2018-07-16 General Committee Meeting Agenda

GENERAL COMMITTEE MEETING AGENDA                                                    16 JULY 2018


 Council has reviewed and updated its Community Engagement Policy. Significant community
   engagement projects in 2017/18 included:
   o   Park Road Boardwalk                         o   Peregian Beach Digital Hub
   o   Climate Change Adaption Plan                o   Waste Management Local Law
   o   Pioneer Park, Cooran                        o   Arts, Heritage and Cultural Plan
   o   Cooroy Memorial Hall
 Council responded to community concerns about the proliferation of short term online
   booking agencies. We were successful in having a motion passed at the Local Government
   Association of Queensland Conference that resulted in the establishment of a State
   Government Reference Group to address the issue and Mayor Wellington was appointed as
   one of two Local Government representatives on that Group. The final outcomes of the State
   Government Reference Group should be known soon.
 Council won a Queensland National Trust Award for the project on “Noosa Remembers – A
   History of the World War 1 memorials of Noosa Shire”. We also provided Pomona Arts Inc.
   with one off funding to support their ongoing management of the Pomona Majestic Theatre.
 Council focused on recognising the important role of volunteers in our community. A series
   of videos was produced highlighting examples of the work undertaken by volunteers and a
   “volunteer recognition” event was hosted by Council.
 Our Noosa Aquatic Centre, Noosa Leisure Centre and The J all had outstanding years.
   Reports will be provided to Council in due course in relation to the annual performance of our
   community facilities. In terms of numbers, the NAC had 242,922 visits which is just under last
   year’s record number of visits, the Leisure Centre had 109,108 visits which is up 7.1 % on
   last year and The J had 85,089 visits which is up 6.7% on 2016/17.
 Council once again provided funding for the free bus service at Christmas and Easter to
   make it easier for our community to move around during those busy holiday periods. Usage
   of that service continued to grow and we also negotiated new service arrangements for
   parking at the Noosa Heads Lions Park with increased parking fees from $10 to $20. The
   average number of passengers using the free buses during the Christmas period has grown
   from 3,926 in 2015/16 to 4,157 in 2017/18. Like previous years, 66% of users had access to
   a car but caught the bus to avoid traffic and congestion. Surveys showed that 94% of users
   were either very satisfied or satisfied.
 Council continued to provide its community grant program supporting our community groups.
   During 2017/18, we provided $842,946 in grants to 135 recipients to support projects,
   acquisition of equipment or events. Council staff also facilitated a number of evening
   information sessions for community organisations to help improve their governance and grant
   writing skills. Details of the grant categories and amounts are set out below:
    Grant Type                              Number of Recipients         Total grant value
    Community Project                                           47               $261,057
    RADF                                                        16                $73,000
    Alliance Agreements                                         13               $114,687
    Emergency Alliance Agreements                                2                $21,307
    Halls and Community Centres                                 10                $79,218
    Festive Season Events                                       10                $44,558
    Signature Events                                             7                $60,320
    Sports Fields                                               12               $165,273
    Water Rebates                                              18*                $23,526
    Total                                                      135               $842,946

    *plus community groups whose Water Rebates were subsidised through our Property Branch


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