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00:00:00 Mayor Stewart: Good morning everyone. I declare this special meeting on Wednesday 1st of December 2021 open. I'd like to acknowledge that we're meeting on the traditional lands of the Kabi Kabi people and I pay my respects to the elders past, present and emerging. I note that everyone is in attendance. Today's special meeting is to consider two items. The first one we have to consider is the contract number T000059, Noosaville Landfill, to sell expansion and sell 1.1 capping tender award. We have our project manager Cody Johnston and Kyrone Dodd from Waste and Environmental Health Manager here for this report. Would either of you both be like to give us a quick summary, gentlemen? Speaker 5: Sure. So the report is regarding to tender award. This is in regards to the expansion of cells 1.1 and 2.2 along with the capping works
00:01:00 of final capping works in cell 1.1 and the construction of a southern stormwater drain in Hedges Basin. We ask and council to award the works to Hazel Bros Queensland, PGLD for the contract number T000059, Noosaville Landfill, Cr Karen Finzel, Cr Karen Stockwell, Cr Karen 6,536,352, also to make an allowance for a maximum contract sum of up to 6,971,657 to include provisional items as part of the contract. As part of this, we're also asking for the overall project budget to be increased to the total value of 8,950,000, excluding GSB.
00:02:00 The overall summary of the project is essentially the expansion of the works to allow the cell to continue operations. Currently, Cell 2.2 is approaching its interim capacity limits around June 2022. This works will allow operations to continue and then to continue over throughout the whole landfill, essentially allowing for continued operations for another 10 years. Look forward to questions. Councillor Jurisevic: Thanks, Cody. I notice in the in the report I notice in the report the tender is for 6,536,000 with a maximum of 6.971 mil. Yet the construction costs on page six indicate two two components four million and sixty five thousand three million eight hundred fifteen thousand which total seven million eight hundred ninety thousand those two totals don't correspond
00:03:00 can you uh give an indication of where the uh approximately one to one point four million dollars of difference in those two uh two values this one so the table and reference for construction Speaker 5: is inclusive of early works demolition and on costs so additional items of work which are outside of the current tender works the current tender works is for the primary construction whereas that line item included on the construction is also inclusive of all other construction works Mayor Stewart: we are in a special meeting so a formal process i would remind all councillors and staff to stand Councillor Jurisevic: up when you're talking thank you thank you and the other the other question i have is um i noted the report that cell 2.2 was commissioned in 2016. what was the anticipated life cycle of the cell when it was commissioned and i i you've just reiterated the second part of the question that
00:04:00 is what is the expected life extension of the life of the cell with this expansion Speaker 2: so i think prior to this cell works 2015 was conducted on the sunny coast expansion works and the information that we have on the what we can take out of those Councillor Jurisevic: i look at the back wall there this council came to be in 2014. i'm not understanding the uh the original works and the original estimates were done in 2013 by the sunshine coast council but for us to commission in 2016 we must have had some uh some idea of the the information around the works to be conducted the costs and uh and the detail of those works and should have had some idea of the uh the expected logic of that uh that expected that
00:05:00 Speaker 2: expanded work should we bring up i'd agree but we don't have that information on us Speaker 6: further to joe's question um council maintains a corporate risk register which includes operational risk and strategic risk um was this project budget risk not identified um through this process and was it not assessed and managed and maybe um perhaps a question to the ceo Mayor Stewart: carrie would you like to the director the director if you'd like to come up Speaker 8: thank you for your question this project was conceived i guess as a concept um and the concept originally was around the way that the landfill was originally planned
00:06:00 which was planned i guess somewhat in off in isolated components um one when we took a review of that particular i came on board and we looked at needing to maximize the lifespan of the landfill we really need to get the maximum life that we can out of that so the indicative budget that was proposed some years ago was based around a different concept and now what we're looking at is how we can actually get the most life out of that landfill and so that's why this additional expansion area plus a whole range of additional works that are required to support that that weren't in the original scope so water and drainage a haulage route etc are now part of that project so it's it's while it's similar in nature in terms of it's producing a whole place rubbish in it's quite a different um scale of project which gives us greater capacity
00:07:00 Councillor Jurisevic: on that landfill as well so just further on that haulage route um the need for this haulage route is because the current haulage route goes from the opposite direction it comes over the top of the landfill as it currently stands so this would uh i'm assuming would defeat the need for um coaching overland that will otherwise get capped and the like and allow better access to the uh to the Speaker 8: cells that are going to be created is that correct this is certainly providing a much longer haulage route a very different one cody can talk to you about the specifics of that so Speaker 5: your answer joe is correct so essentially it's formalizing the route which essentially would be required in the future to stop trucks traversing over the landfill itself and overworks as it's in operation so it's a formalized of a tour route which will be eventually add connectivity around Mayor Stewart: the whole site so it ties into the whole master plan of the layout there's that great line if you
00:08:00 do what you always do you get what you've always got if we don't do this and we don't put the money now into the expansion and really from i guess changing as i've said from building a house to now building a resort and what is the what does that mean for our community if we don't take this next Speaker 8: step and we don't take this next leap if we don't undertake work now getting that it's it's good data if we don't undertake the works now we will based on we've had about a 20 increase of material going into landfill over the past 18 months so we're using up landfill space at a much greater capacity than we were so therefore based on those calculations if we don't take the action now we will run out of landfill space in approximately june next year if we
00:09:00 undertake a a smaller project we're not going to achieve the cost efficiencies and we're going to reduce the overall lifespan of the land Councillor Jurisevic: thank you so given that um that the 10 to 15 year time period that's been proposed as the expected lifespan of this expansion that's based on current landfill usage or current access across the weight bridge from stuff coming in given that we've got a waste policy going forward and waste reduction measures to come into place um are we anticipating that through a better strategic methodology that the uh 10 to 15 year lifespan could be expanded beyond that with greater diversion methods in place Speaker 2: yeah i think that would be a major part of the strategy you know one of our key metrics is
00:10:00 diversion from landfill and one of our key measures is that exact target so the better or um better processes that we have and improvements to that by technology or general improvement practices will will extend extend that life and that should be key and what uh i guess joining the comsec is part of that that um that brief going forward the targets and direction that they have is pretty similar to what we've obtained and given the uh the data that you've been gathering kyron with regard Councillor Jurisevic: to what's going into our landfill um what are the uh what are the likely uh diversion methods what are the things that are coming in that we think uh uh shortening the life of cell 2.2 as it is and necessitating uh this expansion earlier than i would have anticipated um i think the you know in Speaker 2: general it's the it's the the typical material that comes over a weight bridge
00:11:00 the residual material ideally you would want you would want would not want to put into a landfill and put into some sort of thermal treatment um those technologies are quite a way down the track so we have to have something like this as a fallback until those technologies become available Speaker 6: um i still go back to my original question the revised project budget of 8 950 million dollars is 684 000 higher than the original budget um go back to corporate risk register my issue is how do we stop this from reoccurring um what what's the lessons learned here do we need to deep dive or go in or do do we undertake audits um into operations or capital programs um
00:12:00 i'm just you know there's a red flag why wasn't this picked up a year ago Speaker 8: um the answer to your question is it was picked up um and that's why we're at where we're at now um that the review that we undertook was that our planning wasn't mature enough for what is required in terms of the management of a sophisticated landfill site and so in identifying that there was that kind of lack of maturity in our master plan that we had in terms of the management of a planning of the site has necessitated a redesign and a much more sophisticated engineering to be able to get the maximum use out of that site to go to the greater question about how can we stop that in the future it is this maturity of planning and design to not look at things in isolation
00:13:00 but to look at overall sites and to really looking when we talk about long-term planning that in a space like this we're not talking about the next five or ten years we're talking about a 50-year plan and um that for many of our sites that's what we need to start talking about you know we often you know we might have an overall site and we think about you know that 500 square meters or that 400 square meters we need to be looking at the whole site and that's why master plans were so critical and we've been working with a range of our large pieces of land to develop master Speaker 7: plans for the future just on the back of that i just have a question uh on the report it says that the waste specialist consultant A.C. Williams was engaged to lay out the site when it was recognized by council post their having to look at something broader than their usual method of planning since the site's establishment in order to like deal with the landfill's limited space when did they use the management of that?
00:14:00 We're going to get called in to have a look at this master plan, landfill master plan, which was also part of the Noosaville landfill project, thank you. Speaker 5: So tying in with Kerry's previous mention, the master plan was developed in conjunction with ATC Williams back in 2019, I believe it might have been late 2019, it was during that planning process that the master plan was engaged and then also led on to the design process. So it would have been during that process we've brought in that mature planning for a master plan, which then led into design and then we're into core construction currently. Thank you. Speaker 1: The rate payers are paying for this, and it's the rate payers' waste that's going
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00:15:00 into this. So what I'm hearing is that if the rate payers don't want to pay the sort of money going into the future, it's a matter of limiting the waste that's actually going into the TIC. So we've conferred off here, I'd love to just put in the order, oh, yeah, question, is that accurate, that really it's weight payers' money, weight payers' rubbish, way to reduce the payments in the future is to reduce the rubbish now? Speaker 2: Yeah. I think, Tom, the strategy should reflect that, and once again, it's about targeting smarter ways to reduce waste into landfill, whether that's by reducing waste at source, at where it's generated within the public, or smarter ways to deal with it. Both Australians should deal with all aspects of that. Thank you. Councillor Wharton. Councillor Wilkie: Question. Yeah, thank you, Madam Mayor. A large part of this project is the capping of the existing cell 1.3.
00:16:00 Can you tell us how large that site is, and also the amount of clay that you're going to have to import to the site, because if I've understood correctly, there's not sufficient clay on the site to do the job, so the size of the cell point 1.1, that has to be capped, and also the volume of clay that has to come in, please. Speaker 5: In terms of the size and the area we're doing, I don't have the numbers in front of me. So I can't speak of. However, there is a visual image on page 5 of the report, and the capping is shown on the northwestern side of the landfill. So as an example of the size of the work which is happening. The original, as mentioned, the original concept scoping of the works, traditional capping is done with clay. However, during the design process, we identified that the site, the sites of the site were
00:17:00 available, clay available on site was low and high risk. So part of the additional cost is a redesign which we had to do to create an alternative crapper, alternative capping, engineered capping layer, which is less dependent on clay. So essentially the clay capping which we've done is engineered that it needs less to no clay. We can use the general fill of the onsite material. The clay requirements for the landfill is focused on the cell, and our current geotech reports show that the clay material should be available for that size of work we're doing. And we've also wrote into the contract that the contractor doing the works is to source the clay material and also to have secondary suppliers who have made the contractor aware of the critical nature of that material. And we've tried to reduce the amount of material we need through specialised engineering.
00:18:00 Councillor Wilkie: Another question if I may. The report clearly states that the existing cell reaches capacity by June 2022. We're in a current climate where works by contractors are blowing out for a variety of reasons. We're also looking at a very wet season. What guarantees have we written, built into this contract, that will ensure that this work is done in time? How do you manage those risks? Speaker 5: So we've written into the contractor with the, written into the tender documents with the contractor and the contractor itself, a, call it a allowance that we're going to make for wet weather. So council has mandated an allowance of wet weather to be made as part of the programme. Typically, it's allowed for the contractor to do this, the weather was mandated an allowance
00:19:00 to be made. On top of that, the contractor themselves have come in with a accelerated programme, which will allow work to be completed within a comfortable timeframe for the works of our milestone date. And then on top of that as well, our operational team has made provisions and requirements and also made contingencies for if construction works were to blow out, that the landfill operations can continue. They have made an allowance operationally as well, so we can support the contract if required. Councillor Wilkie: And I just wasn't quite sure what the meaning of the term is, allowance mandated for wet weather. What does that mean? Can they work, are they working through wet weather? Or you've scheduled this, you've estimated a certain amount of days between now and the end of the project when wet weather is likely to occur? Just clarifying. Speaker 5: Clarification for what we've done is we've specified certain, a specific number of days
00:20:00 which must be allowed within a month period. So month of the year, council document will, council notes average typical wet weather delays we get through previous work over the years, and we'll pass it on to the contractor so they're informed of our current climate or our area where we're doing the work. Okay. So for example, of the month of February, the contractor must make an allowance of X number of days. Then for March, they must make an allowance of X number of days. Councillor Wilkie: And that takes into account that we're allowed in here? Weather pattern? Speaker 5: I couldn't speak on the specific, how reflective or how it changes for La Nina. That's all right, isn't it? La Nina. La Nina. Sorry. My pronunciation. No, we base it on a typical yearly allowance, which we, from my experience, is suitable, could go either way. But at the same time, the contract is accelerated, shorter timeframe.
00:21:00 I believe we also still have capacity in there for additional wet weather days if we need them. Councillor Jurisevic: Got to follow on from that. What is the expected milestone of completion of this when we, and I'm following up from the council, we're kind of the same. When our intended or expected end of life as it currently stands is July. Speaker 5: So as mentioned, we've put forward the milestone date of this by the end of June, and the contractors come forward that they can complete the works essentially, I believe, from memory. Actually, I don't have those dates at hand. But I can say it is before the deadline. The date of which we've specified a critical milestone work might be completed by the end of May. Lovely. Thank you. Councillor Wilkie: And the other thing that's, forgive me if it's in the report, but the costs were mitigated by the decision to defer some other works designated as part of the Waste and
00:22:00 Other Sites Strategic Plan. Could you outline what those works are, please? Speaker 8: Thanks, Councillor Lougheed. Yes. So in looking at the overall program going ahead, what the team have done is they've delayed some of the works that are going to occur in the resource recovery area. So that will push off into future years, which brings, allows that capital amount to be freed up to help fund these works. Okay. Councillor Wilkie: One more question, if I may. Financial capability was weighted at 5%. And we've seen with, in the past, we've learned that the capacity for a contractor to pay its staff and contractors is very important. Could you explain the sort of due diligence that was done to ensure that the chosen contractor has the capacity to pay?
00:23:00 Speaker 5: So as part of the tender process, Council engages a independent contractor. And the financial check of all suppliers, all tenders. So the capacity to, essentially to service the contract and also the stability of the company is reviewed by independent, through a financial check. And through that review, Hazel Brothers were noted as being capable of completing the work. So their financial risk was rated lower. Well, their financial capability is rated higher. So they are now essentially enabled to complete this work. Thank you. Council answer? Speaker 6: The report notes that the shortfall of $3,680,000,000 is to be funded through the QTC Annual Loan Borrowing Program. Can you provide some detail? And also, can you explain what this means to our residents in terms of rates?
00:24:00 Are they eligible? Are they expected to incur any rate increase? Speaker 8: Without the Director of Corporate Services here, I can't speak to the specific detail. Only that internally, the approach has determined that it is best financially for Council and the rate payer to fund these works through loans, particularly given the very low interest rate for loaning that type of money at the moment. Thank you. If specific details are required, we can take that on notice and ask the Director of Corporate Services to provide that. Speaker 6: Thank you. Speaker 7: Councilor, please. Through the Chair, given ATC Williams was engaged because there was a need for a data-driven approach, what information from that report led to the decision to delay the decision
00:25:00 for the resource recovery area to be completed? And why was that decision put on hold while this procedure was brought? Mayor Stewart: Just to confirm, the report, the financials started in 2019. You're wondering why it didn't start then to now? Speaker 7: No, I'm wondering what ... Because we had to engage ATC Williams, and the reason given in the report is the need for a data-driven approach to inform the decision-making, what out of that data-driven approach spoke to the decision to ... The waste recovery portion of our waste management. Speaker 5: I would probably put forward saying that particular question is a bit more of a strategic alignment of the whole landfill in typical or in total. I'd like to say we'll take that question on notice and we can look into the report and how it reflects the resource recovery
00:26:00 part or the IRA part and how that ties in strategically with the full landfill master plan. And at this point I'll just say for the purpose of this report we're focusing on the award of the tender works for the construction of the captain and the cell expansion. So it is a good question but it more aligns with the strategic nature of the works which we can discuss a little Speaker 8: later today. Sure I can just add a little bit to that. You know critical to the discussion we've been having are around diversion and how to reduce contamination rates in our recovery and increase diversion. So part of that is around the strategy and you know that is that part of the site is functioning at the moment and it can wait while we go through the strategic piece of work to see what is the best approach for that long term to achieve our overall targets. Particularly
00:27:00 for example if we were to look at a technological solution that might change the approach. Speaker 7: Thank you. Just given on that then, given this is a lot of money and we've talked about in the report that it's going to be through a loan and other measures, at any point during this consultation period or the start of this work in 2019 have we had any feedback from the community around what they think about these decisions given our emergency climate response? And what have they said back to us regarding this decision or this what has mattered before us today? Speaker 8: So approximately six years ago we undertook a wide range of consultation and indeed ran a community jury process around waste and the you know the strong sentiment that came from the community then was around diverting as much and was very focused
00:28:00 on recycling, reuse, minimising waste to landfill and the associated concerns regarding things like emissions from the landfill. So that has certainly informed for example our community education strategy and behavioural change strategy. As we now roll into the next piece which is an overall waste strategy there will be a full community engagement program with that to do things, to check the information that we gathered through those earlier community engagement processes. Does that still hold true? And also to help inform future particularly behavioural change and potentially changes to the way that we conduct Councillor Jurisevic: our waste business. And I would assume that that waste strategy going forward would also be the measure by which we'll best determine what to do with those resources?
00:29:00 And how best to manage that resource recovery in the future, is that correct? Speaker 7: That's great. Speaker 8: I was going to say there's no further questions but there is. Speaker 6: Are old landfills viewed as appreciating assets and do we intend to repurpose or redevelop our old landfill sites into for instance what they're doing in other states, solar farms and storage facilities? Speaker 2: Yeah I think that would be a consideration. Obviously from a solar farm it needs to be fully capped before you put a solar farm on top. But the consideration would definitely be part of the strategy in terms of what generation can be utilised on the asset at some point. Speaker 6: And just a question just following on to that. Other waste options, what's happening with our BOGO bins? The Federal Government, I thought, wanted to roll these all out by 2023. Where are we up to with BOGO bins?
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00:30:00 Speaker 8: So, Councillor Lorentson, that will be very much part of our waste strategy to actually look at BOGO. It's an idea that's popular but there's a lot of complexity around, for example, contamination of the end product. So absolutely that will form part of the waste strategy in terms of both the consultation phase and then the outcome of the waste strategy. And then the action document at the end to see whether that speaks to the engine. Mayor Stewart: Any further questions? Councillor Wilkie: I'll move it Madam Chair. Mayor Stewart: I'll take it. Research Council Wilkie. Councillor Wilkie: Thank you. Look I'd like to compliment staff for starting this Landfill Master Plan process back in 2019, initiating it then, and taking a more holistic approach to maximising responsible use of the limited land we have available at this landfill. This reflects the true cost of waste management. And we're not doing as well as we would like to think we could do here in Noosa Shire.
00:31:00 It is an expensive project, but that reflects the true cost of managing waste and it's something we have to address through the waste management strategy. There is a lot of elements to this project. There's the expansion of two cells, design and construction of cell 1.1 expansion, design and construction of cell 2.2 expansion, a perimeter haul road, design and construction of clean water and dirty basin, dirty water basin drains, very environmentally responsible necessity. The other elements are going to be addressed through the waste management strategy. We are choosing to cover this cost through increasing our borrowings. It's a very good time to borrow. We have, this Council has a huge capacity to pay our loans and draw down on loans. And as we see, it's the work that needs to be done, but the waste management strategy is where the
00:32:00 real hard work has to be done and where this community is going to have to face some hard times. Thank you for giving us your support. Thank you, Councillor Wilkie. Councillor Jurisevic: Yes, Councillor Stritch. Yeah, look, one of those things that needs to be done and to get better land utilisation out of our landfill space is crucial and critical to our practices. At the moment, the additional waste coming in from various sources, but as consumers, we've got to learn that consumerism has cost and consumerism is the reason that we need landfills. And landfills are not the way of the future, as we've alluded to around the table. There was some waste strategy going forward and some serious questions to be asked in the community going forward so that we don't continue to try to see this as the solution of the future. Inevitably, landfill is a, will hopefully not be the place where all of our waste ends up. But for the moment, until we've got a waste strategy going forward, until we've got support from the state government with the
00:33:00 management of waste, and I'm glad to see the federal government coming on board with elements of it as well, that this is a necessary evil. And unfortunately, one of those things we have to undertake, but I think better planning, better design and better structure will ensure that this gets the maximum life out of the limited space that we have. So thank you all for your work. Thank you, Councillor Svigg. Would anyone else like to speak to this recommendation? Speaker 6: Just quickly, we've declared a climate emergency. I think this is an emergency also, waste. And I think the two actually work hand in hand and an opportunity for us. Landfills are the largest producers of methane emissions and there's opportunity there for us to reach our reduction emissions by looking at how we're going to reduce our emissions by reducing our emissions by looking at redeveloping, repurposing landfill sites. So yeah, I'm excited at what we can do in this space and how we can seek to achieve our net zero emissions 2026.
00:34:00 Thank you, Councillor Svigg. Councillor Stockwell. Deputy Mayor Stockwell: Yeah. $9 million is a shocking figure to look after waste from our community and our neighbouring communities. $9 million is a significant figure to look after waste from our community and our neighbouring communities. $9 million is what it's costing us because our consumer behaviour has meant that we are vastly increasing the amount of garbage that we generate per person. I hope the community is really shocked that it's costing $9 million for their excesses. There's another way to look at it. $9 million is enough to pay for 100 waste education offices. Or alternatively, if we took 1% of the waste from our community, that would be $9 million. If we took 1% off this, we could have one more waste education officer who would maybe reduce by 2% the amount of waste being generated per person and we'd have a great cost-benefit analysis.
00:35:00 So when we come next year to the budget councils, remember this figure of $9 million and say, where is the most strategic way to invest in resource recovery? So while our recycling rate is improving, my understanding is our waste generation is increasing at a faster rate. It's a negative sum game. And while we can plan very well, because our planning scheme is based on restricting a population to the natural carrying capacity, we can't stop people driving over from the vast growth that's occurring across the other side of the Indian Mountain Road. And so we have to think about that as well in our budget. We have to think about the service we're providing for our people who don't pay rates or living. And what that means to recoup costs for this $9 million, because it's a substantial sum. And we've had the question about impact on rate
00:36:00 payers, and I've asked informally those questions. And basically, while this is more than we put in for a smaller project, it's unlikely to significantly impact on the rateable charge for property into the future by using borrowings, and by doing it in a way that while we're spending more upfront to get a longer term solution, we're not blowing out the cost of delivering that service. But the underlying message for me is 9 million reasons to check before you throw something away. Speaker 8: Thank you, Councillor Stockwell. Councillor Wegener. Councillor Wegener. Speaker 7: Councillor Wegener. Councillor Wegener. Councillor Wegener. Councillor Wegener. 9 million reasons as to why we need to make some really good planning decisions. And we do need waste strategy programs and process to inform our decision making. I would much prefer today to have the information before me to make a decision on
00:37:00 the expenditure going out to say that we could be today have the decision to put the money into moving forward to reach our targets. However, the decision here is before us today because what preceded me is not in my control. I can only look at where we are now and how we project forward. My reservation is how we've arrived at this place and I would think that hopefully with community consultation and better strategic planning moving forward that we can reach targets that are in line with other councils along this coastline and globally. I would hope that we can step into the place and be far more innovative and fast moving with agility and purpose and bring our community along the way. Six years ago, we engaged community for report. We don't have current information here before us to inform our decision. Yes, 9 million reasons why we need to
00:38:00 act accordingly and move efficiently in this space to provide our community better outcomes. And 91 million would be well spent in behavioural change programs as Councillor Stockwell said. Thank you. Mayor Stewart: I agree with Councillor Stockwell and what's been said, but it takes time to implement behavioural change. It takes community consultation. It takes community awareness. It takes school programs. That takes time. We don't have time. We've got a cell that's going to run out in six months. So we don't have time and absolutely going forward and it's part of the waste strategy. We know that. We've heard from our manager of environmental health and waste and this will form a big part, behavioural change, community change, school programs. But what we have in front of us is something that we have to act on now. If we don't, we're going to be in trouble. This scope
00:39:00 of the project that we have before us today is completely different to what was originally planned as I come back to. You do what you always done, you get what you always got and we've got a problem. This is an opportunity to solve that problem. It's an opportunity to move forward. We've looked at the difference in scope. There is a significant difference in funding, but at $3.6 million at 2% interest rates, we're looking at $72,000 thereabouts per year in repayments. We certainly have the capacity. Borrowing has never been lower. We have QTC who are supportive and we can easily cover that, hopefully with little impact, if any, on our rate payers. The Council is currently generating a waste strategy, forward thinking waste strategy, and this will include diversion from landfill. I agree with Council Lauriston. Landfill is one of our biggest problems and if we're going to be serious about a net zero emissions, then we have to tackle landfill and we have to tackle alternatives and we have to look at diversion, all of which we are doing. But it comes back to today that this is a fully funded project that was in the multi-year project budget allocation. It's been endorsed by Council's
00:40:00 capital works program. It's fundamental. We are running out of space and we need to implement this to get our community through, not just the next year, not just the next five years, next 10, 15, 20 years. And alongside that, while we're doing that, we can look at those diversion strategies. We can look at those, what Councillor Stockwell said about implementing other change, but this is something we must do. So I'm very thankful to the staff. Thank you for putting this forward. I think it's a bigger, better, bold move and appreciate all your hard work on this. Councillor Wilkie: Thank you. Look, I started to think what volumes would be going into our landfill if we hadn't introduced the green waste bin as a result of the community jury years ago, hadn't introduced a waste education officer who's doing great work in the schools and has been for several years already. And in case any people listening to this think, get the false impression that this is a decision between spending $9 million on a landfill expansion project or an alternative like waste, $9 million
00:41:00 waste, $9 million worth of waste education officers, it's not. And please don't think this is the end of the expenditure that we're going to face with waste. When the waste management, the updated waste management strategy comes out, there are going to be a raft of recommendations coming out of that that will require funding. So councillors and the community need to steel themselves for that because that is the true cost of reducing our waste to landfill. But I respect all the opinions around the table, especially the reuse of the landfill. I'll be interested to hear what potential the landfill holds for reuse of solar panels or whatever that may be. And also for reusing the methane gas, to generate electricity, for instance. Methane, what I understand, takes up the most damaging of greenhouse gases and we flare it to reduce its impact on greenhouse gas volumes going out.
00:42:00 But even if we do burn the methane to generate electricity, there will be carbon dioxide generated. So there still will be emissions generated, but at least we'll be getting power as a result of it. And I've come to learn that through some advice of new experts we have on hand. But anyway, there's a lot to look forward to in terms of the waste management strategy, but more expenditure, of course, which of course we will minimise, but more initiatives to come Mayor Stewart: in this space. Thank you. Thank you, Councillor Wilkie. I'll put the recommendation to a vote. All in favour? Councillor Wilkie, Councillor Wegener, Councillor Jurisevic, Councillor Lorenston, Councillor Stockwell, Councillor Stewart against? Councillor Finzel, thank you. Motion carried. Thank you very much. Thank you, Kerry. Thank you, gentlemen. Item two, Noosa Parade Corridor Upgrade Tender Award. We have on hand, good morning, gentlemen.
00:43:00 Speaker 6: Oh, I believe we have a conflict. I, Councillor Lowenson, informed the meeting that I have a declarable conflict of interest in this matter. It's my husband and I own a townhouse at Two Strokes, 17 Noosa Parade. Although I believe I can consider this matter impartially, I do not believe that this would pass the pub test as I believe that I have an interest that is greater than a significant proportion of persons in the local government area. As a result of my conflict of interest, I will now leave the meeting room while the matter is considered and voted on. Thank you, Councillor Lowenson. Mayor Stewart: We have our Infrastructure Planning, Design and Delivery Manager here, Craig Eldridge. Craig, would you give us a quick summary of this report, please? Speaker 9: Sure. So basically, we've been working on this project for about seven years. It was originally
00:44:00 a planning layer done by Arup, and then that flowed through to a TMR cycle grant, which then flowed through to a design, so TMR funding for design, and then it flowed through to another TMR cycle grant delivery, and then that went into a tender process, Capital Works Program, and here we are today where we've been out to the market, and we've tendered this project, and we're presenting the tender report today based on that early planning. There were two, three tenders received. One was deemed non-controlling, and through the tender process, reviewing the two other tenders, the other tender that was remaining was deemed non-controlling also, so we have one remaining conforming tender, and that was the company Bellwether Contractors, and the purpose of today's report is to endorse
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00:45:00 awarding that tender to Bellwether, and also endorse additional funding resourced through the Capital Works Program next year. Councillor Jurisevic: Craig, looking through the tender evaluations, I noticed that the successful tenderer is a Brisbane based contractor, the other conforming tender was a Cooroy based contractor, and there's a significant difference in the tender prices there with the local Cooroy operator being quite a bit under the other. Can you explain why, with such a significant price variation there, that a local company hasn't been successful in obtaining the tenders as you mentioned? Speaker 3: I can talk to that. So we did, as part of the evaluation panel, we reviewed and queried both tenders on their submissions, and we found that there were some deficiencies that weren't allowed for in the local based tenderer. We applied some risks to those contingencies, and they resulted
00:46:00 in our recommendation of Bellwether being the preferred tenderer. Councillor Jurisevic: Is there scope within the tender process to then approach that tenderer to try to equate the two tenders to be at the same level, so that you can compare price more accurately, and tenders more accurately? And that's what we did, and that's resulted in this Speaker 3: preference of Bellwether being the best and advantageous council. So risk adjusted price, Bellwether is what we've recommended. Thank you. Councillor Wilkie: Would you say this is principally a cycling and walking project, rather than a road project? Speaker 9: Thank you, Councillor Wilkie. That was a very good question. Why? Yes. So I see this project aligning with many strategies, and one of the strategies is cycling, another strategy is walking, another strategy is transport strategy, and another strategy is getting
00:47:00 people out of cars. Also getting them cycling, which reduces our environmental impacts. And it's also about improving people's health and well-being. So we were approached early on in this project by part-time patients to use this project as a test case about getting people to improve their health. So I see it spanning across multiple strategies. We also see it as creating a connection between Gibbett Terrace into the Hastings Street precinct. So this is a flat, sort of accessible, pathway or gateway into the Hastings Street precinct. So we have accommodation houses all along that area. So it's just a way of facilitating access into that area as well. And it's also, that was built in the 70s by a developer, and here we are 50 years later and it hasn't had much love. So 50 years into its life, I think it's time also to create that gateway, that precinct.
00:48:00 It also includes upgrades to bus stops. So it also improves that public transport. Speaker 8: Thank you. Mayor Stewart: Thanks Craig. Councillor Jurisevic: Craig, you mentioned bus stops there. Now, when I look through the budget, bus stops only came up at something like 50,000. There's only a small component was bus stops in this. If we're doing such an upgrade to bus stops, and I thought all their bus stops along that route were DDA compliant already, why is there only such a small component to bus stops? And are they all DDA compliant already along this approach? Speaker 3: So as part of the project scope, one of the bus stops will be upgraded to a DDA compliant, funded by the project. And then as part of TMI's PTAP program, they will fund two additional bus stops to upgrade to DDA compliance. That will then make all of our shelters along their DDA compliant. Councillor Jurisevic: And with regard to landscaping along the area, what can we expect in changes to landscaping? We've got a lot of palm trees along there, and there have been a number of trees already trimmed
00:49:00 with some comments from the community. What sort of landscaping impacts can we see along there? Speaker 4: Yeah, we've been working pretty extensively with the Parks and Gardens team to come up with a maintainable solution. But what we've resulted in is a gateway type statement into the Hastings Street precinct. So focusing on natives, focusing on a lush central median. So there'll be major shade trees as well as under planting as well along that median that's currently there. And we'll also be putting shade trees on either side of the road and where possible, facilitating some under planting and potentially planting along the property boundary side of the pathways as well. So a very landscaped end result, I would say. So what can be expected is a more Councillor Jurisevic: tree-lined avenue type approach to the entrance into Hastings Street? Exactly. Speaker 9: So part of the project also is to pedestrianise this area, and also to slow vehicles down and
00:50:00 create a change in the corridor. At the moment, it's a gun barrel, it's wide, it's open, and people can travel along there at speed. So part of the strategy is to create a type of tree boulevard and put in seven additional pedestrian refuges. And what that'll do is also change the look and feel of the corridor and try and narrow it to create an avenue to try and get people to slow down and think, hey, there could be people or cyclists coming along at any time in this area. Councillor Jurisevic: So another important aspect of what you're doing here, Craig, is safety. You didn't mention safety and all those other considerations. Safety is paramount and obviously slowing vehicles and creating a more aesthetic and appealing environment to travel in. Good question. Thank you. Speaker 9: Part of the strategy also is to drop the speed limit, which again improves safety, and then it makes all the standards within the corridor comply. So yes, a key driver there is safety.
00:51:00 Mayor Stewart: Noosa Corridor, Noosa Parade is very much at the corridor into Hastings Street. Can you tell, because there will be disruption to that area, can you please, I guess, for this table as well as other people listening, talk about what community consultation or how have you made the residents aware of this and, I guess, the wider community of these, which I guess the impact that this will Speaker 3: have on them? So Council's undertaken an extensive community consultation session in 2017. We had a whole year of where we took the community's feedback on board and implemented where necessary. We've also had a pop-up stakeholder information session once the design was done. We've been in contact with many groups and rate payer associations throughout the area. In terms of managing disruption through this project, the contractor has a community officer on board who will liaise with Council directly. And that way we can filter all those concerns, resolve it at the contractor level before it gets escalated to Council. It keeps it,
00:52:00 you know, information in one channel that comes to Council. It's not disturbed. As well as big events such as the Noosa Tri and the one in May. They are two events that we flagged in the contract that were down works, makes a bump out to that period. Thank you. And as Council Wilkie alluded to in the Councillor Jurisevic: previous matter, rate events and then you've talked about other events, Gateway and Noosa, main corridor, timeframes for completion and assurances that will be done before the before a Christmas rush. Speaker 3: In terms of weather, as Cody mentioned before, what we've done at Council is we've looked at historical weather patterns throughout the year in this region. And we've applied the fact that once you get above a certain amount of rainfall, you're allowed this many days. So in the contract itself, each month has allowed a number of days that they're entitled to time, no cost. Once we go over
00:53:00 that period, that's when it's contingency. So that addresses the wet weather concerns. The contractor has, sorry, in contract we have a milestone to finish before Noosa Tri, October 2022. Their program shows it being finished before that. Thank you. Thank you. And just, sorry, just a Speaker 9: bit of what Mayor mentioned earlier was we've also gone in and addressed the parking in the back streets. To create delineation. The idea of that is to reduce the impacts on the residents and the amenities during that period of time, because there will be parking moved through the corridor that will have impacts on those back streets. So we've tried to preempt that and put in parking delineation to reduce those impacts. And also a strategy is the free holiday bus, which is coming up next year. So that's perfect timing for this project to facilitate access into that area on weekend for free holiday. Thank you. Councillor Jurisevic: What about the thoughts of signage and other areas to advise that their roadworks are there and try and divert traffic around so they're not coming down that corridor?
00:54:00 Speaker 3: Is that being taken into consideration as well? Yes. In contract docs itself, we've specified that there are two VMS boards, the big variable flashing signs, notifying roadworks. It'll allow people ample time to, before the works commence, to start deciding, do I go a different route to Councillor Wilkie: avoid that impact. Craig, you said it was essentially a cycling and walking strategy project. It aligns with the objectives of the cycling and walking strategy. The road corridor itself, which takes vehicles, will not... Can you tell me, just explain to make clear what we're talking about, what's happening to that? Because my understanding is there's either a narrowing or it's staying at existing sites. But could you explain how the existing off-road cycle and walking path will be changed, and also from the northern and southern sides, and also how the on-road cycling lanes will be upgraded, please, in terms of widths?
00:55:00 Speaker 4: I can get that one, I think. So the primary driver for this project was to achieve a off-road cycle path. So on the northern side of the corridor, we have set the goal for achieving a 2.5-metre-wide off-road shared path that'll be accessible by cyclists, pedestrians, everyone. What's it now? It's 1.2 in sections at the moment. It does widen locally in some spots. But you'll see if you walk along that corridor, it's very heavily used. There's lots of little dope tracks because it is such a popular walking corridor. So that was the driver for the project. The second major driver for the project was achieving some compliant cycle lanes. So at the moment, we have, say, 700-millimetre-wide cycle lanes between the marked car parking and the edge of the lane. We have widened those out to 1.6 metres to allow for door zones. So they could do a
00:56:00 dooring zone, a 1.2-metre-wide cycle lane, and then a 3-metre traffic lane. Now, where we've managed to achieve that spatial requirement is through a slight narrowing of the median and slight narrowing of the turn lanes. And we've used that space there to accommodate the extra path on one side and the extra widening of the cycle lane. And another essential part of this Councillor Wilkie: project is the widening of the Garth Power Bridge. Could you just explain, basically, Speaker 9: what's happening with that, please? Sure. Thank you. So Council's been successful in receiving funding for the upgrade of the Garth Power Bridge. As part of that project, we're looking at an options analysis to facilitate improved accessibility on the Sofitel side of the bridge to facilitate, once Moose Upgrade is finished, a compliant pathway into that HC Street system. So at this
00:57:00 stage, we're in the options analysis. And then once we come up with a workable design, we'll put that out to the market for the design construction. So just to clarify, Councillor Jurisevic: that's a separate component to the work that's being done here under Moose Upgrade, a second Speaker 9: contract will be later to later date? Yes, that's correct. Thank you, Council. That's funded out of the Bridge Grant Funding. Speaker 8: Any more questions? I'm happy to move. Okay, thank you. I'll second it. Thank you. Thanks, Joe. Councillor Jurisevic: Well, thanks, guys. As Craig has alluded to, this has been a long time coming. This is a corridor that was created back in the 1970s. Obviously, things have improved since then. The need for wider pathways, safer access, that opportunity to create that avenue and that entry statement in Hastings Street is part and parcel of this, but also nice flat land and the opportunity to turn around and start to start to look at getting some behavioural change and getting people thinking of different ways of getting in Hastings Street. Don't take your car.
00:58:00 The nice flat rides, a nice flat walk, lots of accommodation places there to try and enhance that. So to enhance the corridor, you know, some 50, nearly well over 50 years since the concept of Noosa Sound was created is well overdue. One of the largest volume areas of traffic, I would say, in the entire Shire. So well done. It's great to see that we've been able to obtain funding from the state government to assist us in that and to recognise this is an area that needs funding. And to see this delivered will be something I think the entire Shire will be very proud of once we've been able to generate all the works associated with it. So congratulations, team. Onward and upward. Let's hope we can get it all done by the triathlon. Speaker 7: Can I also speak to this? I'd like to recommend the staff on the job. I came off council, and we all got together and had a briefing about what was the commonality across the Shire,
00:59:00 and it was the connectivity and the cycling across the Shire. And then I got onto the cycle and walking group where we engaged the community and you guys came with us on a journey. And to see this come together and really meet the objectives of the Shire who do want to engage in the transportation and alternative, you know, to health and wellbeing and reducing our emissions. So I want to say thank you. You guys have done an awesome job. And it's really great to celebrate this achievement today. Thank you, councillor Finzel. Speaker 9: Thank you. Craig is probably quaking his beauty. Deputy Mayor Stockwell: As long ago as 2017, in the first briefing, I said, I'd never support this because there's not enough in there for the bikes and the walkways. Lucky for him, I'm older now. But we've outlined these considerable improvements for walkways and bikeways. And we have, through the consultation, identified a desire among more than a few people to go further.
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01:00:00 And what I've been reassured is the design allows us to go further as demand warrants. And what goes further, so perhaps the easiest one is that can we actually have the on-road cycle lane on the northern side inside the car parks? There's space to do that in the future. There's space to do that in the future. There's space to do that in the future. Maybe when we do the Gartrout Bridge widening, we can trial the first 50 to 100 metres to see whether something like that works. What also can be done is we can wipe out the car parking for a section and make a priority lane. To me, I'd vote for that today. I would have no dramas of the community uproar about losing car parks to get what we want in our transport strategy. But I'm all for it. I'm going to sit down with my brother and we can wait a little while.
01:01:00 But probably, that's where we'll get very shortly, is that the community will start saying, well, we've got this wonderful place. Let's make sure that we're prioritising our investment for the modes of transport that we want. And this is part of probably, you know, the East-West Corridor and the North-South Corridor are probably the two most traffic, walking and cycling areas in the Shire. It's an investment in tourism, it's an investment in everyone's ability to access the beach. Now this one will take us out to Noosaville and you've got paths along Gimpy Terrace, it'll take you all the way to Knock on the Door, you'll be able to get to most of Tewantin. When we do a little bit more, we'll have it all the way out to where the current works are at Beckmans Road. So people from Noosa Parklands can easily jump on their bike. It could be electric, it could be an electric scooter, the kids, they could take the whole family by non-fossil fuel means down to the beach and back and make it a day without having
01:02:00 to get on into a car. So this is a key part of that strategy. It's starting at the highest traffic, highest views. There's nothing in here that says we're doing this to create more car parks or reduce congestion and that's an excellent thing. Our strategy is about moving people, not cars. Our strategy is about getting people to take responsibility that if they want to get to the beach quickly, they look at how they get there. And whether the extra opportunity creates that behaviour change, that more people decide to invest in a good bike or invest in something else to get to the beach, we can always hope. But to me, this is a good step forward that we are creating two new compliant on-road cycle
01:03:00 lanes and a wider shared path so that the kids and their parents who are less confident on-road can take that. And I'm very confident that demand will be such in the coming years that we'll be converting more of the space currently aligned to cars to either electric vehicles, push bikes, walking or public transport e-lanes. Councillor Wilkie: Thank you. Look, Northern Europe is often pointed to as an excellent example of where we should be now in terms of cycle lanes that are protected from the traffic on the road. I support this project because this is an excellent starting point. And what happened in Northern Europe didn't happen like that. It happened over decades. It happened over decades. And then initially there was an outcry about it, but over decades, the community got not
01:04:00 used to the idea of these cycle lanes that were separated from traffic. And I think that's where we will be in the future here. But we've got to make a start and I support this project because it will see the footpath, the off-road cycling walking footpath on the northern side of Noosa Parade, more than double from 1.2 metres to 2.5 metres. And the on-road cycle path, bearing in mind the space for car parks. Beyond that, there was only 700 mil for cyclists. It's going to be more than double to 1.6 metres beyond the car parking space to make it safer for cyclists who choose to travel on road. Safety was mentioned before. The whole speed of this corridor. It will be reduced to 40 kilometres an hour and there will be an increase in pedestrian refuges.
01:05:00 Pedestrianising this whole precinct was the word that we used. The other big tick here is that this council endorsed the cycling and walking strategy. And this is the first big project on this corridor in 50 years that's been mentioned. But cycling and walking strategy of this council. And it aligns with the cycling and walking strategy of this council. With so many aspects of the cycling and walking strategy, such as improved travel choice for our residents and visitors to our activity centres, reduce greenhouse gas emissions by reducing the use of private motor vehicles, implement a safe, connected, attractive and inclusive active transport network, make riding a bike or walking so easy and attractive that it is the preferred mode of travel for locals and visitors. And as mentioned before, it aligns with the transport strategies principle. One of the key principles, that is, it focuses on moving people, not cars.
01:06:00 Cars are like an afterthought in this project. And who's to say in the next few years that all parking, without spooking the herd too early, who's to say that- Deputy Mayor Stockwell: I've already heard that. Yeah. Yeah. Councillor Wilkie: Parking may be removed from those corridors to allow for a bus transit lane and more alternative transport options shooting down that corridor. I think it's an excellent start. I think there will be a lot of disruption and heartache during the work. Let's not sugar coat that. I'm confident that the team will do everything they need to do to engage one-on-one with the affected residents. As you have done as we've done in the past. As we have done already. And minimise disruptions. But this is, I believe, in terms of legacy, this could be one of those projects that
01:07:00 this 2020-24 Council in the long term can be part of. Once it's done. Mayor Stewart: I'm going to do another line. A short term pain for long term gain. And I think that sums up this project. I think we've done this project pretty well. Make no mistake, as Councillor Wilkie has said, it's been said around the table, there will be a disruption. There will be complaints. But there has been a huge amount of community consultation. A huge amount of community feedback sought. And this will really make things so much better. I think we have to keep the eye on the bigger prize. I think the community needs to keep the eye on the bigger prize. And there is a bigger prize. And that bigger prize is cycling, walking, wider lanes, moving people, not cars, more trees, a better looking, aesthetically pleasing roads, and more safety, as Councillor Jurisevic alluded to. So all those things are so fundamental and important to our strategies, our transport
01:08:00 strategy, our cycling and walking groups who have worked so hard on this. And thank you so much for that. But really, this is a major project for our community. And it's one that will just improve it in so many ways. The bus upgrades, fantastic. 50 years is a long time. So it's about time. It's about time we did something. So now is the time. As I said, it's high profile. There's been a huge amount of community consultation. And also, what we're forgetting is that this has been partially funded. It's always better when we're spending someone else's money. So you don't thank the state government for their, and the federal government for Garth Proud, which will come down the track. It's always better when we can not use rate payer money. So this is a win on so many levels. And thank the team for all their hard work. And I look forward to when it's over. Thank you. Councillor Jurisevic: Councillor Jurisevic, please. Thanks, Clare. Yeah, you've adequately summed it up, Councillor Wilkie and Mayor Stewart. Short term pay for long term gain.
01:09:00 I think what we've done with the boardwalk to the national park shows that if we've required facilities for people to get on their feet and see the beauty of, and create a beautiful avenue and a beautiful location to walk in, the people are encouraged to wander there. And I think as we do that along this corridor and further out of Payton Street, the more people will be encouraged to look at other avenues of getting into Hastings Street, either by walking, by cycling, or hopefully even on the bus and actually taking in the visitors that are going to be created. So I look forward to this. Maybe I'll have to turn my phone off for some of the complaints coming through. No, we've got the process in place to deal with this. And this is one of many disruptive projects that we have coming forward for the future that will only benefit the community going forward. So whilst we do have a bit of short term pain, there's going to be some more projects in the future to facilitate better access, better walkability, better accessibility around
01:10:00 the region, and hopefully enhance the experience to make people want to get out of their cars and take these other ways of getting into the places they enjoy and getting out and exercising more. Thank you, guys. Mayor Stewart: Thank you. Councillor Jurisevic: Look forward to the project deliveries. Mayor Stewart: Thank you. Put the recommendation to a vote. All in favour? That is unanimous. Thank you. Thank you gentlemen. Thank you very much. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thanks, all of you. Speaker 9: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Mayor Stewart: Thank you, Councillor Lorentson, there are no other items on the agenda and I declare the meeting closed.