Before the first item ¶
00:00:00 Councillor Lorentson: Good afternoon and welcome to the Services and Organisation meeting, Tuesday, April 11, 2020-23. I declare the meeting open. I would like to begin this afternoon by an acknowledgement to Country, and I've taken this out of our corporate plan and I intend to use it. I actually love it. Noosa Council proudly acknowledges and respects Australia's First Nations people and their deep and abiding connection to this country. We recognise the Kabi Kabi or Kabi Kabi people as the traditional owners of the land and waters of the Noosa area and offer gratitude for their careful custodianship of this unique environment over thousands of years. We pay respect to Kabi Kabi or Kabi Kabi elders who have come before us and acknowledge and do so. We deeply regret the traumas experienced by Kabi Kabi people through colonisation and beyond. We pay respect to current and emerging leaders and their enduring commitment in pursuing a strong and healthy future for First Nations people.
1 ATTENDANCE & APOLOGIES ¶
00:01:00 I note there is an apology today, Councillor Joe Juricic, and I note that Councillor Frank Wilkie and the Mayor, Claire Stewart, is in attendance. I also note Councilor Observers and the City Council. I also note Councilor Karen Finzel and Councillor Tom Wagner in yellow. Can I please request before commencing the meeting that everyone have their phones on silent or turned off. I would also like to remind Councillors of their obligations under the Council Code of Conduct to treat fellow Councillors and Council employees respectfully. I will now go to item two, confirmation of minutes. Can I have a mover? Thank you. Thank you, Claire Stewart. And a seconder. Thank you, Councillor Wilkie. Now I'll go to item two. Sorry, now there are no presentations.
2 CONFIRMATION OF MINUTES ¶
00:02:00 Excuse me. I'd like to put that to the vote. All in favour please. Thank you. That's carried unanimously. There are no presentations and there are no deputations. So let's move to item five. Thank you. Thank you. So we'll now move to item four and item five we have reports for consideration of community. Firstly are there any conflict of interest? I note there are no conflict of interest so I'm going to request the staff member Robin Mercer, who is on video conference. Hi Robin. Hello Robin. Welcome to the Services and Organisation meeting. I'd like to invite her to give us a summary and overview of the report before us. And I'll start by stating, Robyn, that this matter was brought to Council at the Alderian meeting on the 15th of March.
3 PRESENTATIONS ¶
Nothing was transcribed under this heading — a stretch of the recording with no speech the model could make out.
4 DEPUTATIONS ¶
Nothing was transcribed under this heading — a stretch of the recording with no speech the model could make out.
5.1 PROPOSED REVISED LEASE TERM - SHOP 7 SUNRISE SHOPS ¶
00:03:00 And my question is, why is this before us again and why has it changed? I'll pass it over to you. Speaker 6: Thank you and good afternoon all. Yes, the report in front of you today is in relation to the leasing of Shop 7 at the Sunrise Shops. In March of this year, a report was put in front of you recommending that Council enters into a lease with Butchers of Noosa for a period of five years with two option periods of three years each. Subsequent to approval of that, we've been working through the actual lease preparation and the lessees have undergone further due diligence. And they are now seeking to enter into a lease term of the same base period of five years. But two extension periods of five years each rather than three. This is driven by their capital investment and advice that they have received from their financiers and financial team.
00:04:00 So the report in front of you today is seeking a recommendation to the change in lease period only. No other terms and conditions. Councillor Lorentson: Thank you. Thank you, Robyn. Councillors. Have you any questions for Robyn? Mayor Stewart: Robyn, I've got a question. Thanks, through you, Chair. Under the recommendations to agree to an initial rent-free period of six months, I believe we did that. That was correct with RGA too, wasn't it? We've done it before. Speaker 6: We have done that before with RGA. That's correct. Also, that rent-free period was also approved within the March report for this same lease arrangement. Great. Mayor Stewart: Thank you. Councillor Wilkie: Happy to move it. Councillor Lorentson: I'll second it. Fantastic. I have a question for you, Robyn. So the approved lease was initially 11 years. That's moved to a 15-year lease period. Does the revised lease introduce any new risk to Council?
00:05:00 Speaker 6: I don't believe so, because commercially, for Council to enter into an extension, that's at our discretion. So we still have opportunities to do that. We do have opportunities within that whole lease period, as in the base plus the options to determine what's best for Council and for that precinct. I think it's actually a benefit. A butcher is a persistent and ongoing retail type, I guess, that is accessed by the community. So securing them for a longer period is probably a commercial and economic benefit to the shopping centre and to the community there. Councillor Lorentson: Thank you, Robyn. I'll put that to a vote. All in favour? Councillor Wilkie: I'd like to speak. Excuse me. That's all right. Go ahead. Look, I think the motion offers the tenant security of tenure and also the Council on
00:06:00 the ratepayers versus Shire security of financial revenue stream from that tenancy. And I think it's a very good move. That's why I support it. Councillor Lorentson: Thank you. Thank you. Thank you, Robyn. Mayor Stewart: That's great. Thank you, Robyn. Thank you. Councillor Lorentson: We are now up to item six. Reports have been made by the committee. And what we have in front of us is the capital programs. The real estate. It's a noting report. And it's to inform Council of the overall status of the capital works program at the end of March 2023. Welcome to the table, Craig and Melissa.
6.1 CAPITAL PROGRAM DELIVERY STATUS ¶
00:07:00 Thank you. I've just had a brain block. Thank you. No worries. Thank you. Welcome, Melissa. Can I ask, can you start by giving us a summary or an overview of the report, noting report in front of us? Sure. Speaker 2: Thank you. As mentioned earlier, it's the regular capital status report as of the 31st of March. So we're reporting on spend, year-to-date spend on the $57.1 million program. And out of that, we have $50.7 million in direct control of infrastructure services. And then we have another $6.4 million sitting with others. And that includes ICT. Community projects and fleet. And as of the 31st of March, Council has expended 69% of the 22-23 financial year budget with another $10.3 million sitting in commitments. The road reseal program has expended $4.5 million out of $5.7 million for the 22-23 financial
00:08:00 year. Design services continue to work on projects for next year and the following year. And the planning team is continuing to work on projects for the next sort of three to five years as well. There's currently 44 multi-year projects in various stages of completion. Thank you. Councillor Lorentson: I'll hand it over to the councillors present. Any questions for staff? Councillor Wilkie: Sure. Craig and Melissa, firstly, congratulations to your team for carrying an enormous workload and delivering under very difficult circumstances. I think it's really important for us to be able to continue to do what we've been doing so far. Looking at this summary of works that have been delivered, also the commitments made and those that you also plan to undertake. I think we're simply setting a record level of work each year under increasingly difficult circumstances.
00:09:00 You've outlined the risks in the risk and opportunity section of your report, including a 30% staff turnover rate in infrastructure. Can you just give us some thoughts on that? Can you give us an idea of context in terms of that rate compared to previous years? Is it less than previous years or is it holding steady now that COVID's over? And what factors are inducing staff to perhaps take up work in other locations? Speaker 2: Yeah, I think there's a heated employment market at the moment and there's opportunities for senior staff. That's what we're seeing is we've seen three senior staff turnover in three months. Our strategy at the moment is we're bringing through graduates, we're bringing through project officers, and then we're bringing them up through project managers, and then we're bringing those project managers up into the senior roles. So we've got a succession plan. We've got a formula that's working quite well for us at the moment.
00:10:00 We're noticing that we're getting the graduates and the project officers, so that's working quite well, but we're seeing that turnover at the senior level at the moment. I think that's due to opportunities in the market. Obviously, there's opportunities out there. We've been out to the market recently for two project managers as replacements, and during the recruitment process, we saw, I suppose, opportunities in the market as well, and we weren't successful in getting those project managers. So I suppose it's an employee's market at the moment. That's what we're experiencing, and I think that's the turnover we're seeing at that senior level as well. Councillor Wilkie: And would it be fair to say that that level of turnover is pretty consistent amongst local governments at the moment? Speaker 2: I can't really comment on the whole as local government, but it's what we've seen in this section, or the engineering section, or infrastructure service, probably the last
00:11:00 two to three years. Yes. We've seen a regular turnover. I don't think it's anything to do with the culture or the organisation. I think it's to do with the market and opportunities. Councillor Wilkie: And it's more of a comment that the graduates that have been employed seem to be really rising to the challenge, doing excellent work, and are a big part of energising the culture down there, from what I've observed. Speaker 2: Most definitely. And Noosa's had a history of having graduates, and it's working quite well for us at the moment. Councillor Wilkie: I'd like to finish with a compliment. These internal difficulties are councils to manage. You're managing very well. As far as the community is concerned, you're delivering a record number of capital works out in the community, for the benefit of the community, and so thank you to you and your team. Speaker 2: Thank you. Mayor Stewart: Great. Well, thank you. 56 projects scheduled for the 2022-23 financial year, and that's for undertaking design works and providing design support.
00:12:00 That's a lot. When will the completion? Are they ongoing projects? Obviously, will they be done in five? Do we have a completion date for all of those, or how many can we expect to, I guess, see completed in the short term? Speaker 2: Yeah, so it's a very good question. And so a good example of that is, say, the Noosa Drive pathway, which is a long-term project. It's currently unfunded. We've been out for concepts, community engagement, design, and then the opportunity would be to have a ready design sitting there for future funding opportunities. So it's not to say that council would fund that project, but then we'd seek funding opportunities. So a lot of that design work is getting design-ready projects to seek future funding. And some of it is projects that will be funded, but obviously, where there's opportunities to get grant funding. Yeah. It's much easier on the ratepayers in the community. Mayor Stewart: Sure. So it's ready to go. So when you do get a grant, it's pretty much shovel-ready. Speaker 2: That's the thinking at the moment, is having good planning, good design, and having projects
00:13:00 ready for opportunities in the future. Mayor Stewart: Just a question on the disability upgrades for the Commonwealth Disability Standards for Public Transport, page eight. We've done eight. Shelters have been completed. Yes. And then there's two to go in Purdue and Barron. Is that complete? Have we got more to go after that? I mean, that makes it 10 in total. Are we looking to do more? Or are they the ones that we had to do? Speaker 2: Yes. So this has been a long-term project that Noos has been very successful with. We've been working for, say, I think it must be the last eight to nine years going through all our bus stops. And don't hold me to it, but I think there's about 206 we've worked our way through. Yeah. And this year, we made a decision to split the program over two years to make it easier on the budget. So I think there's a small amount remaining next year. So there's probably a handful remaining next year to be completed.
00:14:00 Mayor Stewart: And then that's it. Speaker 2: And then that's it. Yeah. Perfect. Councillor Lorentson: Great. Yeah. I have some questions. I'll follow up on the mayor in terms of the upgrades with the priority bus stops. When the bus stops are upgraded, is consideration given to the footpaths that access the bus stops? So it's great that we're having compliant wheelchair accessible bus stops. But can those in wheelchairs actually get to the bus stops? Speaker 2: Sure. So as I mentioned earlier, this is a long term project that we've been working our way through over the last sort of eight to nine years. And the opportunity or the reason that this program has been so successful is the co-funding with TransLink and TMR. So all these bus stops over the years, we've managed to get co-funding for those bus stops.
00:15:00 But a part of that co-funding is a limited area. And I think it's 10 metres either side of the bus stop. And I think that's even reduced throughout the program, how much is co-funded. So we're limited in what we can do with this program. However, outside of that program, we have a local links budget. And we also have the walking and cycling strategy and we're funding pathway projects through the walking cycling strategy and the local link strategy. So I hope I've answered your question in that we're limited in scope in what we can do with the bus stop program by the grant applications. Councillor Lorentson: So to summarise, Craig, you've identified that there are some problems in accessing the bus stops, but that's going to be addressed. Speaker 2: There's a complementary supporting program through the local links and the walking and cycling strategy. So the same area is looking at all three programs.
00:16:00 So there should be a holistic approach there. Fantastic. Councillor Lorentson: Yeah. In terms of precinct equity, in terms of pathway links, gravel, re-shooting and other works, can we have an idea whether it's spread evenly across the Shire and the report is quite clear? Speaker 2: Sure, sure. Councillor Lorentson: Can I just get just a summary from yourself? Speaker 2: Sure. I can. I'll have to take that on notice. I don't know if you want us to get any detail, but we've got the resale program listed there. And just as a summary, we've got Black Mountain, Cooroibah, Cooroy, Noosaheads, Noosaville, Pomona, Sunshine Beach, Tewantin. So there's a good mix there of Shire wide projects. And then also with the pathway program, we've got a good mix again of Cooroy, Cooroy, Pomona,
00:17:00 Tewantin, and Noosaheads. And again, with the bus stop program, we've got Noosaville, Tewantin, Peregian, and Pimbaran. So just as a summary of those three programs, the reseal program, the full path program, and the DDA bus stop program, there's a mix there throughout the Shire, but I don't actually have the actual breakdown of numbers. Councillor Lorentson: Thank you. And my last point is in terms of state funding and local governance through grants, there seems to be like a pressure that when a grant comes to council, A, we need a master plan, B, we've got to meet the criteria, we need to have the resourcing, and we need to have a project. And I'm imagining councils like Noosa and other councils are missing out on critical funding because they don't have the resources or they don't have the master plan.
00:18:00 Is the state, through LGAQ, is there a review of how states are actually going to be funding local government projects? To me, it's great if you can get the money and you've got the resources, but not so great if you're not resourcing. You're not ready for the grant funding. So, I don't know, a question to yourself or Trent or Larry, is the state considering different ways of funding local government infrastructure, which to me is critical? Speaker 2: I can probably answer one component. With the cycling, we've been very successful in getting planning money, and a good project example is Noosa Parade. So, generally we'll try and work with TMR to get the initial funding for planning, and then we'd work with TMR to get the initial funding for the design, and then that would
00:19:00 put us in a good position to get funding for delivery. So, that's how we've been generally working, is going for those co-funding in the planning stage, and if that's successful, then you're setting yourself up for co-funding in design and delivery. We're seeing a new program coming out at the moment around walking. We've been successful this year in funding for two projects for that walking strategy. So, the idea then we would go for design funding for the, sorry, we'd go for design funding for the walking, and then we'd go for future delivery funding. So, there are two programs that I can talk about that TMR are having, but I can't really talk about on a larger scale. Speaker 5: Sure. Through the Chair. Not aware of any progress at this point for any fundamental shift in the way that we are funded for capital works. Obviously, in terms of operating funding through the Bay Grant, they've gone through a methodology
00:20:00 review over the last 18 months, which has changed our allocation as it has other councils in Queensland, and an element of that is our roads to recovery funding. So, that has moved, and it has decreased for us. I think it's important for us to be aware of that. I think the fundamental shift you'll find moving forward will be as we move closer towards the Olympics. May change the funding mechanisms that we might see coming forward. And the other consideration is the 2024 state election. Obviously, post-election may change those funding pools. But at this point in time, the key state grant pools, such as the local government grants and subsidy scheme, et cetera, have been very consistent. So, I think it's important for us to be aware of that. I think it's important for us to be aware of the funding trenches for us to access. And as Craig alluded to, we've been very successful. You can probably argue, maybe too successful sometimes, because we end up with lots of works in our program, as you can see by the report. But at this point in time, we haven't seen much change.
00:21:00 Thank you. Councillor Lorentson: I'll throw it to the gallery. Any questions? Councillor Wilkie: Just on that point, Craig, in your report, you mention that the Council has $17.6 million of grant-funded revenue and programs underway, projects underway. That doesn't mention the, is it about $100 million in grant-funded projects we got from the Queensland Reconstruction Authority for disaster recovery, which feeds into the acting Director of Corporate Finances' comments that would be, you know, I don't know if we've been very successful in attracting grant funding, and perhaps too successful. We've had to outsource the vast bulk of that disaster recovery funding. And more rivers of gold on the way in the lead up to the Olympics. Is that a fair comment? Speaker 2: I'll probably defer to the Director on that. Speaker 3: Are we missing out? It doesn't sound like we're missing out.
00:22:00 No, I think that the disaster funding is because of what we needed to recover. And that's just been really welcomed by us in terms of the state and federal government funding those. Richard Wright is about, you know, anywhere up to about $90 million now in terms of that program, on top of that $57 million that we deliver as part of our day-to-day. We have been very successful with our grant funding because we're organised, we know what we want, and we're able to advocate for it, and we're able to identify where those opportunities are and where we need to go. So that's why we've been successful. And we just continue to do that. You know, with Craig and his leadership over the last number of years is getting our design, our planning and design in front of the game. So when those opportunities come, we've got things to say, here's what we want. Here's, you know, here's what funding for this, because we've already got it in place. So, you know, when you see the budgets come through, you're obviously aware of it, but
00:23:00 when the community sees the budgets, there's money in there for planning and design because that's why we need it. And master planning, people ask, some people say, why do you do so many master plans? Well, master plans are integral to getting the funding. So, you know, we're ahead of the game on that. We're pushing very hard to stay ahead. Councillor Wilkie: Authorities don't give us, give Minister Council over $100 billion in grant funding unless they have the support designers in place. Absolutely. Speaker 3: And the culprits that we can deliver. Yeah. That is the other news. Mayor Stewart: Great. So I've got a follow-up. And I was just going to say, just in the back of the clock now, the tender's gone out and I just read somewhere that it's the largest ever tender we've ever put out. Yeah. Unbelievable. Yeah. Yeah. Councillor Lorentson: We report states that we're in a hot construction market and that labour and materials are still going to be challenging. In terms of variations in costs and delays, are we set up to absorb any of those variations? What are our cash reserves and does the big capital works program and, you know, attracting
00:24:00 all this extra funding, does it introduce risk to Council? Speaker 2: I can comment on one component, but I'll defer to the other. The Acting Director of Finance on the cash reserve component. So this year we've seen, or previous year, we saw a flood in November. We saw a flood in February. We've seen pricing going through the roof this year, but we've managed to partner and work together with our contractors to manage projects. And we've got a governance process in place through PCG and CWE. So we've managed to work within our contracts this year and deliver those projects. Within the government's framework and we've had good relationships with those contractors and we will continue to have those good relationships because a key component is if we can't get contractors to work for us, we can't deliver our works.
00:25:00 So there is a process where working with our contractors and having continued good relationships work for us as well as the contractor. So that's a key component. And going forward with the future budget or the 23-24 budget, we've got a more robust process around our project initiations and we've got a more robust process around our contingencies. So I suppose in reflection, we've learnt from this year and we're applying those learnings in next year's program. Cash reserves. Speaker 5: Through the Chair, I guess, just before I mention cash reserves. Yes. It's probably just worth recapping Craig's comment there that what we have seen in the last 12-18 months in terms of cost escalation is unprecedented. It's not just been for Newstead Council or local government generally.
00:26:00 It's across the entire construction sector. You don't need to look too far into the newspapers. The articles about issues with building a house and building companies aiming to put opt-out clauses. In addition to that, there's a lot of work that needs to be done. There are contracts. And building companies now facing significant financial stress. So it is a very difficult construction market. In terms of our cash reserves, we have approximately out of our, and I won't be able to confirm the exact amount until the General Committee, but in excess of a million dollars, a lot of that cash is already committed. Some of it is disaster money that we've received from QRI in advance. It's levy money that we've been, that we're required to hold in reserves. But what we have in terms of what we would call unrestricted cash or free cash is approximately $5 billion. That is the last balance of our cash that is available to absorb unexpected events or
00:27:00 cost escalation on capital projects. The key element is the governance framework that Craig talks about. Which is where the decision is made through our capital executive about whether we can afford to absorb a variation or we have to reduce scope or divert another project in order to fit that in. So that's dealt with on a case-by-case basis. Councillor Lorentson: Thank you. Question or concerns? Councillor Finzel: Yeah, I've got a question. I just want to do a question. Thank you. Firstly, I'd like to commend the staff for the huge body of work and successful contracts. What I'd like to talk about today, we're talking about resilience, cash reserves, and what we're delivering. And through the chair, perhaps this is to the CEO, I'm just interested in how we, as an organisation, when we look at our risks and our capabilities, I'm concerned about how we are managing the
00:28:00 mental health issues of our staff. And how are we measuring and monitoring them? And how are we managing them? Things like burnout, mental health awareness, navigating change, stress and resilience, and maintaining emotions. How are we equipping our employees with the mental skills to maintain wellbeing and to be adaptable, resilient, and compassionate in the face of life's challenges? Now, this is great that we've attracted all this money. We're delivering to community. You know, it should be people first in our organisation. We're an organisation. We're all about man in the biosphere. We're all about man in the biosphere, and how do we live in harmony. And part of that, I have real concerns about the capacity of this organisation to look after our staff. Speaker 4: Thank you. Through the chair, Councillor Finzel. Look, if there's one thing I've tried to achieve in the last 15 months here at Noosa is to put people first.
00:29:00 That is something for me as a leader that I find extremely important. You'll see our values. Our values were very much externally focused, but they weren't internally focused on us and each other. How we work together as a team to deliver services to our community, and how we break down silos within the council business to ensure that where one part of the business is feeling pressure, that they're not on their own. That we have the ability to be able to be agile and move in between different pressure points that occur within the business from time to time. Pressure points are very important. Pressure point for us right now is to get the budget done. That's a pressure point for corporate services. But infrastructure, they've had pressure points now for the last three years. And it's not ending. And particularly with what we're going to see now coming into the flood damage program delivery. Largest tender this council has ever delivered. One of the largest single construction projects from a flood damage perspective being delivered in Queensland. There are others, but what will be delivered at Black Mountain is going to be extremely
00:30:00 significant and substantial. We've now started to be able to work through a process through our mental health first aid training that we have in place within our organisation. We have off-site training sessions for our coordinator team up as part of our lead program. And that program is very much focused around having our future and current leaders not only have the skills to be able to deliver the day-to-day, but also to be able to deliver themselves and each other. We've just completed session three most recently of our health and wellbeing sessions. And that's an external facilitator from here on the Sunshine Coast to be able to just provide resilient strategies for not just our staff, but that is also then helpful for our family and our community. So we're working towards having a very robust and resilient workforce.
00:31:00 But there are pressures out there. And as was noted from Councillor Wilkie's question in relation to turnover, we've seen so many phases post-pandemic. We've had the Great Resignation. We've had the quiet quitting. Now, I think I saw one today, which is the loud, loud exiting of the workplace. So there's a phase for everything right now, but it will stabilise. That's one thing that we'll know. Particularly working in a government environment. What will work in a government environment in favour is that there is a lot of security working in a government environment or government sector. It may not be the highest paid compared to the private sector, but that security, as we are coming into what is going to be a more difficult economic environment, I see our attraction and retention also on the back of the work that we've done from our values, employee
00:32:00 reward and recognition. And it doesn't hurt. It doesn't have to be a huge reward for somebody for doing a job, but it is just giving recognition and being able to have a safe place in meetings to not only recognise, but then also pull each other up when we're not delivering in the best way that we can. That's the culture that we've tried to instil over the last 15 months. All the building blocks in place to be able to get that delivered. What we need to achieve though as a Council now is to ensure that we walk the talk, that from the very top end of our Council all the way through to our newest graduate or trainee or somebody that's come in and volunteering, that they feel those values and they feel the culture throughout the organisation. It doesn't happen overnight though. Culture takes time. But we've got everything in place. We just need to continue to work towards that over time and ensure that with everything that we do, our culture equals the very best services to our community.
00:33:00 The very best communications to our community. And we always have that in our front of mind. That if we're working to deliver something bigger and better for those that we're going to positively affect within our community, we can't go wrong. And keep that in the front of our mind. So I'm very optimistic about the future and what has been put in place. Like every day today, you're going to have lumpy days. And you know something that didn't go right, it's how we build resilience within our selves to go, yep, okay, I've learned from that. I'm now going to go and deliver it this way. And I won't do it that way again. We're working towards a better workplace and it will be more and more important as we go through different generations for attraction and retention. We see the talent of our baby boomer generation within our workforce. We need to ensure that they have transitioned to retirement in a respectful way. We then have the Gen Xs, the Gen Ys. We then have the millennials that are coming through our workforce.
00:34:00 And each one of these generations before us look and see things through a different lens. They communicate differently. And they are looking at the workplace in a way that's never been looked at before. So as leaders, we need to be adaptable to those generations, but then have inclusiveness and ensure that anybody that puts their hand up, no matter where they're from, that they can actually, if they want to work with Noosa County, they can actually work with them. If they want to work with the council and they go through a process that we have the ability to accommodate them, whether it be through disability or whether it be through that they weren't born in Australia and they have language other than English, they have the qualifications, they can be part of what we do here. That will become more and more important for not just councils, but Australia overall when we're looking to attract talent and that talent that needs to have a specific skill set. We may be in five years in a situation where Australia can't provide that. Not just this region, but Australia, and we will need to look further to be able to get
00:35:00 the skills that we need to get the job done. So we're firmly focused not just about today, we're working towards a plan for the future. But adaptable workplaces will be the workplaces that deliver the best outcomes for us, our customers or our community, but any customer driven organisation, you need to adapt and get the right people and the right roles. Councillor Lorentson: Can I add to that, Scott, that I think this new generation, our graduates, they probably understand pressure better than most of us. And I would say, knowing some of them, that they thrive under pressure. There's an expression that, you know, diamonds are formed out of pressure. I think your generation exemplifies that. You're overachievers. You excel. You have the skills. You have the insight and outside academia. I know some of your accomplishments down in infrastructure. You've got, you know, some elite athletes that understand pressure better than most
00:36:00 of us. So I'm actually excited that you guys are going to bring some fresh eyes, fresh ideas, and fun. You're part of, you know, this change when we talk about workplace culture and why people want to join organisations like Council. So I acknowledge that you're part of that. I'm excited and appreciate this new stream of youth coming through. Lovely energy. And respect all those that are older with their wisdom and experience. But, yeah, thank you. Mayor Stewart: Can I ask one final question? Just the, how are we tracking for the Newstead District sports complex stage one? I know we're going to have completion June this year. How will it be? Speaker 2: Yeah. I know the slab's been pulled. And the under slab has been pulled. And the drainage has been done. So really it's that above ground component now. Mel, did you have any update on that?
00:37:00 Speaker 1: Yes. So the latest update that we've received for the most recent progress claim is that everything is on track. So practical completion's due on the 23rd of June. Councillor Lorentson: Wow. Thank you. And another exciting project I've got to add, in getting a lot of comments in the community, is the Sundial Park V-Mix on track. And I'm, it's, it's also on track for completion June, I think, for CBOs. Yeah. Speaker 2: Yeah. That, that's the, that's the plan at this stage. Yes. Fantastic. Councillor Lorentson: Thank you. Yeah. So anything further? No further discussion? No. I'll move. I'm happy to move that. Can I move a second? Thank you, Councillor Walkie. All those in favour? I'll, I'll talk to it. Mayor Stewart: That's all right. Thank you, staff. Yeah. Huge, huge body of work. We, we see this, but, you know, this comes to us in a few pages, but there is so much work, so much effort behind all this. So please pass on our thanks and appreciation to the staff. Will do. Because it's greatly valued and appreciated. And we see how much is, this organisation is certainly bats above its average regularly
00:38:00 with all the work we're doing. So thank you. Thank you. Speaker 2: Yeah. Mayor Stewart: Thank you. Thank you. Councillor Lorentson: Thank you. All those in favour, please. Carried, unanimous. All aye. Thank you. Thank you. We're now up to. Thank you, Melissa. Thank you. Thank you, guys. We're now up to item seven. There are no confidential items. So I now declare the meeting closed. Mayor Stewart: 209. Councillor Lorentson: Time is 209. And the next meeting will be the general meeting dated the 17th of April, 2024. I will also note in the minutes that today is the last meeting that we will be blessed with our CEO, current CEO, Scott Williams. Yes, sir. And I'd like to pass it over to Claire just to say something. Mayor Stewart: Yeah. Thank you, Scott. We just wanted to acknowledge you. And thank you for all your help, support and contribution to Noosa and the community over
7 CONFIDENTIAL SESSION ¶
00:39:00 the past 15 months. To say you're going to be missed is an understatement. But we know that your legacy will live on. Spark values, the organisation restructure, all the work that you've done in 15 months is so beneficial to this organisation. So we're so grateful. Thank you for the support you've given us as councillors. I know we've had a terrific relationship and I'm really valued as the other councillors have your open door policy and your ongoing support. We wish you and Tory all the very best for the future. And no doubt we will stay in contact. But we've always got a friend down in Moreton Bay. So thank you and we'll miss you. Speaker 4: Thank you, Mayor. Chair, councillors, thank you. Yeah. I lost the words, right? It doesn't happen often with me. But look, I wasn't expecting that. So thank you very much. And thanks, everybody, for the opportunity to serve you, serve our council staff and just to serve the community of Noosa. Shorter than I would have expected.
00:40:00 But a great opportunity for me and my family and our future. And, Mayor, you're absolutely right. Noosa has a friend in Moreton Bay. And I'll make sure that that occurs for all of us. So thank you all. Thanks. Thank you, Scott. Thank you. Thanks a lot. Thank you. Councillor Lorentson: Thank you. I now officially declare this meeting closed at 2 p.m. Speaker 4: Well done, Chair. Thank you. Thank you, Chair. Well done.
8 MEETING CLOSURE ¶
Council's recording ends before this item. Where a meeting resolved to close its doors, that is what the end of the recording means — see what council discussed in private.