OUR PLACE 2018–19 ANNUAL REPORT OUR VISION Balancing our progress with our heritage, we lead in coastal management to deliver high quality public spaces and services to build a welcoming, safe and active community where resident, visitor and business prosperity meet. Our Place: 2030 Strategic Plan WELCOME TO OUR PLACE This annual report is part of a strategic planning and reporting framework that guides the direction and measures the performance of the organisation in relation to the goals set out in the City’s strategic plan—Our Place 2030. It records our achievements in line with the ambitious program of works outlined in the 2018–19 Annual Business Plan, and reports our performance compared to the budget and strategic measures set out for the past financial year. In 2018–19, Council undertook a range of improvements on behalf of the community TRADITIONAL and continued to deliver an extensive suite of high‑quality services—while containing the rate CUSTODIANS revenue increase to a modest 2.7 per cent. The City of Holdfast Bay acknowledges the Kaurna People as the traditional owners and custodians of the land. We respect the spiritual relationship with Country that has developed over thousands of years, and the cultural heritage and beliefs that remain important to the Kaurna People today. CONTENTS 5 OUR PLACE 6 MESSAGE FROM THE MAYOR 7 MESSAGE FROM THE CEO 8 2018–19 HIGHLIGHTS 9 QUALITY OF LIFE SURVEY RESULTS (2019) 10 COMMUNITY 18 ENVIRONMENT 22 ECONOMY 26 PLACEMAKING 30 CULTURE 34 STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT 47 COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF HOLDFAST BAY 54 DECISION‑MAKING STRUCTURE 60 CORPORATION OF THE CITY OF HOLDFAST BAY 64 TRANSPARENCY 72 AUDITED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS 117 SOUTHERN REGION WASTE RESOURCE AUTHORITY ANNUAL REPORT 4 OUR PLACE Adelaide’s Favourite Coastal Destination For 65,000 years Aboriginal people have inhabited the The Province of South Australia was proclaimed vast lands of Australia. at Pathawilyangga in 1836, which became the municipality of Glenelg in 1855. Wituwartingga The traditional owners of Holdfast Bay, the Kaurna became the municipality of Brighton in 1858. people, used the coastal plain that makes up Holdfast Bay as a place to seek refuge from summer temperatures, The City of Holdfast Bay was formed in 1997 through a meeting place for celebration, ceremony and trade, the amalgamation of the City Councils of Glenelg and and an area for abundant plant and animal resources. Brighton. Holdfast Bay continues to be a place of rich cultural Located just 11 kilometres from the Adelaide city centre significance for Kaurna. and five minutes from Adelaide Airport, our City is now home to almost 37,000 people and one of the The coastal environment with its fresh water lagoons most celebrated places to live, work and visit in the and abundant food sources was used for millennia as a Adelaide metropolitan area. It boasts a beautiful natural meeting place for cultural celebrations, ceremony and environment; high quality recreation and community trade by Kaurna people, and continues to be a place of facilities; superior health and education options; a significant Kaurna cultural heritage. vibrant tourism sector; thriving retail precincts and a In 1836, Colonel William Light arrived on The Rapid small light industrial area. on a mission to survey the South Australian coast in search of a place for settlement. While The Rapid stood off‑shore near the mouth of the Patawalonga, a storm blew in and the anchor held. Colonel Light consequently named the bay ‘Holdfast Bay’. CITY OF HOLDFAST BAY · holdfast.sa.gov.au 5 MESSAGE FROM THE MAYOR The 2018–19 year marked the beginning of our term as However, it’s not only the big projects that make a new Council. Welcoming five new elected members, our community great. Importantly, it’s the way we we are working together to achieve a collective vision come together and look out for one another, share for our community. experiences and care for our precious environment. It was also a year when a number of long‑awaited In 2018–19 more than 13,000 native plants were projects commenced. planted in our gullies, cliffs and dunes, as well as 584 new street trees. We were excited that our Hooded We began the redevelopment of the Brighton Oval Plover family at Seacliff beach successfully raised two sports complex thanks to commitments by the City of chicks – Cliff and Sandy. The work undertaken to protect Holdfast Bay together with both the Federal and State these endangered birds is a wonderful example of Governments and national sporting bodies. council working in partnerships with other organisations, volunteers and our community. The project includes the construction of three purpose‑ built club rooms with new unisex change rooms. There Throughout the past year, my fellow councillors and I will also be upgraded community spaces, a new play attended many of the 200 events hosted in our City. area, shelters, seating and carparks. The improved We also met with incredible volunteers, community facilities will generate significant economic, social and groups and club leaders, and I would like to express health benefits for the community for many years to my gratitude to each of them. They embody the spirit of come. working together which is just one of our community’s many qualities. In 2018–19 we also began construction of the final section of Coast Park in Holdfast Bay, thanks to a $4.3 I hope you enjoy reflecting on our City’s achievements million State Government funding injection and our over the past 12 months. I look forward to working with close partnership with Minda Inc. The Minda Coast my fellow councillors, Council staff and the community to Park at North Brighton will, for the very first time, achieve our shared vision for the City of Holdfast Bay in provide a continuous coastal pedestrian and cycling years to come. pathway in Holdfast Bay from Kingston Park in the south to Glenelg North. An exciting element of the project is the commitment to the protection and revegetation of the remnant dune system that has seen the planting of more than 10,000 native plants in the dunes. We progressed the Jetty Road Glenelg and Environs Masterplan and will soon begin work on the Chapel Street Plaza and Hindmarsh Lane section. Amanda Wilson Mayor City of Holdfast Bay 6 MESSAGE FROM THE CEO It has been a period of new beginnings for the City We’ve also cut carbon dioxide emissions from electricity of Holdfast Bay. In November 2018, we welcomed a by 259 tonnes per year, which is a 13.6% reduction. new Council and elected Mayor Amanda Wilson. This has been achieved largely by our investment in LED streetlight conversion. In June this year, we bid farewell to CEO Justin Lynch, who had served our City with great passion and acuity Another important focus has been improving our for more than a decade. community services through elements such as: Years of careful planning by the Council resulted in › Increased opening hours of the Brighton Library resulted securing significant State and Federal Government in an extra 18,000 visits. funding, which has allowed a number of major projects to be undertaken: › Elderly residents were supported with 10,310 hours of domestic assistance and home maintenance. › Brighton Oval Redevelopment received funding › There have been 9,512 community transport trips. from the Federal Government ($5 million), State Government ($2 million), AFL ($75,000) and › More than 200 local businesses took part in digital Cricket Australia ($40,000). training and associated mentoring as a part of our Economic Activation Plan. › Jetty Road Glenelg and Environs Masterplan will commence thanks to $1.8 million in State › Our continued investment in tourism resulted in more Government funding. than 200 events held in our City, which in excess of 620,000 people attended. › The Minda Coast Park was constructed with an injection of $4.3 million in State Government funds. These great programs combined with the Council’s ‘business as usual’ – maintaining roads, footpaths, We also received several awards and accolades for parks and community spaces – have continued to meet our projects and innovations. Among them: community expectations. Our annual customer satisfaction › The Angus Neill Playspace won the Parks and Leisure survey delivered a quality of life score of 8.8 out of 10. Australia SA/NT Playspace Award (<$0.5m). The work of the departing Council in partnership with › Excellence in Cross Council Collaboration at the Justin left a healthy legacy for the new Council and we Local Government Excellence Awards. are ready to build on what they began, in conjunction with the administrative staff. › Excellence in Environmental Leadership & Sustainability at the Local Government Excellence I express my appreciation to them all for their service and Awards. commitment, and I look forward to continuing to deliver a great quality of life for the City of Holdfast’s residents, › Local Government IT South Australia Award for businesses and visitors. Information Management Excellence. › 2018–2019 Green Industries SA Women in Waste Award. Roberto Bria › 2018 Local Government Award for Tourism at the South Australian Tourism Awards. Chief Executive Officer City of Holdfast Bay In addition to investing in big ticket items, the Council has maintained its commitment to the environment, reducing our waste to landfill by 273 tonnes. CITY OF HOLDFAST BAY · holdfast.sa.gov.au 7 2018−19 HIGHLIGHTS In 2018–19: 9,516 10,024 435,576 2,050 1. 4 community hours of active and healthy items were lent immunisations