The most significant project in terms of the Town’s future undertaken during the year was the development and public advertising of the Town Centre Area Strategy.
Revitalisation projects planned for the Town Centre, included Australand’s “Park Estate” subdivision, total almost $300 million in value with plans for up to 530 new dwellings, the creation of a Town Park and new Town Square, the redevelopment of Steel Blue Oval Bassendean, an additional 500 new car parking bays and greater community access to public open space. Following community feedback, Council considered the final Concept Plan for the Bassendean Town Centre at its August 2007 meeting. The Plan has a 2030 timeframe matching the Network City document timeframe and was developed by Consultants Hames Sharley.
The Strategy is based on the key principles of:
Closely associated with the Town Centre Area Strategy is Council’s participation in the Maylands to Guildford Transit Oriented Study. On 24 April, the Town entered into a joint commitment with the Cities of Swan and Bayswater and the State Government to accelerate redevelopment at key centres, around railway stations and along transport routes between Maylands and Guildford Stations. The three station precincts within the Town of Bassendean; Ashfield, Bassendean and Success Hill, will benefit greatly from this partnership with the State Government and our aim is to give residents better facilities and more opportunities for business and employment, education, entertainment and recreation.
In another important achievement Council was able to negotiate a win-win outcome with the St John Ambulance Association. Land at the Council Depot was provided for a new training centre in exchange for Council being able to secure two St John owned lots adjacent to the Wind in the Willows Child Care Centre. By taking this action Council has secured the ongoing success of the Wind in the Willows as a community based child care centre in its current location into the future. At the same time Council is ensuring that life saving training is to be located in the Town of Bassendean. In a further complementary project, the Town is assisting Technology Assisting Disability WA (TADWA), a non-profit organisation, to relocate from the Pyrton site in Lord Street to a site adjacent to the St John training centre at the Depot. TADWA is an exceptionally worthwhile group assisting people with disabilities to live more fulfilling and inclusive lives and the Town is proud to be able to retain them in the community.
The Town’s capacity to provide more effective local government service delivery was enhanced by a major investment in Information Technology systems during 2006–07. The Synergysoft product from IT Vision was purchased and this will lead to better tracking of customer requests and applications, more effective long-term asset management and improved records management, financial accounting and administration generally. Changing from one business system to another is an enormous task and many hours of additional effort has been supplied by dedicated professional staff particularly in the Corporate Services area.
As a continuous improvement tool, the Town conducts a rolling review of services known as Sustainable Best Value. The review of Operational Services, including Asset Services, Ranger Services and the Health and Environmental Unit, was completed as well as reviews of Governance and the Development Services Unit. The review of Asset Services has lead to a major restructuring to investigate the potential for more contracting out of services and increased capacity in technical services, asset management, contract management, work programming and supervision. The review of Development Services indicated a high level of satisfaction with the level of service provided, but also identified some areas where services could be improved. A three year action plan has been developed to further improve an already well functioning service. As part of the Governance Review a new best practice Standing Orders Local Law was developed and implemented for all Council and Committee meetings.
Council lodged a submission to the WALGA Systemic Sustainability Study. The submission highlighted that the Town of Bassendean is a successful and sustainable local government, well connected with its community and recognised for its effectiveness through high community satisfaction levels. There is no reason that the Town should not continue to be a viable, independent and sustainable local government into the future provided that it manages its facilities, services and infrastructure effectively and efficiently. As CEO I participated in broader local government industry initiatives being appointed to the WALGA Governance Policy Committee, the State Board of Directors for LGMA and continuing service on the State WALGA Library Framework Agreement.
As the CEO I am proud of the highly successful achievements delivered during the year resulting from the successful teamwork developed between Councillors, staff and our many stakeholders. I am honoured to have lead a team of dedicated staff members who are strongly committed to serving the residents of the Town. My sincere thanks go to all staff for their fine efforts and support they have given me over the year. My Executive Team of Colin Cameron, Simon Stewert-Dawkins and Graeme Haggart again formed a well-knit and productive unit. Colin was successful in being appointed to the City of Swan and completed his employment with the Town on 18 May. He made an outstanding contribution during his time with the Town. There is a strong joint commitment between Councillors and staff to moving the Town forward. I would like to thank and congratulate Mayor Klein, all of the Councillors and staff for the steady progress and ongoing success which was achieved over the year.
Gary Evershed
Chief Executive Officer