2018-05-22 Special Meeting Agenda

SPECIAL MEETING REPORT                                                               22 MAY 2018


RECOMMENDATION
That Council note the report by the Economic Development Manager to the Special Council
Meeting dated 22 May 2018 and:
A.   Award the Tender Number 1718T127 for the tenancy of the Digital Hub to the following
     tenderers and delegate authority to the CEO to finalise lease negotiations with each:
     1.    Atmail Pty Ltd;
     2.    Alkira Software Pty Ltd;
     3.    Commtract Communication Services Pty Ltd;
     4.    PB Research and Development Pty Ltd;
B.   Agree to proceed to an Invitation to Quote for Property Management Services via Council’s
     Vendor Panel Marketplace; and
C.   Approve the Co-working tenancy process and tenancy mix as noted in this Report.


REPORT
1.   Background
The Digital Hub offers a significant opportunity for Council to strengthen and diversify its economy
as articulated in the Local Economic Plan and Corporate Plan. In mid-December 2017,
the Implementation Plan for the Establishment phase of the Peregian Beach Digital Hub was
presented to Council with the following recommendations:
    Engage a resource to facilitate the implementation plan;
    Undertake an EOI process for tenancy of the Hub;
    Present a revised financial model and the intended tenancy mix following the EOI process.
In early March, Council approved a revised tenancy process for the Digital Hub and Chris
Boden joined Noosa Council as Digital Hub Director and is now managing the implementation
plan, based at the Hub.
A public tender was released on 22 March 2018 for technology enterprises to apply for office
tenancies at the Hub. This was accompanied by a registration of interest process for technology
co-workers.
2.   Tender Overview
To tenant the Hub’s private office spaces, a robust tender process was designed. Crowe Horwath
were appointed as Probity Advisors and a copy of the post-engagement letter is provided at
Attachment 1.
A website for promoting the Hub was created at peregianhub.com.au, along with comprehensive
multimedia content detailing the Hub facility and service proposition. In addition, the tender was
advertised in the Noosa News on Friday 23 March 2018 and Sunshine Coast Daily on Saturday
24 March 2018.
The tender website was promoted through a range of online, social media and print channels,
which primarily targeted local and regional technology businesses with secondary promotion in the
major metros.
That promotion resulted in over 50,000 video views and 850 visits to the website to view the
tenancy information, with 60 companies registering for the tender. Industry briefings were then held
in late March with 14 attendees. This level of engagement has contributed to raising the profile of
Noosa and its digital economy.




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