Council meeting summary
Published on 27 July 2023
Council meeting summary
What happens at a Council meeting?
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
The Voice referendum
A motion was passed that Council encourages the community to use the information provided by the Australian Electoral commission, which is also available at Council libraries, to be informed about the forthcoming The Voice referendum, while respecting the right of individuals to have an opinion and to exercise their democratic right of choice via the electoral process.
Two lot Torrens title subdivision
A Development Application seeking consent for a two lot Torrens Title subdivision of land at 4-12 Breese Parade Forster which is currently owned by MidCoast Council was approved subject to conditions. The subdivision will facilitate the sale of the former administration building and library which are no longer required for the ongoing operations of Council.
Alterations to supermarket
A DA seeking alterations and additions to an existing supermarket to incorporate a bottle shop at 203 Charlotte Bay Street, Charlotte Bay was refused by Councillors who listed six reasons for the decision including that the development is not compliant with the Great Lakes Local Environment Plan, it will result in unreasonable traffic impacts and access issues.
Development Activity and Assessment Performance
The report provided a summary of activity for the period of 1 April to 30 June 2023. It revealed the high level of development and building activity has continued.
Council has received 5044 building and development related phone calls during the period and the Customer Service, Development and Building team received 572 individual customer requests. Of those five are still active. There were 250 applications with a value of works amounting to $90,888,631.20.
Open Spaces and Recreation strategy
The Open Space and Recreation Strategy 2023 – 2035 was adopted by Councillors and was based on extensive engagement with the community during 2022. During this period, we received thousands of pieces of feedback via interactive activities on our website, community sessions and popups across the local government area and focus group conversations.
Council manages more than 4100 ha of public open space, made up of 826 different parks and reserves, of which there are 45 sports field facilities, containing 81 individual sports fields. In addition, Council manages numerous other specialist sports facilities, such as multi-purpose courts, tennis courts, basketball courts, skateparks and BMX tracks. We also manage 79 play spaces. Council also manages hundreds of passive reserves, coastal reserves, bushland reserves, and natural watercourse reserves. MidCoast Council has one of the largest public open space portfolios for its population of any local government area in Australia.
During the public exhibition period we received 60 formal submissions from the community. These submissions were location based; in that they are specific to the location that the person lives in. There were no submissions about the Strategy itself, but rather the individual actions in the Action Plan, or actions that the submitter wanted to put into the Action Plan.
The full details of the community feedback provided can be found in the Community Engagement Outcomes Report available on our website.
Provision of land for Community Groups Tea Gardens / Hawks Nest
Council will provide an area at the rear of the Tea Gardens Works Depot to site a 6m2 storage facility and enter an instrument of tenure with the Lions Club on a community rate basis prior to construction of a storage facility.
This comes after Council has received several requests to acquire land from Council or permission to build storage facilities on community land. The matter is exacerbated by the lack of suitable community land to build on.
Old Bar Master plan
The report provided an overview of the community engagement activities proposed in the development of a draft master plan for Old Bar Park.
It is a key precinct within the Old Bar community and it is envisaged that the development of a master plan will provide the ability for further future activation of the space to meet the needs of the growing community, providing for long term social recreational and economical benefits.
The views, ideas and experiences of the community will provide important background and insight to inform the development of the master plan.
Sustainability and Climate Change update
During the 2022/23 financial year, Council has undertaken several important projects that have improved the sustainability of our operations. These projects align with Council’s Climate Change Strategy that was adopted in June 2021 and contribute towards Council’s net-zero emission and renewable energy targets.
The Climate Change Strategy (June 2021) analyses Council’s carbon footprint and identifies the actions Council can undertake to reduce its greenhouse emissions and adapt its practices and infrastructure to become more resilient to the impacts of climate change.
These actions include:
• investing in renewable energy
• buying clean energy
• becoming more energy efficient
• sequestering carbon and offsetting
• sustainable procurement
• transitioning to more sustainable transport options; and
• reducing our waste to landfill.
In adopting the Strategy, Council committed to achieving net zero emissions from its operations (including electricity, fleet and waste) and 100% renewable energy for its operations by 2040.
The report outlined the key achievements over the past 12 months in delivering on the strategy. These included:
• Water Services have installed an additional 102 kW of roof top solar across four sites
• Waste Services have installed and commissioned solar and battery systems at Taree and Gloucester Waste Management Facilities
• The Fleet team have acquired two Kia Niro electric vehicles as pool cars – with one more awaiting delivery.
• Water Services now purchase 100% renewable electricity to supply power to their small-contract sites.
• The Waste team are in the tender design stage for landfill methane capture.
• The Waste team currently have tender documents being drafted for the design, construction of the proposed FOGO facility
• Senior Sustainability and Climate Change Officer has started
• MidCoast Council was awarded Bronze recognition from NSW Sustainability Advantage
• ARENA battery grant application submitted with Hunter JO
• Cities Power Partnership pledges developed
• 80% of street lighting has now been retrofitted with energy efficient LED lighting.
On-site Wastewater Management Strategy
Council has adopted an On-site Wastewater Management Strategy to guide the way we work with owners of on-site systems and protect public health and the environment.
Our region contains approximately 13,000 septic systems, one of the highest number of systems in a single Council area in NSW.
The strategy will help Council achieve the following goals
• Ensure all new septic systems are designed and installed in line with industry best practices and legislation;
• Ensure failing systems close to priority oyster aquaculture areas are identified and rectified as soon as is reasonably practicable;
• Ensure key stakeholders are aware of their responsibilities with regard to on-site wastewater management;
• Ensure adequate resources are available to achieve the objectives of the Strategy; and
• Enable accurate reporting and review of outcomes for continual improvement.
Under the Strategy efforts will be concentrated in areas where the impacts are likely to be significant, as not all failing or poorly designed systems pose a serious or substantial threat to public health or the environment.
The Strategy proposes the following objectives:
• All high-risk systems (approximately 520), as defined in the strategy, will be inspected in the first 12 months of implementing the strategy. It is estimated that up to 40 per cent of systems inspected in the first 12 months will require follow-up action to some extent;
• Systems in less sensitive environments, where the risks to public health and the environment are acceptably lower, will be inspected reactively; and
• After the first 12 months of implementing the monitoring program, system-related factors including type (treatment and disposal), performance, age, and proximity to property boundaries and surface waters will be considered to reduce the inspection frequencies of systems that pose less concern and risk. This will allow resources to be diverted to other systems.
Infrastructure and engineering services monthly capital works project status report
A report on the major capital works underway in the transport, water and wastewater area provided updates on a number of the major projects underway, including:
- Northern Gateway, Cundletown – Industrial access road under construction, including the second roundabout. Project completion expected December 2023.
- Farquhar / Bent Street, Wingham – Intersection upgrade to offset-T commenced in April and scheduled for completion in September 2023.
- York Street, Pulteney to Manning Street, Taree – reconstruction works are continuing and scheduled for completion in September 2023.
- Work is underway on six sections of The Bucketts Way, with three sections completed over the last two months.
- Wingham Road/Youngs Road – Intersection upgrade and reconstruction of 1.5km of pavement. Works continuing with expected completion in August 2023.
- Cedar Party Creek Bridge, Wingham – design is finalised and the project is out to tender. Construction is scheduled to start in September, however preconstruction estimates indicate the tenders will exceed the budget and we may need to negotiate additional grant funding with TfNSW
- Sewer and water mains renewal projects are also underway at a number of sites in Harrington, Smiths Lake, Hallidays Point, Hawks Nest, Forster, Manning Point, Taree South, Tuncurry, Stroud, Old Bar, Pacific Palms and more.
For more details on the full list of capital works underway, see report 15.8 on agenda for the 26 July https://www.midcoast.nsw.gov.au/Council/Council-Meetings/Meeting-Agendas-and-Minutes
Bulahdelah flood study review
A draft Bulahdelah Flood Study will be placed on public exhibition for a period of 25 working days for community comment.
The flood study review has been completed to provide a detailed flooding assessment of Bulahdelah and the surrounding local catchment. The objective of this study is to improve understanding of flood behaviour and impacts, and better inform management of flood risk in the study area. The study also provides a sound technical basis for further flood risk management investigation in the area when the floodplain risk management study and plan is developed immediately following the adoption of this report.
Transport quarterly operations report
A report on the operation and maintenance of the transport network for the June 2023 quarter was noted by Councillors.
The report focused on presenting the operational budget/expenditure for operations north and south across a range of delivery categories such as urban and rural road maintenance, bridge maintenance, drainage, street cleaning, kerb and gutter maintenance and car park maintenance.
In 2023/2024 the operating budget has been increased to $16M to counter some of the recent cost increases and inflation. Last year's result indicates that we will need to reduce some maintenance activities in order to stay within the allocated budget this year.
During the course of the year we were able to complete the following maintenance activities on our road network:
• Unsealed Road Maintenance Grading - 1,327km (or approximately 75% of the road network)
• Unsealed Road Gravel Patching - 27,000 Tonnes (using a mix of recycled and quarry materials)
• Unsealed Road Gravel Resheeting - 111.25km (or approximately 6.31% of the road network)
• Unsealed Road Shoulder Mowing/Slashing - 455km
• Sealed Road Shoulder Mowing/Slashing - 811km
• Roadside Weed Spraying - 407.8km
• Signage Repairs & Installation - 740 accomplished jobs
• Sealed Road Pothole Patching - 4062 Tonnes (or approximately 35,361m2 or ~5 lineal kilometres)
• Sealed Road Heavy Patching - 33,410m2 (dig out/replace or insitu-stabilise)