Janelle McIntosh | Public figure

Janelle McIntosh

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25.01.2022 BUSINESS ENERGY ADVICE PROGRAM Tonight we're holding our final Environmental Sustainability Advisory Committee Meeting for the year - and it's been a huge year. We've had a presentation tonight from Business Australia who are running our Business Energy Advice Program. This is a free service for eligible businesses and it provides an opportunity for you to access tailored energy advice for your business. ... Want to find out more and how it could work for you? I've included loads of info here in these slides and you can find out even more via the council website here: https://www.hornsby.nsw.gov.au/envir/sustainability/at-work Please share with local businesses who you think may benefit from this program. I want to thank all of the members of our Committee - they have absolutely 'hit the ground running' with our program and have spent many hours sharing their considerable expertise in their contribution to our current work. We've seen the massive Sustainable Hornsby 2040 policies out on public exhibition which list a huge range of actions for Council to consider moving forward - and the committee has been absolutely instrumental in leading the detailed feedback on these documents. It's a great privilege to Chair such a great team of Council, Councillor and community representatives who are all passionate about our work in sustainability. I look forward to sharing lots more with you all about our Sustainability Program for 2021.

25.01.2022 QUESTIONS ABOUT RECYCLING? Head down to Hornsby Mall today and catch up with Council’s Waste Team. Emma Heyde Hornsby Councillor and I did! You can grab a free yellow recycling caddy to make it easy to recycle and reduce use of plastic bags.... If you answer an easy quiz you can also take home a water bottle or keep cup - just for showing your waste knowledge! The team are at the Hornsby Market until 2pm #wastematters

25.01.2022 PLANTS ON THE RUN - TODAY IN NORTH EPPING & BEECROFT Native plant Giveaways are back for Hornsby residents - with Plants on the Run In 2021, Council is bringing native plants to a park near you, with Plants on the Run, the new look native plant giveaways.... Come and pick up your free plants off the back of the ute. You can choose between trees, shrubs and groundcovers. Our friendly nursery staff will be on hand to help you select your three (3) free plants. Plants on the Run sessions are open for 1.5 hours or until stock runs out, so first in best dressed! Please bring your current Hornsby Shire rates notice or other proof of residence. There will be 12 giveaways on selected Saturdays from April to August, at various locations across the Shire. Saturday 17 April: 10am-11.30am at Nirimba Avenue Reserve, North Epping Saturday 17 April: 1pm-2.30pm at Beecroft Station Park, Beecroft Note: Plants provided in the giveaways are locally sourced and grown at Council's Community Nursery by volunteers and staff. Stock limits apply. Recipients must be resident within the Shire. Limit of 3 plants per property.

25.01.2022 RETURN & EARN COMES TO ROFE PARK So pleased to be able to share this good news we worked on securing this location for a long time. Return and Earn is a successful process supporting recycling and recouping some cash for your family or donating the earnings to a charity donation partner. But the process of establishing sites for these machines is not easy with lots of issues about access, parking, safety etc to be overcome. ... So glad to have this one sorted out for Hornsby Heights / Hornsby North residents - in operation from tomorrow, 24 December.

24.01.2022 FIGHT FOR PLANET A - WEBINAR Did you join in for the webinar tonight? Craig Reucassel presents 'Fight for Planet A' This event was presented by the NSW Public Libraries and people joined in from all around the state with lots of questions for Craig about his work and his new book. It was wonderful that our very own Melanie Mutch, Programs Manager at Hornsby Shire Libraries was the event host for the evening and led the conversation with Craig. Well done to you Melanie - gr...eat job! If you missed the live webinar and you'd like to see it, you'll soon be able to check it out on the NSW Library Events Youtube channel here - https://www.youtube.com/c/NSWLibraryEvents Hornsby Shire Libraries Hornsby Shire Council #Wastemattershornsby

23.01.2022 REMEMBRANCE DAY & NAIDOC WEEK It's important we remember everyone who served our country. Lest we forget

21.01.2022 NOVEMBER COUNCIL MEETING Tonight we held our monthly Council meeting - the first night where we heard directly from our residents through the zoom format. Hornsby Council meetings are still being held online, and up until tonight, we’ve had resident written feedback read aloud to the Council Meeting by our General Manager. Tonight, due to a change in our format we were able to hear from residents directly. It’s a step towards all being back in the Chamber, but it’s an imp...Continue reading

19.01.2022 AUSTRALIA POST ADDRESSING UPDATE In a timely and awesome move in NAIDOC Week, Australia Post have updated the addressing the guidelines on their website, to show you how you can utilise traditional place names in your street addressing. A great example of a major utility responding to a community campaign - well done to Gomeroi woman Rachael McPhail, who led the charge.

18.01.2022 ADDITIONAL COUNCIL REPORT RE HORNSBY PARK & WESTLEIGH PARK CONSULTATIONS This afternoon you’ll see on the HSC website that Council has released an additional report reaffirming the details of the consultation process for the Hornsby Park and Westleigh Park draft master plans that I had earlier this week posted about. I specifically asked the GM to consider releasing this additional information as it’s vital that the full details of the consultation process are known to the c...ommunity. I am glad this has been able to be released today. Follow the link below for the report https://businesspapers.hornsby.nsw.gov.au//GM_14042021_AGN Westleigh Progress Association

18.01.2022 As NAIDOC Week comes to an end for 2020, I am delighted to share Council's media release from earlier this week, which speaks to a recently adopted Notice of Motion which I raised at Council regarding Dual Naming in our Shire. This proposed policy is about dual naming of sites and facilities - it's not about renaming existing streets or suburbs, but rather about considering dual naming for council facilities, community centres and for new parks or reserves. Already Council h...Continue reading

14.01.2022 DEERUBBIN AT DAWN @ WALLAROBBA Lovely to catch up this morning with local photographer Nicole Matthews at Wallarobba Arts and Cultural Centre to view her beautiful exhibition ‘Deerubbin at Dawn.’ This event is part of the annual Head On Photo Exhibition and beautifully showcases the jaw-dropping scenery of the Hawkesbury and traces the connections between the humans that love and utilise the river and the other living things that dwell there.... Over a period of five years, Nicole has taken a series of beautiful, serene images from a vintage wooden kayak. The photos are accompanied by words and observations from Nicole’s blog - http://berowrabackyard.com/ Viewers of the exhibition are also invited to contribute to Nicole’s academic research on our response to landscape photography. This is a beautiful, thoughtful exhibition offering gorgeous works for sale: a lovely Christmas gift for lovers of this beautiful river. 10-24 November @ Wallarobba Arts & Cultural Centre, 25 Edgeworth David Avenue, Hornsby Find out more at https://www.hornsby.nsw.gov.au//arts-an/head-on-exhibition

14.01.2022 CELEBRATING OUR WASTE & RECYCLING TEAM One of the nicest things about being a Councillor is receiving positive feedback about our Council services and our staff. This week, I was delighted to receive photos from a friend and local resident after a special invitation to visit to the Thornleigh Community Recycling Centre was extended to her children by our waste team. Here's what she told me: "We were totally blown away by the kindness and love the Centre at Thornleigh showed ...the kids. They even had a garbage truck ready for kids to 'ride' " The visit came about after the resident sent a letter to Council regarding our garbage service, with drawings from the children. I think we have at least one future staff member in the making! It's great to see this special service - but equally the service I know they offer everyday is greatly appreciated by all residents who use the centre. Recently the Centre celebrated it's third birthday, and over that three year period recorded 1,600 tonnes of items sent to recycling, which would otherwise have been sent to landfill - a great result. In a recent survey, 100 percent of those surveyed said they would recommend the service to family and friends - you can't get better than that! A huge thank you to Chris (our Waste Manager) and the whole team for their wonderful, responsive and kind service they provide to our community. In mentioning the popularity of our Centre, I have to mention the brilliant mural created this year by Scott Nagy and Krimsone on the external wall of the Centre - it was one of the absolute highlights of the year and one of the most watched creations - with thousands watching the work unfolding on social media. The CRC is soon due to take a break for Christmas, so if like me, you're always dropping down to rid yourself of cardboard, batteries or other items for recyling, here's the Christmas Opening details: The Community Recycling Centre will be closing at 1pm on Thursday 24 December and will reopen on Monday 4 January. For all of the details regarding Christmas Opening hours for Council services, head here: https://www.hornsby.nsw.gov.au//no/christmas-opening-hours #wastemattershornsby (All photos used with permission)

13.01.2022 CONNECTING WITH COUNTRY A post not related to wearing of masks, testing sites or COVID-19: just for a change. We're lucky in Hornsby Shire to have a fantastic connection with our Hornsby Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Consultative Committee (HATSICC) and the Hornsby Area Residents for Reconciliation. Very happily, we've managed to translate these positive connections into a number of actions of significance within Council - acknowledgement of country at all our formal... gatherings, recognition of Aborginal culture and connection to country in all our strategies and plans, and a new policy to come on dual naming of significant community sites. Here's some good news on actions happening at a State level: the Government Architect NSW (GANSW) has released a Connecting with Country Draft Framework. The draft framework follows the release of the ‘Designing with Country’ discussion paper in June 2020. The objective of the framework is to promote the development of connections with Country and ensure that understanding of Country is valued and used to inform the planning, design and delivery of built environment projects in NSW. The community, government, industry and developers are encouraged to prioritise Country in their work by increasing cultural awareness and leadership from Aboriginal people in contemporary design and planning processes. The draft framework is intended to be the starting point to improve and inform better processes that will help to achieve the three long-term strategic goals: reduce the impacts of natural events such as fire, drought and flooding through sustainable land and water use practices value and respect Aboriginal cultural knowledge with Aboriginal people co-leading design and development of all NSW infrastructure projects, and ensure County is cared for appropriately and sensitive sites are protected by Aboriginal people having access to their homelands to continue cultural practices. The draft framework will be piloted through a 12-month program which aims to significantly increase Aboriginal leadership and participation, ensuring the final Framework (scheduled to be released in 2022) be guided and endorsed by Aboriginal communities, organisations and built environment experts. Connecting with Country Draft Framework is available to view on the GANSW Connecting to Country website. The public are invited to discuss and the draft framework with the GANSW team via email [email protected]. Click on the post below to access the documents and to have your say. There's also some great webinars on this site to assist to better understand the concepts of 'designing with country' and 'connecting with country.' https://www.governmentarchitect.nsw.gov.au//designing-with

12.01.2022 CHANGED COUNCIL OPERATIONS This morning I took the opportunity to drop in to the Council Chamber to see how Council and the staff has adapted to a huge change in our operations. I’m not talking here of COVID-19, although that’s been challenging enough, but the big impact that the discovery of asbestos in the Council Administration building has had on our workforce and customer service operations. The photos you see here are our Council customer service, records, finance and p...lanning staff occupying temporary and hot desk spaces in our Chamber and public meeting rooms. It’s certainly a very different look for the Council Chamber! This use of these spaces is likely to continue for some months as the administration centre works proceed. My visit was a chance to chat with staff about Council's customer services and a review that the team is undertaking. COVID-19 has found more people using Council services online and so this is a good opportunity for Council to review our services and see ways where we can improve how we do things to assist our residents and ratepayers. It was lovely to catch up with these delightful teams today and to see how proactively they’ve responded to this new challenge: with minimal disruption to current services. So if you have the need the head to council for customer service support rather than dealing online, these cheery teams are ready and willing to assist you. There's a concierge who will assist you on arrival and you'll be asked to register as a visitor to ensure all of the COVID-19 protections are covered, including a hand sanitiser station on arrival. Well done to all involved

10.01.2022 A number of people have asked me about the installation outside the Council chamber and what it is intended to represent - here's the important story behind this plaque: NEW PLAQUE ACKNOWLEDGES LOCAL FIRST NATIONS Another successful NAIDOC Week is coming to a close, the perfect time to publicly announce the placement of a new plaque in front of Hornsby Shire Council chambers that acknowledges the important place of local First Nations people in our cultural heritage. ... The plaque was installed earlier this year, with plans to hold a smoking ceremony and Welcome to Country to mark the occasion, however COVID-19 restrictions have made that impossible so far. A formal ceremony will occur as soon as COVID-19 restrictions permit. The plaque replaces a similar plaque that was removed from Hornsby Park when the Captain Cook memorial fountain needed to be removed for construction of the new pool. The original plaque was there to give proper context to the fountain, acknowledging that the land he discovered was already inhabited. Guringai elder Auntie Tracey Howie welcomes the plaque. It’s a great piece of artwork, to begin with, she says. It’s a great thing to have out the front of the building, rather than in the park, because it really shows the partnership that Council has with the local Aboriginal community and the traditional owners. Also, I think it will encourage people of Aboriginal descent who move into the Shire, it will be a really nice welcome for them. Leanne Watson, from Darug Custodian Aboriginal Corporation, fully agrees. I like that it is in a more prominent position and reaffirms the connection that Council is aiming to have with the traditional owners, she says. It is an important example of truth telling, a sign that we are continuing to move forward on the issue of reconciliation. The plaque is fixed to a sandstone base that features hand-carved animals representing the totems of the Guringai and Darug tribes. The plaque reads: Hornsby Shire Council acknowledges that when Captain James Cook claimed possession of the east coast, the land which is now Hornsby Shire had already been occupied by the Darug and Guringai Peoples for many thousands of years. The descendants of the Indigenous people continue to live in our community. They remain Traditional Custodians still caring for Country. The original plaques from the fountain have been kept by Council as an historical record and are on display inside the Council Chambers. The sandstone carving surrounding the plaque was completed by local Guringai man and Co-chair of the Hornsby Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Consultative Committee (HATSICC), Uncle Laurie Bimson. Beautiful work Uncle Laurie! #alwayswasalwayswillbe

10.01.2022 HAVE YOUR SAY - PROPOSED PENNANT HILLS TO EPPING SHARED PATH Council needs your feedback on a proposal to construct a Shared Path between Pennant Hills and Epping. Council has released information identifying the preferred location of the proposed route of the shared path between Pennant Hills and Epping and the construction of the first stage linking Beecroft Station to Cheltenham Station, known as Route B. ... This project is fully funded as part of Transport for NSW's Active Transport Program. In 2018, Transport for NSW provided the funding for Hornsby Shire Council to investigate, develop and construct a shared footpath and cycleway connecting Pennant Hills Station to Epping Station. Council subsequently engaged traffic and transport consultants to assist with determining the most suitable route, and Council has now prepared a detailed concept design for the section between Beecroft and Cheltenham Stations (Route B). Council now need your feedback. The preferred shared path route would extend south from Pennant Hills Station along the existing rail corridor to Beecroft Station (subject to State Rail approval), where it would then pass through the Beecroft Village Green and along The Crescent to Cheltenham Station. It would then continue along The Crescent and pass over the M2 Motorway via a new pedestrian / cycleway bridge and connect with the existing shared path underpass at Epping Station. Due to extensive design development and approval processes, Council are proposing construction in three stages (Routes A, B and C). The first stage, and focus of this community consultation, would be the section between Beecroft and Cheltenham Stations (Route B). The proposed sections between Pennant Hills and Beecroft Stations (Route A), and Cheltenham and Epping Stations (Route C) would involve further future community consultation once more detailed design concept plans are prepared. The Beecroft Station to Cheltenham Station works will involve construction of an on-ground concrete path through the Beecroft Village Green and a predominately elevated path along The Crescent to protect existing vegetation and trees. When completed the shared path will provide a well graded and improved dual cycling and walking path suitable for all ages and fitness levels, which provides a link for residents and community groups between train stations, residences, shopping precincts and other places of interest. Want more info? Head here: https://www.hornsby.nsw.gov.au//Pennant-Hills-to-Epping-Sh Information Sessions are planned for Saturday 12, Wednesday 16 and Saturday 19 December. I will share more information on the times and location of these sessions when confirmed. Community Feedback is open until 23 December and we'd love to hear your thoughts.

09.01.2022 BREAKING NEWS - DEADLINES EXTENDED FOR COMMUNITY FEEDBACK I am so pleased to share that the deadline for community feedback on all of these important plans and strategies has been extended until 18 December. On behalf of so many of you who asked me for more time to submit your comments for our Walking & Cycling Strategy, Economic Development + Tourism Strategy and our Play Plan, I asked our Council General Manager and key staff whether we could extend the deadlines. This mor...ning’s answer: YES WE CAN! You’ll soon see our Council Facebook, website and Future Hornsby pages updated to reflect the change. Hornsby Action Group Thornleigh Neighbourhood Residents Group Westleigh Progress Association Beecroft Cheltenham Civic Trust Inc. Pennant Hills District Civic Trust Inc Hornsby Chamber of Commerce Mount Colah Residents Action Group Brooklyn Community Association - BCA

08.01.2022 PUBLIC HEALTH WARNING The NSW Health Care Complaints Commission has expressed concern about ultrasound services provided in Hornsby by Ms Li Shen and Medsound Diagnostic Imaging Pty Ltd between 31 January 2017 and 20 November 2020. There’s more information regarding this matter in The Sydney Morning Herald story below and in the link from the Health Care Complaints Commission.... The Commission strongly urges individuals who have had an ultrasound performed at Medsound between 31 January 2017 and 20 November 2020 to contact their referring GP or other specialist medical practitioner. See the post below for more details. https://www.hccc.nsw.gov.au//public-warning-under-s94a-of-?

08.01.2022 HEARING FROM OUR MOUNTAIN BIKERS IN WESTLEIGH PARK Great to be out and about this morning (albeit quite slowly) to meet with representatives from the Westleigh Mtn Bike Track, Sydney North Off Road Club and the Westleigh WaterBoard Alliance. Thanks to Martin R Dargan, Dan Smith, Steve Wright, Adam Cavanough and Phil Downey for organizing the event. This informal gathering included more than 50 riders of all ages and abilities with one thing in common - a huge passion for moun...tain biking. While this master plan consultation process has had something of a rocky start, I’m hoping once the documents are formally on exhibition (expected by Friday 16/4) we can discuss opportunities to progress a masterplan that meets everyone’s needs and with clear social, sporting, economic and environmental benefits. Thanks to those who turned out today and for the warm welcome we received. Special thanks to Phil Downey and Steve Wright for their assistance today to enable me to participate.

06.01.2022 APRIL COUNCIL MEETING BACK IN THE CHAMBER Tonight we’ve had our first face-to-face Council meeting since last March and it was wonderful to see members of the public back in the Council Chamber and able to speak with us directly on the items on our Agenda and in the public forum. Here’s what we decided tonight Through Mayoral Minutes we acknowledged the passing of Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh and his contribution to our country. Closer to home we acknowledged th...Continue reading

06.01.2022 Tonight’s important COVID-19 Update from the man in red...

06.01.2022 A GREAT HONOUR It was my great honour this week to be made a Life Member of Hornsby Art Society. It’s been my great pleasure to have served as HAS President these past ten years - and have we had some fun! More than 70 exhibitions at Wallarobba during that time and many thousands of artworks hung for display. Great artists honoured and new talents discovered. It’s been wonderful to work alongside Dennis Fisher and Leonie Fisher throughout this whole time and to be honoured by... our friends and colleagues this week. We’re all not leaving - just changing roles - and I wish every success to the new President Chris Beard and the new committee members.

03.01.2022 Too good not to share....

02.01.2022 PLACES OF PRIDE Today is a day where many of us pause to reflect on service and sacrifice, and we generally do this at local memorial sites across the country. The Australian War Memorial is looking to record these sites and is seeking images of every publicly accessible place of memorial across the country - and they need your help. So if you've attended a memorial today, or you know of a local one - check on the link below and see if it's part of the register. If it's not,... consider adding your images and information to the register. It's an important project - and it doesn't matter if the memorial is large or small; fancy or simple, new or old. Lest we Forget.