Jessica Hawkvelt - City of Tea Tree Gully Elected Member

🎙️ PUBLICATION OF COUNCIL MEETING AUDIO 🎙️

An update on my motion regarding publishing of council meeting audio.
The motion was accepted, huzzah!

However, I was unfortunately not able to be there.

In my absence, Cr Bernie Keane moved the motion and Cr Donna Proleta seconded, then both voted it down.

The motion lost 5-2.

Deputy Mayor Kristianne Foreman and Cr Rob Unger spoke in favour of the motion, nobody spoke against.

I would like to thank Cr Kristianne Foreman for seeking to move the motion to the next meeting in my absence, and to both Cr Foreman and Cr Unger for speaking in support.

The motion was intended to start a conversation about improved transparency and accessibility for our community. Given nobody spoke against, I am unable to provide any additional context as to why the vote went the way it did.

It was mentioned at the meeting that the community is already able to access the meeting audio via Freedom of Information request. I have put in some Questions on Notice for the next Council Meeting regarding this.

That's a wrap on Comedy Capers Gang Show 2026!

Spent much of the last couple of weeks volunteering backstage at the Shedley Theatre with Cr Rob Unger as many local Scouts and Guides took to the stage for their annual theatre season. 🎭🪩

Always incredible to see just how much work goes into putting a show together! So many talented people in the Comedy Capers Gang 💛💙

🌱10 native plants for $10 😲
Still a few plant vouchers remaining - get in quick!

Gardens for wildlife plant sale Bring the bush to your backyard with native plants

Steventon Neighbourhood Chat this morning!
Great to hear some positive comments around the recent improvements to the historic township, and thank you to residents who came along to raise a range of matters - lots for us to take away and work on!
Nice to also be joined by Olivia Savvas MP briefly ☺️ Big thanks to the staff who pulled it together and of course Roving Cafe for supplying the caffeine ☕🤗

🎙️PUBLICATION OF COUNCIL MEETING RECORDINGS🎙️

Would you like to see council meeting recordings published online?

Council's current practice includes live-streaming meetings, however this is only available in real-time. Recordings are made by staff but currently are not made available publicly.

I'm keen to have a conversation about changing this to allow for the publishing of meetings online.

I have submitted the following Motion on Notice for the next Council meeting. It still needs to be accepted by Mayor Ryan before it will be included, but this the second time I have submitted it (this is a revised version based on the feedback of why it was rejected for the last meeting!) so I'm hopeful🤞

There is also a meeting of the Governance and Policy Committee (GPC) next week, and the Code of Practice for Meeting Procedures is on the Agenda, so it is possible this may also be a point of discussion at that meeting. Any recommended changes by the GPC would likely come to the next Council meeting.

Watch this space!

Happy Mother's Day to all the mums and mum-like figures out there 🩷💐

The majority of Council's budget is made up of ratepayer dollars. Consultation is currently open on the 2026/2027 Annual Business Plan and this process will determine just how many ratepayer dollars will be collected next FY.

Engagement is often low when it comes to council's Annual Business Plan - in past years only around 30 residents have provided a response.

There are more than 100,000 people in the City of Tea Tree Gully. So why such a low response rate? There are a number of reasons thay may contribute.

This year, Council is holding a public meeting on the weekend - 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗦𝗮𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗱𝗮𝘆 𝟵 𝗠𝗮𝘆 𝗮𝘁 𝟵:𝟯𝟬𝗮𝗺. Residents are invited to come along to ask questions and provide verbal feedback.

You can also provide a response online via Council's website - consultation closes Wednesday 13 May (I'll pop the link in the comments).

Are you happy with the proposed rate increase? What proposed proposed projects are you happy to see included? Anything you would like to see removed? Anything missing?
This is your chance to have your say before Council makes their final decision later this month.

While I am only one of twelve Elected Members, I can promise you that I will read every response.

There's currently a Development Application in for a site that many in our community would be familiar with - Yatahlia Manor!

Yatahlia Manor is located on Yatala Vale Rd and the stunning 7-acre estate has hosted many weddings over the years, however the owners have now retired and are no longer taking bookings.

The development application for the site proposes the retention of the existing dwelling, removal of five (5) diseased significant trees, and outline consent for 30 dwellings to be used for the purpose of a Residential Park.

Planning matters typically don't come to Council meetings - notifiable applications such as this are either considered through Council's Assement Panel (CAP) or directly through state government. Members of the public are able to make submissions for consideration as part of this process.

What do you think of the proposal?

Submissions for this particular development application close on the 8th May - you can find out more online here:
https://plan.sa.gov.au/have_your_say/notified_developments/state_developments

📷 Indicative Site Plan as per Development Application on PlanSA website