Glen Eira Debates

Over the past few weeks we’ve received quite a few emails from unhappy residents. We believe that their views are important and that they raise major concerns with what has been obvious in this municipality for a long time now – that is the apparent failure of QUALITY CONTROL and DECISION MAKING.

When residents pay for over 1400 staff, then they have every right to ask the following:

• How well and often are contractors monitored for the quality of their work? Who signs off on the final job as being completed properly? Is this individual fully qualified to do so?
• Who pays for any ‘corrections’?
• Why do the same contractors who have performed below par keep winning tenders?
• Why has every major project undertaken by this council resulted in either court cases, delays, and budget blowouts?
• Does the left hand really know what the right hand is doing in Glen Eira?
• How often does spin and false claims as to ‘consultation’ results feature in Glen Eira?

Addressing some of these questions, we publish two of the emails we’ve recently received. We have removed all names from the emails.

CASE #1

Dear Glen Eira Debates, 

I wanted to alert Glen Eira community to the very misleading article in the latest Glen Eira news. 

I also emailed the mail@gleneira.vic.gov.au and await a response.

I was appalled to see how the article on page 15 of Glen Eira news September 2022 Titled ‘Growing the urban forest in our streets’ completely misrepresented the reality of what happened in our street. 

Many residents were against the removal of the large native trees that had lined Salisbury street for well over 30 years (that is when we moved in and most of them were already matured trees). 

We were told all the trees had to go as some were too wide for a pusher or wheelchair to fit on the footpath. We were assured that native gum trees would be planted to keep in the street character and still provide food and habitat for the native wildlife abundant in the street. 

Due to very poor coordination of the planting, the new native gum trees were planted in January 2019 during one of the hottest day on record that month and then not watered regularly. 
As a result, several died and instead of replacing only the dead ones, we were informed that all will be removed and replaced by Crepe Myrtle trees. As a reply to our complaints, we were told that it had already been decided at a meeting of the council team who wanted ‘an avenue like feel’ so all trees had to be the same. Absolutely ridiculous for our small street that is an extension of Caulfield park where trees are of all sorts and where we had lost all the diverse native trees that flowered at different time of the years to feed wildlife throughout the year. 

The Crepe Myrtle trees look pretty for a few of weeks when in bloom, but are bare for 4 months per year and will never provide the shade, habitat and food that the old mature native trees provided. 

Our front gardens are now so much hotter that we have to water when I rarely did it before with the shade from the peppermint gum on the footpath. The few remaining properties with a garden have since then also been inundated by possums that do not have any more native trees to feed and live in anymore. Since removal of the native street trees in 2019, the possums have been eating my camellias and leaves of citrus trees which they never did before. 

So you can understand how upset we have been to see this disappointing project depicted as a consultation project with ‘residents who informed the design and planting’ and  that ‘will double the tree canopy in Salisbury Street’.
Furthermore, the new permeable paving around the trees is very slippery when it rains. I fell when rushing to my car and slipping on it. We now know not to step on it when it rains. 

I would like to see a retraction or correction of the article but doubt that will happen. 

Any suggestion?

Thank you very much, 

CASE #2

Greetings Councillors,

Below is an email I sent to Town Hall and Mayor McGee.As usual I got ZERO RESPONSE.

Maybe some of you I hear are more interested to know why Capital Work and routine maintenance are so poor in recent times, as shown by examples below. It starts with good long term competent staff being moved on and replaced by “friends” without key selection criteria or skills to do the job.Why did XXXXX employe a previous acquaintance from his previous Council Mornington Shire as Capital Works Manager when XXXXX is skilled in sustainability not capital work delivery. His prior appointment was also a Mornington acquaintance XXXXX in a senior role.

Why was Works Manager XXXXX moved on when depot functioned brilliantly and is now disfunctional with poor morale.Why was XXXXX highly experienced financial director moved on and replaced with someone who does not have the experience to spend a multi million dollar budget.

But back to recent work?

Who is paying for this remedial work at East Village as Town Hall won’t answer. XXXX removed Council Supervisor XXXX from the site after he refused to sign off on shoddy work. He even toured site with XXXX and agreed work QUALITY was terrible. So why now multiple contractors later VicRoads inspector has ordered new kerbs to be Jack hammered out by excavator and replaced. 

IS RATE PAYERS MONEY BEING USED TO PAY FOR THIS A SECOND TIME GIVEN CONTRACTORS HAVE LONG MOVED ON??

Can someone ask this question in a meeting as Mayor and CEO refuse to deal with me in any form…….

This once great financially responsible council is falling apart, has no standards , and falling further in debt under current leadership and residents ratepayers and general public are appalled by current standards of both maintenance and new work

Kind Regards