Before the first item ¶
00:00:00 Mayor Stewart: I would like to acknowledge that we are meeting on the traditional lands of the Kabi Kabi people and I pay my respects to Elders past, present and emerging. I note that all Councillors are in attendance for our final meeting of our term. Before we commence, I move that the operation of the standing orders or any relevant provision thereof be suspended to allow me to make a farewell speech to Council and Council to move two motions of condolence. I'll second that. Thank you. Can we have a show of hands, please? All in favour? Carried unanimously. Thank you. Well, thank you for the opportunity to say farewell and, most importantly, to thank and acknowledge those who have been instrumental over the past four years during our term of Council and my term as Mayor. Firstly, let me say I leave with gratitude, respect and thanks. Gratitude for the opportunity to lead this Council over the past four years. Respect for the work that our Council does. And thanks for the support and opportunities to serve that this role has created.
00:01:00 But most of all, I leave with pride. Pride for all that we have achieved together. We may not always agree, but what I can say is that no matter what our differences, we all want the best for Noosa. Of that, I have no doubt. I am incredibly proud of what we have completed over four years. Four years saw the interruption and devastation of COVID, a major flooding event. Rising costs, logistical nightmares and staff shortages that occurred not just here in Noosa, but right across Queensland. Add to that the largest ever disaster recovery costs and support required, amounting to over $120 million for our Shire. We have done much. Works have been significant, substantial and are ongoing. There are too many to mention, but for me, some highlights include. Our Council has taken the most proactive and aggressive step towards helping address the housing crisis. Our housing strategy that staff worked so hard on and the recommendation formed from
00:02:00 that work will make real, meaningful, positive changes to the lives of many of our residents. This Council was the first in Queensland to pilot two tiny homes with the support of U-Turn, while supporting and providing funding for more transitory accommodation and crisis accommodation for our most vulnerable. Bringing real and meaningful change to the lives of many. Council formulated, adopted and ratified our new corporate plan. A plan that will see this organisation flourish for decades to come. Priorities of our community were listened to, integrated and strategised. They will guide decisions going forward for many years to come. Year after year of record spends on capital works and infrastructure. Delivery of four bridges to our Hinterland community. The Hinterland Playground. Noosa Parade upgrade. Orealla Crescent Bridge replacement. Beckmans Road upgrade. Disability compliant bus stops. The Peregian Community House.
00:03:00 Upgrade and expansion of our Peregian Digital Hub. The Olive Donaldson Sports Facility. All these projects leave a lasting legacy for our residents. Record spending on footpaths and roadworks and trail networks. Prudent spending to improve amenity of our residents. Continuous engagement with residents has been key for all of us. From our initial councillor coffee chats, we have listened and supported our residents through our roundtables. Our ongoing business roundtable. Our polystyrene disaster roundtable. Our CHAP roundtables. And our Kin Kin Quarry roundtables. We have stood with our Hinterland community through the initiation and support of legal action against the operators of the Kin Kin Quarry. And we will continue to do so. We eagerly await a final judgement on the court case. Fire management and mitigation has been increased by over 100% in this term of council. We are now world leaders in the works that our fire tech program is undertaking at the Peregian Digital Hub. Our spending has substantially increased on backburns, fire trails, fire detection, implementation of an in-house fire safety officer, a bushfire levy.
1 ATTENDANCE & APOLOGIES ¶
00:04:00 All alongside the significant works that our council team are doing with our community in regard to disaster resilience and preparation. The waste plan that this council has recently adopted is the most innovative we have undertaken. Machines recently purchased including our polystyrene thermal processing machine and our containers for change see this council continuing to wage a war on waste by diverting recyclable material from landfill to both reduce emissions and conserve landfill space. The rise of short term accommodation is an issue across the world, not just here in Noosa. I am incredibly proud that this council and all councillors were one of the first councils in Queensland to introduce a separate rating category for short term accommodation, making rates more expensive for those who use their homes as business. The short term local letting law that this council introduced also saw us as the first council in Queensland to enact such a regulation to protect residential amenity.
00:05:00 Our 24 hour hotline to monitor short term accommodation is also another first. Thank you. This council has implemented to assist residents. Environmentally we now have more land under conservation than ever before with the purchase this term of more land for conservation. 43% of our Shire of 34,499 hectares of land is now being managed for its environmental value. We are steadily nearing our target of 48% by 2028. On a personal note, I am incredibly proud of having led and championed two mayoral balls with the assistance and support of our community. These balls raised enough money in increase to increase counselling services in the area of domestic violence across our Shire. The proceeds of our more recent ball has seen an MOU signed the Salvation Army to assist in accommodation for our at risk residents.
00:06:00 The instigation of our mayoral Christmas appeals have also helped families in need across our Shire have a happier and more memorable Christmas. And our incredibly popular Christmas convoy, which staff worked so hard on, which all councillors have supported. I look forward to seeing it continue for many years to come. The resilience tours I initiated with our local Paralympians, Olympians and sporting heroes was a highlight. Speaking at schools right across our Shire, we reached thousands of students to promote a message of courage, hope and resilience in the face of adversity. And I thank all those involved for helping make this happen. Forging stronger and closer ties with other councils has been a priority of this council. Forging stronger and closer ties with other councils has been a priority of this council. The South East Queensland Council of Mayors has ensured that Noosa Council now has a voice at the table, part of a decision making process for wider South East Queensland. Importantly, it has secured vital funding for our Shire. We will receive $3.58 million for liveability projects from being part of the Council of Mayors.
00:07:00 We are now part of a wider working group in regards to SEQ waste strategies and part of the $40 million funding pool for resilient rivers. Our MOU with Gympie Regional Council in regards to waste will also drive innovation, collaboration and investment in the waste sector going forward. And I look forward to what our two councils can achieve together. Similarly, our work with the Sunshine Coast Council in regards to management and support of our eastern beaches is significant. On a personal and concluding note, I'd like to thank and acknowledge Brett de Chastel, our first CEO, Scott Waters and now acting CEO Larry Sengstock for their support, advice and hard work. It is appreciated and acknowledged. Thanks to the Council executive team who have led us this term. Carl, Michael, Deb, Trent, Kim, Kerri, Richard, Shaun. Thank you for all that you do for this organisation and the hard work you put in on a daily basis. Our wider Council team, inclusive of all our managers and staff, both indoor and outdoor, need to be thanked and acknowledged.
00:08:00 Their work is appreciated by us all and is often the very public face of us all. Thank you. I've worked incredibly closely with Ken, Nathan and all the communications team over the past four years. And I thank them personally. I will miss you guys. Deputy Mayor Frank and all councillors around this table, I say thank you. It has indeed been a team effort and the achievements mentioned are collected and we should all be very proud. Speaker 3: I've been fortunate enough to make two close friends. Then Amelia and Karen. Thank you for your friendship and support. I will miss you and our coffees. Thank you. Mayor Stewart: Cathy, my EO. Thank you. I think I've driven you crazy with my diary commitments and I promise one day I will learn to say no.
00:09:00 But thank you for your care, friendship and support. Jobs like ours take their toll most significantly on our families. I would acknowledge my own. Speaker 3: My parents who have walked this journey every step of the way and who have probably owed about a million dollars in baby student fees. Mayor Stewart: And my husband and children who have sacrificed much to enable me to do my job. Cam, thank you. You're here tonight. First one in four years. Thank you for coming. I know I drive you crazy. But thank you for being the rock and sounding board I so often need. Finally, I want to thank the people of Noosa Shire. They took a chance on an unknown and I hope I've earned their respect and validated their choice. It has been the ultimate privilege to represent you and work for you. Whatever I do and wherever I go, I will always have the incredible honour of being the first female mayor of Noosa Shire.
00:10:00 Thank you. Councillor Wilkie: I'd like to move that the Council thank Mayor Clare Stewart for her service to the Noosa community and the Noosa Council. And the Secondary Council of Noosa Vic. I think, Mayor Stewart, you've just given us a very pointed demonstration that the role that you've played is a civic role. It's also, you're a human. You're a person. And it does take its toll. And for that, we thank you. You've been at the forefront of Noosa Council for four years. Four very difficult years. Which leads me to a few points I'd like to make. Over the last four years, it's easy to remember the accomplishments, the record capital works programs, the new initiatives. But it's easy to forget that these were achieved during unusually difficult times.
00:11:00 If I had to choose a word that described this term, it would be disruption. We should have seen the signs. Because even during the build-up to the March 2020 election, the smell of smoke hung in the air. Hundreds of hectares remained black enough for the worst bushfires the Shire had seen. But we put them behind us and focused on the task ahead. The excitement of pre-polling had only just begun when an infection in Wuhan, China, avalanched into a global pandemic. The first in a century. Our campaign volunteers fled. We were all sworn in at the height of the COVID lockdown. With almost no staff in the Pellington Street building and the streets deserted, we had a virtual ceremony. It was the age of online meetings and Zoom. The Shire was a ghost town. The vaccination debate raged and divided our community. Businesses were pivoting, thriving, closing or struggling. Which we worked through with the community. We adapted. And just as state-imposed COVID health measures seemed to stay the same,
00:12:00 we started to ease. And the new CEO turned up for his first day. Noosa was hit by the most damaging rain in over 30 years. Pomona recorded over 1.3 metres in a week. Half a metre in one day. The rain damaged 100 roads and triggered 30 landslips, including one believed to be the region's largest ever. And during all of this, out at Kin Kin, the materials quarry had stepped up production and an increased number of quarry trucks were rumbling across the hinterland. To ensure we became accustomed to change and certainly not complacent, we had consecutive very high land valuation increases, two in a row, some as high as 300%, which made setting the rates very difficult. And having been made an offer he couldn't refuse, our new CEO departed. There was a record high Consumer Price Index increase. Some construction projects increased in cost by 40%.
00:13:00 Staff were very hard to come by. And at last count, we had three CEOs during the term. And through it all, we had a Mayor who was always well briefed and prepared when she fronted up to speak on behalf of Noosa Council and our community. And you did it well. And Mayor, perhaps your, on a personal note, perhaps your most admirable quality from my perspective was your capacity to fiercely debate any topic in the Chamber or the Committee Room. But after the matter was over, you were the first to be cracking jokes. And I respect and admire that deeply. On behalf of the councillors, thank you, Mayor Clare Stewart, for your commendable service during this challenging term. Well done. Speaker 3: Thank you, thank you, thank you, Frank. Speaker 4: Anybody else like to speak?
00:14:00 Councillor Lorentson: I will and I'm not going to cry. Mayor Stewart, Clare, you've been more than just a Mayor. You have been a trailblazer. You've been the first female Mayor of Noosa Shire. Your dedication to this community and your unwavering work ethic have set an example for all of us to follow. Beyond your contributions to our community, you will be remembered for your kindness, your sense of humour and your genuine compassion for others. You not only lead with intelligence and wisdom, but most importantly, you have led with heart. And for that, you will be deeply missed. On behalf of our residents of Noosa Shire, I extend our sincere, serious gratitude for your service, your leadership,
00:15:00 your exceptional work ethic and your friendship. You've guided us through challenges and you've always stood by our side. We wish you all the best in your future endeavours and I am confident that wherever your path may lead, Clare, you will continue to do great things, inspire and uplift all those around you. Thank you again for your unwavering dedication to this community and believing with integrity. I wish you well and I will miss you forever. Councillor Jurisevic: Give me two seconds, please. There's not much left to be said, I think. What's been said by the other two councillors is difficult to articulate anymore. Again, I too would like to thank you for your service. Your tolerant council, your passionate debates around the table. Certainly we haven't always seen eye to eye,
00:16:00 but we, as Frank alluded to at the end of the debate, it's over and done with and we get on with it. And your sense of humour and my sense of humour quite often get quite well at the end of those. And so we quite often have a good laugh afterwards. In a space that these guys probably don't see light of, you and I have shared the disaster management role. And for that, I thank you. We've been through some difficult challenges, COVID plus, and the recovery underway and being implemented as we speak. And I thank you for being a leader and a staunch leader in those difficult circumstances in that role and in that chamber, because that isn't an easy thing to take and it takes a lot of extra time on top of the mayoral duties and the council meetings. So for all of the time in, I wish you well in your future, but thank you again for your service. And I think you've been an exemplary man to a point and I thank you for that. Speaker 3: Thank you, George. Thank you.
00:17:00 It's a round total. It'll be nice. It'll be nice. Can't be. Yeah. Deputy Mayor Stockwell: Yeah. Democracy would be really boring if we all thought the same. And I put myself in your shoes and local government's really a bit of a bummer for the mayor because in state and federal politics, the leader gets to be chosen from their side. So they actually get things, but you've had to put up with some contagious old blokes. And so that has been a, no doubt a challenge for you as leadership. And I think anyone who puts their hand up to actually say, this is what I believe for my community and I'm gonna stand up and make those points. I think it's a really important thing to acknowledge. So that's, that is a big step and you have done that very well. And yeah, the others have talked about, you know, what happens behind the doors after the baits are over. We generally get on fine and enjoy it. But to me, acknowledging that it was a big step for you,
00:18:00 coming out as a young family and putting your name up front to be a mayor of a small but very busy council, I think it's something that this community will acknowledge and respect and wish you well in the future. And just in terms of the context of it, you know, this is a term where we've had flood, fire, and we've always been looking over our shoulders to see where the locust plague was gonna come down. It has, you know, the level of disaster that's happened. And at the same time, you know, while the community haven't seen it, the way the organisation has achieved much, as you've read out, during those processes and that has been, I suppose, the key for this term is the fact that we've been ready to take advantage of the state and federal funding to come out to try and make communities more resilient to these disasters that occur. So yeah, I've appreciated our relationship. It's always good to have a little bit of banter
00:19:00 and that, I'll miss those times too. Speaker 3: Thank you, councillor. Councillor Jurisevic: Tom, you're up. Yeah. Tom. Councillor Wegener: Ditto the comments before. You've always been very warm as a warm personality and that's what I think that we appreciate most and that we'll miss most is after whatever goes down in the hallways, you're always very nice. You're the first one to buy the coffees. Yeah. Yeah. Absolutely a wonderful personality. So thank you. Thank you, Tom. I'll miss you. Councillor Finzel: Thank you. Lucky last. So I'm going to close the circle here tonight. Claire, it's been a real honour and a privilege to work alongside you. Your door has always been open and your heart's always been open. Thank you so much for your understanding and trying to pull this motley crew together and it's always been a challenge around the table. You've been a fearless advocate
00:20:00 for the most vulnerable in our community and I admire how you've stuck to those principles and values and worked extremely hard and tirelessly to ensure no one's left behind. Thank you. And, you know, on behalf of the community, I thank you for that and I thank you for your compassion and your empathy and understanding but also your hard-nosed go and, like, I'm not letting this go and we're going to achieve that purpose despite, you know, debates around the table. I'd say it's been a tumultuous ride. We have been through the floods and the fires and we've experienced that all together. And I value that your office door was always open and you're always there to listen no matter how challenging certain moments have been through this journey. But, you know, we've worked together and as you have all alluded to tonight and spoken about, we've made some amazing achievements and accomplishments that I think you and this Council should be really proud of in this term.
00:21:00 And to end it off, I don't have a quote but I have to say, Clare, you are the queen of quotes and we will certainly miss your most valued quotes around the table. And may that legacy go with you. Wishing you every success with your career moving forward. We won't get to hear those quotes firsthand but whoever you have the privilege of working with, they will certainly have a collection by the end of it. So thank you very much. And thank you to all the staff that, you know, worked hard to work with you and the Council to see, you know, our visions come to pass through this term and what's still remnant to be done. We will support that hopefully with the new Council moving forward. All the best. Thank you, Clare. Thank you. Speaker 3: Thank you for your very kind words. Thank you. Appreciate it. Should we put it to the vote? Mayor Stewart: Do we have to? Yeah, put it to the vote? Yes. I don't vote, huh? No. All right.
00:22:00 Deputy Mayor Stockwell: No, if he dissents, you'll be voting too. Mayor Stewart: Wouldn't be the first time I'm six one, everyone. All right. All in favour? Carried unanimously. Thank you, everyone. I appreciate your very kind words. Thank you. Councillor Drozdiewicz, you've got to do it. I'll take it. Councillor Jurisevic: Your Honour. Thank you, ma'am. I ask that you take a moment to acknowledge the passing of Brian Lawson and offer our condolences to his wife, children and his extended family. I'll second it. Brian Thomas Lawson was born on the 11th of July 1949 and passed away at his home on the 3rd of February 2024. Brian served his country as a member of 3RAR in the Vietnam War and that service continued on through his working life and then when he came to the Pomona community for 16 years facilitating services at the Pomona Community House and establishing the Pomona Men's Shed. A stalwart of the community, he helped facilitate grants
00:23:00 in the range of a million dollars, I believe, for the Pomona community. The Lawson Shed at Pomona Community House was painted in his honour and will serve as a lasting legacy for the community where he devoted so much of his time. I say, Vaale Brian, and may you rest in peace. Councillor Finzel: Yeah, I would like to take this opportunity on behalf of our community, the broader community, the Henterland community and those communities that he served during his service. Brian was a well-loved character in town. He was always the voice. He was the first one down at the community house or wherever to give of his time and his energy. He'll be sorely lost and the legacy that's left behind will remain forever. He was well known for his acts of service, the volunteer works that he did, his ability to write the grants and be successful in those and leave legacies like the Brian Lawson Shed
00:24:00 that was named in his honour in May 2011. And that culminated in the completion of all his hard work together with the community to deliver such a great piece of infrastructure. He was also well known for getting the Men's Shed established and just being someone that was reliable and always available to our community. So I'd just like to remember him and just acknowledge his acts of service to our community. Thank you, councillor. Thank you. Mayor Stewart: Anyone else like to talk to it? Or put it to all in favour? Carried unanimously. Thank you. I would also like to move a motion that council note and a motion of condolence on the passing of our Noosa resident, Maureen Farrington, acknowledging Maureen's significant contribution to the Noosa community. I'll second that, ma'am.
00:25:00 Thank you. Thank you. Maureen Farrington was a community champion. She had a close association with council. She has been on our housing strategy, our social strategy working groups, Disaster Human Social Recovery Group, John's Landing Roundtable. And she was very well known as a volunteer for St Vincent de Paul, Friends of the Court and a life member of Red Cross. Her contributions to our community have been incredibly significant and she will be greatly missed. Rest in peace, Maureen. Speaker 3: Anyone else like to speak to Maureen? I'll put her to a vote. All in favour? Mayor Stewart: Carried unanimously. Thank you. Thank you, councillors. I now move that standing orders be resumed. Can I have a seconder? Seconder. Thank you, Councillor Wilkie. All in favour? Carried unanimously. Thank you. Confirmation of the minutes. Can I have a mover for the confirmation of the minutes of the ordinary? Thank you, Councillor. I'll be the second. Thank you, Councillor Finzel.
00:26:00 All in favour? Carried unanimously. Thank you. There are no mayoral minutes. There are petitions. Does anyone have any petitions? No. No. Okay. No notified motions. No presentations and no deputations. So we are now up to item eight, consideration of committee reports, which if you have a hard copy, page three of our agendas. 8.1, planning and environment committee. 5.1 was referred to the general committee. 5.2 was referred to the general committee. 6.1, planning applications decided by delegated authority. October 22. Councillor Stockwell. Deputy Mayor Stockwell: I have a declaration to make, which would be nice to read. Me? I know. I wish to declare a prescribed conflict of interest in this matter as follows. Suncoast building approvals are identified as the applicant in number 14, 15 and 16. The number is on the screen. I contracted Suncoast building approvals to undertake building certification for my proposed
2 CONFIRMATION OF MINUTES ¶
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8.1 PLANNING & ENVIRONMENT COMMITTEE REPORT - 6 FEBRUARY 2024 ¶
00:27:00 residence in Boring Point on the 29th of November, 2021. This process is currently underway. The total fees associated with the completion of the certification inspection regime is $5,904. This includes the use of council plumbing and drainage pits. As a result of my conflict of interest, I will now leave the meeting room while the matter is considered and voted on. Speaker 3: Thank you, Councillor Stockwell. Mayor Stewart: I'm with the committee recommendation. Thank you, Councillor Morrison. All in favour? Carried unanimously. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Mayor Stewart: Can I have a mover for... Thank you, Councillor dalaml indicator. All in favour? Carried unanimously.
00:28:00 Thank you. We are up to 8.2 services and organisations committee. Thank you. All in favour? Carried unanimously. 8.1 General Committee report, 5.1 development application to reconfigure a lot in one into two lots and access easement at 11.1. Billabong Wade, Tewantin. 5.2. Minor change to development approvals of 47 multiple dwellings, entertainment and dining. Type 1 food and beverage and retail business, Type 1 local and Type 2 shop and salon at Natanya, 71 Hastings Street, Noosa Heads, described as lot. Thank you very much. So we'll retract Vicki and go back to 8.2. 5.1 is cessation of March 2024 council meetings. 6.1 capital program 2023-24 delivery status. 6.2 Lake Macdonald Dam Improvement Project February 2024 update.
8.2 SERVICES & ORGANISATION COMMITTEE REPORT - 6 FEBRUARY 2024 ¶
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8.3 GENERAL COMMITTEE MEETING REPORT - 12 FEBRUARY 2024 ¶
00:29:00 We all need to be aware of that. We already had a mover and a seconder for those, so that was what got me, that happened before we read them out. So can we just go back to, I think that was moved by you, Councillor Driscoll, seconded by Councillor Lorentson, or was it? Yeah. Okay. All in favour? Carried unanimously. 8.1 general committee report. 5.1, one lot into two lots, as read. 5.2, minor change to development approvals of 47 multiple dwellings, entertainment and dining. At 71 Hastings Street, Noosa Heads, described as lot 0 on BUP 101500, otherwise known as Natanya, 6.1, 132005.638.03, other change from existing approval for material change of use, expansion of special purpose, waste disposal and recycling facility and ongoing clearing purposes at 561 Eumundi Noosa, Noosa Road, Doonan.
00:30:00 Councillor Jurisevic: Thank you. Chair, I'd like to ask this item to be dealt with separately, because I have a few additional conditions that I'd like to have added to the motion. So the motion I'd like to propose is to start the recommendation with a couple of additional points. So I'll read the entire motion, just so that people can get the gist of it. Can we just go back up there, Vicki? Sorry. The council note the report prepared by external consultant, JFP Urban Consultants, to the general committee date of the 12th of February, 2024, regarding application number 132005.638.03, for an other change application to an existing approval for material change of use, waste disposal and recycling facility and ongoing clearing purposes situated at Noosa Landfill at 561 Eumundi Noosa, Noosa Road, Doonan, Queensland, 4562, and a, approve the application in accordance with the proposed conditions and conditions, and a, approve the application in accordance with the proposed conditions, and a, approve
00:31:00 out while int attribute. Adding b, advise the applicant that any future master plan to the site must include koala sprinkling measures generally in accordance with the koala-sensitive design guidelines prepared by the Department of Environment and Science, dated December 20, 2022. This must include, but not limited to, one, where practicable installation of koala advisory science within the site and on adjacent council-controlled roads, and two, facility specifications for a 122 earnable airflow management To facilitate landscape permeability and safe koala movement around and through the development site. C, note the report is provided in accordance with section 63, brackets 5 of the Planning Act 2016. And D, note a full copy of the conditions is provided in attachment 3 to the General Committee minutes dated the 12th of February 2024 with a full copy of the conditions.
00:32:00 Deputy Mayor Stockwell: I'll second that. Speaker 3: Thank you councillor. Councillor Jurisevic: I do add those elements to the staff recommendation because this is an element of removing some koala habitat and creating an area offset planting within the site. It acknowledges that there are koala movements within the site but I think that in moving that we undertake koala sensitive design in the future. Any future works within the site acknowledges the presence of koalas. And the additional trees that are being planted on that site in accordance with the state guidelines by the Department of Environment site. Speaker 3: Thank you councillor. Councillor Finzel: Does anyone else like to speak to this? Yes, I'd like to. Councillor Jensen. Yes, thank you councillor Jerozabic. I fully support this. I think that, you know, when we look at what our community wants and sustainability into the future, given environment and all our studies, the feedback is that, you know, number one is the environment and our ecosystem. I think this is an additional element to the plan.
00:33:00 I think that the amount of information being brought to the table tonight is very valid and I support it and I'm sure our community will be really grateful to have that included. Thank you. Thank you councillor Finzel. Speaker 3: Anyone else wants to talk to this? Councillor Wilkie: Just a question from the CEO. I understand this is a precautionary measure. Do we, because what's being removed is Melaleuca swamp. Have there been any sightings of koalas in the Melaleuca swamp? Speaker 4: I think our discussion the other day was that there's potential for koalas, but I don't believe there's been any sightings and the Melaleuca is not a common tree that the koalas use. They do, but not commonly. So we don't believe it's strong, but we're also doing offset planning to deal with that as well. Councillor Wilkie: So this is a plan wise precautionary measure? Yes. Speaker 4: I believe so.
00:34:00 I think it's good to include that in. I think that we don't know. If there are koalas and there is in the future, then there's movement, then we're doing the right thing by protecting them. Speaker 3: Thank you. Councillor Stockwell. Deputy Mayor Stockwell: Yeah, I think item B is good because it's not just linking it to this particular site or the offset site. What it's saying in the master planning, we'll look at that to be taken into account. So yes, Melaleuca, particularly wetland Melaleuca, is not a favourite location for koalas, but there are on this site other quite significant eucalypt, regional ecosystems, remnant ecosystems, some of them are endangered, that are preferred koala habitat. So looking at that connectivity through the site is probably a good one and just referencing the relevant side guidelines. I think that just puts it when the master plan is being done, that that's just one of the layers of investigation. So I support it. Speaker 3: Anyone else? Joe or Will. Councillor Jurisevic: In relation to the question Councillor Wilkie raised.
00:35:00 Look, I think that where we're aware of koala movements and where we're doing offset plantings that may facilitate koala presence, I think this is a prudent measure to look at all council facilities with regard to master planning and planning, where koala movements may be part of the criteria. And this site may not add to that. It may not have koala movements directly through it, but it certainly has a lot of koala presence and movements around it. So when we think about how we design this site, we should have that element in mind. And I just think this is a new component. Certainly something that I was only recently speaking with on other sites where we've got environmental challenges being presented to us. This is something that I think we could implement, where environmental consideration in particular is a key element. And I think that's where people who are particularly endangered species are considered with regard to design principles going forward and how we plan those council facilities and council
00:36:00 activities going forward. Speaker 3: Thank you, Councillor. Councillor. Yes, thank you, Councillor. He's closed. He's closed. It's the final one. Well said. Mayor Stewart: All in favour. Carried unanimously. Thank you. And I'm just going to re-read 5.2, so that was carried unanimously. Honestly, for 6.1, thank you, Vic, just to get the complete wording correct, minor change to development approvals for 47 multiple dwellings, entertainment and dining, type 1 food and beverage and retail business, type 1 local and type 2 shop and salon at Netanya, 71 Hastings Street, Noosa Heads, described as lot 0 on BUP 101500. 6.2, financial performance report January 2024. 6.3, council motions for submission to ALGAT National General Assembly. 6.4, operational plan 2023-2024. Q2, quarterly report. Can I have a mover? I'll move the committee recommendations.
00:37:00 Thank you, Councillor Finzel. All in favour? Carried unanimously. Thank you, everyone. We have one direct report to the ordinary meeting, which is 9.1, disaster reconstruction following 2022 rain. Event February 2024 update. And we have Julie Calvert, our disaster reconstruction coordinator here for this report. Julie, can you give us a summary, please? Thank you. Welcome to the table. Speaker 2: Thank you. Good evening. I'm so glad that I featured so much in your farewell speech. I didn't plan for that to happen. Councillor Jurisevic: I'm glad you were here to hear it. Speaker 2: No. Thank you for your time this evening. The report is available. So I'm not going to read through it word for word. I'll pick out some high notes for you. I think we're obviously very aware of the disaster event that happened, so I don't need to recap that. What I will recap is the funding grants that we opted for from our friends at Queensland Reconstruction Authority, who are the authoring body on this.
9.1 DISASTER RECONSTRUCTION FOLLOWING 2022 RAIN EVENT - FEBRUARY 2024 UPDATE ¶
00:38:00 But the funding does come from state and regional government. We opted to receive funds under the reconstruction of essential public assets. We also were in a position that we sourced some betterment funds through some of the programs that were made available at the time. There was also extra funds available because of the devastation of that particular event. They were called exceptional circumstances grants. So we did that through some clean up. We've got some local recovery grants, some grants around community assets, flood risk monitoring, which is important to the Shire here. The other one is around the resilient homes fund. I just want to be clear. That the data that I have in here does not include any of that resilience home fund. That's something that Kerri and the team really focused on and really worked through for the community. And that was quite at an individual level with some of our residents. So due to those considerations, I won't be adding any information on those.
00:39:00 So the report outlines, I guess, the scope of the disaster and how we're stepping through the remedy of those particular elements. As I said, the funding comes from those particular grants. They'll have different guidelines around it. And our task is to making sure that we continually fit within those guidelines, continually to deliver on the requirements that QRA expect of us. But also making sure we align ourselves to fitting with the strategic intent that council have. And of course, all those other right things we need to do in terms of returning infrastructure to the asset that it was before. Where we see opportunity to improve upon that asset, we'll undertake that. And leverage opportunities at every step we possibly can. Knowing that this is coming from, ultimately it's not coming from council budget itself, but it's still coming from our taxation dollars. That value for money methodology is something that we continually step through and continually challenge. In terms of the site quantity and value, the total program is actually at $148 million allocated costs.
00:40:00 And that word allocated is really important. And it is different to the figures that the man mentioned before at 127 million. And that's around because it looks at the construction value of delivering that. But what it also needs to incorporate is things such as contingency, because that's a financially responsible position to undertake. It also allows for the coordination of the specialists that we need, such as engineers, designers, environmental scientists, and some of those less important people like myself helping to coordinate some of that stuff. The program that we have here, obviously our centerfold is our one landslide at Black Mountain, and the value of that is sitting at approximately around $50 million. We have a further 30-odd landslips, and landslips are pretty expensive to fix, as you can see there. We've got waterway infrastructures, and they're around stormwater, waterway crossings, et cetera.
00:41:00 And though that was a smaller volume and a smaller value to fix, the return on investment to council has been quite significant in that particular area. And the appendix kind of shows that, and we can touch on that if you've got questions around it. One area that we really need to acknowledge the efforts of the council crew is those nearly 60 roads that they got out and fixed in terms of resheathing gravel or arranging for asphalt. Small value there. Mm-hmm. Lots of roads that were impacted, and they did that on top of their existing work. So they really punched out some extra work, and the effort and the dedication of getting that done should be really admired. Speaker 3: Mm-hmm. Speaker 2: We have a further nine, it's only nine registered there as other projects, but we have lots of other minor projects under that. And everything is around the community and recreation and building some resilience. So things like the Boring Point foreshore, sand replenishment.
00:42:00 Some fencing around some of our sporting grounds. So they might be small in value, but for the community, they're really big deals. So we can't let some of those things that don't seem as important in the value slip through our fingers in these opportunities that we're given from state and federal government funding. From a delivery point of view, the council took a step at the very beginning to really focus on the disaster effort. And I think that's something that we need to be looking at as we move forward. They signed a dedicated project team so that the council team could focus on that business as usual work. There was already in plan some significant infrastructure to occur. So it was a conscientious decision to really focus on getting both of those answered at the same time. However, I can't do that, and the team can't deliver on that unless we can rely on the really capable and experienced team at council.
00:43:00 So we've had a lot of support from a lot of people internally to be able to get through those, from Michael Balestra being the superintendent, Camille, who's unfortunately not here from an environmental, but her replacement, Sam Thompson, and Doug Burrows has been excellent, health and safety team. So everyone has stepped in and stepped up when they needed to. Really appreciate that. The progress. The map that we've put there. It probably really is one of the most telling things about the whole program. Probably the first thing that you notice is most of the works that we have are in that hinterland region. We had two coastal areas being Waiber, Esplanade, and Sebron. And again, they were not dissimilar to what we saw in the hinterland. It just happened to be they were closer. But our hinterland community really did face some challenges around that time. And they continue to face disruption as we go through and have those reconstruction works in progress.
00:44:00 To make it a bit easier to see, so that from a lensing point of view, trying to use symbols to make a visual impact, the purple pinpoints are those key locations around our shire. Little waterfalls are our stormwater infrastructure, a little mountain with some rock falling as our landslides, and we've got one little bridge there. From a status point of view, standard project management, if it's blue, we've completed those works. If it's green, it's in progress. Lucky enough, actually, I'd like to say it's not lucky. It's by design. We have no amber or red. So we have no emerging risks or actual risks in our program. Black is construction hasn't started yet. But planning is definitely well underway on those ones. Is there any questions around that particular map? Councillor Jurisevic: I'd like to bring this. I've just read the background. I've just looked at the first paragraph on the background. And the last sentence is, this includes $10 million in betterment grants to, can you
00:45:00 explain what was undertaken under the betterment grant? Speaker 2: So the betterment grant is around, is funding that comes out of QRA that says, we've got a particular site that is under that essential asset that we feel needs above and beyond just returning it to its functional use. So for example, That's a slightly separate one. That was an opportunity that came out of it. So in terms of the stormwater infrastructure, where we got some benefits out of it that weren't better betterment, but became better was that we had some stormwater infrastructure that went through some of river and creek systems that were nominated as fish passageways. And through that, we were able to upgrade those sites from, say, some pipers to, you know, big aquifers to big box culverts. Because what we need to do is make sure that we're creating an appropriate fish habitat
00:46:00 to support the larger river and sister into the Mary River. So we did receive some certain advantages from that betterment in pure sense from reconstruction authority. This is a particular area where we sort of say that this needs some greater support. We opted for that in two particular areas. We did some betterment. Around some roadworks related to Middle Creek Road, and that's part of around it also supporting being the detour for Black Mountain. It also supported. So with betterment, we need to do some co-contribution from Council. So for that one, we decided to leverage some other grant works we had in space as the co-contribution, again, trying to minimise any impact on Council budget as much as possible. So it was great timing, great efforts for the team to be able to jigsaw those things. It was great to be able to get those things together and have an outcome. We're doing something similar at Shriders Road, where we have the water main going across that particular within the road at the moment.
00:47:00 So what we're doing is doing a redesign, we've worked with our friends at Set Water to come up with a design that will hang the water main and increase the security of that major water system. And that's where betterment comes from. Councillor Jurisevic: Excellent. Thank you. Thank you. Speaker 2: Sorry, I've lost my train of thought there, sorry, Jo. To continue from a finance point of view, we continue to have the ongoing support from QRA based on the allocated funding. The initial program with QRA is that as we identify sites and as we put some parameters around how we think we're going to fix those sites. QRA actually funds the first 30% of what the expected costs are. So Council is always in quite a positive position from a cash flow point of view. At the end of last year, we had officially spent $15.6 million.
00:48:00 Given that we've now finished all our stormwater, we're a little bit on from that. But we're still within that prepaid amount that we're at the moment. We're entering into a period of time where every month we will be asking for further funds. And part of that is around our Black Mountain site really starting to ramp up from a construction point of view. So those values are starting to ramp up. So it's one of the things that between the project team and the finance team, we're watching very closely to make sure that Council is always in a responsible financial position. Councillor Jurisevic: I'm quite impressed to see the level of undertaking that has been able to be delivered, even with the rains that have been coming through. Speaker 2: It is really impressive out there. And what they've got to do is even more impressive. And I know I've put some stats in there, but you know, numbers sometimes don't sort of resonate very well. So I went and did a bit of fact finding myself, but 1800 linear metres of subsoil drains,
00:49:00 which is basically like some very fancy agricultural pipe you might put in your own garden, but it's a very fancy version of it. 1800 metres is from here to the cemetery. So that's a significant amount of drainage that's going into that site, but that site needs that as part of that significant remedy. The bit that is going to be really impactful is when we start seeing those piles go in. And it'll be impactful because apart from starting to see some of the physical infrastructure, it's impactful because it will be noisy, it will be dusty, there will be a lot of truck movements because every pile we put in, then there's metal that goes in, then there's concrete that goes in. So after that, when we've got a nice sort of stable base, that's then when we start putting reforming on to form basically what will be the new road base. That's a lot more concrete as well. So effectively what we'll see at the end of this, once it's all in and done, you won't
00:50:00 realise just how much infrastructure has gone into this particular space. Councillor Wilkie: Question. Yes. Thanks, Julie. Just talking about the Black Mountain landslip and the work that's going to be taking place and the disruption and the noise, can you just give us an idea of the sort of communication that you've got going on with the community up there so they understand what is happening, when it's happening, and the disruption they may encounter? Speaker 2: Yeah. So we do have some administrative support on the communications side, knowing that it is a particular area that we did need to engage with a little bit more than we do on the land. It's a typical construction. One of the things we're continuing to focus on is making sure that the communication about having the detour made available to them all the time is a priority. We have close contact with those directly impacted residents. So those residents that are bordering that site, they have access to not only the construction
00:51:00 crew that are on site, they have access to the contractors, communications rep as well as myself and another coordinator on the project as well. All of those families, we're in constant contact and we do talk to them quite consistently. I could probably tell you the name of their pets at this point. But it is something that we don't take lightly and we try to make sure that we let them know what's happening in advance. The Black Mountain, you'll say, had an update. It tries to be updated as quickly as possible. And we continue to use the digital through what we're calling digital doorknob through some emails going out to the community letting them know what's happening coming up. And the piling rig is the thing that coming up next month is probably going to be one of those most impactful things. Councillor Wilkie: So how many families or email addresses will be on that digital mile address? Speaker 2: The last time I checked, we had about 50 active.
00:52:00 The current ones can ebb and flow a little bit. We also know that through the own local community social media that they do a fair bit of communication through that method as well to keep themselves updated. Thank you. Speaker 3: Thank you, Julie. Councillor Lorentson: The Black Mountain Road landslides, the largest landslide in the Sunshine Coast in 13 years. With what just happened, would you identify it as a blackstone? Or was it actually picked up as an emerging or an emerging risk or an actual risk prior to the event? Speaker 2: I probably, I'm not qualified enough to probably answer that with any technical certainty for sure. But it's a similar question that I ask the engineers and the geotechs when we're talking
00:53:00 and it's the type of thing that landslides like this, you rarely get a pre-warning. It's the same as if you don't get a lot of pre-warning when an earthquake happens. It just happens sort of thing and you go through that. From their point of view, it's largest in terms of the length and the depth. It's not largest in terms of immediate impact and how it might have impacted on private property or all that sort of thing. So it's probably a little bit subjective in that description. But it's not the type of thing that you would identify as an emerging risk or an actual risk. We have some other landslides such as Black Pinch where we did have some further monitoring equipment on there. So we wanted to make sure that once we knew it was an issue, that we wanted to make sure that it wasn't going to progress. Luckily, that didn't progress. So it's not really a scientific possibility to sort of pick a spot and say, that's where
00:54:00 it's going to happen. Speaker 1: Who did it? Did Jane say anything else? Speaker 3: Just come to the table. Welcome. Speaker 1: Shaun Walsh, Director of Infrastructure Services. As a result of the extensive landslide activity around the Shire, we do note that we do have mapped areas of geotechnical instability around the whole of the Shire. But because of the unprecedented level of geotechnical assessment, we've actually got the opportunity to actually update that. And we've actually sort of started to be scoping that about how we actually update our records and our risk assessment on the basis of all of the extra geotechnical work we've undertaken over the last 12 months. So we've got a good opportunity to actually learn more. Speaker 3: Thank you, Shaun. Thank you. Thank you, Shaun. Any further questions for Julie? Councillor Jurisevic: I've got a comment on that. Are you moving the motion? I'll move the motion. Mayor Stewart: I'll second it. Councillor Jurisevic: Councillor Cho. Yes. Thank you. I mean, a substantial amount of work here, a substantial amount of effort has gone in through, not only through yourself, Julie, and the entire council team, the consultants
00:55:00 that were utilising the services, the contractors that are being undertaken through, various contractors through the various elements here. So it's taken the time to wander out and see a number of these elements coming to fruition and their completion. They are first-class, of real quality, and a credit to the team for the re-establishment of the work. I had a comment from a resident in that area that was very, very thankful and acknowledged the quality of the work that was done there. In fact, I heard from her again today to reiterate those comments. They were very happy with the work that's being done at Weyba Esplanade. And, again, some of those areas are quite challenging and quite difficult to access or to manage. But the management of the access, while works are being done, is very, very important. And I appreciate the work that's being undertaken and being catered for very well
00:56:00 with the community, from what I've seen. And I appreciate the community's patience while these works are being undertaken. And some of the challenges that the diversions and roadwork crews present at times, but at the end of the day, we're getting a far better outcome for a large number of areas across our council. And I thank you for all the efforts in getting us there. And incredibly, the largest landslip in 30 years that we're dealing with. These are challenging projects. And continue to, you know, hopefully we won't see the likes of them again in the future, but landslips are landslips. It's not the first time we've done a landslip on Black Mountain Road. There have been at least one or two others that I'm aware of over, you know, the past have been incorporated in. So these areas are challenging areas where some of these roads go through. But again, thank you for all the efforts. Speaker 3: Thank you. Mayor Stewart: I'll concur with that.
00:57:00 Councillor Jo, I just want to thank Julie, you and all the team. The work is substantial. It's ongoing. And you've been a great conduit between the community and council. And the expertise needed to drive this project forward has been sort of unprecedented. So thank you and all the team for all your hard work. We're getting there. Thank you. Speaker 2: Thank you for your kind words. And again, reiterate the continued understanding and support from residents is something that I can't appreciate enough. And I know how disruptive it can be. And for some residents, it can be quite traumatic having to live through this a little bit further on from the event. So we really do appreciate their support. And some great contractors as well. And similar to Jo, we've had some work. Deputy Mayor Stockwell: Yeah, I'll speak to it. This is a really interesting example of local governance in that we've talked about the biggest project in Noosashire history, just one of the projects recovering from this disaster.
00:58:00 And I talk about being, you know, like in the Sunshine Coast area, the general capital works in Noosashire is around 15, 17 million, so this year we're spending about 10 times that. Put this in context, in this one report, we've got capital works that is roughly equivalent to the total capital work spent between 2014 accounts to the end of the 2020 term. And so when people say we should refocus on road rates, they're right. I think we can say that one of the things you can't complain about in this term of council is spending on roads rather than rubbish, because our last one we spent, we know we created a $9 million hole in the ground to collect the rubbish. So this is just a really good example of strategic decision making, and while we as councillors get to talk about it, it probably wasn't a lot of our thinking.
00:59:00 You know, one of the key lines that we miss quite often is it was our acting CEO's decision very early on, to get in quick and get North Lane Consulting Engineers involved. And these people are at the top of the game in this sort of work. And we got in, and that's why we got quick, early and really professional access into the QRA funds. And we have our staff doing all that coordination locally. And so it's just a great example how, you know, probably most in the community won't have any great appreciation of the two years after, you know, in the Six Mile Creek catchment in a lot of places, it was the largest flood in history. You know, in two years after a major disaster, we have just about got everything under control again. Whereas I've heard stories from other councils affected by that, but they haven't even started to look at landslips.
01:00:00 So, great work for all involved, and I think it's just good to think, probably the same as Capital Works Budget from 2014 to 2010. Speaker 3: Thank you. Thank you. Councillor Jurisevic: Thank you, Councillor Stockwell. You did allude to how fortunate we were to have the foresight of our Infrastructure Director and Acting CEO Larry Sengstock see the opportunity here to seize the moment and get in. And I think we'll get this underway in a quick fashion. I thank you for that leadership. Without your guidance and that, we probably wouldn't be in the situation we're in at this point in time. So it is well acknowledged. Thank you. And praise is well deserved to all the crew and all the residents. Again, yes, thank you. There's so much being done here across a raft of different measures, not just culverts and landslides,
01:01:00 but a whole raft of flood recovery. And the one word that comes in, and you mentioned it there Julie, is resilience. That wasn't a word that came into flood recovery or into disaster recovery a long time ago. I'm glad that the current Queensland recovery plan has resilience at its forefront. It was something we championed when it was written. I'm glad to see they're actually adhering to that and ensuring that elements of resilience are added into all the works we undertake. Thank you. Mayor Stewart: Thank you, Kent. Thank you, Julie. Thank you. Thank you, Julie. Thanks, Julie. Thank you. Thank you. So we have no confidential... I'll put it to the vote. All in favour? Carried unanimously. Thank you. We have no confidential items. And that brings us to the end of the agenda. The next ordinary meeting will be determined following the local government election on the 16th of March. So as this is the final meeting of our term, I think I speak for all councillors when I say
01:02:00 it has been an absolute honour and a privilege to serve this council and this community for the past four years. And thank you everyone. Good night. God bless.