2021-06-16 Special Meeting Agenda

SPECIAL MEETING AGENDA                                                                         16 JUNE 2021


No.   Contribution
14    Shame on you Noosa Council for planning such extravagant rate increases on holiday
      property investors.

      Shame on you Noosa Council for planning such extravagant rate increases on holiday property
      investors. My family and I have been investing in and enjoying holidays in Noosa for over 40 years.
      In late 2019 we invested in a holiday unit (a strata of 8). In our first year 2020, we had almost no
      visitors due to Covid and we made a significant loss on the property. The Covid pandemic is still
      seriously impacting Australia and you want to introduce a major rate hike and, significantly above
      CPI. Shame on you! Why are you gouging the small investment property owners, at this time, who
      have made a significant contribution and investment in Noosa for over 40 years helping to make it
      the wonderful Australian iconic tourist destination it is today. Shame on you Noosa Council

15    STL whole house rates should be higher than proposed in budget

      Given that whole house STL is a commercial accommodation business, rates should be higher than
      those proposed in the budget. Perhaps a sliding scale should be imposed so that the very expensive
      STL bears more of the burden. . Rate on owner occupied room rent is fine. Rates should be set so
      that all cost to the Council of approval and compliance should be borne by STL owners.

16    Fire Levy should be in General rates

      The introduction of a bushfire resilience and response levy is not supported. This is not new Council
      business and should be funded by a rise in general rates if there is a need to improve or expand
      services. Levies increase complexity and administration costs and hide rate rises. While recognising
      this and simplifying some aspects of the rates in other parts of the 2021/2 budget Council is
      simultaneously adding more complexity by introducing yet another levy.

17    Time for an overhaul of tourism marketing for Noosa. The goals should be sustainability and
      resident amenity

      Council will now be able to make tourism in Noosa more on the terms that suit Shire residents, and
      should call tenders for tourism marketing services that meet these aims. Tourism Noosa can fund
      itself through member contributions like other industry bodies.

18    Traffic Risk Mitigation for the Hinterland

      With the known safety issues the recent expansion of Cordwells Quarry has introduced to the Noosa
      Hinterland region, I believe it it more important than ever to be allocating appropriate funding to the
      affected towns (including Kin Kin, Pomona and Cooran) to mitigate the increased traffic concerns
      and community safety concerns resulting from truck convoys travelling through these small towns.
      Already these towns are severely underfunded, with basic traffic management systems lacking,
      including enough pedestrian crossings, footpaths, school traffic management, carparking, patrolling
      etc. So adding increased quarry operations on top of a lack of traffic management is a recipe for
      disaster. Pomona is in need of multiple pedestrian crossings (Hill St at the train station, School St
      and Station St T-intersection, Reserve St near railway crossing and IGA, Factory St near railway
      crossing and T-intersection). Also footpaths are required on Factory Street near the railway
      crossing, School St, Pine St, the bottom of Hill St near the railway station and new bustop (the
      footpath runs out). The Pomona State Primary School has multiple issues with school traffic overflow
      into Pine St creating long parallel lines of cars parked illegally on grassed verges, restricting walking
      access to pedestrians and restricting road width, often to less than 3 metres (impeding emergency
      vehicle access to the street). This street is also lacking any pedestrian footpaths, designated street
      parking or street guttering. In combination, this creates a severe safety concern for students,
      parents, residents and drivers alike, especially with so many cars using the street for carparking.
      The Pomona State Primary school is expanding at a rapid rate, with a recent enrollment
      management plan needing to be introduced due to this growth. If these safety and traffic
      management concerns are not attended to asap, these streets and areas surrounding the school
      will only become more congested and increase the likelihood of a serious accident occuring.




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