite of plans, adopted by Council in June 2013, have exceeded all expectations and now provide a platform from which Council can translate community aspirations and priorities into reality. Key achievements of the process were: • Listening to the community – We reviewed consultation from the previous four years with residents, local groups and organisations, businesses, agencies, state government and regional partners around a broad range of social, environmental, economic and civic leadership areas affecting the whole of Ku-ring-gai. We also ran community ward summits in 2013 to test the issues, challenges and aspirations were still relevant. In total we consulted over 4,500 people.
Ku-ring-gai Council
97
C r e at i n g a h e a lt h y a n d h a pp y wo r k p l a c e Ku-ring-gai Council values its staff and recognises the importance and benefits of creating a happy and healthy workplace. We have an ongoing Health and Wellbeing Program that aims to: • Lift employee morale • Reduce absenteeism and sick leave • Reduce employee turnover • Reduce workplace accidents and improve safety • Encourage staff networking and communication • Improve staff productivity. As part of the program we delivered a great range of benefits for our staff in 2013/14: • A health and wellbeing rebate for staff to promote physical activity and psychological wellbeing across a range of beneficial activities such as gym memberships, quit smoking programs and exercise classes. • Discounted local gym memberships at no cost to Council, Monthly Lunchtime Seminars with guest speakers or activities during lunch times to encourage learning opportunities and staff networking. Seminar topics are picked by staff through a survey each year and included bushwalks, movie screenings, vegetarian cooking, reflexology and meditation. • Organised lunchtime exercise classes including yoga, tai chi and boxing paid for by Council staff and a corporate Weight Watchers program. • Held two health and wellbeing fairs attended by over 250 staff that provide information on healthy food choices and portion sizes, stretching and core strength opportunities, massage and stress relief and biometric measurement. The health fairs provide an opportunity for staff to review their health and wellbeing choices and information upon which they can act.
98 Bluett Memorial Award submission 2013/14
Safestart is a behavioural change program that all the Council’s operational and outdoor staff participate in. Its focus is on selfawareness techniques for avoiding injury through rushing and complacency for example. Staff attend a 10-hour course with face-to-face training and receive follow-up reinforcement through take-home info packs and DVDs. Women in Local Government Awards The Council’s Director of Community Services Janice Bevan received the LG NSW Women in Local Government Award in 2013 for her services. Councillor Elaine Malicki also received a high commendation in the same award. Employee Opinion Survey During March/April 2014 the Council conducted an employee survey through an independent consultant, asking for staff’s opinion on how well Council is performing in relation to what they thought was important. The purpose of the survey was to identify the current culture and areas for improvement, promote open communication and identify actionable changes. The results of the survey distributed to staff in June 2014 showed that while employees were generally content with their jobs and the teams they were in, there needed to be greater cooperation and communication between teams across Council. Senior management are now developing a program to address the survey’s findings.
• Free skin cancer checks were given to operational staff that spend over 50% of their time outdoors.
Senior Management Training Program As part of its commitment to continuous improvement, senior staff are undergoing the Colloqium training program, which is based on 360 degree feedback, self-awareness and coaching by an experienced business mentor.
Safestart Program The Safestart program was introduced in 2012 and since then, the Council has reduced the occurrence of workplace incidents and injuries by 70% and the cost of its workers compensation insurance by around $1 million.
The intention of the program is to stimulate strategic and lateral thinking among managers and encourage them to promote the same qualities in their staff. The program commenced in April and form part a continuous improvement program for all staff over the next few years.
New Council administration building
N e w a d m i n i s t r at i o n b u i l d i n g p u r c h a s e sites to repay loans for the site and is currently working through this process
Ku-ring-gai Council purchased the building next door to our current Council Chambers in Gordon for $22 million in December 2012 to house our office staff.
Review of Council also recognised our current building as an unsuitable long-term option as Ku-ring-gai's main administration centre.
The current administration building is completely run down and a financial assessment revealed it would be more financially viable to purchase a new building rather than renovating the current one. The Department of Local Government’s 2009 Best Practice
For the sale to go through:
• We wrote a detailed capital expenditure review for the Division of Local Government to review.
• We conducted a thorough accommodation needs study in consultation with staff
We are currently in the process of renovating the new building to suit our business needs and staff will relocate in 2015.
• Council considered the possible sale and reclassification of 23 Ku-ring-gai Council
99
Sydney’s green heart Projects completed by 30 June 2014
Capital Works Nature of project
Date completed
Total cost ($000) % Council funds Source of Council Funds
New Street - 32 Dumaresq to Moree Street
June 2014
166,400
100%
Section 94,
Parks Development Program
June 2014
223,500
100%
Infrastructure & Facilities,
New Street bet McIntyre and Dumaresq Streets, Gordon
August 2013
333,300
100%
Section 94,
Water Main Replacement Curagul Road
November 2013
58,200
100%
Infrastructure & Facilities,
West Pymble Pool - Relining of Sewer Service
January 2014
46,100
100%
Infrastructure & Facilities,
Turramurra Oval fence replacement
June 2014
45,800
100%
Section 94,
KWG - Relining of Sewer Service
January 2014
44,000
100%
General Funds
East Roseville Community Centre - Storage Space
February 2014
38,300
0%
Grants/Contributions,
Gordon Recreation Ground playground fence
August 2013
28,000
100%
Section 94, Infrastructure & Facilities,
Minor traffic improvements
June 2014
26,100
66%
Grants/Contributions, Infrastructure & Facilities,
Browns Field Fence Replacement
June 2014
22,700
100%
Infrastructure & Facilities,
Turramurra Library - Roofing and Insulation
May 2014
19,500
100%
General Funds
Eastern Arterial Rd, - Bus Stop Construction
April 2014
13,300
0%
Grants/Contributions,
Old School Trattoria - Flooring Works
June 2014
11,200
100%
Infrastructure & Facilities,
Nature of project
Date completed
Total cost ($000) % Council funds Source of Council Funds
Gordon Library Upgrade
October 2013
1,690,400
100%
Infrastructure & Facilities, LIRS, General Funds
Mahratta Curtilage Park
February 2014
377,500
100%
Section 94,
Major Events
May 2014
88,000
100%
General Funds
Pymble Soldiers Memorial Park stonework refurbishment
December 2013
62,900
82%
Grants/Contributions, Infrastructure & Facilities,
Cultural heritage
100 Bluett Memorial Award submission 2013/14
social and economic development Nature of project
Date completed
Total cost ($000) % Council funds Source of Council Funds
Better Business Partnership - Phase 2
June 2014
340,500
100%
Infrastructure & Facilities,
12 A Park Cresent, Pymble
July 2013
1,337,500
100%
Section 94,
Development Public Domain Stage 2
April 2014
359,200
100%
Section 94,
9 Havilah Lane - Disposal
May 2014
90,500
100%
General Funds
Upgrade Family Day Care Resource Centre Building
June 2014
53,000
100%
General Funds
Nature of project
Date completed
Total cost ($000) % Council funds Source of Council Funds
Golden Jubilee Field Masterplan works
May 2014
1,495,100
100%
Section 94,
Greengate Park Construction
December 2013
1,395,900
100%
Section 94,
Charles Bean Sportsfield synthetic grass field
December 2013
849,000
100%
Section 94, Infrastructure & Facilities,
Allan Small Park Upgrade
April 2014
504,900
98%
Section 94, Grants/Contributions, Infrastructure & Facilities,
Allan Small Oval Sports field upgrade
June 2014
428,200
100%
Section 94,
Indoor Aquatic Facility - Car Parking
June 2014
374,700
100%
Section 94,
Charles Bean Sportsfield public amenities
December 2013
263,200
100%
Section 94, Infrastructure & Facilities, General Funds
Project mgt of new lighting installations including Lindfield Park
February 2014
198,100
41%
Grants/Contributions, Infrastructure & Facilities,
Roseville Park acrylic courts & fences
March 2014
143,600
100%
Infrastructure & Facilities, General Funds
Charles Bean Sportsfield Floodlights
February 2014
99,500
0%
Grants/Contributions,
Bancroft Park playground upgrade
April 2014
97,700
100%
Infrastructure & Facilities,
Allan Small Park acrylic courts & fences
May 2014
62,600
100%
Infrastructure & Facilities,
Kent Road Oval acrylic courts & fences
April 2014
38,900
100%
Infrastructure & Facilities,
Bancroft Park landscape works
October 2013
35,600
100%
Section 94, Infrastructure & Facilities,
St Ives Village Green 2 acrylic courts nearest playground
March 2014
28,600
100%
Infrastructure & Facilities,
sport and recreation
Health and community services Nature of project
Date completed Total cost ($000)
% Council funds Source of Council Funds
Youth Centre Upgrades
May 2014
113,900
100%
Section 94,
Ageing Strategy
February 2014
55,900
0%
Grants/Contributions,
Shorefest
April 2014
29,500
14%
Grants/Contributions, General Funds Ku-ring-gai Council
101
environmental initiatives Nature of project
Date completed
Total cost ($000)
% Council funds Source of Council Funds
Community Small Grants
November 2013
53,853
100%
Environmental Levy,
Pre and post fire weeding
June 2014
87,829
100%
Environmental Levy,
Monitoring And Inspections
June 2014
57,446
100%
Environmental Levy,
Community Environmental Events And Workshops
June 2014
74,200
100%
Environmental Levy,
Displays And Promotion Of Sustainable Behaviour And Technology
June 2014
32,000
100%
Environmental Levy,
Sustainability Data Management And Reporting System
April 2014
42,800
100%
Environmental Levy,
Bushcare
June 2014
35,000
100%
Environmental Levy,
LGEEP Solar and Heat Pump Hot Water Upgrades
May 2014
105,500
40%
Grants/Contributions, Environmental Levy,
Streetcare
June 2014
25,853
100%
Environmental Levy,
Wild Things
June 2014
25,000
100%
Environmental Levy
Business Recycling
June 2014
50,000
0%
Grants/Contributions,
Environmental art
April 2014
17,155
100%
Environmental Levy,
built and natural environment Nature of project
Date completed
Total cost ($000) % Council funds Source of Council Funds
4 Bent Street Lindfield Acquisition
February 2014
2,472,300
100%
General Funds
6 Bent Street Lindfield Acquisition
February 2014
2,274,200
100%
General Funds
12 Bent Street - Property Acquisition
February 2014
2,132,000
100%
Section 94,
2 Bent Street Lindfield Acquisition
February 2014
2,076,700
100%
General Funds
Bush regeneration - Maintenance EEC and Maintain Geenweb sit
June 2014
1,485,500
94%
Grants/Contributions, Environmental Levy,
Catchment Management Research and Analysis / Partnerships
June 2014
439,000
100%
General Funds
Bio Filter Systems
June 2014
388,800
83%
Grants/Contributions, Environmental Levy
Streetscape improvements - construction - Princess Street
August 2013
384,900
100%
Infrastructure & Facilities,
Maintenance of Environmental Levy 1 Stormwater Projects
June 2014
379,200
100%
Environmental Levy
Business Centres - Princes Street
August 2013
339,200
100%
Infrastructure & Facilities,
Sustainable transport, cycleways
June 2014
289,700
70%
Grants/Contributions, Environmental Levy,
Fire breaks/trails
June 2014
232,200
0%
Grants/Contributions,
Lindfield Village Green scoping study Tryon Road, Lindfield
May 2014
99,300
100%
Section 94,
Phillip Kitchener Fire Trail
July 2013
96,000
0%
Grants/Contributions,
102 Bluett Memorial Award submission 2013/14
Sydney’s green heart P r o j e c t s i n p r o g r es s at 3 0 J u n e 2 0 1 4
Capital Works Nature of project
% Completed
Total cost ($000) % Council funds Source of Council Funds
Warrimoo Oval carpark and hall access
95%
56,600
100%
Infrastructure & Facilities,
Warrimoo Ave Scouts & Guides halls
95%
136,600
100%
Infrastructure & Facilities,
Remediation of old depot for Stage 2
50%
513,500
97%
Grants/Contributions, Infrastructure & Facilities,
Pool Operator Fitout - Signage, Shade, Lockers & Equipment
20%
773,900
100%
Infrastructure & Facilities, General Funds
Pool Base Building Fitout - Gym & Cafe
50%
853,100
100%
Infrastructure & Facilities, General Funds
NTRA - North Turramurra Recreation Area
60%
5,034,000
100%
Section 94, Golf Levy,
NTRA - Golf Finishing Works
40%
15,927,400
100%
Section 94, New Facilities,
Nature of project
% Completed
Total cost ($000) % Council funds Source of Council Funds
Wahroonga Park Playground Upgrade
70%
704,700
100%
Section 94,
Upgrade Ku-ring-gai Wildflower Garden centre for night use
95%
345,100
100%
Infrastructure & Facilities,
Art Centre Upgrade
90%
161,600
100%
Section 94,
Nature of project
% Completed
Total cost ($000) % Council funds Source of Council Funds
Lindfield Village Green - Design Stage
70%
621,400
100%
Section 94,
Lindfield Community Hub, Woodford Lane
30%
250,000
100%
Section 94,
Ray Street Turramurra Masterplan
20%
150,000
100%
Section 94,
Cultural heritage
social and economic development
Ku-ring-gai Council
103
sport and recreation Nature of project
% Completed
Total cost ($000) % Council funds Source of Council Funds
Koola Park masterplan works
50%
1,797,400
100%
Section 94
Turramurra Memorial Park Masterplan Works Stage 2
25%
559,700
100%
Section 94
Cameron Park extension
50%
478,300
100%
Section 94
St Ives Village Green Masterplan works - youth precinct
50%
207,600
100%
Section 94
Nature of project
% Completed
Total cost ($000) % Council funds Source of Council Funds
Water Sensitive Urban Design (Wsud) Projects From Catchment
80%
953,800
92%
Grants/Contributions, Environmental Levy, General Funds
Business Food Waste Trial
75%
295,400
0%
Grants/Contributions
Illegal Dumping Program
80%
40,000
0%
Grants/Contributions
Blackbutt Creek Catchment Flood Study
80%
144,400
25%
Section 94, Grants/Contributions, Infrastructure & Facilities,
Littering Prevention
20%
130,000
0%
Grants/Contributions
Nature of project
% Completed
Total cost ($000) % Council funds Source of Council Funds
B2 Land Subdivision
80%
5,345,000
46%
Grants/Contributions, Infrastructure & Facilities
St Johns Ave - Street and Park Upgrade - Design Stage
25%
335,500
100%
Section 94
Wahroonga Park Masterplan Works
25%
237,500
100%
Section 94
Lister Daley - Slope Stabilisation
80%
90,000
0%
Grants/Contributions
Nature of project
% Completed
Total cost ($000) % Council funds Source of Council Funds
Relocation of Council Administrative Services
35%
28,738,000
100%
Environmental Levy, General Funds
Enterprise Asset Management - Roads
80%
151,700
100%
General Funds
Implementation Of Disability Discrimination Action Plan
90%
82,200
100%
General Funds
Licence Plate Recognition System
80%
80,800
100%
General Funds
environmental initiatives
built and natural environment
corporate and governance
104 Bluett Memorial Award submission 2013/14
Sydney’s green heart Awa r d s & C i tat i o n s
Food Surveillance Champion Award NSW Food Authority NSW Open Space Design and Management Award Parks and Leisure Australia Awards Presented to Council for its Open Space Acquisition Strategy NSW Open Space Planning Award Parks and Leisure Australia Awards 2013 AILA NSW Excellence in Planning Award Open Space Acquisition Program Ministers’ Award for Women in Local Government Director of Community Janice Bevan (Highly commended - Cr Elaine Malicki) Australasian Reporting Awards 2014 Silver Award - Annual Report 2012-2013 AILA NSW Research and Communication Award 2013 AILA NSW Awards Awarded for Thinking outside the Box: Key Design Elements for Apartments in Ku-ring-gai Division C and Overall Category Climate Action Award Local Government NSW Excellence in the Environment Awards in December 2013 Council’s Climate Wise Communities program NSW Women of the Year Award Davidson 2014 Local Women of the Year Mayor Jennifer Anderson
Ku-ring-gai Council
105
Burns Road, Wahroonga by FFatakia, 2013 Capture Ku-ring-gai Photo Competition 106 Bluett Memorial Award submission 2013/14
Sydney’s green heart S u pp l e m e n ta r y I n f o r m at i o n Financial Report for the year ended 30 June 2013 Income Statement.............................................................................................................................108 Statement of Financial Position........................................................................................................109 Statement of Changes in Equity.......................................................................................................110 Statement of Cash Flows..................................................................................................................111 Note 6(a) – Cash Assets and Investment Securities........................................................................112 Note 6(b) – Details of Movements and Utilisation of Restricted Cash Assets and Investments......112 Note 13 – Statement of Performance Measurement........................................................................114 Special Purpose Financial Statement Income Statement of Council’s Other Business Activities................................................................116
Bi-annual Review - December 2013 - See www.kmc.nsw.gov.au/reporting
Ku-ring-gai Council
107
108 Bluett Memorial Award submission 2013/14
This Statement should be read in conjunction with the accompanying Notes.
(1) Original Budget as approved by Council - refer Note 16 for details on material budget variations
Net Operating Result for the year before Grants and Contributions provided for Capital Purposes
Net Operating Result for the Year 19,257
6,245
Net Profit/(Loss) from Discontinued Operations
-
Discontinued Operations 24
4,815
15,806
-
15,806
Operating Result from Continuing Operations
19,257
34,572 453 28,997 15,790 14,709 1,223 95,744
5
4e
4d
4c
4b
page 4
8,360
22,114
-
22,114
90,202
33,887 460 27,861 14,958 13,036 -
112,316
137
111,550
65,779 12,306 6,368 7,295 6,677 13,754
Actual 2012
68,816 12,349 4,558 8,247 6,589 10,991
Actual 2013
Total Expenses from Continuing Operations
4a
5
3e,f
3e,f
3d
3c
3b
3a
Notes
97,547
Expenses from Continuing Operations
Total Income from Continuing Operations
Revenue: Rates & Annual Charges User Charges & Fees Interest & Investment Revenue Other Revenues Grants & Contributions provided for Operating Purposes Grants & Contributions provided for Capital Purposes Other Income: Net gains from the disposal of assets
Income from Continuing Operations
$ '000
Employee Benefits & On-Costs Borrowing Costs Materials & Contracts Depreciation & Amortisation Other Expenses Net Losses from the Disposal of Assets
(1)
35,857 576 30,627 16,675 13,812 -
116,804
5,812
68,142 12,082 4,575 7,387 5,794 13,012
Budget 2013
for the financial year ended 30 June 2013
Income Statement
Ku-ring-gai Council
Financial Statements 2013
Ku-ring-gai Council 109
20
20
10
10
10
10
10
10
25
9
8
7
6b
8
8
7
6b
6a
Notes
This Statement should be read in conjunction with the accompanying Notes.
Total Equity
Council Equity Interest Non-controlling Interest
Retained Earnings Revaluation Reserves
EQUITY
Net Assets
TOTAL LIABILITIES
Non-Current Liabilities Payables Borrowings Provisions Total Non-Current Liabilities
LIABILITIES Current Liabilities Payables Borrowings Provisions Total Current Liabilities
TOTAL ASSETS
Non-Current Assets Investments Receivables Inventories Infrastructure, Property, Plant & Equipment Intangible Assets Total Non-Current Assets
ASSETS Current Assets Cash & Cash Equivalents Investments Receivables Inventories Other Total Current Assets
$ '000
as at 30 June 2013
Statement of Financial Position
Ku-ring-gai Council
969,762
652,564 317,198 969,762 -
668,370 315,618 983,988 -
983,988
969,762
28,481
5,880 322 6,202
10,398 2,067 9,814 22,279
998,243
36,948 187 892,101 656 929,892
204 58,835 7,942 254 1,116 68,351
Actual 2012
983,988
55,656
31,676 339 32,015
11,047 2,992 9,602 23,641
1,039,644
34,999 192 938,784 850 974,825
13,028 42,876 7,379 253 1,283 64,819
Actual 2013
page 6
951,887
628,985 322,902 951,887
951,887
27,764
5,748 268 6,016
10,417 1,857 9,474 21,748
979,651
56,972 222 863,209 274 920,677
65 50,239 7,204 264 1,202 58,974
Actual 2011
Financial Statements 2013
110 Bluett Memorial Award submission 2013/14
20b (ii)
20 (d)
20 (c)
Notes
20 (d)
This Statement should be read in conjunction with the accompanying Notes.
652,564
22,114
-
22,114
630,450
628,985 1,465
20b (ii)
315,618
317,198
(3,780)
(3,780)
(3,780)
-
322,902 (1,924) 320,978
Retained Reserves Earnings (Refer 20b)
668,370
(1,580)
(1,580) 15,806
(1,580)
-
317,198
Non-
-
-
-
-
15,806
-
969,762
18,334
(3,780) (3,780)
-
-
-
-
-
22,114
-
(459) 951,428
951,887
page 7
969,762
18,334
(3,780) (3,780)
22,114
951,428
-
(459)
951,887
Total Equity
983,988
14,226
(1,580)
(1,580)
(459) 969,762
970,221
Total Equity
-
Council controlling Interest Interest
983,988
14,226
(1,580) (1,580)
15,806
969,762
970,221 (459)
NonCouncil controlling Interest Interest
317,198 -
-
15,806
652,564
(459) -
653,023
Retained Reserves Earnings (Refer 20b)
20 (c)
Notes
Equity - Balance at end of the reporting period
Total Comprehensive Income (c&d)
- Other Movements Other Comprehensive Income
d. Other Comprehensive Income
c. Net Operating Result for the Year
Revised Opening Balance (as at 1/7/11)
a. Correction of Prior Period Errors b. Changes in Accounting Policies (prior year effects)
Opening Balance (as per Last Year's Audited Accounts)
2012
$ '000
Equity - Balance at end of the reporting period
Total Comprehensive Income (c&d)
- Revaluations : IPP&E Asset Reval Reserve Other Comprehensive Income
d. Other Comprehensive Income
c. Net Operating Result for the Year
Revised Opening Balance (as at 1/7/12)
a. Correction of Prior Period Errors b. Changes in Accounting Policies (prior year effects)
Opening Balance (as per Last Year's Audited Accounts)
2013
$ '000
for the financial year ended 30 June 2013
Statement of Changes in Equity
Ku-ring-gai Council
Financial Statements 2013
Ku-ring-gai Council 111
Proceeds from Borrowings & Advances
Investments on hand - end of year
Total Cash, Cash Equivalents & Investments
plus:
Cash & Cash Equivalents - end of year
Cash & Cash Equivalents - beginning of year
This Statement should be read in conjunction with the accompanying Notes.
17,856
plus:
6b
11a
11a
90,903
77,875
13,028
204
12,824
Net Increase/(Decrease) in Cash & Cash Equivalents 17,656 200
26,721
(1,579)
28,300
Net Cash Flow provided (used in) Financing Activities
Repayment of Borrowings & Advances
Payments:
(46,456)
(38,383) (65,372)
56,463 836
32,559
(34,937) (32,580) (453) (99) (20,198)
68,737 15,306 4,483 17,099 50 15,151
Actual 2013
29,046
(2,254)
31,300
Receipts:
Cash Flows from Financing Activities
Net Cash provided (or used in) Investing Activities
(48,000)
11b
Notes
Purchase of Investment Securities Purchase of Infrastructure, Property, Plant & Equipment
Payments:
Sale of Investment Securities Sale of Infrastructure, Property, Plant & Equipment
Receipts:
Cash Flows from Investing Activities
Net Cash provided (or used in) Operating Activities
Employee Benefits & On-Costs Materials & Contracts Borrowing Costs Bonds, Deposits & Retention amounts refunded Other
Payments:
Rates & Annual Charges User Charges & Fees Investment & Interest Revenue Received Grants & Contributions Bonds, Deposits & Retention amounts received Other
Receipts:
Cash Flows from Operating Activities
$ '000
(18,000) (70,000)
35,000 5,000
36,610
(35,857) (28,409) (576) (80) (16,086)
68,539 19,129 4,575 17,805 70 7,500
Budget 2013
for the financial year ended 30 June 2013
Statement of Cash Flows
Ku-ring-gai Council
page 8
95,987
95,783
204
65
139
342
(1,758)
2,100
(36,068)
(29,081) (48,165)
40,440 738
35,865
(33,559) (31,468) (460) (155) (16,737)
65,557 11,899 6,992 21,104 100 12,592
Actual 2012
Financial Statements 2013
112 Bluett Memorial Award submission 2013/14
Notes
b. "Held to Maturity"
8,375 34,501 42,876
34,999 34,999
-
34,999
55,904
13,028
13,000 12,999 3,000 6,000 34,999
-
8,375 31,500 3,001 42,876
13,028 13,028
2013 Actual Non Current
18,840 39,995 58,835
204
59,039
16,823 25,502 14,493 2,017 58,835
204 204
2012 Actual Current
36,948 36,948
page 32
30 June 2013 was $2.75M. - Royal Bank of Scotland CPDO PP (Constant Proportion Debt Obligations - Principle Protected). This is a zero coupon senior bank bond with a value of $6M and is capital protected and invested by Council on a "Held to maturity" basis being September 2016. The market value of the CPDO PP at 30 June 2013 was $4.54M. As per the General Terms and Conditions of the investment the Note benefits from principal protection equal to the Principal Protection Amount on the Maturity Date only.
- CDO - Maple Hill, with a face value of $3M invested by Council on a "held to maturity" basis being December 2014. The market value at
time. The Ministerial Investment Order no longer allows investment in these products. These investments are:
-
36,948
16,000 11,948 3,000 6,000 36,948
-
2012 Actual Non Current
Council holds two "grandfathered" investments that were previously entered into in accordance with the Ministerial Investment Order at the
Investments
6(b-i) 6(b-ii)
- "Designated at Fair Value on Initial Recognition"
Investments a. "At Fair Value through the Profit & Loss"
Cash & Cash Equivalents a. "At Fair Value through the Profit & Loss"
Cash, Cash Equivalents & Investments were classified at year end in accordance with AASB 139 as follows:
TOTAL CASH ASSETS, CASH EQUIVALENTS & INVESTMENTS
- Deposits - Term Deposits - NCD's, FRN's (with Maturities > 3 months) - CDO's - Other Long Term Financial Assets* Total Investments
Investments (Note 6b)
Cash on Hand and at Bank Total Cash & Cash Equivalents
Cash & Cash Equivalents (Note 6a)
$ '000
2013 Actual Current
Note 6a. - Cash Assets and Note 6b. - Investments
for the financial year ended 30 June 2013
Notes to the Financial Statements
Ku-ring-gai Council
Financial Statements 2013
Ku-ring-gai Council 113
Total
Comprising: - Term Deposits - NCD's, FRN's (with Maturities > 3 months) - CDO's - Other Long Term Financial Assets
Balance at End of Year
Balance at the Beginning of the Year Additions Disposals (sales & redemptions) Transfers between Current/Non Current
Note 6(b-ii) Reconciliation of Investments classified as "Held to Maturity"
Total
Comprising: - Deposits - Other Long Term Financial Assets
Balance at End of Year
Balance at the Beginning of the Year Revaluations (through the Income Statement) Additions Disposals (sales & redemptions)
Note 6(b-i) Reconciliation of Investments classified as "At Fair Value through the Profit & Loss"
$ '000
Note 6b. Investments (continued)
for the financial year ended 30 June 2013
Notes to the Financial Statements
Ku-ring-gai Council
31,500 3,001 34,501
39,995 22,501 (39,995) 12,000 34,501
8,375 8,375
13,000 12,999 3,000 6,000 34,999
36,948 12,051 (2,000) (12,000) 34,999
-
-
Actual Non Current
Actual Current
18,840 172 3,831 (14,468) 8,375
2013
2013
25,502 14,493 39,995
36,645 6,081 (38,726) 35,995 39,995
16,823 2,017 18,840
13,594 (69) 7,029 (1,714) 18,840
2012 Actual Current
16,000 11,948 3,000 6,000 36,948
56,972 15,971 (35,995) 36,948
-
-
Actual Non Current
2012
Financial Statements 2013
114 Bluett Memorial Award submission 2013/14 (1)
(4)
Refer to Note 10(a)(ii) - excludes all payables & provisions not expected to be paid in the next 12 months (incl. ELE). Asset Renewals represent the replacement &/or refurbishment of existing assets to an equivalent capacity/performance as opposed to the acquisition of new assets (or the refurbishment of old assets) that increases capacity/performance. Asset Renewals include building and infrastructure assets only.
(4)
page 42
Refer to Note 10(a).
97.76%
3.15%
56.63%
2.24%
2.06
(3)
95.09%
3.39%
58.57%
2.30%
2.05
Prior Periods 2011 2012
Refer Notes 6-8 inclusive.
95.45%
3.36%
61.69%
2.08%
2.04 : 1
Indicator 2013
(2)
11,411 11,955
2,398 71,330
68,816 111,550
2,032 97,614
29,054 14,275
Amounts 2013
(1)
Notes
Depreciation, Amortisation & Impairment
Asset Renewals
5. Building & Infrastructure Renewals Ratio
Rates, Annual & Extra Charges Outstanding Rates, Annual & Extra Charges Collectible
4. Rates, Annual Charges, Interest & Extra Charges Outstanding Percentage
Rates & Annual Charges Income from Continuing Operations
3. Rates & Annual Charges Coverage Ratio
(excl. Capital Items & Specific Purpose Grants/Contributions)
Debt Service Cost Income from Continuing Operations
2. Debt Service Ratio
Current Liabilities less Specific Purpose Liabilities (2,3)
Current Assets less all External Restrictions
1. Unrestricted Current Ratio
Local Government Industry Indicators
$ '000
Note 13a(i). Statement of Performance Measurement - Indicators
for the financial year ended 30 June 2013
Notes to the Financial Statements
Ku-ring-gai Council
Financial Statements 2013
Ku-ring-gai Council 115
To assess the rate at which these assets are being renewed relative to the rate at which they are depreciating.
Purpose of Asset Renewals Ratio
To assess the impact of uncollected rates and annual charges on Council's liquidity and the adequacy of recovery efforts.
Purpose of Rates & Annual Charges Outstanding Ratio
To assess the degree of Council's dependence upon revenue from rates and annual charges and to assess the security of Council's income.
Purpose of Rates & Annual Charges Coverage Ratio
To assess the impact of loan principal & interest repayments on the discretionary revenue of council.
Purpose of Debt Service Ratio
To assess the adequacy of working capital and its ability to satisfy obligations in the short term for the unrestricted activities of Council.
Purpose of Unrestricted Current Ratio
Financial Statements 2013
2.04 : 1
2.08%
61.69%
3.36%
95.45%
page 43
The Asset Management Strategy and Asset Management Plans identifying asset ratios have been incorporated and are monitored within Council's Long Term Financial Plan.
2012/13 Ratio
Commentary on 2012/13 Result
This ratio assesses only the impact of Rates, Annual, Interest & Extra Charges on liquidity and the adequacy of recovery efforts and is in line with Council's internal target.
2012/13 Ratio
Commentary on 2012/13 Result
Council's dependence upon rates revenue has increased from 58.57% in 2011/12 to 61.69% in 2012/13.
2012/13 Ratio
Commentary on 2012/13 Result
Council's ability to service its debt is strong. In accordance with Council's Long Term Financial Plan borrowing is only undertaken in accordance with Council's borrowing policy.
2012/13 Ratio
Commentary on 2012/13 Result
Council's liquidity position is satisfactory. Council can easily pay its debts as they fall due.
2012/13 Ratio
Commentary on 2012/13 Result
Note 13a(ii). Local Government Industry Indicators - Graphs
for the financial year ended 30 June 2013
Notes to the Financial Statements
Ku-ring-gai Council
116 Bluett Memorial Award submission 2013/14
Income from continuing operations Access charges User charges Fees Interest Grants and contributions provided for non capital purposes Profit from the sale of assets Other income Total income from continuing operations
(120)
(31) Return on Capital % Subsidy from Council
-
36
13.1% -
12.3% -
741
30
741
plus Opening Retained Profits plus Adjustments for amounts unpaid: - Corporate taxation equivalent add: - Subsidy Paid/Contribution To Operations less: - Dividend paid Closing Retained Profits
831
761
85
SURPLUS (DEFICIT) AFTER TAX
Surplus (deficit) from discontinued operations
-6.0% 390
-
-5.5% 293
-
3,400
195
720
3,880
-
3,394 -
3,400
(189)
Surplus (deficit) from ALL Operations before tax less: Corporate Taxation Equivalent (30%) [based on result before capital]
(240)
(189) -
(240) 100 (30) 121 (36)
Surplus (deficit) from Continuing Operations after capital amounts
70
(189)
(240) 100 121
Surplus (deficit) from Continuing Operations before capital amounts
Grants and contributions provided for capital purposes
528 39 40 70 677 (189)
479 9 488
514 46 40 79 679 (240)
431 8 439
Actual 2012
817 79 27 72 995 100
925 170 1,095
Actual 2013
Art Centre
786 147 25 77 1,035 121
Expenses from continuing operations Employee benefits and on-costs Borrowing costs Materials and contracts Depreciation and impairment Other expenses Total expenses from continuing operations
922 234 1,156
$ '000
Actual 2012
Thomas Carlyle Childrens Centre Actual 2013
for the financial year ended 30 June 2013
Income Statement of Council's Other Business Activities
Ku-ring-gai Council
SPFS 2013
Ku-ring-gai Council 117
1,771 83 1,854
Income from continuing operations Access charges User charges Fees Interest Grants and contributions provided for non capital purposes Profit from the sale of assets Other income Total income from continuing operations
117 (437)
112 (397)
plus Opening Retained Profits plus Adjustments for amounts unpaid: - Corporate taxation equivalent add: - Subsidy Paid/Contribution To Operations less: - Dividend paid Closing Retained Profits Return on Capital % Subsidy from Council
n/a -
(175)
(104)
(150)
SURPLUS (DEFICIT) AFTER TAX
Surplus (deficit) from discontinued operations
n/a -
(150)
-6.6% 607
-
5,345
-8.2% 429
-
3,816
315
-
1,916
3,814
3,816
(313)
260
Surplus (deficit) from ALL Operations before tax less: Corporate Taxation Equivalent (30%) [based on result before capital]
(387)
(313) -
(387) 391 (117)
372 (112)
Surplus (deficit) from Continuing Operations after capital amounts
274
(313)
(387)
391
Grants and contributions provided for capital purposes
Surplus (deficit) from Continuing Operations before capital amounts
372
317 167 152 191 827 (313)
514 514
Actual 2012
360 264 166 149 939 (387)
552 552
Actual 2013
41 1,403 1 1,445 391
1,751 85 1,836
Actual 2012
Gordon Golf Club
42 1,429 11 1,482 372
Expenses from continuing operations Employee benefits and on-costs Borrowing costs Materials and contracts Depreciation and impairment Other expenses Total expenses from continuing operations
Actual 2013
Trade Waste $ '000
for the financial year ended 30 June 2013
Income Statement of Council's Other Business Activities
Ku-ring-gai Council
SPFS 2013
118 Bluett Memorial Award submission 2013/14
3,506
3,487 -
plus Opening Retained Profits plus Adjustments for amounts unpaid: - Corporate taxation equivalent add: - Subsidy Paid/Contribution To Operations less: - Dividend paid Closing Retained Profits Return on Capital % Subsidy from Council
(264) -2.2% 717
-1.0% 143
3.8% -
page 5
4.1% -
3,883
-
-
4,556
-
498 16 8,188
3,487
48
53 -
11,413
3,987
3,883
112 (262)
SURPLUS (DEFICIT) AFTER TAX
Surplus (deficit) from discontinued operations
123
160 (48)
175 (53) (35) (262) Surplus (deficit) from ALL Operations before tax less: Corporate Taxation Equivalent (30%) [based on result before capital]
(35)
160 175
(35)
Grants and contributions provided for capital purposes
(262)
23 62 44 129 160
278 11 289
Surplus (deficit) from Continuing Operations after capital amounts
10 64 50 124 175
287 12 299
Surplus (deficit) from Continuing Operations before capital amounts
669 669
277 153 14 260 704 (35)
666 666
Actual 2012
Actual 2013
Actual 2013
Actual 2012
Tennis Courts
Turramurra Golf Course
313 181 96 338 928 (262)
Expenses from continuing operations Employee benefits and on-costs Borrowing costs Materials and contracts Depreciation and impairment Other expenses Total expenses from continuing operations
Income from continuing operations Access charges User charges Fees Interest Grants and contributions provided for non capital purposes Profit from the sale of assets Other income Total income from continuing operations
$ '000
for the financial year ended 30 June 2013
Income Statement of Council's Other Business Activities
Ku-ring-gai Council
SPFS 2013
Ku-ring-gai Council 119
(177) (177)
(289) (289)
Surplus (deficit) from ALL Operations before tax less: Corporate Taxation Equivalent (30%) [based on result before capital]
SURPLUS (DEFICIT) AFTER TAX
Return on Capital % Subsidy from Council
plus Opening Retained Profits plus Adjustments for amounts unpaid: - Corporate taxation equivalent add: - Subsidy Paid/Contribution To Operations less: - Dividend paid Closing Retained Profits
Surplus (deficit) from discontinued operations
-
-2.2% 780
-20.0% 204
-154.9% 113
48
68
127
12,349
885
-
-
12,945
90
935 885
(110)
(110) -
(110)
(177) (289)
Surplus (deficit) from Continuing Operations after capital amounts
Grants and contributions provided for capital purposes
Surplus (deficit) from Continuing Operations before capital amounts
59 11 70
Actual 2013
119 11 9 41 180 (110)
38 38
Actual 2012
-122.8% 127
-
90
140
-
74
(124)
(124) -
(124)
147 11 9 36 203 (124)
79 79
Actual 2012
Nursery
52 116 47 215 (177)
-
Actual 2013
Swimming Pool
2 226 61 289 (289)
Expenses from continuing operations Employee benefits and on-costs Borrowing costs Materials and contracts Depreciation and impairment Other expenses Total expenses from continuing operations
Income from continuing operations Access charges User charges Fees Interest Grants and contributions provided for non capital purposes Profit from the sale of assets Other income Total income from continuing operations
$ '000
for the financial year ended 30 June 2013
Income Statement of Council's Other Business Activities
Ku-ring-gai Council
SPFS 2013
120 Bluett Memorial Award submission 2013/14
(424) -
282 (85) 197
Surplus (deficit) from ALL Operations before tax less: Corporate Taxation Equivalent (30%) [based on result before capital]
SURPLUS (DEFICIT) AFTER TAX
Return on Capital % Subsidy from Council
plus Opening Retained Profits plus Adjustments for amounts unpaid: - Corporate taxation equivalent add: - Subsidy Paid/Contribution To Operations less: - Dividend paid Closing Retained Profits
Surplus (deficit) from discontinued operations
359 -
13,508 1.9% 278
page 7
-37.5% 458
1,034
85
14,824
1,099 1,034
(424)
(424)
282
Surplus (deficit) from Continuing Operations after capital amounts
Grants and contributions provided for capital purposes
Surplus (deficit) from Continuing Operations before capital amounts
838 116 954
Actual 2012
440 19 514 405 1,378 (424)
992 992
Actual 2013
Commercial Leasing
159 48 267 236 710 282
Expenses from continuing operations Employee benefits and on-costs Borrowing costs Materials and contracts Depreciation and impairment Other expenses Total expenses from continuing operations
Income from continuing operations Access charges User charges Fees Interest Grants and contributions provided for non capital purposes Profit from the sale of assets Other income Total income from continuing operations
$ '000
for the financial year ended 30 June 2013
Income Statement of Council's Other Business Activities
Ku-ring-gai Council
SPFS 2013
Ku-ring-gai Council
121