Kingscote new street numbering scheme — QoNs and motions, Cr Liu 2014.01.22

Submitted by Kangaroo Island councillor Ken Liu, 2014.01.15

Following the enquiries received, I put up the following  ‘questions on notice’ on 7 January 2014 to the CEO for a reply at the January [22nd] ordinary meeting of Council, on behalf of a number of community members who raised these issues with me relating to the change of current house numbers in Kingscote town:

Question 1:

What is Council’s expenditure so far in terms of staff time and overhead on the preparation of the Kingscote street numbering proposal?

Answer
Street Numbering completed within the Rates & Debtors Officer’s normal duties (no additional hours). Kingscote mail out in January 2014 totalling $402.82.

Question 2:

What is the estimated additional expenditure required in conducting the public consultation, including advertising, interviewing, compiling the report and other associated administrative costs?

Answer
$1,500 for mail outs to the other 10 townships, $2,500 for notifications of new street numbers for all 11 townships. Administration to be completed as part of Rates & Debtors Officer normal duties.

Question 3:

Has Council undertaken any work to ascertain the cost per householder which will be incurred on each resident in changing their property address, not to mention the time and effort in notifying friends, family, service providers, banks, Government agencies, etc?

Answer
No estimated costs calculated.

Question 4:

Why is the expenditure on ‘street numbering’ a high priority over the maintenance of deplorable footpaths and streets around Kingscote town?

Answer
The street numbering initiative is item 3.2.1 in the Kangaroo Island Council Strategic Plan 2010-14 –
Finalise the rural road numbering project and street numbering project to commence–KPI 2– All township streets are numbered.
To this end this project has been identified by the Community, Council and staff as being sufficiently important enough to be included in the Strategic Plan.
The item was budgeted for in 2013-14 Annual Business Plan which was reviewed several times by Council and subject of the required public consultation around the Communities (including Kingscote).  In addition township street numbering has been the subject of several Councillor
requests for information seeking update on progress with the project.
The decision to proceed to public consultation (carried unanimously at the December 2013 Meeting of Council) was taken following a workshop presentation and report presented to Council, therefore Councillors clearly felt comfortable with the issue, the information they received and the
process determined to be followed.
Council have always had the ability to defer this project should they feel that the funds be better spent in other areas of Councils works program, however managing compliance, good practice and the demands of our infrastructure is always going to result in a compromise until suchtime as an additional source of revenue is established that makes this Council financially sustainable.
It should be noted that this phase of the Project is simply consultation. The ensuing feedback report will present Council with the consideration toproceed or otherwise and direct Administration accordingly.

Question 5:

Is it a legislative requirement to bring all current street numbers to meet the guidelines recommended in AS4819:2011 – Rural & Urban Addressing?  If so, please provide the Section(s) of the Local Government Act that Council is required to comply with?

Answer
Council must assign street numbers to all allotments and may alter a numbering system–
Local Government Act 1999, Chapter 11–Land, Part 2–Roads, Division 5–Names & Numbers, Section 220–Numbering of Premises and Allotments.

Note that Council may alter a numbering system– it is not a legislative requirement to meet the Australian Standard. It does, of course, make finding addresses–important for postal and emergency services–far easier if the standard is applied.

Question 6:

If the answer to Q5 is no, why couldn’t only streets without numbering and new streets be assigned with house numbers rather than spending resources on changing the current street numbers for the whole of the township, causing  stress and incurring unnecessary additional costs to all residents?

Answer
To provide a consistent street numbering system across all of Kangaroo Island and to address the issue of inconsistency in our largest urban community– this will only worsen over time.

Question 7:

When did Council send correspondence to property owners affected by the numbering/renumbering seeking feedback from them, per the advice given in Item 11.2 of the December 2013 agenda Report?

Answer
Mail out for Kingscote residents/owners not completed in December (not provided to Post Office by required date), delivery commenced on 07/01/2014.

Question 8:

When will property owners receive further correspondence from Council supposed to be in the mail during December 2013 per reported in Item 11.2 of the December 2013 Report?

Answer
Delivered on/ after 07/01/2014 by the Post Office.

Question 9:

How will the property owners make the necessary changes to their ‘Land Title’ where the location of their property is identified by both the current street number and allotment number?  Who will be responsible for making the changes to the Land Title and who will bear the costs associated with the alternation to the Land Title including solicitor and legal fees?

Answer
Council will advise Department of Planning, Transport & Infrastructure (DPTI) of property changes to update their data base. Changes to physical Land Titles will not be required, as they do not reference street numbers- only the allotment number. There will therefore be no cost associated with this.

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Due to a ground swell of complaints on the proposed Kingscote renumbering, I gave notice to move the following motions at the January meeting to address this issue:

(1) That the resolution passed at the December 2013 meeting, under Item No 11.2 – Street Numbering Project – Public Consultation, namely: “That the report ‘Street Numbering Project – Public Consultation’ is received for information and that the public consultation process proceeds’ be rescinded.

Should my rescission motion succeed, I intend to move a further motion as follows:

(2) That the ‘Street Renumbering’ proposal for Kingscote be abandoned and that the street numbering program for other townships continues.

NB: Council’s reply to my ‘questions on notice’ and its decision on my ‘notice of motions’ can be found on Council Website: : www.kangarooisland.sa.gov.au within 5 days after the meeting.

Ken Liu
PO Box 80, KINGSCOTE  SA 5223
Ph: (08) 8553 2823   Mob: 0428 322 005
Email: ken.liu@bigpond.com

2 thoughts on “Kingscote new street numbering scheme — QoNs and motions, Cr Liu 2014.01.22

  1. I would like to know from Councillor Liu, what number of people is a ground swell of complaints and further to that why is it that you believe that it is a bad idea for Kingscote residents yet it is ok for it to go ahead in other townships.
    NOTE: As I have been in the emergency service for over 15 years, i can see and vouch from experience why this program is essential for our community! If it saves one life it would be worth the cost.

    • Thank you for your comments Cheryl. It appears that you are confused with the concept of the words ‘renumbering’ and ‘numbering’ outlined in my Notice of Motion. Kingscote’s issue is the changing of approximately 90% of the current house numbers where the issue with the other towns is the allocation of street numbers to all properties so that residents can receive their mail, as well as for emergency service response.

      In recent days, I have regularly been bailed up by irate people on the streets in Kingscote, in the shops and at private functions, and have been inundated with phone calls and emails complaining about the proposed change of their street numbers. Should you call at Michael Pengilly’s Electoral office in Kingscote you will discover for yourself just how many people are signing the petition against the ‘renumbering’ of Kingscote streets, then you can make an assessment as to whether it is a ‘ground swell’ issue or not.

      As an Elected member, it is my duty to raise this issue with the Council on behalf of these concerned residents.

      Cr Ken Liu

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