MESSAGE FROM THE SHIRE PRESIDENT

Welcome to the Shire of Busselton's electronic newsletter, designed to provide information to community members and other stakeholders. As an individual, group or organisation associated in some way with the Shire of Busselton this newsletter has been forwarded to you. If you do not wish to receive this newsletter please click here to unsubscribe and you will be removed from our mailing list.

It is the Shire's aim to communicate with its stakeholders through a variety of methods and we would be interested to hear whether you find this format and information useful. We would also like your comments on what other types of information you would like to see included. Please email your feedback to mycomments@busselton.wa.gov.au.

Kevin Douglas
Shire President

HEADLINES

• NEW Jetty Updates
• Airport Update
• Improving Communications
• Welcome Cr. Hartley
• Leavers Update
• Careers in Local Government
• Community Garden
• Dunsborough Artworks
• Access & Inclusion Plan
• Town Planning Scheme
• Regional Achievers Award
• Cultural Planning
• Meelup Walk Trail Extended
• Technical Matters

RECENT COUNCIL MEETING OUTCOMES

The agendas and minutes of Council's meetings are available on the Shire's website.

Minutes of Council's meeting of 28th June will be available on the Shire's website from Monday 3rd July.

Ward System Review

At its meeting on 28th June Council considered the final report on the review of the Shire's Wards and Representation. As a result Council resolved to abolish the wards system and retain the 13 Councillor representation.

Shire's Administration Offices

At it's meeting on 28th June, 2006 Council resolved to engage a consultant to investigate options for the long term location of the Shire's Administration facility on the site of the existing administration facility in Southern Drive, Busselton. An amount of $20,000 has been placed on the draft 2006/2007 budget for this purpose.

Corporate Plan

Shire staff have been working hard to prepare the Corporate Plan for the organisation, which was presented to Council and recognised on 28th June. This plan outlines actions to be undertaken to meet the goals and objectives of Council's Strategic Plan 2006-2011. The Corporate Plan will provide significant guidance to the operations of the Shire during the 2006/2007 financial year. The Corporate Plan will be available on the Shire's website in early July.

A call from the Shire of Busselton to determine whether any interest exists to operate a service through the Busselton Regional airport for the 'fly in, fly out' workforce has identified that the proposal has potential.

One hundred and thirty eight individual registrations have been received along with additional interest expressed by mining, charter and employment companies. The next step is to commence talks with the companies and individuals that have expressed their interest, to look at their requirements and see what can be done.

The registration process offered an incentive prize for a weekend for two, kindly donated by Bunkers Bay Resort. Congratulations to the winner - Peter Thomas of Perth.

Residents clearly indicated their concerns with the Shire of Busselton's ability to listen in a community survey finalised in February this year. These concerns have now been framed within a communications plan to be officially launched by the Shire in July.

Shire President, Kevin Douglas said that while the 2005 Community Survey indicated we communicated reasonably well, we fell down when it came to listening. Council has taken this feedback seriously and the Shire has translated Council's expectations into a communications framework.

Shire's CEO, Andrew Macnish said that this framework sets the goals and objectives for the Shire's communications, with more detailed actions being incorporated into directorate business plans. It's now a lot clearer for both residents and staff what is required to be delivered. We might not be perfect but we are actively pursuing improvement.

The Communications Framework document will be available on the Shire's website in mid July, 2006 with hardcopies available at the Busselton and Dunsborough Libraries and the Shire's Customer Service Centre in Southern Drive.

Wesley Hartley has been elected unopposed to the office of councillor, joining Cr. Brian Box in representing the West Urban Ward. Cr. Hartley was sworn into office on 31st May, 2006.

For a full list of Councillor contacts click here.

Leavers celebrations in 2006 will be promoted officially from the 22 - 28 November 2006 state-wide. The Shire of Busselton have received funding to undertake a coordination role this year to assist in planning and developing management strategies to reduce the impact on the community and increase safety for young people. A key strategy to this years success will be the sale of the $30 wristband which includes unlimited access to a bus service, entry to the Leavers Entertainment Area in Dunsborough and access to numerous discounts to local businesses in a 32 page Busselton Dunsborough Leavers Information Booklet.

An accommodation providers workshop will be held on Monday 3rd July at 12pm at the Shire of Busselton so that providers can access information on legal obligations of housing young people. All are welcome. If you are intending on accommodating Leavers at any time this year, it would be appreciated if you could let the Shire know the numbers and dates so that we can plan support services and implement public safety strategies accordingly.

For more information on any of these initiates contact the Community Development Officer at the Shire of Busselton on 08 9781 0496 or email ranced@busselton.wa.gov.au

Shire staff recently participated in a 'Careers Expo' at MacKillop Catholic College. This was an excellent opportunity for young people to obtain first hand knowledge of the diverse career opportunities available in local government. Click here to view current employment opportunities available at the Shire of Busselton.

The concept for a Community Garden being investigated on the corner of Strelly and Roe Streets, Busselton was supported by Council at its meeting on 28th June. The investigation will look at the suitability of establishing a community garden project on the land and has invited the Community Garden Committee to forward a suitable development application for further consideration.

Residents and visitors to Dunsborough may have noticed recent activity in the two major roundabouts along Caves Road as installation of the Dunsborough Entry artworks is underway. Six vanes, 3 in each roundabout, will carry images of the Dunsborough environment and lifestyle by artist Chris Williamson with community input.

Sites have been identified for the vanes, concrete footings have been poured and the vanes are expected to be in place any day now.

Landscaping will enhance existing plantings, with a view to creating eco-zones which reflect the unique natural environment of Dunsborough. A community celebration and launch is being planned for the latter part of the year and it is anticipated that the vanes will become an iconic entry statement.

Update from CI

The Port Geographe coastal works have now recommenced. Should you have any concerns please direct your enquiries to Steve O'Brien who is acting on behalf of the developer. Mr O'Brien's contact details are: Phone 9754 4409 or 0412 439 436 or Email portgeo@compwest.net.au.

While local government has a statutory responsibility to report how public services, facilities and buildings are accessible and inclusive to all people, Council's Strategic Plan 2006-2011 highlights the need to provide facilities that are universally accessible and socially inclusive. As a result Council has adopted an Access and Inclusion Policy which looks at ways the Shire can ensure that the disabled, indigenous, cultural and linguistic sectors of the shire are more aware and more included in the broader community. Adoption of this policy has been identified as a key objective in the Corporate Plan.

Copies of the Access and Inclusion Policy will be available from the Shire website, Busselton and Dunsborough Libraries.

It is clear that the rate of demographic change and development in the Shire of Busselton will not diminish in the short term and many of the Shire's policies and strategies will require review or replacement in order to remain valid and useful.

By analysing community needs the Shire can formulate and review planning statute and policy to provide for more sustainable development outcomes.

Once the Local Planning Strategy has been formulated, the Scheme provisions and associated land use (zoning) outcomes can be confidently addressed with a view to ensuring appropriate economic, environmental and socio-cultural outcomes for residents of, and visitors to the Shire.

At each stage of the review the public and other stakeholders will be provided with the opportunity to contribute to the formulation of strategies and Scheme outcomes via an extensive community consultation process.

Copies of the Town Planning Scheme Review will be posted to the Shire website in the near future.

Nominations forms are now available on line at www.awardsaustralia.com or by phoning 9201 1155. Nominations close on 18th August, 2006.

The Shire of Busselton and the State Government have agreed to work in partnership, cementing the relationship by signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU).

The MOU focuses on achieving sustainable social, environmental and economic developments for the region. It also recognises the Shire of Busselton as a growing regional centre and recognises the challenges of providing services and infrastructure in this fast growing environment.

As an overarching agreement, the MOU provides the mechanism to examine specific project initiatives for both Busselton and Dunsborough, and indeed the Shire as a whole over time. Any agreed projects would then have an agreed contract of partnership applied; this sits underneath the MOU, like a sub-agreement.

The first project being examined is the Jetty restoration and possible associated land developments with the agreed contract of partnership expected to be finalised soon.

The redevelopment and eventual sale of some land in the foreshore areas, combined with a tourism based business plan, may be the best way of ensuring the Jetty has a sustainable future for decades to come and will provide further investment in the Busselton town centre.

While no decision has yet been made on which land will be redeveloped, all decisions will be made in full consultation with the community. Public consultation is a key part of the process and everyone will be able to have their say before decisions are made.

There will be an ongoing opportunity to provide feedback on the project. You can register for updates relating to the Jetty's progress and associated foreshore redevelopment by logging onto the Shire's website and submitting your details via the on-line registration form. Click here to go to the registration page.

LandCorp, on behalf of the State Government will be managing the land assessment and consultation process. They are expected to have a formal presence within the Jetty precinct during the consultation phase, possibly within the old Agricultural building, but this is yet to be decided.

Click here for further information relating to the Busselton Jetty.

The Shire of Busselton Cultural Plan, which was developed over a period of 18 months by the community and endorsed by Council in October, has been given a strategic focus within the Shire.

Lorna Secrett, formerly Cultural Development and now Cultural Planning Officer, is now part of the Strategic Land Use Planning Unit within Lifestyle Development and will be working with arts & cultural groups, developers and the general community to achieve the aims and objectives of the Cultural Plan.

The new role will focus on input to Busselton and Dunsborough Townscape developments and the development of Cultural Precincts within the Shire, incorporation of public and community art into major upgrades and new developments, input to community facilities implementation and developer contribution plans along with the development of policies which embed these community considerations into Shire Planning processes. The importance of a sense of place which reflects the cultural identity of communities within the Shire in a period of rapid population growth is a primary focus of the position.

The Dunsborough Entry Artworks project is an example of this approach - the iconic windvanes, which have been designed to reflect the unique nature and community of Dunsborough, are ready for installation in the two main Caves Rd roundabouts in June/July, with a community celebration to be held at a later date.

To view the Shire of Busselton's Cultural Plan click here.

An extension to the coastal walk trail has been completed in Meelup Park Dunsborough, making about 5kms of constructed surfaced walk trails in the park. The constructed path now extends from the edge of the developed part of Dunsborough at Hurford Street for 800m to beyond Curtis Bay. Built on an old four-wheel-drive track which had been badly eroded, the track was repaired with course rock and later surfaced with limestone by Benchmark Building Contractors of Bunbury and paid for with a grant of $8,777 from Lotterywest and matching funds from the Busselton Shire. It is a beautiful walk through bush, with the sea never more than a few meters away.

Congratulations to the Meelup Committee on their achievement.

Larviciding Program

The most environmentally sound and effective mosquito control identified for the Busselton wetlands is to control mosquitoes in the larval stage, before they become biting adults.

The Commonwealth Government has given the Shire of Busselton approval to trial a larviciding program for the 2006 / 2007 mosquito season.

The aim of the program is to minimise the incidence of Ross River Virus amongst residents and visitors to the Shire of Busselton.

Prolink, the chemical used for the larviciding, will be applied to the wetlands by aerial application (via a helicopter), and will be localised to the fringes of wetlands in known mosquitoes breeding areas.

Prolink with the active ingredient, (S) - methoprene is not harmful to animals or people. The (S) - methoprene molecule contains only carbon, hydrogen and oxygen which targets the mosquito larvae.

Further information regarding the larviciding program contact the Shire's Environmental Health Services on 9781 0444 or click here for the Fact Sheet.

New Building Act for Western Australia.

The Department of Housing and Works have extended the public consultation period for the development of new building legislation for WA to 30th June, 2006. Visit: www.dhw.wa.gov.au/buildingactwa/ for further information.

Changes to the Owner-Builder fees and Building Licence levy.

Owner–Builders — a fee of $110.00 is required to be paid to the Builders’ Registration Board with every Owner-Builder statutory declaration.

Completed Statutory Declarations forms (which are available form the Shire and the Board’s website (www.brb.org.au) together with the fee of $110.00 must be submitted directly to the Builders’ Registration Board. The receipt/certificate for the fee will be e-mailed to the Local Government who will be issuing the building licence. Note: The receipt/certificate is not an authority or approval for the Local Government to issue a building licence.

Building Licence Levy — a levy of $35 is payable to the local government on all building licences issued after July 1, 2006 and is included in the cost of the building licence. The levy is used to fund the activities of the Builders’ Registration Board and to fund the Building Disputes Tribunal. No form is required when paying the Building Licence Levy.

Further information is available by contacting the Builders’ Registration Board on 9476 1200.

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