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00:00:00 Deputy Mayor Stockwell: We're happy and I'm meeting as usual on Kabi Kabi Country and we acknowledge that they've been the conditional custodians of this place for all millennia and right then we have the office to try and care for the country and look after the people who are living on it both now and into the future and we acknowledge the role that their elders have played over that time to have a culture of respect. So, we have all councils in attendance, no attendance, no apologies, so we move on to the confirmation of the minutes. Mayor Wilkie: I move it Mr Chair. Speaker 8: Councillor Kane. Deputy Mayor Stockwell: We have it moved and seconded. Is there any discussion? If not, all in favour? That is unanimous. There are no presentations, no deputations, there's no item referred from the committees. So that moves us straight to second. I hope that the first item is the CEO's report on the year in review. Speaker 1: That's the name. Very quick.
00:01:00 Okay, thank you Mr Chairman. I bring this report to council probably a little bit different to many councils in that I do present this year in review. It is a preview of our year in review that will come out in our annual report later this year or next year. So, it's really just to highlight. The fact that we have had a successful year and I might just read some of the executive summary if that's okay. So, the year in review reflects council's progress and performance over the past year 24-25 in line with the agreed objectives set out in the council's corporate plan 23-28. So, I'll make that point that we did have quarter four operational plan review or summary. Which is very similar to this except this one relates to our corporate plan. So, our operational plan relates to our objectives of our corporate plan. So, it's really just measuring how we're going against our corporate plan over this past 12 months.
00:02:00 This review outlines our achievements, challenges and impacts of our initiatives on the initial community guided by communities by our commitment to transparency, accountability and continuous improvement. This report is presented to council prior to it being included in the annual report. As I said, that will be ratified and published in the annual report. It differs from the quarter four in that it reflects where we're standing with our five-year corporate plan and the 23-28 corporate plan objectives. So, it also needs to be understood that a number of the actions in the annual report are multi-year. So, you'll see that they're not completed but because they actually traverse over the either one, two or three or even five years. Some of our objectives may start and not be completed. Until that period is finished. It details a broad scope of actions and achievements undertaken by council staff who are to be congratulated.
00:03:00 I think this is a key part of this is we need to congratulate our staff for the outstanding service provided to the community of Noosa. And to really make people aware of the breadth and extent of the services and actions that we take as a council. Many people and most people don't know until they actually see what a council physically does other than roads, rubbish and race. What we do and what we deliver for our community. And it's really important that we continue to bring that to the table and show people the breadth of work that is actually happening. And the services that we're providing to the community in order for them to have the life that they have. This year has not been without its challenges. As the organisation navigated the negotiation of a new three-year certified agreement. It saw unprecedented protected industrial action taking place. Affecting the normal delivery of services for an extended period. That said, it was a disruption for us. But that said, the staff have worked really hard to ensure the activities and services have returned to the agreed service levels.
00:04:00 Since that period we're meant to be commended on that. The organisation has maintained strong financial sustainability ratios. And is one of only 20 out of 77 local government authorities to deliver a surplus budget. Which again, we're very proud of. Attraction and retention of staff in certain areas of council have continued to be a challenge. However, the new certified agreement and a number of other initiatives have shown a positive outlook for the future. And I'll be reporting on that in future times. Once again, it's been a very successful year for this Shire Council. And again, I'm using this report to commend the work of our staff. In terms of what they've been able to deliver over the course. Of 12 months in a very broad and challenging environment. Some of the things in terms of the performance summary. The operational plan we talked about in previous ones. But it's an ambitious operational plan. But 71% of the initiatives.
00:05:00 So 76 out of 107 are either completed or on track. 23% or 25 initiatives experienced minor disruptions. And 6 initiatives faced major disruptions. Primarily due to resourcing constraints. Repeating priorities and external factors. Some of the key achievements that I just want to bring to your attention. They're in the report. Are the Noosaville Poreshore Infrastructure Management Plan. Which is a 20 year strategy for sustainable upgrades and climate resilience. Was achieved this year. Pomona Place Plan. A roadmap to ensure Pomona remains a unique, vibrant and liveable town. Reflecting the collective vision and aspirations of the Pomona community. The Noosa Aquatic Centre Upgrade Plan. Which is a long term plan to guide us into the future. Waste and Resource Recovery. Progress on our green waste, composting, solar farm feasibility and transfer stations. This is a real opportunity for us. And something we're working very, very hard on.
00:06:00 In terms of our waste and resource recovery. Our Disaster Recovery. So we've managed to complete all of the works. For the 22 disaster. Which is well over $100 million worth of works. That we've been able to rectify. And to work very, very closely with the community on. We're very, very proud of that. Particularly the Black Mountain landslide. The Ural Ringtail State Forest Transition. Was secured and finalised. The Floating Land 2025. Was a great success again. Surfing Heritage. The comprehensive documentation of Noosa's surfing story. Which is very much Noosa. It's preserving its cultural identity. And stage three of the regional art gallery feasibility project. Has been completed. And has been presented back to Council. Our housing monitoring program. A coordinated approach to collecting. And analysing housing data to inform evidence based planning and policy development. And then policies.
00:07:00 The public art policy. The community grants policy. Compliance and enforcement policy. And the policy policy. All come to Council and have been endorsed. And adopted this year. And engagement with the traditional owners of Kabi Kabi Commitment. And 41 formal engagements with Kabi Kabi Peoples, Aboriginal Corporation and Land and Sea Ranges. And then finally customer care. The community satisfaction survey has been completed. And identifying opportunities for service improvement. And that's an ongoing piece of work currently. But the survey has been completed. So there are a number of things in this report. That I'm not going to go through in detail now. But again this is a report that reflects the operational plan. The works that have happened over the 24-25 period. In line with our corporate plan. Because the corporate plan is our umbrella that guides us. And provides the parameters in which we work. And the delivery against that plan I think is very comprehensive. And as you see in my recommendation at the end.
00:08:00 Or the resolution is that we commend the staff. For their incredibly hard work. And what they've managed to achieve over this 12 month period. And I'll put it to you councillors. That's my report. Deputy Mayor Stockwell: Thank you. Do we have any questions of the CEO? Councillor Wegener: Did the staff receive an award for the Black Mountain landslide rehabilitation? Speaker 1: We did. That didn't happen in this 24-25. We certainly did the work in that. But we've just been successful with IPIA. For an award for the work that was carried out. And the management of that work. And the fact that we were able to deliver it. In a serviceable time. Obviously it's a very big project that took time. And we couldn't. It took whatever time it took. But we were able to actually get that. And do it within budget. And within the timeframe. So I think that's a major achievement to us. And something that QIA, the Reconstruction Authority is very thankful of as well.
00:09:00 They know we work very closely with them. And I think it's a gain of credit to the staff and to the consultants that we use in that work. Deputy Mayor Stockwell: You use the acronym IPIA. Institute of Professional Somethings Engineers or? Public Works Engineers Association. Public Works Engineers. Okay. Any other questions? Councillor Lorentson. Councillor Lorentson: The report repeatedly references resourcing constraints and staff vacancies. What are the main causes of these shortages? Are they recruitment challenges? Retention issues? Or staff burnout? And which areas of Council are most affected? Speaker 1: We've talked about this during the year, Councillor. In terms of some of our challenges. And we haven't shied away from that. Yes. We've got challenges in, particularly in our infrastructure and delivery.
00:10:00 Because there is so much work going on here in South East Queensland that to get people, to hold people now is a, is an issue. We've also had quite a bit of turnover within our operations teams. Which is fairly normal. There's always, there's always going to be some level of turnover. But certainly it's something that needs to be looked at. And I think with the new certified agreement it's going to help that as well. Because we are now very attractive and very competitive with our neighbours. But again, there's still this massive works program that's going on in South East Queensland. That's going to, it's just going to make it difficult for us to keep some people because there's, you know, opportunities are there. And again, I think as I said before, we often attract really good staff, train them up and then, you know, people identify with us. Good, well trained staff and get tapped on the shoulder and we, and you know, people move on. People move to higher, higher opportunities.
00:11:00 And that's something that, you know, in some respects we should be very proud of because we're actually bringing people and training them and giving them opportunities in their life. We've certainly also had issues within our finance team. We've had, we've had gaps and, and attracting people. Again, that's something if you talk to all councillors, they're all struggling in these same areas to attract and retain people in those areas. But it is an issue for us and something that, again, we're working very hard on trying to make sure that we are an attractive organisation. In the past, it has been that Noosa has been a, been able to stand on its own two feet and say, you know, come to us. Well, we need to come and work and live in Noosa. But we all, all know that living in Noosa is not as, not as easy as it once was if it's an expensive place to live in. And again, we've got other programs to try to help that to, to make affordable housing more available to, to staff because not everyone has the ability to, to live in Noosa given
00:12:00 the cost of living here. Sarah, do you have a question? Councillor Lorentson: Thank you. Don't see it. Speaker 1: Do you have a question? Councillor Phillips: Just, just a quick question, Larry. Thanks for the report. When you sit here and get to see the volume of work that comes through Council, it's very commendable. I often, and even this morning, spoke to someone that we were laughing because we said, you know, before I got elected, we really didn't know what was going on in Council. So my question is around more to do with that proactive approach to taking community on a journey. So we can attempt at bringing back an alignment. The volume of work is commendable without a doubt, but I just wanted to know if there's been any conversation when you, when you're looking at what's been achieved, if there's a, a way that we can communicate more effectively, more simply rather than lengthy documents.
00:13:00 What's, what's comms doing around sort of more of a proactive approach? To celebrate these things and take people with us? Speaker 1: There's a whole range of things, I think. Thank you, Councillor. A whole, whole range of things that we are doing and a whole range of, of vehicles, methodology that we can use. Social media in, in the different forms, whether it's LinkedIn, whether it's Facebook, whether it's, it's any of the other ones. I'm trying to think of the, the Instagram is the one I was trying to think of, is, is, is a good one in terms of being able to tell the story, Instagram, I find. So we are using those, but again, it's, it's often, often the stories when we put out, and we do do it quite a bit of it, we put out stories about, you know, just the, almost the mundane things, things that people are doing. We're keeping the gardens clear and we're doing the, doing the, the road reserves and making sure that the roads are well done. Those sorts of stories often get, get better, get a click through, better, better identification
00:14:00 than, than some of our larger projects. So it's, we try to, try to match it and balance it. I think it's a, it's an ongoing, ongoing thing. I agree. I think the more we can bring the people on the journey and make them, or give them, give them opportunity to see what we actually physically do is something that we've got to continue to, to get better at. So that's, that's a, that's a journey for us. Thank you, Paul. Mayor Wilkie: Thank you for the report, Mr. CEO. You mentioned in terms of attracting and retaining staff, the conditions around the certified agreement go a long way to addressing, making Noosa a more attractive place to work. You also mentioned other initiatives and some of those are linked to what you heard directly coming out of the wellbeing at work survey, and you're reflecting back to the survey staff, some of the requests that they, yeah, they heard. Can you, can you talk about some of those initiatives, please? Things you're putting in place that have come from the wellbeing at work survey?
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00:15:00 Speaker 1: Yeah. Look, I think there's a, there's a whole range of things that we are working on there. Much of it is, is, is training opportunities for training and, and better skilling. There's opportunities for making sure that they're, they're, they're, that they're doing the work that everybody's recognised for their jobs that they're doing, not just the ones that, that sort of shine or the, the things that the, the shining people see. It's ensuring that, that all of the organisation is, is well recognised for the work that they do, and that's part of what I'm, what I'm trying to do here in this report is to, is to show that there are a number of things that you won't, don't even know happen, but they happen and people are, people are doing that, that work. I think just the, the equity across the organisation is really a strong piece that, that we need to, to ensure that, you know, people feel like they're, they're valued and we are, we're making a lot of, a lot of headway hopefully in that, in that area. Our workplace health and safety from a, from a social, psychosocial point of view is, is
00:16:00 something we're working heavily on. Our physical workplace health and safety record is, is, I think is very good. And it's something we, we can champion because it is something that we've been really conscious of as a staff, everybody. I think you'll find people will, will, you know, walk around and, and, and be very conscious of their physical health and safety. It's, it's the mental health and safety that we now have to do and that's part of the CA. We've now provided more opportunity for people to take time to, to, to reflect or take time to, to, to work on their own mental health and safety. Which I think is a, is a good thing that we're doing that as a, as a very open thing. So it's not something that you feel, you know, you feel stressed, you don't want to tell anybody. Now it's, now it's becoming much easier to say, look, if you, if you need to take some time and, and get yourself right to, to do the job. So off the top of my head, I think there's, you know, probably haven't missed a whole lot of things there. But, but yeah, we are, we are very, very conscious of making sure that we continue to build the
00:17:00 culture and it is a, is a workplace that people want to come to and enjoy their, enjoy their day when they're here. Thank you. Councillor Lorentson: In terms of the Olympics and Paralympics plan, I note in the report it's only 15% complete. My question is, are we at risk of missing any key funding or partnership opportunities that require early stage commitments? And what are, in fact, the deadlines or milestones being set by state or federal bodies? And how, and how is our, our, our, our, our, our, our, our, our, our, our, our, our, our, our, o stroll through the schedule and the timelines. How are they aligned with the state and federal bodies' deadlines? Speaker 1: I think as you know, my background is in this world as well. So I have got a fairly good understanding of what the process is. Umm, up until really recently, to be honest, since I've now settled on the Association of Olympic undoors, the organising Committee has, has placed the, um, the, um, the government
00:18:00 There's a lot of agency that's delivering the infrastructure that's now in place and starting to get some traction. Now's the time for us to understand that. Before that it would have been falling on deaf ears, to be honest, in terms of where we are. We certainly want to get more involved and have been involved from a ComSec point of view and with other parties, other committees that try to understand where they're at. But again, their focus is still on very much Brisbane and what they need to do there, some of the other where they're doing events. But we're on the fringe of that, so just so you can understand. But I think now is the time for us to start to ramp that up and I'm prepared for that. We do have a couple of people in our organisation who are part of their job to be aware of what's going on. But I think it's time for us to now pass some resource to that. I think, to be honest, the Mayor and myself are looking at it.
00:19:00 There's an event in Brisbane over the next couple of days to actually get a better understanding of where they're at. There's a presentation by the CEO of the government agency for delivery. And that will start the ball rolling and start to develop our advocacy and our relationships. So I think the time is right now. Prior to this I think it would have been falling on deaf ears. Their focus is on sort of the real delivery, where the events are. Because we don't have events we get sort of pushed off to the side. But I think we've still got a lot to offer and a lot of things that we can do. Like much of the, for example, pre-games training or pre-games events, particularly training is us going straight to the countries or straight to the sports themselves rather than going through the organising committee. So there's things like that that we'll start to do. Councillor Finzel: Yes, thank you. Firstly, thank you for the report and thank you to the staff delivering on so many of the corporate plan objectives,
00:20:00 which was considered to be really ambitious when we went together to write that. So that is worthy of celebration and thank you to everyone. Just a question around the performance measurement framework. It's listed as a major disruption due to resource constraints. Can you tell us a little bit about that? Those constraints and where do you think, what can we expect to deliver with that? Speaker 1: So that's, we've, in terms of we've systemised our operational plan now, development of that. So that then makes it easier for us to develop our reporting, which is something that we're working on. So the constraints have really been just resource to do that, resource back in the ICT and our technology area to focus on that. We've got big eyes and a small stomach, I guess, if you like, in terms of ability to do some of this work.
00:21:00 We all want different systems. We've got a lot of systems that actually operate our business that have got priority. So one of those was the operational plan. Now the next phase of that is to build the performance measures out of that. We do have some performance measures, but to get them more visible and more, I guess, usable so that, you know, we have dashboards and things like that. So not just us, the staff can see it, but the public can start to really see it and understand it. That's our next phase of this, but that all takes time and we're working on it. Madam President. Councillor Finzel: Madam Chair, just following on from that, given the cyber security leaks around Qantas today, how satisfied are you with the CEO that we have our cyber security, you know, pretty tight and what our objectives are and the threats around that? Speaker 1: From a cyber security point of view, we monitor that on a regular basis and obviously we do
00:22:00 have so many interactions, just emails that bounce around. It's incredible the numbers that bounce around between us, external and internal. So to keep a check on that is hard, but we're very conscious of making sure that we have all of our checks and balances in place and debate. We've been, you know, we've been central around that. Councillor Finzel: Thank you. Speaker 1: Councillor Langevin. Councillor Lorentson: The CEO report focuses mainly on strategic progress and KPIs. And I'm just going to the Queensland Audit Office's 2024 recommendations and they recommend that Council should embed financial risk and audit findings into their regular reporting. I note this. We do that in our operational, in our annual, in our annual reports. My question is, would Council consider for future CEO reports that we add just a section
00:23:00 summarising financial risk, audit findings and government performance, just to give an overall picture of organisational health? Again, I acknowledge that we do, we do do the reporting. But just again, in terms of how we can do things better, would that be something that you would consider? Speaker 1: I'm happy to consider that, absolutely. But I don't think I've said this. This report is really just a preview of the CEO's year in review. In the annual report, we have our finances and we have our risk and we have our government's reports. It all comes together there. So at this point in time, that's all still being worked through. So for me to bring that forward, at least I could do it. And we do report through the year. We always report our monthly financials and report against the risk. So in all of our reports. So I think it's all there. I'm happy to look at how we can do it.
00:24:00 Councillor Lorentson: I appreciate it. Thank you. Councillor Phillips: Ari, just in relation to what it says about ambitious, we've spoken quite a few times about ambitious Council. And what's the biggest risk you would say a CEO of having ambition in corporate plan, operational plan? What have you identified as the biggest risk for our communities in having that? Speaker 1: There's a number of them. But I would think one of them is because it is so broad. It's really putting a capability statements against the actual objectives. So if it's not, it's a risk. We've tried to achieve something in that five years and we've really got the capability to deliver it and that's something that going forward, I think when we review the corporate plan, we need to look at that and just say, is this really realistic in terms of what we can deliver? Because again, we've all got big eyes and we all want to do as much as we can for our community and our organisation. Sometimes we've just got to be realistic and say, well some things are going to take longer and we've got to push them out.
00:25:00 So I think that's a risk because we set up an expectation that we're going to deliver some things and then when we don't, we get down by that. So that to me is something. I think we've got some really big ambitions in terms of projects that we'd like to deliver. You see there's a gallery, a leisure centre upgrade or change. Improvement, increase in the numbers of indoor spaces. There's a number of those, office spaces, a number of things that we've got on our plate that again, once you've got them there, the expectation is there. So that's a risk and then how do we deliver against that? I think one of our biggest ambitions is with the waste and trying to ensure that we're ahead of the game there.
00:26:00 We've got some great opportunities which again are going to take longer. We've got to make some big decisions in terms of how we finance them and what we go forward with. But they're really, really big ones for us to consider and us to deliver against. So I think they're the key things that we do. But realistically, the risk is always there. We try to contain that. We have a community that has great expectations for us and how do we make sure that we can deliver against those expectations? To me, it's a challenge for us. We're not a huge council. Mayor Wilkie: Happy to move in, Mr Chair. Councillor Lorentson: There's further questions. Deputy Mayor Stockwell: Any questions since someone's taken them? No, no, since someone's taken them. Councillor Wilson: Oh yes, sorry. Being really pedantic, but will this be reviewed for the annual report?
00:27:00 There's a couple of things with some of the status updates. I recognise it's 30th of June. So whether we recognise it now, I think it would be a good idea to make sure. Speaker 1: Yes, sure. I'll take that and we'll take that. Deputy Mayor Stockwell: Councillor Adams, have you had other questions? Councillor Lorentson: Yes. In terms of the certified agreement, it's noted as a milestone in the report. But there's no mention on how that process affected staff morale or relationships. My question is what impact has that process had on staff morale and workplace culture? And is it still impacting trust and communication and culture? Speaker 1: Look, I think there's no hiding from the fact that this has caused some fraction within the fractures within the organisation in particular areas, not all areas. Because the majority of our staff weren't necessarily impacted by it. They just continued on. But there's some who took industrial action.
00:28:00 Certainly there were. So there's the pro and con of those groups. But we are certainly taking action too. We're looking at lessons learned. How do we rebuild some of those things? But I think one of the most encouraging pieces is that we've now been to the vote. Of the people, the 81% who voted, 95% voted for the CA. So you say, well, that's a hell of a good position to take forward, that people are for it. They understand it. They want it. And we're now implementing the back pay and the future pay increases. So I think we've got the position now and opportunity to now to say, let's draw on the sand. Let's move forward. And we all had to fight for what we believed in. But now is the time to actually get back together as a group. And we've got a whole programme of work that we're about to roll out to support that.
00:29:00 Mayor Wilkie: Thank you. Thank you for the report, Mr CEO. It is worth noting that this year in review refers to all the activities of Council from July 1st, 2024 through to June 30, 2025. Some of the initiatives. Well, 71% of the initiatives. Some of them are either completed or on track. Many of them would have moved on since then in real time. It has been a year of challenge and the Certified Agreement was one of them. But the outcome of that, the conditions around the Certified Agreement and the training and professional development put in place in response to the Wellbeing at Work Survey helps position this Council as an employer. As an employer of choice going into the future.
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00:30:00 It is also worth noting that Noosa Council remains committed to financial sustainability. Not only remains committed to it, but it's demonstrating that through a raft of policies and practices that have seen it remain one of only 20 Councils in all of 77 Councils in Queensland that don't, are not running deficit budgets. And I think it's important to note that that's not the case. It's a very sobering thought and that's testament to all the discipline of the Councils around the table and the way the staff adhere to the budget set to them, to the operational plan and the budget. And this year in review is four quarters of the operational plan which Council has set as a task for the organisation at last year's budget. And the staff have done an admirable job to deliver this on behalf of the community. You can see the fundamentals are very well covered. In particular, not only all the planning documents which help this remain a forward planning
00:31:00 and a forward focused organisation, but also the focus on infrastructure delivery. Not only did the Council do well to deliver the capital works program, but also, as you mentioned, it was a hundred million dollars plus that Council was charged with the responsibility of delivering. Repair works mostly in the Noosa hinterland from the February 2022 flood event. And there's $80 million worth of works in this report alone that happened in the last financial year, including a $50 million repair job on the Black Mountain landslip, which was the largest in Sunshine Coast, if not Queensland's history. And, but not only do they deliver it, they were recognised with an industry award for the high quality of work, a standard of work.
00:32:00 So, I would just like to ask you, Mr. CEO, to pass on my thanks and our thanks to the staff who are delivering this body of work on behalf of the community. Speaker 1: Thank you. Thank you. Councillor Wegener: I'll speak to it. You know, when I came in, we had, that was the COVID, four years, the COVID term. And that was difficult. But actually, I think this is the post-COVID term where we're dealing with a post-COVID reality. And I think it's even harder than the previous term. And the, we have overcome and evolved really, really well, I think. And I think it, it shows that, you know, coming through the offshore management plan with success, social housing, the workers, the working agreements that we had, a lot of these very, very challenging issues were overcome. And there's no doubt about that. They're overcome. Because we have strength as a council. We have consistency.
00:33:00 And we have persistence. And I think that those are really key things to have, really important aspects to have, or things, what do you call things that you have that- Speaker 8: Attributes. Attributes. Councillor Wegener: Very, very strong attributes of this council. And we've remained positive. And we've made it through these very, very tumultuous times. With success, I think that Mr. CEO, you're a quiet achiever, and you've done very well. And so we're moving forward, and I'm very happy with that, with this result. Ms. Alonso. Councillor Lorentson: I want to thank the CEO for the report in front of us. It's clearly a huge amount of work that's gone into leading this organisation through another demanding year. The scale of what's been done in the past year has been, you know, it's been very, very impressive.
00:34:00 So I want to take this opportunity to thank you, Larry, and to your team. That said, while the report shows strong progress and commitments, it also highlights areas that I think deserve a closer look. And I'm referencing, in particular, resourcing constraints, staff vacancies, and competing priorities. Ms. Alonso. I think what I really want to say is that it's important for us to have a strong relationship with our staff, and it's important for us to acknowledge the human side of leadership. Our staff, and I say this, you know, normally at the annual report, but our staff are the heartbeat of this organisation, and they're the ones that deliver, as you said, Larry, every service, every project, every outcome that our community relies on. So their wellbeing and sense of belonging need to stay front and center. The report shows how much has been carried by yourself across multiple portfolios and
00:35:00 major initiatives, and that kind of responsibility comes with real pressure. So in terms of staff wellbeing, I also extend that to you, Larry, that your wellbeing is important, not just to the organisation, but to the people in this room, the executives, and the counsellors. As a council, we all share the responsibility of making sure not only the staff, but the executive and the CEO and the counsellors have the resources and support they need to do their job well. So looking ahead, I'd love to focus not just on what's been achieved, but how we're supporting the people who make it happen. Strong outcomes simply come from strong people, and a healthy, supported workforce will always
00:36:00 deliver better results for our community. And just my little add-on, just consideration that in future reports, there's just a brief summary of financial reporting, audit, internal, external audit reports, and governance matters to give a complete or holistic view of organisational health. Thank you. But thank you, Larry, for, again, delivering in what's been a tough year. Councillor Phillips: I'll speak religiously. Thank you again, Larry, and thanks to all the staff. It's already been said, but obviously, I've recognised a lot in the 18 months of being in just the body of work that comes through and out, and often the quiet work that gets done without any... That's always should be celebrated. When I think about...
00:37:00 I just sort of want to take a step back and, you know, recently, I've looked at how loud some groups can be in our community, and I think there's 60,000, nearly 60,000 and thereabouts, constituents in our town. And today, I just want to say that I think there's a lot of work to be done. They would be appreciative of the work. I don't know if they have high expectations. I think a lot of people really just want the basics done, and they appreciate the work as they're going about it themselves as well. So, my only reflection on it is probably more for all of us to say, let's make sure when we do the next operational plan, we're going to make sure that we're going to make sure that we sit and say we've committed to things we can achieve, that haven't burned out our staff,
00:38:00 because the community that aren't always expecting more, their voice is heard, or their non-voice, because they're not really out there saying what they want, but they're just... So, yeah, I would like to probably say more that, let's listen to the silence, and that will help us not to feel like we're in the same place. Let's not feel that there's so much scrutiny, and hopefully staff will feel less pressure on just doing the basics right. Thank you. Deputy Mayor Stockwell: I'll speak. The CEO mentioned that one of the drivers for this report is to recognise the effort of the staff, and it's always a significant task to achieve, is to continue to acknowledge and recognise staff. And I thought, there's a number of ways that the public is going to be able to recognise staff that can get an insight into how the staff's operating. And there's some that they don't.
00:39:00 And I suppose my reflection over the last year, or over the year being reported here, is what I saw through the briefings and the workshops and through the conversations was a significant improvement in a desire to provide counsellors with a professional level of communication and a professionalism in everything that staff put before us and the way they do it. I suppose more important was a growing commitment to make an impact. So counsellor Tom talked about the COVID era where the commitment was about looking after the community and trying to manage through a disaster that was caused by a pandemic. This term what we're seeing in particular this year is this growing commitment when people come before us is wanting to make a difference. And I think if those cultural attributes keep going, then we're going to be able to see that the next year's report will only be more beneficial to the community.
00:40:00 So I just put that on record that I would like to recognise those attributes for all the staff that I deal with. Anyone else? We should close. Mayor Wilkie: No, it's all been said. Thank you, Mr. Chair. Deputy Mayor Stockwell: I'll put both those in favour. That is unanimous. Thank you. Councillor Finzel: Thank you. Deputy Mayor Stockwell: We therefore move on to the financial performance report. Anything else? I'll turn it over to Acting Director Marge and Acting Financial Services Manager for his first time in the role, Zac Morton-Ledare. And Zac, will you be providing us with the executive summary? Speaker 7: Yes, I will. Good afternoon, counsellors. Just as a prefix to before Zac speaks to the report, you will note that this is now the third or fourth report that's come to you that's a bit of a departure from what you're normally used to in terms of traffic lights in the attachments. So my prefix is that it would have been preferable for us to have had a stand-alone briefing
00:41:00 workshop with you to take you through the changes to the report. So I apologise to you in advance that we haven't had the opportunity to do that, but we have got that plan to occur before the end of the calendar year. So I'll just hand over to Zac now. Speaker 6: To the Chair and good afternoon, counsellors. So I'll take the report as read. The September report provides us with three months of actual data, which goes to provide a greater evidence base, obviously, for our forward-looking predictions. At an overall council level, we're both on track from a revenue and operating position, and we will continue to monitor the capital expenditure works, which I'll provide some detailed comments further. To build on what Margaret said, we are currently going through a review period, which you would have seen over the course of the last few months in regards to the forward-looking projections. We have retrospectively gone back and reviewed the last six months of general committee meetings, actually to see the general narrative and the topics of discussion that have come up.
00:42:00 We're currently looking to put out a continuous improvement plan to do exactly that, which will look at providing greater transparency in the reporting, introductions of traffic light systems, threshold variance analysis and graphs. The eventual goal is to look to communicate complex financial information, terminology and sometimes jargon, to make sure it's clear and transparent for all end-users. We also look to actually implement a questions or follow-up register, where we take staff on notice. We look to provide that more formally in terms of the structure and refer back to their previous meetings as well. As Mark's alluded to, we'll schedule a briefing in the near future around that. We're just currently getting a final draft of what that looks like to provide that to you. In regards to the financial report for September, I'll walk through some of the key areas or items of note. So firstly, for the revenue items, for fees and charges, we have a negative variance. We are $427,000 down on the expected revenue.
00:43:00 The primary driver behind that is actually the estimation of development fees. Due to the nature and dependencies of development fees with external development, it can be difficult month to month to actually forward forecast what that looks like. So although the report at this point in time shows there's a negative variance, it is a weighted monitor. We're hoping that as we get further data across the course of the year and we begin to see the forward program of development, this will correct. Our interest received is a positive variance, so we've received roughly $583,000 of additional revenue. This is primarily driven by our higher than expected cash reserve balances. So is that the thing? So on the 30th of September, we had about $1.1441 million versus $90 million that was expected in the budget. The key driver behind this is a lower than expected delivery of the capital in the first quarter of the financial year, and I'll expand on that in a second.
00:44:00 The sales of goods and major services is a positive variance of $350,000. This is as a result of higher than anticipated caravan park fees and is partially off the set by lower than expected sales of concrete receivables and waste disposal. In regards to our expenses and building on a previous discussion, we have a positive variance of $500,000 related to employee benefits. This is primarily driven by the vacancy savings of roughly $1.26 million and is partially offset by higher overtime and penalty expenses of $265,000 and lower level savings. In terms of employee costs, capitalisation in regards to projects are about $492,000. In regards to the capital expenditure, this is currently a negative variance, an underspend of $4.1 million. In terms of rationale for where that sits, typically what we see in terms of forecasting
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00:45:00 capital expenditure is we refer to essentially a hockey stick effect, where the first couple of months. We see a carryover balance of the previous financial year's results. You then get into your planning and early development stages where you'll see a natural tick down and what you'll see is the eventual upward curve or high spend and the balance of the year. You'll also find that the accounting or the reporting of that tends to follow actual delivery on the ground. So although it is currently at an underspend, that is just at a watch and monitor as we expect there to be an upward trend as we hit the back end of the financial year. We'll draw your attention to the asset sustainability ratio. So there's a couple of points in this one I would like to address. The original budget that sits there in the report refers to a 1,047% ratio. The current budget or the BR1 refers to 245% with our actual delivery of 51%.
00:46:00 The current budget or the BR1 refers to 245% with our actual delivery of 51%. So for context, this is one of the sustainability ratios that comes from the local government sustainability framework and is one of the nine ratios that we present to you on an annual basis. This one is a relatively easy one in terms of its calculation. It is your capital expenditure divided by your depreciation. The state sits a minimum target for all tier three councils such as our South of 80%. Generally 100% replacement rate would mean that council is replacing a 100% replacement rate as they wear out or when they reach the end of use of wants, which is typically where we found ourselves in the last couple of years. The 1,047% was as a result of carry forward balances of roughly $32 million related to the Queensland Reconstruction Authority or rehabilitation and renewal work. So that was why there was a significant upswing or concern outlaw in terms of that percentage
00:47:00 reporting. Although our current percentage is at 51%, we're still in the middle of that. This is a time and place. Typically, we only report on this annually as providers report in terms of context. But that 51% at this point in time isn't considered worrying as we see that hockey curve effect to the end of the year. I will draw your attention to the rates of REZ reporting, which has been included in the report. This comes from our previous suggestions of greater transparency as a result of what our rate of REZ are. So that is why the inclusion is there. You will see a positive change for roughly $3.7 million of rates revenue that was received from August to September, changing the percentage of REZ from 11.9% to 8.8%. Please note that the earlier August report included a different figure of 5.9%. The reason this wasn't included in the August 2025 report was we were currently working through the balances and imported debt collection and REZ policy.
00:48:00 So there's a slight correction. The July 2025 levy wasn't included in the August 2025 report. At that point in time, through the budget processes in 2025-26, which were recently adopted on the 30th of June, Council actually adopted an external facing rates and charges debt management and recovery policy, which superseded our previous internal guideline that we use. The September 2025 report does include further correspondence around the debt collection policy itself and the underlying thresholds that are attached to that. Just to draw your attention, you will see the difference in the reporting structure between rate of REZ and the debt collection policy, just to prevent any privacy issues in terms of identification of individual properties. We do intend to provide six monthly updates in terms of the progress made around that policy, typically, and we expect to provide those in March and September, following both
00:49:00 the July and January rates levies. As for today, I'm happy to take questions from that. Mayor Wilkie: Mr Chair, thank you very much for the Comprehensive Reports Act. I also wanted to understand that asset sustainability ratio. I'll just find it again. So you mentioned it was capital expenditure divided by depreciation. Depreciation for us is around $21 million? Speaker 8: Approximately. That's correct. Mayor Wilkie: Approximately? Yes. So does that infer that capital expenditure is going to be something of the order of a thousand times that? Speaker 6: So as an underlying percentage, I believe that the programme was reworked. So prior to the carry forward balance from the Queensland QRA, as it's referred to, the intended capital spent for this year was about $52 or so million. Yeah, plus another $32.
00:50:00 Plus an additional $32 as a result of that. Yeah. Yeah. Mayor Wilkie: So that's about $80 million over $20 million. Speaker 6: It's about $95. Mayor Wilkie: $95 over about $21 million. I still don't understand how you've arrived at such a large figure for that simple division. Speaker 6: Yep. That's fine. Mayor Wilkie: Or if I don't have those calculations in front of me, I'll take that on notice and we'll report back. Thank you. My apologies. Because I need to get my head around that. Yep. Completely understand. Thank you. Speaker 8: I have a question. Councillor Phillips: Question. Zach, did you say you watched committee meetings to see questions that we have asked so you can form reports to help us understand it? Is that what you said at the very start? Speaker 6: So through the Chair, effectively, yes. In terms of coming into the role, acting, position and the nature of the changes that's gone on, the easiest way to find where we should go in the future is look at the historical nature of questions, which possibly I'm the only person who's done that recently. There was a general narrative areas that came up in common questions. So rather than continuing to have those questions raised, we should get ahead of that as officers
00:51:00 to provide that information. So that's why... Speaker 7: Just so we're prepared. Speaker 6: Yeah. We're in a draft state at the moment because there was stuff out of there that we wanted to take away and come back with a much more complete format, noting that it will be a working version for co-design with yourselves as well. We're just currently in the steps of compiling that. Councillor Phillips: I didn't have another question. I just wanted to highlight that that's pretty cool. Deputy Mayor Stockwell: I was just going to suggest none of them worked as well for sleep. Councillor Lorentson. Councillor Lorentson: In terms of the rate arrears at $10,381,415, at what threshold do rate arrears become a governance concern? Either in terms of budget impact or reputational risk? And do we have internal benchmarks or early warning indications? Speaker 6: So through the Chair, remembering that my normal head that I have for the organisation is the Revenue Services Manager.
00:52:00 So this is actually considered my area of expertise. So what we find with rates is we generally have a cyclical cycle. So after your January and July levies, you have a much higher rate of rate arrears. Over the course of the six months, you find they will generally tail off. Industry benchmarks around rate arrears is typically about 5% is the threshold that you want to look to maintain at the end of a rating period. Typically, our rate arrears vary for anywhere from about 12% initially after a rate's run to about 5%. So we're generally in line with industry best practice. The suggestion around introducing a new external policy for debt collection, effectively, the idea is that we're going to have to do that. But the reason was that is we actually wanted to move into a more proactive space. So there is a definite question of governance around the risk of arrears. Rates is one of the fortunate things protected by legislation that is ultimately tied to the land of the property. So although they are, the arrears themselves are no debt, they're typically owed on the
00:53:00 land. So we have protections eventually of the houses sold we would look to collect. But we want to get in front of that in terms of being more proactive. And that's the idea on the introduction of the policy, sorry, to manage that early intervention. Rates can be a very good indicator of financial distress or hardship. So we want to get in there and get in there quickly to actually look at the community. We do have a financial hardship policy. And we do have other means to actually work with the community to find available options to them so we don't put them under further distress. I suppose in terms of addressing your question directly, that's the idea. That is the reason for actually bringing this to the table in front of you. There's an area we want to place further focus on or transparency on and look to minimise that. The eventual goal for industry best practice as it's considered is probably somewhere close to 2 or 3 percent. And that is the intention for what we're looking to do. So does that answer your question? It does. Councillor Lorentson: So we're under the 5 percent, but the ideal is 2, 3 percent.
00:54:00 Speaker 6: Yeah, to effectively strive for the stars, if you will, that 5 percent is acceptable. But in terms of prudent financial management and sustainability, we would like over time and we would expect that the new policy to bring that down to a low percentage just for prudent management of Council's finances. Councillor Lorentson: And do we have any idea of what proportion of the 10.38 million in arrears is considered recoverable? Looking at the Limitation of Actions Act. There's, we need to take legal action within a six year period, there's timeframes. Speaker 6: Yeah, so this is, so the simple answer to that question is it is all recoverable. So based on the underlying regulation that we find ourselves under, rates are guaranteed effectively over the underlying land value of the property. There is definitely due diligence that Councils need to exercise and I think you're referencing a recent case around that. So this, the steps actually have an external face.
00:55:00 It's not a policy, although it doesn't change our internal processes is to do exactly that. It's actually to put into the community the idea around we need to move into a proactive space, provide education around actually rates, how we can support people. And theory there isn't a liability of risk around that. But there is also diligence or duty of care to our ratepayers to actually make sure they're appropriately informed and they're not being pushed into positions of further hardship. Noting that our underlying revenue statement itself does have interest. As any provider does on arrears balances. So we have that fine or discreet balance as an organisation to make sure those that don't pay or discharge their balance are effectively penalised in some ways along with state legislation. But actually on the other hand, they were proactively working with the community, providing education and making sure that they can understand they can come and talk to us actually. It's not a, debt collection sounds like a horrible thing in some ways, but the idea is we're here to work with them as we've always been. But sometimes that redirect actually needs to be pushed out into the community.
00:56:00 Councillor Lorentson: Great. Thank you. That was well answered. Appreciate it. Mayor Wilkie: Just a follow up question on that. On rates arrears, Zac, are there any property owners in rates arrears that refuse to recognise local governments authority to raise rates? And if so, what proportion of those in arrears would you say that represents? So through the Chair. Speaker 6: In its simplicity, the answer to that question is yes. As a result of the new policy, we are going through a substantial order, which we've near completed to actually look at the balance of arrears where it relates to particular categories as it relates. And obviously one subset of that is sovereign citizens. I don't have the exact numbers in front of me because we are doing a line by line review of actually the debt arrears. There is a vocal part of the community that has the sovereign citizens, if you want to call them that, in terms of the viewpoints. We have standard practices in how we engage with them.
00:57:00 The policy as it's written is to deal actually with the people that need help or need a reach out. But ultimately we have exhausted our means to engage with a lot of them. So it is to create a line in the sand around some of that. In terms of the explicit numbers, I would have to report back to you to take that on notice. I don't have that currently. Thank you. Deputy Mayor Stockwell: Councillor Wilson. Councillor Wilson: Can I just confirm as well that for those balances, particularly those that are much older than this most recent rate cycle, the interest is growing at 11%? Speaker 6: Top of my head it's 11.18%, which is prescribed by the underlying regulation. That's what we set it at. Yes. Which is accruing daily. Speaker 8: Yes. Councillor Finzel: Thank you. I just have a question coming back to depreciation of assets and then replacement. And if we looked at our questions asked, I've read, you know, often asked this question
00:58:00 about the length of time that it's taking Council for the conversion from, you know, the capital works over to the Council asset. Has that got better? Has that improved the speed at which we're converting these infrastructure assets? Speaker 7: Through the Chair, I can take that question. Councillor Finzel. So, I think what you're referring to is our work in progress balance that sits sort of outside of our ledger, but all sort of in it. That's sitting there approximately $120 million as we sit today. That is a continued work in progress on the work in progress to actually get those out of the WIC balance and actually have it recorded and registered in the WIC balance. So, that's the actual financial value that contributes to our overall asset value. So, that's my long answer to you is it's not, it's still probably an uncomfortable,
00:59:00 sizeable balance there, but it is a work in progress to get it down. Councillor Finzel: Okay. Thank you. And then in terms of, I guess, this could be the CEO, what's our risk then when we're looking at replacing and upgrading our assets in terms of, you know, the cost of the construction so that we've got a clear line of sight around the money sitting there for the replacement due to depreciation. How do you think we're sitting? Are we in a good position or is there a risk there? Speaker 7: I can still. Do you mind if I answer that? Sure. If that's okay, through the Chair. So, that value are new assets or upgraded assets. It's not taking away the focus from what we do need in the future. We need to replace and or renewal or upgrade of our other assets. It's not, that value doesn't have an implication on that and our current understanding of the
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01:00:00 state of those assets. Okay. It's a financial component. So, that's the amount that we've actually, we've potentially physically finished and or constructed an asset or part way through, but we haven't actually had the opportunity to complete all the necessary paperwork. So, that it gets financially recognised in the asset register. So, it doesn't impact on future works in terms of what the focus area is for the organisation on maintaining and upgrading our assets. It's a very different focus. Councillor Finzel: So, to reiterate, there's no risk of that conversion time. There's no risk to Council with that conversion time. Speaker 1: Through the Chair. You can't say there's no risk, but what it is is that there's no risk. Thank you very much for joining us today, we're going to take a look at some of the new assets. For example, as an example, we've just completed the upgrade to David Lowe Wayne
01:01:00 and the retaining wall. So that's now got much longer life to it, so the time that it takes to get that onto our books means that even if it took another year or two years you'd expect that it's still a new, not in need of replacing. I would also say that in the past, if you look at those, the numbers there are slightly skewed, but in the past we've always been well above 80% in terms of our renewals against our depreciation. So we're in a very comfortable position, I think, have been in a very comfortable position and I think that as this year goes on you'll see that we'll continue to be in a comfortable position in terms of being above the set standard rate of depreciation that we need to make sure that we're covering. So, again, this is a credit to you. To the finance staff, a credit to everybody involved in this work, in staying ahead of the game. Councillor Finzel: Thank you.
01:02:00 Deputy Mayor Stockwell: I'll second it. Councillor Phillips: Well, I pretty much said it earlier about Zach's due diligence in the role. This has probably been, I've made it really honest at the start that this was the biggest learning part of the job for me. Thank you. And this is the clearest it's been presented to me in report, so thank you. Yeah, the outstanding worries me, but I appreciate the workshop we had the other day and I think community should be reassured and confident with both of you in the roles that where the future looks really good with both of you there in those positions. So I don't really have anything to say. That's pretty good. Thanks. Deputy Mayor Stockwell: Thanks a lot. Councillor Lorentson: Probably just want to just make one just quick point about the fact that Council's holding
01:03:00 more than 10 million rate arrears. You know, I think it goes back to, and there's all sorts of reasons why Council's holding that amount of money, but the pressures that relate to cost of living impacts on our community, and I really respect the process that Council is handling. I think there's a lot of work to be undertaken to ensure that, you know, any request that we don't create any further hardship on those, especially that are experienced cost of living impacts. But yeah, thank you both for A, coming to Noosa Council, both in your acting capacity, but thank you. We welcome you and we thank you. The report in front of us is great and gets a lot of attention. It's getting better and better. And I love the traffic lights, just saying, just becoming easier for us to read and also
01:04:00 community. A lot of community actually access this information. So thank you for the simplicity. Mayor Wilkie: Thank you. Good work. Thank you. Thank you. Deputy Mayor Stockwell: I think the main thing for me, I suppose, is around the impact of revenue when it's going down. When it's not meeting the standard. It may be, for example, that people, when we look at concrete recyclables, it's a bad thing, but it's not. So I've had ratepayers ask why isn't the sale. And the reason we have not had high sales of concrete is that we're stockpiling to save costs for a large recycling pad to go in at the resource recovery centre. So it's probably the likely to be the cheapest source of that sort of base material to go under the pad for the project, which will be a multi-million dollar project out there. And if we look, a lot of our multi-million dollar projects are in most, and this is where a lot of our innovation will be over the next few years.
01:05:00 And while we do respect that cost of building pressures will have an effect of the fact that we have got quite a sizeable arrears in rates at the moment, we've also acknowledged that some people do it out of some misplacement. But we need to recover that money to fund the things of the need by this community. And if you want to be part of this community in Overham you do are expected to either pay your rates or if it is a financial object to enter into an agreement and I know our staff do that with all care and diligence. Anyone else more to close? All those in favour? That's unanimous. Thank you. Thank you. We move on to the next item, which is the Sunshine Creek slope stability. No, it's not.
01:06:00 Just seeing if you're also awake. Mayor Wilkie: Mr Chair, I just flagged that the applicant has asked that it be referred to a Thursday's meeting. There's some questions to that. Deputy Mayor Stockwell: Okay, so this is an application for another change to existing approval for material exchange of use, indoor entertainment, clubhouse, and the sporting recreation, Bolden Greens. For the material exchange of use, outdoor sports and recreation, student and drink outlet, and medium impact industry, facility at Pollock, Opal Street, Cooroy. Speaker 3: Excellent. Well, thank you. Through the Chair. So, like you said, it's... It's an impact accessible application, and the application attracted 12 submissions, and 11 of those were properly made, and one not properly made. There were eight in support of the application, and four against. So, that existing approval that you mentioned at the beginning there, that was for indoor entertainment, clubhouse, and sport and recreation.
01:07:00 That was dated 27th of July, 1995. And I guess the main purpose of this application... The main purpose of the change was to refine and adapt the existing approval to include more contemporary land use terms from the Noosa Plan 2020. The application seeks approval for the introduction of two new land uses, the food and drink outlet, and the distillery, which we've defined under the Noosa Plan as medium impact industry. And it's worth noting that the primary use of the Bowls Club remains unchanged. And it's supported in this application through a long-term agreement between your mates, Bowls E, PTO LTD, and the Cooroy Community Bowls Club. So, that ensures community access and operation of that into the future.
01:08:00 The proposed food and drink outlet... The proposed food and drink outlet generally maintains the historic use of the clubhouse, including... It was previously operated as a restaurant, and it remains ancillary to the primary recreational use. There's going to be shared amenities, and the development aligns with similar other regional bowling clubs in Noosa and the Sunshine Coast region. The proposed medium... It's a very small scale distillery, 28 metres squared, and that's proposed to operate in an internal room that's existing, and it's got limited production capacity to minimise amenity impact. The application, as conditioned, demonstrates consistency with the relevant performance outcomes of the applicable codes, including the Recreation and Open Space Code, the Cooroy Local Plan Code, the Business Activity Code, and the Entertainment Activities Code.
01:09:00 And the application maintains compliance with existing car parking arrangements, planning scheme provisions. And there's no increase in car parking demand as a result of the other change. The proposal is considered to appropriately balance operational needs and residential amenity with it adjoining a residential use, and it's supported by relevant documentation and conditions. And through the assessment, you know, operational impacts, including noise and... hours of operation, they've been addressed through supporting documentation, including a noise impact assessment that was submitted.
01:10:00 And then, as a result of submissions, the applicant submitted an operational management plan and a risk assessed management plan. And conditions are recommended to manage delivery operations, restrict patient access to sensitive areas adjoining that residential use, and ensure compliance with noise and amenity standards. It's noted that the proposed operating hours are consistent with the applicable codes, and are similar to what was publicly advertised, and are supported by acoustic recommendations. The hours are considered appropriate, given the site's recreation and open space zoning, where sport and recreation, specifically the lawn bowls, is the primary use. And the proposed food and drink outlet and distillery, therefore, should remain ancillary,
01:11:00 and must operate in a manner that respects and supports the site's principal recreational function and the location it is within Cooroy. It's acknowledged that submitted concerns relating to current operations, that's being addressed by the applicant by removing patron access from the area adjacent to the eastern boundary that adjoins the residential use, and this includes the removal of a smoking area, the relocation of outdoor dining, and the relocation of a children's playground to the other side of the building, away from the residential area. There's also concerns from submitters regarding refrigeration units and other plant, and we have addressed that reasonably in conditions. The proposed changes represent a considered response to the community concerns raised during public notification and the operational needs of the business. So, overall, I think the application is considered to appropriately balance the recreation, commercial and community interests,
01:12:00 and is recommended for approval, subject to the recommended conditions. So, I'll just leave it open to any questions now. Speaker 5: Through the chair, can I just add to Matt's thorough detailed explanation of the application. There has been some maybe disconnect or where we've fallen to in terms of conditions for hours of operation. We've been advised that the applicant's got some concerns. I just thought I'd put those on the table so you're aware of those and our thinking around them. Condition 37 specifically relates to the hours of operation for the food and drink outlet and the medium impact industry use. We consider it reasonable that it operate 10am to 9pm Monday to Thursday and also Sunday
01:13:00 and a public holiday with it being open to 10pm to 11pm on a Friday and a Saturday. It's the applicant's preference that it be allowed to open to 10pm on that Monday to Thursday and Sunday and public holiday days. We have aligned our hours of operation with the planning scheme requirements. Because the land adjoins a residential zone, it requires through the AO that it operates no later than 9pm. We have given an allowance to go later on a Friday and Saturday night, noting that is consistent with how it's currently being used. The 9pm restrictions are also consistent with how the... the use is being advertised currently. So that was some of our thinking there. We've conditioned the Bowling Green to operate between 7am and 9pm.
01:14:00 It's the applicant's preference that it operate till 10pm. Similarly, the playground we've conditioned till 8pm and it's the applicant's preference that it continue through to 10pm. Again, mindful of the site's location. Within proximity of the residential areas is our reasoning behind pulling those hours back. Can see some merit in aligning the playground hours with the Bowling Green hours. Noting that people on site using the Bowling Green, they have the children there, that it's reasonable that they get to use the play equipment. So I'll leave that to Council. The conversation with the consultant this morning was talking about the issue of the Bowling Green being able to be used from 7am in the morning but the food and drink outlet not starting till 10am. Whilst I understand where he's coming from, the 10am restriction was put on because that was consistent with some of the discussions that the officer had had with the applicant.
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01:15:00 That it was a 10am opening and never been put forward to open earlier than that. So the conversation today was my first understanding of a preference to open earlier. Can see some merit in there being an allowance for people to have coffees and cakes and whatnot whilst they're doing bowls in the morning but probably not preferable that meals and liquor is being consumed at that hour. So just to fill you in a little bit more, again, around some of our thinking and that disconnect between ourselves and the applicant that you might have been presented with yourselves. Deputy Mayor Stockwell: So a technical question on that last matter. Service of drinks and small food is a part of an outdoor recreation use history generally. You can have it. The fact that the site has got the food and drink outlet, does that mean if it is there, that has to have the hours changed or can we separate the use, operational use?
01:16:00 Speaker 5: It might be something that I could have a look at. That might make sense to do it in that way and look at the definition of the, you know, how it's used. The recreation use and what that would allow. Deputy Mayor Stockwell: I think in the report it talks about there's more than two course meals, that sort of thing. There's some things in the report in the memory. Speaker 5: That was going back to, I think, the original. Historically, yeah. Land use terms. Fish and meat. How to have fish and meat. Yeah. Councillor Finzel: How to have fish and meat. Speaker 5: And why, and why a caterer's room was the, had the subset of that was a restaurant, which wasn't included as part of the original approval, which is why we're here today essentially with the food and drink outlet. Councillor Wilson: I'm a little bit confused by, obviously this business is already operating and I'm not sure what it's current operating hours are. So, which of these conditions are changing? The operating hours as a result of this change of location?
01:17:00 Speaker 5: Condition 37 is consistent with how it's currently being advertised on their website. So we would understand no change in that regard and, in fact, I think the website actually talks about 11.30am opening for Cracker Jack. We've got a 10am proposed. I'm not too sure. There's nothing on the website around when the boiling greens are being used. So those conditions are essentially in new conditions that, yeah. Deputy Mayor Stockwell: Councillor Low. Councillor Lorentson: Just a couple of questions and I probably want to just wait till we go inside and meet with the applicant, have an opportunity to speak with him. But I've sort of just had a good read of the application and it's probably my questions are, just seeing some of their conditions seem standard, but some aren't standard or
01:18:00 don't seem standard. In terms of condition 36 linking the operation to the bowling club, is that a standard practice? No. Speaker 5: And it's reflective of the zoning of the site being for recreation and open space and that the bowling club is not a standard practice. The food and drink outlet is an inconsistent use on the site. So seeking to ensure that the site is preserved for a recreation use, it doesn't transpire that that use peters out and the whole site becomes a hospitality offering. Councillor Lorentson: So my understanding from what I've read is the operator and the owner of the property have signed a 90 year licence of the bowl's green use. Is that right? Speaker 3: It's a five year lease. Is that correct? Yeah. A five year lease currently signed with options to re-sign every five years up to the 90 years.
01:19:00 Councillor Lorentson: Up to the 90 years. Yes. So is that condition necessary knowing that, like I said, let me just, I'll think and talk to you guys about it. The other condition which I thought is this potential duplication with OLGA and QPS, I'm wondering, in terms of the operating hours and amenity controls, probably my two questions, are they consistent with what we've done, what conditions we've put with similar licence venues in Noosaville and even in Cooroy, the Cooroy Copperhead distillery? And are they duplicating what's already in place through the operating hours and amenity controls and gaming regulations in Queensland Police Services?
01:20:00 Speaker 5: The conditioning hours of operation and having conditions around potential amenity impacts is, the approach we've taken is consistent in that regard, particularly noting the location of this site within proximity of residential uses, you know, directly abutting the site and with, again, close proximity. The amenity impacts of the application were a strong part of our consideration and the conditions are reasonable and relevant in that regard. Councillor Lorentson: Again I go back to the operational management plan and I go back to what's required under liquor licensing conditions. Again, are we... Are we imposing conditions that they're already undertaking as part of their licence conditions
01:21:00 in terms of the operational management plan? I keep putting my, this is a small community-based hospitality business, we've signed a small business friendly charter and my questions come from a place of, are we placing onerous conditions? Are we helping a small business run? Speaker 4: Can I just jump in? I mean, I guess I would like to add that operational management plan really is a big part of noting when the notification went out there were a number of submissions from adjoining residents concerned about existing noise impacts. Yeah. What the staff, through the assessment and obviously following the notification period, the applicant did go away and do further work which identified that this is a key piece. Yeah. It's a key piece of operational management to manage the impacts of people behaviour. Some of it is the staff after like a clean up and things like that and making sure that
01:22:00 the practices and methodologies in place are, have enough rigour around them so that those things are maintained and if we do get ongoing complaints, are there going to be practices or improvements to address those issues, particularly on those residential properties? So it is very much a practical condition. Largely it's been encouraged through the work that the applicant has done through their own further work following the notification from residents so, but take your point and it is a balancing act and obviously this is about maintaining and ensuring that the business can function sustainably as well, but not at the detriment to adjoining resident properties. Councillor Wegener: Council, will you go first? This, the Bulls Club is still within the Cooroy Town Centre. Yeah. But that was zoned as Town Centre. Because the, the, the car wash and the two petrol stations are zoned as Town Centre. Speaker 5: This is, they were zoned District Centre. District Centre.
01:23:00 This land is actually zoned Open Space and Recreation. Yeah, Recreation and Open Space. Recreation and Open Space. And then it, on the other side of it is High Density Residential Zone. Yeah, to the north. To the north. Yeah. Yeah. So, the Town Centre, the District Centre Zone is a long, a long. Deputy Mayor Stockwell: To the north, to the District Centre and to the east would be Riz University. Speaker 5: That's correct. Councillor Wegener: Yeah. Because it's not a rec, does that change the, the, how you look at noise and, and, and, and, noise in the playgrounds and things if it's in a District Centre versus a Community Recreation Zone? Speaker 5: Not necessarily because you're looking at how it impacts the surrounding area. Yeah, sorry. To the south and west is fine. Speaker 3: High Density Residential Zone. Thank you. Councillor Wegener: What I'm worried about, you know, is. Medium. Medium. Medium, sorry.
01:24:00 The issue, that would be a great District Centre which is, is not actually acting so much as a District Centre right now. But it would be wonderful if it did act as a District Centre. And there's always a, is there a chilling effect of, you know, putting, putting restrictions on businesses that will, that will hinder that becoming activated as a District Centre in the future? Speaker 5: The conditions are consistent with criteria within the superseded and, and the current playing scheme. In terms of the hours of operation. So, even if you were in a, a Major Centre Zone, District Centre Zone, if you still had residential land adjoining you, the same requirement would apply. Speaker 8: Yeah. Okay. Thank you. Thank you. Councillor Fiddler. Councillor Finzel: Yeah. Thank you.
01:25:00 Around the conditions, I've just got, especially in relation to the hours. I've just got, I've just got a, I've just got a, I've just got a, I've just got a, I've just got a question about the social impacts and the high res around there. Just wondering about the social impacts, we've talked about staff, you know, with noise at, at close of business. What about people leaving at, at those later hours given, you know, access to public transport and hinterland where I live, including, you know, it's hard to get taxis, it's hard to get Ubers. Has there been any discussion around those potential social impacts of later closing and how we're moving people away from the area at the time of close? Speaker 5: The hours, again, are consistent with how it's currently being used, noting there was a restaurant previously on the site. In terms of the social impacts, I'm not too sure what you're actually referring to. Speaker 3: So you mean with people leaving and the noise and managing that issue, the operational management
01:26:00 plan and the risk assessed management plan. The risk assessed management plan discusses small stuff to do with staff and the operators, policing that for the patrons and, you know, having signs up to say, you know, there's nearby residents and more of an educational way of just telling them when they leave to, to be respectful of those neighbours and not to be slamming car doors, talking loudly within earshot of the residential units. That's, you know, there's, you know, there's, you know, there's, you know, there's, you know, there's, I guess that's part of the policy that they're trying to enact through their operational management is the point that I was trying to make. Councillor Finzel: Yeah. So I'm more interested in those social impacts of people leaving at those later hours. Yeah. So there's no discussion around how that might be managed, like increased police or increased, you know, access to taxis, for example.
01:27:00 I mean, it's very hard to get a taxi out and handle it. Yeah. And a few years back, the reason I raise it is because there was a distillery application that was knocked back out in the industrial site due to the access to transport to move people away from the venue. So, yeah, I'm just interested in those social impacts given it is a, you know, small hinterland community. And we do have to be taking into consideration, in my opinion, those social impacts on our community. Yeah. Speaker 4: Yeah. I mean, look, yeah, in terms of that point, and thanks for raising that, Councillor, obviously with legal licence, there are provisions around responsible service of liquor, and that does help and assist to ensure that those people that are attending are able to either A, get a ride home, or B, be picked up by someone, or potentially utilise public transport. I guess some of those elements do fall outside of the realm of the assessment of that.
01:28:00 It obviously for the business itself, it obviously does want to encourage people to safely get home and ensuring that they've got access to rides. And obviously we'll escort people safely from the site if need be, we'll make calls from the particular site if they need to get a ride from the premises at closing time. Obviously those things sort of exist at the moment given it's operating there at this point in time. But there's nothing we can require necessarily to enable people to necessarily get a ride in a particular way from the site, other than using the normal current transport methods that exist. Councillor Lorentson: Thank you. I've got a question. Deputy Mayor Stockwell: Something that just occurred to me. I've got no trouble with the principle of having an ancillary distillery.
01:29:00 Does it have any impact on what is required to achieve a safe operating environment? I'm thinking of, is the building classified that it can have these, a medium impact industry operating, fire safety between the distillery and adjacent playground, gyms, all that. Is that all taken or no way into the planning application? We can't consider the building classification. To me, is there, have they planned for it or is there conditions that will ensure that it's a safe operating environment? Speaker 5: We could, if it was okay, we could come back to you on that. Speak with the applicant and understand their obligations in that regard and whether they comply. Deputy Mayor Stockwell: I know the process has changed since all the fires in the movies. Yes. But I think having a playground next to it will make sure it's safe.
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01:30:00 Speaker 3: Yes. The only condition we have about, I guess, safety would be the storage of flammable or combustible liquids must comply with the minor storage provisions of the relevant Australian standards. That's all we've got in that regard. But if we want to strengthen that and find out what our obligations are, yes, we can definitely look into that matter further. Deputy Mayor Stockwell: Any other questions? Councillor Lorentson: I've just got in front of me conditions 64 to 68 in terms of the easement. 64, where the development site has frontage to Diamond Lane, the applicant must dedicate a two metre wide easement along the full length of his laneway frontage for the purpose of future laneway widening and upgrading. And I've probably come back to, I go back to the small. Our friendly charter that we signed to help support small businesses. And I'm just, my question is, keep coming back to the upfront cost that, you know, is the condition onerous?
01:31:00 What impact that's going to have on a small business operationally? And whether there's opportunity. And maybe in terms of an amendment or something to the condition where we can consider either a post construction or a reduction of the easement. I just would like to discuss this probably a little bit further with you. And when we meet with the applicant, discuss with him. Well, the easement condition really isn't. Speaker 3: The purpose of that is just to protect that future alignment if it does get widened in the future. And it's a requirement of the Cooroy Local Plan that that two metre wide easement be. There for the future purposes of widening if that comes about. Like if over time we can secure the whole like length of Diamond Lane.
01:32:00 Then that would then in future be widened and we'd have that land there. Councillor Lorentson: So we're going to ask that of everyone on Diamond Lane? Speaker 5: Okay. A provision within the planning scheme which identifies particular laneways in Cooroy for which if this application was taking access. Off the lane. Yep. It would be required to actually dedicate that land to Council. In instances where access has not been taken, the scheme requires that an easement be created. And there are a number of properties along Diamond Lane which that has occurred. Where there's actually been land dedicated. And also in other parts of Cooroy where land has been actually dedicated to Council. To facilitate future works within those laneways to improve connectivity. Throughout Cooroy. Pedestrian connectivity. Potentially vehicle connectivity. Councillor Lorentson: Okay. Okay. Thank you.
01:33:00 Deputy Mayor Stockwell: Someone wish the intent was to defer to the ordinary meeting. Councillor Lorentson: I'll move to. Yep. I'll move to defer the decision. I'll move. Deputy Mayor Stockwell: That's right. Councillor Lorentson: I'm happy to second. Deputy Mayor Stockwell: Yeah. Council will be entertainer first. No worries. And second is Councilor Larson. We wish to discuss any further. Mayor Wilkie: I'll just say Mr Chair. I understand the discussion will be around the hours of operation. Impact on the residents go to the heart of how this application is being assessed. And this will give Councilors time to meet with the applicant. So they can make their case around such matters as the hours of operation. Deputy Mayor Stockwell: Okay. I'll put the motion. Those in favour. That's unanimous. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Before we proceed, the CEO has to step up for another report. So we are now acting CEO. Director of Development and Control and Local Laws. It's up to the Regulation Committee.
01:34:00 That's it. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Good reports. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. You're great. So feel free to come up with any hard questions for us. Thank you. We have Shaun, our recovery coordinator. Speaker 8: Julie's been on site as you can tell. Speaker 2: I have hard hat hair. Speaker 8: Exactly what we'd expect you to do. Speaker 2: Good afternoon. Sunshine Creek is our name that we're using for the slope that sits in that area at Sunshine Beach near Ross Crescent and Adams Street. Because it's an area that affects both of those, we want to avoid confusion between any party, so we've been calling it Sunshine Creek.
01:35:00 And partly of that is the site there has some slope stability issues that actually do feed into the need to make sure that we look after that creek structure as well. So part of this is about just naming it appropriately to best match what problems we're trying to solve here. The report today is making a request for us to be able to start working with some specialised contractors to allow us to finalise some design attributes that we really want to include in this before we go to market to find a construction contractor to commence works to re-stabilise that slope in that particular space. We have opted to go this particular path because the particular contractor that we'd like to use, Foundations Specialist Pty Ltd, trading as FSG Geotex and Foundations,
01:36:00 apart from being a well-regarded supplier of these services within the industry, actually have history at that particular site. So temporary works have been done in this particular area previously and they were involved in doing those temporary works. Any new works that we are looking to do, we want to try and work on how do we interface our new work with the old work. And the best way we can do that is be working with the people who designed and put that work in there originally. So that's the basis of our, of going through to our source direct. We're looking at a, in terms of disaster reconstruction, a relatively small value of $41,500 to finalise that design. Deputy Mayor Stockwell: Thank you. Do we have any questions? Councillor Lorentson: I'm happy to move in.
01:37:00 I'm happy to second. Yeah, I will. This is what I, this is critical infrastructure and the community is depending on us to get it right. The slope at Sunshine Creek, I call it Ross Crescent, but now I'm going to call it Sunshine Creek, has been unstable for years. And this work isn't just about meeting a deadline. It's actually about protecting public safety, restoring confidence and delivering on outcomes that our residents have been waiting for. Thank you, Julie, for all your work. Councillor Finzel: Team effort, like always. Thank you. Mayor Wilkie: Now let's get it done. Thank you. Deputy Mayor Stockwell: Great. I'm just going to do a little bit in that reaching the creek highlights the fact that the problem we have here was made when Sunshine Creek was developed. We talked about the carrying capacity in the Noosaville landscape. Part of that is putting development in the right spot.
01:38:00 And what we've got here is an overly steep slope that has been developed too close. And therefore, there's a risk that it's going to cost a lot to fix up. And it's looking, you don't want a sandy slope like this to be any greater than the angle of repose. And depending on the sand, that's between 30 and 40 percent. And we've probably got something that's closer to 50 percent at the moment, I'm guessing. But it's certainly very steep. And so, just when we look in this sandy country and anything else, where we say the development ends has to take into account where is it stable to do so. And we've got lots of sites in that sandy coastal country where development practices of the 60s, 70s, and 80s perhaps didn't take into account the natural constraints. And the community is now paying for that by increased response to the surface. Anyone else want to just talk? No. Councillor Finzel: Yeah. Deputy Mayor Stockwell: Thank you. Councillor Finzel: Yeah. I just want to thank you for the report. Happy to accept the recommendation.
01:39:00 I think it's timely. And these emerging issues that are coming out, I think it's, you know, it's our responsibility to actually be able to deliver that, you know, efficiently and with expertise that we require. So, thanks Julie. And we know it's all in good hands. And Shaun and all the team, collaborative effort. And certainly councillors want to support that team approach to deliver what community requires. So, thank you. Speaker 8: Great. Thank you. Deputy Mayor Stockwell: I'll put the vote. Oh, do you wish to close, councillor? No. Councillor Lorentson: Thank you. Deputy Mayor Stockwell: Okay. I'll put the vote. Those in favour? That's carried unanimously. Our next item is a confidential item. Would someone like to move for the reasons that will soon be on the board? I'll move. You can just get the motion up. That'll be good. Speaker 2: Yeah. Thanks.
01:40:00 Speaker 8: Good work, Richard. That was very efficient. Yeah. It's fine. Councillor Phillips: Yeah. I need to read it still. Speaker 8: It's not going to, sorry. There we go. But it's here. Can you read it? Councillor Phillips: That the meeting be closed to the public pursuant to section 254J3G of the Local Government Regulation 2012 for the purpose of discussing a contract proposed to be made by council in particular, potential commercial negotiations in relation to that contract for item number 29.1. Deputy Mayor Stockwell: Do we have a seconder? Happy to second. Councillor Finzel. Do we need any discussion? No. All those in favour? That's carried unanimously. Thank you. We'll get the gallery to wait outside while we discuss this matter if we appreciate it.
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01:53:00 Speaker 8: Thank you. Okay, welcome back. Deputy Mayor Stockwell: Councils, we have a recommendation in front of us. Would someone like to move that recommendation? Councillor Lorentson: I'm happy to move the recommendation. Deputy Mayor Stockwell: Councillor Lorentson and Councillor Phillips, do you wish to say anything, Councillor? Councillor Lorentson: No, thank you. Deputy Mayor Stockwell: Anyone else? No, thank you. I'll put the recommendation. Those in favour? That's passed unanimously. Thank you, Councillors. Thank you, staff. That brings us to the end of the meeting at 2.24pm. Thank you, Mr Chairman. Councillor Finzel: Thank you, Mr Chair. Thank you, staff, for your work. Deputy Mayor Stockwell: And congratulations on your award. Councillor Finzel: On our award.