Minutes Ordinary Meeting 20 February 2025

ORDINARY MEETING MINUTES                                                   20 FEBRUARY 2025


            Answer provided by Kerri Contini Director Community Services
            Thank-you for your additional question. Council is researching a range of options
            for the planning of future cemetery needs. Regional models for service delivery
            can be very effective in relevant scenarios however we would need to investigate
            a range of factors such as land availability, community willingness to travel to a
            regional cemetery and importantly priorities of our neighbouring Council before
            considering whether that would be appropriate for cemetery services. We do meet
            with cemeteries’ staff from other Councils in Southeast Qld each month to share
            knowledge, trends and approaches which supports a strong public cemeteries’
            sector.


   8.2.     PATRICIA SPICER

            QUESTION 1
            How much of the $3.3 million initial budget allocation has been used in the process
            of investigating, getting reports, subdivision, tree clearing and remediation
            planning for 62 Lake Macdonald Drive, Cooroy? Please include when the budget
            allocation was made and the details of costings for each report and plan that has
            been done for 62 Lake Macdonald Drive, Cooroy to date.
            If investigations/plans/reports were done prior to this budget allocation, what was
            the cost of these and how was this cost met?


            Answer provided by Kim Rawlings Director Strategy and Environment
            Thanks Pat for your questions.
            None/very little of the $3.3m has been used for the investigations. This allocation
            is in the 24/25 budget for delivery costs/ remediation and civil works. The budget
            allocation for site investigations was $500,000 in the 23/24 budget. Most
            investigation expenditure was completed under this budget year with some carry
            overs in the first half of current FY. Most of the plans and reports undertaken form
            part of the civil works package, approvals and remediation package. The total
            expenditure for the investigations to date is approx. $380,000 . Important to note
            Council was successful in a $178,00 Federal grant that contributed to these costs.


            QUESTION 2
            Council has in Item C of the resolution from the Minutes of the Ordinary Council
            Meeting dated 23 January 2025 approved all remediation and subdivision works
            to create Lots 1, 2 and 3 of the 62 Lake Macdonald site. Council in Part D has
            seemingly made Part C contingent on a loan or grant. Some at Council have
            publicly described the resolution "as a once in a generation opportunity for the
            Shire," (to definitely have 25 social housing units built). Part E uses the word
            "should". QUESTION: Does council have a rational basis to approve remedial
            works before even tenders, a loan or a grant has been obtained? What is council's
            strategy to give credibility that the rate payers of the shire will be given a genuine
            opportunity to influence the final development of Lots 2 and 3, if it even proceeds
            - when the only obligation on council is that it "should"? How could a grant be
            offered to council (or a loan be taken) to remediate Lots 1, 2 and 3 if most of the
            land becomes public open space parkland... in Noosa shire of all places? Surely
            the insistence of council to seek loans or grants ties Lot 2 and 3 to housing on a
            significant scale and casts considerable doubt over Part E of the resolution? There
            are four aspects of this question; please address each aspect in your answer.