General Committee - 13 October 2025
Date: Monday, 13 October 2025 at 12:30PM
Location: Noosa Shire Council Chambers , 9 Pelican Street , Tewantin , QLD 4565 , Australia
Organiser: Noosa Shire Council
Duration: 01:54:18
Synopsis: Financial Reporting reforms, ASR clarity, Arrears tracking, CEO Review/achievements, Cooroy Bowls deferral, Hours/amenity conditions, Major contract uplift, Slope stability design, Cyber/workforce culture.
Meeting Attendees
Committee Members
Brian Stockwell Karen Finzel Amelia Lorentson Jessica Phillips Tom Wegener Frank Wilkie Nicola Wilson Executive Officers
Chief Executive Officer Larry Sengstock Acting Director Corporate Services Margaret Gatt Director Development & Regulation Richard MacGillivray Director Infrastructure Services Shaun Walsh Director Community Services Kerri Contini AI-Generated Meeting Insight
Key Decisions & Discussions Council (Item 8.1): Noted the CEO’s Year in Review and formally commended staff; emphasis on delivery against the 2023–28 Corporate Plan and recovery from industrial action disruption (00:58; 8.1). Council (Item 8.2): Noted the September 2025 Financial Performance Report, with changed reporting format and plans for traffic-light dashboards and a questions-on-notice register (40:38–41:16; 8.2). Council (Item 8.3): Deferred the Cooroy Bowls Club “other change” application (adding food & drink outlet and small distillery) to the 16 Oct 2025 Ordinary Meeting to scrutinise hours, amenity, and conditions (1:33:04; 8.3). Council (Item 8.4): Awarded a $41,510 (ex GST) design/finalisation contract to FSG Geotechnics & Foundations for Sunshine Creek slope stability under s235(b) LGR 2012; CEO delegated authority incl. 11% variation (1:34:44–1:39:34; 8.4). Council (Item 9.1): Closed the meeting under s254J(3)(g) LGR 2012 to discuss a proposed contract; later approved a $1,330,467.42 increase to contract 2122Q125 to $6,430,467.42 (ex GST), with 11.5% variation power and finish by 31 Mar 2026 (1:40:20–1:40:41; 9.1). Larry Sengstock: Reported 71% of 107 initiatives completed/on-track; six major disruptions due to resourcing and external factors; Noosa delivered a surplus while many QLD councils ran deficits (05:02–07:40; 8.1). Larry Sengstock: Key achievements include the Noosa River Foreshore Infrastructure Management Plan (20‑year resilience strategy), Pomona Place Plan, waste/resource recovery initiatives, completion of 2022 disaster works (incl. Black Mountain landslip), Yural (Ural) Ringtail transition, and housing monitoring program (05:58–07:40; 8.1). Brian Stockwell: Framed post‑COVID operational pressures and praised consistent, persistent organisational culture and leadership (32:16–33:14; 8.1). Jessica Phillips: Sought clarity on Asset Sustainability Ratio outlier and sovereign-citizen arrears subset; officers to report back on ASR calc and arrears composition (49:11–50:25; 56:04–56:23; 8.2). Amelia Lorentson: Pressed for embedding QAO-style financial risk/audit summaries into future CEO reports; CEO agreed to consider (22:28–23:26; 8.1). Frank Wilkie: Urged stronger proactive comms to illuminate “bread‑and‑butter” works and complex projects; CEO outlined stepped-up social/visual channels (12:08–13:11; 8.1). Officers: For Cooroy application, recommended 10:00–21:00 (Sun–Thu & PH) and 10:00–23:00 (Fri–Sat) for the food & drink outlet; 07:00–21:00 for bowls; playground to 20:00; application drew 12 submissions (8 support/4 oppose) (1:16:16–1:20:02; 8.3). Contentious / Transparency Matters Amelia Lorentson: Questioned whether conditioning duplicate OLGR/QPS controls and whether linkage to the bowls use (Condition 36) is necessary given lease protections; sought small‑business proportionality (1:18:17–1:21:20; 8.3). Amelia Lorentson: Queried a mandated 2 m Diamond Lane easement and potential burden on a small operator; officers cited Cooroy Local Plan consistency and network-wide application (1:30:26–1:33:04; 8.3). Karen Finzel: Asked about performance measures/dashboard delays and cyber security posture; officers cited ICT resourcing constraints and ongoing monitoring of threats (20:30–21:37; 21:37–22:28; 8.1). Councillors: Sought public clarity on ASR volatility, capital underspend “hockey‑stick,” and rate‑arrears tracking; officers committed to transparency enhancements incl. traffic lights and six‑monthly arrears updates (41:16–45:55; 8.2). Jessica Phillips: Pressed for ASR workings and sovereign-citizen arrears share; officers to take on notice and continue line‑by‑line arrears categorisation (49:11–50:25; 56:04–56:23; 8.2). Brian Stockwell: Publicly underlined legal obligations to pay rates or enter agreements, distinguishing hardship from deliberate non‑payment (1:04:11–1:05:37; 8.2). Legal / Risk Civil/Procurement: Sunshine Creek design award relied on s235(b) LGR 2012 (specialised supplier, site history) to manage interface with existing temp works, minimising geotechnical and integration risk (1:34:44–1:36:52; 8.4). Confidentiality: Item 9.1 closed under s254J(3)(g) LGR 2012 (commercial negotiations) before approving a $1.33m contract uplift and delegations incl. 11.5% variation and date extension to 31 Mar 2026 (1:40:20–1:53:33; 9.1). Planning/Amenity: Hours conditioned by scheme adjacency triggers to residential zones; officers referenced acoustic report, Operational Management Plan and Risk Assessed Management Plan to manage noise, deliveries, and patron behavior (1:16:16–1:21:20; 8.3). Safety/Standards: Distillery raised combustible liquids and building classification interface; officers cited Australian Standards minor storage provisions and undertook to verify any additional obligations (1:27:34–1:30:22; 8.3). Financial Ratios: ASR fluctuations explained by QRA carry‑forwards and timing; officers noted Tier‑3 benchmark ≥80% applies annually, with YTD 51% not concerning given back‑loaded delivery (45:00–47:52; 8.2). Rates Recovery: Officers confirmed arrears are secured to land; Limitation of Actions Act queries acknowledged; external debt policy adopted to enable earlier intervention while preserving hardship protections; interest ~11.18% p.a. applies (51:31–54:38; 57:21–57:47; 8.2). Cooroy Bowls Club: Distillery, Food & Drink Outlet (Opal St) Officers: Sought to translate a 1995 approval to Noosa Plan 2020 terms, keeping bowls as primary use with ancillary food/drink and micro‑distillery (28 m²), no parking uplift, and amenity safeguards (1:06:16–1:20:02; 8.3). Officers: Responded to submissions by relocating playground and outdoor dining away from the residential boundary, removing a smoking area, and conditioning plant acoustic treatment (1:18:17–1:20:02; 8.3). Councillors: Probed whether hours could align bowls’ 07:00 start with limited café service before 10:00 without undermining liquor controls; officers to examine use-definition pathways (1:20:02–1:21:20; 8.3). Amelia Lorentson: Queried necessity of Condition 36 (linkage to bowls use) given lease framework; officers argued it preserves open space/recreation zoning intent against hospitality creep (1:18:17–1:19:05; 8.3). Karen Finzel: Raised social impacts of late-night dispersal in a hinterland town with limited taxis/Uber; officers cited OLGR RSA obligations and on‑premise practices but noted limits of planning remit (1:24:59–1:27:34; 8.3). Jessica Phillips: Sought clarity on district/town centre adjacency; officers confirmed site is Recreation & Open Space abutting High Density Residential, so adjacency protections apply (1:22:44–1:24:57; 8.3). Sunshine Beach Slope Stability (Sunshine Creek) Shaun Walsh: Justified engaging FSG due to prior temporary works at the site, ensuring safe integration of permanent solutions; design finalisation precedes a separate construction tender (1:34:44–1:36:52; 8.4). Brian Stockwell: Highlighted legacy planning issues of over‑steep coastal slopes developed near the angle of repose, with costly public remediation now required (1:37:44–1:38:53; 8.4). Councillors: Emphasised urgency, public safety, and community confidence; unanimous support recorded (1:36:59–1:39:34; 8.4). Financial Performance, Rates Arrears & Reporting Reform Officers: Reported fees/charges $427k under (development timing), interest $583k over (higher cash due to capex underspend), sales $350k over (caravan parks), and employee costs $500k under (vacancies) (41:16–45:55; 8.2). Officers: Capital underspend ~$4.1m YTD aligns with “hockey‑stick” delivery; asset WIP approx. $120m with ongoing conversion program not affecting renewal risk (58:20–1:01:01; 8.2). Officers: Rate arrears fell from 11.9% to 8.8% as $3.7m receipted; policy now externalised with six‑monthly updates post-July/January levies; long‑run best practice target ~2–3% (51:55–54:18; 8.2). Jessica Phillips: Queried sovereign citizen non‑payers; officers acknowledged a subset and standard engagement protocols; numbers to be reported after case review (56:04–56:23; 8.2). Councillors: Welcomed clearer finance reporting and community‑readable dashboards; workshop planned to bed down the new format (40:38–41:16; 1:02:07–1:04:09; 8.2). Governance, Audit, Cyber Security, and Workforce Larry Sengstock: Accepted consideration of integrating finance/audit/governance snapshots in CEO updates, noting full coverage occurs in the Annual Report and monthly finance (22:28–23:26; 8.1). Karen Finzel: Sought assurance on cyber security following national incidents; CEO cited active monitoring and controls given high email volumes (21:37–22:28; 8.1). Larry Sengstock: Detailed recruitment/retention challenges in infrastructure and finance due to SEQ market pressures; new certified agreement and wellbeing measures aim to stabilise workforce (09:47–12:05; 15:02–17:08; 8.1). Councillors: Emphasised psychosocial safety, wellbeing at work survey actions, equitable recognition, and culture of continuous improvement (15:02–17:08; 33:37–36:36; 8.1).
Official Meeting Minutes
MINUTES General Committee Meeting Monday, 13 October 2025 12:30 PM Council Chambers, 9 Pelican Street, Tewantin Committee: Crs Brian Stockwell (Chair), Karen Finzel, Amelia Lorentson, Jessica Phillips, Tom Wegener, Frank Wilkie, Nicola Wilson “Noosa Shire – different by nature” GENERAL COMMITTEE MEETING MINUTES 13 OCTOBER 2025 1 DECLARATION OF OPENING The meeting was declared open at 12.30pm. 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 Brian Stockwell (Chair) Cr Karen Finzel Cr Amelia Lorentson Cr Jessica Phillips Cr Tom Wegener Cr Frank Wilkie Cr Nicola Wilson EXECUTIVE Chief Executive Officer Larry Sengstock Acting Director Corporate Services Margaret Gatt Director Development & Regulation Richard MacGillivray Director Infrastructure Services Shaun Walsh Director Community Services Kerri Contini APOLOGIES Nil. 4 CONFIRMATION OF MINUTES 4.1 GENERAL COMMITTEE MEETING MINUTES 15 SEPTEMBER 2025 Committee Resolution Moved: Cr Frank Wilkie Seconded: Cr Nicola Wilson The Minutes of the General Committee Meeting held on 15 September 2025 be received and confirmed. Carried. For: Cr Brian Stockwell, Cr Karen Finzel, Cr Amelia Lorentson, Cr Jessica Phillips, Cr Tom Wegener, Cr Frank Wilkie, Cr Nicola Wilson Against: None 5. PRESENTATIONS Nil. GENERAL COMMITTEE MEETING MINUTES 13 OCTOBER 2025 6. DEPUTATIONS Nil. 7 ITEMS REFERRED FROM COMMITTEES Nil. 8 REPORTS DIRECT TO GENERAL COMMITTEE 8.1 CEO'S YEAR IN REVIEW Committee Recommendation Moved: Cr Frank Wilkie Seconded: Cr Tom Wegener That Council: A. Note the report by the Chief Executive Officer to the General Committee dated 13 October 2025 regarding the Year in Review; and B. Celebrate the dedication and hard work of all staff in delivering high service levels for our community. Carried. For: Cr Brian Stockwell, Cr Karen Finzel, Cr Amelia Lorentson, Cr Jessica Phillips, Cr Tom Wegener, Cr Frank Wilkie, Cr Nicola Wilson Against: None 8.2 FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE REPORT - SEPTEMBER 2025 Committee Recommendation Moved: Cr Jessica Phillips Seconded: Cr Frank Wilkie That Council note the report by the Acting Financial Services Manager to the General Committee dated 13 October 2025 on Council's financial performance for the period ending 30 September 2025. Carried. For: Cr Brian Stockwell, Cr Karen Finzel, Cr Amelia Lorentson, Cr Jessica Phillips, Cr Tom Wegener, Cr Frank Wilkie, Cr Nicola Wilson Against: None 8.3 51995.1611.04 APPLICATION FOR OTHER CHANGE TO AN EXISTING APPROVAL FOR MATERIAL CHANGE OF USE – INDOOR ENTERTAINMENT (CLUBHOUSE) AND SPORT AND RECREATION (BOWLING GREENS) TO MATERIAL CHANGE OF USE - OUTDOOR SPORT AND RECREATION, FOOD AND DRINK OUTLET, AND MEDIUM IMPACT INDUSTRY (DISTILERY) AT 5 OPAL STREET, COOROY Procedural Motion Moved: Cr Frank Wilkie Seconded: Cr Amelia Lorentson That General Committee Item 8.3 be deferred to the Ordinary Meeting dated 16 October 2025 for further consideration. GENERAL COMMITTEE MEETING MINUTES 13 OCTOBER 2025 Carried. For: Cr Brian Stockwell, Cr Karen Finzel, Cr Amelia Lorentson, Cr Jessica Phillips, Cr Tom Wegener, Cr Frank Wilkie, Cr Nicola Wilson Against: None 8.4 SUNSHINE CREEK SLOPE STABILITY CONTRACT AWARD Committee Recommendation Moved: Cr Amelia Lorentson Seconded: Cr Karen Finzel That Council A. Note the report by the Disaster Reconstruction Coordinator to the General Committee dated 13 October 2025; B. Award the contract to Foundation Specialists Pty Limited t/as FSG Geotechnics & Foundations valued at $41,510.00 (excl. GST), pursuant to section 235 (b) of the Local Government Regulation 2012; C. Delegate to the Chief Executive Officer the power to negotiate, finalise, execute and do all things necessary to administer the Contract of behalf of Council; and D. Delegate to the Chief Executive Officer the power to amend the contract up to 11% of the total contract value. Carried. For: Cr Brian Stockwell, Cr Karen Finzel, Cr Amelia Lorentson, Cr Jessica Phillips, Cr Tom Wegener, Cr Frank Wilkie, Cr Nicola Wilson Against: None 9 CONFIDENTIAL SESSION 9.1 CONFIDENTIAL - 2122Q125 - CONTRACT VARIATION FOR PROJECT MANAGEMENT SERVICES - 2022 FLOOD RECOVERY AND RECONSTRUCTION CLOSURE OF THE MEETING TO THE PUBLIC Committee Resolution Moved: Cr Jessica Phillips Seconded: Cr Karen Finzel That the meeting be closed to the public pursuant to section 254J(3)(g) of the Local Government Regulation 2012 for the purpose of discussing a contract proposed to be made by Council and in particular the potential commercial negotiations in relation to that contract for Item 9.1. Carried. For: Cr Brian Stockwell, Cr Karen Finzel, Cr Amelia Lorentson, Cr Jessica Phillips, Cr Tom Wegener, Cr Frank Wilkie, Cr Nicola Wilson Against: None GENERAL COMMITTEE MEETING MINUTES 13 OCTOBER 2025 REOPENING OF THE MEETING TO THE PUBLIC Committee Resolution Moved: Cr Frank Wilkie Seconded: Cr Nicola Wilson That the meeting be re-opened to the public. Carried. For: Cr Brian Stockwell, Cr Karen Finzel, Cr Amelia Lorentson, Cr Jessica Phillips, Cr Tom Wegener, Cr Frank Wilkie, Cr Nicola Wilson Against: None Committee Recommendation Moved: Cr Amelia Lorentson Seconded: Cr Jessica Phillips That Council A. Note the report by the Disaster Reconstruction Coordinator to the General Committee Meeting dated 13 October 2025; B. Approve increasing the value of contract 2122Q125 by $1,330,467.42, (GST exc.) from $5,100,000 (GST exc.) to $6430,467.42 (GST exc.), with program administration completion expected by 31 March 2026; C. Delegate to the Chief Executive Officer the power to negotiate, finalise, execute and administer the contract on behalf of Council; D. Delegate to the Chief Executive Officer the power to amend the contract up to 11.5% of the total contract value; and E. Delegate to the Chief Executive Officer the power to amend the contract finish date to no later than 31 March 2026. Carried. For: Cr Brian Stockwell, Cr Karen Finzel, Cr Amelia Lorentson, Cr Jessica Phillips, Cr Tom Wegener, Cr Frank Wilkie, Cr Nicola Wilson Against: None 10 MEETING CLOSURE The meeting closed at 2.24pm.
Meeting Transcript
Brian Stockwell 00:00.000
In the committee meeting, we're having our meeting as usual on Kabi Kabi country and we acknowledge that they've been the Traditional Custodians of this place all night out and like them, as the office is trying to get the country to look after the people who are living on it both into the future and we acknowledge the role that their elders have played over that time to have a culture of respect. So, we have all councils here in Davis, and I will attend no apologies. So, we move on to the confirmation of the minutes. Frank Wilkie 00:35.983
I'm moving, Mr Chair. Brian Stockwell 00:37.842
We have it moved and seconded. Is there any discussion? If not, all in favour? That is unanimous. Are no presentations, no deputations. There's no item to be referred to the committee. So, that moves us straight to section 8. The first item is the CEO's report on the Year in Review. SPEAKER_04 00:58.581
Very quick. Larry Sengstock 01:01.661
Okay. Thank you, Mr chairman. I bring this report to council probably a little bit different to many councils in that I do present this year in review. It is a preview of our year in review that will come out in our annual report later this year. Or next so it's really just to highlight the fact that we have had a successful year and I might just read some of the executive summary if that's okay. So the year in review reflects council's progress and performance over the past year, '24 / '25, in line along with the agreed objectives set out in the council's Corporate Plan '23 / '28. So I'll make that point that we did have quarter four operational plan review or summary, which is very similar to this except this one relates to our Corporate Plan. So operational plan relates to our objectives of our Corporate Plan. So it's really just measuring how we're going against our Corporate Plan over this past 12 months. This review outlines our achievements, challenges and impacts of our initiatives on the Noosa community, guided by communities, by our commitment to transparency. Accountability and continuous continual improvement. This report is presented to council prior to it being included in the annual report, as I said, that will be ratified and published at a later date. It differs from the quarter four in that it reflects where we're standing with our five year Corporate Plan and the 23 to 28 Corporate Plan objectives. So also it needs to be understood that a number of the actions in the annual report are multi-year. So you'll see that they're not completed, but because they actually traverse over the either one, two or three or even five years, some of our objectives may start and not be completed until that period is finished. It details a broad scope of actions and achievements undertaken by council staff who are to be congratulated, and I think this is a key part of this, is we need to congratulate our staff for the outstanding service provided to the community of Noosa and to really make people aware of the and breadth extent of the services and actions that we take as a council. Many people, most people don't know until they actually see what a council physically does other than nose, rubbish and race, what we do and what we deliver for our community, and it's really important that we continue to bring that to the table and show people the breadth of work that is actually happening and the services that we're providing to the community in order for them to have the life that they have. This year has not been without its challenges as the organisation navigated the negotiation of a new three-year certified agreement that saw unprecedented protected industrial action taking place affecting the normal delivery of services for an extended period. That said, it was a disruption for us, but that said, staff have worked really hard to ensure the activities and services have returned to the agreed service levels since that period, and they're to be commended on that. The organisation has maintained strong financial sustainability ratios and is one of only 20 out of 77 local government authorities to deliver a surplus budget, which again we are very proud traction attraction and retention of staff in certain areas of council have continued to be a challenge however the new certified agreement and a number of other initiatives have shown a positive outlook for the future and I'll be reporting on that in future times. Again, it's been a very successful year for Noosa Shire Council and again I'm using this report to commend the work of our staff in terms of what they've been able to deliver over the course of 12 months in a very broad and challenging environment. Of things in terms of the performance summary operational plan we talked about in previous ones but it's an ambitious operational plan but 71% of the initiatives, so 76 out of 107 are either completed or on track. 23% or 25 initiatives experience minor disruptions and 6 disruptions primarily due to resource and constraints, competing priorities, and external factors. Some of the key achievements that I just want to bring to your attention, they're in the report, are the Noosa Foreshore Infrastructure Management Plan, which is a 20-year strategy upgrades and climate resilience. It was achieved this year. Pomona Place Plan, a Roadmap to ensure Pomona remains a unique, vibrant, and liveable town, reflecting the collective vision and aspirations of the Pomona community. The Noosa Aquatic Centre Upgrade Plan, which is a long-term plan to guide us into the future. Waste and resource recovery. Progress on our green waste, composting, solar farm feasibility and transfer stations. This is a real opportunity for us and something we're working very, very hard on in terms of our waste and resource recovery. Our disaster recovery. So we've managed to complete all of the works for the 22 disaster, which is well over $100 million worth of works that we've been able to rectify and to work very, very closely with the community. We're very, very proud of that, particularly the Black Mountain landslide. The Yurol-Ringtail state forest transition was secured and finalised. The Floating Land 2025 was a great success again. Heritage, surfing the comprehensive documentation of Noosa surfing story, which is very much Noosa, it's preserving its cultural identity. Stage three of the Regional Art Gallery Feasibility Project has been completed and has been presented back to council. A Housing Monitoring Program, a coordinated approach to collecting and analysing housing data to inform evidence based planning and policy development and then policies, the Public Art Policy, the Community Grants Policy, Compliance and Enforcement Policy and the policy will come to council and be endorsed and adopted this year. An engagement with the Traditional Custodians of Kabi Kabi Commitment and 41 formal engagements. Peoples aboriginal corporation and Land and Sea Rangers. And then finally customer care. The Community Satisfaction Survey has been completed and identifying opportunities for service improvement and that's an ongoing piece of work currently. Covering all but the survey has been completed. So there are a number of things in this report that I'm not going to go through in detail now but again this is a report that reflects the operational plan, the works that have happened over the 24/25 period in line with our corporate because the Corporate Plan pain is our umbrella it guides us and provides the parameters in which we work and the delivery against that plan I think is very comprehensive and as you see in my recommendation at the end or the resolution is that we commend the staff for their incredibly hard work and what they've managed to achieve over this 12 month period and I put it to you councillors. That's my report. We have any questions of the city? Did the staff receive an award for the Black Mountain landslide last slide, rehabilitation? We did. That didn't happen in this 24/25. We certainly did the work in that, but we've just been successful with IPWEA for an award for the work that was carried out and the management of that work and the fact that we were able to deliver in a serviceable time, obviously it's a very big project that took time and we couldn't whatever time it took, but we were able to actually get that and do it within budget and within the frame. Time. So I think that's a major achievement to us and something that QRA, that brings that reconstruction authority, very thankful of as well. Now we work very closely with them and gain of credit to the staff and to the consultants that we use in that group. Brian Stockwell 09:12.473
You use the acronym if we are institute of professional somethings engineers or? Public works engineers I suppose. Okay. Any other questions? Amelia Lorentson 09:26.704
The report repeatedly references resourcing constraints and staff vacancies. What are the main causes of these shortages? Are they recruitment challenges, retention issues, or staff burnout, and which of council are most affected? Larry Sengstock 09:47.715
We've talked about this during the year, Councillor, in terms of some of our challenges and we haven't shied away from that. Yes, we've got challenges particularly in our infrastructure and delivery because there's so much work going on here in South East Queensland to get people and to hold people now is a traction and retention is an issue. We've also had quite a bit of turnover within our operational teams which is fairly normal. There's always going to be some level of turnover but certainly it's something that I think with the new certified agreement is going to help that as well because we are now very attractive and very competitive with our neighbours. Allies, but again there's still this massive works program that's going on in South East Queensland that's just going to make it difficult for us to keep some people because the opportunities are there and again I think as I said before often attract really good staff, train them up and then people identify them as good well-trained staff and get tapped on the shoulder and people move on, people move to higher opportunities and that's something that in some respects we should be very proud of, because we're actually bringing people and training them and giving them opportunities in their life. We've certainly also had issues within our finance team with our gaps and detracting people but again that's something if you talk to all councillors they're all struggling in these same areas to attract and retain people in those areas but it is an issue for us and something that again we're working very hard on trying to make sure that we are an attractive organisation. In the past it has been that Noosa able to stand on its own two feet and say you know come to us well we can come and work and live in Noosa but we all know that living in Noosa is not as easy as it once was if it's an expensive place to live and again we've got other programs to try to help that to make affordable housing more available start. To staff because not everyone SPEAKER_04_b 11:57.500
Has the ability to live in Noosa given the cost of living here. Amelia Lorentson 12:05.279
Thank you. Jessica Phillips 12:07.299
Just a quick question, thanks for the report. When you sit here and get to see the volume of work that comes through council it's very commendable. I often, and even this morning spoke to someone that we were laughing because we said you know before I got elected we really didn't know what was going on in council. So my question is around more to do with that proactive approach to approach to taking community on a journey so we can attempt at bringing back an alignment. The volume of work is commendable without a doubt but I just wanted to know there's been any conversation when you when you're looking at what's been achieved if there's a way that we can communicate more effectively more simply rather than lengthy documents what's comms doing around sort of more of a proactive approach to celebrate these things and take people with us Larry Sengstock 13:09.907
The whole range of things I think you can see that we are doing in a whole range of vehicles methodology that can use, social media in the different whether it's LinkedIn whether it's Facebook whether it's um any of the other ones I'm trying to think of the Instagram is the one is a good one in terms of being able to tell the story Instagram I find um so we are using those but again it's often the stories when we put out and we do it quite a bit of it we put out stories about you know just the almost the mundane things that people are doing we're keeping the gardens clear and we're doing the road reserves and making sure that the roads are well done those sorts of stories often get better click through and get a better identification than some of our larger projects so it's we try to try to match it and balance it I think it's a it's an ongoing thing I agree I think the more we can bring the people on the journey make them or give them a give them an opportunity to see what we actually physically do is something that we've got to continue to get better at, so that's it. Frank Wilkie 14:18.998
That's a that's a journey for us thank for the report Mr CEO you mentioned in terms of attracting and retaining staff conditions around the certified agreement go a long way to addressing making Noosa a more attractive place to work you also mentioned other initiatives and some of those are linked to what you heard directly coming out of the well-being at work survey and you're reflecting back to the staff some of the requests yeah they heard can you can you talk about some of those initiatives please things you're putting in place that have come from the well-being at work survey Larry Sengstock 15:01.394
Yeah look I think there's a whole range of things that we are working on there much of it is training opportunities for training and better skilling there's opportunities for making sure that everybody is recognised for their jobs that they're doing not just the ones that sort of shine or the things that the shining people see it's ensuring that all of the organisation is recognised. Well recognised for the work that they do and that's part of what I'm what I'm trying to do here in this report is to is to show that there are a number of things that you won't don't even know happen but they happen and people are people are doing that work um I think just the equity across the organisation is really a strong piece that um that we need to ensure that people feel like they're and we are we're valued making a lot of a lot of headway hopefully in that area our workplace health and safety from a from a social psychosocial point of view is something we're working heavily on our physical workplace health and safety record is I think is very good um can champion because it is something that we've been really conscious of as a staff everybody I think you'll find people will you know walk around and be very conscious of their physical health and safety mental health and safety that we now have to do and that's part of the CA we've now provided more opportunity for people to take time to reflect or take time to work on their own mental health and safety which I think is a good thing and we are doing that as a very open thing so it's not something if you feel you feel stressed you don't want to tell anybody now it's becoming much easier to say look if you need to take some time and get yourself right to do the job so off the top of my head there's probably haven't missed a whole lot of things there but um yeah we are we are very um very conscious of making sure that we continue to build the culture and it is a workplace that people want to come to and enjoy their enjoy their day when they're here thank you Amelia Lorentson 17:05.886
Um in terms of the Olympics and Paralympics plan I note in the report it's only 15 percent complete um my question is are we at risk of missing any key funding or partnership opportunities um that require early stage commitments and what are in fact the deadlines or milestones being set by state or Federal bodies and how and how is our timelines how are they aligned with um state and Federal bodies deadlines Larry Sengstock 17:42.460
I think as far as you know my background is in this in this world as well so I've got a fairly good understanding of what the process is um up until really recently to be honest since I've now settled on the venues um the organising committee is in place the um the type of the government agency that's delivering the see this delivering infrastructure is now in place and starting traction. Now is the time process to understand that. Before that it would have been falling on deaf ears to be honest in terms of where we are. We certainly want to get more involved and have been involved from a concept point of view and with other parties other committees that don't try to understand where they're at but you know again their focus is still on very much Brisbane and what they need to do there you of the other where they're doing events but we're on the fringe of that so they just need to understand. But I think now is the time for us to start to ramp that up. I'm prepared for that. We do have a couple of people in our organisation who are part of their job to be aware of what's going on but I think it's time for us to now pass some resources to that. I think, to be honest, the Mayor and myself are looking at it. There's an event in Brisbane over the next couple of days to actually get a better understanding of where they're at. There's a presentation by the CEO of the government agency for delivery. And that will roll in we'll start to develop our advocacy and our relationships so I think the time is right now. Prior to this I think it would have been four and a half years if their focus is on the sort real delivery where the events are and because we don't have events we get sort of pushed off to the side but I think we've still got a lot to offer and a lot of things that we can do. Like much of the, for example, pre-games training or pre-games events, particularly training is us going straight to the countries or straight to the sports themselves rather than going through the organising committee. So, there's things like that we'll start to activate. Yes, Karen Finzel 19:59.174
Thank you. Firstly, thank you for the report and thank you to the staff delivering on so many of the Corporate Plan objectives which was considered to be really ambitious when we got together to write that. So, that is worthy of celebration and thank you to everyone. Just a question around the performance measurement framework. It's listed as a major disruption due to resource constraints. Can you tell us a little bit about those constraints and where do you think, what can we expect to live with that? Larry Sengstock 20:30.394
So that's, we've, in terms of, we've systemised our operational plan now, the development of that, so that then makes it easier for us to develop our reporting with the data, which is something that we're working on. So the constraints have really been just resource to do that, resource back in the ICT and our technology area to focus on that. We've got big eyes and a small stomach, I guess, if you like, in terms of ability to do some of this work. We all want different systems. We've got a lot of systems that actually operate our business that have got priority. So, one of those was the operational plan. Now, the next phase of that is to. Build the performance measures out of that. We do have some performance measures, but to get them more visible and more, I guess, usable. So, you know, we have dashboards and things like that, so not just us the staff can see it, but the public can start to really see it and understand it. That's our next phase of this, but that all takes time and we're working on it. Karen Finzel 21:37.842
Madam Chair, just following on from that, given the cyber security leaks around Qantas today, how satisfied are you with the CEO that we have our cyber security, you know, pretty tight and what our objectives are and the threats around that? Larry Sengstock 21:54.224
From a cyber security point of view, we monitor that on a regular basis and obviously we do have so many interactions, just emails that bounce around, it's incredible the numbers are bouncing around between us, external and internal. To keep a check on that is hard, but we're very conscious of making sure that we have all of our checks and balances in place and to date we've been exactly around that. Amelia Lorentson 22:27.582
The CEO report focuses mainly on strategic progress and KPIs and I'm just going to the Queensland Audit Office's 2024 recommendations recommend that council should embed financial risk and audit findings into their regular reporting. I note we do that in our operational, in our annual, reports. My question is would council consider for future CEO reports that we add just a section summarising financial risk audit findings government performance just to give an overall picture of organisational health. Again, I acknowledge that we do, we the reporting, but just again, in terms of how we can do things better, would that be something that you would consider? Larry Sengstock 23:25.734
I'm happy to consider that, absolutely. This report is really just a preview of the CEOs. In the annual report we have our finances and we have our risk and we have our governance reports. All comes together here. So at this point in time that's all still being worked through. So for me to bring that forward, at least I could do it and we do report through the year. We always report our monthly financials and report against the risk. So in all of our reports. So I think it's all there. I'm happy to look at how we can do it. Amelia Lorentson 24:01.919
I appreciate it. Thank you. Jessica Phillips 24:06.186
Ari, just in relation to what it says about ambitious, we've spoken quite a few times about ambitious council and what's the biggest risk you would say a CEO of having ambition in operational plan, what have you identified as the biggest risk for our community is in having that? Larry Sengstock 24:27.693
There's a number of them but I would think one of them is because it is so broad. I putting the capability statements against the actual objectives, so if we're trying to achieve something in our five years, have a really good capability that's something that going forward, I think, when we Corporate Plan, we need to. Look at that and just say, "Is this really realistic in terms of what we can deliver? " Because again, we've all got big eyes, we all want to do as much as we can for our community and our organisation, sometimes we've just got to be realistic and say, "Well, things are going to take longer and we've got to push them out, so I think that's a risk because we set up an expectation that we're going to deliver some things and then when we don't, we get down by that. So that, to me, is something. I think we've got some really big. Ambitions in terms of projects that we'd like to deliver. You see there's a gallery, a Leisure Centre upgrade or change and improvement, increased Chris, numbers of indoor spaces, there's a number of those, office things that we've got on our plate that, again, once you put them there, the expectation is there. So that's a risk. And then how do we deliver against that? I think one of our biggest ambitions is to build the west. And trying to ensure that we're ahead of the game there. We've got some great opportunities, which again are going to take some big decisions in terms of how we finance them and what we go forward with. But they're really, really big ones for us to consider and us to deliver against. So I think they're the key things that we do. But realistically, the risk is always there and try to contain that. We have a community that has great expectations for us. And how do we make sure that we can deliver against those expectations, to me, is a challenge for us. Because we're not a huge council. Frank Wilkie 26:42.512
Happy to move it, Mr Chair. Amelia Lorentson 26:43.892
There's further questions. Brian Stockwell 26:47.770
Got questions at 7:10? Second? No, since I haven't taken the question. Oh, yes, sorry. Jessica Phillips 26:55.747
Being really pedantic, but will this be reviewed for the annual report? There's a couple of things with some um some of the status updates are written as if it's 30th of June and some of them are written as of now and I think it would be a good idea to make sure Larry Sengstock 27:10.004
For sure I'll take that I'll cancel Brian Stockwell 27:12.524
Them so you got other questions Amelia Lorentson 27:15.560
Yep, in terms of the certified agreement, it's noted as a milestone. In the report but there's no mention on how that process affected staff morale or relationships my question is what impact has that process had on staff morale and workplace culture and is it is it still impacting um trust and communication and culture Larry Sengstock 27:41.334
Look I think there's no hiding from the fact that this has caused some fraction within the structures within the uh within the organisation in particular areas not all areas because the majority of our staff weren't necessarily impacted by it they just continued on but there's some who took industrial action so there's the pro and con of those groups but we are certainly taking action to looking at lessons learned how do we rebuild some of those things but I think one of the most encouraging pieces is that we've now been to the vote of the people the 81 percent who voted 95 percent voted for the for the CA so you say that's a hell of a good position to take forward that you know people are people are for it they understand it they want it and we've now we're implementing the back and the future pay increases so I think we've got we've got the position now an opportunity to turn out and say let's draw along the sand let's move forward and you know we all had to fight for what we believed in but now is time to actually get back together as a group and that's we've got a whole program of work that we're about to roll out to support that. Brian Stockwell 28:59.601
Would you like to try to move Frank Wilkie 29:01.361
Again? I have moved it. The press I'll take a minute. President: Thank you. For the report, Mr. CEO. It is worth noting that this year in review refers to all the activities of council from July 1st, 2024 through to June 30, 2025. Some of the initiatives, 71% of them are either completed or on track. Many of them would have moved on since then in real time. It has been a year of challenge and the certified agreement was one of them but the outcome of that the conditions around the certified agreement and the training and professional development put in place in response to the well-being at work survey helps position this council as an employer of better positions employer of choice going into the future. It is also worth noting that Noosa Council remains committed to financial sustainability, not only remains committed to it but is demonstrating that through a raft of policies practices and that have seen it remind one of only 20 councils in all of 77 councils in Queensland that are not running deficit budgets, which is a very sobering thought and that's testament to all the discipline of the councillors around the table and the way the staff adhere to the budget set to them through the operational plan and the budget. This year in review is four quarters of the operational plan which council has set as a task for the organisation at last year's budget and the staff have done an admirable job to deliver this on behalf of the community. You can see the fundamentals are very well covered in particular not only all the planning documents which help this remain a forward planning and a forward focused organisation. But also the focus on infrastructure delivery not only did the council do well to deliver the capital works program but also as you mentioned it was a hundred million dollars plus that council was charged with the responsibility of delivering repair works mostly in the Noosa hinterland from the February 2022 flood event and there's 80 million dollars worth of works in this report alone that happened in the last financial year including 50 million dollar repair job on the Black Mountain landslip which was the largest in Sunshine Coast if not Queensland's history and but not only do they deliver it they were recognised with an industry award for the high quality of work and standard of work so I would just like to ask you Mr CEO to pass on my thanks and our thanks to the staff who are delivering this on this body of work on behalf of the community thank i'll speak to it you know Tom Wegener 32:18.178
Um when I came in we had that was the COVID four years the COVID term and that was difficult but actually I think this is the post-COVID term where we're dealing with a post-COVID reality and I think it's even harder than the previous term and the we have overcome and evolved really really well I think and I think it shows that you know coming through the foreshore management plan with success, social housing, the workers, the working agreements that we had, a lot of these very very challenging issues were overcome and they're overcome because have strength as a council. We have consistency and we have persistence and I think that those are really key things to have, really important aspects to have or things, what do you call things that you have that. Frank Wilkie 33:14.390
Attributes. Tom Wegener 33:15.710
Very, very strong attributes of this castle. Council and we've remained positive and we've made it through these very very tumultuous times with success I think that Mr. CEO you're a quiet achiever and you've done very well. So we're moving forward and I'm very happy with this result Amelia Lorentson 33:32.719
I want to thank the CEO for the report in front of our seats. Clearly a huge amount work that's gone into leading this organisation through another demanding year. The scale of what's been delivered across infrastructure, community services, environmental management and corporate reform is impressive. So I want to take this opportunity to thank you Larry and to your team. That said, while the report shows strong progress and commitments, it also highlights areas that I think deserve a closer look and I'm referencing in particular resourcing constraints, staff vacancies and competing priorities. I think what I really want to say is that it's important for us to acknowledge the human side of leadership. Our staff, and I say this, you know, normally at the annual report, but our staff are the heartbeat of this organisation and they're the ones that deliver, as you said Larry, every service, every project, every outcome that our community relies so their well-being and sense of belonging. Need to stay front and centre. The report how much has been carried by and major initiatives. And that kind of responsibility comes with real pressure. So in terms of staff wellbeing, I also extend that to you, Larry, that your wellbeing is important. Just to the organisation, but to the people in this room, the executives and the councillors. As a council, we all share the responsibility of making sure not only the staff, but the executive and the CEO and the councillors have the resources and support they need to do their job well. So looking ahead, I'd love to focus not just on what's been achieved, but how we're supporting the people who make it happen. Strong outcomes come from strong people and a healthy supported workforce will always deliver better results for our community. And just my little add-on, just consideration that in future reports there's just a brief summary of. Financial reporting, audit, internal /external audit reports and governance matters to give a complete or holistic view of organisational health. But thank you Larry for again delivering you know. What's been a tough year. Jessica Phillips 36:36.140
I'll speak religiously. Thank you again Larry and thanks to all the staff. It's already been said but obviously I'm yeah. I've recognised a lot in the 18 months of being in just the body of work that comes through and out and that gets done without any, you know, that's always should be celebrated. When I think about. I've just sort of want to take a step back and you know I've looked recently at how loud some groups can be in our community and I think there's 60,000, nearly 60,000 and thereabouts constituents in our town and today I just want to say that I think they would be appreciative of the work. I don't know if they have high expectations. I think a lot of people really just want the basics done and they. Appreciate that the work is there going as well. So my only reflection on it is probably more for all of us to say let's make sure when we do the next operational plan that we sit and say we've committed to things we can achieve that haven't burned out our staff because the community that aren't always expecting more, their voices. Heard or their non-voice because they're not really out there saying what they want but they're just done so yeah I would like to probably say more that let's listen to the silence and that will help us not feel that there's so much scrutiny and hopefully staff will feel less pressure on just doing the basics right Brian Stockwell 38:37.790
I'll speak again. CRM mention that one of the drivers for this report is to recognise the staff and it's always a significant task to achieve is to continue to acknowledge and recognise staff. There's a number of ways that the public can get an insight into how there's some that they don't and I suppose my reflection over the last year or over the year being reported here is what I saw through the briefings and the workshops and through the conversations was a significant improvement in a desire to provide councils with professional level of communication and professionalism in everything that staff put before us and the way they do it and I suppose more important was a growing commitment to make an impact so Councillor Tom covered earlier that the commitment was about looking after the community and trying to manage through a disaster that was caused by a pandemic this term what we're seeing in particular this year is this growing commitment when people come before us is wanting to make a difference and I think those cultural attributes keep going then the next year's report will only be more beneficial to the community so I just put that on record that I'd like to recognise those attributes for all the staff that I deal with. Right, thank you. Anyone else no it's all been said thank you Mr Chair I'll put both those in favour that is unanimous Thank you. We therefore move on to the financial policy report and we welcome hacking direct Marg demand and hacking on its services its. Manager for his first time in the role and we welcome Acting Director mark Margaret Gatt 40:37.042
And yes good afternoon councillors just as a preface to before Zach speaks to the report um you will note that this is now the third or fourth report that's come to you that's a bit of a departure from what you're normally used to terms of traffic lights in the attachments so my prefix is that it would have been preferable for us to have had a standalone briefing workshop with you to take you through the changes to the report so I apologise to you in advance that we haven't had the opportunity to do that but we have got that plan to occur before the end of the calendar year. So I'll just hand over to Zach now. Zach 41:15.590
Through the Chair and good afternoon councillors. So I'll take the report as read. The September report provides us with three months of actual data which goes to providing greater evidence base obviously for our forward-looking predictions. At an overall council level we're both on track from a revenue and operating position and we will continue to monitor the capital expenditure works which I'll provide some detailed comments further. To build on what Margaret said, we are currently going through a review period which you would have seen over the course of the last few months in regards to the financial reports. We have retrospectively gone back and reviewed the last six months of General Committee meetings actually to see the general the topics of discussion that have come up. We're currently looking to put out a continuous improvement plan to do exactly that, which will look at providing greater transparency in the reporting, introductions of traffic light systems, threshold variance analysis graphs. The eventual goal is to look to communicate complex financial information, terminology and sometimes jargon, to make sure it's clear and transparent for all end users. We also look to actually implement a or follow-up register where we take stuff on notice. We look to provide that more formally in terms of structure and refer it back to their previous meetings as well. As marg's alluded to, we'll schedule a briefing in the near future around that. We're just currently getting a final draft of what that looks like to provide that to you. Too. In regards to the financial report for September, I'll walk through some of the key areas or items of note. So firstly, for the revenue items, for Fees and Charges, we have a negative variance of $427,000 down on expected revenue. The primary driver behind that is actually the estimation of development fees. Due to the nature and dependencies of development fees with external development, it can be difficult month to month to actually forward forecast what all that the report at this is a negative variance, where it is a weighted monitor. We're hoping that as we get further data across the course of the year and we begin to see the forward program and development, this will correct. Our interest received is a positive variance, so we've received roughly 580. $583,000 of additional revenue. This is primarily driven by our higher than expected cash reserve balances. So as of the 30th of September, we had about $1.14, $141 million versus $90 million that was expected in the budget. The key driver behind this is a lower than expected delivery of the capital in the first quarter of the financial year and I'll expand on that in a second. The sales of goods and major services is a positive variance of $350,000. This is as a result of higher than anticipated caravan park fees and is partially offset by lower than expected sales of concrete receivables and waste disposal. In regards to our expenses and building on a previous discussion, we have a positive variance of $500,000 related to employee benefits. This is primarily driven by the vacancy savings of roughly $1.26 million and is partially offset by higher overtime and penalty expenses of $265,000 and lower levels of employee cost capitalisation in regards to projects of about $492,000. The capital expenditure, this is currently a negative variance under spend of $4.1 million. In terms of rationale for where that sits, typically what we see in terms of forecasting capital expenditure is we refer to essentially a hockey stick effect where the first couple of months we would typically see a carryover balance of the previous financial year's results. You then get into your planning and early development stages where you'll see a natural tick down and what you'll see is the eventual upward curve or high spend and the balance of the year. You also find that the accounting or the reporting of that tends to follow actual delivery on the ground. So although it is currently at an underspend that is just at a watch and monitor as we expect to have been upward trend as we hit the back end of the financial year. We'll draw your attention to asset sustainability ratio. So there's a couple of points in this one I would like to address. The original budget that sits there in the report refers to 1047% ratio. The budget or the current BR1 refers to 245% with our actual delivery of 51%. So for context, this is one of the sustainability ratios that comes from the local government sustainability framework and is one of the nine ratios that we present to an annual basis. This one is a relatively easy one in terms of its calculation. It is your capital expenditure divided by your depreciation. The State sets a minimum target for all tier three councils such as ourself of 80%. Generally 100% replacement rate would mean that council is replacing its assets as they wear out or when they reach the end of use of wants, which is typically where we found ourselves in the last couple of years. The 1047% was as a result of carry forward balances of roughly 32 million related to the Queensland Reconstruction Authority for rehabilitation and renewal work. Group. So was why there was a significant upswing or concern outlier in terms of that percentage reporting. Although our current percentage is at 51% which is below the 80%, this is a time and place. Typically we only report on this annually. It is provided as the report in terms of context, but% that 51% at this point in time isn't considered worrying as we see that hockey curve effect to the end of the year. I will draw your attention to the rates arrears reporting which has been included in the report. This comes from previous suggestions of greater transparency as a result of what our rates arrears are. So that is why the inclusion is there. You will see a positive change. Roughly $3.7 million of rates revenue that was received from August to September, changing the percentage of arrears from 11.9 to 8.%. Please note that the earlier August report included a different figure of 5.9. Reason this wasn't included in the August 2025 report was we were currently working through the balances and imported debt collection and arrears policy. So there's slight correction. The July 2025 levy number at that point in time. Through the budget processes in 2020 2025-26, which were recently adopted on the 30th of June, council actually adopted an external facing rates and charges debt management and recovery policy, which superseded our previous internal guideline that we use. The September 2025 report does include through the correspondence around the debt collection policy itself, and the underlying thresholds that are attached to that. Just to draw your attention, you will see difference in the reporting structure between rate of arrears and the debt collection policy, just to prevent any privacy issues in terms of identification of individual properties. We do intend to provide six monthly updates in terms of the progress made around that and we expect to provide those in March and September following both the July and January rates levy periods. That's for me for today. Happy to take questions from that. Frank Wilkie 49:11.155
Mr Chair, thank you very much for the comprehensive reports act. I also wanted to that understand asset sustainability ratio. I'll just find it again. So you mentioned it was capital expenditure divided by depreciation for us is around 21 million. Approximately. So does that infer that capital expenditure is going to be something of the order of a thousand times that? Zach 49:44.881
Believe it's a long and long that the program was reworked so prior to the carry forward balance from the Queensland Reconstruction Authority (QRA) as it's referred to, the intended capital spend for this year was about 52 or yeah, plus a level 32. Plus an additional 32 as a result of that. Frank Wilkie 50:04.272
So that's about 80 million over 20 million. It's about 95. Over about 21 million. Moon. I still don't understand how you've that's arrived at such a large figure for that, a simple division. Yep, that's fine. So if I don't have those calculations in front of me, so I'll take that on notice and we'll report back. Thank you. I need to get my head around that. Yep, completely. Thank you. Jessica Phillips 50:27.390
Other questions. Zach, did you say you watched committee meetings to see questions that we have asked so you can form reports to help us understand it? Is that what you said at the very start? Zach 50:40.770
So Through the Chair, effectively, yes, in terms of coming into the role of acting, position and the nature of the changes that's going on, the easiest way to find where we should go in the future is look at the historical nature of questions, which possibly I'm the only person who's done that recently. There was a general narrative area areas that came up in common questions. Rather than continue to have those questions raised, we should get ahead of that as officers to provide that information. So that's why we're prepared. Yeah, we're in a draft state at the moment because there was stuff out of there that we wanted to take away and come back with a much more complete format, noting that it will be a working version for co yourselves as well. We're just currently in the steps of compiling that. Jessica Phillips 51:20.511
I didn't have another question, I just wanted to highlight that that's pretty cool. Brian Stockwell 51:25.051
I was just going to suggest that none of them worked as well. Amelia Lorentson 51:30.791
In terms of the- rate to raise rates arrears at $10,381,415. At what threshold do rates arrears become a governance concern? Either in terms of budget impact or reputational risk? And do we have internal benchmarks or early warning index? Zach 51:54.514
Indications. So Through the Chair, remembering that my normal head that I have for the organisation is the revenue services manager. So this is actually considered my area of expertise. So what we find with rates is we generally have a cyclical cycle. So after your January, July levies you have a much higher rate of rate arrears. Over the course of the six months you find they will generally tell off. Industry benchmarks around rate arrears is typically about 5% is the threshold that you want to look to maintain at the end of a rating period. Typically our rates arrears vary for anywhere from about 12% cents initially after a rate's run to about 5% so we're generally in line with industry best practice. The suggestion around introducing a new external policy for debt collection. Reason was that is we actually wanted to move into a more proactive space so there is a definite question of governance around the risk of arrears. Rates is one of the fortunate things protected by legislation that is ultimately tied to the land of the property so although they are raise themselves rears themselves are typically owed on the land so we have protections eventually if a house is sold we would look to collect but we want to get in front of that in terms of being more proactive and that's the idea on introduction of the policy sorry to manage that early intervention. Rates can be a very good indicator of financial distress or hardship. So we want to get in there and get in there quickly to actually look at the community we do have a financial hardship policy and we do have other means to actually work with the community to find available options to them so we don't put them under further distress I suppose in terms of addressing your correct question directly that is the reason for actually bringing this to the table in front of you there's an area we want to place further focus on a transparency on and look to minimise that. The eventual goal for industry best practices is considered is probably somewhere close to two or three percent and that is the intention for what we're looking to do. So does that answer your question? Amelia Lorentson 53:55.360
It does. So we're under the five percent but the ideal three percent. SPEAKER_07_b 54:01.119
Yeah so effectively strive for the stars if you will there. Five percent is acceptable but in terms of prudent financial management and sustainability we would like over time and we would expect that the new policy to bring that down to a low percentage just for prudent management of council's finances. Amelia Lorentson 54:18.160
And do we have any idea of what proportion of the 10.38 million in arrears is considered recoverable? Looking at the limitation of actions act we need to take legal action within a six year period. There's time frames. SPEAKER_07_b 54:37.280
Yes, so this is the simple answer to that question is it is all recoverable. So based on the underlying regulation that we find ourselves under, rates are guaranteed effectively over the underlying land value of the property. There is definitely due diligence that councils need to exercise and I think you're referencing a recent so the STIPs actually have an external facing policy, although it doesn't change our internal processes, is to do exactly that. It's actually to put into the community the idea around we need to move into a proactive space, provide education around actually rates, how we can support people. And theory there isn't a liability of risk around that but there is also diligence or duty of care to our ratepayers to actually make sure they're appropriately informed and they're not being pushed into positions of further hardship. Noting that our underlying Revenue Statement itself does have interest as any provider does on arrears balances so we have that fine or discreet balance as an organisation to make sure those that don't pay or discharge their balance are effectively penalised in some ways along with state legislation. But actually on the other hand they were proactively working with the community providing education and making sure that they can come and talk to us actually it's not a. Debt collection sounds like a horrible thing in some ways but the idea is we're here to work with them as we've always been but sometimes that redirect actually needs to be pushed out into the community. Amelia Lorentson 56:01.400
Great, thank you that was well answered, appreciate it. Frank Wilkie 56:04.160
Just a follow-up question on that, on rates arrears, Zach, are there any property owners in rates arrears that refuse to recognise local governments authority to raise rates and if so what proportion of those in arrears would you say that represents? SPEAKER_07_b 56:23.070
So Through the Chair, in its simplicity the answer to that question is yes. As a result of the new policy are going through a substantial order which we've near completed to actually look at the balance of arrears where it relates to particular categories as it relates and obviously one subset of that is sovereign citizens. I don't have the exact numbers in front are doing a line-by-line review of actually the debt arrears. There is a vocal part of the community that has the sovereign citizens, if you want to call them that, in terms of the viewpoints. We have standard practices in how we engage with them. The policy actually with the people that need help or need to reach out, but ultimately we have exhausted our means to engage with a lot of them. So it is to create a line in the sand around some of that. In terms of the explicit numbers, I would have to report back to you to take that on notice. I don't have that currently. Thank you. Jessica Phillips 57:20.684
Can I just confirm as well that for those balances, particularly those that are much older than this most recent rate cycle, the interest is at SPEAKER_07_b 57:34.571
The top of my head it's 11.18%, which is prescribed by the underlying regulation, that's what we set it at, yes. Which is occurring daily and charged at that, yeah. Karen Finzel 57:40.831
Yes, thank you. I just have a question coming back to. Depreciation of assets and then the placement, and if we looked at our questions asked, I've read, you know, often asked this question about the length of time that it's taking council for the conversion from, you know, the capital works over to the council asset. Has that got better? Has that improved the speed at which we're converting these infrastructure bills and assets to a council asset? Margaret Gatt 58:20.309
Through the Chair I can take that question, Councillor Finzel. So I think what you're referring to is in progress balance that sits sort of outside of our ledger but also in it. That's sitting there approximately $120 million as we sit today. That is a continued work in progress on the work in to actually get those out of the WIP balance and actually have it recorded and registered in our asset register as an actual financial value that contributes to our overall asset value. So that's my long answer to you it's not is it's still probably an uncomfortable sizeable balance there, but it is a work in progress to get it down. Karen Finzel 59:06.265
Okay, thank you. And then in terms of, I guess this could be the CEO, what's our risk then when we're looking at replacing and upgrading? Our assets in terms of balancing that so that we've got a clear line of sight around the money sitting there for the replacement due to depreciation. How do you think we're sitting? Are we in a good position? Or is there a risk there? Margaret Gatt 59:40.123
Do you mind if I answer that? If that's okay Through the Chair. So that value are new assets or upgraded assets. It's not taking away the focus from what we do need to replace and or renewal or upgrade of our other assets. It's not that value doesn't have an implication on that and our current understanding of the State of those assets. It's a financial component, so that's the amount that we've actually, we've potentially physically finished and or constructed an asset or part way through but we haven't actually had the opportunity complete all the necessary paperwork so that it gets financially recognised in the asset register so it doesn't impact on future works in terms of what the focus area is for the organisation on maintaining and upgrading our assets. It's a very different focus. So to reiterate there's Karen Finzel 01:00:38.854
No risk of that conversion time. There's no risk of council with that conversion time. Larry Sengstock 01:00:47.574
You can't say there's no risk but what it is new assets. For as an example, we've just completed the upgrade to David Low Way and the retaining wall. So that's now got much longer life to it. So the time that it takes to get means that even if it took another year or two years, you'd expect that it's still a new, not in need of replacing. I would also say that in the past, if you look at those, the numbers there are slightly skewed, but in the past we've always been well above 80%.% in terms of our renewals against our depreciation, so we're in a very comfortable position, I think, have been in a comfortable position, and I think that as this year goes on you'll see that we'll continue to be in a comfortable position in terms of being above the set standard rate of depreciation that we need to make sure that we're covering. So, again, this is a credit to the finance staff, a credit to everybody involved in this work in staying ahead of the game. Brian Stockwell 01:01:57.465
Thank you. Frank Wilkie 01:02:00.005
Hey, you were telling about the movie. Okay. I'll second it. Jessica Phillips 01:02:07.744
Well, I pretty much said it earlier about zach's due diligence in the role. This has probably been, I've made it really honest at the start. That this was biggest learning part of the job for me, and this is the clearest it's been presented to me in report, so thank you. Yeah, the outstanding worries me, but I appreciate the workshop we had the other day, and I think community should be reassured and confident with both of you in the roles that we're. Future looks really good with both of you there in those positions, so I don't really have anything to say. That's pretty good, thanks. Brian Stockwell 01:02:51.901
Thanks a lot. Amelia Lorentson 01:02:53.261
Probably just want to just make one just quick point about the fact that council's holding more than 10 million rate arrears. You know I think it goes back to and there's all sorts of reasons why council's holding that amount of money but the pressures that relate to cost of living impacts on our community and I really respect the process that council is undertaking to ensure that you know any request that we don't create any further hardship on those especially that are experienced cost of living impacts but yeah thank you both for a coming to Noosa Council both in your acting capacity but thank you we welcome you and we thank you the report in front of us is great and getting better and better and I love the traffic lights just saying just really becoming easier for us to read and also community a lot of community actually access this information so thank you for the simplicity. Frank Wilkie 01:04:07.798
I think Brian Stockwell 01:04:09.238
The main thing for me I suppose around impact of revenue when it's going down when it's not meeting the standard and it may be for example that people when we look at concrete recyclables it's a bad thing but it's not so I've had ratepayers ask why isn't the sale and the reason we have not had high sales to concrete is that we're stockpiling to save costs for a large recycling pad to go in at the resource. Recovery centre so it's probably the likely to be the cheapest source of that sort of basic material to go under the pad for the project which will be a multi-million dollar project out there and if we look a lot of our multi-million dollar projects are in most and it is where a lot of our innovation will be over the next few years and while we do respect that the cost of building pressures will have an effect on the fact that we have got quite a sizeable arrears in rates at the moment. We also acknowledge that some people do it out of some misplaced understanding of the law. We need to recover that money to fund the things that are needed by this community and if you want to be part of this community you do are respected. Expected to either pay your rates or put into, if it is a financial argument, to enter into an agreement and I know our staff do that with all care and diligence. Anyone else wish to close? All those in favour? That's unanimous. Thank you. We move on to the next item. SPEAKER_08 01:06:04.940
Mr. Frank Wilkie 01:06:08.920
Mr Chair, I just flagged that the applicant has asked that. To that. Brian Stockwell 01:06:18.193
Okay. So this is an application for another change to the existing approval for a Material Change of Use into an entertainment, clubhouse, and a sporting, recreation, golden greens, and a particular change of style. Matt 01:06:42.884
Impact assessable application, and the application attracted 12 submissions, and 11 of those were properly made, and one not properly made. There were 8 in support of the application, for against so existing approval that you mentioned at the beginning there, that was for indoor entertainment, clubhouse and sport and recreation, that was dated 27th of July 1995, and I guess the main purpose of this other change I was to refine and adapt the existing approval to include more contemporary land use terms from the Noosa Plan 2020. The applications application seeks approval for the for the introduction of two new land uses the Food & Drink Outlet and the distillery which we've defined under the Noosa Plan as medium impact industry and it's worth noting that the primary use of the bowls club remains unchanged and it's supported in this application through a long-term agreement between your mates bolsey Pty Ltd and the Cooroy Community Bowls Club so that ensures community access. And operation of that into the future the proposed fruit and drink outlet generally maintains the historic use of the clubhouse including it was operated as a restaurant previously and it remains ancillary to the primary recreational use. There's going to be shared amenities and the development aligns with similar regional bowling clubs in Noosa and the Sunshine camp. Coast. Region. The proposed medium impact industry, it's a very small scale distillery, 28 metres squared, and that's proposed to operate in an internal room that's existing, and it's got limited production capacity to the application, as conditioned, demonstrates consistency with the relevant performance outcomes of the applicable codes, including the recreation and open space code, the local plan code, the business activity code, and the entertainment activities code. And the application maintains compliance with existing car parking arrangements, planning scheme provisions, and there's no increase in car parking demand as a result of the other change. Is considered to appropriately balance operational needs and residential amenity with it adjoining a residential use and it's supported by relevant documentation and conditions. Through the assessment you know operational impacts including noise and hours of operation they've been addressed through supporting documentation including a noise impact assessment that was submitted and then as a result of submissions the applicant submitted an operational management plan and a risk assessed conditions are recommended to manage delivery operations restrict patient access to sensitive areas adjoining that residential use and ensure compliance with noise and amenity standards it's noted that the proposed operating hours are consistent with the applicable codes and are similar to what publicly advertised and are supported by acoustic recommendations the hours are considered appropriate given the site's recreation and open space zoning where sport and recreation specifically the lawn bowls is primary use and proposed Food & Drink Outlet and distillery therefore should remain ancillary and must operate in a manner that respects and supports the site's principal recreational function and the location it is within Cooroy. It's that submitted concerns relating to current operations that's being addressed by the applicant by removing patron access from the area adjacent to the eastern boundary that joins the residential use and this includes the removal a lot of smoking area the relocation of outdoor dining and the relocation of children's playground to the other side of the building away from the residential area there's also concerns from submitters regarding refrigeration units another plant and we have addressed that reasonably in conditions the proposed changes represent a considered response to the community concerns raised during public notification and the operational needs of the business so overall I think the application is to appropriately balance the recreation commercial and community interest and is recommended for approval subject to the recommended conditions leave it open to any questions now. Patrick Murphy 01:12:16.670
Through the Chair, can I just add to matt's thought. Detailed explanation of the application? There has been some maybe disconnect or where we've fallen to in terms of conditions for hours of operation. We've been advised that the applicants got some concerns. I just thought I'd put those on the table. So you're aware of those and are now thinking around them. Condition 37 specifically relates to the hours of operation for the Food & Drink Outlet and the medium impact industry use. We consider it reasonable that it operate 10am to 9pm Monday to Thursday and also Sunday at a public holiday with it being open to 10pm to 11pm on a Friday and a Saturday. It's the applicant's preference that it be allowed to open to 10pm on that Monday to Thursday and Sunday. And public holiday days. We have aligned our uh. Operation with the with the planning scheme requirements because the land adjoins a residential zone it requires through the AO that it operates no later than 9pm. We have given an allowance to go later on a Friday and Saturday night noting that is consistent with how it's currently being used. The 9pm restrictions are also consistent with how the use is being advertised currently. So that was our of thinking there. We've conditioned the bowling green to operate between 7am and 9pm. It's the applicant's preference that it operate till 10pm. Similarly the playground we've conditioned till 8pm and continue through to 10pm. Again, mindful of the site's location within proximity of the residential areas is our reasoning behind pulling those hours back. See some merit in aligning the playground hours with the bowling green hours. Noting that people on site using the bowling green and they have the children there that it's reasonable that they get to use the playground equipment so I'll leave that to council. The conversation with the consultant this morning was talking he about the issue of the bowling green being able to be used from 7am in the morning but the Food & Drink Outlet not starting until 10am whilst I understand where he's coming from the 10am restriction was that was consistent with some of the discussions that the officer had with the applicant that it was a 10am opening and never been put forward to open earlier than that so the conversation today was my first understanding of a preference to open earlier can being an allowance for people to have coffees and cakes and whatnot whilst they're doing bowls in the morning but probably not preferable that there are that meals and liquor is being consumed at that hour so just to fill you in a little bit more again around some of our thinking and that disconnect between ourselves and the applicant that you might have technical question on that large matter. Brian Stockwell 01:15:50.806
The service of drinks and small food is part of an outdoor recreation use history generally, if you can have it. The fact that the site has got food and drink outlets, does that mean, if it is there, that has to have their powers changed or can we separate the use, operational use? Patrick Murphy 01:16:02.280
It might be something that I could have a look at and that might make sense to do it in that way and look at the definition of the recreation use. What that would allow. In the report it talks about a bit more than two course meal, that sort of thing. That was going back to, I think, the original language terms. Fish and meat. Had to have fish and meat. And why a caterer's room had the subset of was a restaurant, which wasn't included as part of the original approval, which is why we're here today, essentially, with the food and drink out of that department. Jessica Phillips 01:16:42.496
I'm a little bit confused by, obviously, this business is already operating, and I'm not sure what its current operating so, which of these conditions are changing the operating hours as a result of this change of location? Patrick Murphy 01:17:00.594
Condition 37 is consistent with how it's currently being advertised on their website. So we would understand no change in that regard and in fact I think the website actually talks about 11:30am. Opening for cracker Jack. We've got a 10:00am. Proposed. I'm not too sure. There's nothing on the website around when the boiling greens are being used so those conditions are essentially in new conditions. Amelia Lorentson 01:17:40.365
A couple of questions. Probably want to just wait till we go inside and meet with the applicant have an opportunity to speak with him but I've sort of just had a good read of the application and probably my questions are just seems some of the conditions seem standard but some aren't or don't seem standard. In terms of condition 36 linking the operation to the bowling club, is that a standard practice? Patrick Murphy 01:18:17.192
And it's reflective of the zoning of the site being for recreation and open space and that the Food & Drink Outlet is an inconsistent use on the site so seeking to ensure that the site is preserved for a it transpire that you that news Peters out and the whole site becomes a hospitality. Amelia Lorentson 01:18:41.467
So my understanding from what I've read is the operator and the owner of the property have signed a 90 year license of bowls. The Bowles green. Is that right? It's a five-year lease is that correct? Yeah, a five-year lease currently signed with options to resign every five years up to the 90 years. So is that condition necessary? Knowing that like said let me just I'll think and talk to you guys about it. The other condition which I thought is this potential duplication with OLGR and QPS. In terms of the operating hours and amenity controls. Probably my two questions are they consistent with what conditions we've put with similar licence. Venues in nooso and even in Cooroy, the Cooroy copperhead distillery. And are they duplicating what's already in place through the Office of Liquor and Gaming Regulation regulations and Queensland police services? Patrick Murphy 01:20:02.048
Um, the conditioning hours of operation and having conditions around potential impacts is, the approach we've taken is consistent in that regard, particularly noting the location of this site within proximity of, residential, um, uses, you know, directly abutting the site and with, and with, again, close proximity. Um, the, amenity impacts of, the application were a strong part of our consideration and. Conditions are reasonable and relevant in that regard. Amelia Lorentson 01:20:41.643
Again, I go back to the operational management plan and I go back to what's required under liquor licensing conditions. Again, are we imposing conditions that they're already undertaking as part of their license conditions in terms of the operational management plan? I keep putting my, this is a small community-based hospitality business. We've signed, sorry, just, we've signed a Small Business Friendly Charter and my questions come from a place of are we placing onerous conditions or are we helping a small business run? Patrick Murphy 01:21:28.640
Just can I jump in? I mean I guess I would like to add that operational management plan really is a big part of noting when the notification went out there were a number of submissions from adjoining residents concerned about existing noise impacts. What the staff, through the assessment and obviously the notification period the applicant did go away and do further work which identified that this is a key piece of operational management to manage the impacts of people behaviour. Some of it is the staff after like a clean up and things like that and making sure that the practices and methodologies in place are have enough rigor around them so that those things are maintained and if we do get ongoing complaints are there going to be practices or improvements to address those issues particularly on those residential properties so it is very much a practical condition largely has been encouraged through the work that the applicant has done through their own further work following the notifications from residents so but take and it is a balancing act and obviously this is about maintaining and ensuring that the business can function sustainably as well but not at the detriment to adjoining resident properties SPEAKER_08 01:22:38.838
This the bulls club is still within Cooroy but that was zoned as town centre because the car wash and the two petrol stations are zoned as town centre. Richard MacGillivray 01:22:57.456
This is, they were zoned district centre. This land is actually zoned open space and recreation. And open space. And then on the other side of it is high density residential zone? Yeah, to the north. Yeah. Town Tom Wegener 01:23:29.673
So the town centre, the district centre zone great yeah because it's not a record does that change the how you look at noise and noise and in playgrounds things if it's in a district centre versus a community recreational centre Richard MacGillivray 01:23:46.452
Not necessarily because you're looking at how it impacts the surrounding area sorry to the south Matt 01:23:51.692
And west is playing high density yeah thank you but I'm worried Tom Wegener 01:23:56.872
About you know the issue that would be a great district centre which is not actually acting so much the district centre right now but it'd be wonderful if there's a district centre and there's always a, is there a chilling effect? Of you know putting restrictions on businesses that will that will hinder that becoming activated as a district centre in the future Richard MacGillivray 01:24:24.515
And the conditions are consistent with criteria within the superseded and the current playing stand into of the hours of operation so even if you were a major centre zone district centre zone if you still had residential land adjoining you the same requirement would apply Tom Wegener 01:24:55.668
Thank you yeah Karen Finzel 01:24:58.368
Thank you around the conditions I've just especially got in relation to the hours and the high res around there just wondering about the social impacts we've talked about staff you know with noise at close of business what about people leaving it at those later hours given you know access to transport in hinterland where I live including you know it's hard to get taxis it's hard to get ubers has there been any discussion around those potential social impacts of later closing and how we're moving people away from the area at the time of close Richard MacGillivray 01:25:41.742
The hours again are consistent with how it's currently being used noting there was a restaurant previously on the site in terms of the social impacts not too sure what you're actually referring to Matt 01:25:56.521
So maybe people leaving and the noise and managing that issue the operational management plan and the risk assessed management plan discusses small do with staff and the operators loudly loud. Within a shot of the residential units that's you know talking loudly you know there's I guess that's part of the policy that they're trying to enact through their operational management is the point that I was trying to make. Karen Finzel 01:26:43.313
Yeah so I'm more interested in those social impacts of people leaving at those later hours so there was no discussion around how that might be managed like increased police or increased you know access to taxis for example I mean it's very hard to get a taxi and a few years back the reason I raise it is because there was a distillery application that was not out in the industrial site due to the access to transport access to transport to move people away from the venue so yeah I'm just interested in those social impacts given it is a you know small hinterland community and we do have to be taking consideration my opinion those social impacts on our community. Richard MacGillivray 01:27:34.144
I mean look yeah in terms of that point and thanks for raising that Councillor Finzel with legal licence there are provisions around responsible service of liquor and that does help and assist to ensure that those people that are attending are able to either a get a ride home or be picked up by potentially utilise public transport I guess some of those elements do fall outside of the realm of the assessment in terms of how they will get to and from the particular site but obviously for the business itself it obviously does want to encourage people to safely get home and ensuring that they've got access to rides and obviously will escort people safely from the site if need be or make calls from the particular site if they need to get a ride from the premises at closing time obviously those things sort of exist at the moment given it's operating there at this point in time but there's nothing we can require necessarily to enable people to necessarily get a ride in a particular way from the site other than using the normal current transport methods that exist thank you. Amelia Lorentson 01:28:52.441
I've got a question. Brian Stockwell 01:28:54.341
Something that just occurred to me. I've got no trouble with the principle of having an ancillary distillery. Does it have any impact on what is required to achieve a safe operating environment? I'm thinking of, is the building classified that it can have a medium impact industry operating, fire safety between the they just did the re-in and adjacent playgrounds playground games and all that and then all taken into account in a planning application? We can't consider the building classification. This comes to me, is there. Have they planned for it or is there conditions that will ensure that. It's a safe operating environment? Richard MacGillivray 01:29:38.368
We could. It was okay, we could come back to you on that. Speak with the applicant and understand their obligations in that regard and whether they comply. Brian Stockwell 01:29:49.888
I know the process has changed since all the fires in the movies about probably the area of the facility, but I think having a playground next to it would make the most of it. Matt 01:29:59.542
Yeah, like the only conditions we have about, I guess, safety would be the storage of flammable or combustible liquids must comply with the minor storage provisions of the relevant Australian standards. That's what we've got in that regard, but if we want to strengthen that and find out what our obligations are, yeah, we can definitely look into that matter further. Brian Stockwell 01:30:22.877
Any other questions? Amelia Lorentson 01:30:25.951
I've just got in front of me conditions 64 to 68 in terms of the easement. 64, where the development site has frontage to Diamond Lane, the applicant must dedicate a two metre wide easement along the full length of his laneway frontage for the purpose of future laneway widening and upgrades. Upgrading. I probably come back to, I go back to the small, our friendly charter that we signed to help support small businesses and I'm just question is keep coming back to the upfront cost that you know it is the my condition onerous what impact that's going to have on a small business operationally and whether there's opportunity and maybe in terms of an amendment or something to the condition where we can consider either a post construction or a reduction of the easement I just would like to discuss this probably a little bit further with you Matt 01:31:34.191
And when we meet with the applicant. The purpose of that is just to protect that future alignment it does get widened in future and it's a requirement of the Cooroy Local Plan that two metre wide easement be there for the future purposes of widening if that comes about like if over time we can secure the whole like length of Diamond Lane that would then in future be widened and we'd have land there. Amelia Lorentson 01:32:05.478
So we're going to ask that of everyone on Diamond Lane. Richard MacGillivray 01:32:08.958
A provision within the planning scheme which identifies particular lane ways in Cooroy for which if this application was taking access off the lane it would be required to actually dedicate that land to council in instances where access is not been taken the scheme requires that an easement be created and there are a number of properties along Diamond Lane which that has occurred where they've actually been land dedicated and also in other parts of Cooroy where land has been actually dedicated to council to facilitate future works within those laneways to improve connectivity throughout Cooroy, pedestrian connectivity, potentially vehicle connectivity. Okay, Amelia Lorentson 01:32:59.060
Thank you. Someone wish the intent was to defer to. I'll move to, yep, I'll move to defer the decision. I'll move. That's right, I'm happy to second. Brian Stockwell 01:33:11.599
Will again be the first. No worries. And second is Councillor Lorentson. We wish to discuss any further. Frank Wilkie 01:33:18.259
I'll just say, Mr Chair, I understand the discussion will be around the hours of operation, impact on the residents. Go to the heart of how this application is being assessed and this will give councils time to meet with the applicants so they can make their case around such matters as the hours of operation. Brian Stockwell 01:33:38.689
I'll put the motion. Those in favour? That's unanimous. Thank you. Before we proceed, the CEO has had to step out for another report, so we have Director of development control, Michael Lawson. That's it. Thank you, thank you. Were great, so feel free to come up with any hard questions. Thank the next item is the Sunshine Creek Slope Stability Contract Award, and we have Shaun Walsh, our start to recovery coordinator. Shaun Walsh 01:34:33.220
Julie's been on site, as you can tell. SPEAKER_01 01:34:35.580
I have hard hat hair. Exactly what we'd expect you to do. Good afternoon. Um Sunshine Creek is our name that we're using for the slope that sits in that area at Sunshine Beach near Ross Crescent and Adams Street. Because it's an area that affects both of those, we want to avoid confusion between any party, so we've been calling it Sunshine Creek, and partly of that is the site there that has some slope stability issues that actually do feed into the need to make sure that we look after that creek structure as well. So part of this is about just naming it appropriately to best match what we're actually problems trying to solve here. The report today is making a request for us to be able to start working with some specialised contractors allow us to finalise some design attributes that we really want to include in this before we go to market to find a construction contractor to commence works to re-stabilise that slope in that particular space. We have opted to go this particular path because the particular contractor that we'd like to use, Foundation Specialists Pty Limited, trading as FSG Geotechnics & Foundations, apart from being a well-regarded supplier of these services within actually have history at that particular site. So temp works have been done in this particular area previously and they were involved in doing those temporary works. Any new works that we are looking to do we want to try and work on how do we interface our new work with the best way we can do that is be working with the people who designed and put that work in there originally so that's the basis of our one of going through to our source direct we're looking at a in terms of disaster reconstruction a relatively small value of 41 and a half thousand dollars to finalise that design. Brian Stockwell 01:36:52.367
Thank you, do we have any questions? Amelia Lorentson 01:36:59.095
I'm second. Yeah, I will. This is critical infrastructure and the community is depending on us to get it right. The slope at Sunshine Creek, I'm going to call it Sunshine Creek, has been unstable for years and this work isn't just about meeting a deadline, it's actually about protecting public safety, restoring confidence and delivering on outcomes that our residents have been waiting you, Julie, for all your work. Karen Finzel 01:37:36.603
Team effort, like always. Thank you. Frank Wilkie 01:37:41.240
No, that's getting done. Brian Stockwell 01:37:44.460
I'm just going to do a little bit in that reaching the creek highlights the fact that the problem we have here was made with talk about carrying capacity in the Noosa planning scheme. Part of that is putting development in the right spot. And what we've got here is an overly steep slope that has been developed too close and therefore is cost a lot to fix up. You don't want a sandy slope like this to be any greater than the angle of repose and depending on the sand that's between 30 and 40 percent and we've probably got something that's closer to 50 percent at the moment. I'm guessing but it's certainly very steep and so just when we look in this sandy country and anything else where we say development ends has to take into account where is it stable to do so and we've lots of sites in that sandy coastal country where development practices of the 60s, 70s and 80s perhaps didn't take into account the natural constraints and the community is now paying for that by increased responsive staff. Do you have anything else you want us to talk? Karen Finzel 01:38:55.940
Thank you, yeah I just want to thank you for the report happy to accept the recommendation I think it's timely and these emerging issues that are coming out I think it's you know it's our responsibility to actually be able to deliver know efficiently and with expertise that we require so thanks Julie and we know it's all in good hands and Shaun and all the team collaborative effort and certainly councillors want to support that team approach to what a community requires. So Amelia Lorentson 01:39:27.761
Thank you okay thank you oh do you wish to close um no Brian Stockwell 01:39:33.881
Thank you I'll put the vote those in favour that's carried unanimously uh our next item is a confidential item with someone to move for the reasons SPEAKER_05_b 01:40:00.508
Good work Richard, that was very efficient. Jessica Phillips 01:40:11.468
It's fine. I need to read it still. That the meeting be closed to the public. Pursuant to section 254J(3)(g) of the Local Government Regulation 2012 for the purpose of discussing a contract proposed to be made by council in particular. The potential commercial negotiations in relation to that contract for item 9.1. Brian Stockwell 01:40:40.922
Do we have a seconder? Councillor Finzel. Do we need any discussion? No. All those in favour? That's carried unanimously. Thank you. We get the gallery to wait outside while we discuss this matter as we appreciate it. Brian Stockwell 01:53:23.886
Okay, welcome back. Councils, we have a recommendation in front of us. With would someone like to move that recommendation? I'd be happy to move the recommendation. Councillor Lorentson and Councillor Phillips, do you wish to say anything, Councillor Lorentson? No, thank you. Anyone else? I'll put the recommendation. Those in favour? That's let's pass. Passed unanimously. Thank you councillors. Thank you staff. That brings us to the end of the meeting at 2:24pm. Thank you Mr chairman. Thank you Mr Chair. Thank you staff. And congratulations on your award. On our award. Amelia Lorentson 01:54:00.602
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