Services & Organisation Committee Agenda - 6 May 2025
Date: Tuesday, 6 May 2025 at 1:30PM
Location: Noosa Shire Council Chambers , 9 Pelican Street , Tewantin , QLD 4565 , Australia
Organiser: Noosa Shire Council
Duration: 01:59:48
Synopsis: Compliance Policy elevated: tiered model, term removed, advocacy limits, Capital Works strong, resources sought, Noosa River $2.5m, scoping underway, Black Mountain reopening, Seawall co-funded.
Meeting Attendees
Committee Members
Karen Finzel Frank Wilkie Jessica Phillips Nicola Wilson Non-Committee Members
Tom Wegener Amelia Lorentson Executive Officers
Chief Executive Officer Larry Sengstock Director Development & Regulation Richard MacGillivray Director Corporate Services Margaret Gatt Director Infrastructure Services Shaun Walsh AI-Generated Meeting Insight
Key Decisions & Discussions Karen Finzel: Item 7.1 Integrated Compliance & Enforcement Policy was elevated to General Committee due to significance (00:01; Minutes 7.1). Richard MacGillivray: Outlined an integrated, tiered compliance model across ~60 statutes, emphasizing consistency, transparency, natural justice, and proportionality in enforcement from education to prosecution (01:56–12:20; Minutes 7.1). Jessica Phillips: Sought removal of the definition “unlawful activity” to avoid public confusion; staff agreed it is not used in the policy text and could be deleted (04:58–06:39; Minutes 7.1). Frank Wilkie: Clarified councillors may guide residents to formal appeal avenues but must not advocate for outcomes in active compliance matters to protect process integrity (17:31–18:22; Minutes 7.1). Tom Wegener: Requested clarity on “advocacy”; staff distinguished process-related advocacy from outcome-seeking which is improper in compliance cases (24:29–26:56; Minutes 7.1). Jessica Phillips: Asked that “relevant factors” for escalating enforcement be exemplified; staff detailed risk, breach severity, history, responsiveness, public interest, and evidentiary prospects (28:14–33:49; Minutes 7.1). Committee: Adopted amendments to the Specialised Supplier List, noting name correction to Lucid Software Inc., valid to 16 Oct 2025 (44:06–48:28; Minutes 7.2). Shaun Walsh: Capital Works Program: $46m approved (incl. $22.4m carryovers); $20m spent (43.5%) plus $7.5m committed; 137 projects; $11.7m forecast grants; delivery tracking “strong” despite staffing, weather, budget constraints (49:29–51:22; Minutes 8.1). Shaun Walsh: 25/26 planning underway with 80 new initiatives; resource model lags program scale, prompting requests for additional “doer” roles and innovative delivery models (01:03:22–01:08:48; Minutes 8.1). Shaun Walsh: One-lane access at Black Mountain landslide to open under traffic management; full reopening pending remaining works (01:35:39–01:37:53; Minutes 8.1). Shaun Walsh: Noosa River recreational boating facilities progressing: scoping Noosa Woods jetty, Noosaville boat ramp approaches, and Hilton Esplanade design; $2.5m MSQ allocation confirmed in-principle, scope pending (01:38:46–01:44:05; Minutes 8.2). Committee: Referred Item 8.2 to General Committee due to significance (01:58:19; Minutes 8.2). Contentious / Transparency Matters Jessica Phillips: Questioned public-facing clarity of policy terms; staff supported removing “unlawful activity” from definitions to avoid misinterpretation (04:58–06:39; Minutes 7.1). Karen Finzel: Queried why no external community consultation on the compliance policy; staff cited it sets internal governance approach and can be iteratively improved via feedback (20:33–23:01; Minutes 7.1). Tom Wegener: Expressed concern that “no advocating” could impede representing constituents; staff committed to clarifying permissible process-advocacy versus outcome-advocacy at General Committee (23:07–26:56; Minutes 7.1). Jessica Phillips: Pressed for early community input on allocating the MSQ $2.5m; CEO agreed consultation will occur after funding scope is confirmed (01:46:14–01:48:02; Minutes 8.2). Nicola Wilson: Sought transparency on Noosa Woods jetty options and sites; staff to brief councillors with multi-criteria assessments and stakeholder inputs (01:51:00–01:54:57; Minutes 8.2). Jessica Phillips: Challenged prioritisation sequencing across river projects when progress varies; staff explained budgeted legacy scopes advanced first, others queued via CWE and budget (01:55:37–01:57:43; Minutes 8.2). Legal / Risk Richard MacGillivray: Policy anchors in Local Government Act 2009 and related laws; requires procedural fairness, natural justice, and adherence to prescribed statutory processes (01:56–11:12; Minutes 7.1). Frank Wilkie: Warned councillor advocacy for outcomes in live enforcement may be perceived as corrupting process; staff reinforced strict role separation (17:31–18:22; Minutes 7.1). Shaun Walsh: Seawall at Main Beach: 50% Council co-funding with disaster funding; design to meet modern standards while protecting surf break and enabling rapid post-storm nourishment (01:11:49–01:15:19; 01:19:50–01:20:03; Minutes 8.1). Larry Sengstock: Tightened grant discipline to avoid unfunded co-contributions and scope creep; improved cost estimation to reduce overruns amid inflationary market (01:23:01–01:25:23; Minutes 8.1). Shaun Walsh: QRA disaster program (~$135m, 21 sites to 3) imposes heavy governance, procurement and asset reconciliation load; parallel delivery risk managed via dedicated coordinator and reporting (01:26:21–01:29:15; Minutes 8.1). Conflicts of Interest Jessica Phillips: Declared a declarable COI re Cooroy Sports Complex Gymnastics upgrade (temporary senior squad coach); permitted to remain and vote as report was for noting and no personal benefit or loss, but did not vote on the COI resolution (52:18–01:02:56; Minutes 8.1, COI under Ch 5B, s150ES). Environmental Concerns Richard MacGillivray: Cited enforcement against environmental harm; examples included illegal vegetation clearing and dog control, with repeat offenders escalating to formal action (06:49–09:27; 28:47–33:49; Minutes 7.1). Shaun Walsh: Seawall design to preserve beach amenity and consider living seawalls on the riverfront; proposes quicker nourishment to restore profiles post-storms (01:11:49–01:15:19; 01:30:43–01:32:03; Minutes 8.1). Staff: Planned pool fencing safety education ahead of summer; targeted comms guided by new compliance data dashboards (37:13–39:36; Minutes 7.1). Security, Crime and Assets Shaun Walsh: Recurrent thefts at Noosa Botanic Gardens (rare plants, equipment) triggered emergent CCTV upgrade aligned to Council standards, approved via CWE (01:09:02–01:11:09; Minutes 8.1). Larry Sengstock: Noted one-lane reopening at Black Mountain will initially exclude waste services due to delays; emergency services notified (01:37:14–01:37:53; Minutes 8.1). Noosa River Boating Infrastructure & Funding Shaun Walsh: Traditional funding split: MSQ funds over-water (jetties/ramps), Council funds landside (abatements, parking, paths), with assets then handed to Council; MSQ’s flagged willingness to fund landside works is atypical and promising (01:40:53–01:42:36; Minutes 8.2). Larry Sengstock: MSQ confirmed $2.5m allocation by email; scope (including whether project management and landside works are eligible) pending clarification before community engagement on priorities (01:44:40–01:46:14; Minutes 8.2). Shaun Walsh: Noosa Woods jetty consultancy will surface options (public recreation vs commercial drop-off vs future public transport), with multi-criteria assessment and stakeholder input before councillor briefing (01:51:53–01:54:41; Minutes 8.2). Shaun Walsh: Prioritisation mechanics: legacy budgeted scopes (Noosaville Foreshore Master Plan, Noosa Woods jetty) advance first; new designs (e.g., Hilton Esplanade) queued via CWE and the budget process (01:55:37–01:57:43; Minutes 8.2).
Official Meeting Minutes
MINUTES Services & Organisation Committee Meeting Tuesday, 6 May 2025 1:30 PM Council Chambers, 9 Pelican Street, Tewantin Committee: Crs Karen Finzel (Chair), Cr Jessica Phillips, Cr Frank Wilkie, Cr Nicola Wilson “Noosa Shire – different by nature” SERVICES & ORGANISATION COMMITTEE MEETING MINUTES 6 MAY 2025 1. DECLARATION OF OPENING The meeting was declared open at 1.34 PM. 2. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF COUNTRY Noosa Council respectfully acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of the lands and waters of the Noosa area, the Kabi Kabi people, and pays respect to their Elders, past, present and emerging. 3. ATTENDANCE & APOLOGIES COMMITTEE MEMBERS Cr Karen Finzel (Chair) Cr Frank Wilkie Cr Jessica Phillips Cr Nicola Wilson NON-COMMITTEE MEMBERS Cr Tom Wegener (for Item 7.1) Cr Amelia Lorentson (for Item 7.1) EXECUTIVE Chief Executive Officer Larry Sengstock Director Development & Regulation Richard MacGillivray Acting Director Corporate Services Margaret Gatt Director Infrastructure Services Shaun Walsh APOLOGIES Nil. 4. CONFIRMATION OF MINUTES Committee Resolution Moved: Cr Frank Wilkie Seconded: Cr Jessica Phillips The Minutes of the Services & Organisation Committee Meeting held on 8 April 2025 be received and confirmed. Carried unanimously. 5. PRESENTATIONS Nil. 6. DEPUTATIONS Nil. SERVICES & ORGANISATION COMMITTEE MEETING MINUTES 6 MAY 2025 7. REPORTS FOR CONSIDERATION OF THE COMMITTEE 7.1. INTEGRATED COMPLIANCE & ENFORCEMENT POLICY Committee Recommendation Moved: Cr Karen Finzel Seconded: Cr Jessica Phillips That Services & Organisation Committee Agenda Item 7.1 be referred to the General Committee due to the significance of the issue. Carried unanimously. 7.2. NOOSA SHIRE COUNCIL SOLE AND SPECIALISED LISTS Committee Recommendation Moved: Cr Karen Finzel Seconded: Cr Jessica Phillips That Council note the report by the Procurement & Contracts Advisor to the Services & Organisation Committee Meeting dated 6 May 2025 and adopt the amendments to the Specialised Supplier List with a change to the name in the table in the Report in Row 2 from Lucid Inc to Lucid Software Inc. for the remaining term of the list’s validity period, being until 16 October 2025. Carried unanimously. 8. REPORTS FOR NOTING BY THE COMMITTEE 8.1. CAPITAL PROGRAM 2024/2025 DELIVERY STATUS In accordance with Chapter 5B of the Local Government Act 2009, Cr Phillips provided the following declaration to the meeting of a declarable conflict of interest in this matter: I, Cr Phillips, inform the meeting that I have a declarable conflict of interest in this matter in relation to Cooroy Sports Complex Gymnastics Upgrade and upcoming tender mentioned in the Capital Program Delivery Status Report, as I am the senior squad Coach of the Club in a temporary capacity. As per previous declarations, although I have a declarable conflict of interest, I do not believe a reasonable person could have a perception of bias as I do not stand to receive a personal benefit or loss in relation to this matter. Therefore, I will choose to remain in the meeting room. However, I will respect the decision of the meeting on whether I can remain and participate in the decision. Committee Resolution Moved: Cr Karen Finzel Seconded: Cr Nicola Wilson That Council note the declarable conflict of interest by Cr Phillips and determine that in accordance with s150ES of the Local Government Act 2009, and having considered the Councillor's conflict of interest as described, it is decided that Cr Phillips may participate and vote on this matter in relation to the Cooroy Sports Complex Gymnastics Upgrade mentioned in the Capital Program Delivery Status SERVICES & ORGANISATION COMMITTEE MEETING MINUTES 6 MAY 2025 Report which is only a report for noting, as Cr Phillips does not stand to receive a personal benefit or loss in relation to this matter. Carried unanimously. Cr Phillips having declared a conflict of interest was not eligible to vote. Committee Recommendation Moved: Cr Nicola Wilson Seconded: Cr Karen Finzel That Council note the report by the Director Infrastructure Services to the Services & Organisation Committee Meeting, 6 May 2025, providing an update on the delivery of the 2024/25 Capital Works Program as at 31 March 2025. Carried unanimously. 8.2. NOOSA RIVER RECREATIONAL BOATING FACILITIES - UPDATE Committee Recommendation Moved: Cr Jessica Phillips Seconded: Cr Karen Finzel That Services & Organisation Committee Agenda Item 8.2 be referred to the General Committee due to the significance of the issue. Carried unanimously. 9. CONFIDENTIAL SESSION Nil. 10. MEETING CLOSURE The meeting closed at 3.34 PM.
Meeting Transcript
Karen Finzel 00:01.880
No, not A good afternoon and welcome to the Services and Organisations Committee meeting Tuesday 6th of May 2025 commencing at 1:34pm. I'd like to acknowledge the Noosa Council proudly acknowledges and respects Australians first nations people and their deep and abiding connection to this country we recognise the Kabi Kabi people as the traditional owners of the lands and waters of the Noosa area and offered gratitude to their careful custodianship of this unique environment over thousands of years I note that all councillors are in attendance and in the observers area we have Councillor Lorentson welcome and Councillor Tom Wegener welcome. Can we please have a confirmation for the minutes. Moved by Councillor Wilkie. Do we have a seconder? Seconded by Councillor. We'll take it to the vote. And that's unanimous. Is there any comments? All in favour? Thank you. We're up to item number four for presentations. There are no presentations. There are no deputations. We're moving into item number seven, reports for consideration of the committee. We're moving into item 7.1, integrated compliance and enforcement policy. There has been a request to move this to the general meeting for significance of the matter. However, I will invite the staff to give us an overview and welcome to the table. Richard MacGillivray 01:56.322
So Richard and Bronwyn, Business Integration Improvement Officer with me, so we're doing a bit of a duo today, yeah so look all councillors I'll just give you a bit of a run-through of the policy now. purpose of this report is to give council the decision to adopt an integrated compliance and enforcement policy. The policy in the aims to enhance governance and provides a clear framework for council to administer Regulatory responsibilities in a safe, fair, unbiased, balanced, consistent and transparent manner. Noosa Council is responsible for administering a range of laws and regulations as set out in the Local Government Act 2009. Including Council's local law and various other federal and state legislation. The laws are intended to govern community activities to ensure the safety and wellbeing of the community and that harm, including environmental harm, is prevented. Working with over 60 pieces of legislation, Council's compliance teams manage a diverse range of compliance activities including, but not limited to, building and plumbing, development and land use matters, environmental matters, animal management, public health and food licensing, parking and a range of local laws. The policy seeks to establish the best practice compliance approaches by applying the following nine principles which are outlined in the report to its regulatory activities, decision making and enforcement actions. It ensures legal compliance, protects public safety and welfare, promotes consistency and fairness, enhances transparency and accountability, and aids in the efficient resource management by prioritising enforcement actions based on risk and impact to our environment and the community. The policy follows a tiered compliance model, with enforcement actions escalating based on the relevant factors to ensure a fair and just process, whilst maintaining discretion for officers to respond appropriately on each case. Enforcement actions may include voluntary self-compliance, educational and advisory actions, through to formal compliance and remedial actions, penalty infringement notices and prosecutions for the most serious of offences. When determining the appropriate action, Council considers factors such as risk level, nature and severity of as risk level, nature and severity of the breach, likelihood of compliance, public interest and community impact and also legal considerations. The policy was developed in collaboration with our governance branch, branch managers and staff and representatives of our internal compliance. working group. Similar policies are common amongst many local and state government authorities that undertake compliance and regulatory activities. The policy also addresses an existing policy gap that aims to improve governance and community awareness and address risks related to consistency in decision making and transparency in compliance and enforcement matters. And happy to take any questions from councillors. Karen Finzel 04:53.986
Thank- Thank you, thank you for your report. Do we have any questions? Jessica Phillips 04:58.148
I know there is, thank you. I do, thank you. I just wanted to have a chat about the definition on page eight. page eight of the report. Is that of the attachment? Richard MacGillivray 05:13.090
Yeah the policy. Jessica Phillips 05:14.410
The policy, yeah. Unlawful activity? Richard MacGillivray 05:16.710
Yes. Eight. Yes. Your question. Jessica Phillips 05:23.150
I feel that it could potentially create some... maybe misunderstanding in community when they see that definition, and so do you mind just giving me a little bit more information around why that's included? Richard MacGillivray 05:41.093
Yeah, for sure. it is included and really defines where someone is acting contrary to legislative or approval requirements, so it's just a way of defining when action or compliance action is likely to occur. On review of the policy, and the drafting of this policy has been a work in progress for several months, we've identified that the actual unlawful activity term has been removed from the actual within the policy wording so there's the potential where it actually doesn't need to be included in the definition terms because it's not actually referred to in the policy document itself so it would be my suggestion that So, it would be my suggestion that given it's not specifically referred to in the policy, it could be removed from that definition to avoid any confusion to the public or councillors if they would request so. Jessica Phillips 06:39.671
Yeah, I'd like to see that. Could I ask where originally it was referred Richard MacGillivray 06:49.546
We'll probably have to work through that through previous iterations. It's been discussed with their compliance reference group for some time and with governance. We've gone around times over looking at the structure and flavour and obviously the wording as well so it might have been referenced in some of the compliance action and referred to where compliance action is likely initiated which is where there's an unlawful So there is a very broad range of compliance activities and unlawful activity is referring to an activity itself where it could be a parking situation or a dog off leash even which could be also considered unlawful activity as well. Jessica Phillips 07:57.724
I guess given the nature of just this being highlighted I'd like to request that it goes in general. Frank Wilkie 08:07.915
We could probably discuss it further there because I'd like to understand the benefit of having the pros and cons of having the term unlawful activity included in the policy. I'm assuming it helps define whether an act needs compliance action or not. Richard MacGillivray 08:29.255
Correct. And it's taken of that as the the threshold of where compliance action would be initiated. In a lot of instances Council may receive a complaint or an issue or concern raised or it might identify itself. It's not It's not until an investigation has been undertaken when it determines when there has been an offence. So in some instances, in a lot of cases, council receives complaints but there might not be a breach of any laws or permit requirements. And therefore council doesn't initiate any action because it can't. It's only once an offence has been identified, potentially contrary to law, where actions can be undertaken and that can go from... education right through to sort of formal prosecutions being a whole range. SPEAKER_06 09:19.859
So perhaps that could be just referred to as a breach rather than a lawful action? Richard MacGillivray 09:24.619
Yeah, correct. SPEAKER_06 09:25.559
It seems to then... Richard MacGillivray 09:27.739
Yeah, and you'll note The report does refer to breaches. So it's not specific to one activity. It's referring to a whole range of matters where there might be a breach of legislation, permit conditions or the like. It doesn't doesn't require necessarily a specific definition. Frank Wilkie 09:46.914
From my perspective, whatever is helpful to give staff clear direction on whether to take action or not. Whether it's breach of law or unlawful activity. means the same thing, doesn't it? Richard MacGillivray 09:58.488
Absolutely, and you'd be aware that under various legislative provisions is often the prescribed compliance processes outlined in the relevant legislation or the regulations, so we have to follow those. follow those. This is just giving an overarching approach to how we go about our activities, trying to provide some consistency and transparency to our local community as well as they know what to expect from us about how we go around our duties, and this is just processes as well. So there will be there will be a range of standard operating procedures that cascade underneath this policy that will be consistent with this framework and that will be relevant to the different areas of our businesses and the legislation that we regulate. Frank Wilkie 10:46.930
And you mentioned earlier, it might have been in the agenda review, that this replaces a policy that was inherited from the DMO promotion process. Could you explain how this is an evolution of that, or how different it is to what we inherited? Richard MacGillivray 11:08.912
Yes, so there was a previous policy that came through, I guess, de-amalgamation, Sunshine Coast Council policy. There was never any formal Noosa Council-endorsed policy. So, really, the main changes are sure it's more contemporary, the use of more contemporary wording, being clear around the model and the principles that we apply. So, we've obviously just made sure that they're fit for purpose and contemporary and resonate with our community. apply the principles of natural justice, which haven't necessarily changed, but we want to make sure that that's at the forefront. We also promote voluntary compliance, because that's the most cost-effective and efficient form of compliance you can get. And reality is, most people do the right thing. So, we want to reward and recognise that within our community. But we also acknowledge that...situations where we need to take firm compliance action to address particular risks to our community environment. And we have those tools and levers available and that might be through formal notices to penalty infringement notices, right through prosecution for those most serious. Jessica Phillips 12:40.302
Parts of this, I believe. I fully appreciate it. I just want to seek some clarification. Maintaining procedural fairness and protect the rights of individuals and the integrity of the process, councillors must not involve themselves in negotiating and resolving outcomes with aggrieved parties nor advocating on behalf of the... councillors can assist constituents in raising concerns relating to compliance and enforcement by referring them to the appropriate functional area which I use a lot so that that process process makes sense to me. I guess my question is to assist when people, when community contact us to the things that may... going that they're a bit frustrated with or need questions answered, how does this help the administrative and us to... come to a good outcome? So do you think in terms of advocacy in our role as council representatives, like how does that affect us when we're trying to represent our community if we do refer for functional and procedural... functional and procedural and operational matters, how does that affect our advocacy role? Yes, it does. It makes me feel like my role might be a bit more challenging with this part in here. Richard MacGillivray 14:13.544
Yeah, no, look, thank you. reason for being clear about that, and again, council's role, council was obviously involved with the strategic setting direction for the organisation, a lot of the functions regarding compliance matters, particularly where compliance action has been initiated. So there is identified as a breach, there are sort of formal statutory processes and sometimes they can be subject to litigation and challenges as well, so the reason for removing the negotiation and resolving with the councillors as such and those two specific terms is so that councillors don't get caught in a situation where matters might end up view is that our community see us as council, so as council, and obviously the councillors have a different role than the operational arm, but it just makes it very clear for our community who dealing with and how they'll respond to that. Certainly doesn't prevent councillors from being informed and updated and briefed on matters as they arise. Certainly community will reach out to councillors for their involvement but it's really important that once an activity or a compliance activity has been initiated that it should be left with the operational arm to avoid confusion to the parties. to that can potentially affect and impact on our ability to effectively undertake compliance action. We also acknowledge too that we go through a very robust process to get all the facts and information out there and that can be challenging when one party approaches a councillor and you might not be hearing from the three or four or five other property owners that might be upset because of particular and lawful activity, so we're mindful that councillors don't necessarily have all the time to be across all of those bits of information, whereas staff who are administering the compliance action have to absorb all of that information and go through a very thorough process to understand the facts and evidentiary elements they'll determine whether to take action or not. So a lot of this is designed to protect councillors but also make it clear to our community the process and who will be leading the compliance activity through that process. And councillors are most welcome councillors are most welcome to seek briefings and updates on any particular matter at any point in time, but just the message to the community is that you're happy to receive and even refer on matters to staff and they'll appropriately action those. But to expect the councillors to be the negotiator and the resolver of all complaints, particularly when there's a legal framework or process involved, is unfair on councillors as well. And it also, you know, from a good governance perspective, it just keeps the role separate from the strategic councillor role versus the operational arm as well, so the policy is just designed to make it clearer for the community and councillors and operational staff as I think Councillor has asked a very important question there and it's really important that it's clarified because if I understand correctly what... Frank Wilkie 17:31.948
This is saying is, for example, we often get appeals for help from people who are facing enforcement action and a decision's been made. It's okay for us to direct them towards an appeals process. It's entirely another thing for us to advocate on their behalf as staff and say I think this ought to be a different decision. Because that's actually a perversion of proper process and we'll be accused of corrupting proper process and looking after our friends, whereas the process ought to be allowed to run its course without help. Perceived interference, even though we think we're advocating for a community member, it's actually interference in proper process. Is that the intention of it? Helping keep councillors clear of that? Correct. Richard MacGillivray 18:22.240
Make it very clear of those roles, responsibilities. As you pointed out, you know, happy to support councillors in their role to advise their community members around what are their appeal or options or what's the, are there any processes there? We have to be careful in those in those spaces so that we don't set up an expectation where if they do appeal they'll be successful and make sure they understand the risks and consequences of doing that, but nonetheless we want to provide that information to the parties so that they're aware and informed around what decisions Frank Wilkie 18:57.520
Yes, was there any antiquated language that we've inherited from the inherited policy which ought to be, has any antiquated language been removed? Like, for example, unlawful activity, is that considered antiquated language? Richard MacGillivray 19:17.049
Not necessarily an antiquated language as such. I can't remember off the top of my head if that term was specifically mentioned. Can you remember if it was? I can't remember, but if it was in the definitions, I would suspect it would have been in previous versions of the document. What we could do for General Committee then, given it's been referred, is that we could, we could pick out some of what the previous language is and what it's changed to as well. Certainly this has become a lot clearer around the key principles that we applied in investigating and taking action against matters. The tiered compliance model is a lot clearer in this arrangement and also the factors for consideration of where compliance action is taken is a lot clearer and simplified and modernised as well. So they're the key changes. sort of changes that's been introduced since the previous policy from Sunshine Coast Council. Fantastic. Karen Finzel 20:15.991
Are you happy, Jessica Phillips 20:16.991
Councillor? I'm happy for it to go to general and if I have more questions between now and then, Thank you. Any further questions from councillors at the table? Just calling on the councillors in the gallery, do you have any further questions before we move it forward? Karen Finzel 20:33.663
Yes, Councillor Thank you. So I'm going to ask them just a quick question. I know the report says there's been... been no external consultation with community. The question is why? But there is... the report also states the whole thing was developed in collaboration with governance, branch managers and reps of the internal compliance and reference group. reps of the internal compliance reference group. Can you explain your sits on the internal reference group and again why was this policy not shared with broader community even though it was an exercise in educating them on their compliance obligations? Richard MacGillivray 21:12.425
Yeah yeah so so the compliance and internal reference group is consists of all of the branch managers that undertake compliance activities so building and plumbing development assessment local laws environmental health and then within that group we've also got representatives from so staff so on the ground so there's at least two the ground, so there's at least two offices from each of those branches also sitting on that group. And this is all designed to get more consistency, operational efficiency in terms of all our compliance staff so that they can share experiences also help each other and support each other through the process and get work together to get more efficiencies in terms of compliance activities. So in terms of the consultation process so because I guess this is a document that has sort guess this is a document that has essentially had a policy gap there, we have designed this policy and built it up based on best practice, I guess, using similar models and good governance practices to ensure that we've that we cover off the key elements of what good policy would look like in a compliance setting, applying principles of natural justice, procedural fairness, so key elements that we apply in our day-to-day business and make that really clear to the public. Generally we wouldn't to the public generally we wouldn't we wouldn't consult broadly on with this we essentially would set the expectations of how we administer our functions to the community and like any policy if we receive feedback throughout the course of our duties and the community raises questions about particular elements so that we're able to review and update that over time as well. able to review and update that over time as well, and I guess that's what we'd be seeking with such a policy of this particular nature. Karen Finzel 23:01.078
Thank you. Councillor Wegener. Thank you Amelia. Tom Wegener 23:07.958
When it comes to Jess's second question concerning the roles of councillors, there's one word, nor advocating on behalf of or representing parties. I'm a little bit concerned with the word nor advocating on behalf of or representing parties. on behalf of as constituents and it just seems to be a bit of a contradiction from the first sentence which is maintain procedural fairness and protect the rights of individuals and the integrity of the process. SPEAKER_05 23:40.943
So maybe for general meeting could you kind of outline a bit more about what advocacy means? Because we get called you know daily about a tree or this or that and you know that concept of what advocacy is is really tricky. Like one time I had a resident of the tree and the arborist said you know you can't cut it down and then another council staff comes in and says we'll cut the whole thing down and they came to me and it you know it was quite a bit and I felt that you know I was put in the middle there and it was so I'm just I'm finding it a little bit that that's a little bit nebulous for me. Karen Finzel 24:25.441
Yeah. So Councillor Wegener what would be your question to question to the staff please. SPEAKER_05 24:29.217
Thank you. Tom Wegener 24:32.537
Put some flesh on the bones with the word advocating. What does that mean? What isn't advocating? What is advocating? It's something that we're faced with daily. Richard MacGillivray 24:41.394
And to Mayor Frank's points earlier, so obviously advocating is not necessarily seeking a particular outcome for a particular party, where that would be, you know, because obviously in the role of an undertaking compliance action, you're looking at all the sides of the equation as well. Yeah, great question as well. It's not necessarily between one party. It might be an agreed neighbour. There's another party. So we'll be looking at all of that, but we also appreciate that councillors are often approached by one of the parties at least, often, and so they are raising their particular... their particular concern with the councillor and then expecting that the councillor can then influence on the decision-making, which is not the case. Advocacy can be raising concerns and it might be from multiple customers or... person that can come and raise through the CEO and obviously myself if there's procedural related matters and we're happy to address those sorts of things but if there's an advocacy piece about a particular matter that you want to see an outcome or... particularly outcome or a party is asking you to seek a particular outcome from a compliance activity then that would be what we'd say is improper because that's seeking to influence over a decision as opposed to sharing information for myself or the CEO that we need to be aware of around how our, for example, our policy is being applied in terms of procedural fairness, making sure that the action taking is proportionate and fair. And again, we would be using our principles to sort of guide us to make sure that that action is appropriate in all of the circumstances, noting that there are also reviewable decisions as well, so people can contest if they feel like the decision improper or not sufficient as well. So there are grounds there. But advocacy is purely about advocating for the application, I guess, of process as opposed seeking to drive a particular outcome on a particular matter. SPEAKER_05 26:50.975
Processes, okay. Yeah, driving processes on a particular matter. Richard MacGillivray 26:54.695
Yes, correct. SPEAKER_05 26:56.355
That's all for me. Thank you. Karen Finzel 26:57.575
Thank you, Richard. Councillor Wegener, do you think that would be Do you think that would be helpful to answer that question with some reference also to the process of councillors referring on? Would you like some clarification around that in conjunction with advocacy? SPEAKER_05 27:15.472
Yes. I was stepping back to what Councillor brought to the table about referring on to the correct areas and things like that. Would you like some clarification around you like some clarification around advocacy and referring? Yeah, yeah, yeah, please. Karen Finzel 27:34.352
Yeah, thank you. Richard MacGillivray 27:35.492
Yeah, absolutely. And again, yeah, councillors referring on matters raised from the community is absolutely fine and a lot of work that comes through from the compliance team is referred on from councillors when they're alerted to particular issues in our community. So we'd certainly encourage that to continue because again, you're our eyes and ears and contact with a lot of our community members and they often will come to you directly. then that can come through and be captured formally and then we can attend to matters accordingly from there and keep councils updated on particular issues if they want to keep abreast of what's happening and various milestones throughout those processes. Jessica Phillips 28:14.205
Thank you, Richard. Yes, Councillor. Sorry, just two more points, Richard. The compliance model, the tiered compliance model. The tiered compliance model it speaks about with enforcement actions escalating based on relevant factors. The word relevant factors is in the report twice and I wonder if perhaps we could have maybe some examples about what a relevant factor may be. Richard MacGillivray 28:47.760
Yeah, so there are factors considered and so these are referred to as where council may consider the relevant factors. I'll give you a good example of where some of those elements will apply. So there might be a situation where a new residents come to the coast and there's exercise their animal and they're unfamiliar with possibly some of the signage and they stepped over from the off leash area onto one of our on leash areas accidentally. Staff were doing patrols and pulled over and had a conversation with the person and they explained we're very sincere about the situation and misunderstood the signage. Staff potentially could The signage staff potentially could apply a portion and so capture it as a portion with the details from that person but not might not initiate a formal infringement notice for that. Whereas there might be a situation where we've had a repeat offender who's been clearing vegetation against the back of a national park and we've warned and we've warned this person before we might proceed straight to taking formal compliance action whether it be through a formal notice or potentially prosecution so there's a whole range of factors and if you look at the definitions under under risk so risk level refers to severity of harm caused by the breach so actually what's the tangible impact from from the The, um, the nature and severity of the breach so again the scale of the impact in terms of the non-compliance is this very low-lying or is it very significant the likelihood of compliance as I mentioned to history and attitude has a big part to do with other remorseful was this an accidental thing as opposed to an intentional thing also how responsive to they in some situations that want to make amends and address the breach or offence that's been created might be a structure that's being erected against a neighbouring property for example and they will remove or alter it very quickly which might determine how forceful we are with any compliance action. There's obviously then the public interest in community impact element so again what are the broader implications of us taking action or not taking action in relation to to an offence. An example could be issuing an infringement for parking so if we don't, it's probably not a good time at the moment, but if we don't issue a ticket then people will just park there and won't move and then business turnover won't occur and businesses suffer and there'll be a more broader impact to our community so the reason we do that is so that we're reinforcing the behaviours and help support business and community to have the appropriate turnover as well. And then the last piece is legal consideration so this is where we consideration, so this is where we have to evaluate the evidence that we have and the likelihood and prospects of success if we were to go through a formal process. So the evidentiary train is really critical in terms severity of action you're likely to take and the likelihood of successfully prosecuting a compliance matter if you do good go down that path I guess at the end. Does that help a bit? It does yeah and it just interestingly when you're reading at the factors considered in enforcement the only other little thing and it's so small but the word council may consider the following factors um could there be consideration to the word council should consider the following factors yeah yeah look um the the inclusion of may is because there's so many again pieces of legislation that council's responsible for for responsible for for administering and some of those provisions do put certain constraints around what staff can do in terms of compliance staff can do in terms of those offenses in some cases there's no other choice apart from you either do nothing or you take action so it doesn't give a lot of leeway between you know what you can or can't do so you've either got to apply one or the other for example like a parking offence And I can tell you in most of the legislation and regulations that it already factors in those elements in there as well and obviously there's reviewable processes for those exact reasons to provide procedural fairness to people. to the various parties as well if they feel unjust about a particular action or activity that's happening Jessica Phillips 33:52.377
That sounded like I was back at court. SPEAKER_05 33:56.277
It's a bit dry. Karen Finzel 33:58.899
Thank you. Yes, a question from the gallery from Councillor Lorentson. Amelia Lorentson 34:03.459
Hi Richard. I understand enforcement and compliance is black and white. It's right and wrong. But you and me live in a community. Has there been any consideration given to making there been any consideration given to maybe discretionary powers, for instance for the CEO to waive out some compliance or infringement issues, understanding and recognising that we have a community that cost of living is a big deal, and I know this first hand from the meeting. Emails that I get in terms of unpaid registrations or fines, it's a really big deal and you could be in, you know, $308 registration. Whether it's registration or whether it's an infringement, can we, I don't know, can we give our CEO some discretionary powers that under some extenuating circumstances he can waiver? Um, an infringement, um, and just puts his soul back to a black and white, um, enforcement compliance area. Richard MacGillivray 35:19.998
Look, look, thank you, Amelia. Um, so there is already discretionary power. So, you know, for infringements issued, for example, for, for parking or even animal management related, there is the ability to apply for a review. So, um, so staff deal with those requests on a, on a daily basis where people might challenge, um, particular, uh, evidence or circumstances relating to their situation. So there are provisions already for staff. review and apply an element of discretion based on the relevant facts and circumstances of particular matters, um, we understand that, um, not all situations are black and white and there are situations where there might be other relevant factors that need to be considered in terms of. factors that need to be considered in terms of decision making. So the public have that element there. In terms of staff having discretion, so a lot of the focus of this document is to actually empower staff to make really good decisions on the ground. Because they are the one at the coalface understanding what's actually happening, what are the real impacts. This policy is actually designed to support them in their roles, so it's really clear about how they go about assisting the community, understanding... with real impacts to the community, or whether it's a technical breach, but not actually one that's got consequence. So rather than having a very black and white where you must take action, even though it's a very minor and consequential issue... an opportunity to provide good education to the community? is And this document provides them enough flexibility, but also a clear set of guardrails and a framework that compliance staff can operate in, that gives certainty to them and their role, but also to our community who might be at the receiving end of this action and have a better understanding of what they're likely to expect from those officers when they're conducting their duties. So hopefully that helps answer your question. SPEAKER_06 37:12.241
Thank you. Jessica Phillips 37:13.081
Thank you, Richard. I have one more. Karen Finzel 37:16.201
Thank you. In relation to voluntary... In relation to voluntary self-compliance, since that seems to be the one we want to encourage the most, what sort of comms do we do in relation to education to create that voluntary compliance? Richard MacGillivray 37:32.049
Yeah, so look, comms is an important part through social media, proactively making aware about particular issues in our community. making them aware about particular issues in our community. Doing media releases on stories, whether it be good or bad news. So sometimes it's, for example, you'd be aware about a sign we installed when there was some illegal clearing that occurred in the eastern beaches. we use that opportunity to promote that, you know, when this situation arises, we'll take firm action. And so there's some of their duties. Some of the other things are as simple as undertaking proactive patrols along our beaches. And then promote to our community that we're out there monitoring. So that is an opportunity to We certainly want to support people doing the right thing. And there's obviously more work to do in that space when we do more proactive education. proactive education out there on particular issues where we are noticing an increase or a change in behaviours across our community. One of the big things we've started doing is to, and Bronwyn's been instrumental in that, is creating dashboards. So we can understand the change in statistics over time of what's actually happening and that we need to put a more concerted focus on particular issues that are being more frequently raised within our community and then we can have a more targeted campaign on particular issues. Another thing we're looking at doing later this year is another example is around pool fencing. example is around pool fencing safety and as we lead into the summer months we'll be doing an active campaign to help promote that in advance of there being any incidents so that people are aware of their obligations for managing pool fences and pool safety and things like that. So that's just one example. Food safety is another one where there were changes to the Food Act regulations recently. The team was out there in some media coverage and we met with a whole range of different businesses to explain what the new changes meant for those businesses as well. So there's plenty to do in this space and we need to do more as Great, thank you. Jessica Phillips 39:36.536
I'm excited about the pool fencing. Thanks, the pool fencing comes. I think that's great. Yeah, absolutely. Very important. Karen Finzel 39:45.907
You, Richard. Yeah, thank you. Councillor Lorentson, do you want to finish yours? Yes, Councillor Wegener, thank you. Tom Wegener 39:57.007
I know this is the integrated compliance and enforcement policy but a lot of the issues that are raised on this come from neighbourhood disputes and neighbourhood disputes and I think when we talked about this in the meetings, we talked about maybe that should be a part of the program as well, like dealing, trying to cut off the dispute early because it's just a neighbourhood dispute that evolves into these complaints and things and they try to defuse. Is that possible for council to get involved in that space or is that outside of Richard MacGillivray 40:32.411
The Yeah look it probably sits a little bit outside this policy but I absolutely agree with you I think there's an opportunity more both at a state government but also local government level around providing the tools for people to have conversations with their neighbours and what are some of the things that they could approach a neighbour about a difficult issue. Often local government local governments and Noosa Council is no different often gets engaged in an issue when there's often a dispute between parties and you know often used as the mediator to resolve their concerns whereas really we want to provide good neighbourly interactions and and our preference again is for those to be resolved between the parties we probably need to look at increasing some the access to the tools I know the State government have a range of tools to deal with sort of neighbourly dispute related matters but there's certainly more work that could be done to help assist in resolving some of those civil disputes particularly before staff are involved at ratepayer cost to resolve some of these disputes so there's certainly an opportunity Karen Finzel 41:39.440
Thank you Richard. Are we finished? Yeah just before we move on thank you Richard. A question then to the CEO in terms of like firm and fairness and you know know, to affirm our connection, you know, with our community and bring them on through this journey of education. In terms of when this is ratified and posted up onto, you know, our website, is there an opportunity to add, you know, some points... we've discussed today as access and education? When people go and look it up on our website, is there an opportunity that we can put some, clarify some of those issues that we raised today through the website? Larry Sengstock 42:18.612
Certainly, I think we can always, always improve our website and always improve our communications through that medium. So once it's this outcome and providing, as you say, it really is education first thing and then the various steps after that. So if we can do more of that, certainly. We're happy for us to explore opportunities and ways to do that. Fantastic. Karen Finzel 42:39.256
And also I see opportunity around working maybe closer with our business chambers when we talk about education. We're around certain things, maybe that's a good opportunity to, you know, look at supporting them through, facilitate that education, takes pressure off some of our staff and maybe, you know, bring the business chambers into Yeah, all the food licensing regulations and rules, there's a good opportunity for us to share information around what they mean and how businesses can just navigate through that process, absolutely, so there's lots of different opportunities that we could... absolutely. So there's lots of different opportunities that we could continue to, you know, to use as an opportunity to build networks. Fantastic. It's always better to be on the front foot, isn't it? Especially in these spaces. Fantastic. Well, thank you so thank you so much for your report. Thank you, councillors. So we'll move that to take it to the general meeting. Yeah, I'll move that. And a seconder by Councillor. We'll take it to the vote. All in favour? That's Moving on to reports for consideration of the committee, we've got 7.2, Noosa Shire Council, sole and specialised list. Thank you staff. Welcome to the table. Good afternoon. Good afternoon councillors. SPEAKER_06 44:06.900
Good afternoon councillors. As you would be aware each year we bring you a list of specialised and sole suppliers. Margaret Gatt 44:15.160
The current list that was approved you in October last year is still current but we've- the organisations identified some opportunities to amend that list and we've got a range of things for your consideration in this report and I'll hand over to Lee to take us through the detail. Lee 44:30.774
Thank you very much just before I get into the detail can I please just draw your attention to the list on page two there is a slight amendment to one of the suppliers Lucid Software Inc should actually be Lucid Software Inc. Thank you Lee, very much. Okay, so it will be Lucid Software Inc. Okay. So, it will be-- that will be being proposed to add. Yeah, thank you for bringing that to attention. So I think we'll, can we deal with this matter first before we proceed? Yes, yes, yes. Okay, thank you. So I'll So I'll take it to the vote to note this and move the recommendation that we change the wording to read, change to the name in the table in the report in row two from Lucid Software Inc. to Lucid Software Inc. Do we have a seconder for that? Thank you, that's seconded by Councillor. We'll take that to the vote. All in favour? Frank Wilkie 45:30.778
Are we talking about the item first? Karen Finzel 45:34.838
Oh, I thought we moved just this bit first. This is the whole recommendation. Oh, sorry. Thank you, Mr. Mayor. I was just getting excited. Love the enthusiasm. Let's just deal with this. It's fantastic. Alright, thank you. So, do we want to keep the same move on the second or do we want to take that off and Are we all in agreeance around the table? Fantastic. Thank you. A review from the staff about the report. Lee 46:15.075
Thank you. So the details around the report is that obviously procurement of Council's goods and services must be carried out in compliance with the Local Government Act and the Local Government Regulation and the Regulation provides for procurement of medium-sized and large-sized contracts and also allows for Contracts and also allows for exceptions to these requirements under certain circumstances such as the approval of a supplier being deemed a specialised provider. So the current specialised supplier list was adopted as was noted by council in on 17th of October 2024 and is valid for 12 months and this report actually seeks the midterm amendment of the specialised supplier list. term amendment of the specialised supply list for the remaining term of the list validity. Karen Finzel 47:06.622
Thank you. I do just have a question. If businesses are interested in doing this, you know, for now and into the future, what's the process if someone's interested in someone's interested in wanting to be considered for this surprise list? Lee 47:21.609
From an internal perspective, so obviously we have the option to go to market via either competitive process or via the exception under the legislation. So what we're finding is there's an increase to our procurement activities. So staff are the ones who will come to us and nominate which supplier they consider should be put forward for this list and then we within the procurement will actually go through and do a review of that supplier. That may mean that we check to see that there is no other means by which they can be engaged, so a competitive quote within the marketplace, or they're not on a current supplier panel. Karen Finzel 48:17.214
Fantastic, thank you. Any other questions? Frank Wilkie 48:26.120
No, thank you Madam Chair. Karen Finzel 48:28.440
No, thank you. There we go. Thank you for your report. Thank you. Yeah, it was good reading, and I'm glad to see we're sticking to our processes, and this is the half-yearly review over that. And we've made the necessary changes, so thank you. Keep up the good work. Thank you very much. Put it to the vote. Put it to the vote. All in favour? Thank you. That's unanimous. Thank you, staff. Enjoy your afternoon. Thank you, councillor. Thank you. So we're moving to item number eight, reports for noting by the committee. We'll move to 8.1, capital program 2024-2025 delivery status. And we welcome staff to the table. Thank you, Shaun. Shaun Walsh 49:16.300
Okay. Shaun Walsh, director of infrastructure services. I'm presenting this on behalf of the authors who are my team, Aidan and Catherine. Just they're tied up on other capital works programs at the moment. Karen Finzel 49:26.253
Okay. Thank you. Can you give us, please, an overview? Shaun Walsh 49:29.353
Thank you, Councillor. You're welcome. This report provides a status update to the capital works program as of 31 March 2025, and excludes disaster recovery projects. The approved capital budget provisions for 24/25 financial year is currently $46 million, inclusive of a carry forwards of $22.4 million. Actual expenditure achieved to date is $20 million, which is 43.5% of the budget, with a further $7.5 million remaining in commitments, providing a total of $27.5 million. There are currently 137 projects on the capital works program in varying stages of delivery, with forecast grant funding revenue in the tune of $11.7 million. Our team in infrastructure planning and design are currently managing 24 capital projects in delivery and providing planning and design services to over 60 projects this financial year, as well as planning for the future capital works program. Whilst budget implications have influenced the pace and project of project management systems, internal systems are underway with a focus on making the most of available resources and we consider that 24/25 actual spend is tracking strongly, reflecting solid project delivery despite challenges including staffing shortages, adverse weather and budget constraints. The long-term average indicates The long-term average indicates that this amount of money we're spending is consistent with some previous years. Capital works planning for '25/26 financial year is well underway, with 16 meetings held to score and prioritise new initiatives, with workshops with two executive team meetings and to be presented to Council in the near future. A sizeable capital works program for '25/26 will require innovative delivery models to assist in delivery of the program. Thank you. Karen Finzel 51:22.562
Thank you, Shaun. It was very concise, an easy-to-read report. What I did like was the pictures on the attachment, especially around the provider kindergarten, and the much-loved and weighted toilet amenities... Toilets out at the promoter stand top of the park out there. The SES, yeah. I know, the SES. That's been a long time coming, so thank you to all the team and everyone that got involved there to deliver those capital words. I know the community is very excited about that. Thank you. Do we have any questions around the table? Nicola Wilson 51:55.346
Just a quick clarification, which I think is just a typo, but the executive summary, the report, the first point says it's a status The first point says it's a status update for the capital works program as of 31st of March 2024. Oh, you did right. My apologies, councillor. Street child. Those angle eyes, councillor Wilson. Street child. And I referenced that as well, so thank you. It's not in the recommendation, that's correct then. Thank you. Jessica Phillips 52:18.041
Thank you, councillor Wilson. Yes, Councillor. Sorry to interject. I don't know how I overlooked But I probably have, just to declare a conflict with, I've just noticed the Cooroy Sports Complex has come up, obviously this is for reporting only, so you haven't spoken about the report at all, but the Cooroy Sporting, Public Gymnastics upgrade and multi-purpose area. You have raised that before. Yes. I apologise. I have raised it in the past. For consistency, are we able to pull that out? I know we voted on the same one. I apologise to everyone. Shaun Walsh 52:56.719
There's no decision made in the report. No. It's good to know it and then for consistency. Amelia Lorentson 53:04.819
That's fine, we'll take it. And then the questions went after that. Yes, of course. SPEAKER_06 53:08.969
Give me some basics and then I can find... It was just the Cooroy... It's Shaun Walsh 53:14.589
The... The report... Cooroy Sports Jessica Phillips 53:17.309
Complex... Gymnastics upgrade... Shaun Walsh 53:19.189
Gymnastics upgrade and multi-purpose area. It says its upcoming tenders are planned for Q4 2024/25. Amelia Lorentson 53:28.489
Just so that you can... So you have to be voted on staying in here if you're choosing to leave, to stay. I'm choosing Karen Finzel 53:38.340
I'm happy to move that. Just so we get the wording right and it explains adequately the declarable conflict of interest. You've mentioned the Cooroy Sports Complex Gymnastics upcoming tender. Gymnastics Club upcoming tender? Jessica Phillips 54:00.943
It's the Cooroy Sports Complex Gymnastics upgrade and multi-purpose area. That's the project. SPEAKER_06 54:13.003
I'm just trying to find it Cathy. So do we need to include something in there, we need to include something in there Councillor about your link? Yes. Karen Finzel 54:21.586
I'm just trying to pass it in. Take your time, we can just wait for that to make sure we get it right so that everyone's comfortable. Yeah, we need that. Apologies everyone. It might be elevated music. Amelia Lorentson 54:37.626
Sorry I just don't have the link yet. Karen Finzel 54:42.273
Well, we can't have a bit of a discussion, can we? Well we can't have a bit of a discussion. I can engage the CEO for a bit. Oh, oh, because we're going to have a general conversation about the challenges of the budget and the capital limits. But we'll pass that. SPEAKER_06 54:57.197
It's because I was looking at the other questions. That's fine. Karen Finzel 55:03.856
These things happen. It's best that we get this right at the Australian level. Larry Sengstock 55:16.760
The report is for noting, so it's not a huge deal, Councillor, but it's just a process. Karen Finzel 55:53.652
Can you do the search? Jessica Phillips 55:55.332
I am searching. I'm just going through. I didn't realise SPEAKER_06 56:05.940
She's in that little boat on the desktop now. Do we want to pause? Karen Finzel 56:34.920
Yeah, we could have a pause if you like, or if you feel confident may I suggest we could have a go at some new wording, because really we only want to establish your connection which is in the voluntary role. I mean if you want to have a go at that we can... a go at that we can invite feedback from the other councillors to help you with it. Larry Sengstock 56:57.002
So councillor if you want to give a few. Karen Finzel 57:01.902
Absolutely. Frank's well experienced at that, I'm sure you can help us with getting the wording right. I can assist, but Councillor Phillips Jessica Phillips 57:25.580
All I'm doing, they don't have a senior gymnastic coach for state titles. I'm acting in that role. They've actively recruited and I think we have two weeks for state titles and my role will be finished. Larry Sengstock 58:53.980
I think if you want to start that sentence alone, you need to start with those previous declarations. Jessica Phillips 59:00.040
Yeah, that would be great. Larry Sengstock 59:02.820
So it needs to be well established as SPEAKER_06 59:05.380
Well? Yeah. That's the previous declare, declaration. And that's seconded by Councillor Wilson. Would you like to read that, I think? And was there another question you wanted to make? No, no. I can't. It looks important, meaning that I'm in terrible conflict of interest in this letter in relation to Cooroy. Sports complex, gymnastics, upgrade and upcoming attendance as I am the senior, you could even put I am the temporary senior head coach, temporary senior head coach of the club, well I'm not even the senior head coach of the club, just of the senior squad. Because I don't have involvement in any of the other gymnasts, so it's two senior gymnasts for 500. I'm a senior squad coach of the club in a temporary capacity as per previous declaration. Although I have a declarable conflict of interest, I do not believe a reasonable person could have a perception of bias as I do not stand to receive a personal benefit or loss in relation to this matter. Therefore, I will choose to remain in the meeting room. However, I will respect the decision of the meeting on whether I can remain and participate. Karen Finzel 01:01:57.000
Thank you everybody, that was good teamwork there, that's what we like to see, collaboration. The council note the declarable conflict of interest by Councillor and determine that in accordance with the S15OES of the Local Government Act 2009 and having considered the council's conflict of interest as described, it is decided that Councillor may participate and vote on this matter relating to the capital works report which is only a report Works report, which is only a report for noting. In relation to the Cooroy Sports Complex gymnastics upgrade, as Councillor does not stand to receive a personal benefit or loss in relation to this matter. Are you happy with that? We'll take it to the vote. That's all in favour, noting that Councillor did not participate in the vote. Thank you, everyone. SPEAKER_06 01:02:56.040
Thank you for your patience, everybody. Karen Finzel 01:02:58.720
Back to the matter at hand. Do we have any further questions for the staff? I do, please. Just in relation to ongoing staffing constraints continue to impact service delivery. Recruitment is underway to fill key positions with new initiatives for additional resourcing requests. New initiatives for additional resourcing requested through the budget approval process. Could you talk me through that a little bit more? Shaun Walsh 01:03:22.678
We've got a challenge because the long-term trend of our resourcing model is based around a $30 million capital works program. Whereas the trend seems to be that we're somewhere between now $50 and $70 million a year in terms of capital works. But our funding staff model is based around $30 million. And you sort of think, was it a short Or is it a long term forecast? We don't want to put on more staff prematurely. But it looks like we've got increasing confidence in the length of our capital works program. And it's apparent that we're sitting in property well under resourced to actually reasonably achieve the full extent of the capital works program. So we've done some modelling based on the upcoming capital works program for '25/26 and the staff that are actually required to deliver the program. And that will be considered by... council as part of a '25/26 capital works allocation. Because the issues we've got is, you know, first of all, with these projects being delayed, we've got reputation in the community. They're wondering why it's taking so long. And we've also got cost creep issues. issues, because the longer we push out the works, suddenly our cost estimates are two to three years behind. So we've got enough confidence in the program and also the modelling of the staff required to deliver it to present a much better considered argument as part of Council's 2526. The restructuring that we have had to have done to date over the last two years is we've created a number of leadership positions at a high level and that's actually been really successful at retaining a number of key staff who will show really good leadership skills and to actually you know basically provide the leadership for the teams as they're populated with more resources. Jessica Phillips 01:05:00.105
To follow on from that then when where is our where's the key when it our, where's the, when it says key, fill key positions then, what would be a position that's currently vacant? Shaun Walsh 01:05:11.776
The one position that was vacant was the manager of infrastructure planning, design and delivery, Craig Aldridge, who left the organisation. Early this year. So we've had an acting person in that role. We've recently, who's Chris Steele, we've recently undertaken an internal development recruitment opportunity and Chris Steele has been successful at securing that role. because trying to secure the right technical skill with the right cultural skills when you're competing against such significant infrastructure projects across South East Queensland is incredibly competitive and the remuneration that we're able to offer which is reasonable to our council. So we're having to think quite naturally about how we develop our internal staff to actually meet the challenges of the infrastructure program. We're also So, done some other tweaks. For instance, we had a graduate role that we were unable to fill, but by changing the position description to a project officer role, which is more an ongoing, we've actually been able to secure a person, and this is at the lower levels of the project team, because people are much more attracted to that role title, because rather than a graduate, they're actually a project Jessica Phillips 01:06:26.200
Thank you. The following question I have around the capital works planning for 2025/26 is well Is well underway with 16 meetings held and prioritised 80 new initiatives which have been workshopped with two executive team meetings. I guess I'm trying to I guess I'm trying to get my head around capital works that keeps that we're trying to achieve and then when I see 80 new initiatives my head gets a little bit overwhelmed about that so could you just talk me through what's the potential risks in having 80 new initiatives? Shaun Walsh 01:07:13.457
So we're going to be articulating the timeframes really carefully because, you know, we already have projects which are programmed for delivery and, you know, any new project may not be able to start until the new calendar year. It's not like, you know, when you approve a budget, we don't have the resources to be able to switch into delivery because we've got carryover, so we'll be making that clear to you. And it's also important to note that the scale of projects are from very, you know, minor to actually very large. And we'll be making that clear to you. So a smaller project might be, for instance, starting the design process for new pedestrian access. access at Teewah Village to resolve the conflict associated with pedestrians using the current beach vehicle access, which is fairly unsafe. So that's at the smaller end. Whereas some of the other new initiatives are much more complex and new initiatives are much more complex and ongoing and will be over many years. So there's small and then there's large. And I should say that the initiatives also include things like not relevant to just infrastructure planning. It could be acquisition of a vehicle. It could be which is a capital cost. So that's a fairly broad program. Jessica Phillips 01:08:20.213
I guess I'm going to try and articulate this question without I'll give you a phrase like I love the phrase on too many chiefs and not enough. Indians from my previous employment do when you're looking at vacancies and do we have more vacancies in just the doer or more in our leadership roles? Shaun Walsh 01:08:43.048
I'm pleased to advise we actually haven't got one vacancy in the actual infrastructure planning and design and delivery team. So but if you ask me what our design and delivery team. But if you ask me what our focus should be in ongoing improvement, it's actually in the doer, not the chiefs. We've got the leadership positions we need. We actually need the feet on the ground who are actually doing the work to support those leaders. Jessica Phillips 01:09:02.310
And just, I'll keep going with my questions till I... Emergent projects. Could you just talk me through an area of my interest with the Cooroy Botanical Gardens, CCTV, Upgrade? Shaun Walsh 01:09:15.570
Yes, so a council has a structure called the Capital Works Executive, which three councillors are on that committee, and assists the CEO in making his delegations for emergency or emergent works, rising within his budget allocations. So, as a result of ongoing thefts, which have been significant at the Noosa Botanic Gardens, particularly really valuable and rare plants at the Shade House, and also of council equipment, which was actually only recently acquired. It was almost targeted and stolen. So, there was no really effective security system. There was some very amateur sort of... is actually about bringing the CCTV system in line with the balance of the CCTV system at our other council facilities such as the Leisure Centre and also the J. And that was approved. And that was approved by the CEO through Council's Capital Works Executive in accordance with the development delegations of the committee. Jessica Phillips 01:10:15.426
Great, thank you. How does that align, John, with the, and I might be, it might not be for this, we can take it offline, but with the CCTV strategy for the Shire, does that align when you have this coming in? is the timeline when you have this come to CWE? Shaun Walsh 01:10:33.497
Finance or corporate services are on the CWE, so there are a lot of questions to ask, particularly around where there's a public /private interface, such as Hastings Street. or Cooroy, Opal Street, whereby who owns the system, who funds it, and the like. It's much clearer when we're the actual owner of the facility, such as the leisure centre or the library, where we're in direct control of the footage, and we can have the relevant protocols. We know that we're also responsible for the ongoing funding because we benefit from it so it's a little bit simpler but I don't want to take away that there's some much more significant issues that need to be considered. The systems that we've been acquiring such as recently the Noosa Leisure Centre that we'll put in the Botanic Gardens are contemporary, they're back to base so the footage feed actually goes back to monitors and screens. So they're looking ahead in terms of good quality surveillance. Jessica Phillips 01:11:27.778
That's fantastic, thank you. Last question, just in the tenders for the Noosa main beach wall detailed design. There was some community wanting to know maybe just a bit more around how we got to seawall design. Can you talk me through that? Shaun Walsh 01:11:49.516
Yeah, so the current seawall is over 50 years old. When the seawall was originally placed it was the first attempts in the early 70s were basically placing a rock down there and then there's been iterations of placing more rock. The investigations to date show that that rock is now under contemporary standards is probably undersized for what you would do for a modern seawall and there's also been slump. Of council a number of years ago. We're very fortunate to be able to attract state government funding to fund the cost of the Seawall design. And when we undertake the Seawall design, then we'll be in line for funding. So we don't know when that will happen. To date, we've undertaken some very targeted engagement with specific groups, such as Hastings Street Association, so they're aware of the process. But through the actual design process, there'll need to be a lot more engagement with specific stakeholders, so that they're fully aware of what the implications are. The goal is to make it look like exactly the same as it is, because, you know, the beautiful main beach which covers the rock is a really, really beautiful look, you know, that maximises beach area and a really gentle grade. But we've probably got potential to actually look at how quickly we do beach nourishment after an erosion event, so we can reinstate that beach profile as quickly as possible. At the moment there's one dredge outlet which then uses trucks to up the seawall. Is there opportunity for two or three? And these are some of the questions that we need to ask the community. There are also some broader issues, you know, but we're well aware of, you know, the importance of the surf break. You know, our first point in ensuring that, you know, our coastal design processes tap into expert coastal engineers to ensure we're not inadvertently creating a problem that we didn't see. Jessica Phillips 01:13:51.862
So to to clarify clarify then, then to this point, it's been funded from external funding, not from council funding to Can I take that on notice, Shaun Walsh 01:14:05.621
I think there might be a council contribution, I think it might have been a 50% co-contribution, so I'll confirm that in the email afterwards, but I'm pretty sure that there's a co-contribution from council. Jessica Phillips 01:14:14.456
What will I see next before it continues down and is it going to community consultation now or is this still specific targeted? And then what would be the next trigger? Shaun Walsh 01:14:27.995
So there'll be some structured conversations with the community now that we've appointed the consultants. At the moment they're doing surveys and there'll be some structured conversations. This project will generate a lot of interest and we've got... basically a healthy planned budget that we can use for community engagement so we'll be discussing that further with councillors once we have our initial information and what level of community engagement. would you like to see in the project? SPEAKER_06 01:14:53.765
Just on that, is that more about the disruption it might cause or about the design itself? It will need to be both because the disruption will be quite significant and we know that the construction will period probably be during nice weather months, you know, between March and October, where we also have the lower seas, so to actually allow construction. But I need to state that there's no confirmation that we'll attract funding to do the work and we have no certainty about the timeframe of that work. Shaun Walsh 01:15:19.437
So, I think it's advantageous that proper disciples and Alfred, because we came very close to the waves topping over the boardwalk and it really did give a much better understanding. it really did give a much better understanding the community of what happens during the Southland events and we did see some minor erosion on the southern end of the seawall and it was really good for the community to see that, that we are at risk. And thankfully, you know, we're not in a position like, you know, Bribie Island, you know, where, you know, there's some natural processes which are now creating significant at-risk, you know, communities in Golden Beach and the like. So we're not at that position So, we're not at that position, but if we're astute and forward-thinking, we can prevent that type of, you know, fear or thought process moving forward. Jessica Phillips 01:16:00.770
Thank you. Next question is around the Shire the Shire-wide bus stop upgrades. I'm really interested to hear how that will play out for especially so many community making this one. Shaun Walsh 01:16:14.149
We're actually in the last year of a 10-year program. So, you're seeing You've seen that funded by transit, and Larry would know more about this program than I do, but that saw the provision of bus shelters like you see outside the council chambers here, which under that design were fully DDA compliant. Terms of the seating, and also the arrival of the buses, in terms of the signing and the tactiles and the like. So it's a great success story that when we completed the final shelter, it's been 10 years of work to actually achieve a much better standard of our shelters for our commonly used bus patrons across the So I can get the exact numbers, but it's quite significant, the number of shelters we've got. Jessica Phillips 01:16:54.882
To reiterate or to clarify, this is for upgrades, not for any new bus shelters. Shaun Walsh 01:17:01.762
It's not for new bus stops, it's actually a replacement of existing bus stops. And I also note that it's in relation to the transiting services, not the school bus services. SPEAKER_06 01:17:12.482
Thank you. Do you want me to keep going? I do. Jessica Phillips 01:17:16.421
It feels like a dress show though, and I really feel bad this afternoon. They're good questions. Thank you. Shaun Walsh 01:17:25.741
I'm delighted you've read the report. do, yeah, I did miss, there was some that I was focused on from the community. Thank you. So, the Cooroy, Lake Macdonald Drive residential subdivision, I note that that's upcoming tenders planned. that's upcoming tenders planned for 2024/25. What will we see coming from that? So our section is providing the project management sections, assisting our environment strategy area. I'm not strategically across the next stages in that project, so I need to defer that to Director Kinwick-Rawlings to be able to provide that answer because she's essentially the project owner and she's tapping into our staff to actually assist in the more complex project management, sub-division design, engineering and the like. So I'd prefer to defer to Kinwick-Rawlings to provide that answer. Jessica Phillips 01:18:21.157
Leave it for someone else to ask a question. Nicola Wilson 01:18:24.697
You mentioned the size of the capital works program on a dollar value and the level of resources that that needs to support that. SPEAKER_06 01:18:34.081
This might be more of a finance question, but have we got any analysis on what's the price variance and what's the volume variance in that kind of growing capital works program, so is it growing to 30 or 50 million because of the cost of works has increased or because of the value, the volume of the projects? Shaun Walsh 01:18:54.641
I think it's a bit of both, but do we actually have any figures behind I can assist and supply in those figures part of the 25 so that's a good heads up thank you for that but you're correct it's a bit of both you know like for instance the Doanella Bridge upgrade was originally forecasted around 5 million and now it's exceeding 10 million you know so 9.8 million I think is the latest estimate so there's an example of one project which is double its budget provision but then we've also got But then we've also got lots and lots of projects which are small and unfortunately sometimes the smaller projects require just as much project management as a bigger project because of the complexities of dealing with the community and require just the amount of staff and resources to deliver something much more complex. But I can assist in providing that because we've got a capital works budget workshop with the council next Friday so I can have a think about the way that information Yes, Karen Finzel 01:19:49.144
Would you like to make a comment? SPEAKER_06 01:19:50.264
Through the Chair and Councillor, I've just got an answer to this design of the seawall. It is 50% council contribution. The others are contributing through the disaster area. Karen Finzel 01:20:01.111
Thank you. Amelia Lorentson 01:20:01.951
Thank you. Karen Finzel 01:20:03.651
Good question. Segueing to the question I was going to put to the CEO. And it is probably more finance. It does get raised through a monthly reports back there. But just I guess from like a perspective of, you know, running the council organisation. And maybe it will be addressed through the workshop. But what do you think is the, what do we need to be focusing on from the perspective of the business in terms to address, you know, these, the overruns, the carryovers, the cost credit coming? credit, I mean, we've heard about the staff, we want to say about retention, and those things. We've heard about the staff. I mean, what's, what do you think is the, is it an underlay of all those things, or is there something specific that we need to... Well, look, I think it's, we're not on IR in this, in this circumstance. Every council, every business is actually running the same, the same issues that are in the construction world. I think we're still, we're still carrying through the delay from COVID. And the provided prices have increased to within a quarter, everybody off guard, so we're still at the end of that. What we've done to try to alleviate some of that issue is that is that our plan is now far more complex and detailed, whereas before we used numbers that were sort of pretty general numbers and we thought we had enough family here or enough... leeway in there, but again, get caught up with these estimates and put down that sort of four or five year period. So our planning now is far better. We're far more descriptive and prescriptive in what these projects as they come forward are and new initiatives, so we're very sure that we've got them. And we're far more scrutinising more scrutinising in terms of do we need to do it as opposed to do we want to do it. I think that's something that we've really challenged ourselves on. So you'll see when we get the capital works and the budget processes here. We've done it a hell of a while then just trimming it right back to what we think. But it's just volume and it's the expectation of the community to get things done. But it's also, we've got an obligation to. We've got over a billion dollars worth of assets that need to be either upgraded, maintained or replaced. And that's all part of the process that we need to continue to do. So we've got an obligation every year to spend, certainly our money, just on renewals. And that's a body of work in itself. And then there's the other pieces that are either emergent or last Or things that we just think are the right things to be going for. The Seawall, for example, is something that, yeah, you say, well, it's getting to a point where the risk is now, or the opportunity is there for some funding from the... the disaster management, and the risk is now to a point where you say, well, we don't want to get caught out, so let's do that piece of work. So just those sorts of things just have to be done effectively. So it's very difficult. You'll see when we get to the budget on Friday that, you know... We started to go through the list and say, well, there's not too much up there, so it's not critical, not something we really want to do, so that's the challenge we've got, and everything is costing more, so you add that bit at the top of our normal program, just so you can see the cost of doing So the answer to your question is it's a whole myriad of things, but I think in terms of what we're doing, we're trying to be far better planned and prepared to ensure that we don't get caught out with those escalation prices as we're doing the project, so we can get the cost down. And we've been very good at that, which is really good. it's really good, I think, given the environment that we're in. Shaun Walsh 01:24:03.413
And through the chat, one of the other key issues we're doing is that we're not seeking grant funding unless the grant funding is something we have to have, or something we've already programmed. So, because there's a lot of grants that we sought that required co-contributions, which were nice to have, but then required us to co So, we've done a lot more discipline to ensure that, firstly, we've got the co-contribution already budgeted, so it doesn't require additional budget allocation, and it's consistent with our existing program, rather than thinking, "Oh, it's a grant for such a grant for such and such, let's go and do that, which is putting us down in a bunch of rabbit holes and the like. So we're being very disciplined in that regard. When we present the capital waste program, we're actually presenting slides of the things we have brought out as well before we present it to Council, so you can see our appetite to try and Karen Finzel 01:24:55.690
Thank you. Yeah, I know as we're heading into budget, I think we're all very mindful of the challenges, you know, the cost and the expenses outwardly, you know, the internal decisions that we've got to make and, you know, it's going to be really challenging. So, yeah, I'm encouraged that... So yeah, I'm encouraged that the staff is, you know, you've got your eyes over that and we're looking forward to the workshops and we know that we're heading into, you know, really challenging times. So yeah, every look counts. Larry Sengstock 01:25:23.796
Good discussion. Absolutely, looking forward to it. We're committed to designing different things, very big kind of plans and strategies that the community is expecting to see delivered, as well as the repairs and things we'll be able to do. Karen Finzel 01:25:37.336
Yeah, I agree, I think that's really Because the community, you know, is looking to us, you know, to be engaged, to connect with them, to hear them, and then bring that to the table. So I think, you know, even though it's a challenge, I think it's also an opportunity. opportunity to really work closely with our community, you know, we're the middle ground, the councillors in between, you know, we're the conduit. So I think, you know, we can all work together for those outcomes to show we're all listening and making the hard decisions. we're all listening and making the hard decisions, yeah, so thank you. Larry Sengstock 01:26:08.169
We'll be able to, under the umbrella of finish what we started. We'll be able to buy our books and we'll be able to make sure that we deliver them out because that's what the community wants to get them. SPEAKER_06 01:26:16.749
That's right. Yeah. Yeah, exactly. Thank you. Karen Finzel 01:26:21.205
Any further questions? Yes. Yeah, thanks much. It was good to hear the question, really good questions and comments. In terms of fixing what's broken, this capital was programmed... capital was programmed with all focuses on the council's traditional focus, which is the diversity that is directly overseeing and also delivering. The council's also delivering, I think it's $130 million worth of repair works from the Queensland Reconstruction Authority. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to ask this. manuscripts, the biggest manuscript in the council's history, the central council's history. The council is not necessarily delivering that, but it has an oversight over that. Could you just talk, so essentially we're running two capital rewards programs in parallel. Could you just talk about council So there's originally going to be 21 sites that require significant repair, so we're down to three. that $135 million program. So we're ploughing our way through it. The governance arrangements of that program are slightly different to actually expedite the work, so funded by QRA we have a disaster reconstruction coordinator. coordinator who reports directly to me to actually oversee that and we have consulting engineers and project managers working with us to deliver that program so the works are packaged up in terms of design and then put out to tender. I don't want to understate the imposter on Council, so that whilst the Disaster Reconstruction Coordinator and the external engineers and project managers are funded, you know, external to Council, it still requires oversights. That involves a lot of my time in terms of the governance of the program. Shaun Walsh 01:28:10.948
It requires a lot of time with our communications people in terms of looking comms out about the different projects. And then also significant efforts by our procurement team because the procurement activities included the largest contract executed in the history of Noosa Council with immense interest across the market. So, you know, for 21 sites during major procurement activity. And also some of the exercises were high risk such as the realignment of the water main supplying Noosa, so from the Kaibong water intake at Murray River. And then when it comes to the So all the assets actually come into our finance team and our assets team and need to be reconciled. And that's quite an arduous process because even one reconstruction site can involve, you know, and those components are funded by the Queensland Reconstruction Authority. So that program has been delivered in parallel to this program. Frank Wilkie 01:29:15.151
So just a comment that the team has had to absorb an enormous amount of additional work and it's a very hard working team and congratulations on managing both those work hours. Shaun Walsh 01:29:30.238
I know something in the report, forgive me if it's been in there before. You mentioned that there's $1 million worth of master planning work underway with a potential return on investment of $75 million. Could you just explain what that means and why you included that for what I think is the first time in a report like this? So we're we're in in the the throes throes of preparing a draft report to council on the Noosaville Foreshore Infrastructure Master Plan. And as part of the notice of motion to that report, it actually asked for more schematics on the value of the investment. It actually asked for benchmarking of how much the plan has cost us and then what the overall value is. So that's how we're getting assumed of the data. So the key point is that with the master plan, it helps focus what your existing asset renewal program is. For instance, at Noosaville, we have failing event walls, so all along the riverfront. We have an asset renewal budget to actually replace those retaining walls. But the master plan gives us focus on how we do it as a student. Is it a beach nourishment program versus a constructed wall? Or if it's a constructed wall, you know, what's it made of? We know timber doesn't last the distance. We need to actually be more astute and longer term. And the New South Wales Shore master plan references living seawalls, which actually provide really good habitat for, you for sea biota and also resilience to ongoing erosion. So the master plan gives us focus on how we astutely spend our own asset renewal costs and then the thing that we're most interested in or equally interested in is that the master plan makes us very attractive to attract grant funding because when you put in an application for grant funding the grant provider is really interested to see what level of endorsed master plan you have which means it has a level of you know community endorsement and as an example on the Noosa or Coorshaw even though the plan is at its draft stage and is well advanced it's been successful in having matching funding. been successful in having matching funding you know for the Changing Places facility which is the disabled toilet facility and the stakeholders are comfortable that the amount of work we've done on the master plan and the community feedback we've had to date they're happy to support background funding so it doesn't come out of the council fund. So we've recently also submitted under disaster recovery funding round three for matching funding for the veteran wall replacement so we're actually using our existing renewal budget of $758,000 I think it was to actually attract matching funding of another $758,000 so we can actually double our budget and our effectiveness without drawing upon the council asset renewal. So the master plan is basically efficient focus of our asset renewal works make sure we know we're doing the right thing and then providing a gateway or an attractor to attract grant funding. Frank Wilkie 01:32:16.475
And I noticed one of the consistently highest items in the capital works program is the Shire wide loan reseal program and I noticed you're close to the 5.1 million. Can you just talk about the importance of that and also how we're attracting and are we going to receive that? Will you be asking for additional funding? Is that enough? Shaun Walsh 01:32:39.945
If you ask the road engineers they say we probably need to spend about 77 million to get our roads up to a reasonable standard which is a significant amount and basically that investment level is to get the roads you know to maximise their life and you know heavy patching or resealing program what it does is it protects the top layer of the road you know from further damage because when the water gets below the road and into the subsurface you end if you ask It's just like maintaining a car to maximise its life, to try and prevent that. And we know that when roads get to a certain point, and Hilton Esplanade is an example of that, whereby the whole road has basically failed and needs major reconstruction, it would be much more preferable to catch that road in time and do a heavy patching program or a resealing program to get a really good seal on the top of that road at an early stage. Frank Wilkie 01:33:48.214
Building back better to climate growth. To sort of climate growth of roads and infrastructure is talked about a lot. So how are we, how are we preparing to do that when there's, there's external funding available for that sort of work. So there's various programs that we can tap into and we try and take pretty astutely. Shaun Walsh 01:34:14.309
I can't put this in some records. That's identified as a primary cycle route for the Shire. So we actually can tap into cycle street funding to actually help us reseal that road. So it's not just one program. There's lots of different programs. There's also a black spot program and also, you know, community stimulus improvement works as well funded by the State and fed. So it's about trying to keep us tuned on every single program out there. So it's about trying to keep astute. I think the point is that most of this program does focus on maintaining our existing assets and trying to extend their life and reduce financial liability. I do note that none of those road programs talk about improvement of existing roads that are unsealed or perhaps do not meet users' expectations. So it's about keeping what we've got, but there's very little in that program. It's about keeping what we've got, but there's very little in that program which improves, you know, areas or roads that aren't unsealed. So I just want to point out that distinguishment. SPEAKER_06 01:35:15.984
Any further questions? Karen Finzel 01:35:18.144
I do think, though, thank you for your time. You've been very good. I'm very much available here for the next report. But I think we do have to note we've got the one lane opening. got the one lane opening on Friday the 5th of May. So that is really, really a celebration. Do you want to give us a quick idea with that? I think there was a door. Shaun Walsh 01:35:39.446
So I'm very pleased to report that the final asphalt ceiling on the road surface of the Black Mountain Lane slide has been completed. Frank Wilkie 01:35:49.486
Or another term term is is that that it's it's the the largest largest recorded recorded land depth, deep landslide in modern history in Queensland, because of the depth, not the geographical area, the depth, so it's actually quite significant. So whilst there are some peripheral work still to be completed, such as guardrails and line marking and drainage works and the like, contractors are confident that they can allow single lane access through that site from Friday, under traffic control or traffic line There still may be some delays for temporary works up to 20 minutes, so that's a conservative estimate and that is still a lot faster than going the 45 minutes around the other way. I'll just note, Councillor, that we're keen not to promote this to the broader community. It is good news, worth notable, but we're just trying to minimise traffic disruption in that location because we don't site seers, and we're wanting the community to not be disrupted by site seers, and we also want the construction crew to wrap the project up as soon as possible, so the less traffic they're dealing with will make their job a lot easier. I just note that the residents on the other side of the landslide have been disrupted for over three years, and I just note their patience, because the detour track is very long and at times treacherous. So we're asking the community to respect the residents and allow them unrestricted access until the official opening? So we're not sticking in the edges. Until the official opening, until both lanes are open. So just to be clear as well that we can't arrange the waste delivery as of yet, because both lanes will need to be open. Shaun Walsh 01:37:33.345
Those delays are unacceptable to the waste contractor at this moment, but we'll continue to monitor that situation, and we're still seeking clarity the school bus arrangements of TransLink. That is an agency outside council, and we're not too sure exactly what they'll do, but we've made them fully aware of the one-way arrangement, and we've also informed all emergency services as well. So that will make it much easier for them to access. Karen Finzel 01:37:57.919
Good job, thank you. And my apologies that I didn't want our listeners to please be very respectful. And just thank you to all the staff and the community that have worked together overall. Okay, any other questions? Are we ready to, would anyone like to move it? SPEAKER_06 01:38:21.933
Think we have time to speak, I think we have time to do the stuff in there. Karen Finzel 01:38:25.553
Great stuff, thank you, Shaun. Okay, we'll take it to the vote. All in favour? That is unanimous. Thank you, Shaun. And we're going to move on to item... denoting by the committee 8.2, Noosa River recreational boating facilities update. Thank you, Councillor. Shaun Walsh 01:38:46.112
So this report provides an update on progress on recreational boating facilities in the Noosa River. In 2022, Maritime Safety Queensland released the Recreational Boating Facilities Demand Forecast for the year 2022. a very extensive report in June 2023 about which options it wanted to pursue. In terms in terms of the status report of the proposals Council wanted to pursue, progress, though limited, has been made on defining scope at three facilities, including the Noosa Woods jetty at the End of Hastings Street or the park at the End of Hastings Street, scoping the approach the Noosaville boat ramp, and also initiating a design process for the Hilton Esplanade, which is currently an informal facility. In addition, I'm pleased to advise that council has been that funding to the tune of $2.5 million is likely to be made available for MSQ for recreational boating facilities. We're still trying to determine the exact scope of that funding and exactly what we can use that funding for also, and the CEO has been in regular Karen Finzel 01:39:57.348
Yes, thank you, Shaun. I do have a question. Just so that we can promote, you know, communities very engaged on the river. We know that whenever that comes up, everyone's, you know, really engaged. So just to affirm our connection to our community and the value of what's going on here and supporting education, I just have a question. Supporting education. I just have a question asking you for those that don't know, that may be new to the area or they're not fully over it, to define the roles and responsibilities including funding, infrastructure. Regulation of each of the key stakeholders. Now I know that's really complex and you're going to summarise that I hope. And thank you. I just think it's a great opportunity as we head into this for, you know, to get this And then people can, you know, use this as a resource and get information about, you know, the work and how many stakeholders share in that regard to the room and the infrastructure. Shaun Walsh 01:40:53.973
Yeah. So if I'll just focus on infrastructure provision so that I can reference a lot of the other controls. Because it is a very complex world in terms of the management. Traditionally in regard Traditionally in regard to public recreational boating infrastructure, Maritime Safety Queensland look after the over-water components or fund the over-water components. If you think about a jetty over the water or a boat ramp that goes into the water, Maritime Safety Queensland have traditionally funded those facilities. When it comes to the shore, which includes abatement walls, car parking, pathways... connecting to those facilities signs, then council has traditionally been funded to those facilities. Once the facility is built or maintained, the facility gets handed over to council to maintain on behalf of all the community. So it's a relationship between Maritime Safety Queensland and council and the realisation of those assets. Now I just want to point out that that relates to public facilities such as the Niswil boat ramp and the like. Now I just want to point out that... Commercial facilities which are privately owned are a totally different kettle of fish and it really depends on the tenure and the relevant approvals they exist under. So that's in relation to infrastructure. I do note that Maritime Safety Queensland seem to have indicated that this time the $2.5 million might be made available for landslide facilities and that's a very, what's the word, promising information from Maritime Safety Queensland because that's very non-traditional the way they've funded in the past. And if you look at the Maritime Safety Queensland recreational boating facilities website, they're very clear that they expect the landslide facilities to be funded by council and not funded by the State government. They expect it to be a partnership. The confirmation of the funding from MSQ about what is the scope because a bit like that conversation we had in the previous matter about grant funding and you know investment of money and if council has to co-invest funds to achieve upgraded boating facilities, it's currently not in our capital works program. So that's what we're nervously awaiting. So it's something that if council seeks upgrading of our boating facilities a priority and the State government requires co-contribution, then that is a funding allocation that council will need to make. So eagerly waiting to see what that outcome is. Now I was just dealing with recreational boating facilities there. I just want to note that other issues such as mooring and anchoring, you know, fish habitat management, sustainable fishing management is managed under a plethora of state government controls. Council has no direct involvement in ongoing management actually on the river, but obviously has a clear advocacy role to ensure the State government agencies are looking after the river on behalf of Council and the community. Karen Finzel 01:43:36.834
Thank you, Shaun. Just on that, in the report, there's also a reference to TMR. Can you just give us your TMR fits into that? So Maritime Safety Shaun Walsh 01:43:45.614
Queensland, thank you for that, Councillor. Maritime Safety Queensland are an agency of Transport and Main Roads, so effectively when you're talking about Maritime Safety Queensland, you're talking about the Department of Transport and Main Roads, and they're responsible to that directorate and to that minister, and their funding comes from that area. And if you think about it, boating is a form of transport. SPEAKER_06 01:44:05.188
Thank you. Do we have any questions? I do, please. Fantastic. Thank you, Shaun. Just in relation to the 2.5 million allocation, from Queensland, from MSQ, when do you think we will get a definitive, because there is certainly information in community that they feel they already have that clarity, so I guess I'm wanting to know a timeframe from today when we will have some certainty Can I defer to the CEO, the CEO has actually been in more active conversations with the director of MSQ. Larry Sengstock 01:44:40.679
Yeah, so we've got an email that basically confirms... email that basically confirms that the $2.5 million has been allocated, but in terms of what it's allocated for, we believe it's the inside, we believe it's the inside, but because it's different to what MSQ normally fund, he's getting clarification and then... We're setting up a meeting for the UNO to sit down and work out what that actually means. The risk is, the short saying for us is that the 2.5, what does that include? Even if it's the inside, does that include our project? If we identify a project and use that money for projects, to use that money for, does that include project management? If we identify a project... Or is that expected to come from council contribution? Does it include other things? Is there a need to put any actual physical money into it? Which we don't know yet. So we're just being a little bit cautious. As is the new excuse director, one of those lines as well, because it was a commitment to a reduction. So we're just, you know, those sort of things continue to stand out, but here we go. And until we know the final details, we're being a little bit uncautious as well. But we do, we have confirmation that the money is allocated. What for and how we use it. It's just not going to work out. So it's just really encouraging and we're really looking forward to it. But until we know, I don't want to make any more promises to the community. Jessica Phillips 01:46:14.941
Relation to continually speaking about the funding then, it wasn't in my understanding as the Auckland Council that has more actively sought these funds. So my lead up question is... Pull up, push me. When will community be consulted in the allocation? Because it's my understanding they've always really indicated what they want that fund for. Larry Sengstock 01:46:39.964
We've had those conversations with them already, to some degree, but again, until we get it finally confirmed then we can go back to the community and say okay, here's the money, how do we best spend this to get the best benefit. We've got this project because, again, it has been a large advocacy from the community to get this funding into the election committee, so we recognise that and we need to be cognisant of that fact and /or include that. We've got this money, what are we going to use it for? But I'm also conscious of, again, that it's not just we're going to have a bucket of money over here for project management, you could say the community have to keep a centre of that in project management. To add to the 2.5, we're going to add that to Sydney, because it wasn't only Sydney in the first place, so we're hopeful we'll be able to use that 2.5 million dollars as an overall package to deliver the project. And through the Chair, if I could actually just clarify that as per Council's resolution in June 2023, item C, notes about Council seeking discussions about increasing funding from MSQ, DTMI, fund and ensure components of background facilities. So Council staff have also been very active in that space seeking the funding. Shaun Walsh 01:48:02.143
I appreciate the community, thankfully, have also been incredibly active in that space as well. But I can assure you, Council staff, Jessica Phillips 01:48:20.642
Okay, so thank you for that. Just in relation then, when I start seeing other projects included in the report, Noosa was Jetty, Gympie Terrace Jetty, when did community, what was the consultant, sorry, when did community, when were they consulted about these projects? Because I feel that we already know what they prioritised and so when we look back at the capital works program and we see the large body of work, I feel that they've already loudly said what they want prioritised and where they want the funds. so I guess I'm wanting some clarity around when we just start focusing on one particular project which is what the funds were intended for which is voting infrastructure. Shaun Walsh 01:49:18.150
Yeah, so when... MSQ released the report in 2022 it actually did a significant consultation program so that report was distributed fairly widely in the community and it was subject to quite significant conversation in the community as well. So when local communities approached council we made it very clear they needed to put their submissions into MSQ to ensure they could finalise the study because most of the study is about over water components which is maritime safety. So this next stage we have no final answer on what the priority should be. We will need to engage with council to actually resolve where that money should be spent. So it could be on one project or it could be scattered across several. For instance, we know from Noosaville both from the Maritime Safety Queensland study and also the Noosaville Fortune Infrastructure Master Plan changes to pontoon. So that might be a smaller value project which would give really good outcomes, whereas other more comprehensive projects might be years down the track. So I don't want to pre-empt what Council's decisions will be. I think we need to find out what the $2.5 million focus And then we'll need to actually, the same way when we present any project to Council for approval of the capital works budget, we'll need to come to you to actually seek endorsement, and then we can have a conversation about, you know, the community engagement at that point. But again, noting that depending on the terms of the funding, you know, do we have budget, you know, to actually do those broader project processes. Nicola Wilson 01:51:00.229
Can I Because just go to my help in this your podcast a little report was directed by Greenwich Council Voters and that did actually specifically to get the astronauts and everyone quickly first. So an update on all of these different programs that were in track. So there's the resolution from October 24 and the previous one from June 23 that did specify all of the things that were in this report. My question and acknowledging that this is a report on everything, so we will get more information on all of these different individual projects, but just could we have a bit more information on the Noosa Wards? What's the scope of the work that the consultants are working on? And are we just looking at one particular entity there, or are there a number of different locations being considered? Shaun Walsh 01:51:53.889
So, the initiation of the Noosa Wards public jetty comes from about three years ago, so it's a specific council project. You know, I've come more recently onto the scene, and I needed to say that the scope, even to myself, was unclear. And there are a number of different stakeholders with differing expectations about whether it was an improved jetty for public boating, or whether it was an improved jetty for commercial drop-off and pick-up, or whether it was forecast in the future of public whether it was forecast in the future of public transport. For the first stage of the consultant's work is to actually look at all options and the pros and cons and the opportunities and constraints, like as an example, to pursue a public transport jetty requires significant disabled access. So if you think about the, you know, the ferry terminals of the Brisbane River with all the, you know, variable ramps, there's a very good understanding of what you're in for actually to the facility of that, of that look. And also discussions with carbon transport and main roads about the Northern Passenger Transport Study indicate there's going to be a long way off until we get public transport on this river. Some of the issues associated with commercial duties is that to run a full commercial duty they require tenure, which means private allocation of land, whereas all our public duties are on, you know, by grace of the State government and they don't require separate tenure. So, and then, you know, public recreational boating, one of the benefits we've got at Noosa Woods is that one location actually has deep draft, so boats with a good keel can actually draw alongside the public jetty. But ideally, any jetties will have a floating pontoon that goes up and down with the tide, because it's very difficult to tie alongside, you know, the jetty at the moment and try and clamp her up. So the first stage of consultants work is to actually present all of this information to get a common understanding and then come to councillors to discuss it further about what do you think we should be pursuing and then consider the consultation. Psalms. So to date we've done some one-on-one engagement with the Hastings Street Association, the Noosa Commercial Marine Aquaradies, David Steele of the Noosa River Ferry and also the Noosa Parks Association because they were fundamentally I'm actually, you know... behind the creation of Noosa Woods with the closure of the caravan park so key stakeholders have helped inform some of the things and complexes we need to look at. We're looking forward to giving the Councils a further briefing next week. But we're at the beginning of it so all the questions you raise about what we should do is actually what we're trying to figure out because there's so many different expectations of how we should approach that jetty and what it should be used for. it's just at the beginning of the process. I hope that is I've got, to the chair, I've got Dean Arnold as the project manager now. Is there anything else you'd like to add to that, Dean? Larry Sengstock 01:54:41.182
There's three different sides that we're currently examining in our project. So it's the Sofitel current arrangement, the Surf Lifesaving Club had an original chair at the end of the pilot. Dean Arnold 01:54:57.709
We've got further work to do and that's going to happen in the next couple of months and obviously from that we'll have some preferred options once we go through a multi-criteria process of assessing those sites and working with those stakeholders. That's interesting. Thank you. Can I just have one more question? Just in relation to how projects like this get prioritised, like when I see certain ones that say no progress has been made advancing and then others start, can you explain to me how that even starts? Jessica Phillips 01:55:37.297
Like who prioritises when Who prioritises when you start advancing and when it's stopped? Shaun Walsh 01:55:44.539
So two of the projects are coincidental because the Noosaville foreshore infrastructure master plan was already forecast and preparation work was already underway. So that's why we've managed to advance that. And that's the same with the Noosa Woods Public Jetty. So there was already a budget allocation for that. So we're actually coincidentally able to advance that. The third one, which is the denial of breach. Noosa is really opportunistic, that through various discussions with the Noosa River Stakeholder Advisory Committee, which is no longer in operation in Castles at the time, there was perceived to be issues associated with that facility, both the appearance of it, some of the environmental issues associated with erosion, its appearance when you come into Noosa. But also the opportunity, because there's already a lot of people using it. We know, for instance, it's the only site where you can unload or load a large vessel on the Noosa River, so with the crane, and there's very few other sites available. So we forecast that there was an opportunity to do some design work, and we've put that into the forward planning and design project for next financial year. That list of projects is endorsed by CWE, or Capital Works Executive, to ensure that it's worth to spend a bit of money to design that further to see whether it's pursuing as a capital work submission for the future year. But normally it would be through council or prioritisation of capital works projects as part of the budget financial year process. Jessica Phillips 01:57:18.679
So to clarify then, will we re-see the these projects in this budget round to say whether there's appetite for us to continue putting any resources to it or it becomes... Shaun Walsh 01:57:32.019
We can do both. Noosa infrastructure master plan will be wrapping up. But you could can, if you wish to, you could can or advance specific proposals. So in that, if you wish to. You could terminate any further expenditure on the Noosa public jetty if you think you think that's appropriate, so because this is a significant budget allocation that we haven't spent yet, which is wise because we wanted to make sure we're heading in the right direction, you could also reject further funding on the Doanella Bridge program, so they're good questions to raise through the budget process if you either support or don't support particular initiatives. Jessica Phillips 01:58:09.480
I have one, unless there's more questions for the Chair, I'd like to refer this to the general meeting. Karen Finzel 01:58:19.160
Is there any further questions? I just would like to just ask a quick one around the iron number G with the council's proposing to initiate the parking study. Will that also be depending on budget allocation or the wording of budget there for that? Shaun Walsh 01:58:38.460
So as councillors are aware we've had one workshop one workshop on the parking study and there's one coming up and one of those content you'll be seeing is actually the draft parking managed plan for the Noosaville Foreshore which focuses on time restrictions and it considers trailer and boat parking in that location, so for further council consideration. So we've actually advanced that initiative as per the June 23 initiative. Thank you. Karen Finzel 01:59:07.820
Alright, well thank you Shaun. You've done a good job at the day. Thank you for your patience. So we'll take it to the vote. Okay, Councillor would like to move that. I'm happy to second. We'll take it to the vote. All in favour? Thank you. We don't have any confidential session and then Related Noosa Council Meetings
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