Chair Vacancy

Banksia Grove Residents Association 
Vacancies: Chair, Vice Chair, Treasurer. 

Neither I, nor the treasurer, will be re-nominating at the residents' association AGM this July. So it could be curtains for the BGRA. 

But residents should thank the active members of the BGRA for a good job done over recent years:

• observing and speaking into the government's selection process for a developer for Banksia Grove
• explaining to the chosen developer the needs and aspirations of the existing residents 
• a much better working relationship with Council, thanks mostly to Laura Gray 
• working with Council & developers to shape the safer crossings of Joondalup Drive, which will eventually occur in 2011.
• participating as one of the few actual residents groups on the Round Table. [The Round Table is important: open to all groups interested in BG, and sorts out plans & problems in realtime discussions.] 
• 
  restructuring for the Community Plan to actually happen - so people can work in the areas they care about: amenities, economy, education, environment, groups & events, health, safety awareness. 
• since we did that, BGRA can auspice any new community group or event, which can drastically reduce the admin/paperwork volunteers have to do themselves, so they can get on with doing the thing they actually care about.
• we incubated Spring in the Grove, which now stands alone
• we incubated The Pod, which will soon stand alone 
• we continue to supply the Banksia Nuts newsletter you're reading now 

Overall a pretty amazing job over recent years, done by a small group of people seeking to "work smarter, not harder." Please thank them whenever you can. 

However, truthfully the BGRA looks to be relatively dormant now, for two reasons: 
1) even though the BGRA has steered BG through some significant changes over the last 5 years (new developers, road crossings, amenities, environmental issues), those changes are now in place, and there's not much more we can do about them now. The big exception to this is regarding the plans to develop over the Gnangara water mound. 
2) And even though BGRA is an excellent way to start new projects in the Community Plan, it's not the only way, and apparently few residents want new things at the moment anyway. 

So since there are some urgent needs at the Primary School which effects hundreds of families, I've decided to put my time there (I'm Chair of the school council). 

Bottomline: the BGRA is a great vehicle awaiting drivers. May I finish with a caution: whoever wants to drive the BGRA, please remember that it's not a machine, it's made of people. Handle with care. 

Until July,

The Chair.