Published on 11 December 2024
Elected representatives of the community, Councillors, come together to represent the views of the community and make strategic decisions on behalf of the community.
They are responsible for ensuring the Council operates in accordance with legislation, is financially responsible and delivering to the needs of the community within the means of the budget.
They meet regularly to make determinations on matters that impact on you and your community.
Following each meeting we provide a snapshot of the decisions that are made and the information that is tabled.
For a full outline of the meeting and the discussion points, please refer to the agenda and business papers, or listen to a recording of the meeting – that can be found here Agendas and minutes - MidCoast Council (nsw.gov.au)
Items of interest - 11 December 2024 Council meeting
Councillors supported a Mayoral Minute to make the condition of the MidCoast road network Council’s top priority.
The minute called for a report to be complied on opportunities for increased funding for roads for the 2025-26 budget in response to the Road Strategy.
The report will provide Councillors with information on road budgets to help inform the 2025-26 budget discussions that will start in February 2025.
The Mayor requested that the report contain the following;
Council will enter into a contract with NALG Envirotech Pty Ltd for the provision of a Food Organics Garden Organics service and in accordance with the negotiated terms.
A Quality Assurance Officer will be engaged to oversee and undertake quality assessments during the construction phase of the FOGO processing facility.
To align with State Government regulations all councils must adopt a Food Organic and Garden Organic waste program by 2030.
Councillors endorsed the reappointment of members to the Audit, Risk and Improvement Committee and will ensure renewal dates are staggered in the future to ensure knowledge is not lost when members change.
All Councils are required under the Local Government Act 1993 to have an ARIC from 4 June 2022. The objective of MidCoast Council’s Audit, Risk and Improvement Committee is to provide independent assurance to Council by monitoring, reviewing and providing advice about the organisation’s governance processes, compliance, risk management and control frameworks, external accountability obligations and overall performance.
$7.6 million spent on road network since July
Maintenance and replacement of transport assets represent a significant proportion of Council’s total operational budget.
A quarterly report presented to the meeting, showed Council’s year-to-date expenditure on operation and maintenance of the transport network including commitments (as of 26 November 2024), was $7,640,502.
This represents approximately 44 percent of the current budget. Excluding commitments, expenditure is approximately 1.3 percent above the project budget for the period.
Since 1 July 2024 (21 weeks) a total of 2,410 customer requests have been received for Operations North and South. The average response time is six days with the majority of requests responded to within the 10-day target of the Customer Charter.
Taree produces the largest number of customer requests. This aligns with the known backlog of defects on transport infrastructure from historical underfunding.
The request data by issue type shows that almost half of the requests fit into ‘road surface’ or ‘other’ categories (including potholes). Footpath defects, signage and rural road grading concerns each account for over 10 per cent of requests. Lower proportions of requests relate to kerb and gutter and street sweeping.
Dredging of the Lower Myall River, Corrie Channel and Eastern Channel
Tenders received for the dredging of the Lower Myall River, Corrie Channel and Eastern Channel at Tea Gardens were declined.
It was resolved Council would enter negotiations with anyone (whether or not the person was a tenderer) with the view of entering into a contract, to identify opportunities to reduce costs, confirm project funding and best manage the project risks.
The General Manager has also been given permission to complete negotiations and to enter a contract in relation to the project subject to funding being made available from Transport for NSW
Draft MidCoast 2035 Community Strategic Plan
MidCoast 2035, our revised Community Strategic Plan will go on public exhibition from 28 January next year to gain community feedback.
Each Council in NSW is legislatively required to develop a Community Strategic Plan on behalf of their community. The report provides a vision for the future of the community and addresses a broad range of issues that are relevant to the community across the four areas of the Quadruple Bottom Line – social and community, environmental, economic and civic leadership.
Councillors endorsed the draft plan for it to go on public exhibition for 25 days from 28 January to 3 March 2025.
Open Forum
As a result, the open forum will remain part of the format. The open forum is an opportunity for members of the community to speak for four minutes on a topic that doesn’t relate to an item on Council’s agenda.
The open forum will now be continued until the June 2025 meeting with a review of the forum concept to be considered at a Council workshop at that time.
Councillors voted to extend the date of the Alcohol Free Zones and Alcohol Prohibited Areas through until 31 January 2025 in the eight zones across the region. The decision comes after a request from the Manning Great Lakes Police District and will see updated signage at the locations.
The locations include;
Councillors also resolved to request NSW Police representatives from each command to provide a briefing to Council to provide specific data and information in relation to the need for each zone.
Phone tower – 15 Showground Lane, Nabiac
A telecommunications tower will be erected at 15 Showground Lane, Nabiac.
The 30-metre tower is 252.9 per cent higher than the maximum allowed in the Great Lakes Local Environmental Plan 2014 and therefore required Councillor approval.
The site was deemed appropriate for the construction, and it was reported that it had received support from the community.
Forster Main Beach promenade fencing
Council committed to providing a budget allocation for the replacement of the Forster Main Beach promenade fencing so a request for tender can be released.
The results of the tender process and recommended supplier will be reported back to Council for consideration and confirmation of the final budget allocation to complete the works.
For full details of all reports please see the meeting agenda.