SECTION 1 DELIVERY PROGRAM ACHIEVEMENTS€¦ · waterways, atmosphere, bushland and foreshore...

KOGARAH CITY COUNCIL

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FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2014

DELIVERY PROGRAM ACHIEVEMENTSSECTION 1

Kogarah Library and Cultural Centre


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St’ART Caring Environmental Art Workshop at Kogarah Library and Cultural Centre


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COMMUNITY STRATEGIC PLAN - INTRODUCTION

Council’s Community Strategic Plan (CSP) Bright Future Better Lifestyle Kogarah 2030 represents the aspirations of the people who live, visit and work in the City of Kogarah. It is a 10 year and beyond vision developed as a collaborative effort between the community and Council.

Bright Future Better Lifestyle defines a sustainable direction for our City and sets out the strategic direction which Council will follow in achieving the needs of our community for the next 10 years and beyond.

The strategic plan is built around six key strategic directions:

• A Clean, Green and Sustainable City

• A Liveable and Connected City

• A Thriving and Prosperous City

• A Vibrant, Safe and Inclusive City

• An Active and Healthy City

• An Innovative and Efficient Council

Each strategic direction is supported by key goals that guide the priorities for our City and the services and projects that Council delivers. A series of integrated planning documents support the CSP, including a four yearly Delivery Program and an annual Operational Plan.

The following pages outline key achievements in the 2013/14 year under each of the six key strategic directions.


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1. A CLEAN, GREEN AND SUSTAINABLE CITY

For its vision of a clean, green and sustainable City, Kogarah City Council achieved 97% of the actions contained in the 2013/14 Operational Plan. A complete list of projects is available in Section 4.

Kogarah City Council has a vision to create a clean, green and sustainable City which recognises our responsibility as a community to protect the environment and to preserve it for current and future generations.

Kogarah City Council has developed an Environmental Sustainability Delivery (ESD) Plan which draws on the aspirations of Council’s Community Strategic Plan and provides the integrated approach needed in addressing environmental sustainability.

In working to achieve our community’s vision of a clean, green and sustainable City, Council has undertaken numerous environmental programs and projects. Amongst these include demonstrable outcomes within the areas of catchment protection, biodiversity, water efficiency, renewable energy, combating climate change and waste minimisation. In addition, Council delivers a number of educational programs to improve community and staff awareness, such as the Catchment Crusaders Program, Eco Living workshops and Green Champions.

Council is working towards realising its vision of a clean, green and sustainable City through enhancing and protecting Kogarah’s natural areas, including our waterways, atmosphere, bushland and foreshore areas. One project which Council is committed to in this area is improving stormwater quality. Council recognises the importance of Water Sensitive Urban Design projects which promote cleaner stormwater entering the Georges River and its bays.

An on-going program to investigate stormwater quality improvement and re-use opportunities is also in place as is water quality testing and waterway health monitoring. Kogarah City Council also participates in the Sydney Water ‘Every Drop

Counts’ business program, maintaining a ‘5 Star’ rating.

Kogarah City Council has in recent years constructed a number of river foreshore habitat enhancement projects. These have included works at Claydon Reserve, Dover Park East, and Sans Souci Park and all successfully replaced what were degraded species and poor artificial structures with biologically diverse natural foreshore habitats.

Continuing with its successful foreshore habitat improvement program, in 2013/14 Council has commenced a project at Carss Park Flats Seawall. This 230m seawall transformation project will be the largest Council has undertaken and aims to support the community’s reconnection with the foreshore. This will be achieved through the design and construction of an environmentally friendly foreshore, reintroducing saltmarsh, and rocky intertidal and mudflat habitats to replace the currently degraded ecosystem along the Carss Park foreshore. The design will increase the habitat for intertidal organisms and subsequently help to restore our urban waterways, both at Carss Park and around the greater Kogarah foreshore.

It is important that the local community are aware of and understand the importance of Kogarah’s natural areas to biodiversity. To achieve this, Council has developed and implemented a series of innovative environmental educational programs. These programs have focused on stormwater pollution prevention, water conservation and aquatic biodiversity.

One of the most successful has been the Catchment Crusaders educational program in schools. Catchment Crusaders is an integrated environmental education program that helps develop student’s knowledge about environmental issues specific to their catchment. The program aims to prevent practices that may have an adverse impact on local catchment water quality.

Council also facilitates the Georges River Watchers


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community volunteer water testing group, participates in local Streamwatch activities and has developed partnerships with local community groups through the Kogarah Bushcare volunteer program.

In addition, Council delivers a range of educational programs through the local schools in the community. Throughout 2013/14 Council also participated in three (3) local school initiatives for natural resources management and education.

Council is also committed to providing the City’s residents with a clean and environmentally sustainable community in which to live. To do so, Council educates the community on local waste collection services and supports them in implementing other waste minimisation strategies, including ‘reduce, reuse and recycle’.

Council has developed a waste collection calendar as well as other waste collection service materials and distributed these to all residents so they know

when waste will be collected and also, what type of waste goes into the red-lidded, green-lidded and yellow-lidded collection bins. Council also maintains a strong presence at community events, including Australia Day celebrations at Carss Bush Park and the Oatley Lions Festival, where it promotes awareness of a range of environmental and waste management issues. Council also implements projects to celebrate World Environment Day and Clean up Australia Day and also co-ordinates a community tree planting site for National Tree Day as well as community street tree planting under the Street Tree Management Strategy and Masterplan program. These programs involve the community planting trees.

Council is constantly working towards minimising waste going to landfill, maximising recycling, and maximising the collection of green waste in the community. To get the message of ‘reduce, reuse, recycle’ across the community, Council undertook a four (4) week educational program targeted at

Cleaning at Carss Bush Park tidal baths


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households to reduce contamination in recycling. Over the four week period 156 houses and 168 units were audited and the houses reduced their contamination in their recycling bins from 38% to 4% and the units contamination dropped from 38% to less than 2%. During Compost Awareness Week, Council undertook green waste audits at 82 houses and found that only nine bins were contaminated.

Kogarah City Council recognises the challenge of climate change which requires significant commitment and considerable action from all members of society. Council continues to work on mitigating its greenhouse gas emissions and at the same time work on adapting to the predicted impacts of climate change. Through a range of initiatives implemented over the past years, in 2013/14 Council has reduced its electricity consumption in the Civic Centre building by 65%, and has achieved an overall 17% reduction in water consumption.

In 2013/14 Council has recorded a 21.9% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions from its operations. Kogarah City Council is currently working towards achieving a target of reducing its greenhouse gas emissions from Council’s operations by 45%.

Council believes it is important to increase community awareness on issues relating to environmental sustainability and climate change. To achieve this Council delivered seven workshops

throughout 2013/14 including ‘No Dig Garden’, ‘Natural Baby Care’, ‘Backyard Veggie Basics’, ‘Household Energy Efficiency’, ‘Chooks, Veggies and Rainwater Tanks’, and ‘Green Cleaning’. In addition Council has worked closely with a number of the local schools delivering educational workshops and involving students in ‘Keep Australia Beautiful’.

The Carss Park community garden is now in its fifth year and is thriving. The project is an on-going process with the completion of the multi-function straw bale shed and toilet, four shared garden beds, 20 individual garden beds, four raised mobility garden beds, a frog pond, a herb spiral, a variety of orchard trees planted and the installation of rainwater tanks. The completed gardens have provided the members of the garden a way to reduce their grocery bills by harvesting seasonal produce.

The Mayors Green Grants Program encourages the community to implement environmental projects which enhance and protect our local environment. The funding program provides grants to individuals, community groups and schools along with local businesses on a dollar for dollar basis. In 2013/14 Council funded eight projects through the Green Grants Program totalling approximately $24,000.

Photovoltaic cells are installed on Council’s Civic Centre


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Carss Park Community Garden and EcoShed


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2. A LIVEABLE AND CONNECTED CITY

For its vision of a liveable and connected City, Kogarah City Council achieved 85.4% of its actions contained in the 2013/14 Operational Plan. A complete list of projects and activities is available in Section 4.

The vision for the City of Kogarah to be a liveable and connected city relates to the built environment and the way we travel around the City. Council’s aim is to conserve, protect and enhance both the natural and built environment of the City of Kogarah, while improving the quality of life of those who live, work and recreate here. This includes providing the infrastructure that will ensure the community is able to travel safely, economically and conveniently around the City by car, on foot, riding a bike or on public transport.

Planning for future development, including housing, across the City of Kogarah is an important part of Council’s responsibilities. Planning for housing that provides of a mix of housing types in appropriate locations to meet the needs of the community is essential in working towards a liveable and connected city.

Council completed the Kogarah Housing Strategy 2031 which is intended to create a framework that will deliver housing to meet the needs of Kogarah’s current population and the needs of future generations. Council’s goal is to ensure that there is a sufficient supply of appropriate housing over the next 20 years suited to meet the needs of our community. The recommendations from the Housing Strategy will be incorporated into the Planning Proposal to amend the Local Environment Plan (LEP) 2012.

Council has a primary responsibility for ensuring that new developments in the City are suited to the needs of our current and future residents and that new development is designed so that it responds to the context of its site and the streetscape. In working to achieve this and to minimise the impact of new residential development on the existing streetscape character, Council requires

that all development applications which may impact the streetscape include a Streetscape Character Analysis.

Council also continues to implement its Residential Design Guide and integrate environmental sustainability into its Development Control Plans and planning instruments.

Built heritage is also an important part of the built environment and provides our community with a sense of identity, pride and history and makes an important contribution to the character and amenity of the City. Council once again supported the promotion and protection of our City’s Heritage through the Local Heritage Grant Fund. The grant program aims to assist in the conservation and protection of the City’s heritage and is open to residents whose properties are heritage listed. In 2013/14 a total of $15,000 was available under the Local Heritage Grant Fund, with a total of eight projects funded.

Another of Council’s goals designed to fulfil the vision of a liveable and connected City is to improve the way in which people travel within and throughout the City of Kogarah. Future transport options need to be sustainable and affordable for our community and any future development should aim to reduce the reliance on fossil fuels and private vehicles.

Council has a role in advocating to relevant State and Federal Government departments on issues related to public transport. In 2013/14, a new train timetable on the Illawarra line resulted in a decrease in peak hour services through Kogarah and Council advocated to the State Government on the impact of this service decrease on our residents, workers and local economy.

Council undertakes a range of actions to support residents, visitors and workers being able to get around our City safely and conveniently. Council provides a range of educational programs and materials to the community which promote safety, accessibility and driver education.


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In 2013/14 Council delivered senior drivers workshop which provides practical, low-risk driving tips for drivers aged 55 years and over. Participants at this workshop have commented that they attended to refresh their knowledge of driving issues and to gain confidence with new road rules. This workshop continues to be offered in our key community languages to provide greater access in line with the demographics of our community.

Council also offers a workshop for learner drivers designed to help them become safe drivers and provide useful tips and guidance for those supervising learner drivers. To ensure children are safe when travelling, a child car seat checking service is offered throughout the year. This is an opportunity for residents to get their child car seat checked by an RTA-certified inspector to ensure it

has been correctly installed.

Local schools and child care centres are also provided with material to educate parents on safe driving practices, especially around school zones. For motorcycle riders, the annual ‘Breakfast Torque – Motorcycle Safety Event’ which Kogarah City Council co-organises and supports, provides techniques and skills which can help lower the risks involved with motorcycling. Council’s website and quarterly newsletter, Kogarahlife, regularly promote

these workshops and initiatives to the community.

Council continues to promote cycling routes throughout the city and encourage cycling as a means of transport through community events such as ‘Bike Week’ and cycling safety programs.

Council’s Local Traffic Committee plays an important part in the ongoing decision making for traffic and transport issues in the City. The Kogarah Local Traffic Committee meets on the first Tuesday of each moth to consider reports from officer on various traffic and transport related issues arising through the community. The Committee includes representatives from the local police, RTA, local state member’s representatives, STA (buses) and St George Taxis.

Council has implemented key initiatives to improve parking and access at our key CBD areas across the City. This has included increased pick up and drop off areas around the Kogarah CBD and medical precinct, and works to improve the traffic conditions around Hurstville Station interchange (Ormonde Pde), through improved pick up and drop off areas and increased monitoring of traffic.

Council also developed a pocket parking guide for the Kogarah CBD area to promote safe, legal parking practices.


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3. A THRIVING AND PROSPEROUS CITY

For its vision of a thriving and prosperous City, Kogarah City Council achieved 83.3% of its actions contained in the 2013/14 Operational Plan. A complete list of projects and activities is available in Section 4.

Council is continually working at strengthening partnerships with all the major employers in the Kogarah CBD. The Kogarah CBD Taskforce was formed in 2010 and continues to meet regularly to ensure a coordinated approach by all the major stakeholders in the future planning of the Kogarah Town Centre. Through the Taskforce, Council distributed a survey for employees working in Kogarah to find out their views about Kogarah Town Centre as a place of employment. 599 employees responded to the survey providing Council with valuable information regarding work travel arrangements; how they regard and use the amenities, retail and other services; and what recreational, trade and services generally add to the amenity and use of the Town Centre.

Council recognizes that our diverse range of quality businesses complement and support other businesses, create employment in our local area, are integral to healthy neighbourhoods and strong local centres and provide valuable support to community events.

It is important for Council to continually support and facilitate local centre development which will contribute to ensure our City has distinctive and vibrant town centres. Council celebrated the Christmas season across the City with decorations put up in both the Kogarah CBD and the Oatley Shopping Village. In addition Council ran a ‘shop local’ campaign to promote the variety of goods and services and encourage local residents to explore local shops for gift ideas.

To help assist small businesses in our City, Council partnered with the Southern Sydney Business Enterprise Centre to provide a range of educational programs that strengthen and

Kogarah’s flag hanging program promotes local and community initiatives


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sustain small business. The topics were chosen around business fundamentals and included ‘Start a Business’ Workshop and ‘Planning for Success’. These workshops were targeted towards small business owners wishing to acquire new skills and develop growth plans and strategies to better face the challenges of a highly competitive and rapidly changing global marketplace.

In addition to workshops for small businesses, Council hosted the NSW Governments Small Biz Bus in the Kogarah CBD. The Small Biz Bus supports small businesses by providing no cost personalised advice at a location that is convenient to them.

In 2013/14 Council partnered with Hurstville City Council and local business operators to establish the St George Health and Wellbeing Forum. The Southern Sydney Regional Profile (October 2010) highlighted that both Kogarah and Hurstville’s health sector has strong potential for growth, comprising an increase in service provision from its existing hospitals and other medical and health related services. The Southern Sydney Region’s existing network of hospitals, skilled workforce and an increasing (and ageing) population support this opportunity.

The St George Health and Wellbeing Forum provides opportunities to meet and connect with local business operators; allows businesses to explore possibilities to develop partnerships; provides opportunities to network in an area

that has common business objectives; and creates a forum to share ideas and help build a strong network of health and wellbeing service providers for the St George Region.

This year Council was once again a major sponsor for the St George Local Business Awards. Council is proud to support these awards which recognise local businesses leading the way in customer service and quality products. These awards give local business operators well-deserved recognition for their important contribution to the community.

Another of Councils goals is to create opportunities for sustainable local employment. In 2013/14 Council completed a review of employment based land across our City. This review will lead the path to Council ensuring compliance the employment targets outlined for our City in Sydney’s Metropolitan Strategy. The recommendations from this review have now been incorporated in the Planning Proposal to amend the Local Environmental Plan (LEP) 2012.

Internally Council has continued this year to invest in young people and improve the local skills- base. Council has strong partnerships with local educational institutions and provides local employment and training opportunities through our annual traineeship program, apprenticeships and work experience placements. In 2013/14 Council provided student placements through work experience and offered five traineeship and apprenticeship positions.

Food handling course in Mandarin and a business meeting conducted in Kogarah


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Railway Parade , Kogarah


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4. A VIBRANT, SAFE AND INCLUSIVE CITY

The vision for a vibrant, safe and inclusive City includes a community that is diverse and culturally active and which lives in a City that is healthy and safe. In working towards this vision, Kogarah City Council achieved 100% of its actions contained in the 2013/14 Operational Plan. A complete list of projects and activities is available in Section 4.

Council has implemented a range of programs and initiatives to ensure that our City has clean attractive streets and public spaces where people feel safe in our community. To encourage the removal and prevention of graffiti in our community, Council provides free graffiti removal kits to any local residents or businesses. All offensive graffiti in our community was removed within 24 hours as outlined in Council’s Graffiti Management Policy.

To address safety issues in our Community it is important that Council work with key partners and the community to reduce crime and improve

community safety. In 2013 Council reviewed and adopted a new Community Safety Strategy which promotes a whole community response to safety and crime prevention. The plan encourages partnerships with local residents, police, government, business and the community sector in developing strategies to address crime and safety issues.

In partnership with Shopfront Theatre for Young People, Council ran a project to raise awareness of the issues, feelings and concerns faced by young people within the lcoal community in relation to ‘safety’ and ‘safe spaces’. The photographic works which emerged explored the connections between personal exeperience, memory and pysical place. If reflects how town safety refers to more than just pedestrian crossings, it is also about having a sense of community, engaging with public space and feeling pyschologically and pysically safe walking down the

Ocean Street Kindergarten


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street. The photographs which were created during the project formed an exhibition in the Kogarah Library and Cultural Centre, and continued on to be part of the ‘Head On Photo Festival ’ – a broader Sydney Based youth exhibition in Kings Cross.

Council is an active member of the St George Domestic Violence Committee and supports community development iniatives of the committee and local service providers, including resource development, research, advocacy and targeted programs to meet local needs. In particular Council continued to particiapte in the Respectful Relationships program and supported White Ribbon Day.

Council operates three childcare services that deliver high quality educational programs, care and support to children and families in line with the standards and requirements of the National Quality Framework and the Education and Care National Regulations 2011. In 2013 Ocean Street Kindergarten was awarded ‘Meeting National

Standards’ Ranking, South Hurstville Kindergarten has developed their Quality Improvement Plan which is the first step in the quality assessment process, and Carss Park Narani continues to be ranked as having achieved ‘Exceeding National Quality Standards’.

Council ensures that its childcare services provide a range of additional programs and activities beyond the standard curriculum, both to enhance the experience, meet the educational needs and reflect the cultural diversity of the area. Each of Council Children’s services continued to provide a number of community education programs relevant to families attending their services, for example, Behaviour Management Information Forum– Anxiety in Pre-school Aged Children and Beyond, the Munch and Move Program, and Transition to School community information forum.

Each year Council provides a Community Grants funding program that aims to assist in the development and provision of innovative community services and cultural programs within the Kogarah Local Government Area. In 2013-14 Council provided a total of $60,000 to local community groups through this program. In addition Council administered the online application process for the local ClubGrants scheme.

To provide direction on how Council can meet community needs, Council has developed a number of policy and strategy documents including the Youth Strategy, Multicultural Strategy, and Ageing Strategy and Cultural Plan. These documents reinforce Council’s commitment to our youth, multicultural and ageing community and outline the specific issues that are of importance in our Local Government Area. These documents are used to inform planning for future programs and activities.

Councils hosts a series of seniors seminars over the course of the year which align with the Ageing Strategy goals to ‘increase awareness and knowledge of physical and mention wellbeing for individuals through Council’s seniors seminars and partnership and promotion of health related agencies. In


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2013/14 Council provides two (2) senior seminars focusing on Dementia Awareness and Heart Health.

In 2014 Kogarah City Council held the inaugural ‘Life Festival’ which was a new initiative that took place between the months of February and April 2014. The Life Festival publication incorporated a range Council and community events marking significant celebrations for the year including NSW Seniors Week, National Youth Week, International Women’s Day, Harmony Day and Chinese New Year.

Council’s Senior’s Week celebrations are a highlight every March. The theme for Senior’s Week 2014 was ‘Live Life! Celebrating our Seniors’. To honour the contributions which our seniors make in our community, Council organised a month long diverse program of events including the senior’s week luncheon, bus trips, walking tours, local history tours and much more.

Council coordinates a voluntary Youth Advisory Committee worked in partnership with Hurstville City Council to procude the ‘St George Short Stuff’

film festival which was held to celebrate National Youth Week. The key component of the festival was a forty-eight (48) hour filming competition. To assist young people participating in the film festival, a series of skills based workshops were hosted in the lead up to the event.

In partnership with Shopfront Contemporary Arts Accessibility Program, Council developed a short film festival, ‘Take 6 Flicks: Six short fables, exploring the able’ to celebrate International Day of People with Disability 2013. Shopfront’s Bodylines Ensemble group produced a short-film titled ‘Reaching Out Over and Over’ which was the feature presentation at the film festival. Five additional short films were presented that challenged preconceptions that may exist concerning disability. This project won the ‘Developing Arts and Culture: Film and Screen’ category in the 2014 Local Government Cultural Awards.

The Kogarah Art Prize is now in its third year and has become one of the key annual cultural events in our City. It is an annual, national, acquisitive prize

Kogarah Library and Cultural Centre


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for painting. There are two main prizes: the Kogarah Art Prize valued at $8000 and the Place of Reeds Prize valued at $3000. The Prize brings diverse and unique artworks to Kogarah, and encourages our community to experience and celebrate artists and their work.

Across Council’s three libraries a range of regular programs and activities are offered focusing on toddlers, children, young adults and adults. Some of the regular programs include: ‘Storytime’, ‘Baby Rhymetime’, ‘Crazy Pages Book Club’, summer and winter reading programs, school holiday activities and author talks.

A ‘Winter Reading Program’ for adults has been introduced to complement the perennially popular ‘Summer Reading Club’ for children and Youth’. The ‘Winter Reading Program’ encourages adults and youth to write reviews of items they read that will then be placed with the items on display shelves and onto the library web catalogue.

To assist children and people from culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) backgrounds learning to read, the library has developed a strong collection of ‘Language Readers’. This collection provides a graded learning pathway. Loans from this collection amounted to thirty nine thousand, three hundred and sixty (39,360) in 2012-2013.

The annual HSC Lock In at Kogarah Library has continued its success. It features seminars on various HSC related topics and on managing stress during the HSC period. Attendance averages in the nineties with students from local and some out of area schools involved. Supper at the seminar was provided through sponsorship from local business, and the evening provided information and study spaces for the students. The Lock In is in its 7th year and continues to be the centrepiece of the Library’s HSC Support program.

The Library has introduced six (6) Galaxy Tablets for loan to the public within the library to be used along with the in-house WiFi. The tablets are loaded with literary and educational ‘apps’ as well

as ‘shortcuts’ to the library databases and other eResources offered.

Council’s Libraries continues to produce a quarterly magazine called ‘What’s On’ which is distributed to the community through each of Council’s three libraries and via a mailing list. ‘What’s On’ highlights the regular weekly programs at each Library, as well as special events that are designed to meet the needs of Kogarah’s diverse community.

Councils local studies area has commenced work on the ‘Soldiers of St George’ project which will build a database of all know service personnel, men and women, from World War 1 who have a connection with the St George area. It will also help build displays that will be exhibited in the region. This project will become a central activity for Council’s Library services celebrating the involvement of the Kogarah community in the centenary of World War 1.

The Exhibition Space in the Kogarah Library & Cultural Centre hosts community art work displays throughout the year. The ‘ArtSpace’ program has been designed to enable local artists to prepare and exhibit their art in a professional exhibition space at no cost.

Council also provides a range of events which create opportunities for people to come together and strengthen community cohesion. At these events, diversity is respected and celebrated and everyone is made to feel welcome.

One such event is Council’s Australia Day Celebrations held at Carss Bush Park on Wednesday, 26th January 2014. At this event, the community came together to celebrate what it means to be an Australian. Council’s Citizen of the Year Award which was announced on Australia Day recognises members of our community who have worked hard to make a positive contribution for the City. Congratulations to Craig Smith, the Principal of Woniora Rd School who was awarded Kogarah Citizen of the Year.

Council also held celebrations for Chinese New


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Year. 2014 is Year of the Horse and as part of the celebrations at Jubilee stadium; a Chinese lion dance entertained the crowds along with a variety of local entertainment.

2013 saw the creation of a new Spring Festival event combining the use of space in Kogarah Town Square and Kogarah Library and Cultural Centre. The event was branded Stories Alive! and targeted families with young children. The event was a combination of storytelling, performances, book sales, and roving children’s entertainment. It was an opportunity to show cases the Town Square and the services that the library offered.

In 2013/14 Council continued to expand on the very popular ‘Music at Twilight’ concerts, providing four (4) shows to a capacity audience. These concerts provide the opportunity to experience beautiful live music performed by some of Sydney’s finest musicians and artists.

Sculpture in the Kogarah Town Centre


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5. AN ACTIVE AND HEALTHY CITY

For its vision of an active and healthy City, Kogarah City Council achieved 100% of its actions contained in the 2013/14 Operational Plan. A complete list of projects and activities is available in Section 4.

The vision for creating an active and healthy city is one in which our community thrives through healthy activity, leisure pursuits and connection to a healthy physical environment. In a healthy and active city residents can enjoy and access a range of facilities, services and programs that cater for the needs of all age groups.

Council provides a large variety of public infrastructure that serves current and future needs of our community including picnic facilities, toilets, sportsgrounds, playgrounds, local pools and facilities for dogs in parks. Over the past year Council has undertaken regular maintenance on all our sports grounds, playgrounds and community buildings. In 2013/14 Council was able to replace four new playgrounds and expand one existing playground at Grove Park, Terry Street Reserve, Quarry Reserve, Harold Fraser Oval and Joy Meade Reserve.

Currently Australia has one of the highest rates of skin cancer in the world. The major cause of skin cancer is exposure to ultraviolet (UV) radiation from the sun. With good protection against UV radiation, most cases of skin cancer can be prevented. Shade is one of the best and easiest ways to protect against UV radiation. In 2013/14 Council installed four shade structures in the playgrounds at Empress Street Reserve, Leighton Park, Anglo Square and Stevens Park.

To ensure our residents have access to a range of services and facilities that are relevant and responsive to health and wellbeing Council supported a range of programs to help promote health and wellbeing and encourage a healthy lifestyle.

Council continues to implement the Munch and Move Program through Councils child care services. The teaches have integrated physical movement into the monthly programs through activities such as soccer, long jump, egg and spoon races, beach volley ball, twister, cricket, potato sack races, tunnel

Hogben Park Basketball Court, Kogarah


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ball and tug-o-war. In addition families and children are provided with copious amounts of information and conversations about healthy eating and staying healthy through exercise.

Council’s Active Ageing Program continued for its ninth year, providing a physical activity program designed to encourage Council’s older residents (over 50 years of age) to be more active, promote health and wellbeing and encourage a healthy lifestyle. In particular Active Ageing has increased local seniors participation in exercise; provided the opportunity for affordable exercise classes and educates seniors on health, wellbeing and social benefits of exercise.

Council plays an important role in developing opportunities for its residents to be physically active through the provision of local infrastructure such as paths, parks and recreational facilities. In addition to providing playgrounds for younger residents, Council aims to provide suitable and safe places for people to exercise in identified public spaces. In 2014 Council installed new all ages outdoor exercise equipment at Moore reserve.

To ensure residents have the opportunity to recreate in areas that are smoke free all beaches, reserves and sporting facilities have now been identified as ‘Smoke Free Zones’. These are patrolled regularly to ensure that Council’s Smoke Free Policy is being adhered to.

Kogarah’s ‘Say No to Transfats’ program was adopted by Council in March 2009 and has grown into Council’s ‘Fighting Heart Disease Program’. This initiative was an Australian first program that aimed to educate the community on the health implications associated with eating foods high in transfats. Since the very beginning, the program has received interest and support Australia wide through the media, state government, politicians, other councils and the Heart Foundation. The program has also been recognised at both state and national levels by the NSW Food Authority and the Heart Foundation.

As a result of the widespread success of the program, Council has now expanded the existing ‘Say No to Transfats’ program to include banning those cooking oils that contain high levels of saturated fats. Like transfats, saturated fats increase the risk of developing heart disease. Food businesses preparing and cooking with heart healthy oils are given a sticker to display in their shop front window so the general public can identify those businesses that are doing the right thing by helping to reduce heart disease in the Kogarah area.

In 2013/14 Council has continued to participate in the Scores on Doors Pilot Program, and initiative of the NSW Food Authority, focusing on food businesses in the LGA. The main aim of the program is to provide the customer with information relating to the food safety practices of a particular business, whilst at the same time encouraging businesses to maintain a high standard of compliance.

Under the food safety standards, a food business must ensure that people handling food or supervising food operations have the appropriate skills and knowledge in food safety and hygiene matters. Council provides free food handling training and information in a variety of community languages to assist our local businesses in meeting the requirements of the food safety standards.


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6. AN INNOVATIVE AND EFFICIENT CITY

Kogarah City Council strives to be an innovative and efficient Council and practices good corporate governance to achieve this. These practices include adhering to the principles of fairness, equity, transparency and probity in all its operations and dealings with staff, residents and other stakeholders. Council achieved 93.9% of its actions contained in the 2013/14 Operational Plan under this key strategic direction. A complete list of projects and activities is available in Section 4.

Council’s goal of being a leading, responsive, innovative, efficient and accountable organisation is reflected in many of the initiatives, projects and programs it offers or supports, both for the community and for Council staff.

A key point of Council’s engagement, communication and service delivery to our community is through the Customer Service Centre. Council opened its new Customer Service Centre in March 2014 which saw Customer Service re-join the main Civic Centre premises. The modern centre has delivered an improved customer facility which includes lift access and meeting and consultation rooms to accommodate meetings with Council staff. Sustainability was a key priority in design and construction of the centre, with sustainable features and products serving to reduce the environmental impact of the facility and deliver reduced operating costs.

Council manages a number of community facilities which it offers in accordance with the needs that have been identified and expressed by the community itself.

The Jubilee community rooms continue to offer a modern venue for hosting meetings and events. It offers comprehensive audio visual equipment and a flexible, adaptable space to suit a range of needs and continues to be one of the most modern community spaces available in the St George region. The rooms continue to enjoy a high volume of users, both casual and permanent.

Council offers a number of other facilities for hire to community groups or for private use. These include the St George Community Centre within the St George Bank, PJ Ferry Reserve Community Centre, Carss Park Life Saving Hall and the School of Arts in Kogarah. There are also a number of beautiful parks available for outdoor event use including Carss Bush Park on the shores of scenic Kogarah Bay and Sans Souci Park, both of which have picnic facilities available.

Another practice that helps Council to be a leading and efficient organisation is facilitating regular and clear communication with our residents and developing and maintaining positive relationships with them.

The new Kogarah City Council Customer Service Centre


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To achieve this, Council publishes a community newsletter, Kogarahlife. This publication is produced four times a year and distributed to residents and businesses in the Kogarah LGA. It offers Council and community news and is an effective tool in keeping the community updated on what is happening in their local area.

Kogarah City Council’s website is key to our online communication and service delivery and covers the entire spectrum of Council services and community information. A key achievement in 2013/14 was the launch of a new website with improved design, accessibility and content to improve communication with our community and stakeholders. The new site has ensured that our community has fast access to reliable information that is easy to find and understand.

In addition to keeping residents informed, Council also encourages the community to engage in the decision making process. It coordinates a number of

advisory groups made up of representatives of the community. These advisory groups provide relevant and valuable input into the issues Council is faced with and which affect the community.

One key advisory group is the Community Reference Group which consists of a representative cross-section of the community. This group meets periodically throughout the year and provides ongoing input into the delivery of Council’s Community Strategic Plan.

A Seniors Week Advisory Committee is also in place, meeting four times a year to plan activities for Seniors Week in March.

Council also runs a Youth Advisory Committee (YAC) which plays an important role in contributing to the provision of youth services in the Kogarah LGA. The Youth Advisory Committee has the opportunity to influence decisions made by Council on issues that affect young people and also contributes to important community development

Council’s Quarterly Newsletter KogarahLife and the new Kogarah City Council website


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projects affecting young people. The Youth Advisory Committee is a voluntary group that meets once a month to express their views and contribute to the development of the local community.

Kogarah City Council is an employer of choice, promoting a safe, healthy and innovative working environment. A comprehensive workforce plan has been developed and implemented, designed to attract, retain and nurture Council employees so that they can deliver positive outcomes for Council.

In 2013/14 Council prepared and implemented a comprehensive training and development plan offering a variety of learning and development opportunities for its workforce. This plan recognises that Council can only achieve its vision, mission and objectives through the competence, passion and dedication of its employees, and provides the framework for structured learning and development opportunities.

To further support productive outcomes for Council, the employee values (VISTA) continue

to be incorporated into the workplace culture. These VISTA values include valuing people, integrity, serving our customers, teamwork and communication and, achieving excellence. These values also provide a framework for improving the way Council operates. Council also continues to deliver health and wellbeing initiatives to support its employees.

Carss Bush Park Rangers

SECTION 1 DELIVERY PROGRAM ACHIEVEMENTS€¦ · waterways, atmosphere, bushland and foreshore...

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Transcript of SECTION 1 DELIVERY PROGRAM ACHIEVEMENTS€¦ · waterways, atmosphere, bushland and foreshore...