• been instrumental in having Lugarno's public phones fixed in conjunction with assistance from Mr. Daryl Melham our Federal Member of Parliament;
• arranged with Hurstville Council to erect a "Lugarno" sign in Hurstville's corporate colours of cream and green;
• organised for a Peakhurst Ward Councillor to attend LPA meetings to keep members updated on matters at Council and also provide a forum for discussing issues with Councillors;
• instigated a programme of guest speakers including Peta Seton - the Shadow Minister for the Environment, Kevin Greene, our local State member (to come to the September meeting), Jason Cockayne - Hurstville Council's Bush Regeneration Officer and Matt Jericho - Hurstville Council's Planning Manager.

• obtaining a timeframe from Council for the erection of a bus shelter on Forest Road at the top of Boronia Parade;
• discuss with Council the erection of new signs and replacement of old signs in disrepair and to display maps of walking tracks in and about Lugamo;
• work with the National Trust to find a solution to the promised video about the History of Lugamo which the Trust can no longer undertake;
• organise a successful inaugural fundraising dinner for LPA members and Lugarno residents.

It seems we have done quite a number of things but we still have more to achieve! So if you've been thinking about attending an LPA meeting, now the weather is getting warmer again, our September meeting is on 13 September at 8.00 pm. Kevin Greene our new local State member will be attending, so come along and meet Kevin and hear what he has to say. Kevin is also interested in hearing from Lugarno residents, so we look forward to some lively discussions about foxes, 50 km speed limits, the Georges River/Riverkeeper Programme, the future of Neighbourhood Watch and how to raise matters for discussion with him.

Peta Seton, Shadow Minister for the Environment for attending our August meeting. Peta spoke with us and discussed a wide range of issues for over an hour. Matters touched on included the Georges River, Waste Minimisation Policy and control of the urban fox. Peta offered to write to a number of Government MP's and the EPA on the matters of urban foxes and sewer pump outs into the Georges River. The matters discussed were of great interest and we thank Peta for her attendance and offer to follow up.

Hurstville Police have advised that they increased their patrols into Lugarno following our letter to them. Unfortunately (or fortunately), the vandalism seems to have ceased at the present time and they were unable to find any culprits during their patrols. However, they have reimpressed the need for local residents to keep their eyes and ears open and report anything to police that looks suspicious. If you are concerned about the response time to a police 'phone call, they have asked that you call the Duty Officer who will immediately follow the matter up. The Hursville Police number is 9375 8599 or 9375 8061.

The LPA will be contacting police again this month about their progress with a new programme to replace Neighbourhood Watch. We are planning to have someone attend our October meeting on this matter.

As part of the old Neighbourhood Watch Programme, two engravers were available to Lugarno residents to engrave their belongings so they can be identified in the event of theft. Those engravers have kindly been made available to the LPA for use by LPA members and Lugarno residents. The engravers will be located at Lugarno Hardware, Chivers Avenue shops and Lugarno Estates, Lime Kiln Road shops.

The costs are:

Deposit. $5 refunded upon return of the engraver

It appears Telstra has now fixed both our local payphones and our thanks go to our Federal MP Mr. Daryl Melham for his assistance with getting the phone booths fixed. The LPA has now joined the PhoneWatch programme which is a community initiative to help prevent vandalism to local phone booths. So if you live in or are a shopkeeper in the vicinity of Chivers Hill or Lime Kiln Road shops, we'll be writing soon seeking your interest in becoming part of this initiative.

Some time ago we wrote to Hurstville Council about notification given to residents when Council is proposing works in our local area. Council has advised that types of notification may differ depending on work involved. However, they have provided two specific examples:

• in the case of road resurfacing notification to all affected residents is given by way of letterbox drop 24 hours prior to work commencing. This is done to assist Council by asking residents to remove their car from the road. It has been found that any earlier notification is not as effective. Council's road resealing programme is discussed at open Council and a programme of streets listed.
• in the case of footpath construction generally a written survey of affected residents is carried out prior to construction to determine if the majority of residents are in favour. The results of the survey are then reported to open Council where the decision to construct the footpath is determined based upon the majority vote and the overall needs of the community as a whole.

The LPA wrote to Council last month regarding the implementation of a draft bushfire management plan for Lugarno. Council has advised that it has been involved in the establishment of a St George District Bushfire Management Committee along with representatives from Kogarah Council, Rockdale Council, NSW Fire Brigade and the National Parks and Wildlife Service.

This Committee is currently preparing a Bushfire Risk Management Plan for all areas in St George including Lugarno. It is expected this will be a working document setting out all hazard reduction practices for bushland reserves in Hurstville City. It will contain a constantly updated bushfire protection programme and it is hoped to be in place later this year.

The LPA would like to thank Hurstville Council's Engineering Department for taking the time to respond to these two issues and providing these informative responses.

As noted earlier in the Acting Presidents' Comment, there are still matters that we have asked the Peakhurst Ward Councillors to address for Lugarno residents:

• obtaining a timeframe from Hurstville Council for the erection of a bus shelter on Forest Road at the top of Boronia Parade;
• the erection of new signs and replacement of old signs in disrepair to display maps of walking tracks in and about Lugarno.

We last raised these matters with Councillors in a letter dated 26 July 1999 and asked for a timeframe to discuss the matters. Perhaps they've all been too busy organising to be re-elected! but hopefully this reminder might prompt them to contact us.

The LPA inaugural annual social fundraising dinner is on at Lugarno Seafood Restaurant. Invitations can be obtained from Lugarno Hardware at Chivers Hill and Bruce Glanville's Lugarno Estates at Lime Kiln Road.