Mayor4Unley

A week ago Unley Mayor Mike Hewitson said that he would get a sign up on Third Avenue, Everard Park to explain what was happening with the creek excavation works between Anzac Highway and Third Avenue. Still no sign and many locals don’t fully understand what is happening. Lots of chatter about the extent of the work eg. will it continue up the creek towards the swimming pool and will the Third Avenue bridge be replaced. How hard is it to print a sign, laminate it and erect it near the bridge on Third Avenue. It is just common courtesy to keep the locals informed about local works .

At last residents near Wilberforce Walk in Everard Park have received an update on what is happening to the creek between Third Avenue and Anzac Highway. Here's a link to detailed information. Wilberforce Creek works Bugger it, the link doesn't work. If you want a copy, contact Unley Council. It's a good document and the design looks good. The shared pathway will make easy access to Anzac Highway. It's just a pity that the information wasn't circulated a couple of weeks before the creek works commenced. It's not good enough to simply leave us all in the dark. Why didn't #Unley Mayor Michael Hewitson (or perhaps the 2 local councillors) walk the area and explain what was happening.

See today’s Tiser, pages 52-53. There are 8 Public Notices about land acquisition by Unley Council. I suspect it is for the land (the creek section) along Wilberforce Walk, from Third Avenue to Leah Street. I just hope that with the planned flood mitigation works along Wilberforce Walk that the old pre-settlement aged gum tree is saved. We must fight to save this magnificent tree  ✅ What is it about public notices. They don’t have detail re the location of the affected land. Why not add a bit of plain English text describing the general location eg. adjacent to Wilberforce Walk from Third Avenue to Leah Street!!? People in the locality want to know, wherever it is. Just poor communication from #Unley Mayor Michael Hewitson.

The residents of Everard Park (and some in Black Forest) are still furious with #Unley Council’s recent decision to approve the high rise development at Life Care aged care, bordered by Norman Terrace, Fourth Avenue and Ross Street. Unley Council simply ignored the wishes of the locals. It’s hell bent on high rise provided a few trees will be planted. After the decision, the Mayor (Michael Hewitson) sent an email to the residents. It basically said we listened to your objections, but for the greater good of Unley we voted for the high rise. Given that the Mayor is the spokesperson for Council, it’s a shocking communication from Council. Here’s a copy of the Mayor’s email sent on 24 March 2020 ... Dear Concerned Residents Council voted unanimously this week to support an amended DPA for Norman Terrace. Councillors recognised that the decision would be unpopular but rather than seek political gain, they took the hard but necessary approach and voted for it. We be...

Unley Council will tonight approve a high rise aged care facility in Everard Park. This is despite spending ~ $20,000 on public consultation and then ignoring the wishes of the local residents. People are asking ‘why did they ask us when they are now ignoring us’. At a committee meeting on 16 March 2020, there was a lacklustre debate on the matter. The motion to approve was moved by Cr Don Palmer and seconded by Cr Jennie Boisvert. The 2 councillors for the Goodwood area (Emma Wright and Nicole Sheehan) voted for the high rise. The Mayor Michael Hewitson voted for the high rise. He liked the idea that there would be a few trees. He also praised the work of Council to get the matter resolved. And then he blamed the Planning Minister (in advance) if there there is any height increase. A couple of other councillors spoke. The sad thing is that much of the debate mentioned councillors’ nanas (grandmas) and elderly relatives who had spent time in aged care facilities and high ris...

I was appalled to read that Unley Mayor Michael Hewitson voted at the Local Government Association AGM to continue to permit election corflutes on poles ('Is this the end for corflutes', The Messenger, 06Nov2019). He is out of touch with community sentiment that the plastic corflutes are visual pollution. At the recent Council election he had corflutes in most streets across Unley. It was a good outcome that the majority of other Councils voted to review restrictions. Commonsense by the majority of Councils did prevail. Voting by Mayors at the Local Government AGM should truly represent the sentiments of the local communities and Councils; and not just vote by personal opinion. I wonder if Michael did consult Unley Council and the community. I suspect not.

I was staggered to read in the media that the cost of the rebuild of King William Road has more than doubled to ~ $15m! Absolutely staggered! When I was on Unley Council in 2018 the forecast maximum was ~$7m with lots of extra (and unnecessary) options added. I opposed this and suggested that the road be bitumen (not bricks) and the quality be on par with what was done during the rebuild of Goodwood Road. So what has gone so horribly wrong? How could the cost have more than doubled? The new Mayor, Michael Hewitson must be held responsible for this. The buck has to stop with him.

I'm always up for a challenge; a fight to achieve the best outcome for #Unley. I commit to you to do whatever to deliver affordable and common sense outcomes. For example, my push to green Unley and get more street streets planted ; with tree species that are better suited to our changing climate. Vote 1 BOB SCHNELL #Mayor4Unley Your best choice! I took this photo on a recent holiday in Andamooka (July 2018). This art work is on the wall of the Andamooka Opal Hotel. It depicts my campaign to be Mayor. Written & authorised by Bob Schnell, 10 Halmon Avenue, Everard Park 5035

I notice that Mitcham Council will building a cycle path to connect to the busy cycle path along Rugby Street in Unley; on route to the Adelaide CBD. A great outcome for the cyclists. Rugby Street is already a busy cycle route and the Mitcham road works will generate more cyclists passing through Unley. I read of a forecast 60% increase in cyclists from Mitcham. What we need to do is review this cycle route through Unley to ensure that there are no issues with the forecast higher volume. Safety for all - pedestrians, vehicles and cyclists - needs to be our top concern. There must be a common sense approach to traffic priorities ie. who gets right of way. For common sense solutions and practical outcomes Vote 1 Bob Schnell #Mayor4Unley  Tip: always wear a helmet! Written &authorised by Bob Schnell, 10 Halmon Avenue, Everard Park 5035

I am running for Mayor of Unley. The Council election is in Oct-Nov 2018. Voting will be by postal vote. My forecast is that there will be huge number of new Councillors with up to 9 new faces at Unley . Some say that there will only be 6-8 new faces. This will be the biggest change of faces at Unley in over two decades! With such a new Council, the Mayor will need to have discipline and be a strong leader to facilitate changes initiated by Council. I am committed to listening to you and providing strong leadership. I encourage you to tell me your concerns . I'm a good listener.

Lachlan Clyne, Mayor of Unley has resigned, effective 31 January 2018. He is standing by his commitment (to resign) given that he is the Liberal candidate for the seat of Badcoe (formerly Ashford). At the Council meeting on Monday 29 January, Council will appoint an Acting Mayor for the period up to the Council elections in October 2018. Voting for the this role may be interesting. If there are 2 or more with the highest and tied votes, then names will be drawn from a hat. The last name drawn will become the Acting Mayor. I decided months ago that I won't be nominating. If it does come down to a tied vote then it will be disappointing for those early names drawn from the hat. This procedure is a requirement under the Local Government Act. I believe there will be 4-5 Councillors nominating for the position. It will take someone special to hold together the Council in that difficult and potentially disruptive period in the lead up to the Council elections later ...

The Mayor of Unley, Lachlan Clyne, has taken paid leave for 3 months whilst he campaigns as the Liberal candidate for the State seat of Badcoe (formerly Ashford). His stated intention is to resign as Mayor in January 2018. That will leave Unley for a period of 8-9 months without a Mayor elected by the people. The expectation is that Council will elect a stand-in Mayor to captain the good ship Unley. With due respect to whoever gets the gig, we will effectively be leaderless and at times (I suspect) with a broken rudder. With Council elections approaching in late 2018, there normally are some associated disruptions to the smooth functioning of Council which will aggravate the situation. The Council meeting in January or February 2018 should be a real doozie. From chats with some Councillors, I have it on very good authority that there will probably be seven (7) Councillors who will nominate to become the stand-in Mayor. Six (6) are definite starters. I suspect that our current vo...