General Committee - 14 October 2024 Transcript

1 ATTENDANCE & APOLOGIES ¶

▶ 00:00:49

00:01:00 It's always good to acknowledge that there are a range of ways to contribute and sustainable development is one of them. Okay, I move on then to the confirmation of minutes. Do we have someone who wishes to move? Happy to move. That's moved, Councillor Lorentson. And a seconder, Councillor Wilkie. I presume there's no discussion. All those in favour? That is passed. There's no presentations, but we do have a deputation. So if the deputies would like to stand up to the lectern. And it's in regard to, I'll just get the details. It's in regard to the Noosa Plan Pros Amendment No. 2.

2 CONFIRMATION OF MINUTES ¶

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Nothing was transcribed under this heading — a stretch of the recording with no speech the model could make out.

4.1 Deputation: Opposition to Amendment No. 2, Factsheet 12 (BUSINESS ENTERTAINMENT ACTIVITIES TO THE NOOSA PLAN 2020) Applicant: Peter Thomas Stuehrenberg Speakers: Peter Thomas Stuehrenberg & Siriluk Moonthiya ¶

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00:02:00 In regard to the entertainment activities in the Noosa Junction. And it's a deputation by Peter Sternberg and Cyril. Peter Sternberg: That's correct, yeah. So I'm here to raise two points today. So the first one is the proposal to exclude that Fact Sheet No. 12 from the Amendment No. 2. And the second point I'd like to raise is also that the residents requesting Point No. 1 are not against live entertainment music. However, they are concerned of its current and future management that is impacting their lives every day. So, my name is Peter Sternberg. I'm living, so a bit about myself, I'm living in the Shire since 2002. Temporarily in Noosa Head since 2015 and permanently since 2021. Monday to Friday I work in Gympie.

00:03:00 And Saturday to Sundays I'm enjoying what Noosa has to offer. And also enjoying the night life at the Junction. So it is important for me to say here, I do not know anyone who is against live entertainment at the Junction. In the contrary, most people enjoy it. And acknowledge the need for it. But I would like to take you through a summary of events. So what happened since Christmas, last Christmas? We've had the usual annual experience during this period where the noise increases until school begins. We know about this and accept it as part of living close to the Junction, totally normal. Then in February this year the noise of loud music keeps coming. And lasting past 10pm. Even in weekdays. Residents and guests are irritated and their sleep is impacted. In the following months the residents are exploring where the loud music comes from and are engaging with the venue owners and the OLGR. So some improvements from the venues were made but not sustained.

00:04:00 So complaints were sent to the OLGR and OLGR has acted on those complaints. So I would like you to have a look at that page that is in front of you. And it's always set out why is it that some residents are complaining and others not. And here why some residents are affected by the noise from venues and others are not. So here's an example of venue location and its associated affected area. So the red area shows where sound can travel in a straight line without barriers. So houses that are in elevated areas are actually more affected. So the topography of Sunshine Beach Road essentially is a small valley. So sound from the strip travels up to the surrounding hillsides. Deputy Mayor Stockwell: I can just excuse you for a moment.

00:05:00 There is no recording in meetings that is happening at the moment. Okay continue. Yeah. Peter Sternberg: So therefore this location for nightlife and entertainment in general is and will always be a challenge with the surrounding residents in the old and newly built homes. So what is in this picture is just an example. I don't know how the other areas would look like, you know, where sound travels in this area and that area. So mid end of July we discovered the fact sheet number 12. Based on the residents long term and recent experience with noise related issue, the near proposal to extend the time from current council provisions to seven days until midnight came to a shock to the affected residents. What will happen if the proposed changes will be put in place?

00:06:00 When asking people to make a submission to council, the older long term residents gave up. For example, comments like our council is not listening anyway. They just do what they want, etc. At least they wished me luck. And you're younger, you can do it. After the end of the submission period, I launched a petition to inform people in general regarding fact sheet number 12 and the potential negative consequences for the surrounding residences. And to provide an option for people who missed the submission deadline. Another petition was launched, Save Our Music from NGA, which is concerned about the potential absence of live music and its consequences. Both petitions request a collaborative approach. What will happen if the residents' rights to peace in their homes at a reasonable hour cannot be guaranteed? If this continues, that venues with live or recorded music are exceeding the noise and time limits provided in their license to the point that residents' well-being is severely impacted?

00:07:00 If there is no regulation and enforcement provided by the council, what are the potential impacts? Will the current and future residents have to listen to music in their homes and bedrooms and toilets? Will they have to wait until midnight or longer every night then? Listen to the noise associated with loud patrons and staff leaving the junction after midnight? For example, screaming, yelling, motorbikes and loud cars with modified exhaust systems. We can hear them actually for miles and long time. And then the essential workers living here must wake up early in the morning to go and perform at their work after just four to five hours of sleep. How will school kids perform at school after lack of sleep?

00:08:00 What choices will these surrounding residents have? Soundproof their houses or apartments, move somewhere else, or complain to the authorities? History has not given us the confidence that all venues can regulate themselves in a way that does not unreasonably impact on the surrounding residents with the current rules and regulations in place. The proposed changes in fact sheet number 12 bear the risk the current situation will be significantly worsened. In this fact sheet it is unclear how a right balance between the needs of business owners and residents can be achieved. There is no mentioning of the surrounding residents. Further, open court here, Noosa Council does not deal with noise complaints about music, loud stereos, parties, rowdy behavior, go to the police is the answer there. Noosa Council does not deal with noise complaints about premises with a liquor license, go to the OLGR.

00:09:00 So in essence, Noosa Council makes the changes and then the residents will have to deal with any unintended consequences. Now, how can we expect better outcomes if we are continuing making the same mistakes over again? Noise in the junction has always been an issue. Several venues have over the years been moved from Hastings Street as nightlife there clashes with tourism to the junction which has resulted in noise complaints and issues each time. The Village Bike moved from opposite Nomads to Sunshine Beach Road. Little Sister moved into where Village Beach had been. Same thing happened, complaints followed. And Little Sister had to leave that place. There were noise issues a couple of years ago with the cornerstone. They spent tens of thousands putting in acoustic measures.

00:10:00 Then sold to Four Pines who unknowingly during their renovations removed all those acoustic measures. Started operating and of course the noise complaints rolled in. They spent over 40,000 putting in new acoustic mitigation measurements. New York Minute arrived in December 23, January 24. With no plans to operate within the restriction of its live music license. And by the end of January complaints started rolling in. It took eight months of residents' complaints for OLGR to eventually stop them from playing live music after warnings and fines initiated. Will the same thing happen with every new licensee that comes to the junction? Council can provide the license. It doesn't work. Residents complain and spend months and months not sleeping. Eventually the licensee is hit with costs and renovate their premises with acoustic measures. Or if outdoors they need to pivot and change their business models when they realize they simply can't play live music.

00:11:00 So what are the learnings and how will they be used for the future? What could be done? A future where businesses can operate with confidence, patrons can enjoy entertainment safely and residents will not be negatively impacted. We don't understand why fact sheet number 12 is in the amendment. We suggest to remove it from this amendment. Because the matter deserves a collaborative approach which provides the time for consultation, impact assessment, case studies to produce sustainable solutions that provide the best outcomes for all stakeholders involved. A collaborative approach is needed including stakeholders and expert groups to explore entertainment options for Noosa that will not have unintended consequences and potential long-term negative impacts on the region's economy.

00:12:00 The scope should not only focus on the Noosa junction hospitality present. What about if Noosa would have a long-term impact on the region's economy? If the residents would have gone to the Noosa junction, where all purposes and needs are considered, where the junction plays a vital part of it? If number one can be achieved then the surrounding residents will be able to continue enjoying live music at the junction and be able to sleep peacefully in their homes? Can we achieve a result with a balance between supporting tourism-driven night life and maintaining residential safety? As you know, finding a balance between economic growth, residential satisfaction and community needs is essential to sustainable urban development. So I'm coming here to the end, but I would like to thank you and I would like to also

00:13:00 thank you all the people who have signed the petitions, both petitions on this matter. It shows that this is an important issue and we now could get this right. I'd like to thank the people in my neighbourhood which encouraged me to be here today and also obviously I thank you for listening to me today and have the opportunity to revise the amendment number two. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Deputy Mayor Stockwell: Thank you. Thank you. The process is that we have had staff go through all the submissions to the planning scheme and we're currently going through a series of workshops where the major ones are discussed in some detail. So there will be probably weeks before you do find the outcome, but you can tell the older residents now that Worcester Council does listen. Peter Sternberg: Yes, it is. And I saw some of your reportings online and I can see really you are listening and you

00:14:00 are trying to find the best solution. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Deputy Mayor Stockwell: So we move on now to items referred from committees and number one is application for extension to the currency period of an application for other change to a development approval for material change of use of premises, resort development comprising a multiple dwelling, 109 dwellings, an accommodation building, 90 accommodation units and ancillary facilities to a resort complex in shop at 3 and 7. So we're going to close this ahead and we welcome Richard, Patrick and the Dean to the table and I am presuming the Dean will be the person who gives us an executive summary of the proposal. Mayor Wilkie: I'll start off. May I ask a question Mr Chair? You may. Is a 100 page report the longest you've ever written? Speaker 6: Probably.

5.1 132008.176.04 - APPLICATION FOR EXTENSION TO CURRENCY PERIOD AND 132008.176.05 - APPLICATION FOR OTHER CHANGE TO A DEVELOPMENT APPROVAL FOR MATERIAL CHANGE OF USE OF PREMISES - RESORT DEVELOPMENT COMPRISING A MULTIPLE DWELLING (109 DWELLING UNITS) AND ACCOMMODATION BUILDING (90 ACCOMMODATION UNITS) AND ANCILLARY FACILITIES TO A RESORT COMPLEX AND SHOP AT 3 AND 7 SERENITY CLOSE, NOOSA HEADS ¶

▶ 00:14:19· Carried unanimously 7-0 from council's minutes

00:15:00 I think at this stage. I don't know, what was yours Patrick? 101. 101. Mayor Wilkie: We can do longer ones. It's a lot of time of work and I understand. Okay. Yeah. Thank you. Speaker 6: Alright, good afternoon everyone. So this afternoon we're considering a report which addresses, it considers two applications. The first is 132008.176.04 which is an application to extend a currency period of an existing approval. And then we have 132008.176.05 which is an application. This is an application for an other change to an existing development approval which currently is approved for a material change of use for a resort development comprising multiple dwellings, 109 dwelling units and accommodation buildings, 90 accommodation units and ancillary facilities and they're proposing to change that to a resort complex and shop. The subject sites that we're looking at are at 3 and 7 Serenity Close, Noosa Heads.

00:16:00 As the Chairman has explained, this was part of a master planned estate that was assessed under the 1985 planning scheme and was approved in 2004 where the residential high lots across Serenity Close were created, a park area was also created and dedicated and then there were 34 detached housing lots created along Banksia Avenue, so that was in 2004. In 2008, a resort application was lodged over these two lots. It was approved in 2011 by the then Council. An extension of currency was granted to that approval in 2013 and that was granted by the court subject to payment of contribution for koalas, an offset for koalas. In 2017, an extension was granted to that currency and that gave another extension of currency until 2022. This original approval was for 109 dwelling units and 90 accommodation buildings.

00:17:00 So we had a total of 199 units approved on the site, it's four storeys in height, had basement car parking, pools were located along the southern boundary and we had two actual access points along off Serenity Close. A other change application has been submitted and that's what we're basically considering today. This, the original application that was submitted to Council proposed 205 units. It was four storeys in height and had a GFA of approximately 19,000 square metres. Site cover was 40% and the main access was pulled off Serenity Close and came off the roundabout at Banksia Avenue and Grand Street. That was the main access and again we had a service access at the end of Serenity Close. So that was the first one. We liaised extensively with the applicant and final plans were submitted 30th of August,

00:18:00 these plans have reduced the total number of units from 199 down to 186 units. We still have four storeys, we have substantial basement car parking provided, the GFA has been reduced down to 17,600 square metres. The pools have been, which were previously located along the northern boundary and into our conservation zoned land have been moved and relocated to Serenity Close. Originally there were some shops and a tennis court that were provided in the centre of the site. The tennis court's been removed. And the shops have actually been relocated underneath the building next to the lobby. All development now is outside the environmental management and conservation zone. So what we're dealing with on the 05 application is an other change to an existing development approval. The Act is quite specific in terms of what we can and can't do with an other change. So whilst another change application is similar to a new development application,

00:19:00 it's to focus on what we can and can't do with an other change. It's to focus on the changes to that existing development approval. So our job is to identify the planning issues that arise from the changes compared to that existing development approval. So it's not a fresh application even though it has gone through a whole application that's been lodged, we've had information requests and it's been publicly notified. So we are dealing with a change to an existing approval which is important to note. So we are dealing with a change to an existing approval which is important to note. So we are dealing with a change to an existing approval which is important to note. As I've indicated to you in the report, there was a plan showing the extent of the original footprint which has been reduced down and the development has been relocated out of our now mapped conservation areas and the development footprint has been reduced and more areas of open space and vegetation retained. So briefly, the NUSA plan designates this site and includes it in the tourist accommodation zone. A resort is a consistent use in this zone.

00:20:00 The development through the changes now takes the form of smaller separate buildings that have some interconnections which is required for the function of a resort. But when you look at the scale and compare it to the surrounding development, the building configuration and its location with the substantial setbacks actually is quite consistent with the surrounding character. There's variations in the design of materials, there's big overhangs, there's substantial landscaping proposed. There's variations in the design of materials, there's big overhangs, there's substantial landscaping proposed. Here's an overview of the built form roofing materials. There is a rooftop garden that has been provided as a vegetable garden upstairs. Some aspects to note. There is basically substantial basement car parking provided on-site. Car parking has changed, but our consultants have indicated that it is sufficient.

00:21:00 And probably more than enough, We also asked them to look at, there's several of the submissions indicated the opening of Banksia Avenue onto Noosa Drive. Our consultants indicated that that wasn't appropriate. For information, we also have online one of our traffic consultants. If you'd like any questions on a technical nature, we can directly ask Tim, who's online there. Biodiversity, bushfire, sorry, has also been reviewed by an external consultant. Remodelling was undertaken by the applicant and council's external consultant as well. And basically it determined that it was outside a hazard area.

00:22:00 Biodiversity has also been reviewed. The development is less than the existing approval. We have more vegetation retained and we've also imposed conditions about additional covenants over the site to protect that vegetation. A koala survey was undertaken. There was no evidence of koalas on site. We also note that a previous contribution was paid for removal of koala trees. And a survey was undertaken with regards to the glossy black cockatoo. And there was no evidence of those species on the site either. 107 submissions were made in response to the application. These ranged, of them, 21 were in support. The submissions raised ranged from vegetation, loss of vegetation, to pathways, traffic issues as well, as well as some that are unrelated to council relating to electricity and the insurance pump station. The application was referred to the state because of the koala habitat and state transport infrastructure and the state's imposed conditions relating to removal of the koala habitat trees, rehabilitation plan, and an offset for removal of the trees.

00:23:00 The state's also required the provision of a private bus stop along Serenity Close, which the applicant and council aren't supportive of, and the applicant, we understand, is going to make representations about that. So, in essence, that... The site, we've reviewed the proposal against the planning scheme, we consider it to comply with the requirements of the Noosa plan, and staff's report recommends approval of the application, both of them. Deputy Mayor Stockwell: Thank you. Do we have any questions? Mayor Wilkie: Chair, careful looking. Thank you, Mr Chair. Some of the submissions expressed concern about the traffic generation. Maybe a question for the traffic, the independent traffic consultant.

00:24:00 Is that you, Tim? Can you hear us? Yep, I can hear you, Tim. Tim, can you give us your assessment of how the road network will handle any traffic generated by this development? Speaker 1: Yeah. So, the application assessed primarily the Noosa Drive and Coral Tree Avenue roundabout. So, the application assessed primarily the Noosa Drive and Coral Tree Avenue roundabout. And the, as part of our review, we reviewed what sort of rates they used to calculate the trip generation based on the number of rooms, the other commercial activities that are at the development site. And they were all, you know, fine. The assumptions they made were fine and in line with standard, with standards. And then the analysis results also reviewed those. And the methodology they used there was also sound. And based on that, we've reviewed the results. So, if an intersection currently, which is background traffic, so today, essentially, was running at about 32% of its capacity, with the development, that was going to increase to about 34%.

00:25:00 So, it's an extra 2% of the intersection capacity being taken up by the development, but certainly still sufficient spare capacity. Speaker 1: And the results also indicated that the delay at the intersection would increase by only less than one second. On average. And there was similarly low increases to the queuing of less than one vehicle length in all the peak hours that were assessed. So, there's no issues with the traffic generated by the development having a significant impact on the existing intersections of the road network. Mayor Wilkie: And there was a suggestion from residents for a link from Banksia Avenue through. Could you explain why you deem that not to be necessary? Speaker 1: Yeah. So, to bring that in, we basically would, sorry, putting that link in would create a new intersection or an increased use of an intersection that is in very close proximity to an existing roundabout.

00:26:00 So, there'd be a lot of traffic that would come in through, there's already the Noosa Drive, Grant Street, Sunshine Beach Road roundabout, that big one there. Opening up Banksia Avenue and either coming, bringing that down into the Coral Tree Avenue, Noosa Drive roundabout. Or an entirely new roundabout would be, it's already very close to the roundabout that's already there. And there's enough capacity in the roundabouts that we already, that are already there that it's not needed to introduce that new road link. And as always, when you're introducing new road links through sort of more minor roads is you then, there's sort of flow and effect of that is you then potentially have rat running where you have vehicles that aren't going to those developments. Seeing that as a quicker way to where they need to get to and diverting down local streets rather than using the higher order roads that have the more through function.

00:27:00 Which is, you know, then you get an amenity impact on local roads with additional traffic that is actually not going to a development along that certain road. So, this is sort of that flow and effect. There's no capacity issues with the existing intersection. So, it's not something that we think needs to be investigated further. That new road link. Mayor Wilkie: Thank you, Tim. And what assumptions have you made about the way guests will choose to get around once they arrive at the resort? Speaker 1: Yes. The traffic report there assumes there's a lot of private vehicles, obviously. That's why there is that sufficient car parking for them. There is provision for bicycle parking as well. And it would be, it's going to be a mix. I think we always assume, worst case, that everyone drives. With the hope that then you overestimate how many vehicles may be generated to make sure we're determining what the impacts could be.

00:28:00 But given its location, it's expected there would be a proportion of walking and cycling. The development also proposes a mini bus to help transport guests around as well. So, there are alternative transport options included as part of the development. Mayor Wilkie: So, Tim, another question if I may. Forces. Okay. If, so you're assuming that your modelling is based on the assumption that all guests may choose. Even if all guests may choose to drive, the road network will cope. Speaker 1: Sorry, I've got the report open next minute, so let me check very quickly. But I believe, yes, that's correct. There will be an assumed to be private vehicle trips. Mayor Wilkie: Is it fair to assume that a lot of guests will choose to arrive? Let's say, perhaps, fly into the airport and be bussed to the resort? Speaker 1: That's potential. Obviously, if they need to stay, that's more likely than the local Queensland trips.

00:29:00 But, yeah, we have the assumptions in the original report, which we are okay with as well, is that it is primarily by private vehicles. Mayor Wilkie: Yeah. Someone else can ask some questions. Any other questions? Councillor Lorentson. Councillor Lorentson: I'm going to refer to the infrastructure charges. To Richard, perhaps, a question to you. So, the development, if approved, will be required to pay substantial infrastructure charges. And my understanding is that 40% of the infrastructure charges revenue will go towards transport and traffic related upgrades. Two questions. How does Council determine which transport and traffic related projects will receive the funding from IC Revenue? And how can we ensure that some of that money is directed towards improving access and pedestrian

00:30:00 safety along Katerina and Grant Street? Speaker 7: Yeah, thank you, Councillor, and through the Chair. So, the development, as you allude, will provide substantial infrastructure charges. And that gets issued following any development approval in the order for this particular application. We're talking in the order of almost $2.6 million of developer contribution for the development of the scale will be required. The infrastructure charges are designed to fund trunk infrastructure upgrades. So, that's our regional parks, stormwater, and our main road network. And road infrastructure networks. So, it doesn't get used for any non-trunk infrastructure. So, local roads are not included in that. It's all our main primary region sort of shaping infrastructure.

00:31:00 So, that money will go in. And essentially, we have what's called our local government infrastructure plan, our LGIP. You might have heard of that. And it's currently under review at the moment through our Environment and Strategy Department. And that document shapes and frames what are those priority infrastructure projects. So, that's a lot of infrastructure deliverables that we want to aim where our growth fronts are occurring. So, the contributions from development approvals feeds into that process of assisting how to fund those. So, obviously, this development, if approved, would be required to make a contribution in the order, as I said, almost $2.6 million to assist funding that. So, ratepayers aren't required to fund the entire bill for upgrades to our trunk infrastructure network. So, that's a lot of infrastructure. All of that infrastructure that's required for growth across our entire region. Now, that could be including places like the junction, where there's upgrades required to that infrastructure, whether it be stormwater or roads or parks as well, can be included

00:32:00 in that as well. So, that's what that funding would be required for as part of any decision. Deputy Mayor Stockwell: Just to clarify, when we talk about our trunk infrastructure on main roads, pathways going down the hill. Would likely to be identified as trunk infrastructure, would that? Speaker 5: Yes, sir. Deputy Mayor Stockwell: Whereas, when it gets to Katharina or Grand Street, that would then be a local road network and that would have to come out at general rate revenue. That's correct. Councillor Lorentson: Other questions? Correct me. And this is just going, I think, two, three years of trying to get residents in Katharina Street a footpath. But my understanding is that Katharina Street has historically been considered what's called a lower order road and wasn't included in the walking and cycling strategy scoping. So, my question is, will this application elevate Katharina Street to a higher priority

00:33:00 for pedestrian and cycling infrastructure improvements? And the question may be to Shaun. Deputy Mayor Stockwell: Yes, Chair. Yes. Well, Acting Director Shaun Walsh. Director Walsh: Katharina Street is actually shown on Council's walking and cycling strategy as a local link. Yes. And the five-year implementation plan that's shown, which we've put about 2025, to actually work towards a 1.5-metre wide footpath in Lake Katharina Street. We then use the walking and cycling strategy to seek funding from lots of other sources. So, you know, obviously general revenue, but ideally for grant revenue from the State Government. Yes. And you're aware that we were recently successful in achieving $600,000 in grant funding for local links from the State Government competitive community infrastructure grants program. Councillor Lorentson: Thank you very much. Deputy Mayor Stockwell: Do we have other questions? Councillor Wilson. Councillor Wilson: Just one more on the traffic and parking. Can you just confirm my understanding that there's enough parking not just for guests at the hotel, but also for all the staff?

00:34:00 So, we wouldn't expect to see any on-road parking. Speaker 6: Do you want to comment on that, Tim? Speaker 1: Do you want to comment on that one? Yes, please. Yes. So, yes, the applicant has got enough sufficient parking that's basically calculated separately. There's parking for the residential, you know, unit component as well as the other commercial aspects of the development as well. So, they're both being used in the calculations of the parking. Speaker 6: We've also, there's a condition requiring 60 car parking spaces to be dedicated for staff and commercial customers and visitors. Thank you. Deputy Mayor Stockwell: I'll move them, Mr Chair. Thank you. We have a mover. We have a mover is Councillor Wilkin. Councillor Lorentson is second. Mayor Wilkie: Speak to the motion, Councillor Wilkin. Thank you, Mr Chair. It's very gratifying when an application of this nature and quality comes before Council. Gratifying because of the willingness of the applicants to work with planning staff in

00:35:00 the interest of getting a quality outcome. This is a massive improvement on the existing improvements. The development is now fully sited in the Tourist Accommodation Zone. There's no development within the Environmental Management Conservation Zone. There are increased landscaping setbacks to Serenity Close, reduced number of units, increased onsite car parking, increased landscaping and retention of natural vegetation. The applicant themselves, the Carlisle Group, I think they won the best hotel in Oceana. This year they're one of the 25 best hotels in Oceana. It's an excellent example of quality over quantity development. Their professionalism and willingness to work with professional campaign staff is a testament to them and also to the staff. I think the outcome is something that is the best we can hope for.

00:36:00 It's fully aligned with the intention of the planning scheme for this site, which has always had it set aside for a five-star resort. It's been 30 years since this Shire has had a five-star resort and I think it will raise the standard of long-term of accommodation across the Shire. So I commend the staff for working with the applicants over an extended period of time and thank you for bringing this very thorough report to us. Director Rawlings: Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Councillor Lorentson: Councillor Lorentson. I'll speak also and I'm going to quote some numbers that were in the report. The Carlisle Hotel will be a major boost to Noosa's economy and that's really quite important. It's anticipated to have a $338 million direct and $663 million indirect impact on Noosa's economy. With a $300 million plus investment in its construction

00:37:00 and expected 60 plus local jobs, the hotel is really set to be a significant driver of economic growth in Noosa. As Mayor Wilkie mentioned, it's going to be Noosa's first five-star hotel and it's going to attract high-value tourists, both international and domestic, enhancing our brand. Councillor Lorentson. Recognised in 2024, it was the best hotel in Oceania and you're right, Mayor Wilkie, 25th worldwide by the world's 50 best hotels. Again, the Carlisle is going to help secure Noosa's position as a luxury destination. It will also support local businesses by sourcing products and services locally. Councillor Lorentson. It's great to have Queensland investors who are committed for the long term and understand the importance of maintenance.

00:38:00 As Noosa prepares for population growth, accommodation demand and the 2032 Olympics, the Carlisle will create quality jobs and stimulate other businesses, particularly in Noosa Junction. Contributing significantly can lead to our region's economic future. I'd like to take this opportunity to welcome our first five-star hotel here in Noosa, the Carlisle, and I'd also like to acknowledge the excellent work our planning staff have done to contribute to the report that we've got in front of us for approval. Thank you. Councillor Wegener: Yeah, I'd just like to add that welcoming the Carlisle to Noosa is a good news story and so yeah, I'd like to thank the planning staff and the Carlisle for maintaining the push, the persistence to get through. All the best.

00:39:00 Deputy Mayor Stockwell: I'll speak to it. It must be at least a dozen years ago that I went to a forum where the need for a five-star hotel in the Sunshine Coast region was identified as one of the highest priority for our tourism sector. So one of the things we do in a planning application is determine whether there's a planning need. I think it's clear there's been a planning need for at least a decade, and particularly in Noosa where the offering is so limited. And then we look at the technical aspects of this proposal which is changing an existing approval and every single major criteria the current proposal in front of us improves on the previous. There is less units, there is more area, in fact all the area identified for environmental protection is left to the environment, so taking the pools out of it. We have seen the building footprint move back from Serenity Close to up to 40 metres so that

00:40:00 it's not impacting the adjacent residents. We've seen a range of sustainability measures built into the design including solar panels, including renewable residual electricity, high back heating and ventilation, including rainwater collection, recycling waste, roofing, etc. Rooftop gardens to get the whole circular economy concept in as part of it and it really is in terms of the design, the work over with staff has really produced a result with a look and feel that is really consistent with what we hope to achieve in Noosa. So to me it's meeting a need but it's also setting a standard that other developers can have a look at and see how it is done to actually respect the Noosa plan and respect the long term values of Noosa. As the Mayor said, it's quality over quantity, so I'm fully supportive of the staff's recommendation.

00:41:00 Anyone else wish to speak, I'll put the motion, those in favour, oh you've got to close. Mayor Wilkie: Thank you Mr Chair. I saw your button draw a dot, it's okay. I'll pass up my right to speak, so thank you anyway. You all good? No, I think it's all been said. Okay. And said well. Deputy Mayor Stockwell: Sorry. Thank you. All those in favour. That's unanimous. Okay, so we move on to the next item. Thank you Nadine. Thank you. On to your next 100 page report. We move now on to reports direct to the General Committee and the first one of those is the Financial Performance Report for September. And we welcome Pauline to the table as well as Trent. Thank you. Our Manager and Director of Finance. Pauline, an overview please.

6.1 FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE REPORT – SEP 2024 ¶

▶ 00:41:40· Carried unanimously 7-0 from council's minutes

00:42:00 Speaker 5: Afternoon Councillors. So financial performance for the month of September continues to be positive with operating revenues outperforming forecast again, and operating expenditure under budget at this stage of the year. Operating revenue is $1.3 million of our budget, which comprises $666,000 relating to interest revenue, $330,000 for the year, and $1.3 million for the year to come. We've also been offset by $7,000 from sales of goods and services, predominantly from holiday parks and council facilities, 230 from grant programs and $71,000 from rates and levies. This has been offset by lower than forecast fees and charges of $73,000, which is largely relating to development assessment, which has been offset by some upside of building and plumbing. Operating expenditures are $697,000 underspent with $356,000 relating to housing and housing costs, and $393,000 relating to materials and services.

00:43:00 Overall Council's year-to-date position for September is $2 million above budget, which will be utilised to offset the forecast deficit that we adopted at Budget Review 1. You will note that this report also includes the quarterly update relating to legal costs, which are currently showing tracking below budget year-to-date. However, you should note that expenditure on legals can fluctuate depending on development and assessment claims and other issues that may arise during the year. Capital revenue is above budget due to the timing of the receipt of PRA disaster funding and local roads and community infrastructure program funding. However, capital expenditure is behind Budget $13.8 million, with $7 million relating to the disaster program and another $6 million relating to Council's general capital program. Council is currently holding $124 million in cash reserves, with $30 million invested in term deposits. Again, cash is higher at this time of the year and will degrade through to the end of the year as it pays for the operations of the business.

00:44:00 It is also higher due to the delay in the delivery of the capital program, so that means we're holding cash to fund that program as well. At this stage of the financial year, Council's financial performance remains on track and is subject to any emergent issues that may arise during the year. Deputy Mayor Stockwell: Thank you. Question? Thank you. Do we have any questions? No. Do we have anyone who wishes to move the motion then? Councillor Lorentson: I have a question. Sorry. Thank you. I'm just seeing if anyone else has a question. Okay. Summary of key materials and services expenditure. Consultancy services budget 2025, $1.989 million is our budget. And currently our actual is $1.660 million. A couple of questions.

00:45:00 First is, how do we measure the return on investment for consultants? Speaker 5: I wouldn't say that there's necessarily a formal process in measuring the performance of a consultancy. We use consultants for lots of different projects and requirements within the organisation. It could be for expertise. It could be for the delivery of a project because we have a lot of expertise. We don't have sufficient resourcing to do that. Just in terms of the consultancy, you were comparing prior year actuals to the current year budget, just to clarify. The actual spend today is $320,000. Yeah. But yeah, we don't have a formal process, but that is up to the individual business areas to assess the appropriateness of the use of those consultants. Mayor Wilkie: Okay. I do have a question. Thank you. You're welcome. Thank you. The reason why there's no questions is because the report is very comprehensive. It's well explained and well diagrammed, but I have a question about holiday park revenue

00:46:00 always seems to be tracking above budget. So, does that mean we are, we're being too, are we estimating the revenue correctly? So, when we... Are we being too conservative? Speaker 5: Too conservative, correct. Mayor Wilkie: Too conservative. Too conservative in our forecast. Speaker 5: Correct. And what I would like to raise though, in respect to the holiday park revenue, there is also an, there is also an increased underlying expense that relates to that. Yes. So, it's not a straight through to a bottom line impact. Yeah. But yes, we definitely take conservative approach and that generally relates to the fact that, as you'd know at the moment, we're sitting in deficit position after budget review one. It allows us to compensate if we need to fund any emergent issues through the year. So, if we go at a high target, we may not have that capacity to absorb those things during the year. Mayor Wilkie: So, in answer to my question, are we being too conservative in budgeting? And the answer is no. Speaker 3: I would also... Mayor Wilkie: I mean, it's a good thing, conservative budget. Yes. Speaker 3: To share also that as we do the budget during the year, holiday parks particularly forecast

00:47:00 based on occupancy levels. So, we've got a lot of uncertainty. Now, what that means is, from a consumer perspective, discretionary spend heightens in an economic downturn. So, we, we, with holiday parks, we've made an assessment as to what the anticipated level of growth would be in terms of occupancy rates at our facilities. Now, obviously, with one like Mr. River, Mr. Westfall, with the other ones in Northshore and Boreham Point, the occupancy rate is going to be cyclical depending on the amount of forward bookings. So, what you're seeing here in that positive variance in the revenue is that we've had an uptake in bookings or growth beyond our expectation in terms of baseline forecast year on year. Yeah. So, we don't forecast and we don't stretch out. Mayor Wilkie: Yeah. Speaker 3: Thank you for that. Mayor Wilkie: Look, just, just on that, the, the way the holiday parks have been run in recent years

00:48:00 is really exemplary. And could you pass on confidence to your, the members of your team who are overseeing that, the success of the holiday parks? Thank you. It just seems to be, kitten goals. Thank you. Yeah. Deputy Mayor Stockwell: Probably a following question. Looking at our investment return, and I think where the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the barometer is, at the moment, is the closest to the yellow that we've been to probably for several years. Is that because the long term bond rate is factoring in, you know, it's more positive than what the banks think, think, is happening at the moment? Is it, because we, we are investing in, you know, in term deposits, but it's just. Speaker 5: Correct. Well, there isn't. What impacts on that also is our cash balance. So depending on the timing of when cash comes in, that impacts that calculation of that ratio, which will bring back that arrow because we may not have invested it for the same period of time. So that can influence where that barometer sits.

00:49:00 Deputy Mayor Stockwell: But generally that sort of QTC during the high interest was substantially above what we were getting, but is it sort of coming back to that commercial market? Speaker 5: I think that QTC is still currently offering pretty good rates compared to the modern market. We've certainly locked in some rates over five so that we can ensure that we can maintain that through the year and fund anything that we need to. Speaker 3: In short though, Councillor, you may see this time next year as interest rates shift, you will certainly not see the same level of return. Yeah. As our cash balances stabilise and our returns stabilise. Speaker 5: And as the capital program happens and QRA completes it, it will certainly come down. Deputy Mayor Stockwell: Okay. Councillor Lorentson: A question and maybe a question to Richard. I'm just having a look at the development assessments, they're below budget and I'm just wondering what sort of impact will state facilitated developments have in terms of assessment revenue?

00:50:00 Yeah. So my understanding state collects not council collects the fees and just wanting to understand will that in fact impact our ratios? Speaker 7: Yeah. So the state facilitated development applications actually have no fee. So they're fully funded by taxpayers. The entire process has no cost to an applicant at all. So yeah, obviously that's pretty attractive for any applicant. Could we beat it? All local governments do have fee for service. So it's a user pay system. So that certainly is a threat for all local governments because it's a very attractive offering and local governments can't compete for that because that would be subsidised by our rate payers.

00:51:00 In terms of the situation with our DA revenue. So we are doing an exercise for the first time at the moment where we are. We have a series of unearned revenue that gets paid and we've received some large fees over the last couple of years, particularly a large fee recently before the end of last financial year that's been carried over and it's called unearned revenue. We're about to release some of that into our earned revenue in the month of October, so about 120,000. So in terms of the actual gap there at the moment, it won't be as significant. Obviously as we go through assessing applications, we've released some of that money from that unearned bucket into the earned bucket, which is why you're probably seeing there's a little bit of a lag of that revenue being recognised through that process. Thank you. Councillor Wegener: Thanks. Richard. So in the last issue with the Carlisle, trunk infrastructure was discussed from the .

00:52:00 So would any of the states approved would any trunk infrastructure be supplier paid for by them? Speaker 7: Yes. Thank you. Through the Chair. Yes. So there is still the obligation to issue an infrastructure charges notice for state facilitated development. And I just found out this this morning from our infrastructure charges specialist that unfortunately in situations where there's a shortfall of parking, there's no ability for that to happen. So we've asked the council to issue a charge in lieu of a shortfall of car parking, which is a separate, obviously, obligation. So that's of particular concern for local governments where councils can't levy for a reduction in car parking as we normally would through the process. Hopefully that helps answer that question. Councillor.

00:53:00 Councillor Wegener: Well, I guess, you know, like in my mind, I'd like to give a rough estimate of calculation of if this was an approved through the normal council. How much we're losing out relative to, you know, basically our opportunity costs. Speaker 7: Yeah. Difficult to put the exact numbers on what that would be. But we still get the ability to issue a normal infrastructure charges notice. So similar to the previous application, we would be able to issue a similar charge notice. But if there's situations where there's a reduction of car parking provided, as per council's policy, we wouldn't be able to require further contributions for a shortfall of parking. So that would be probably the difference, I guess, from what you normally get. Deputy Mayor Stockwell: So that policy is something that is an option the council can consider for developments if we were assessing it. Correct. It's done by an agreement during the application. And from memory around Lucid Junction, it's above $20,000 per site that's under the requirement.

00:54:00 Is that right? Councillor Lorentson: $30,000, I think. Yeah. Deputy Mayor Stockwell: $30,000. Councillor Lorentson: Same as Haston Street. Deputy Mayor Stockwell: $24,000. $24,000 would be a little bit less. Yeah. Mayor Wilkie: Okay. Thank you. Quick question. Just to clarify, the development application fees as set by council are not intended as a revenue-raising exercise, but to cover the cost of staff time to assess the application? Speaker 7: Yeah. Correct. Through the Chair. Absolutely. The cost recovery process, including non-cost, but not designed to make profit, just to cover out costs of assessing those applications. Mayor Wilkie: And the intention is so that ratepayers aren't subsidising the costs of the development? Speaker 7: Correct. That's absolutely correct. Mayor Wilkie: Thank you. Councillor Finzel: Okay. Oh, there's a question. Through the Chair. With regards to that, then, with the ongoing infrastructure costs to our capital program moving forward then around civic gutters and all that stuff, if we're losing out on that, I might have that wrong, on the SFD applications, how does that affect council in our overall

00:55:00 asset management expenditure and cost back to the ratepayer? Speaker 5: Well, I was going to say, so in terms of the infrastructure charter, we'd still receive the infrastructure charter? Oh, that would, yeah. Speaker 2: The infrastructure would still be there. Speaker 5: That would cover any works under the . Right. It wouldn't necessarily affect anything else in that respect. Speaker 3: And through the Chair, just to clarify, our infrastructure charges are only a proportion of the full costs of us undertaking infrastructure capital works. I think for the last two financial years, and we're obviously still finalising financial statements this year, that often we may get even cash in the range of one to two million dollars, depending on how many development applications we get. On any given year, our trunk infrastructure spend on capital works could be anywhere up to eight to ten million dollars. So they're only funds proportional. The rest need to be funded out of council funds or loans.

00:56:00 So it's not a self-funding mechanism. Thank you. Deputy Mayor Stockwell: Okay. Would someone like to move to motion? I'll move to motion. Move to Council Wilkie. And a seconder, Council Lorentson, would you like to talk to motion? Mayor Wilkie: Thank you, Mr Chair. Look, again, thank you for the excellent reporting. As I said before, it's comprehensive and detailed. And that's very important because councillors need that to ensure that we're on a financially sustainable track, financially responsible track. And that's been the key to Noosa Council's success for many, many years. That it has financially responsible practices that allow us to provide the infrastructure and services that the community expect, and go over and above that. Thank you, Mr Chair. And I think that's something that we need to do, and we need to do that with other projects. So thank you. We're more than able to cover out the basics because of excellent financial reporting and responsible financial practices. So thank you. Deputy Mayor Stockwell: Okay. Well, then we'd just like to talk.

00:57:00 No? So no need to close. Those in favour? It's carried unanimously. Thank you. Speaker 3: Thanks, Paul. Deputy Mayor Stockwell: Thank you, Paul. Thanks, Paul. And Kim Rawlins, the Director of Strategic Planning and to come up and give us an overview on the report on the draft Pomona placemaking plan. Thank you Michelle. Speaker 4: Thank you councillors. This report presents the draft Pomona place plan for its final round of community consultation which will happen from October 18 until the 17th of November for a period of four weeks. The draft Pomona place plan has been prepared in partnership with the community and is a result of two previous rounds of community engagement. The first round was undertaken from August to October last year and was to determine the vision and values of the community as well as asking the community what made Pomona a great place to live and how we could make it even better.

6.2 POMONA PLACE PLAN - DRAFT PLAN FOR COMMUNITY CONSULTATION ¶

▶ 00:57:24· Carried unanimously 7-0 from council's minutes

00:58:00 It also allowed the community to identify a diverse range of ideas that could potentially be made into actions in the Pomona place plan. To help prioritise these ideas into actions for the draft Pomona place plan a second round of community engagement was undertaken from the 13th of May until the 23rd of June this year. Where the community were asked to prioritise these actions from round one engagement and to confirm the vision statement. This has resulted in the draft plan before you today which we would like to present. The plan consists of three parts with an introduction and background in the engagement. Part B includes a vision statement and a round of actions and part C includes some implementation plan and ongoing monitoring and evaluation framework. Thank you. Mayor Wilkie: Questions? Thank you for the excellent report Michelle. So for the benefit of those who may be listening can you outline some of the key actions that you're proposing?

00:59:00 Speaker 4: Yes, so some of the key actions were around open space and character. The community felt quite strong about retaining Pomona's unique character, the heritage character plus the green open spaces and parks. There was some actions around improving connectivity throughout Pomona as well, particularly across the rail line which separates the village. There was some actions around providing more events and activation within community and connecting community together. So those are some of the priority actions that came out of the plan. Mayor Wilkie: And the document is a long term plan for Pomona. But I understand that there's been some, for want of a better word, low hanging fruit or projects, quick wins that the council has been able to implement based on the feedback that was heard. Can you talk to that please about what has happened even in the very short term before this document has even come before us as a result of the process?

01:00:00 Speaker 4: Yeah, sure. Thank you Chair. As part of that first round of engagement there was a lot of really good ideas from the community and quick wins that council could do to basically hit the ground running. That included some new seating in some of our parks, changing out the old metal tables for some timber top ones which actually add to the vibrancy of Stan Topper Park. We also included some sandstone blocks near the half basketball court for seating around that court for youth. We just fixed the lighting at the half court which actually made it more accessible for youth into the evening. We also tidied up the barbecue area in Stan Topper Park and gave it a fresh coat of paint and cleaned that up generally. So, yeah, overall I think the Pomona Depot staff do a great job in rebuilding that. It's open spaces, so yeah. Mayor Wilkie: Thank you. Speaker 4: Councillor Walton.

01:01:00 Councillor Lorentson: Thanks. Question. The consultants that we engaged were excellent and I note in the report that the staff has had an opportunity to learn from the consultants. Does that mean for the next placemaking projects there may be an opportunity that the process will be undertaken in-house or will we still be relying somewhat with external consultants? Speaker 4: Through the Chair. We have learnt a lot along the way in terms of this round of engagement. We're slowly taking hands and trying to, you know, get our hands and run it ourselves. So it's been the idea of the pilot was to create learnings both internally and within the community. We've had lots of really good feedback from the community along the way. But we need to be flexible and change our approach responding to the community. Moving forward, it will be probably depending on the next rollout, the level of that rollout,

01:02:00 what our council resourcing is. But I think we could slowly over time withdraw the need for consultants running moving forward. Fantastic. Councillor Lorentson: Thank you. Councillor Finzel. Yes. Councillor Finzel: Thank you through the Chair. Thank you for the report. It's really exciting to see these opportunities, especially the quick wins, to see them implemented. With regards to moving forward and taking the consultants out, in the report you mentioned community facilitation through the town community groups and setting up, you know, I don't know if you call them like work committees or whatever. Town teams. Town teams. Yeah. Can you just talk to us a little bit about, you know, that's a really new initiative. It looks really exciting. Can you just talk to us a little bit about how that might look in Pomona? Yeah. Speaker 4: So it is an opportunity for the community to take up. Town teams. The town team movement has been running for a number of years across Australia. They're really a body that sits between council and communities to help communities, you know,

01:03:00 develop these ideas into actual plans and then present them to council to look at. They're totally community based within community. It's not someone coming into community and setting it up. The community has to set up a town team if they prefer to be part of the community. If they prefer that's the way they want to go. Obviously there are a number of great community organisations already in Pomona. They may not feel that they need to do that. It was really just providing that opportunity to maybe a different type of model to get some more people that weren't necessarily in community groups to help participate and deliver some actions in the plan. Councillor Finzel: Yeah. So just following on from that, I just wondered if there was opportunity with youth engagement to see if they'd like to set up like a youth team, community team. Has there been any discussion around that? Speaker 4: So we've been working with community development around the newly formed youth group that they're looking at. But obviously the governance around town teams is totally flexible. If youth in Pomona community wanted to have like, you know, some actions they wanted to

01:04:00 run, then that's totally doable under a town team model. So definitely worthwhile looking into. Thank you. Councillor Wegener: Thank you. I've got quite a few questions. First of all, great report. I spent all Sunday looking at it. I spent the Majestic Theater. I volunteered there. What a great organization that is. An example of Pomona. But some questions. What I found when we were there at the IGA, people just kept saying, don't change anything, don't change anything. But at the same time, we have the state pushing down on us with pressures to grow. And this document talks about keeping it the same, maintaining the character and so forth. But do you have anything further to say about how it's going to live up to the expectations by the wider world to actually grow? Speaker 4: To the chair, that definitely came across very strongly within the consultation. One of the actions is around doing, is the council running a heritage assessment at the moment, Shire-wide.

01:05:00 So one of the actions in the plan is actually looking at how we preserve some of that heritage in Pomona moving forward. So that would be part of a separate process as an amendment to the planning scheme. As always, we have really strong character and heritage provisions in the planning scheme for Pomona under the local plan code. So they will remain and probably be strengthened as an outcome as part of this process. And then we have the separate planning scheme amendments moving forward. So we're reviewing the plan. We're looking at it at the moment, and there'll be a separate report to council around that as well. Councillor Wegener: With the population, it's the reverse double curve and seeing that the lowest amount of people is the 25-year-olds to 30-years-old. Is there a way to try to keep the youth there so it doesn't continue to morph into a retirement community, but to maintain the liveliness?

01:06:00 And I guess that's, I'm answering my own question. No. That's the whole point of the report. Deputy Mayor Stockwell: Council Wigner. Yes, sir. I'll caution you not to ask a question that you answer yourself. Councillor Wegener: Yes, yes, yes. Rail line activity in the next days, as the trains become more popular, and there's a slight mention of trains, but do you have anything further to say about tourism and trains? Because the first part of the question is more about tourism and trains, and second, does Pomona rely on tourism? Does it? Is that part of the future income necessary for Pomona to maintain its current state of maintaining itself, but not changing too much? Speaker 4: Through the chair, I think Pomona as a community itself, I think, maintains its economic diversity really well. There is the markets and a few of the businesses do bring tourism into town, but in terms of managing that, I think it's very important that Pomona is able to maintain its economic diversity really well.

01:07:00 It's a community, and I guess the outcomes of tourism will be included in the destination management plan moving forward, but the feel from the community through the place plan was really, this is our home and town first, and if you're coming here, respect it as being such, so it's really about, and it's attractive because of the way it is, like it's such a beautiful community that's connected and vibrant as its own little entity, and I think it's really important that it's a community that's connected and vibrant as its own little entity, and I think it's really important that it is a community that's connected and vibrant as its own little entity, really. Councillor Wegener: Thank you for answering my question far better than I am. Councillor Lorentson, you had a question. Councillor Lorentson: A quick one, sort of. How do we measure the success of the placemaking project? Have we got specific KPIs to evaluate whether or not it's working? Speaker 4: Yeah, so there's probably a number of ways. Obviously, starting off, we did the liveability survey back in June 2021, which really set the baseline data for those liveability metrics across the Shire, so really, our plan would be to run and implement the Pomona Place plan, obviously, with some KPIs in terms of delivering the actions in the plan over those timeframes, but we're looking to run that liveability survey again next year to really start looking at all those metrics to see how they've changed and the difference and whether our investments have improved or not.

01:08:00 And if not, why, and are there other factors that we need to consider? And the plan will be reviewed every five years as a refresh to make sure that the actions still are what the community are looking to have in Pomona. Councillor Lorentson: Thank you. Councillor Wilson: Go ahead, please. Councillor Phillips: Thank you. Michelle, this is great. It's really such a great report. I noticed in some of the feedback around safety, there was a mention of CCTV in parks and some better lighting. Where would I find that in the short, medium, and long term?

01:09:00 I'm trying to find it specifically. Speaker 4: I don't know if it's... It's probably not a specific action. We really just took the priority actions that the community kind of chose which ones are in the plan. There's probably some in Appendix C, I think, but some of the feedback just from what I recall was really around having some more lighting within the village to get a bit more evening activation. Not a huge need. I guess for CCTV footage from the community, I think they feel it's quite safe, yeah, and there was some, whatever lighting that we were going to look at need to be quite mindful of the wildlife at night as well, so it needs to be hand-in-hand with conservation of wildlife. Councillor Phillips: So I guess my, just another question then, with the feedback that comes from there, will it transfer over to when we look at the overall CCTV strategy that Council have already decided? So that feedback we received through this will help guide us through?

01:10:00 Director Rawlings: Yeah, absolutely. Any feedback we've received on community safety will be considered through that CCTV process, yeah. Deputy Mayor Stockwell: A follow-up question, if my recollection's right, when you had the, put the sticker on your supporting actions in the market, the one on CCTV didn't get any stickers, only got a comment, definitely not? Councillor Phillips: Yeah. Well, then, that's right, so my follow-up question to that is, is it more, did we ask if it was more, I'm assuming from my experience, it would have been maybe directed to the train station more than anywhere else? That would be where I believe community would probably request it. Speaker 4: I can't recall anything specifically around the train station and safety. These actions all came from the community, so unless they really thought it was a concern, it wouldn't have come up as an action. I think in talking to the local community, I think at one point there was some graffiti, but I think that was, that was handled really well and really quickly within community, so, yeah, I don't think there, I mean, lighting could always be improved, I guess, through the train station, but we need to align that with improved amenity and other things through that, that connection as well, yeah.

01:11:00 Thank you. Deputy Mayor Stockwell: Thanks, and Councillor Wegener, you had another question? Councillor Wegener: I love the, the free Wi-Fi, what are the odds of that coming, because, what a great thing. Speaker 4: Yeah, that's, that's, that's something that, you know, is within the hands of us in the community to work through, but, yeah, in terms of, you know, moving forward with these actions, it's really working with community to deliver that. Councillor Wegener: Okay, and page furnitures, if, I'm out of the loop on that, like, I, it's, it's, that's going to be repurposed, or is, is page furnitures? Councillor Lorentson: No, it's, at the moment, there are interested parties in it, I think.

01:12:00 Councillor Wegener: Okay, it's a funny little diagram around on the map there, let's. Speaker 4: It's really just to indicate that's an important key site for Pomona, both historically, it creates a sense of character in that factory street precinct, and it's really just identifying that's a key site that needs to be, and employment, yeah, that, that needs to be factored in, in the future. Deputy Mayor Stockwell: So, if you remember, the one on the western side was actually the butter factory, and it was, I think it started at the same time as the chauffeuring interview. So, Councillor Wilson, do you have a question? I do. Councillor Wilson: First of all, a great report and a great project, so congratulations. I hope the community's going to love it. One thing I especially loved as part of that consultation process was the love letters, and then I love that we've got the report with the love letter back, so, excellent job. My question is, for this third and final round of consultation, what will that actually look like in the hope? Speaker 4: Yeah, so this, this round will really be going out into community for a little pop-up again. Really, it's really just highlighting the actions, making sure we got, got it right.

01:13:00 Is there any gaps that we missed? Reaffirming the vision again, although we had a really good response to that vision in, in the last round of consultation. And really starting to look at, you know, what actions are the real, community really excited about? Is there any they want to start first? Is there, and really talking about that implementation as well, moving forward, and also providing feedback on the process that we've gone through. But we'll be sending out postcards again in the mail. We'll be doing an online survey. They have some action summary sheets as well. There'll be a pop-up in the Cooroy Library. We'll be emailing out directly to all the community organisations and having workshops, a stakeholder workshop with those organisations as well. And we'll be emailing direct people that have identified an interest in wanting to be updated on the project as well. There's probably 80 or so people in community that... that we'll directly email to them as well.

01:14:00 Social media and press release, I think. Wow. Councillor Wilson: So for anyone who hasn't been involved so far, there's lots of opportunities. There is lots of opportunities, yes. Thank you. Mayor Wilkie: Did someone like to move to motion? Thank you. I had a question. The action, there's a lot of really great actions. And, you know, there's Council's role is to sometimes facilitate, advocate, deliver, partner. And these tasks sort of look like they're for across multiple departments' responsibilities. Can you explain how these departments have been informed about their potential new job lists? How these things are going to react to their task lists? And also how the process for determining which of the funding projects are going to be up in the next budget? Because the community are happy to participate, but they're often asking, when will we see

01:15:00 real action? How does the rubber hit the road? How does this translate into real changes in the community? Speaker 4: Sorry, what was the first part of your question? Mayor Wilkie: How has this been... How has this been infused across the organisation? And so the relevant, responsible staff know that these are... these extra tasks are coming their way. Yeah. Speaker 4: So back in... Yeah. So back in 2020, when Council decided to go down this path, we set up an internal working group with cross-organisational representation. That group has consistently met the whole way through this process. They've been involved in all the key areas moving forward. And as we've moved, you know, to going out in community and getting those actions identified by community, they participated in community engagement along the way at pop-ups and doing workshops. We've held internal workshops. We've had workshops around all the actions in the plan.

01:16:00 And we're... Key's Council staff have sat down and had a look and looked at, okay, well, what's the time... What's a reasonable timeframe for delivery? And factoring in future resourcing and things like that. So that's all being factored into the timeframes for delivery around particularly the actions that we're involved in delivering, but also in terms of facilitation and those types of things as well. And we will look at how we move forward in terms of implementation. Like some of those will get factored into long-term capital works programming. So they're kind of sitting in those processes for budget approval moving forward, likewise operational plans as well. Deputy Mayor Stockwell: Thank you, Michelle. Yeah. Thank you. Councillor Finzel: I was going to quickly... I think you've answered my question because I was really going to talk about or ask about prioritisation and quick wins as well. Especially around like heritage in Pomona is pretty high up there. But I think in terms of the prioritisation around budgets and integration with community and council working together.

01:17:00 I think we've covered that. So with that, I'd like to move the motion. Deputy Mayor Stockwell: And do we... Oh, second it. And you can talk. Councillor Finzel: Thank you. Well, I think this is a really great opportunity for the whole of Shire actually. You know, starting with Pomona to do this really wonderful engagement with community and start down that track of placemaking, informing our planning scheme and what our community would like to pursue moving forward as their voice being number one priority. So I'm just looking forward to the future with excitement and hearing the voice of the community be engaged through this process and work together in a collaborative process to achieve the outcomes that the community has told us they're seeking. Thank you. Deputy Mayor Stockwell: Can I just... I'm sorry. ... seek the meeting's indulgence? Yeah. I just realised I shouldn't have seconded. Can I ask if there's someone else who... Because I intend to move an amendment. You're happy to second, Councillor Lorentson? And is the meeting happy for that change to be made?

01:18:00 Yes. Yes. Councillor Lorentson: Oh, because you've got an amendment. A question through the Chair. Cost. So we allocated, I think from memory, about $250,000 for this placemaking project. Did we fall within budget? Speaker 4: We're still tracking within budget. Excellent. We haven't quite finished the plan yet. That's probably early next year. But I think we've even factored in some money for some quick wins at the end of the project as well to launch it. So... Excellent. Councillor Lorentson: Thank you. Deputy Mayor Stockwell: I might move my amendment now. Just so I don't have a single moment here. Okay. So I would like to move the following. The item may be amended to read, endorse the draft Pomona Place Plan and Attachment 1 for its third and final round of community consultation with the following amendments to the draft Pomona Place Plan under item 3, Environment, Conservation and Sustainability

01:19:00 Living theme on page 28. 1. Take action 3.1 waterway protection and amend to read, develop a program of volunteer events to support the waterway health and safety. This includes... Put an S on there, please. Extending rehabilitation planning along Cooroora Creek, Rhyperian area, along Rifle Street to improve the area and enhance the linkage through to Toucha Koi National Park. And 2. Under action 3.1, who is involved, amend council's role to deliver and facilitate. Councillor Finzel: For debate, I'm happy to second. Sorry. Oh, sorry. I can't hear you. Mayor Wilkie: Can we... Can I ask a question? Yes. Under 3.1, who is involved, amend council's role... What is council's role currently in the document? Facilitate. Facilitate. Is that correct? Speaker 4: Yes. Yes. Mayor Wilkie: Facilitate. And under the other amendment, this includes extending rehabilitation planning along the

01:20:00 Cooroora Creek, Rhyperian area, along Rifle Street to improve the area to enhance the linkage through to Toucha Koi National Park. What is currently there? Is it not spelt out? Yes. I can... Deputy Mayor Stockwell: This is what's currently there. There is, at the moment... That's what's currently there. What's currently in the motion or in terms of the plan? Director Rawlings: What's in black is what's currently there. Mayor Wilkie: Okay. This just provides extra detail? Yes. Deputy Mayor Stockwell: And suggests that council has a role, not just volunteer effort. Mayor Wilkie: Okay. So a question to staff. Would... What's proposed in the amendment be entirely consistent with what's intended through the wording of develop a program of volunteer events to support waterway health and restoration? Is that consistent with what you've envisaged? Speaker 4: Through the chair, it does align with the actions from the community. It was a general action around improving waterways throughout Pomona, which Cooroora Creek catchment is part of that. So it does align with those actions.

01:21:00 Mayor Wilkie: I'm happy to second it. Deputy Mayor Stockwell: Okay. So councillors, when I was reviewing the plan, I went back and I noticed in the theme on the environment, there's only three actions and there was no clear mandate for council to be involved to a great extent. When I looked at the engagement report, I identified that when people are asked, what do you love about Pomona, number one was village and hinterland style at 80%, number two was environment and nature at 76%, three was community spirit, friendly people. And I looked back at that engagement report and some of the suggestions that were quite common, you know, several people made the same suggestions, including continue to upgrade, maintain and establish local nature trails, protect local wildlife, manage weeds and plant more species and protect waterways. I didn't think in the draft we outlined our role and some of the important areas where I think we can add to that in Pomona.

01:22:00 So if I could bring up the images. Just to tell you what is being proposed here. So you'll know the site that I've put the ellipse around. That's the area that is always the first to flood in the whole Shire. And you can see that there's a few trees, but there's a dark green area. It's highly weed infested waterway. So probably as bad a condition of a waterway as you'd like to see in the Shire, you'll find just there. You'll see the horse trail link on Google Maps. It's incorrect. The existing trails where I've dotted in, that one takes you through private property. There's a whole lot of quite high, generally exotic grasses through what is labelled a station park. If I can go to the next site. Mayor Wilkie: Sorry, Brian, just before we move on. Could you, so we all understand where we're looking at, could you point out on there where the township is? Deputy Mayor Stockwell: If the next one, it'll probably show you better. It's a bigger scale.

01:23:00 So if you see Station Street, Main Street, you can see where Station Park is there in the pinkish colour. Speaker 2: The last image was of there. Okay. Okay? Deputy Mayor Stockwell: Are we aligned? Yep. Yep. What that is, is a regional ecosystem map. The full dense colour indicates the biodiversity and ecosystem value of the area. And the purple one is for endangered regional ecosystem. So you see there's a 12-3-1, 12-3-2, and the same one happens down at Koora and Coorg. You see this linkage that's in the motion is a link between two remnant endangered riparian rainforests. Okay? So it's the link from an urban biodiversity perspective is quite significant. It's quite modified in the waterway itself, but getting that link will allow some species. You can also see council in the, the arm that goes up towards Tachikai National Park.

01:24:00 This is National Park here. This arm here. This is the land the council brought back for the Rifle Street flood mitigation. So at the moment, we have, we're the owners of this land here. There is flood mitigation walks for the waterway. So it's getting modified. But you can see here the potential to rehabilitate to get the linkage. I just think it's a piece of council-owned land that if we were going to make a commitment to achieve the vision of Pomona, is essential to include in the draft to at least give the community a chance to say whether they agree with that concept or not. And basically the dotted line is what I put on to indicate where I think that connection is as far as importance. I believe that in the eastern tributary, there have been platypus seen too. So having platypus quite close to town is an area of quite interest. And finally, while the Noosa Trail has been modified to go through Stan Topper Park and

01:25:00 down through the main street, a lot of the horses use the old Noosa Trail. Obviously they don't want to go down to the main street. They use that link that I've shown from, through the Rifle Street area. And down there, if Station Park was improved, they've indicated that's where they'd like to tie their horses up so they can go into town for a coffee. So it has a range of different, I think, values of actually turning what is probably a bit of a weed-infested, what I call no man's land, because it's not managed as a park that well. I don't think it is in our, to something that could be a real asset at the, very close into the centre of town. Councillor Finzel: I just have a question through the chat. Yeah. I like your idea. I'm just wondering about discussion about bringing that further along Station Street towards the railway gallery there, because that land along there is, gets flooded quite

01:26:00 significantly through a flood event, and is involved in that waterway. Is there any way, and I don't know if this is through the CEO or infrastructure, a question, along that bit of road there to, I don't know, not be going to the station, but to be forgotten as a gap that I think also could integrate with what you're proposing. But how do we make sure that area, which is involved in that flooding and that water catchment, and, you know, implicated from the weeds and things, how could we expand your amendment to include that? If we could go back to the maps, please. So if you look up. Yeah. Yeah. Here at Station Street, you're looking here, see this area just here. Deputy Mayor Stockwell: Oh yeah. Councillor Finzel: So that's. The pathway comes down. Can that be extended? Because that gets significant flooding there.

01:27:00 Deputy Mayor Stockwell: It does. It was enough to pull the fence and the concrete post out of the ground, the power of the water going through there. Yeah. Councillor Finzel: And it's like an eyesore. It's currently like you walk down there and it's got, you know, where the trucks come in to deliver the, like the water. And so that's quite significant in our rural area. Deputy Mayor Stockwell: Yeah. That's down the bottom there. Yeah. Councillor Finzel: Is there a way. Deputy Mayor Stockwell: Yeah. So in terms of, do staff think there's enough in the motion to have a look at that whole area as part of it? Director Rawlings: To expand that or? Yeah. Yeah. So I think that the motion's pretty broad. Like it talks about waterways, rehabilitation, connectivity, you know. So I think we can unpack that through the consultation. The issue of flooding and inundation and flood mitigation works is quite a separate piece. Yeah. A large piece of work that's also happening in Pomona. So I think that's probably more relevant to pick up in the flood study work that's happening. Sure. Okay. Councillor Finzel: So I think between both of those. Director Rawlings: Yeah. That would be great. There's enough focus on waterways and flooding inundation and mitigation.

01:28:00 Okay. Councillor Finzel: Because I also note that's the water station that gets stocked up, topped up. So I think that's managed by, I think it was City Water or Unity Water. So if we could have a look at there, because in terms of that infrastructure there, that really needs to be looked at. Councillor Phillips: Okay. Thank you. Can I just ask a question? Sure. Yeah. Just, you know, how much I like some evidence. Just how could I get, or could we get some data about you saying the water quality's the worst in the Shire? Could I see some maybe information that supports that? Deputy Mayor Stockwell: I didn't say the water quality. I said it's one of the worst in terms of our Weedon Park in the Shire. We haven't tested it. It's just in terms of the maintenance in that area. It's just a flood area. That's got a whole lot of nutrients from the urban runoff, and therefore it's always just weed infested. Councillor Phillips: All I'm asking, could we see some support? Deputy Mayor Stockwell: I'm sure.

01:29:00 Councillor Phillips: Supporting documents. Deputy Mayor Stockwell: Yeah. I'm sorry. I walk my dog past it every day when I lived there for two years. Councillor Phillips: No, that's, I just, all I'm asking for is there a possibility that, or my second question, and maybe for the Chair, for the staff, does this put any extra resource requirements on staff to see this through? Or are we just, I'm a bit, because I've only just sort of getting my head around it. Director Rawlings: So let's remember the phase we're at. So it's a draft plan with a set of actions going out to the community to kind of validate and test whether these actions align with what we might want to see achieved in the next 5, 10, 15, 20 years. Things like this. So what we need to do is, if a connection, waterway, rip, ripairing, vegetation rehabilitation program was to be developed, it would need to be designed, costed, budgeted. Grants would need to be sought. Community bush care group involvement, volunteer involvement, a whole lot of things would need

01:30:00 to occur over the next 5, 6, 7, 7 years. So yes to achieve these outcomes. There's definitely resource implications. To test this as an action that's of importance to the community, there's no resource implication of that. Councillor Lorentson: I'm happy to speak to the amendment. The wording is quite explicit. This can include. So it's an example of what type of volunteer event or what type of program. So it's an example of what type of program. Can be scoped under the plan. I'm happy to support the amendment. Deputy Mayor Stockwell: It actually says, doesn't it? Councillor Wegener, Councillor Lorentson is talking. Councillor Lorentson: Sorry, sorry. It says this can include extending rehabilitation plantings. I'm happy to support the amendment. And my main reason is that what we just saw on the screen is Councillor Stockwell's love

01:31:00 letter to Pomona. So anyone that's that invested. I'm happy to support the amendment. And I'm happy. I just think it's great to have a program identified an example of what that waterway protection can look like. And again, this is a draft plan going out to community for consultation. And we put it out to the community to see whether or not they agree with it. So happy to support. Mayor Wilkie: Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Well, I'm sure someone, Councillor Lorentson has summed up the arguments in favour of this amendment. Very well. Obviously wouldn't do that. Deputy Mayor Stockwell: And Councillor Wegener, I think what might have happened in terms of... I read something that was different to what Councillor Lorentson was talking about, I'm

01:32:00 happy to put it back into this can include... Councillor Lorentson: Sorry, I'm referencing what was saying to us. And I would probably prefer to different. Deputy Mayor Stockwell: I've changed it as I read it because I missed the word can, so I'm happy to put it back. Councillor Lorentson: Oh, thank you. Which explains your argument. Okay, thank you. Councillor Phillips: I was reading that you sent through, so I'm not... Councillor Lorentson: This can include. Yes, there's a cut. So we're not tied to it. Deputy Mayor Stockwell: You're happy now, Councillor Wegener? Councillor Lorentson: We're all reading different things. Deputy Mayor Stockwell: Councillor Nicolai, you're... Councillor Wilson: I was going to raise the same thing. Deputy Mayor Stockwell: Anyone else wish to speak to the amendment? I will close and just say that part of this is also, is really important to get, that we have an obligation to deliver as well in here. It is intended to trigger the potential for future council investment. I have talked about this site with the volunteer groups active in Cooroora Creek, and they said, look, we have lots of work just to look after that.

01:33:00 You know, when I suggested, well, do you want to try and do a grant program to go and do it, but they really indicated that they thought it was something the council should be involved in, and I think that's the other part of this. If environment is the second most important thing for them, it's something that general rates could be considered, or grants could be considered for it. So I think that's just as important as the specific location. All those in favour? That's unanimous. But it now becomes part of the motion. Does anyone else wish to talk to the motion? Councillor Wegener: I'll speak to it, if you guys, I haven't spoken to it. No, you just asked a lot of questions. I just asked a lot of long questions. I'm so happy with this, with the plan. Pomona is a small paradise, it really, really is, and so sometimes I wonder whether it's the people that live there, because there's such an absolute vibrant community, including Stephen, Brian O'Connor, the Landcare Group, the Majestic Theatre with Alison and Michael,

01:34:00 then Ron West and Vince, and then the museum with Ann Coombs and others, that there's just so many. And one of the things that Brian O'Connor has done is brings the architects there every year. And I find that that's really interesting, because it gets us really thinking about Pomona more than any other place, because we're actually talking and they've actually presented to councillors here. And so is it, just a question, is it the people that makes the town, or the town that makes the people? Because it is such a vibrant place. And so I'm very happy that this, that Pomona was the first, and it just shows how exemplary Pomona is. So I'll be supporting the plan. Thank you very much for your hard work. Mayor Wilkie: Just a point of clarification, Mr. Chairman, the moving, and mover and seconder on the motion before us I don't think is quite accurate. If I remember right, I think it was Councillor Finzel and Councillor Lorentson.

01:35:00 Other mover and seconder. Deputy Mayor Stockwell: Sorry, that was my fault for jumping in when I should have known. Councillor Phillips: I'd just like to speak to it very quickly. I'm going to summarise. I really love this statement, partnership with the community. And I really love, I'm excited to see what happens. So thank you very much. Mayor Wilkie: Yes. I'd just like to thank the community members for your part. I'd also like to thank the staff because even though consultants were taking the lead there, your staff were very much a part and present and wrapped around whatever was going there and you're still carrying it forward and you're carrying it forward internally. So thank you for that. Thank you. Councillor Lorentson: I'll speak to it because I'm, as everyone is here around this table, really excited about placemaking programs. And I believe, genuinely believe this is the future, community-led solution-driven approaches

01:36:00 to shaping our towns. So I cannot wait to see every township in Noosa have this opportunity to author, pen their own future. And I'll reference the February 2023 Council ordinary meeting we have already committed and endorsed to prioritise Kin Kin. Thank you. And Tewantin is the next two focus areas and I would like to add, I know this is budgetary stuff, but add small townships like Curran, Boring Point and even the bigger townships like Sunrise Beach to be included in this list. And the questions I was asking before about consultancy and whether there's opportunity to do this in-house and whether the pilot project will give us a template so we can replicate. That's where my excitement's coming because I just think if we cut the cost down, then we can roll this over to all the townships.

01:37:00 I also want to congratulate and acknowledge the staff for their incredible work. This has just been such a joyous process and really, really successful. Tom asked the question, what makes place? People, people, people, people, people. It's the people of Papua New Zealand. It's the people of Pomona that make the place so special. And we've got, you know, representatives here in the gallery. These are the special people that make, you know. And around this table. My husband has been at Pomona for 35 years. So we all love Pomona. And I think what we've learnt through this process is that we all now have a deeper understanding of its vision, its values. And of course, the wonderful community. Again, I look forward to seeing more of our town's benefit from this program.

01:38:00 And again, thank you. Deputy Mayor Stockwell: I'll talk to, like, the amendment I moved was about the natural capital of Pomona. But the reason we chose Pomona was because it has such a high latent social capital. It's a community that still has many of the elements of the traditional country town. But it has also the diversity of a lot of inmovers with a range of different skills that make it the place it is. The plan does, I believe, reflect the good engagement processes that were conducted as part of it. And I would expect that the feedback will be one of support for the plan. The concept of monitoring and evaluation of the outcomes was raised. And I totally agree with the response. That when we look at the outcomes we're trying to achieve, the liveability survey will be the test of an outcome. However, I think one of the things we need to do between the release of the draft and

01:39:00 the adoption is have a look a bit about how we monitor the progress rather than evaluate the outcome. So if I look at the vision, Pomona will continue to preserve its heritage and village charm. I think by the time we get to a final draft, I would like to see the advocacy action have, that the Noosa plan is amended by 2025 to reflect the heritage and charm to give greater protection as outlined by the community. I think we need to have a few more specific key performance indicators of the action rather than we've started this action, you know, we've done 10 of the 20 actions. I think, you know, when we look at that of its parks, you know, Village Charm, while enhancing the many of its parks and public space and the ease of safety of getting around, I think we can actually have a key performance indicator about the extent of pathway improvements and actually check that off year after year because, you know, as I mentioned, I lived there for a couple of years and my dog never got so many walks in its life because it's

01:40:00 such a good place to walk around. But there's some key gaps that we've identified. So to me, that's another real specific we can have a look at. What is the key performance indicators for rolling out in terms of the trails and the pathways? Sustainability, respect for nature, creativity, strong community connections, support for local independent businesses continue to be important to our community. And once again, how do we show that we're doing that? And finally, in terms of vision, a diverse range of events, programs and recreation opportunities bringing people of all ages together. And we've had that conversation about the all ages. And that's one of the issues that I know came up through the consultation, but I've heard over the years is if you're a youth in the hinterland, there's not that many activities identified for you. And I know the council during this process has actually had specific events looking at youth. But that's something in this placemaking that we can really make sure that, you know, Pomona is really an opportunity for building on that creative and the arts culture and the experience

01:41:00 of the events to actually provide a really healthy place for our young people to come together. And so forth. And I think by going through the vision, I'm hopeful that this plan will achieve it. Anyone else wish to talk? Councillor Finzel, would you like to close? Councillor Finzel: I think it's all been said at the table. But again, congratulations to all the staff. A big thank you to all the community that engaged in such a positive way. And to all our councillors around the table. And moving forward, looking forward to seeing this vision come to fruition. And hopefully it will turn into a reality and everyone can enjoy everything we've talked about today. So a big thank you to everyone. Deputy Mayor Stockwell: I'll put it to the vote. Those in favour? That is unanimous. We're going for the record of the number of unanimous votes in the General Committee meeting. Are we?

01:42:00 The number of unanimous votes. Speaker 2: Thank you very much. Councillor Lorentson: Thank you. Thank you very much. Deputy Mayor Stockwell: Thank you. We'll move on to item three, which is the update to council representation on council of mayors working groups. And I'm guessing that may be the Chief Executive Officer's role to give us the outline. It is. Speaker 2: Thank you. In our ordinary meeting on the 18th of April, we appointed a number of councillors to various groups, including the council of mayors working groups. We've had some changes to that, but we need to just bring full ratification at this meeting. So council of mayors waste working group and the council of mayors leveraging 2032 Olympics legacy working group. So the recommendation is that we appoint Councillor Wilkie, Mayor, to the council of mayors waste working group with Councillor Lorentson as the proxy, and to appoint Councillor Wilkie, Mayor, to the council of mayors leveraging 2032 legacy working group, and Councillor Stockwell

6.3 UPDATE TO COUNCILLOR REPRESENTATION ON COUNCIL OF MAYORS WORKING GROUPS ¶

▶ 01:42:03· Carried unanimously 7-0 from council's minutes

01:43:00 as the proxy. Thank you. So I'm bringing that up for recommendation so that we can formally adopt it. Deputy Mayor Stockwell: So do we have any questions of the CEO? Councillor Lorentson: I have a question through the chair. Is there any opportunity for council Wegner and myself to alternate as proxy? In the waste working group? In the waste working group. Speaker 2: We can ask the question, Councillor. I'm not sure. It's their committee. It's their rules. I can't say yes or no, but I'm happy to ask the question. Thank you very much. Deputy Mayor Stockwell: Any other questions? Anyone wish to move the motion? I'll move it. Councillor Wilkie? Second? Councillor Phillips?

01:44:00 Councillor Wilkie? Mayor Wilkie: No. Thank you, Mr Chair. I think it's pretty self-explanatory. But I'd also like to pay tribute to Councillor Wegener, who was the representative on the working group in the entire last term. His passion for waste still burns brightly, as any tin of biochar would. And he's still smouldering away in his fire and passion for biochar and also his interest in this field. So we will ask the question and find a way to keep you involved, Councillor Wegener. Councillor Wegener: Yeah. Like you just said, it can be plenty noisy on the sidelines as well. Fantastic. Councillor Lorentson: And I'd like to just quickly speak as well. Thank you. I'm talking too much today. Apologies. I'm honoured. Really honoured to be nominated as the proxy for the Council of Mayors Waste Working Group. And I hope there is opportunity for both of us, Councillor Wegener. The Council of Mayors plays a big role in Australia's largest regional advocacy organisation.

01:45:00 And I googled this before the meeting. It represents over 3 million residents across 10 councils in southeast Queensland. And together, we've got the opportunity. We've got the power. And the responsibility to collaborate on data-driven solutions for waste management projects for our communities. And in particular, for Noosa. And I've already downloaded the implementation plan. And I'm super excited. As everyone around the table knows, I also have really, you know, huge passion, mainly liquid waste. Your solid waste, liquid waste. That doesn't sound really great. But it is. But I'm really looking forward to being part of the process. And again, I hope to, that you'll be joining me, Tom. Thank you. Thank you.

01:46:00 Can I speak to motion? Councillor Wegener: Even though I kind of. Deputy Mayor Stockwell: What are you asking me for? Councillor Wegener: I'm blurted out. You may. You know, this is obviously very important. Cairo. When I was there last time. Next to Cairo. Next to Joe. The time. And Cairo is so far ahead of the Council of Mayors when it comes to waste. And the Council of Mayors went down this FOGO route. And Cairo was the only one that stood up and said, no, no, this isn't right. You guys, this is not going to work out. Well, sure enough, it hasn't worked out. And I think that they sort of need leadership. And so I, especially with, what's his name, who is the last chair of the waste group. Greg Christensen. Greg Christensen. With him stepping down. There's a lot, there's a vacuum, I'm quite sure, for leadership in that group. And I hope that you and Amelia step up into that because it is important.

01:47:00 And there is a vacuum. And Noosa can, I think, force its way, be absolutely forceful. Do not give up. We accept the challenge. You push Frank. Frank, you push Amelia. Absolutely. Get it going. Let's do it. Deputy Mayor Stockwell: Yeah. Get the funding that we need. We will. I'll talk to the motion. Sorry. Councillor Phillips: I was just going to say something very quickly, maybe through the chair. Can we get some feedback to Cairo? I've got to say, and probably Tom just prompted me to think, before I was elected, I had zero idea about waste. And every time he has presented, he expands my knowledge. And he's quite passionate. So he gets some, and his team gets, I fully appreciate the work they're doing as well. And I'm glad that the people that nominated are- Speaker 2: We'll take a clip of this and send it to him. Councillor Phillips: But thank you. Sorry. Speaker 2: No, it's fine.

01:48:00 Deputy Mayor Stockwell: It's interesting that we're speaking so passionately about waste working in the group. But why we're passionate is we're trying to avoid waste. We're trying to use what is a groundbreaking investment by the state government and local government to improve the recovery of resources from the waste stream. It's a really important forum, and although there's strong governance around how that money is distributed, having Councillor Wilkie get to be the deputy chair will allow us to infuse that working group with the sort of principles and innovative approaches that we're trying to achieve through our waste plan. I think it is one of the key areas where South East Queensland needs to catch up with its

01:49:00 friends across the border. I know when I teach students at the University of Queensland, I teach students at the University of Queensland about sustainability. All the case studies come from New South Island, Victoria, and Hobart in regard to those people doing food and green waste well. And just one clip, it takes both good waste and solid waste to make very good compost, isn't it? Anyone else wish to talk? Councillor Finzel: Councillor Fiddle. Can I just add to that, too? I mean, yeah, we are passionate about that. We're known for leading the way in innovation. I'm really excited that we've got, you know, the mayor there, we've got Councillor Lorentson in this proxy, amongst the other waste, like we're looking at also waste from civil infrastructure. And Kai Raine has worked with me to deliver that for the LGAQ. We got a motion successfully up. So I think we're positioning ourselves very well in the market to show that Noosa is really passionate about this. And we're happy to do that.

01:50:00 We're happy to collaborate and, you know, put our best foot forward in terms of what we can do with our waste as a valuable resource in the future for our economics and also for our environment and our people. So, yeah, I think it's fantastic. And as Councillor Tom said, like, don't give up, you guys. Get in there and, yeah, fight hard for, yeah, that space to move forward and demand what we need in that space to bring about the outcomes and the vision we're hoping to achieve. So, yeah, I think we're all set. Thank you. Mayor Wilkie: Councillor Wilkie, would you like to... I will close now that we've got our solids and liquids in order. I will say that the Logan City Council Mayor, John Raven, is the chair, and that's the council that has introduced very innovative practices with its wastewater. They own their own water and sewage, and they use a very innovative biosolids gasification process to turn their own water into sewage.

01:51:00 So, that council is very open and leading the way in innovative processes as well. And Noosa Council introduced green waste bins quite some time ago. Other South East Queensland councils are not quite there yet, but with Cairo's technical advice, we'll be able to make the right decisions for Noosa Council. We can be the first adopter in many areas. But also, help... We'll share our experience with the other councils of South East Queensland. Thank you. And learn from them as well. Deputy Mayor Stockwell: Yeah. Thank you. Thank you. I'll put the motion to the vote. Those in favour? That's unanimous. So, councillors, our next item is in, if I'm right, confidential session. So, can I have someone move a motion that we go into confidential session for the reasons that we've discussed.

7.1 CONFIDENTIAL - NOT FOR PUBLIC RELEASE - RAL22/0021 - PLANNING & ENVIRONMENT COURT APPEAL NO D130 OF 2023 - APPLICATION TO RECONFIGURE A LOT (1 INTO 2 LOTS) AT 39-41 PICTURE POINT NOOSA HEADS ¶

▶ 01:51:54· Carried unanimously 7-0 from council's minutes

01:52:00 I think we normally write that, read that out. Thank you, Councillor Wilson. Councillor Wilson: No, you go ahead. Councillor Wilson put her hand up first. Councillor Wegener: Yeah. Councillor Wilson: So, we move a motion that the meeting be closed to the public for share in section 254J3E of the Local Government Regulation 2012 for the purpose of discussing legal advice relating to item 7.1 RAL 22 slash 00... RAL 22 slash 00... . ..2021 Planning and Environment Court Appeal Number D130 of 2023, Application to reconfigure a lot 1 into 2 lots at 39 to 41 Picture Point Noosa Hills. Deputy Mayor Stockwell: Do we have a seconder, Councillor Wegener. Yes, we do. Do we need to talk to it? If not, I put the motion to the vote. All those in favour? Unanimous. Okay. . So we're now down to staff and we have a little five minutes.

02:17:00 Mayor Wilkie: Mr Chair, I'll tell you. Councillor Phillips: Okay, hang on, I've got a picture of me walking. Back to the future. Deputy Mayor Stockwell: Okay, so welcome back. We're now back. We're back in public session and we're dealing with item 7.1, which was a confidential item in regard to the Planning Environment Court Appeal.

02:18:00 Do we have a mover for the staff recommendation? I'll move it. Councillor Wilkie. Anyone else wish to second? I'll second. Councillor Phillips. Do you wish to talk about it? Does anyone else wish to? I'll then put the motion. Those in favour? I'll second. Thank you. That's unanimous. That brings us to the end of the meeting at 2.48pm. I thank all councillors for their timely and thoughtful deliberations today.