City Life Issue 105 February 2025 by Fairfield City Council

From your MAYOR Frank Carbone

fcarbone@fairfieldcity.nsw.gov.au

As we closed the chapter on 2024, I was proud to reflect on a year filled with exciting milestones and unforgettable moments for our community. Looking ahead, 2025 promises even more opportunities to bring Fairfield City together.

Recently we’ve celebrated some truly special events like the Australia Day Awards and our spectacular Illuminate New Year’s Eve celebration. There is more to come, with the Women’s Day Awards open for nominations and the highly anticipated Cabramatta Lunar New Year just around the corner.

In 2024, we also unveiled transformative projects that are shaping the future of our City. Endeavour Sports Park now boasts 17 brand-new multipurpose

courts, two synthetic grass fields with advanced lighting, and upgraded pitches and amenities. At Avenel Park, we introduced a purpose-built urban skatepark, multi-sports courts such as basketball, futsal, and volleyball, running tracks, and picnic areas—a hub for all ages and activities, with Stage 2 set to be completed this year.

We also marked a major milestone with the reopening of Fairfield Leisure Centre’s 50m outdoor pool, which underwent an extensive upgrade to enhance its facilities including the installation of cutting-edge technology, a full refit of the pool’s plant equipment, and improvement to the circulation pipes and drainage system.

Follow me on @FairfieldMayor @FC.FrankCarbone

Council continues to invest heavily in our community, with $10 million dedicated to improving local roads, bridges, and carparks, alongside $4.1 million for renewing our community facilities. These initiatives, combined with our future plans, are turning Fairfield City into a premier destination to live, work, and raise a family.

Thank you for being part of this journey. Together, let’s make 2025 another remarkable year for our Fairfield City community.

Frank Carbone Mayor of Fairfield City

15 February 2025 @fairfieldcity @cabramatta_atasteofasia @Discoverfairfield 11am-9pm, Cabramatta Town Centre

MAJOR PROJECTS UPDATE AVENELPARKNOWOPEN

New $4 million fitness park for Canley Vale

Stage 1 of the new fitness park at Avenel Park in Canley Vale officially opened in December, unlocking new and exciting recreational and social benefits for the community.

Features include an urban skatepark – purpose-built for skateboarding; BMX; roller skating; and scooting, a multi-sports court with futsal court and basketball court, a multi-sport wall allowing for a variety of ball sports, volleyball court, ping pong tables, kick-about lawn, a 500-metre loop running track and 25-metre sprint track, and a central plaza and picnic areas for people to gather, connect, stay and play.

The $4.27 million Avenel Park project is funded by the NSW Government's Western Sydney Infrastructure Grants Program in association with Fairfield City Council.

Endeavour Sports Park

Council continues works to transform Endeavour Sports Park into a grassroots sport and recreational precinct thanks to a $16 million investment from the NSW Government’s Western Sydney Infrastructure Grants program.

Two full-size synthetic futsal courts are now available for casual hire. Bookings can be made either on Council’s website or by scanning the QR code at the gate.

The refurbishment of 3 amenities buildings and construction of the 2 synthetic grass fields is well underway.

New durable synthetic surface will allow for a greater range of sports and yearround play to meet the needs of our growing community.

Installation of the 200lux lighting on the synthetic fields will soon be underway, making night-time training and games at local competition level possible once completed.

Additionally, there will be 5 renewed grass sportsfields which include irrigation and 100lux lighting.

Powhatan Park Detention Basin

In May last year, Council started work on a $5 million upgrade to Powhatan Park Detention Basin on Mimosa Road in Greenfield Park to reduce the risk of flooding to properties.

As part of the upgrade, works on and under Mimosa Road are scheduled to begin this month, which may cause some disruption. The Powhatan sportsfields remain open.

Fairfield City has a long history of flooding. Due to the large number of creeks and low-lying lands, more than a quarter of our City can be impacted by flooding during significant rainfall.

Detention basins hold excess stormwater in time of heavy rain and then release it slowly into the creek system, avoiding flash flooding of the creek system.

The works, jointly funded by Council and the Australian Government, will see increased water outlet capacity, bringing it in line with contemporary State Government requirements. It is due for completion in July 2025.

Fairfield 50m pool revitalised!

In December we unveiled the refurbished 50-metre outdoor pool at Fairfield Leisure centre, marking a major milestone – 50 years since it first opened. After so many years of service it was time for a much-needed refresh. Although the repairs were more extensive than expected, the results were well worth the wait.

The upgrades included a modern filtration system, a complete refit of the pool’s plant and equipment, and cutting-edge technology for enhanced water quality. We also replaced the circulation pipes, increasing the flow of fresh treated water, and updated the water return channels around the pool’s edge. An improved drainage system ensures that any water escaping beneath or along the pool’s wall is effectively captured. To top it off, we introduced a sleek new wet deck pool edge for a modern and clean look.

We’re excited for the community to enjoy this revamped pool, with this upgrade providing families with a place to splash, swim and make memories for generations to come.

AROUND OUR CITY

Morethan 13,000 revellers celebrated the New Year at Fairfield Showground, enjoying loads of family-friendly entertainment, including rides, and a spectacular fireworks display.

Fans turned up in the rain to see the Parramatta Eels train at Fairfield Showground in November.

We held free Christmas events at Fairfield City Centre and Canley Heights Town Centre in December.

The Smithfield Athletics Club united to raise funds for the Ronald McDonald House charity, supporting sick children and their families.

Congratulations to Bethany the winner of the Design the Mayor's Christmas Card Competition.

Winners

Council welcomed more than 500 new citizens in December at the final citizenship ceremony for the year.

More than 700 seniors enjoyed a variety of performances at Council's popular Seniors Concert in December.

of the Fabulous Fairfield program were recognised at the December Council Meeting.

The annual the Light Up Christmas Competition recognises the best Christmas displays in Fairfield City.

Hundreds joined Council's walk against domestic violence at Cabravale Memorial Park in November.

seeing FOGO grow

It hasn’t even been a year yet since we introduced the green FOGO bin, but we’d like to thank everyone for embracing this service enthusiastically. By putting garden waste and food scraps in your green bin, you reduce the amount of waste going to expensive landfill, saving money and helping to keep our waste charges affordable.

We are now collecting more than 1,000 tonnes of garden clippings and food scraps per month since the service started. This is a great effort with the green waste recycled into compost for parks and sports fields.

We also have one of the lowest contamination rates in NSW for the green bin. That’s a great achievement. Let’s keep that going and see if we can improve it even further. Let’s be the best, by making ours the lowest! And definitely keep plastic bags out of the bin. Only use the kitchen caddy liners provided by Council. You can pick some up for free at our Administration Centre in Wakeley, or at any of our leisure centres and libraries.

www.fairfieldcity.nsw.gov.au/

Did you know?

Single-unit dwellings, including houses, townhouses and duplexes, are entitled to four free Kerbside pick-ups a year.

With a Kerbside Clean-up, you can place bulky items out for collection like electronic and household items, white goods, metal appliances, smaller household items in boxes or bags and large green waste like thick branches – all the items that are too big or too numerous for your regular bin service.

For more information on all our waste services and how to properly dispose of unwanted items, visit www.fairfieldcity.nsw.gov.au/waste.

Nominations for the 2025 Fairfield City Women’s Day Award are now open! We want you to tell us her story!

This award celebrates local, high achieving women who have built accomplished careers and serves as an inspiration to us all. Their dedication and hard work reminds us that we can all play a part in our City’s success.

Kim Tran is Fairfield City’s most recent Women’s Day award recipient. Kim’s story is a perfect example of the impact this award celebrates. She is the founder of Kimlligraphy, a calligraphy lettering and engraving service, and also offers training in the art of modern calligraphy. In 2022, Kim’s exceptional work was featured in Typism Book 8 and on Channel 7’s Kochie’s Business Builders through her partnership with Vistaprint Australia.

If you know a colleague, friend, or family member who fits the profile of the 2025 Fairfield City Women’s Day Award, nominate them today.

The 2025 Women’s Day Award winner will be announced next month. Stay tuned!

WHAT'S ON February

Cabramatta Lunar New

Year – Year of the Snake

Saturday 15 February

Cabramatta Town Centre, 11am-9pm

The 2025 Cabramatta Lunar New Year Festival celebrates the Year of the Snake, symbolising wisdom, transformation and renewal. The festival will feature cultural performances, traditional food and fun activities that honour Lunar New Year traditions.

Household Chemical CleanOut and E-waste Drop Off Event

Sunday 23 February

Fairfield Showground

Start getting your chemical and e-waste ready for Fairfield City Council’s free Chemical CleanOut and E-waste Drop Off day at Fairfield Showground. Safely get rid of waste that can’t go into your bin such as tech gadgets, pesticides, and gas bottles.

Bring It On! workshop series

Tuesday 25 FebruaryThursday 3 April

Various locations

This annual free workshop series offers free workshops for young people to develop creative media skills in photography, videography and podcasting. Connect with professionals, level up your creative skills and showcase your talent at NSW’s biggest youth event.

March

Seniors Festival Expo

Tuesday 11 March

During NSW Seniors Week, Seniors Festival has entertainment, presentations, information stalls, wellbeing classes and lots of fun activities to get involved in including the inaugural Seniors Got Talent Show. Seniors

Festival Expo 11 March

Heaven and Earth exhibition opens

Saturday 15 March

Fairfield City Museum & Gallery

FCMG’s latest exhibition features artists exploring spirituality, personal identity, and cultural memory through storytelling. Works created by talented artists highlight the shared experiences of belonging and cultural knowledge both locally and globally.

April

Bring It On! Festival

Sunday 13 April

Fairfield Showground, 2pm

The Bring It On! (BIO) Youth Festival is a free, youth-led event celebrating local young people (12-24) with music, dance, rides, sports, food, and live performances. BIO Youth Festival is part of NSW Youth Week featuring young Western Sydney performers, interactive stalls, and amusement rides.