It was lodged friday,and is being paid for by them

Easy for you to say.

http://brimbank-leader.whereilive.com.au/news/story/surprise-no-surplus-for-brimbank-council/


Surprise! No surplus for Brimbank Council

* news
o Council

01 Dec 09 @ 05:00am by Helen Jacobs

HUNDREDS of thousands of dollars in federal and state government grants have been awarded to Brimbank Council over three months.

But the windfall didn’t stop the council from missing its predicted surplus for the first quarter by more than $4 million.

The quarterly financial statement tabled at last week’s council meeting showed a surplus of $3.5 million as at September 30, compared to a budgeted surplus of $7.8 million.

The council said $6 million in income - a $3 million grant from the Victorian Grant Commission and $3 million in Federal Government grants - was included in this financial year’s budget but it was actually accounted for in the 2008-09 financial year, which affected the figures.

Another $1.7 million allotted for the quarter was yet to be spent.

During the three months to September 30 the council applied for 10 grants.

It received $222,000 out of a possible $493,000.

The council was unsuccessful in its application to Sports and Recreation Victoria for a $100,000 central irrigation system. Two applications were still pending.

It spent $3.6 million on capital works and collected almost $24,000 in rates and charges.

http://melton-leader.whereilive.com.au/news/comments/melton-council-on-lookout-for-new-name/

Cat Friend writes:

What’s with councils looking at ways to waste money?
Shire, City… it makes not a jot of difference - unless you’re a councillor trying to justify your capacity as a serving officer.

How has it benefitted Brimbank to be City - look at the shame brought upon the council officers there, who were sacked because of appalling mismanagement.

Councils seem to suffer from dysfunctional incompetence.

Stop wasting rate payers’ money.

http://brimbank-leader.whereilive.com.au/news/story/my-door-s-open-says-brimbank-chief/

Marion Martin, a councillor until September last year, said Mr Lewinsky and fellow administrators Meredith Sussex and Joanne Anderson were not contactable and spent "maybe eight hours a week in the municipality".

"Councillors had a phone number that can be rung any time of the day or night. If you try and ring an administrator you can’t get them."

Another former councillor, Margaret Giudice, said the "community ties" were no longer there.

Mr Lewinsky said mobile phone numbers for the administrators were on the council website.

He said he wasn't offended by the claims, simply because they "are all incorrect".

http://brimbank-leader.whereilive.com.au/news/story/brimbank-councillors-sacked-still-paid-up/

ONLY two of the 11 Brimbank councillors sacked last September have fully reimbursed their allowances to council.

Brimbank Council has sent three reminder letters to the councillors requesting they return $5677 each.

Former Mayor Troy Atanasovski has a whopping $18,278 to repay.

Ex-councillors Marion Martin, Margaret Giudice and Sam David said they had not attempted to pay because they were still considering legal action against the State Government over their dismissal.

I chanced upon a display at the Sunshine Plaza today showing the Council's planned changes to Hampshire Rd in between the Plaza and Marketplace shopping centres. It included a design concept and the materials to be incorporated. I think BCC should immediately register as a power generator from hotrocks (in front of the Plaza)!

I AM FURIOUS! WHY DO WE WASTE OUR TIME, ENERGY AND GOODWILL TALKING TO BCC! PLAYING ALONG THEIR CONSULTATION GAME.

Now, I thought the aim of good urban design was to ensure safe and universally accessible public spaces. I think the current design was defined ONLY by referenc to aesthetics of architecture with sweeping stairs and narrow shelf levels which would be useless to restrateurs who might have used this for open air cafes. Further, the amphitheatre-like steps will be a fantastic place to 'hang' until your arse gets burned on the hot rock steps facing due west during summer.

Who is not allowed to use this architecturally aesthetically designed space?

Parents with children in prams
Disabled people in wheelchairs
Disabled people on electric scooters
Older people challenged by stairs
Younger people challenged by stairs
Toddlers not used to stairs
People who could use stairs if handrails were provided to steady them
People who shop with shopping trolleys (to wit ME!)
People on crutches (OK the braver of you might do the stairs but those textured pavers might undo you)

Did we or did we not point out the need to include disabled access to the planning staff who attended a SunRRA meeting last year? Why was this concern, which goes to the very heart of accessibility ignored? Wasn't it 'aesthetic' enough for someone's ego? Is it better for Council to be sued by individuals who will be denied access? Or those who come to grief because of the lack of handrails?

There is now no taxi pickup point, no 'safe' pick up point for shoppers, the post box must be moving down to Hampshire Rd, no place for the community shopping bus to stop, no safe access for late night shoppers.

I didn't look hard at the Marketplace side either so I could be wrong, but I had the impression that that nice shallow ramp that allows prams, trolleys, bikes and the disabled to safely go up adn down, is also gone, replaced by stairs to mirror the aesthetics of a waterfall on either side of Hampshire Rd.

And, no, despite the increase in traffic turning out of Service St since the Plaza reverted back to its original upper level parking style, the pedestrian-light zone has not been extended to enable safe pedestrian crossing of and traffic flow from Service St.

And I hate the colour of the feature pavers which are the same as outside Centrelink. Much prefer an orange terracotta look than a that harsh dark pink look.

Yes, I know I don't post when you're mad but better this intemperate post than speaking to them directly(could not be civil at the moment).

I swear, I could not handle another monumental stuff up of Hampshire Road. This sounds atrocious.

People have to live here for the long term unlike wannabe town planners who come and go. i.e. whoever it was that approved the positioning of dump masters and water tanks on our boulevard that are the lovely view of the marketplace should be shot.
If they much this up I am going to SPEW UP.

Not again wrote:
I swear, I could not handle another monumental stuff up of Hampshire Road. This sounds atrocious.

People have to live here for the long term unlike wannabe town planners who come and go. i.e. whoever it was that approved the positioning of dump masters and water tanks on our boulevard that are the lovely view of the marketplace should be shot.
If they much this up I am going to SPEW UP. If making the street 'pretty' is all that matters to you, then you have your wish. The amphitheatre terrace effect will definitely be pretty when it's new but trust Brimbank, with a little of their usual maintenance regimen, it will be dirty and ugly. Don't know who will be responsible for cleaning the rock terrace, but the little green scarab won't fit and, if the train station is anything to go by, the steps will become filthy soon. Yes, definitely pretty, for now.

They offered us a wide terrace with cafe living but instead we get skinny little terraces that only the young, fit able and daredevil skateboarders can use.

We will lose a slip road in front of the Plaza which is constantly in use and enhances access for people who cannot do stairs or have babies in prams to use to get up to the Plaza. It provides a convenient pickup point for shoppers (old and young), short term parking near ATMs, a taxi pickup point and small deliveries to the shops.

What do we get? A rock terrace, pretty to look at (initially) nice to sit on in winter, unusable in summer. Totally unaccessible to mothers with children in prams, the disabled, shoppers with trolleys, people on walking frames Traffic from the slip road is diverted to increase Hampshire Rd/Service St traffic. A nice funnel for road noise and fumes to those sitting above.

But the design fails completely to address the biggest problem - the pedestrian interface. A few pavers does not make crossing Hampshire Road safer. Traffic has increased in this area since the Plaza's reverted to its original parking deck design plus the pool opened.

I have watched in horror as a barely moving old woman pushed her empty shopping jeep straight into Hampshire Rd and slowly creapt over the road, cars stopping sharply, honking, and a near miss. It didn't help that we had a hoon driver bent on showing his skills up at the Hertford Rd lights, either. The old lady is typical of people with movement problems, it takes her ages to walk all the way down to the pedestrian lights and then have to walk all the way back up to where she wanted to be. That is, the lights were too limited to be of use to her and also did not provide a normal ramp access on the plaza side.

In another example, a young mother with a baby in a stroller and a toddler by her side struggled to quickly cross the road directly from the bus stop on the Plaza side to the Marketplace side. One of the myriad bundles of shopping came adrift and fell into the middle of the road, into the path of oncoming traffic. In confusion, she turned to retrieve the shopping, the stroller was about to overbalance and the children were left in the middle of moving traffic. Thankfully, a quickwitted young man came to the mother's rescue.

The issue here is that the pedestrian lights need to be extended to cover the range from Service St to Hertford Rd, a bit like those outside the Queensbridge Hotel near the casino in the city.

It seems we have a choice between a 'pretty' zone and a safe, functional zone. I had hoped we could get both. Clearly this design makes 'pretty' the priority. A true triumph of form over substance.

Easy
Close it off between 9am to 6pm
Traffic can use Foundry rd and
Harvester rd turning into Hertford rd
its also quicker

Form over substance wrote:
Not again wrote:
I swear, I could not handle another monumental stuff up of Hampshire Road. This sounds atrocious.

People have to live here for the long term unlike wannabe town planners who come and go. i.e. whoever it was that approved the positioning of dump masters and water tanks on our boulevard that are the lovely view of the marketplace should be shot.
If they much this up I am going to SPEW UP. If making the street 'pretty' is all that matters to you, then you have your wish.

Who said anything about wanting some thing pretty. I just want it planned so that it all works properly for pedestrians and so it doesn't look like a complete stuff up like the marketplace was.

Where can I see these plans? I'm guessing it's obviously too late for any input? No pram access... this sounds like a nightmare.

Katie wrote:
Where can I see these plans? I'm guessing it's obviously too late for any input? No pram access... this sounds like a nightmare.

They are in Sunshine Plaza on the left before you walk into Woolworths

I disagree that the design is defined "ONLY by reference to aesthetics of architecture" On the contrary, the designers faced a problem of forming a public space from a typography that is - three distinct levels with the public space (not the private space of the shopping centers) situated at the lowest level - in effect a valley. Not ideal.

In short: there are 3 potential solutions. 1. Build the road up to the level of the shopping centers. (unbelievably expensive, technically quite difficult and not obviously desirable - where would we place the place the entry and exist ramps? Also it makes the shopping centers the key visual feature of the space (aesthetics and architecture but also politics) 2. Build a slope 3. Build terraces. (both are designed to drop the private space (the supermarkets) down to the level of the public space. Both are constrained by the need to leave the road at the level that it is.)

As for the slip road, it has to go! Yes it is an eyesore, one of the ugliest things I've seen. But more importantly, contrary to the view that it is an asset, it is actually a hazard, particularly for people with limited mobility. People are in constant danger of being run over - watch for the double parking, delivery vans and taxis at the busiest times. It takes up valuable public space - why should we give public space over to cars servicing a private enterprise? The removal of the slip road will force supermarket drop off traffic to park at the rear of the building - on supermarket land rather than on the public space.

I'm not yet persuaded that the design will increase traffic or make the pedestrian car interface worse. If there is a wide enough space, level with the road, this will cause the traffic to slow down. (I confess I haven't looked that closely at the design to see how much space there actually is) Any way you can't have it both ways, either we have the benefits of a public space or we have the convience of the car. In the end it should be difficult to drive down Hampshire road - the object is to discourage traffic.

Terreces provide edges, edges are places to sit, places to sit encourage people to sit (surprising isn't it!) When people sit, there is more oversight of activites (less trouble) and more community interaction. (good)

I agree that there needs to be more shade (lots) and more greenery to absorb the heat - other aspects of the design might also be less than ideal - I suggest people put in submissions if they think the plan needs to be altered. But give some rational consideration to the problems associated with this project and move beyond the "what I like or don't like" sydrome.

Thankyou Rational Suggestion for your defense of the proposed plan, I will not even take umbrage at the implication from your moniker that other posts lacked reason or were somehow irrational. However, I think every single person has the right to say what they do or don't like. For instance, I hate the Birrarung Mar building -although the mosaic consists of a selection of my favourite colours - and I hate the colour of the pavers. Nevertheless the space works brilliantly both internally and externally. I'm not alone in voicing my contempt for its aesthetics.

As the users of the Hampshire Rd space and the potential users of the refurbished space we are not constrained by any project brief as we did not define that brief nor are our suggestions reflected in that brief. Nor do our comments on the proposal need to judge how closely it meets that brief but rather on the view of how we will live with the outcome of the project.

Your rush to solutions is admirable but could we define the problem? My priority: Pedestrians are at risk crossing Hampshire Rd at inappropriate points and something should be done. Lowest priority: The sliproad elevation is an 'eyesore'. Its a very distant 'nice to fix' but a non-priority, unless, of course, Brimbank finds itself awash with money.

You exaggerate the risk to mobility impaired people. The cars on the sliproad are usually VERY slow and travel one way only. The risk point is at the UNREGULATED southern end of the road where people come up from the bus or cross from the Marketplace (rather than using the distant pedestrian lights which provide no RAMP access anyway). My 5km daily walk past the Plaza saw more danger from the left turn slip at Hertford Rd than anywhere else. I have never had difficulty negotiating the slip road's one-way traffic and most drivers are constantly alert for pedestrians - including those uncontrolled children. It is safer than the comparable slipway/taxi rank on the Clarendon St entry to the Crown Casino or the slip road to Jeff's Shed. These each present a challenge for able bodied people to negotiate because of speed and dual lanes.

Your suggestion of raising the road is novel. Never, ever heard that suggestion because the obvious question is what's the gain? The same question I apply to this project. The usual solution offered is the pedestrian link across Hampshire Rd but as one of the shopping centres does not buy into it, and their PRIVATE land would be needed to make such a link. Remember, on the Marketplace side, Council only owns the actual footpath which then puts focus back onto the Council owned land in front of the Plaza and suddenly there's this need to make the slope nice to Hampshire Rd. Historically, the maintenance of this area is poor. How many decades were those steps at the southern end of the Plaza taped off because Council wouldn't or couldn't fix them?

The sliproad provides convenience to the RESIDENTS WHO USE the plaza and lets face it, most residents still use cars - unlike myself. The commercial boost to the Plaza is the same boost gained from a road, a garden or a bus stop. Keep the users in perspective.

You say that In the end it should be difficult to drive down Hampshire road - the object is to discourage traffic. Please consult Brimbank Planning Department for the latest fashions in planning. The last Sunshine Council had purchased land around the Plaza to build a ring road for through traffic, deliveries and to access the outer carparks (eg, Withers St and Dawson St) specifically to reduce Hampshire Rd traffic. However, at the CONsultation on the central Sunshine plan this was poo pooed as old fashioned thinking, the new thinking- funnel all traffic down Hampshire Rd!

Back to the current project design. There are warning bells to raise over and above the lack of universal access that the terrace design delivers.

1. Cleaning and maintenance. There is no evidence that Brimbank Council can or will maintain these terraces. You have only to walk along Clarke St and dodge the chewing gum patches and spit on the footpath or walk through the harvestable quantity of crow guana under the gum trees or see the dangerous subsidence in the original 'sitting areas' and paving in that public open space or smell the never cleaned drains around the Clarke St/Devonshire Rd junction. Terraces on Hampshire Rd are too narrow for the 'green scarab' to go over and so would not be cleaned or maintained after the 'contractor maintenance' period. The probability is that it will soon fall into disrepair and become an eyesore of a different shape to the current one.
2. The sociological reality. Sunshine is often the 'winner' of all the prizes for measures of bad things. The 'sitting areas' on Clarke St used to be a vibrant throng of people sitting and talking on pension days as locals met up an chatted after the shops. Last week I went shopping, I passed the Centrelink office where some men coming out of those offices placed four open Jim Beam cans onto their car roof as they packed into the car; at the Macdonald's lane area, a couple of young blokes were drinking alcohol and had discarded their cans onto the 'garden beds' a little further up, another group, this time older blokes were sitting drinking their alcohol; around the corner and some challenged teens/young 20yos men and women and a child sat on the bench in front of the bank machines drinking alcohol and energetically demonstrating how they would conduct a fight and who would help to do what. Their litter was also left behind despite a bin nearby. Along the Asian shopping strip, it was mostly sober people on the seats and a family with their 2 pit-bulls - one of whom had clearly had puppies recently. What I'm getting at is that some Sunshine residents behave in a way that will drive other residents away. That's probably why a lot of people currently sit inside one or other shopping centre where there is some security rather than outside it. Until there is a demographic shift in Sunshine or our troubled people get help, uncontrolled public spaces will not deliver the outcomes that 'nice' planners and achitects imagine. The latte society is still in its infancy here.

If you're hoping to change Sunshine by making it pretty, make sure there is a maintenance and upkeep plan in place. We're a bit tired of having hopes raised with nice new environments and then watching it all decay around us.

My considered recommendation to Council is that before it commits big money to permanent works that the slip road is closed for 6 months, possibly installing a platform the width of the proposed uppermost terraces to bring the sliproad level to the pavement level, install seating and large potted plants and gauge the response of users at intervals (to wit, a temporary open space) as well as the Council's ability to clean and maintain this space. This is the only way to really measure the hypothesis that terraces will deliver a better urban space than the slip road with improved pedestrian and disabled access. And confirm that the sliproad has no value beyond being an eyesore.

The Star this week (16.3.10 p3) reveals that former mayor "Toy Boy" Troy Atanasovski has been expelled from the Party for 12 months, along with former councillor Maria Kiselis and a few of the 2008 election candidates Tuyen Nguyen, Vlado Mitrevski and Joseph Sultana. It was a rare win for William Jacomb who lodged a complaint about this group of candidates aligned with George Seitz in Grasslands ward.

It's been a bad 12 months for Troy. He finally got to be the mayor but was sacked before he could even warm the seat properly. Then he had to pay back $18,000 in advance payments AND was given a parking fine for his truck too. He sounded confused when asked about being expelled from the Party though, since he hadn't been told anything about it. "I would have expected a phone call or a letter..." he said.

But then he added, "If they say I've done the wrong thing, I'll be happy to accept any punishment they give me."

(OWWW! YEAH!)

Maria Kieselis on the other hand was just pissed off, saying she was "sick and tired" of the controversy before she hung up.

When you add the various union bosses and so on that's quite a list of locals who have been expelled from the ALP. I get the feeling that Bill Shorten is out there getting ready for 2013.

The Brimbank Leader has a story this week (16.3.10 p3) about more shenanigans in local Labor politics. Branch members here are feeling excluded after 5 years of being denied a say in local preselections. This is because of the usual "pull the wool" tricks that are played on members in safe Labor areas like this, and they keep accepting it.

Then the paragraph that caught my eye.

"It is understood last week's resignation from the party of former councillor Costas Socratous had depleted support from the Greek Cypriot community for the Labor Unity faction. Local Labor MPs Telmo Languiller, George Seitz and Marlene Kairouz, and influential ALP member Hakki Suleyman are all Labor Unity members."

Congratulations to Costas he has finally redeemed himself by exorcising his ALP demons. Now he will truly be able to work on behalf of the community if that is still his goal.

The Shorten shuffle 2 wrote:
Congratulations to Costas he has finally redeemed himself by exorcising his ALP demons. Now he will truly be able to work on behalf of the community if that is still his goal.

Costas didn't need to "redeem" himself. He is a good man

The Shorten shuffle 2 wrote:
"It is understood last week's resignation from the party of former councillor Costas Socratous had depleted support from the Greek Cypriot community for the Labor Unity faction. Local Labor MPs Telmo Languiller, George Seitz and Marlene Kairouz, and influential ALP member Hakki Suleyman are all Labor Unity members."

They were terrified that a non-aligned ALP member with grass roots support was going to get the support of Costas' fan base. They even came on here befor-ehand and started to smear that person.

So they ditched the elections. That's how truly pathetic and frightened they are