Annual Report 2017-18

•   Council has reviewed and updated its Community       •   Our Noosa Aquatic Centre, Noosa Leisure Centre
    Engagement Policy. Significant engagement                 and The J all had outstanding years. In terms of
    projects included:                                       numbers the NAC had 242,922 visits which is
    •   Park Road Boardwalk;                                 just under last year’s record number of visits, the
                                                             Leisure Centre had 109,108 visits which is up 7.1
    •   Climate Change Adaption Plan;                        % on last year and The J had 85,089 visits which
    •   Pioneer Park, Cooran;                                is up 6.7% on 2016/17.
    •   Cooroy Memorial Hall;                            •   Council once again provided funding for the free
    •   Peregian Beach Digital Hub;                          bus service at Christmas and Easter to make
    •   Waste Management Local Law; and                      it easier for our community to move around
                                                             during those busy holiday periods. Usage of
    •   Arts, Heritage and Cultural Plan.                    that service continued to grow and we also
•   Council responded to community concerns about            negotiated new service arrangements for parking
    the proliferation of short term accommodation            at the Noosa Heads Lions Park with increased
    online booking agencies. We were successful in           parking fees from $10 to $20. The average
    having a motion passed at the Local Government           number of passengers using the free buses during
    Association of Queensland Conference                     the Christmas period has grown from 3,926 in
    that resulted in the establishment of a State            2015/16 to 4,157 in 2017/18. Like previous years,
    Government Reference Group to address the                66% of users had access to a car but caught the
    issue and Mayor Wellington was appointed as one          bus to avoid traffic and congestion.
    of two Local Government representatives on that      •   Council continued to provide its community grant
    Group.                                                   program supporting our community groups.
•   Council won a Queensland National Trust Award            During 2017/18, we provided $842,946 in grants
    for the project on “Noosa Remembers – A History          to 135 recipients to support projects, acquisition of
    of the World War 1 memorials of Noosa Shire”.            equipment or events. Council staff also facilitated
                                                             a number of evening information sessions for
•   Council provided Pomona Arts Inc. with one off            community organisations to help improve their
    funding to support their ongoing management of           governance and grant writing skills.
    the historic Pomona Majestic Theatre.
•   Council focused on recognising the important role
    of volunteers in our community. A series of videos
    were produced highlighting examples of the work
    undertaken by volunteers and Council hosted a
    “volunteer recognition” event.




                                                                               2017-2018 Annual Report | Page 11