Sky's Vic Park Newsletter #25: decisions, elections, and inspiration
A catch-up for August, September, and October.
Kaya!
It’s been a while since my regular newsletter landed in inboxes, hasn’t it?
Unfortunately it’s been a tough few months for my family, and I’ve had to put the optional extra parts of my work on council (such as this newsletter) to the side for a while.
Still, I’m hoping to get some time to catch you up - as usual, this is unlikely to be short!
This newsletter includes:
Getting involved;
Local elections - get your vote in by 18th October;
Coming up in October: The Pool and a motion to increase participation in council elections;
Decisions made in September: policy updates and an extension to our turf maintenance contract;
Decisions made in August: advocacy priorities, short-term rental accommodation applications, the strategic waste management plan, the Rutland Ave separated cycle path, community batteries, and a progress report;
Inspiration from elsewhere.
Get involved
Consider applying for a Community Grant.
Join us at Rhythm and Ramps this weekend!
Kids from 2-18 have until 15th October to submit photos showing the community through their eyes.
Don’t want to rely on social media algorithms to keep you informed on what’s happening around the Town? Consider signing up to Town newsletters.
Share your thoughts on our Arts and Culture Strategy, an extension of the stadium’s venue approval, and current development applications.
Run, walk or roll to raise money for Palestine.
Talk about your experiences with the Boorloo Bridge.
Council elections
Don’t forget to vote! If you haven’t got a voting package, you can get a new one reissued at the Town admin building. You can complete it and hand it in while you’re there.
Not sure who to vote for? There are a few tips, and a summary of the Victoria Park Candidates’ Debate, here.
Coming up in October
The October Ordinary Council Meeting, to be held on the 14th at 6:30pm, falls within the election period and therefore does not include ‘significant’ decisions.
The meeting does include our usual favourites, like Item 11.1 (the status of completed and ongoing past resolutions), Item 14.1 (Financial Statements), and Item 14.2 (Statement of Accounts).
There are also a couple of other items of particular note:
Item 11.2 - Black Swan State Theatre Company partnership – The Pool (Update and Funding).
This is related to a public performance being considered for Aqualife, which would be partially funded by the Town with costs to be refunded through a portion of ticket sales.
Item 17.1, from Cr Jesse Hamer: Local Government Elections.
This motion, if passed, would require the CEO to "investigate ways to raise the profile of being an elected member to increase nominations in future elections".
Decisions from September
The September Ordinary Council Meeting fell within the election period, which means that council could not make ‘significant’ decisions. However, there were still a few interesting items here. You can watch the full meeting here - amazingly, it comes in at under an hour.
Item 11.2 August Policy Review
Several policies were changed. Cr Hamer was the only dissenting vote here, with an objection to the special recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders in the Commemorative Recognition Policy (p. 22).
Item 13.1 CTVP-22-19 Fletcher Park Grounds Maintenance Contract Variation
I admit that I was a little shocked at how much it costs to maintain the turf for cricket and hockey (p.35)!
Decisions from August
The August Ordinary Council Meeting was held on 19th August at 6:30pm. You can read the full minutes here, and watch the recording here.
As always, while I’ve highlighted a few items it's best to read the meeting notes or watch the recording for more detail.
Item 11.3 Minor Review of the Corporate Business Plan
The Corporate Business Plan "outlines the projects and services that will be delivered over a four-year period to help achieve Town objectives and community priorities in the Town’s strategic direction."
This provides a useful overview of specific funding allocations for different community priorities in the 25/26 Budget, from pages 12 on.
This was passed unanimously.
Item 11.4 Advocacy Priorities Projects 2025/26
Council unanimously endorsed the following advocacy priorities (p. 30):
(i) Rough Sleeping and Homelessness in the Town
(ii) Burswood Station Redevelopment
(iii) Kent Street Sandpit Restoration
(iv) Higgins Park and Playfield Reserve Masterplan
(v) Rutland Ave Shared Path
(vi) Perth Entertainment and Sporting Precinct – Motor Racing Circuit opposition
Applications to change from single-house to unhosted short-term rental accommodation
There were three development applications (pg. 47 on) for changing from single house to unhosted short-term rental accommodation:
Item 12.2, 12B Gresham St, Victoria Park;
Item 12.3, 18 Blair Athol Street;
Item 12.4, 47 Sussex St, East Victoria Park.
All three of these applications were refused, with only one dissenting vote (Cr Hamer on 12B Gresham St, p. 65).
Item 13.1 Strategic Waste Management Plan 2025-2030
Waste management has a significant impact on our area's emissions, and on the Town budget. Mayor Vernon, with Cr Miles as seconder, moved to request that the CEO review the draft (including a Concept Forum for elected members), and present the final Plan to council along with an implementation plan no later than March 2026 (p. 108).
Item 13.4 Rutland Avenue Advocacy & Project Update
This notes (at p. 123 on) ongoing advocacy and the need to explore options to complete the Rutland Avenue section of the Principal Shared Path. At the moment there is no clear commitment from State or Federal funding sources to cover the approximately $11million required to build a “Grade-Separated Cycle Path & Bi-Directional Road @5.5m width”, in alignment with council’s previous resolution.
Item 13.6 Western Power Community Batteries
Council unanimously approved community batteries for Koolbardi Park, Parnham Park, and/or Manners Reserve (p. 146).
Inspiration from elsewhere
Restor is a global map of nature restoration projects - spend an hour or three being inspired by other projects, or add your own!
The Dream Bike turns asphalt into a leafy meeting spot, helping to reimagine cities.
We are all connected
Our local decisions ripple out to affect others. What happens in the world spreads back to us. The only way to build a better world is to care for those beyond our borders, as well as our own community.
If you have money to spare, you can send help through large organisations or smaller efforts.
That's all folks!
Thanks for reading! As always, if you have questions, ideas, or concerns, please do feel free to get in touch. And if you’ve read this far and found it useful, please consider sharing with friends!
best wishes,
sky.
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