Perth Voice Interactive

PERTH’S paid parking revenue is in free-fall, with council machines collecting $120,000 less per month than budgeted.

The budgeted figure was itself $3.8 million less than earlier projected figures.

Parking fees make up $75m of the PCC’s projected $111m operating revenue budget.

With the public transport authority also reporting a drop in commuters on trains, the parking shortfall is not due to people swapping cars for public transport.

In a report to council, staff suggested that disruptive capital works projects across the CBD may have had an impact, while chief bean counter Robert Mianich told councillors the drop could be down to fewer people working in the CBD: office vacancies and jobless rates are rising due to a dramatic cooling of the once-rampant resources sector.

In the six months to December 2014 the PCC reported big falls in parking at Elder Street ($261,000 down), the convention centre ($168,000), Pier Street ($98,000) and Mayfair Street ($56,000). Queens Gardens dropped $75,000 and kerbside parking $215,000.

A further drop in council parking revenue is now anticipated and the PCC will reduce parking prices to stay competitive.

PCC car park director Doug Forster notes the council is also being hit on the “supply side” with residents illegally renting their spare spots to commuters, undercutting PCC car parks (Voice, January 24, 2015).

Cr Janet Davidson asked “aren’t we stopping that?” and Mr Forster replied, “there are moves in that direction”.

by DAVID BELL

ON Monday February 2, hundreds of local children will bustle for the first time into the rebuilt Mt Lawley Primary School.

Principal Don Barber says the new $11.2 million school is state-of-the-art, with reverse-cycle air conditioning in every classroom.

“We’re on track and raring to go,” he says.

“We’ve got a new undercover area in the playground which gives us more flexibility and protection from the sun.”

The original 100-year-old school burned to the ground in July 2012 and the teenage arsonists were sentenced to eight months’ gaol.

Fierce lobbying from the Mount Lawley Society and hundreds of locals ensured the Second Avenue brick facade was retained, a poke in the eye for bean counters who’d said the most “cost-effective” option would be to flatten it. “The façade on Second Avenue looks fantastic and once again contributes positively to the beautiful character streetscape,” society president Paul Hurst says.

Mt Lawley Liberal MP Michael Sutherland says a more efficient placement of buildings has increased the size of the playground.

“It looks fantastic—this is a great outcome from a very bad situation,” he says.

The two-storey school includes 12 classrooms, a dental therapy unit, a refurbished library and hard courts.

by STEPHEN POLLOCK

A MOVE to install free wi-fi in the Morley CBD has been voted down by Bayswater city council.

Cr Chris Cornish was unhappy with his colleagues’ decision, stating the program would have been “half the cost of the mayoral dinner”.

He’d tabled the motion for the council to spend $25,000 on free wi-fi, just as Perth, Swan and Fremantle city councils have done.

“Morley is a major strategic hub and central to our vision for Bayswater,” he told the council. “The cost of the installation is very reasonable and I understand that normally it would cost around $100,000.

“For only half the cost of the mayoral dinner we could deliver something special for our ratepayers.”

Mayor Sylvan Albert said it was a “brilliant idea”, but there was no money in the budget to pay for it. “We need to revisit it when we have the funds available.”

by STEPHEN POLLOCK

STEVE LAVELL is making an emotional return to Maylands to open a cafe and small bar on Eighth Avenue.

After spending seven years working as a journalist in Melbourne, Lavell got homesick and has returned to his childhood suburb to embark on a new career. He will spend around $600,000 kitting out Henry on Eighth, which includes a ground floor cafe and a small bar on the first floor.

“I was looking for a reason to come back home and was really inspired by all the changes that have happened in Maylands over the past 18 months—it has really come alive,” he says.

“Venues like Mrs S and the Swallow Bar have really transformed the place: it is so different from the place where I grew up. Being a jounro, I’ve always loved coffee,” he laughs, “and I love my food too, so it seemed like a natural career change.”

Henry on Eighth will be built in front of the liquor barn BWS, in the old clearance outlet, which has been empty for around 18 months. Lavell says the menu will be modern Australian and he plans to hold book launches, poetry nights and small exhibitions in the venue.

“Maylands has changed out of sight and I want to celebrate its new-found diversity by showcasing local talent,” he says.

“With the local ballet moving into Maylands and the planned new music venue Lyric Lane, the place is set to become a cultural hub.”

Mr Lavell plans to open the downstairs cafe in April and the small bar in August.

Meanwhile, WA opposition leader Mark McGowan says it’s too hard for small bars to get started, and pledges to make it easier if elected premier: “Police and health bureaucrats have to stop their ridiculous automatic objections to all applications for liquor licences,” he says on his Facebook page. “We need to give equal weight to tourism, culture and the arts when applications are considered.”

Mr McGowan says interventions by the police and health commissioners are “well-intended but sometimes poorly targeted”. “I know alcohol abuse in our community is a big problem, but knee-jerk licence rejections are not the answer. In fact, it’s arguable that allowing more intimate, small scale and sophisticated licensed venues could be part of the solution. Let’s bring back some common sense and support those entrepreneurs.”

by STEPHEN POLLOCK

ALRIGHT, so the geothermal heating is still a bit temperamental (Voice, January 24, 2015) but the upgrade at Beatty Park has seen a good number of wins for the centre.

Before the $17.5 million upgrade the centre was getting a bit old and tatty, a far cry from the days of the 1962 Empire Games, or when the Jackson Five moonwalked through it in 1973.

With the spruce up complete the latest numbers show that aside from the geothermal stumble, the council is saving a fair bit compared to the old water and electricity-chugging behemoth.

Energy use has halved courtesy of all the LED lights that’ve been installed (and they appear to not attract bugs, meaning your Aussie crawl isn’t interrupted by a mouthful of moth).

Water use is down too, from about 50 litres per swimmer to 28, and the centre looks to save around $100,000 on electricity from better pool pumps and exhaust fans.

The upgrade predates CEO Len Kosova, but he says a main focus was “creating a leaner, greener facility” and the council is happy with the energy and water saving results so far.

The major failing has been the continual breakdowns of the geothermal system’s pumps, leaving the polo pool chilly.

After nine months of tepid action by senior staff, the council has called in independent auditors to figure out what went wrong and who should be chased up to fix and pay for repairs.

by DAVID BELL