SHIRE NAME CHANGE SURVEY
Now open until 4.30pm Thursday 17 September 2009

Council is supportive of rebranding its operations to Macleay Valley Coast, but resolved at its meeting of 11 August 2009, that the community be invited to comment on their preference for either the “Macleay Valley Coast Council” or “Macleay Valley Council” as a proposed name for the Shire.

The survey below has been developed so that members of the community can vote for their preference and put forward any comments they may have on the matter.

Council currently operates under three names and three logos: Kempsey Shire Council, Macleay Valley Coast, and Macleay Water. The use of multiple names and logos contributes to a loss of identity for both the Shire and Council. It is important that our community and our Council are united under one banner.

Apart from this, increased costs may result from the need to have multiple styles of branding. The net impact of these costs may not be high, but combining them under one name and logo may allow for some additional economies of scale to be achieved in stationery purchasing, staff uniforms, etc. Having a unified single logo and name that is common among all usages will increase awareness of our Shire ‘brand’ and will allow Council to invest its resources better through this process.

To minimise cost Council intends to introduce any changes to the name and logo gradually, as current resources are exhausted and need to be replaced.

Council has already paid for the exclusive use of the design of the ‘Macleay Valley Coast’ logo so there would be no additional costs in relation to using it.

The survey is available online at http://www.kempsey.nsw.gov.au/namechange.html, and at various locations throughout the Shire including Council’s Customer First Centre (in Tozer Street, West Kempsey) and Economic Development Office (in Forth Street, Kempsey); the Shire Libraries at Kempsey, South West Rocks, Hat Head and Stuarts Point; and General Stores at Smithtown, Gladstone, Willawarrin and Bellbrook; and Crescent Head Country Club.

Survey closes at 4.30pm on Thursday 17 September 2009!

DRAFT KEMPSEY LOCAL ENVIRONMENTAL PLAN (KLEP) 1987 (AMENDMENT NO 100)
Proposed Rezoning of land known as No 19, Gregory Street, South West Rocks.

Subject Land: Lots 233 & 317 DP 754396 Parish of Arakoon County of Macquarie

Council resolved on 8 July 2008 to prepare a draft Local Environmental Plan (LEP) for the subject land to rezone the land. The purpose of the draft LEP is to rezone the land shown on the draft LEP Map from the current 5(a) Special Uses zone to part Zone 2(c) Residential and part Zone 7(d) Scenic Protection.

Council resolved on 9 June 2008 to prepare a draft Development Control Plan (DCP) for the site incorporating the recommendations made in the LES, including the provision of the draft LEP and that the draft LEP and the draft DCP be exhibited concurrently. On 8 September 2009 Council resolved to publicly exhibit the draft DCP for a minimum period of 28 days.

The exhibition period will be from Monday, 7 September 2009, to Friday, 6 November 2009. The formal public exhibition including full copies of the draft LEP may be viewed at Council’s Customer First Centre at the Civic Centre, 22 Tozer Street, Kempsey. Copies of the draft LEP Instrument and the draft Map are available at the Kempsey Library, Stuarts Point Library, Hat Head Library and South West Rocks Library. Exhibition documents are also available on Council’s website at www.kempsey.nsw.gov.au. Electronic copies of the exhibition documentation are available on CD for a fee of $25 from Kempsey Shire Council.

A public information evening will be held at the CWA Hall, 47 Landsborough Street, South West Rocks from 6pm to 8pm on Monday, 22 September 2009. Any interested person is welcome to attend.

Submissions to the draft LEP are to be addressed to the General Manager, Kempsey Shire Council, PO Box 3078, WEST KEMPSEY NSW 2440 and are to be submitted no later than close of business on Friday, 13 November 2009.

Any interested person may inspect the draft LEP at the above location during the exhibition period.

For enquiries, contact Keiley Hunter or Georgia Rayner on 6566 3200 during normal office hours.

ROAD CONSTRUCTION WORK - ELBOW STREET, WEST KEMPSEY

Over the next 8 weeks Council will be constructing centre parking in Elbow Street between Kemp Street and Tozer Street, West Kempsey. The work will involve: reconstructing the existing road pavement in the car parking areas of Elbow Street and laying an asphalt wearing surface.

It is expected that this work will cause significant disruption to parking traffic and some inconvenience to customers trying to access the businesses in this area.

Alternative parking will be available in Edinburgh Lane, which runs parallel behind the Elbow Street shops. Some businesses have rear access to this parking and others are investigating the possibility of a walkway through from Edinburgh Lane to Elbow Street to improve customer access. Council will be erecting signs and other safety barriers to assist with the pedestrian access.

Traffic control will be in operation while the work is in progress so pedestrians and motorists are asked to be cautious when approaching and travelling through this road work.

Council recognises, and apologises for, the inconvenience these works will cause but is aiming to have them completed as quickly as possible to minimise the disruption for members of the public and the business community.

ANNUAL GATE CLOSURE - GRASSY HEAD

The gate on Reserve Road, Grassy Head will be closed from Friday, 9 October, until Sunday, 18 October 2009, from 10pm until 5am. Council apologizes for any inconvenience this may cause.

CONTROL OF GIANT PARRAMATTA GRASS

Council wishes to advise that Giant Parramatta Grass spraying with chemical registered for its control is conducted from August until January. If you would like to know more about this program contact Council’s Weeds Officer, Greg Egan, on 65663200.

DRAFT COMPREHENSIVE STATE OF ENVIRONMENT REPORT 2008/09

Council resolved at its meeting of 8 September 2009 to endorse the draft Comprehensive State of Environment Report (2008/09) for the Kempsey Shire Local Government Area for the purposes of public exhibition.

The exhibition period will be 28 days from Tuesday, 15 September 2009, to Tuesday, 13 October 2009. The formal public exhibition may be viewed at Council’s Customer First Centre at the Civic Centre, 22 Tozer Street, West Kempsey, Monday to Friday between 8.30am and 4.30pm. Copies of the draft Report will also be available at the Kempsey, South West Rocks, Hat Head and Stuarts Point Libraries during normal opening hours. The draft Plan is also available on Council’s website at www.kempsey.nsw.gov.au.

Submissions on the draft Report are to be addressed to the General Manager, Kempsey Shire Council, PO Box 3078, WEST KEMPSEY NSW 2440 and are to be submitted no later than close of business on Tuesday 13 October 2009.

Any interested person may inspect the draft Plan at the above locations during the exhibition period.

For enquiries, contact Nathan Hegerty or Michael Roberts on 6566 3200 during normal office hours.

COMMUNICATION IS IMPORTANT

Council provides residents and ratepayers with lots of opportunities to discover what is happening at Council. These are just some of the methods we use to communicate with you:

• Weekly ads and Mayoral Column in the local press;
• Regular media releases sent to local and regional media;
• Weekly program on Tank FM on Mondays at 10.10am;
• On-site inspections, workshops and public meetings relating to specific subjects or issues;
• Letterbox drops and mail-outs when appropriate;
• Displays at events such as the Kempsey Show;
• the production of comprehensive public documents including the Annual Report, Management Plan and the State of the Environment Report; meeting agendas and minutes;
• Community Newsletters;
• Council’s email mailing list; and
• surveys.

Many Council documents are available on our website at www.kempsey.nsw.gov.au and copies of some recent documents are often available at Customer First or at Shire Library branches in Kempsey, South West Rocks, Hat Head and Stuarts Point.

You are invited to attend Council meetings and arrangements can be made for you to address Council or, if this is not convenient, think about inviting a Councillor or staff member to attend a community meeting which you are involved with. If you would like to suggest a new, different and cost effective way of communicating with us, please drop us a line at PO Box 3078, West Kempsey, fax us on 6566 3205 or email us ksc@kempsey.nsw.gov.au.

WORKS IN PROGRESS – SEPTEMBER

Town and Village Streets
Cardwell Street, South West Rocks (Construction)
Elbow Street, West Kempsey (Re-construction)

Maintenance Grading Program

Down River Area
Nagles Falls Road, Sherwood; Bannermans Access, Sherwood; Yessabah Road, Sherwood; Clarkes Road, Sherwood; Battles Outlet, Dondingalong; Davy Lane, Dondingalong; Dondingalong Road, Dondingalong; Adelaide Brook Road, Dondingalong.

Up River Area
Nulla Nulla Road, Nulla Nulla; Denis Road, Mungay Creek; Mungay Creek Road, Mungay Creek.

NOTICE OF PROPOSED DEVELOPMENTS

The following applications have been received and are notified in accordance with Council’s Policy.
NOTE: Not all applications received require public notification.

The applications and plans relating to the developments to which this notice refers may be inspected at Council’s Customer First Centre, Tozer Street, West Kempsey, any time between 8.30am and 4.30pm from Monday to Friday (public holidays excepted) for the period stated above.

At anytime during which the application may be inspected, any person:

1 who has received written notice of a proposed development from Council; or
2 who owns land and who contends that his enjoyment of that land will be detrimentally affected if a proposed development is carried out; or
3 who feels that a proposed development will adversely affect the character or amenity of the surrounding area may object in writing to council.

A person or associate of the person who makes a submission in relation to the application must make a disclosure of any reportable political donation or gift made in the previous 2 years (and up to the time the matter is determined).

The disclosure (Disclosure Statement of Political Donations and Gifts) will need to accompany the submission. A Disclosure Form and further details can be obtained from Council’s website or Customer First Centre.
If the application will need to be considered by Council, a precis of submissions received will be included in a report to Council for determination of the application. Copies of submissions may be included in the Appendices to the Business Paper unless specifically requested by the writer not to be included and the submission is clearly headed “confidential”.

PUBLIC NOTIFICATION OF DEVELOPMENT CONSENTS - ISSUED BY COUNCIL

Consent has been granted for the following applications.

A record of consents may be inspected, without charge, at the Customer First Centre of the Kempsey Shire Council, Civic Centre, Tozer Street, West Kempsey, between 8.30 am and 4.30 pm from Monday to Friday (public holidays excepted).

ROAD CONSTRUCTION WORK - ELBOW STREET, WEST KEMPSEY

Over the next 8 weeks Council will be constructing centre parking in Elbow Street between Kemp Street and Tozer Street, West Kempsey. The work will involve: reconstructing the existing road pavement in the car parking areas of Elbow Street and laying an asphalt wearing surface.

It is expected that this work will cause significant disruption to parking traffic and some inconvenience to customers trying to access the businesses in this area.

Alternative parking will be available in Edinburgh Lane, which runs parallel behind the Elbow Street shops. Some businesses have rear access to this parking and others are investigating the possibility of a walkway through from Edinburgh Lane to Elbow Street to improve customer access. Council will be erecting signs and other safety barriers to assist with the pedestrian access.

Traffic control will be in operation while the work is in progress so pedestrians and motorists are asked to be cautious when approaching and travelling through this road work.

Council recognises, and apologises for, the inconvenience these works will cause but is aiming to have them completed as quickly as possible to minimise the disruption for members of the public and the business community.

AUSTRALIA DAY 2010 AWARD NOMINATIONS
Open until 13 November 2009

The closing date to lodge nominations in the 2010 Australia Day Awards is fast approaching. If you know of someone who would be worthy of one of these awards, consider nominating them.

Categories for the awards are:

• Citizen;
• Young Citizen;
• Sports;
• Community Service; and
• Community Entertainment, Music and Arts.

Nomination forms can be obtained and nominations lodged online at www.kempsey.nsw.gov.au. Nominations for the 2010 Australia Day Awards close on Friday, 13 November, 2009

COMMUNITY BUILDERS GRANTS 2009
Information Session 29 September

Community Builders (previously Area Assistance Grants) is a community strengthening and capacity building program. It has funds available on an annual basis for time limited projects.

An information session about Community Builders Grants will be held on Wednesday, 29 September 2009, between 12noon – 1pm in the Kempsey Shire Council Committee Room (Upstairs in the council chambers). Topics to be covered include: New directions for Community Builders; New application forms; Criteria for project eligibility; and How to support your application for a Community Builders grant. The session is ideal for Community groups with a project idea; Hall committees; arts groups and sports groups.

For more information go to the Community Builders web site at
http://www.communitybuilders.nsw.gov.au/finding_funds/aas/prf.html or call Barbara Huntington 65663226.