Before the first item ¶
00:00:00 Councillor Finzel: Good afternoon and welcome to the Services and Organisation Committee meeting 8th of October 2024. Good afternoon and welcome to everybody. Good afternoon to the Mayor, Councillors, the CEO, to the staff and we have in the gallery today with us we have Councillor Tom Wegener and Councillor Amelia Lorentson. I'd like to take this opportunity to acknowledge the Kabi Kabi people and the traditional lands on which we live, work and play and acknowledge their inherent wisdom and their teachings that inform us day to day. We have everyone in attendance and no apologies. Oh, do you have an apology? Speaker 1: No, sorry, no, I was agreeing with you. Oh, right. Chair. Councillor Finzel: Thank you for the clarification, Mr. CEO.
1 ATTENDANCE & APOLOGIES ¶
00:01:00 Do we have a mover for the confirmation of the minutes, 10th of the 9th, 24? I'll move it, Madam Chair. Moved by Councillor Wilkie, seconded by Councillor Phillips. We'll take it to the vote. All in favour? That's unanimous. Thank you. Item number three, presentations, there are nil. Number four, deputations, nil to present. Five, reports for consideration to the committee. We start with 5.1, change of venue and time for 21st of November, 2024, ordinary meeting. Do we have anyone? Would you like to comment on that? I'll do that. That's fine. Thank you, Mr. CEO. Speaker 1: No problems at all. So, in keeping with our direction to take some of our ordinary meetings to some of our regional areas, we are proposing to have our November meeting instead of it being here in the chambers. The chambers being at the Peregian Beach Community House on the 21st of November, so the same
4 DEPUTATIONS ¶
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5 REPORTS FOR CONSIDERATION OF THE COMMITTEE ¶
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5.1 CHANGE OF VENUE & TIME FOR 21 NOVEMBER 2024 ORDINARY MEETING ¶
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Deputation: LIAM ALLAN ¶
00:02:00 day, but instead of it being at 10 o'clock in the morning, it will be 5 o'clock in the afternoon. And there will be some activity prior to that, opportunities for community to come along and talk to us about some various things that may be of interest to them and some specific things that we want to talk about as well from a Council point of view. But we're talking, moving the date, so we need to do this as far as we need a resolution to do this, to move the ordinary meeting from the 21st of November at 10 a.m. here in the head office, we move it to same date, 21st of November at 5 p.m. at Peregian Beach Community House. Councillor Finzel: Thank you very much. Well, this is a great opportunity for our community to come and have some meaningful engagement. Mr. CEO, does that mean we will have staff with us to answer technical questions? Speaker 1: Yes, yes. So there's some things that will be, we already have consultation happening, a number of things, and there'll be more detail on that coming out prior to the meeting.
00:03:00 So we will have staff there, but also staff to, if a community want to come along with some questions, we'll have some ability to provide answers or at least take that on notice. Councillor Finzel: Fantastic. And is there anything specific that you might have information there for the community to obtain on any issues at the moment that are pressing the community? Speaker 1: We, at this point in time, we're looking at having some, getting some feedback on our destination management plan, but also I think that we'll be out with our Noosaville foreshore management plan. We'll be, hopefully everything will be in play for that to be communicated as well. Councillor Finzel: Fantastic. Well, that's really something to look forward to. Thank you. I presume all councillors who are available will be there. Do we have any questions regarding the change? Mayor Wilkie: No, you answered my, a question I had about information being available for the Noosaville foreshore draft revised plan, which will be current at that time.
00:04:00 Speaker 1: That's right. So we're hopeful of getting it all out and being in the public at that point. Mayor Wilkie: And most of the directors, all the directors will be there at the same time? Yes. So they're able to field questions on any topic, basically, if they come up? That's right. Yes. Speaker 1: Any topic? Yes. The majority of topics. Councillor Finzel: I'm sure there's opportunity to have it out there. That's right. Speaker 1: You can take things on notice. Council-related topics. Exactly. If we don't have the information, we can certainly take it on notice and get back to the people. Councillor Finzel: Fantastic. Any further questions? Thank you. Do we have a mover to change the venue and time for the 21st of November 2024 ordinary meeting? Mayor Wilkie: I'll move it, Madam Chair. Councillor Finzel: Moved by Councillor Wilkie. I'll second. Seconded by Councillor Phillips. Take it to the vote. All in favour? Yes. That's unanimous. Thank you. Speaker 1: Great. Councillor Finzel: Okay. Moving on to item 5.2. Noosa Shire Council sole and specialist list. And we have the staff joining us today. Thank you and welcome to the table.
5.2 NOOSA SHIRE COUNCIL SOLE AND SPECIALISED LISTS ¶
00:05:00 Thank you. Mayor Wilkie: Good morning. Councillor Finzel: We appreciate your time. Good morning. Good morning. Mayor Wilkie: Thanks. Thank you. Mr White. Yes. Without beard. Yes. Councillor Finzel: There's a bit of that going on. That's right. It sounds like Tom's starting a trend. That's right. So welcome to the table. Thank you for your time. Speaker 2: Absolutely. So in accordance with the summary, procurement of all Council's goods and services must be carried out in accordance with and compliance with the Local Government Act and the Local Government Regulation. The regulation provides for the procurement of medium-sized and large-sized contracts and also allows for exceptions to these requirements under certain circumstances, such as the approval of a supplier being deemed either sole or specialised. Okay. This report seeks to amend both the sole and specialised lists by both the addition and removal of nominated suppliers.
00:06:00 The amendment of both lists arises due to some suppliers requiring removal from the lists as goods and services are either no longer required by Council at this stage or they are able to be procured by other means as permitted by legislation. Secondly, this amendment requires to add new suppliers to the list to address Council's current and future procurement requirements. Councillor Finzel: Thank you. And do we have any questions from the Councillors at the table? Mayor Wilkie: Yes, Madam Chair. Yes. Hello, Lee. Could you clarify what, under the remove list, what is meant by services may be engaged via alternate methods as permitted by the legislation? So what has happened in those circumstances for, say, Genway and Tewantin? Speaker 2: So in those circumstances, they have, there are other options of either seeking multiple
00:07:00 quotes via the competitive process, or they may have been added to a supplier arrangement that has gone to tender, panel arrangement, and we can engage via that process. So it is another either exception to the legislation that can be used. Right. Mayor Wilkie: So it's not saying that Genway is no longer providing services, for example. Correct. It's saying their services are engaged via an alternate method. That's correct. Okay. Thank you. Speaker 1: Okay. Councillor Phillips: Any further questions? Mm-hmm. Okay. Councillor Finzel: How do, what's the process to reassure that that is fair and equitable process that's put forward now? In terms of? In terms of the people that are removed with the exception. Yes. So it is just, might you answer the question about there's other pathways to do it? Yes. Is there any other process in motion that provides a surety that it's, provides equity?
00:08:00 Speaker 2: The equitable process is the competitive process. So they, if they have been removed, then their services could be sought via a competitive process with other players that are within that same market. Mm-hmm. If we're seeking them for the panel arrangement, they've already been removed. So there is that fair and equitable process in place there. Fantastic. Councillor Finzel: And there is a pathway for people that feel that that hasn't been properly adhered to? Speaker 2: Absolutely. Yes. So they can certainly be in touch. And we can advise them on, on how best to ensure that they're visible to the market as well. Fantastic. So for good governance, it's open and transparent? Absolutely. And a counsellor's approach? Yes. Fantastic. Councillor Finzel: Mm-hmm. Any further questions? No, thanks. The CEO, would you like to add anything to that? No. Mayor Wilkie: That's all good. This is normal practice for us.
00:09:00 Yeah. Councillor Finzel: Fantastic. Mayor Wilkie: I have another question, Madam Chair. Oh, certainly. Just out of interest, how often are these lists amended? Speaker 2: Annually. Annually. Yeah. So we review them every year, and we ensure that we bring it to council to have approved. Yes. Mayor Wilkie: Is there normally this much movement on and off the lists? Speaker 2: Yes, it certainly can. Absolutely. Yeah. Yeah. The market can move as quickly or as slowly as deemed. Mm-hmm. Yeah. Mayor Wilkie: And Councillor Finzel alluded to it. There's a lot of probity around these. Yes. These decisions. Can you just talk us through the process for amending these lists? How does it happen that some come to be on and off, and what is the probity around this process? Speaker 2: Yeah. So we do a review. So the requests are sent through by the departments themselves, and we do searches either via any current panel arrangements that may be accessed.
00:10:00 We also do a search on potential competitors. So it's in order to be added to the list, it's for the reason that they're on that particular list. So it may mean that there is a competitive process that's done outside this list. We're not saying that that's the only means in order to engage. Mm-hmm. We still have the other means of engaging the market, but we do a number of checks throughout the process to ensure that the reason that they're coming to us, we can clearly show that they are appropriate to be on that. Yeah. Mayor Wilkie: And there's often a lot of interest in these lists in terms of what the percentage are local suppliers. Mm-hmm. Are you able to give us an indication of that? Speaker 2: Yes, I can actually. Okay. So in terms of the overall list, on the specialised list, what we have is there's local, but we've
00:11:00 also deemed local as well. And what we mean by that is it could be that it's a larger company, but there's a lot of local employees that are being employed in that particular group. So in the Noosaville Shire, including deemed, we have 17% of the list is local and deemed. Mayor Wilkie: 17% of the total list, all these changes? Speaker 2: Oh, sorry. Of the total list. Yeah. Yeah. Of the, would you like to, of the new list, we have two that have actually been included. Mayor Wilkie: Mm-hmm. So a lot of these services are available only through, what, nationwide companies? Yeah. Speaker 2: Potentially. Yeah. There are some that may actually only be nationwide. Mm-hmm. We have local, Sunshine Coast, Gympie.
00:12:00 So if we even include our surrounding councils as well, of the entire list, there's about 30% that are from the Noosaville Shire and neighbouring councils as well. Mm-hmm. Mayor Wilkie: And when it comes to the spend on, on materials and services. Yeah. I understand that that's about 33 million of, a third of council's spend is on local supplies, to local, goes to local supplies. Speaker 2: I don't have that current list. Which we think is a 30% . Yeah, I don't have that current value. No, no. That's according to the economic development department. Oh, okay. Yeah. Sorry, I can't speak to that without going in. I can certainly take it on notice if you'd like me to. Mayor Wilkie: And is there a, what was your advice to local suppliers who'd like to be part of this process or get on the list? Speaker 2: Touch base with our procurement team. So send a direct email to us at procurement and we can start to have those conversations
00:13:00 in how to best be visible to council staff. And that could be as, as simple as registering to the vendor panel platform. Because that's where a lot of our buyers internally will seek first and foremost. Yeah. Mayor Wilkie: Okay. Thank you, Lyn. Speaker 2: That's all right. Thank you for your questions. Thanks. Councillor Phillips: I have a question. And I don't know if it can, we can go that deep dive into it. But I noticed that we've got the vehicle registration searches as, from Vicpol. Can you explain to me what efficiencies that will bring to our local laws? Yeah. Yeah. Speaker 2: Do you mean in terms of instead of seeking competitive quotes to go for those services? Councillor Phillips: Yeah. So I guess I want to understand why that is on our, this list. And then I think I know, but maybe just expand it. So they are actually on our, where are they on your list?
00:14:00 Speaker 2: They're on the SOL. Have I got them on SOL or special? SOL on your list. I think I have them on the SOL because they are the government entities. Yeah. They are the states and territories of Australia that, they are the only ones that hold that particular information. So there's nobody else that we can go to. So to ensure that we're compliant under the legislation, they need to be on this list. If we are seeking services, we need to make sure that if we are at a medium or large size contract, that they meet the requirements. They need to meet either the default process or this SOL specialised, the exceptions under the legislation. In terms of efficiencies, these lists in particular allow for that business as usual to be able
00:15:00 to expedite the process and ensure that we're able to engage with those companies as quickly as possible. Okay. Mayor Wilkie: I noticed there's at least three references to podiatrists who've made big demand for podiatry. Speaker 2: In terms of our Noosa seniors, yes. Yeah. So you'll notice the podiatry services, the specific contractors were removed, but we have added a podiatry services category because of, it was just too difficult. It came down to who was actually available at the time and could who be available at Mayor Wilkie: Do you want to leave it if people go on, Tewantin? Speaker 2: No, absolutely not. Mayor Wilkie: They must look forward to it. I bet. Happy to move it, Madam Chair. Councillor Finzel: Right, thank you.
00:16:00 That's moved by Councillor Wilkie, seconded by Councillor Wilson. Take it to the vote. All in favour? That's unanimous. Thank you. Thank you, staff, for your time this afternoon. Thank you. Thank you. Mayor Wilkie: Good to see you. Thank you. Very exciting. Thanks. Thank you. Thank you. Councillor Finzel: Item number six, reports for noting by the committee. There is nil to report. Item seven is confidential. Can I move a motion? Can someone move the motion that we move into confidential session? Councillor Phillips: I'll move that the meeting be closed to the public pursuant to section 254J3G of the Local Government Regulation 2012 for the purpose of discussing items. It's on 7.1, composting expression of interest. Councillor Finzel: Thank you, Councillor Phillips. Do we have a seconder for that? I'll second that. Thank you, Councillor Wilson. All in favour? That's unanimous. Thank you.
6 REPORTS FOR NOTING BY THE COMMITTEE ¶
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7 CONFIDENTIAL SESSION ¶
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7.1 CONFIDENTIAL - NOT FOR PUBLIC RELEASE - COMPOSTING EXPRESSION OF INTEREST (EOI) ¶
00:17:00 We will now close the meeting to the public and move into . All right. Speaker 1: Okay. Back on. Councillor Finzel: Good afternoon and welcome back as we come out of the conference. Confidential session, item number 7.1, not for public release, confidential composting expression of interest, EOI. Mayor Wilkie: I'll move it, Madam Chair. Councillor Finzel: Thank you. That's moved by Councillor Wilkie, seconded by Councillor Phillips. All in favour? I'll move it. Mayor Wilkie: I think it's important to explain what it is. It's committing the council to an expression of interest process for the design and construction of a composting facility at the Eumundi Noosa Noosa Road landfill. The purpose of going through an expression of interest process is to cast as wide a net as possible throughout the industry.
00:18:00 So we make sure that we get the best tenders at the end of the process. And also the best, hopefully the best provider to provide the designs and construction for this facility. It is going to be, we have estimates of its cost of about $12 million. So it's important to get the work right. The funding source is not secured as yet, but it could be through the Council of Mayors or through loans. But this is essentially a decision to go to. So it's an expression of interest process for the composting facility at the Resource Recovery Centre. Councillor Finzel: Thank you. We'll take it to the vote. Do we do it again then? Yes. So we'll take it to the vote. All in favour? That's unanimous. Thank you. And a big thank you to the staff. Back to the team. Our gratitude for all the work that's been put into it.
00:19:00 It is significant and we really acknowledge the work you've done. And thank you for your time today. Thank you Scott. Speaker 1: Thanks Karen. Councillor Finzel: And with that we declare the meeting closed at 2.05pm. Thanks Scott. Thank you everyone for attending. I appreciate your sense of humor. Thank you. Thank you. Mayor Wilkie: I appreciate your sense of humor.
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.