- Keegan Thomson
Penrith Council roundup
Park designed by children gets green light
A TEAM of school students have planned out and designed a new playground at Chapman Gardens in Kingswood which will be revitalised with new equipment, seats, pathways and handball courts.
Twenty students aged 9 to 11 from Kingswood Public School were involved in the council backed initiative, which involved five workshops through which they shared their individual thoughts and hopes for the playground.
Councillor Greg Davies offered his congratulations to the students, asking them what piece of equipment the children wanted above anything else, but couldn’t fit into their budget. After a brief moment of consultation between themselves, the students said they would have wanted a climbing net.
Councillor Marcus Cornish jested with the school children asking them, “do you think there should be wifi installed at the park?”
When the motion to pass the design of the park was put forward Cr Davies proposed more council funding for the park so the children could have their climbing net, and it is fair to say there was some excited school kids in the gallery when they heard this news.
Incinerator proposal questioned
THE world's largest electricity producing waste management incinerator which has been proposed for Eastern Creek could have potential health and environmental impacts on the local area, says council.
Councillors Greg Davies and Maurice Girotto had requested a report on the potential impacts the incinerator would have on the Penrith LGA, even though the facility will be house within the Blacktown LGA.
The Environmental Impact Statement on the proposed incinerator has been questioned by the Blacktown City Council, who set up an independent inquiry into the EIS which identified inadequacies. Councillor Greg Davies spoke up on the issue saying there hadn’t been enough consultation from the State government.
“We’re talking about a huge incinerator to be built at Eastern Creek. There has been very little consultation from the state government with the Penrith City Council,” said Cr Greg Davies.
He went further and proposed council hold meetings with constituents in potentially affected suburbs like Erskine Park.
Public exhibition of proposed plans for the incinerator will be on show as of November 2016.
Mayor Karen McKeown pays tributes to former Mayors
DURING Mayor Karen McKeown’s Mayor Minutes she paid tribute to two men who shaped the modern Penrith and western Sydney region.
Firstly she spoke about former Penrith City Councillor Bernard Smith, who passed away aged 96.
Mr Smith was one of the first people to spearhead the Penrith lakes scheme way back in the 70s.
Mayor McKeown said, “Bernard met those challenges and the results of his work were apparent in the good relationships he created between Council, staff and the community.”
The other man the Mayor spoke about was Sir Ian Turbott, who recently passed away.
Sir Ian Turbott was the founding Chancellor of the university of Western Sydney, now Western Sydney university, and was heavily involved in the development of the Penrith lakes.
Speaking of his achievements the Mayor said, “Sir Ian’s groundbreaking work with UWS played a significant part in the institution’s capacity to change the historical inequality of tertiary education in western Sydney.”
Councillor Jackie Greenow calls it a day
AFTER 21 years serving the Penrith City Council Cr Jackie Greenow OAM will not be re-contesting her seat in the council election.
First elected to Council in 1995 and re-elected in 1999, 2004, 2008 and 2012, Cr Greenow served 5 terms as Deputy Mayor, and as Mayor in 2004-05.
Cr Greenow was the Chairperson of the Penrith International Friendship Committee, the Access Committee and the heritage Advisory Committee. She was also involved with a variety of other boards and committees including Hawkesbury River County Council, Flood Mitigation Authority, Penrith Performing and Visual Arts, Local Government Advisory board, the Community relations Commission and has been appointed a Life Member Australian Local Government Women’s Association for her dedication and commitment to women working for and elected to Council.
Cr Greenow worked for the Department of Education as a Community Liaison Officer at St Marys North Public School and always had a strong focus on the empowerment of women, disability and flooding issues. She was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia on 10 June 2013 for “service to local government, and to the community, particularly to people with disabilities.”
Her exit from the upcoming elections, as well as Prue Car who will now concentrate on her state MP role, means there will be at least two new faces elected to represent East Ward.