Ordinary  Meeting Minutes

Held on Wednesday 6 October 2021

Council Chambers, Bega Valley Commemorative Civic Centre Bega 2:00pm

Present Cr Russell Fitzpatrick , Mayor Cr Liz Seckold Cr Tony Allen Cr Robyn Bain Cr Jo Dodds Cr Cathy Griff Cr Mitchell Nadin

In Attendance Chief Executive Officer, Mr Anthony McMahon Director, Assets and Operations, Mr Ian Macfarlane Director,  Community, Environment and Planning, Dr Alice Howe Director, Business and Governance, Mrs Iliada Bolton Manager Communications and Events, Ms Emily Harrison Minute Secretary, Mrs Jackie Grant

Statement of Commencement of Live Streaming

The Mayor made an announcement about live streaming requirements:

Council meetings are recorded and live streamed to the Internet for public viewing. 

The recording will be archived and made available on Council’s website www.begavalley.nsw.gov.au.

Acknowledgement of Traditional Custodians of Bega Valley Shire

The Mayor commenced by acknowledging, on behalf of Bega Valley Shire Council, the Traditional Custodians of the lands and waters of the Shire, the people of Yuin nation, to show respect to elders past and present.

1.	Apologies
	There were no apologies.

2.	Confirmation of Minutes
73/21	RESOLVED on the motion of Crs Bain and Dodds That the Minutes of the Ordinary Meeting and Closed session held on 22 September 2021 as circulated, be taken as read and confirmed. In favour:             Crs Fitzpatrick, Bain, Nadin, Seckold, Dodds and Allen Against:                  Nil Absent:                    Cr Griff

3.          Declarations

There were no declarations of Interest.

4.          Public Forum

There was no Public Forum.

5.              Petitions

There were no petitions.

6.        Mayoral Minutes

There were no Mayoral Minutes.

7.          Urgent Business

There was no Urgent Business.

02:02 pm      Cr Griff joined the meeting.

8.          Staff Reports – Planning and Environment

8.1

Lots 33 & 34 DP505878, Lot 36 DP505879, Lot 6 DP64421, Lot 91 DP709087, Lot 60 DP732500, Lot 5 Sec 2 DP758379, Lot 1 DP1158312 - 215-217 and 221-223 Imlay Street, Eden

74/21

RESOLVED on the motion of Crs Allen and Fitzpatrick That Council: 1.    Assume the concurrence of the Secretary of the Department of Planning, Industry and Environment in accordance with Circular PS 18-003 and pursuant to Clause 4.6 of the Bega Valley Local Environmental Plan 2013 and notify the Department accordingly. 2.    Approve the variation to the height of building development standard, specified under Clause 4.3(2) of the Bega Valley Local Environmental Plan 2013. 3.    Approve the variation to the minimum site area for residential flat buildings     under Clause 4.1(A)(3)(d) of the Bega Valley Local Environmental Plan 2013. 4.    Approve development application 2021.376 for Residential Flat Building (86     Units) subject to the conditions of consent provided in Attachment 3. 5.    Notify those who made a submission of Council’s decision. In favour:             Crs Fitzpatrick, Bain, Nadin, Griff, Seckold and Allen Against:                  Cr Dodds

9.          Staff Reports – Community, Culture and Leisure

There were no Community, Culture and Leisure reports.

10.        Staff Reports – Economic Development and Business Growth

There were no Economic development and Business Growth reports.

11.        Staff Reports – Infrastructure Waste and Water

11.1

Eden Community Access Centre licence renewal

75/21

RESOLVED on the motion of Crs Bain and Nadin 1.    That Council approve a further three-year licence to Eden Community Access Centre Incorporated for their continued occupation of office space within the Eden Gateway Centre for the commencing annual rental fee of $125 per square metre plus GST per annum increased annually by CPI. 2.    That authority be given for the Mayor and Chief Executive Officer to execute the above licence agreement. In favour:             Crs Fitzpatrick, Bain, Nadin, Griff, Seckold, Dodds and Allen Against:                  Nil

11.2

Community Hall Maintenance Funding 2021/2022

76/21

RESOLVED on the motion of Crs Bain and Allen 1.    That Council receive and note the report. 2.    That Council endorse expenditure from the 2021/2022 halls maintenance budget as outlined in this report. 3.    That Council endorses the projects proposed to be carried forward from prior years as outlined in this report. In favour:             Crs Fitzpatrick, Bain, Nadin, Griff, Seckold, Dodds and Allen Against:                  Nil

11.3	RFT 2021-125 Provision of Beach Lifeguard Services
77/21	RESOLVED on the motion of Crs Dodds and Seckold It is recommended that: 1.    Council accept the recommendations outlined in the Confidential attachment. In favour:             Crs Fitzpatrick, Bain, Nadin, Griff, Seckold, Dodds and Allen Against:                  Nil
78/21	RESOLVED on the motion of Crs Dodds and Seckold It is recommended that: 2.    Council accept the tender from Surf Lifesaving Services Pty Ltd as the preferred supplier for         RFT 2021-125 Provision of Beach Lifeguard Services and delegate authority to the Chief         Executive Officer to negotiate service provision and contract pricing to meet available         funding. 3.    Council Endorse the Chief Executive Officer to identify potential supplementary funding         sources including through grants to meet the full service cost. In favour:             Crs Fitzpatrick, Bain, Nadin, Griff, Seckold, Dodds and Allen Against:                  Nil

Pecuniary Interest

Cr Nadin declared a pecuniary interest regarding Item 11.4 possible exchange of land between Council and the Merimbula RSL Club. A signed declaration form was tabled by Cr Nadin and he will depart the chamber when Item 11.4 is discussed.

02:29 pm      Cr Nadin left the meeting.

11.4

Possible exchange of land between Council and the Merimbula RSL Club

79/21

RESOLVED on the motion of Crs Allen and Seckold It is recommended that: 1.    Council endorses the Chief Executive Officer to negotiate with the Merimbula RSL arrangements that would need to be in place to ensure that there is no reduction in public parking availability and no additional car parking liability to Council whilst delivering an appropriate financial return to Council should Council consider selling all or part of Lot 2 DP 1090625 Alice Street in Merimbula in the future. 2.    A further report presenting options to Council be prepared following negotiations. In favour:             Crs Fitzpatrick, Bain, Griff, Seckold, Dodds and Allen Against:                  Nil Absent:                    Cr Nadin

02:31 pm      Cr Nadin returned to the meeting.

12.        Staff Reports – Governance and Strategy

There were no Governance and Strategy reports.

13.        Staff Reports – Finance

13.1

Carry Forwards and Revotes at End of Financial Year 2021

80/21

RESOLVED on the motion of Crs Nadin and Allen That Council: 1.    Receive and note the Financial Year 2021 carry forward projects with the addition of the         following two carry forward projects: i) $12,000 for Enterprise Land Review ii) $191,075 for Merimbula Traffic Study 2.    Resolves to revote the budget allocation for projects not commenced contained in this report. The allocation is to be moved from the FY2021 budget and applied to the corresponding budget in FY2022. In favour:             Crs Fitzpatrick, Bain, Nadin, Griff, Seckold, Dodds and Allen Against:                  Nil

14.      Councillor Reports

There were no Councillor Reports.

15.      Rescission/Alteration Motions

There were no Recission/Alteration Motions.

16.      Notices of Motion

There were no Notices of Motion.

17.      Questions with Notice

There were no Questions with Notice.

18.        Questions without Notice

18.1

Projects update

Cr Fitzpatrick asked for an update on the following projects: Director Assets and Operations, Mr Macfarlane responded: Bega Sports Building: Architects N2SH have been working with consultants to bring together the relevant project reports and design assessments for development application submission. Noting the project will be referred to the Joint Regional Planning Panel. N2SH architects have engaged a consultant town planner to review the documents to ensure they meet planning requirements prior to lodgement; and administer the development application and approval process. That document review has been underway, along with ‘back and forth’ for clarifications with document authors (specialist subconsultants).   It is programmed that the development application will be lodged in the next 2-3 weeks. Noting the background work and assessments that have been done, further detail design on a number of ‘low risk’ items has been progressing concurrently. It is expected tender issue documents will be at 90% stage for review in mid-November.   Pambula Sports Building: Design consultant has been working with sub consultants to bring together the relevant project reports and design assessment to submit the project Review of Environmental Factors for assessment. BCA, Section J, Bushfire, services concept etc. (REF  is the approval mechanism for this project under the Infrastructure State Environmental Planning Procedure SEPP; which triggers Part 5 of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979; requirements of Section 5.5 of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979, specifying a “duty to consider environmental impact”.) The final REF is expected this week and lodgement for assessment with BVSC Planning will be the next step. Detail design for tender issue documents is underway and expected to be completed mid-November. At this point Cr Fitzpatrick asked what the construction time frame impacts would be for sporting clubs and whether they had been consulted with? Mr Macfarlane took the Question on Notice. Kameruka Lane: Currently Council has undertaken design and investigations for the road this includes survey, geotechnical analysis The geometric road design is currently underway with 80% design due for completion in the next week or so. All design work is scheduled to be completed prior to the end of the year with a full tender package completed. In the new year these works will be competitively tendered and it is expected that construction will commence in early March 2022 and the works are scheduled to be completed by the end of the financial year in accordance with the funding deed. Pambula squash courts: The building has been completed and the courts have been procured and delivered to Australia from the Czech Republic in May 2021. Initially the courts were to be supply, deliver and install package with the installers from the Czech Republic to fly into Australia for the installation. COVID has impacted on the ability for the installation with international boarders effectively closed since delivery of the courts and there has been no clear direction on when international flights will resume. Council Officer have re-assessed the available possibilities over the last months the only two practical options to complete the specialist courts fitout are: 1. ASB  (the contracted supplier from Czech Republic) providing tradesman – we have a quote to carry this out 2. Source experienced, qualified and ASB endorsed supervisor from NZ – availability and timing tbc and provide appropriately  experienced and capable local tradesmen to carry out the work. The Australian borders remain closed to the above as they do not fall into  the current categories of exemptions as advised by Australian Govt Dept of Home Affairs. Exemptions are very difficult to obtain even for compassionate reasons, let alone commercial. Anticipating that the above restrictions will be lifted at some time in November /December in October a Council Officer will (re)confirm the quote and availability of ASB tradespeople from Europe and/or the availability of a supervisor from NZ but until a clear understanding of when international borders will reopen it is difficult to provide a clear timeframe for their completion. Noting Council may need to cover costs such as increased costs of flight, costs of quarantine and down time for the installers whilst clearing quarantine both in Australia and the Czech republic. The other possibility that we have considered is to find appropriately experienced and  capable local tradesmen and set up online instruction from ASB overseas we discussed this with the ASB representative in NZ who strongly discouraged this option. ASBN informed us that this has been tried and the results are little short of disastrous with a failure to operate properly, if at all, or meet World Squash standards, damaged parts requiring replacement, voiding warranty and increased costs specifically experienced supervision is a necessity from the suppliers perspective. Should Council want to accept this risk we could progress this option. Kalaru Shared Path: The Shared Path from Tathra to Kalaru is complete and was tied in with works to the Tathra School and Bega Street Tathra and has been well received by the community and a big improvement of the streetscape. We are waiting on an update from TfNSW regarding the remaining funding from the Active Transport as this will dictate the scope and amount of works that can be completed. We are seeking formal approval to amend the overall bike track length from 4.6km to 5.49km, within the approved funding allocation and delivery timeline and utilise the remaining funding circa $500k We have a funding allocation from Repair of $508,200 funding offer for this year’s REPAIR program for its MR272 project. Effectively we have a whole of road corridor design which will include a road pavement renewal between Armstrong Drive and Evans Park which will be the centrepiece of the work that will also include sections of kerb and gutter installation, stormwater upgrades, drainage work and the extension of the existing shared path network from Old Wallagoot Road through to the western edge of Kalaru at Armstrong Drive. We will deliver as much as we can with the available funding. The community consultation has been completed for the feasibility study for the planning of the Shared Path from Kalaru to Bega and our engaged consultants PSA are currently working on a technical assessment and will provide a constraints analysis, preferred alignment and full cost plan so Council will be able to make informed decision on how it should wish to proceed with this into the future.   Kalaru Boat Ramp: Sealing works on the ramp and road will be undertaken week commencing 11/10/21 weather permitting. The NSW Department of Primary Industries (DPI) Fisheries requested that the Project Review of Environmental Factors (REF) be updated to consider and reflect the additional elements in the project (floating pontoon and foreshore access path). An addendum to the REF has been completed (NGH) and submitted to DPI Fisheries with a request to issue a an amended permit for the additional works. An order for the pontoon is being placed with specialist contractors GPM Marine. Expected completion is late March but is heavily dependent on the outcome of the modified REF and availability of the pontoon.

18.2

NSW Upper House Inquiry into the integrity, efficacy and value for money of grants programs

Cr Dodds asked about a submission sent to the NSW Upper House Inquiry into the Integrity, Efficacy and Value for Money of Grants Programs. Councillor Dodds referred to the section of the submission relating to two sectors of the Shire who had sought and received economic packages. Councillor Dodds asked if Council should be taking a more proactive role in applying for the economic surety of the entire shire, rather than allowing sectors to make their own representation and whether the Government has responded to Council’s submission? Chief Executive Officer, Mr McMahon responded: The first part of the Inquiry was related to grants in general. The Government increased and refined the scope to be more specific to include bushfire related grants. At the time of the events we had not experienced anything so wide spread or broadly impacting within the State. . At the time the Government appeared to be very short term responsive and unprepared in terms of knowing where financial support (grant programs) should be targeted. Council and business were being responsive to the funding the Government was providing whilst at the same time advocating for areas of greatest need to receive funding packages. The government has provided an initial response to the Inquiry on the work that has been done to date, however it is a very ‘high level’ and broad response. A more detailed response is expected at a later date. The information is publicly available on the inquiries website. Council spoke at both public hearings and reiterated the impacts and challenges faced by our community. Once a response is received, we will be able to understand if further action is needed.  Council can advocate through various channels including through the joint organisation and LGNSW. We know that our experiences haven’t been unique.

18.3

Update on the Bournda Quarry Development Application

Cr Griff asked for an update on the Bournda Quarry Development Application and the likelihood of it coming back to next term of Council. When will the policy on Development Applications to be presented to council be reviewed? Director Community, Environment and Planning, Dr Howe responded: The Wallagoot Quarry development application has received over 100 public submissions. Council officers have identified additional information that is required from the applicant. Based on the submissions the development application is likely to be reported to Council for determination, although this has not yet been confirmed. It is unlikely that this would occur before the caretaker period. Council is required to review policies within 12 months of the new term of Council. The review of the approach to referring planning matters to Council for determination  will be brought forward early in the new  term of Council.

19.        Confidential Business

There was no Confidential Business.

20.        Noting of Resolutions from Closed Session

There was no Noting of Resolutions from Closed Session.

21.        Declassification of reports considered previously in closed session

There are no Declassification of reports considered previously in closed session.

Closure

There being no further business, the Chairperson closed the meeting at 02:54 pm.

Confirmed

Chairperson of the meeting of the Bega Valley Shire Council held on Wednesday, 6 October 2021.