Kaya,

I hope that you’re keeping well. My family seems to be in an eternal cycle of colds, but happily council is in a quiet patch (I even had one meeting-free week this month!) so I have a little time to recover.

It does feel like the weather is turning, with some warm days between the cold. My chickens have started laying, the scent of jasmine is in the air, and the mindaleny is bursting into flower.

This newsletter covers:

• Getting involved;

• Coming up in August: WALGA delegates; appointment of a council member to the Audit, Risk and Improvement Committee and Business Advisory Group; the Draft Homelessness Action Plan; Verge Collection Service evaluation; 10 Kent St again; the Victoria Park Carlisle Bowling Club lease; road safety on Hampshire St; and calls to fund local climate action.

• Decisions made in July: the budget and the Bentley Tech Park Precinct Structure Plan.

• Inspiration from elsewhere: a school for noticing; school streets; post-carbon futures in practice; and a toolkit for more inclusive public space.

Get involved

• Victoria Park Community Centre is looking for volunteers to support Foodbank WA's nom! program. You don't need any cooking experience — just a caring nature, a positive attitude and a passion for supporting your community. To find out more contact: [email protected]

• The Adaptation Game helps communities play out responses to climate change. There’s a localised version specific to Vic Park now in the library and ready to play!

• It’s weeding season at Jirdarup bushland, so lend a hand if you can.

• Make/shift is a festival of futuremaking in Walyalup (Freo), and looks like an excellent space for imagining how we get from where we are to where we might want to be.

• Want to stay in touch with what’s happening around town without relying on social media algorithms? Subscribe to the Town newsletters, or newsletters for the Library, Community Centre, and Centre for the Arts.

Decisions coming up in August

The August Ordinary Council Meeting will be held on 18th August at 6:30pm. I’ve given a summary of some key items, but read the complete notes for full details. The ABF recording is available here, and you can find notes here.

Item 12.1 Endorsement to advertise the Draft Homelessness Action Plan

This draft acknowledges that the primary responsibility for addressing homelessness sits with state and federal governments, but also that local government plays a key role.

The draft plan developed by staff proposes increasing our capacity to support people who might be facing homelessness, including by connecting them with services that can keep them in their homes. Homelessness doesn't just affect those who are sleeping rough - there are also many people in precarious or unsafe living situations who need secure housing.

Once Council approves the draft (with or without amendments), it will then go out for public comment.

Item 13.1 Performance Review - On Demand Verge Collection Service

Overall, this review suggests that the service is operating well, with reasonable use by the community. There were quite a few questions on this at the ABF (at 19min).

Item 13.2 874 Albany Highway, East Victoria Park - Evaluation of Expression of Interest Submissions

This property has been leased to Aster Health Group Pty Ltd since 28 October 2024 for use as psychology consultation rooms, but they won’t continue the lease after October this year.

Staff note that, “Town officers conducted an expression of interest campaign from 3 June 2026 to 29 June 2026. The EOI process did not result in a suitable commercial outcome for the Town. Accordingly, officers will continue to market the property to secure an appropriate commercial tenant.”

Item 13.3 10 Kent Street, East Victoria Park - Evaluation of EOI submissions

This space previously came up for lease in March, but the preferred and second-ranked applicants withdrew.

Three submissions were evaluated. The top-rated applicant “provides a range of information technology services, including managed IT support, hardware and software training, cloud and network solutions, and web hosting. In addition to its commercial operations, the business supports the local community through student internship opportunities and by providing meeting space for local not-for-profit organisations.”

The second-rated applicant proposed the highest level of rent, and use of the property for “a place of worship, spiritual education and associated community activities”.

The third-rated applicant would deliver “music, performing arts, workshops, community choirs, early childhood music education and other creative programming, creating opportunities to strengthen the precinct as a destination for arts, culture and community participation.” However, it suggested peppercorn rent, which contributed to its low overall ranking.

Item 13.4 18 Kent Street, East Victoria Park (Victoria Park Carlisle Bowling Club) - Lease Renewal

This lease agreement has been the subject of considerable negotations between staff and the Club, though staff note that, “consensus has been reached on the proposed lease arrangements and the key commercial terms have been agreed in principle”.

Item 13.5 Petition response regarding road safety concerns - Hampshire Street, East Victoria Park

In response to a petition from residents of Hampshire Street, staff recommend (p.52) a community consultation with a report to come to council on engagement outcomes no later than the February 2027 Ordinary Council Meeting.

Item 17.1 Cr Sky Croeser - Support for WALGA Motion calling for National Climate Adaptation Funding

The Western Australian Local Government Association AGM provides a space for councils throughout WA to bring their voices together on important issues. The Town of East Fremantle will be putting forward a motion at the AGM calling for the federal government to establish a National Climate Compensation Fund with a dedicated funding stream for local governments; and introduce a Climate Pollution Levy on coal, oil and gas corporations. This is part of an Australia-wide campaign.

My motion here is intended to show our support for that motion at the WALGA AGM, and more broadly. Local governments are at the forefront of dealing with climate impacts, whether that’s through the need to plan for increased urban heat and other extreme weather or our role in disaster recovery. It’s vital that councils are adequately funded to do that work.

Decisions made in July

There were two decision-making meetings in July - the Special Council Meeting (during which the budget was passed) and the Ordinary Council Meeting. As always, I’ll try to summarise a few key items of interest, but I recommend that you read the minutes or watch the recordings for full details.

The 2026/2027 Budget

The budget is probably the most important item we decide on each year: as well as determining rates, it determines which projects get funded, and which services we provide. I explained some of the process involved in arriving at the budget in my statement on the staff recommendation (33min 30sec).

Mayor Vernon put forward an amendment (p.37) to the budget drafted by staff, changing from the average 5% rate rise originally proposed to an average 3.5% rate rise. This is to come from deleting the $300,000 allocated from municipal funds for the Low Cost Urban Road Safety Program, and requiring staff to find a 1% reduction in the operating expenditure for the year.

It can be difficult to understand the concrete impact of changes to rates. As an illustration, staff explained in answers to questions on the amendment (53min on) that shifting from a 5% to a 3.5% average rate rise was projected to save the median residential homeowner approximately $30 over the course of the year. It will save our largest non-residential ratepayers between $2,000 and $88,000 each over the next year.

I opposed this amendment (I gave my reasons for this at 1hr 10:45min and 1hr 30:40min).

Mayor Vernon’s amendment passed, with Mayor Vernon, Cr Anderson, Cr Ingram and Cr Minson voting for. Deputy Mayor Miles, Cr Biondi, Cr Gordon-Manley and myself voted against. The mayor had the casting vote, and voted for.

The next budget amendment put forward came from Cr Minson. This amendment aimed to fund further asset renewals using funds from the reserves. After consultation with staff during the meeting, the initial list of renewals (p.40) was revised (p.41). Cr Melrosa joined the meeting online, with Mayor Vernon’s approval, at 10:31pm.

My questions about Cr Minson’s amendment can be found at 2hrs 39:15min, and my statement at 2hr 44:40min.

Cr Minson’s amendment passed, with Mayor Vernon, Cr Anderson, Cr Ingram, Cr Minson, and Cr Melrosa voting for, and Deputy Mayor Miles, Cr Biondi, Cr Gordon-Manley and myself voting against.

The final budget amendment was from Cr Anderson, to include a $125,000 budget from the Building Renewal Reserve for the construction of a Changing Places Toilet Building in McCallum Park. You can find questions on this amendment at 4hrs 36min. My statement on this amendment is at 4hr 42:47min.

Cr Anderson’s amendment passed, with Mayor Vernon, Cr Anderson, Cr Ingram, Cr Minson, Cr Melrosa, Cr Gordon-Manley and myself voting for, and Deputy Mayor Miles and Cr Biondi voting against.

Bentley Technology Park Precinct Structure Plan

This item (1hr 28min;p.42) in the July Ordinary Council Meeting provides our response to the Western Australian Planning Commission to inform their decision on the area.

There has been significant concern about this plan due to the possibility that the zoning may allow for data centres in the area, and related to the potential that development will lead to tree removals.

During previous meetings, staff have said that the current zoning will only allow for data centres that are ancillary to other uses, like the existing Pawsey Centre.

Cr Minson put forward an amendment (p.42) aiming to:

a) Bring tree protection policies embedded in the Precinct Structure Plan in line with our existing tree protection policies. (Staff noted that these will already apply to the area.)

This passed unanimously.

b) Reduce the maximum building height in the transitional area on a small section of Sarich Way from six storeys to three storeys.

This failed, with Mayor Vernon, Cr Ingram and Cr Minson voting for, and Cr Anderson, Cr Biondi, Cr Melrosa, Cr Gordon-Manley and myself voting against.

c) Register a preference for the narrow lots running along Kent Street (near the current shared path) to be zoned as Public Open Space.

This passed unanimously.

Inspiration from elsewhere

• I love the idea of a school for noticing!

• Merri-bek and Kingston City Councils have launched a national guide to help local councils create healthier, happier open streets around schools.  

• This book explores the ways that communities around the world are transforming their social, ecological, and economic systems in response to the climate crisis.

• This design guide can help with the creation of more inclusive public spaces!

We are all connected

The scale of the world’s problems sometimes overwhelm me. I continue to watch the genocide unfold in Gaza, and despite all of the protests here and around the world, those in power let it continue. Heatwaves and fires in Europe don’t seem to stop the approval of more fossil fuel projects.

But still, people around the world continue to weave networks of solidarity locally and internationally.

If you have money to spare, consider donating to some of the organisations working urgently to support civilians through violence and dispossession. Carad has just moved into our area, and would appreciate donations. If you have time to spare, the Palestinian Community of Western Australia is looking for volunteers.

Boordawan!

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.