Councilors Ladies and Gentlemen please
stand if you're able for the Mayor of
Lake MacQuarie councilor Kay
Fraser
councilors I invite you to pause before
we begin this meeting to reflect on the
responsibilities you have in making
decisions on the matters before you as
elected representatives we have a duty
to carefully consider the implications
of the decision would we make and strive
to act in the best interest of our
community I remind you that the local
government act requires us to act
honestly and exercise care and diligence
in carrying out our functions and to
conduct our meetings constructively in
courtesy in accordance with our code of
meeting practice is incbent upon us to
be open transparent honest and
accountable for our actions and
decisions and to demonstrate respect for
each other and to the staff and members
of the of the public present please be
seated
and welcome everyone it's great to see a
nearly a full Gallery here so before
opening the meeting this evening I must
remind councilors and members of the
gallery that meetings of standing
committee and Council are recorded and
webcast the public gallery is included
in the recording and webcast members of
the public attending a meeting may have
their image and voice captured webcast
and archive by Council by attending a
standing committee or council meeting
you consent to your image speech or
other personal information being webcast
and recorded please ensure your mobile
phones are turned off or on
silent and I remind you that recording
of council is not permitted please
be mindful in the gallery that
discussion among yourselves can be make
it very difficult for councilors to hear
one another during the debate I now
declare the meeting open and welcome
councilor staff and members of the
community here
tonight and I'd like to also so
acknowledge the Awabakal people the original
caretakers of the land where I live and
work and pay respects to Elders past
present and future generations of
knowledge holds of this country for they
hold the traditions the culture and the
history of this
land councilors I'll now call for
apologies we have councilor Bak
moving apologies for councilor Shultz do
I have a second councilor Bishop thank
you I'll put that all those in
favour against I'll hear that carried
thank you councilor declarations of
interest in the matters in front of us
tonight councilor Bishop thank you
Madame Mayor I'm redeclaring my
interest in 24 SP 010 the council
site inspection Charlestown 15 Princes
Avenue I have a close personal friend
in that street and I will be leaving the
chamber thank you leaving the chamber
thank you thank
you councilor Pauling thank you Madame
Mayor I wish to restate my
declaration of interest in relation to
24001 in that I'm not aware of a
direct conflict but it is possible
certainly there is potential in my
day work that if I could interact
with one of of the parties involved I
would accordingly I declare a
significant interest and I will be
leaving significant non pecuniary and I
will be leaving the chamber for that
matter if it facilitates this evening
I'm happy to exit for the entirety of
organizational servic standing committee
Madame Mayor okay for the two for the
two items yeah thank
you councilor Buckley thank you Madame
Mayor I'd like to declare a
non-pecuniary less than significant
interest in 24 SP
010 Council s inspection Charlestown
15 Princess Avenue multi-dwelling
housing and strata subdivision at
Charlestown the planner lives in my
street but I will remain in this chamber
for discussion and voting thank you
thank you very
much Council Grigg thank you Madame Mayor
I'm declaring a significant but
non-pecuniary interest in
24001 in that Gateway Care Hunter I know
am familiar with that organization and I
know people who belong to it and I will
be removing myself from the chamber okay
Council Pauling indicated that the
two matters could be moved together
is that an issue would would you like me
to separate the two items in
organizational Services standing
committee counselor
Grigg thank you
thank you very
much Council will now move on to our
confirmation of minutes so our first one
is the ordinary council meeting held on
the 11th of December
2023 you're moving that the minutes are
correct and accurate thank you council
Belcher do I have a Second Councilor Grigg
thank you I'll put that all those in
favour against look that carried thank
you councilor confirmation of the
development of planning standing
committee on the 12th of February 2024 I
moved their accurate record councilor
Warner thank you very much councilor
Bishop you're seconding that thank you
put that all those in favour I
against clear that carried thank you
very
much councilor's presentation
nil Mayoral Minute
nil we'll now move on to the
recommendations of the standing
committee I note that councilor Pauling
and Council AG gri you're leaving the
chamber Council Adamthwaite you're moving
the two matters 24 RS001 and 24 RS002
together do I have a
second councilor Warner thank you very
much and if there's no discussion I'll
put that all those in favour Council
Adamthwaite councilor Antcliff Council Conroy
Council Belcher councilor Bishop Council
Buckley councilor Warner councilor Fraser
declared that carry thank you
councilors
Councilor Grigg and Councilor Pauling has
returned to the chamber we'll move on to
the next item in our business paper
General business standing committee we
have four items that we dealt with
last fortnight someone wishing to move
them as printed Council Grigg thank you
very
much as a block the general business yes
we've done that thank you do I have a
second councilor Pauling thank you I'll
put that all those in favour councilor
Adamthwaite councilor Antcliff councilor Conroy
councilor Grigg councilor Belcher councilor
Pauling councilor Bishop councilor Buckley
councilor Warner councilor Fraser
declare that carried thank you
councilors councilors business arising
from public forum had four public
forums earlier on this afternoon
Councilor Bishop you're wishing
to you're wishing to move the public
forums thank you madam Mayor yeah and
I just we note the information
provided at public forum regarding Rye
Point Ramsgate estate Colpoint 133 Colpoint Road
and demolition and of existing dwellings
and new dwelling house and review
greater assistance to the residents
impacted by ? ? change and confirms
the items will be addressed later in the
agenda thank you do I have a second
second for that Council councilor Grigg
thank
you so because there was so many of it
I'll I'll put that not that it's a
motion but I'll put that to the
councilors all those in favour
councilor Adamthwaite councel Antcliff councilor
Conroy councilor Grigg Councilor Belcher
Counciorl Pauling Councilor Bishop Councilor
Buckley Council Warner Councilor Fraser thank
you councilors will now move on to our
special
reports
our first special reports from the
chief executive officer we have two
councilor the first one is the December
review of the operational plan 2023 to
2024 and
budget councilor Pauling you're
moving that councilor buckler you're
seconding that thank
you Council Paul you wishing to speak at
all very
again typically these reports sail
through without some sometimes they
don't get the fair fair Fan Fair that
they deserve on the way past and
there's a couple of key things that jp
out at me once from a financial
perspective forecast at this point
we're looking to forecast of 1.3 million
for the full year operating Surplus
and from a capital perspective we're
still running pretty hot in terms of
118 million which I think is probably
draws the upper end of our capacity as a
rule and so there are still lots of
pretty good things happening in the city
that said we have got a couple of
projects from the operational plan that
are off track currently and so those
that read the report will acknowledge
those but the key bit being of the 149
total actions 134 are currently on
tracked seven are completed and we have
eight that remain opportuni for
improvement that we need to get back on
track so overall Madam M I think this is
a appropriate praise Commendation for
the CEO and her staff in that this
report continues to paint us in a pretty
good light across the board thank you
Madame thank you Council Pauling
councilor Buckley thank you Madame Mayor
look I Echo councel pauling's
comments and some of the things that
I thought were highlighted in that
report things that are happening
around the area like our Hunter Sports
Center expansion it's progressing
well we had the opening of the Trevor
height athletic testing facility there
just recently we've had the Alton
Road and Freeman's Drive project at
kurin bong it's been opened
the we've had 103 nominations
received for our Lake Mach Awards which
I think is the biggest or the most
nominations that we've had up until
now we've had our physical loans from
our Lake Mac libraries up
4.9% which is I think a a real really
good outcome and that's the first
time that there's been an increase in 10
years and as far as the Arts are
concerned Council has acquired the Uncle
Jim Ridgeway
collection and this is a significant
block of work and it'll be
exhibited in October this year so
there's there's a lot that's happening
in Lake mcari and if you have a look in
at that report the program it it
gives you a good idea of what we're
doing where our money is being spent
and the fact that we have a good
Financial outcome I think goes well
for our future thank you madam May thank
you Council Buckley and Council
Pauling it's true it needs to be called
out I think the December review of
the operational plan of budget is very
pleasing at the end of of the
December quarter we are projecting 95%
of actions will be achieved for 2023 24
that's a pretty high nber 95% the
projected net operating result has
moved from a deficit to a $1.3 million
surplus mainly due to an additional
Regional Road repair fund granted
received in November
2023 even though we'll still have a
balance balanced budget Capital Works
expenditure remains at $18.8 million
with projects prior prioritize and some
of them were mentioned here earlier on
and movements offset to align with
the original budget it's really
pleasing that more of half of the
actions in this year's operational plan
provide for delivery of infrastructure
to meet the community needs and
expenditure some of the highlights
are for me and I know Council buck and
Council Pauling called out a few but we
had the Alton Road intersection upgrade
at kurong was complete and officially
opened in December and I know West
board residents would have been very
keen to get that happening pretty pretty
dangerous intersection so that's
happened we also have foreshore
improvements Works to help the future
proof Belmont Bay and they were
completed as well we launched the first
Fab Lab Academy in Australia so
that's a pretty good call out teaching
students digital fabrication
everything from 3D printing and laser
cutting to problem solving intellectual
property and
entrepreneurialship and as you
mentioned U Council Buckley the
hunter sports center with the Trevor
Heights athlete testing center we
also when we look around here we had
contractors have been engaged to
construct Three Bridges at Martinsville
so that'll be commenting the third
quarter so there are a nber of
projects here that are really people
will be interested in which which are
really exciting we saw especially
here for our beaches and our pools we
had a huge increase in people using them
when we look at the report on page
43 it says there were
38457 ATT tenant has recorded across our
four beaches and lifeguards performing
32
rescues 2,10 preventative actions and
160 first aid treatments and 49 Beach
closures so it was really really a
pleasing quarter a pleasing year and I
think we should be very proud of of
the achievements of staff and can I
congratulate probably beond Lon but
also Kim fer who is here as well so
and the CEO thank you very much if
there's no further discussions I'll put
24 sp001 December review of the
operational plan 2023 2024 and budget
moved by councilor Paulie second by
Council Buck I'll do that by sh hands
all those in favour Council edenway
councel ankli Council Conroy Council gri
Council Bela Council Pauling counselor
Bishop councilor Buckley councilor
Warner councilor FR declare that Carri
thank you
councilor Council will move to the next
matter which is pecuniary interest
I'll open 24
sp002 pecuniary interest returns for
tabling you're moving at Council Buckley
you're second that councilor Warner
thank
you no one's wishing to I'll put that by
a show of hands all that in favour
Council Aden Council ancliff Council
Conroy councilor grig Council Bela
Council paing councel Bishop councel
Buckley councel Warner councel FR
declare that
carried Council will now move on to the
deputy chief executive officer and we
just have the one report here 24
sp003 investment report December 2023
January
2024 someone move the report councilor
belter thank you very much do I have a
second councel Pauling thank
you you wishing to speak Council
belch right thank you Council Pauling
thank you Madame Mayor question
through yourself Madame Mayor to the CFO
Mr Lan on page 71 our cash on call
report to my I suppose
lay person judgment appears to be a
step change down from a average running
cash on call about 20 million down to
about 10 million from around now is that
a deliberate action or is that
something that's just manifested
through the I suppose the the variances
that occur within the Council budget Mr
Lakin thank you Madame May through you
so there has been a bit of a step change
down in part because of the nber of
projects that we have going at the
moment and some of that cash has been
consed with those large capital
projects in addition to that there
has also been a Slowdown in some of the
cash receipt that we would normally have
so that's not significant and then I
suppose the third factor is that we have
also chosen not to to pull our loans
down as much as we normally would
because we have always been fairly
had quite a lot of head space above our
Target rate and so we sort of to stay
above that $5 million Mark and being at
the 20 average was probably just too
much cash to be holding on hand so we've
pulled that down slightly intentionally
paired with the larger projects
thank you a followup question Madame if
I could through yourself again if I
could just ask the upper and lower
guidelines that we use for cash on call
I think 5 million being the lower I
don't really have an appreciation of
what the upper would be or is it a
dynamic limit Mr Lin thank thank you
madam through you the the upper limit
actually hasn't been set at a policy
level at this stage obviously we
would like to keep that to a minimand
whenever we do get more of that cash on
call we would look to invest more into
the long-term term deposits however
we haven't actually got a a set up a
limit at this stage okay cool thank you
Madame Mayor thank you Mr
Lan there no further speakers I'll put
24
sp003 invest report December 2023
January 2024 moved by Council Bela
second by Council py I'll do that by sh
of hands all those in favour Council Aden
councilor anff councilor Conroy
councilor Greek councilor Bela Council
Pauling councilor Bishop councilor
Buckley Council Warner Council frer
declared that
carried council's I'll open up director
of development planning and Regulation
and we have three matters
here the first one
is
24004 Yu Point Ramsgate estate
residential
subdivision councilors your wish
your you're moving that Council beler
thank you do I have a signor council
Conroy thank you you're wishing to speak
Council belch very briefly
M I'll just get you to press your button
Council Bel of course thank
you thank you thank you Madame Mayor
Madame Mayor this is been a a very
difficult decision to make I understand
and both councilor bishop and myself
have been out to speak to Residents
previously about their concerns on
this site and I take them very much
on board when thinking about this
decision so our previous speakers is
spoken about the fact that this is a
paper subdivision going back to 198 we
have several of these in our city and
all incredibly difficult Madame Mayor
been on our books for many many years
incredibly hard to get off the one at
why itself is is incredibly problematic
so I guess the
the the not the quickest but the the U
most direct way of of resolving these
issues is having them developed
appropriately we know we are in a a a
a crisis when it comes to housing not
just in Lake mccy but across Australia
and we're adding you know much needed
stock to that to to this area the
traffic concerns and have been well
addressed in the presentation tonight
also the erod adjustments have been well
articulated why it has to go through the
the the model that's been printed to
us tonight 600 Lots Madam May that's a
very significant development so I
certainly understand the community's
angst in this regard but overall I
take it that this is a benefit for our
city a benefit for the residents who
will be able to live and enjoy living
at y Point Madame Mayor so as I
said after a lot of difficulties
we'll be supporting this motion and hope
other councilor will do the same thank
you thank
you Council Pauling thank you mad may I
think excellent smary put forward
for us then this one has been a long
time coming and it's always been
difficult local residents I I ass
them they've been heard is probably one
of the key things I would say that there
issues about density there issues about
access there issues on environmental
impact all those matters have played
very very very heavily on councilor's
minds and I think we've weigh those up
as we go one of the key issues that has
come up time and time again is the
question of access and the most
appropriate access question through
yourself to to staff Madame Mayor could
staff please make some comment in
relation to the preferred access and the
potential assessment of
Alternatives Mr
corrian
thank you through you madam Mayor excuse
me there were alternative
proposals
considered in the assessment of the work
and the government Road Railway Road was
the optimal outcome that minimized the
disturbance to all the residents the
most direct route and limited impact to
to the existing residents
there cool thank you madam appreciate
the response and one of the the key
distinctions for me here is this
unfortunately Council makes a decision
on what's put before us that is is
what's before
us acceptable or not it's a yes no
Gateway it's not a an optimiz or a
refining process it's not like yep you
can do that but you can't do this bit
that's not our role we we assess the da
that's in front of us and as I've said
many times on this despite some issues
from raised by residents on balance this
Stacks up on Merit this is a largely
complying application that probably
deserves to be approved that said is
it the best probably not but that's not
for us to determine either ours is does
this application have sufficient Merit
to Warrant approval or if it doesn't
what are the planning grounds on which
it fails that give us justification to
reject it and I think that's a subtle
that's often lost so that said I I do
support this and I I think it is a good
outcome for the city equally I do
acknowledge the pain issues raised
some of the inconvenience that we be
cause no doubt during construction there
will be some inconvenience for for the
local residents and and I do apologize
to them for that how the big however
on that is that's true of nearly any
development with limited access no
matter where it is there there will be
drams whenever you've got trucks running
up and down your street that aren't
normally running up and down your street
then that is certainly an inconvenience
and it's temporary so as I said for
me residents definitely heard there's no
doubt about that that said I think this
application has Merit and I will be
voting favour of it thank you Madame May
thank you Council
Pauling council ad B yes thank you
Madame May I will be speaking in
favour of the resolution and I think the
councilors have already spoken they
pretty much covered everything that I
would like to mention but there's a
couple of other
points the the development application
looks at some of the problems mitigating
some of those problems development
applications do that that's how we get
to improve things along the way we
usually get to improve transport parking
drainage and those sorts of things
for a community that's there but in this
case we've also taken a large section
of the proposed site going back to the
days of the paper estate and turned it
into environmental land and I I think
that that's also an important thing to
mention along the way a question I've
started asking with most developments
nowadays Madame Mayor if I may ask staff
is there any defined affordable housing
as part of the process for this
development Mr
corrian thank you through you madam
Mayor not as such what we've got is
development lots of ranging size ranging
diversity that you might en
encounter in most of the supervisions
that we'll do now they range from a
little bit greater than the minim450
to some larger Lots so there's there is
a choice amongst the lots that have
being
presented thank you Madame it it is
good that there is diversity which we've
talked about only recently at Council
it would be good to see that whenever we
are looking at developments into the
future that affordable housing
accessible housing and the important
things that we talk about on a regular
basis here are incorporated into that as
a proposal I understand that there are
issues that the community will find
difficulty with I understand
personally how new Estates can be
uncomfortable during their development
but also that time does pass and
I hope that the
community ultimately Embraces some of
these changes and the community itself
becomes richer and more vibrant as part
of the process thank you Madame May
thank
you councilor Warner thank you Madame
Mayor one of the issues that was
raised in the public access was in
relation to the Community facilities
and perhaps the social impact in the
community I was wondering if staff might
be able to comment on the potential
positive impacts that this development
might bring to the area in terms of the
broader Moret catchment plan and other
yeah facility upgrades that might
come thank
you Mr
Corgan thank you through you Madame
Mayor as part of this development
there was the vpa was prepared to have a
look at how we will distribute or
allocate provision for increase
amenity across the particular
catchment in some instances it won't be
right at the doorstep but it will
certainly be within close proximity to
the new development that is before you
tonight thank you I I think just a
further comment to say that just
generally I'm in support of additional
housing given the housing crisis that
we're all aware of but I do think
it's an important note that the council
does take notice of the need to you
know continually impact increase
their social impact the community
facilities that are available in the
community and just be mindful of those
social impacts when we do develop new
housing that we increase our
infrastructure to support it so thank
you thank you councilor
Warner if there's no further speakers
I'll put
24004 ye Point Rams Gat State
residential subdivision moved by Council
Bela second by Council Conroy I'll put
that by a show of hands or that in favour
Council Aden Council anave Council
Conroy Council Greek Council Belia
Council paing Council Bishop Council
Buckley counc Warner Council FR declare
that
carried and next item council is 2 24
sp005 argentin 535 late Road
telecommunications
facility you're moving that council ad
thank you very much do I have a secondar
council Monroy thank you council ad
you're wishing to speak just very
briefly Madame Mayor we've had a
couple of these recently and in both
cases we've had it's gone out for
public submission we've invited the
community to be involved in consultation
and there haven't been any submissions
and I think it's important to note that
technology nowadays is an essential if
you are in a suburb without the
technology to connect you to the rest of
the world you can't have a home business
you can't work from home you can't do
many things children cannot necessarily
access what they need for education so
the fact that we're building
particularly in the western edge of and
the northern edge of the the lake with
towers that provide connectivity to
the important infrastructure that we
need for communication and Technology I
think is a good thing and the fact that
the community appears to see that as
well in the way in which we've had a
nber of these without any submissions
Madame Mayor thank you thank
you Council beler thank you Madame
Mayor totally agree with the the
sentiments from Council Aden my sort
of record on this stuff's pretty clear
I've always been supportive of of the
construction of these these towers as
councilor
outlined this is infrastructure this is
as needed as a road or a bridge or any
of the other facilities that our
residents take for granted we saw over
covid the the desperate need for
solid connectivity you know that's
that's good 4G and 5G connections so
people can operate from their homes if
they need to if people can make
emergency calls if necessary as well
this is vital infrastructure Madam Mayor
so I'm very happy to support this as
well thank you thank
you if there's no further speakers I'll
put 24
sp005 argentin 535 late Road
telecommunications facility moved by
Council Adam second by Council Conroy I
do that by sh hands all those in favour
Council adway Council anli Council
Conroy councilor gri Council Bela
councilor Pauling Council Bishop Council
Buckley Council Warner Council frer
declar that
carried
our last matter in director of
development planning and regulation is
24 SP 006 coo 133 callpoint Road
demolition of existing dwelling and new
dwelling
house you're moving the motion as
printed Council Pauling do I have a
second Council anff thank thank you very
much Council Paul are you wishing to
speak thank you once again a a tricky
one
unfortunately the not we had Public
Access on this earlier this evening and
if anyone with a report looks at page
121 they can see
certainly the relative size difference
between the proposed dwelling that's
before us tonight and existing dwellings
that that said one of the things that
got thrown around was the 60% outside
the area
and I looking at data I can't dispute
that probably 60% of the roof area May
well be outside the building envelope
however the and the big however this is
the exceedence is not particularly large
in terms of vole or impact and in
that I go to the diagram on page 109
figure two which highlights that the
actual
part of this building outside the
building envelope is not particularly
excessive and equally before us the
actual section 4.2 4.6 variation that is
sought is 2.39 M or 28% if it was
under 10% my understanding is it
wouldn't be before us at all and so
despite the image created by Page 121
and that photo montage in reality I
think this is exactly the situation for
which a Clause 4.6 of the LEP is
intended to be used that said Public
Access did raise issues in relation to
high water mark setback and that
prompted a particular interest from me
could staff please make some commentary
in relation to what that might mean
how that was considered in this instance
and how it relates to properties in the
immediate vicinity for example if
this well are they entitled to come to
3.5 M of the high water mark or what is
the standard that is applicable there so
any comments you to all through you
please Madam May thank you Mr
Corgan thank you through you Madame May
the forall building line on this
particular block is some 16 M it's way
back the entire not the entire the
majority of the existing house is
outside of that line what's before us at
the moment is what's before councilor
this evening is an alignment the
proposed house is aligned with the
existing alignment and there is
provision in part seven of the LEP to do
so okay so just through you Madame
paraphrasing that the setback of this
particular property is not out of whack
or or out of kilter with other
properties in the vicinity Mr corrian no
it's not greatly out of through you
madam Mayor no it's not greatly out of
alignment with it the aial photography
will give a bit of an indication to
councilors of where that does sit at the
present as I say it aligns with exactly
the position of where the the current
house is right
now okay but I'll probably need to step
again I may have misunderstood our
Public Access earlier then so is there
concern in relation to alignment and
proximity to the water for this property
if not why not Mr Corgan thank you three
Madame Mayor there is not in 7 of our
LEP we've got a local provision in there
that talks
about the rebuilding the re the
repositioning of a new building or the
like in the same position and that's
what our assessment has that's the
assessment that we've we've applied in
this instance to find this gateway to go
forward okay thank you Madame Mayor
Madame Mayor I I thank you Mr Corgan for
his responses that has certainly helped
cleared that up for me in terms of once
again heavy heart but that's the the
role of a council unfortunately I see
both sides of this one but the
application before us I think clearly
has Merit is largely compliant with the
LEP guidelines as they stand and through
the use of the Clause 4.6 variation I
think on Merit is easily justifiable in
the circstances that said I
certainly feel for the neighbor
however once again not the precedent
counts but in the fullness of time there
is potentially option for them as well
within the same Le constraints that
apply to the current block so Madame
Mayor I recommend approval of this
matter to my fellow councilor thank you
thank you councilor Paul and you're
right I think listening to the public
access from the applicant or the
resident who lives next door to the
applicant we all sort of took a bit
of a deep breath and thought yes you
know this would be an issue if it was in
in our street or next door to us you're
in a single level house and then there's
another house being built
that's definitely going to have an imp
impact on you your living
arrangements and where your house sits
in the block unfortunately in coo
we've seen a real transition of homes
down there and there's a lot of two and
three story homes down there now so
and I think that this particular de
development application even though it's
outside the guidelines is not
significantly enough for us to refuse it
so I have a view to it like you as
well well that yes this is a difficult
situation for each and every one of us
but when we have the report in front of
us we've had staff write the report
they've assessed it accordingly and they
have recommended that we approve
this application so I'll be also
approving it as well so thank you if
there's no further questions I'll put
24006 Callo 133 callpoint Road
demolition of existing dwelling and new
dwelling house moved by councilor
Pauling second by councilor anff I'll
put that by sh hands all those in favour
council ad councel anff Council Conroy
Council GRE Council Bela councel Pauling
Council Bishop Council Buckley Council
war council frer declare that carried
thank
you Council will move to director of
organizational services and we just have
the one matter in front of us tonight
24
sp007 new South WS Australian local
government women's association annual
conference 14th to 16th of March
2024 you're moving that Council Bela
thank you do I have a second councilor
GRE thank you councilor this is a
really important conference
unfortunately I'm not able to go so I'm
really pleased that we have Council
Warner Council Buckley attending for us
it's a great opportunity not only for
networking but also talking to other
other people and other businesses and
finding out a lot more about you know
local government and around Australia
so it's a great opportunity for the
councilor for them to come back and
report back to us what they learned so
that's always really really great thing
they can do thank you councilor if
there's no further speakers I'll put 24
sp007 new South Wes Australian local
government women's association annual
conference 14th to 16th of March 2024
moved by Council belgia second by
Council Greek I'll do that by a sh of
hands all those in favour Council Aden
councilor anle Council Conroy Council
Greek Council Bela Council paing Council
Bishop Council Buckley Council Warner
Council FR declared that
carried we'll now move on to director of
Service delivery councils will just have
the one item tonight 24 SP 008 youth
week grants
2024 you're moving councilor ankli
you're moving that thank you do I have a
second councilor want to thank
you Council anff thank you madam Mayor
it's always a great pleasure for me as
someone who sat on the youth Council to
be able to talk about the great work
that this organization does when it
comes to youth weekend working with
young people Council Warner and I had
the the tough task alongside some
amazing young people from our youth
Council of reviewing the applications
and something that stood out to me about
this year's process was actually the
the perspective of the young people to
see what was what was good for our city
and what was good for the young people
in our city it wasn't not everyone got a
dollar I'll give them that but those
that were funded were certainly of high
value to our city and similar there were
some programs that were identified by
staff post post sitting that gave us
an opportunity to extend that reach so
certainly echo my thanks to the work of
the young people in our city who are the
ones who drive these programs it is them
who is the young people who turn up to
these and make it worthwhile for us as a
counsel and I encourage all councilor
to get out and see what they can when
youth week does roll around in a few
weeks time thank you madam Mayor yeah
thank you Council an clip and it's
always U great to see these grants and
there's so many applicants so many
applications for the grants which
means we have some amazing young people
many many amazing people in our in
our city doing amazing things and this
is an opportunity for councilor to get
out and maybe attend some of those
events and go along and just have a
look what our young people are doing
they have amazing Minds amazing amazing
vision and just looking at some of
the things that that they're doing is
absolutely fantastic so yeah I'm great
to see that U Council an I was only
thinking who was on that committee so I
thought it would be appropriate that you
would be on that committee coming from
the youth Council and having a a real
passion and wanting to be involved
with young people which is great so
yeah I think youth we grants are really
important I'm pleased that we're
supporting it we're funding it and we're
committed to our next Generation here in
Lake
mcari if there's no further speakers
I'll put 24 SP 008 youth week grants
2024 moved by councilor anff second by
councilor Warner and I'll do that by
Char H all those in favour councel Aden
cancer Enclave cancer Conroy cancer
Greek cancer Bela cancer puling cancer
Bishop cancer Buckley cancer Warner
Council frer declared that
carried reports from the recommendation
committee councilor we have 24
SP 009 recommendations of the traffic
facilities and Road Safety Committee
February
2024 you're moving at Council grig
thank you counc B you're seconding
that thank you very
much no one's wishing to speak I'll put
24
sp009 recommendations of the traffic
facilities and Road Safety Committee
February 2024 moved by Council grig
second by Council Buckley and I'll do
that by sharp hands all those in favour
council ad councilor anave Council
Conroy Council GRE Council Bela Council
Pauling Council Bishop Council Buckley
Council Warner Council Fraser C that
carried inspection reports councilor we
have we have one inspection
report and I note that
Council Bishop has declared an
interest and is leaving the
chamber councils I'll open up 24 SP 10
council site inspection Charlestown 15
Princess Avenue multi dwelling housing
and strata
subdivision your wish we were out on
site last Thursday afternoon councilor
Pauling you're moving the recommendation
as
printed do I have a second Council
ancliff thank you you're wishing to
speak councilor Pauling thank you I yes
I will briefly Madame May once again
one of those tough ones but that's
why what's why we're here at the last
committee meeting I moved something very
similar if not these exact words that
said my fellow councilor thought it
best to go and have a look at the site
which we did do and there is no doubt
that the
street has some congestion issues comes
back to however the da before us once
again Street congestion is part of that
but overall on on Merit in terms of we
go back to the points that are raised at
the last me we have a a reasonable
development
application largely compliant with
strong Merit smack bang in the middle of
an R3 Zone and that's one of the key
issues here charlest is a growth Center
has been for a long time that
proximity to nodes where people can work
access transport Etc ironically without
cars is one of those key issues here if
we get this R3 right then some of the
congestion we see on some of these
streets will start to reduce because
people will have Alternatives they'll
catch a scooter they'll jp on a or
purple bike they'll get a new whatever
it might be because they won't need a
car the way they do currently because
we'll have the density of those nodes
now none of that is particularly
relevant other than from some of the
considerations of where state government
is heading and why we have R3 near
charest down we have R3 near Chown for a
reason and that is it's a noal center
and we want to support that infill
development and we've got some some
Works underway in relation to that in
relation to some of our policies I
don't think I learned anything new at
the site inspection I I was familiar
with the site beforehand and my
assessment of appropriate Merit remains
exactly as it was that's not to say that
there once again there will be
inconvenience during construction I've
got no doubt there will be some dramas
in that street once it's built however
ever I think there'll be some lovely
homes and we will deliver some lovely
dreams for some either residents move
within our city or new residents that
come to our city to help appreciate
their dreams hopefully they live nearby
hopefully they have alternative
either alternative transport or microt
transport that allows them to get to the
get allows them to get to the jobs that
they have in the Metropolis that Char
stand is becoming and right or wrong
I think Lake mccy has struggled with
that as it's transitioned from multiple
little villages to a very major economic
Powerhouse we're seeing that tension in
the heavier infill areas whether it's
Charlestown Cardiff those sorts of
areas or in the west where it's been
more sparely populated and we're
starting to get some development and
infield application sorry and we're
starting to get some Greenfield site
and tidy up of some of the old paper
subdivisions in those areas as well
that said Madame Mayor happy to support
this in full I apologize to local
residents no doubt there'll be I'm sure
we're not on any of their Christmas card
list right now I've got no doubt about
that and there there will be some pain
during construction however I would
encourage them to ensure that the plans
are put in place there will be traffic
management plans there will be
construction management plans if tradies
aren't complying then we need to look at
the enforcements activities to make sure
that they do and that's part of this
process applications come before us we
assess it on its merits and we create
conditions of consent so that the impact
on the surrounding residents and so that
the resulting product whatever that
might be is as palatable as it can be
where through that process things go off
the rails we need to help get that back
on on track and so in that regard I
would encourage residents that if the
developer takes Liberties if Tradesmen
take Liberties through this process use
every Avenue available able to them to
minimize the impact on them from day to
day thank you Madame May thank
you councilor ad yes thank you Madame
May I'm pleased to see that
councilors did have an opportunity to go
out and look at the side and realize the
complexities I'm speaking against the
proposal I mentioned before with the
different development that it's been
my experience the Das bring about
changes and improvements in
particular things such traffic and the
like a couple of questions to staff
first of all is there any plans for
affordable housing in this
development
Mr Mr
Corgan thank you through you madam Mayor
there are not plans specifically for
affordable development through this
proposal it is not part of the proposal
thank you Madame May and another
question question if a person is
building on a housing block putting up a
single dwelling what is the amount of
offroad parking that's required for that
sort of a
site Council you're talking about the
particular site the development
application or you're talking about a a
general house building Mr Corgan thank
you through you Madame Mayor two
spaces would be applicable to a single
dwelling house thank you Madame Mayor
so I I do have some concerns about
the the Topography of the street the
parking problems the fact that if
someone was building their own house on
a block of land they' need to put two
parking lots off of the street and
that's obviously not what's happening
with with these sorts of certain things
and I really do like the concept of the
Utopia where we can get from place to
place without needing to use cars and
the like but from the last statistics I
recall in terms of late mccy we tended
to be a place where people lived and
commuted to other places for their work
and that doesn't necessarily open up
the opportunities however it would be
wonderful in some of our more intense
developed areas for people to be able to
walk to the shops and to walk to
facilities the cin and the like but we
do need to remember the reality that we
live in a place where people like to
live here because it's wonderful The
environment's Fabulous we've got a
lake we've got all of these other things
but they then do need to drive some
distance to be able to get to employment
so it's it's part of the reality that
that we deal with from time to time so
I understand that many of the
boxes are ticked with this but I do have
my concerns about the safety in terms of
parking and movement around the
streets and so I will be opposing the
application Madame May thank
you councilor ancl thank you Madame
Mayor I think Pi on Council pauling's
point we we are here to make these
difficult decisions I I speak in support
of this application and was out there on
site last last week and heard the
concern
of residents I I think it's reasonable
to say the decisions we make in this
chamber are not always going to be liked
but we need to make decisions that are
in the best interest of the city and
that is not just the city of today and
it's not the city of tomorrow it's the
city of beyond that and into the
future in saying that the community
concerns are well warranted it is a
narrow Street there's no denying that
there are complexities in the topography
there is no denying that but I think you
will find that in most parts of our City
we are a fairly hilly city in terms
of my perspective here we we've set the
ground rules around what R3 can look
like that's think that we've made it a
broader decision if we question that
methodology every time that something
comes up that there is community angst
we may never build anything in this city
we need to understand that with R3
there will need to be change around some
of the expectations and that is
expectation around parking maybe we need
to come to the point as a city where we
realize that you know what you're not
going to be able to park on the street
in some places and for me I think we
need to accept that that's going to be
what it's going to be like and that's
going to be okay I think similar the
density piece has the same conversation
at the moment there is very much a
community feeling that we
want we like density except when it's
next door we need to change the
expectation as a city more broader to go
no no density is part of the future for
us and similar this immensity of Life
piece also comes into this and we've
spoken about it in other locations
around our city and not dissimilar in
moriset where there is booming growth
around maybe we need to accept that
instead of it taking 5 minutes to drive
somewhere it is going to take 15 and
that's just part of our City's growing
pressures I talk to lots of people my
age with young families as well who
can't afford to live in our city would
love to we have a beautiful city but
they can't afford to live here there
isn't the
supply I think this is a a really good
development in the sense that this is
this is what we're asking for in these
zones this is what state government
is talking about this density piece
around nodes or around central locations
we are near transport we are near shops
in theory we're near the jobs that come
with it I would also say I don't think
all our development can come from
Greenfield there seems to be this you
know we've also got this push to go we
go out go Suburbia but I think part of
this is really going no no let's utilize
the AR3 Zone let's make the R3 Zone what
we set it out to be that is going to be
difficult for some people to accept not
everyone's going to like that but as I
said for me we make decisions that are
about the future of our city and for me
this is this is a good development when
I think about it in that way thank you
madam Mayor thank you Council
inff Council Conroy I just have a
question for please Madame Mayor how
are our car parking rates for different
zones of development such as in this
case R3 set in terms of policy making
Mr
corrian Mr
anff Madame Mayor through you the
parking rates are set as part of our DCP
development control plan process they
vary dependent on the Zone in which
the development is is happening
typically zones like r3s would have a
lesser component than an R2 for example
because of their typically geographic
location to to centers where there are
more public transport options
available thank you Madame M just to
follow up if I may so just to clarify
the DCP is the docent and its
revisions are is the docent that comes
towards before Council before the
councilor and the councilors here at
this table are adopt those
rates Mr anff Madame May through you as
the DCP is modified yes it will come to
council for adoption thank you very much
Mr ancliff and thank you councilor
ancliff for also alluding to the fact
that it is actually the councilors here
at this table that shape what the R3
determinations are what the density that
we're currently
allowing is this is a very frustrating
process for a lot of the residents on
Princess Avenue this has been a
development that has been discussed for
a nber of years there were
significant issues with overshadowing
previously and those issues have now
been addressed it's really important
that as our city grows and
changes I think Council Pauling has
made this point a nber of times
tonight we're not seeking the perfect
we're seeking what's compliant we're
seeking what meets our legislative
requirements and in this case while
there is going to be a significant
inconvenience for residents in this
community this checks the boxes and
it's something that I will now be
supporting thank you Madame
Mayor thank
you councilor Pauling a write a
reply unless you'd like to speak
madam
no no I'll let you do your right of
reply Council Paul all I will say is
I'll be supporting the recommend
recommendation as printed and I
understand when we were out on site
the in from the community I
understand that and I think that a
lot of members of our community aren't
aware of the zoning where they live and
once it's an R3 zoning it's sort of
says to all of us and it's R3 zoning
indicates that there will be high
density in that area
and unfortunately some of the
residents were una aware of that that it
was R3 and this Council determined
where the R3 would go and that was one
of the streets that they said would
have R3 we're always looking to
intensify development around our town
centers Charles Town's a major Center
so therefore if we were to refuse the
application T night it it would sort of
send a signal to the council staff
that we determined to be R3 but we're
not happy with it being R3 so that's not
a decision we should be doing here we've
already made our decision that we want
it to be R3 we want to have that in
intensification around our town centers
we don't want to knock down more trees
we see our city is a sprawling City
we don't want to continue with that
we talk about infill housing so and this
is where the rubber hits the road this
is where you have to be brave and bold
and say I know the community aren't
going to be happy with our decision but
we need to make the right decision we
need make sure there's that diversity of
Housing and people can move into the
Charlestown area in other areas so thank
you Council Paul I'd let you have your
WR reply thank you madam Mayor two
two quick things in relation to this
firstly I think it's important to note
that the density of this site has
reduced through the iterations of the
the application the density has
reduced and it's that there is an
interplay affordable housing typically
means smaller more dense lots and that
that is a difficulty that we need to
deal with as well I'm confident that
the off street parking is fairly well
covered certainly from a standard point
of view we are over the the two parks
per a lot of unit in this instance
and I and I'm comfortable with that at
the moment I want to commend and
acknowledge the contributions of the
bate here councilor Conroy and councel
AD I think I think both put their points
really well but gold star goes to
councilor an enli I I felt like I
struggled with articulation a bit
tonight but I thought he nailed that
really really well I was like I wish I
had done that better in the first
instance and gone to to that level so I
think this is what council's about
dealing with complex matters weighing
the various elements and then
appropriate respectful debate and as
I said I certainly commend my fellow
councilor who don't I don't always see
I die with in relation to how this one's
been handled thank you Madame May that
said fully in support of the
recommendation as it stands and I hope
Council support the motion thank you
thank you Council ping that now has
close the
debate I'll put 24 SP 010 council site
inspection charlest toown 15 Princess
Avenue multi dwelling housing and stral
subdivision moved by councilor Pauling
second by councilor anff I do that by sh
of hands all those in favour councilor
anff Council Conroy Council Greek
Council belcha Council Pauling Council
Buckley councilor Warner Council Fraser
against Council adway declare it carried
and we'll now ask
counselor Bishop the May to return to
the
chamber councilors mattered referred
nil tender reports
nil we have one notice of motion
councilor 24 NM 00 1 review and
greater assistance to Residents impacted
by pp out
changes counc Pauling you're
moving as
printed do I have a
second councilor Greg thank you
councilor Pauling you wishing to speak
yes please Madame May Madame
Mayor this is one of those times where I
feel like I've been off my game a bit
tonight and it's because of this matter
it's it is an emotional matter and
I've got a lot of thoughts swirling
around that I'll try and articulate as
best I
can I understand how we got to where we
are in terms of the the justification
of this isn't really council's problem
it's not our fault that these places
don't have sewer all 195 of them
though I understand that 23 of them
probably could so at the end of the day
we're talking 170 odd houses here out of
80,000 dwellings or buildings within L
Cory give or take this is quite a
small nber and yet somehow we haven't
managed to get that right so I think I'm
probably cranky at other agencies
disappointed in other agencies hey why
can't we just get some sord of these
people particularly given where these
are located these are growth areas and
they people just on the fringes just
that little bit too far away or just
that little bit too much capacity and
that sort of makes me cranky and and
worked up and I understand the the staff
justification where they say hey we this
isn't our problem we've done it for a
while contract's coming to an end we
think people can probably get a better
deal maybe or a more appropriate deal
with less inter subsidization if they if
they band together and do it alone and
Rite up their own contracts which
once again I get that that makes sense
from a bureaucratic point of view the
big bit where it misses the mark though
is how we've executed this the Civic
leadership that we've shown and I think
we have massively misunderstood the
impact that this has on the residents
lives when they receive this letter that
said hey this pp at system that we've
been sort of coordinating on your behalf
lasted a
while now you're on your own
and to their credit I've spoken to quite
a nber of residents about this I I got
more calls about this than anything else
in recent memory which was surprising
and scary talking to them these are
smart articulate people this isn't like
usually most issues you get a crazy
element here and there you get the nism
and you get the
incoherent
unjustified argents that people put
forward just clutching at anything
that's not the case here these are smart
articulate people who truly don't know
what to do they've tried to do what we
told them which basically was said hey
look yeah we're going to turn off your
system Google some services near you and
ring them up and and see how you get on
we didn't lay the foundation with those
potential suppliers well or if we did
those potential suppliers have not
sorted out their internal coms very well
at all because I think that's almost
been catastrophic how that one's played
out the next bit after that is I
think people feel a drift and astray
because they've tried to do what we told
them to do and it hasn't been successful
yet the Silver Lining here if anything
is that we've still got a few months to
pull it together and like this motion is
not particularly strong like this is hey
look it shines a light on it says Hey
Council you need to do better certainly
if we can't do that in a couple of weeks
time whether it's you know six weeks
eight weeks time whatever that is if
we're not getting on top of
this very clearly I commit I'm going to
try and double down on this I suspect
we'll probably have some fights about
jurisdictional influence and operation
versus policy and whatnot but I put
everyone on notice if we don't get this
sorted and if we don't get this sorted
soon it's on and I think this time
rather than being on my own I reckon
I've got a heap of councilor in my
corner with me because we're all
embarrassed we are deeply sorry for how
this has played out and we express like
for what I can for for myself and for
the part that I play in in you know
stewardship of the city I apologize for
how this has played out when this was
first presented it made perfect sense
hey look contracts come to an end we're
going to tell people about that they're
be to strike better deals they probably
get you it'll probably come out okay for
them hey look I got that I didn't
question it at the time that seems quite
reasonable and I accepted it somewhere
between that and where we are now and
and this this evening's Public Access is
an enormous gaping hole
about Community
stewardship about collabor ation
consultation and assistance to our
community and they're things that we've
always pride ourselves on and that's why
I think this what this one's rattled me
so much I probably haven't said half
the things I'd like to other than I
sorry how it's played out as a city for
what it's worth myself and fellow
councilor are committed to sorting this
out as best we can prices are probably
going to go up we can't control that we
cannot do this more cheaply than what
someone will do it for that said we are
nowwhere near the optimal solution yet
and we have time to get this right and I
would encourage us to do that thank you
Madame May thank you Council
Pauling councilor Buckley thank you
Madame Mayor look I have a couple of
questions to ask of Staff through you
one is when I'd like to know when the
letters were sent out because my
understanding I think our understanding
as councilor what was that the letters
went out 2 months ago I might be
incorrect there
excuse me I'm sorry we I I know
some of you obviously are here in
relation to the pp out but I need to
hear from the councilors and I will ask
the gallery to be quiet I understand but
we just want to get some facts here
please bed Council Buckley so I'm
just wondering when the letters did go
out yes and I'm also wanting to know
what communication there was between
Council and the hunter water ramondus
and the other businesses that could
provide the
service I would have I would have
assed that there would have been some
sort of indication to those businesses
that we were going to be looking at
this service and and ceasing this
service and giving them a heads up and
maybe discussing with them what support
and you know what services they might be
able to provide all right I'll just
thank you miss
Cameron M Mr
pton through you Madame Mayor thank
you so we certainly did a lot of work in
the preparation to separate from it we
did do call calls to providers that we
thought could provide the service and we
were given appropriate answers to
suggest there was an opportunity for
them to provide the service the
correspond itself went out about 3 weeks
ago which you know some residents may
have liked longer but that that is the
time that we've we've sent it out we
have had contact with Huna water
Corporation at nerous times during the
you know the last 20 years with our
interest to provide enhance that
that infrastructure the the sewer
infrastructure and we are aware
certainly with the current provider
being raas that they were interested in
continuing to engage in this type of
business moving forward so we were
comfortable that there was opportunities
for the private private sector to
actually engage with the community and
establish a a sound
contract can I just ask some further
questions or just interrogate that a
little bit you said you've been in
touch with Hunter water for the last
20 years but has there been have they
been advised that this our situation was
changing recently so that they were
aware that they would probably be
getting calls regarding this
issue the other the other thing is
that you said you'd made some or
Council had made some cold calls to
other
services was there any opportunity to
engage with them to see you know maybe
find out who could provide the service
at a reasonable cost and maybe pass that
information on to residents
I to me it just seems like they
possibly could have been a bit more
rigor in the way this has been you
know handled I'll ask this question Mr
pton through you madam Mayor
certainly the contact with with Hunter
water Corporation has continued they
will seek our advice on areas that could
benefit from the expansion of their
system so that would be the contact that
we typically have majority of the
properties in this case with a ppout
may not have immediate access to the
infrastructure as a you know let's just
sign up there's approximately 23 of
those 195 properties that do have Hunter
water availability at the moment
the opportunities and costs certainly
when we did make contact with the
different providers they gave what was a
reasonable and you know indicative price
that was similar to the price that that
would be costing Council to provide that
service and as recently as earlier this
evening we have been we're aware that
there is a provider lots of the
community may not know this yet but
there is a provider that is actively
ready to provide quotes and they again
I'll reiterate they are close to the the
the the value of the service that we're
previously providing and I only just
became aware of that this evening
certainly in terms of communication s
we do have a meeting lined up with
Hunter water Corporation to again bring
that conversation up to the table to
work out what opportunities we can
you know ask for on top of those 23
properties to see if there is more
opportunity to expand and amplify that
system thank you Council Buckley yeah
thank
you councilor add the FL yes thank
you Madame Mayor I think
on on this occasion it's possible
that councilor Pauling has got himself
wrong I believe he's been very
articulate and I think that he's
actually on his game tonight so so I
think that that's a a rare compliment to
pass across Council Pauling but but
well deserved
the situation we are in is a
difficult situation it's a complex
situation that most people in the city
do not understand
most people in the city when they flush
the toilet that's where it goes into hun
water into treatment plants a large part
of our
city has only the the facilities of
transpiration onsite treatment or pp
out and most people don't understand how
that works this particular problem is
affecting pp out it's not affecting
transpiration it's not affecting onsite
treatment but but the people who have
pp out have a very important vital
need for this to work
properly it seems as if the situation
we've got ourself into is one where
there was an attempt to rationalize
things to make things a little bit
easier for everyone and to actually
introduce Choice as opposed to a blanket
contract and I know that some of the
people in my community have told me over
the years they would like to be able to
employ their own ppout agency perhaps
not trusting the the way in which
Council does bulk things but we are in a
situation where through a lack of
communication through a lack of
consultation and I think from what we've
said tonight a lack of community care
for those people who just less than 200
are going to be dealing with a very
difficult
situation we need to make sure that in
the time that we have we need to make
sure that people are aware of where they
can go we need to make sure that those
companies are aware that people are
going to be knocking on their
door we need to make sure that there is
going to be a backup way of dealing with
this so that whenever this is resolved
and I hope like Council Pauling it's
resolved in the near future and if not I
think there'll be a nber of people
sitting around these tables that will be
expecting something to help out we as a
city collectively look after each other
we collectively look after each other by
paying our rates and we expect that in
the city there are going to be
facilities provided for people many of
these areas do not have a lot of the
shiny flash things that people can go to
they drive to them or whatever know
there there's usually no swimming pools
probably not libraries maybe not even
great parks around but collectively we
build those in the city so that everyone
can get to them and if you don't use the
pool at Belmont baths then we all chip
in so that there is a pool at Belmont
bars I think if push comes to shove we
need to look at that Collective
responsibility in terms of ensuring that
the people who are being impacted by
this ppout situation are protected are
looked after and are cared for I feel
that there is enough Collective
responsibility and will around this room
to resolve this problem but we do need
to go back to those three C's
communication consultation and Community
Care for us to resolve this problem in
the very near
future thank
you Council bang thank you Madame Mayor
yes I'm speaking in favour of this
this
motion I guess there's some kind of
rhetorical questions that I have more
than anything which is you know what
happened to our communication to
potential suppliers in this scenario
like
how do we get a scenario where a resid
is ringing up and he's quoted you know
$50,000 for their pp out like just the
anxiety that that is creating must be
absolutely
horrendous now as Council Adam White has
said and and and Council Pauling has
spoken to this as well there is it that
Collective responsibility yeah this is a
very small nber of residents but we
are a city that doesn't leave people
behind and this is what it feels like
today it feels like we left people
behind now the problem with this is and
the thing that's I'm most frustrated
about is that this Council has done this
stuff before into really well we've done
this really well the green bin scenario
there's a lot of community ex the Comm
you know the the communication was out
there we informed residents you know
very early in the pce Ste them through
the process and it's been a phenomenal
success as a takeup that this could have
been that but it wasn't so it's a huge
mised opport
to once again show how well this
Council can do community consultation
and the other problem with this is you
can't get the toothpaste back in the
tube now you know there the anxiety's
already out there the mistrust the
apprehension towards this Council over
this item is already out there and it's
going to take a fair amount of leg work
and pushing from this Council to help
them get get that reputation and
that trust back so like other councils I
certainly hope this is corrected did
very quickly and an appropriate result
is is is is found out so thank you
Madame May and thank you Council Pauling
for raising this
issue thank you Council beler and
I'll speak before I go back to council
Pauling because you'll close the
debate question oh well I'll speak and
then I'll I'll lead into you
councilors I've also received emails
and listening to the public for
tonight and yes I think I think we're
all pretty disappointed
we do care about our community we
need to get things right we need to
communicate really well we have to
remember that we are we administrate
this pp out system it really is the
responsibility of Hunter water in the
state government so they haven't come to
the table which is really
disappointing the residents who are
out there that do have the pp out
changes are left with nowhere to go
virtually at this stage that's how
they're feeling I don't think that's the
case I hope it's not the case and I hope
that tonight listening to staff
I'm sure we can resolve this issue I'm
sure we can go out and talk to the
community talk to the companies who are
going to provide this very vital
service and I'd like to say that
one-on-one consultation with the
community because we do care about our
community we want to make sure that
they're not anxious they're not nervous
they're not concerned cuz that's not
what we want our community to be yes we
need to you know have
this finalized have these pp out
changes moved on to another provider
it's not the role of council to provide
this but we have been doing it so we
virtually signed an agreement with the
community to say we will deliver this
service and now if we're going to change
that we need to have a new contract with
the community we need to say the
community yes we know there's going to
be challenges but we're going to try and
solve most of those challenges we're
going to talk to you one onone we're
going to make sure that there's a
provider for you out there that will
service your needs you may have to pay a
little bit
more I you know I don't know what that
will be but it won't be anywhere near
the amounts we heard heard tonight or
this afternoon at public foryeah I
think we've dropped the ball I'm also
sorry for the community have to go
through this experience that but I know
the staff are very committed very
dedicated and I know what they will do
will be the right thing by the
community so I just want to reassure the
the public that we will be out there
talking to each and every one of you and
trying to resolve those issues for you
it may not be 100% but it may be very
close so I want to commend Council
Pauling for bringing this to us I'm so
pleased that he's involved so much in
the community at West Ward he's getting
so much so many Medias so many people
contacting you you're a person who takes
up issues and you're very passionate
about issues so I want to congratulate
you for bringing this forward you can
see you have the collective support of
the councilor because this Council
cares about our community and we want to
get things right here we do things
really really well and so we can do this
well as well we have the opportunity so
over to you councilor Paulie for a right
of
reply Madam May before getting to that a
a question to staff if I could I I
thought and through yourself so I
thought I heard that there is now a
commitment from at least one provider to
provide similar services at similar cost
to what council had provided previously
can I just get confirmation that that is
the case yeah Mr
Porton through you Madame Mayor H that's
correct just recently tonight they
provided that there's a price that is
around what we are expecting a a
commercial provider to be able to
provide the the residents for a service
similar to what they've been getting
from us with the options of you know
nuancing it depending on the needs of
the actual residential block okay
thank you Madame may just a follow-up
question without betraying commercial
confidence is that bench being bench
marked against
council's previous rate notice charges
or the potential requoted charges that
have been muted from various suppliers
and I think Council point that may
change too depending on how many pp
outs people actually get some may get it
weekly some may get it fortnightly Mr
pton through you Madame Mayor it's it's
comparative to what the cost of the
service for Council currently is okay
thank you which through you Madame Mayor
my understanding is partial
subsidized at least in part relative to
the current rate notice
charges is that fair statement Mr pton
through you Madame Mayor that's correct
okay cool all right thank you so one
last just to get this super super clear
questions to staff through you may
can the record show that A supplier can
and has indicated they will service
similar level and similar cost to that
currently experienced orbe it with
potential increases and nuanced for
for the 195 impacted residents of our
city I think it was a phone call or
conversation so I'll go to the CEO I
this is the the conversation or I'm not
sure whether it was a email or a
conversation from staff and I'm not
sure if that'll be a commitment that's
made but miss Cameron the CEO I'll
get her to clarify that thank you m Mr
pilton can perhaps add value I just
would caution councilors about
requesting that that go on record right
now as part of the ccil meeting given
the advice was a telephone call late
this afternoon and staff have obviously
been working in the background since
receiving the notice of motion however
we will be able to clarify all of that
and provide it to you in more
definitive terms as part of this process
I just would feel very uncomfortable
putting on record in an open meeting
something that occurred in a telephone
call earlier on this afternoon so I I
would caution against staff saying that
yes we're putting that on record at this
point in time all good miss Cameron now
thank you Madame May if there's no
other speakers I will exercise right
reply and I realized that question
was to put well put Council on the spot
to some degree but this is an
important we we're looking for
reassurance here councilor are looking
for
reassurance I'm Tad more optimistic than
I was you know an hour two hours ago
I hope that those that are here with us
those watching via link or those that
are affected and don't even know about
this issue yet you know potentially if
they're like me they haven't opened the
letter yet they still don't know the
problem that faces them I'm optimistic
that we can solve this in a reasonable
way in a reasonable time and I
implore Council Council staff
executive to do whatever they can to a
Solve IT B communicate it as quickly as
we can because as I said
I'm deeply rattled by this one I know
other councilor are also deeply rattled
by how this has played out and I feel
I've got sewer like I I've got sewer but
how wrong this can go if we can't get a
suitable service at a suitable cost this
goes really bad of those 195 all it
takes is one person to go stuff it I'm
not doing it and I don't know where that
ends whether that's you know disease
environmental impact yeah we can find
someone once again we go and hit someone
with a big stick that's not the point
here we are a caring Council we like to
support our community
as I said I implore everyone to get
this right as quick as we can I'm
cautiously optimistic that this
evening's debate has highlighted how
important this is and I've got no doubt
that it will get the emphas certain
needs equally if it can't be resolved
well and quickly I think councilor need
to know and hence the the memo in that
if there's a problem here please let us
know in advance so that we can do
whatever it takes whether that's some of
the potential mechanisms alluded to by
councel Adam or whatever it may be
because we need to get on top of this
really really quickly thank you Madame
Mayor thank you Council Paul you now
close the debate I'll put 24 NM 001
review and greater assistance to
Residents impacted by pp out CH
changes moved by councilor Pauling
second by councilor gri I'll put that by
sharp hands all those in favour councel
adamw councilor ank Council Conroy
Council grig Council Bela Council
Pauling Council Bishop Council Bley
Council Warner Council Fri declared that
carried recision motions nil any
petitions
councilor no
petitions business without notice miss
Cameron no bus without notice I'll
declare the meeting closed thank you
your attendance and I'll ask members of
the gallery to leave the chambers the
doors will be locked fairly soon so
thank you very much everyone for your
attendance