Blacktown City Council - Changes to Council's Services - Council Acknowledges Climate Energy

- Mayor's Message - Councilor Tony Bleasedale

Take action - take care

As we continue along this difficult COVID-19 journey I  can assure you that your Council is with our community  every step of the way. It has not been an easy decision to close our venues,  community centres, leisure centres, swimming pools  and libraries, but we have taken these decisions in  accordance with Government actions and the best  possible health and safety advice. We have taken all our decisions relating to our  childcare (KEL) centres based on Government policy  and advice as it applies to public schools, and will  continue to follow their advice. We will keep you informed through our website, Council’s Facebook and regular video updates on  my Facebook page.  At this time, we all need to take action. We all need  take social distancing and personal hygiene extremely  seriously – these are our greatest weapons and  personal responsibilities in this fight. Personally, I know it’s painful, but we are strongly  advised to keep younger members of your family away  from their grandparents. I would like to take this opportunity to pay tribute to our  community. To the teachers and childcare workers who  spend hours preparing lessons for both online and face- to-face teaching and then have to keep the kids apart. To our health workers who are facing a massive  increase in their workloads at the frontline of the  infection and to our supermarket and pharmacy staff  who are doing their best to keep the shelves stocked  often under stress and abuse. To our volunteers working in all areas of community  support and community welfare we say a very big thank  you and of course, we reach out to all the workers and  businesses who are having to deal with job losses and  uncertainties; Council will do all it can to help. But can I once again say please stop panic buying.  Every time you buy more than you need – someone in  need misses out.

COVID-19 (Novel Coronavirus) - changes to Council's services

Some changes are required to our venues and facilities operations: Blacktown Customer Information Centre Council’s Administration Centre will be closed to the  public from Thursday 26 March 2020 until further notice  and we have ceased all face-to-face customer service  including the Development Services Gateway counter. With both gateway and customer service counters  closed, applications for the Development Assessment  teams are required to be submitted via email or by  posting a USB drive in the mail. To make an enquiry with our customer service staff: call 9839 6000 between 8.00 am and 5.30 pm email council@blacktown.nsw.gov.au report it online visit Council’s website for the most up-to-date information including FAQs If it is essential that you visit Council’s Administration  Centre, you can make an appointment by calling  9839 6000 or email council@blacktown.nsw.gov.au. Appointments should only be made when a person is  not showing any symptoms of cold or flu and social  distancing measures will be in place to protect both  yourself and our customer service staff. Council’s community halls and facilities Effective from Thursday 26 March 2020, all community  and senior citizen centres will be closed. Council events All community events and activities organised and  hosted by Council are cancelled until 30 June 2020.  The cancellations support the Australian Government’s  advice to limit organised gatherings. Leisure and swimming centres Council has made the decision to close its 5 leisure and  swimming centres (including gyms) from Tuesday 24  March 2020.  Leo Kelly Blacktown Arts Centre The Arts Centre will be closed to the public until further  notice, but will remain open to artists and creative  workers. Blacktown City Libraries All Blacktown City Libraries branches and services  were closed to the public from Tuesday 24 March 2020  until further notice. Our library staff will be available  over the phone on 9839 6677 to answer any queries  and provide support. We also have a fantastic range of online resources  including e-books, e-audiobooks and e-magazines,  which you can access for free as part of your library  membership here.  Closure of Blacktown Plant Nursery Effective from Thursday 26 March 2020, the Blacktown  Plant Nursery is closed to customers until further notice. Blacktown Animal Holding Facility (AHF) The Animal Holding Facility will temporarily operate via  appointment only. Customers should call 9839 6161 to  make an appointment. Kid’s Early Learning All centres remain open. This situation may be  reviewed based on the advice from the Australian and  NSW Governments. Council’s sporting fields We are concerned that team sports have continued to  occur on Council sporting fields, and therefore have  made the decision to close all sporting fields and courts  (including tennis courts) from Thursday 26 March 2020. We hope this will help reinforce the practice of social  distancing, consistent with all other current measures. Council’s playgrounds, parks and reserves Playgrounds, parks and reserves will stay open and we  encourage residents to stay active, however, when  using these spaces please me mindful that: we are unable to keep playground equipment clean to the standard required by COVID-19 protocols team sports and activities should not be conducted – they are directly contrary to social separation guidelines Please ensure you maintain the recommended social  distancing of 2 m and to not gather in large groups. We  would also like to stress the importance of practicing  good personal hygiene to prevent the spread of germs. Council elections The NSW Government has postponed the NSW council  elections until September 2021 due to the current  COVID-19 situation. We ask our residents for their patience with our staff  during this difficult time as we continue to provide  essential services with minimal disruption. If you are feeling unwell, or you have any cold or flu  symptoms, please take the necessary measures to  self-isolate to prevent the spread of the virus until  your symptoms have passed. For regular and up-to-date information visit Council’s website.  Community News Blacktown City Council acknowledges climate emergency Blacktown City Council has presented a clear  statement to the community acknowledging a climate  emergency and committing to a target of 100%  renewable electricity for Council operations by 2025. Blacktown City Mayor, Tony Bleasdale, OAM said; 'The  science-based evidence is totally clear. We are in a  state of climate emergency requiring "a call to arms" for  immediate action by all levels of government, industry  and our communities'. 'Without urgent action, the urban heat impact on the  communities of Western Sydney will be catastrophic.' On Wednesday 26 February, Council voted to adopt a  series of measures as a response to climate change,  including an aspirational target of net zero carbon  emissions for the community by 2040. 'Our primary commitments are to address climate  change by seeking to reduce emissions in our day-to- day operations and throughout the community, provide  refuge from extreme heat for our residents, and ensure our planning controls and policies reduce urban heat.' "Editor's Notes: We encourage from you (our readers), any comments as feed back to improve  this blogspot or providing important  likes and or recommendations. 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