Minutes of the Ordinary Meeting of Council held on Monday 16 May 2022.

Present

The Mayor, Councillor Dallas Tout

Councillor Georgie Davies

Councillor Dan Hayes (via remote attendance)

Councillor Michael Henderson

Councillor Richard Foley

Councillor Rod Kendall

Councillor Tim Koschel

Councillor Jenny McKinnon

Councillor Amelia Parkins

In Attendance

General Manager                                                                    (Mr P Thompson)

Director Community                                                               (Ms J Summerhayes)

Chief Financial Officer                                                           (Mrs C Rodney)

Chief Operating Officer                                                          (Mr S Gray)

Manager Audit, Risk & Governance                                    (Ms I Hensley)

Communications & Engagement Officer                             (Mr M Casey) (via
                                                                                                   remote attendance)

Governance Officer                                                                (Ms K West)

Prayer

Almighty God,

Help protect our Mayor, elected Councillors and staff.

Help Councillors to govern with justice, integrity, and respect for equality, to preserve rights and liberties, to be guided by wisdom when making decisions and settling priorities, and not least of all to preserve harmony.

Amen. 

Acknowledgement Of Country

Wagga Wagga City Council acknowledges the traditional custodians of the land, the Wiradjuri people, and pays respect to Elders past, present and future and extends our respect to all First Nations Peoples in Wagga Wagga.

We recognise and respect their cultural heritage, beliefs and continuing connection with the land and rivers. We also recognise the resilience, strength and pride of the Wiradjuri and First Nations communities.

APOLOGIES

An apology for non-attendance was received and accepted for Director of Infrastructure Services Warren Faulkner on the Motion of Councillors

Confirmation of Minutes

CM-1         ORDINARY COUNCIL MEETING - 2 MAY 2022

22/146       RESOLVED:

On the Motion of Councillors T Koschel and R Kendall

That the Minutes of the proceedings of the Ordinary Council Meeting held on 2 May 2022 be confirmed as a true and accurate record.

CARRIED

RECORD OF VOTING ON THE MOTION

For the Motion	Against the Motion
D Tout
G Davies
D Hayes
M Henderson
R Foley
R Kendall
T Koschel
J McKinnon
A Parkins

Declarations Of Interest

Councillor T Koschel declared a Non-Significant Non-Pecuniary Interest in CONF-1 – 2021/2022 LOAN FACILITY the reason being that his workplace is mentioned in the report and remained in the chamber during its consideration.

General Manager Peter Thompson declared a Significant Pecuniary Interest in MM-CONF-1 -  CONFIDENTIAL MAYORAL MINUTE - GENERAL MANAGER'S CONTRACT the reason being that the report is in relation to his employment at Wagga Wagga City Council and vacated the chamber during its consideration.

PROCEDURAL MOTION - CHANGE OF STANDING ORDERS

22/147       RESOLVED:

On the Motion of Councillors R Kendall and T Koschel

That Council bring forward consideration of EnGlobo.

CARRIED

RECORD OF VOTING ON THE MOTION

For the Motion	Against the Motion
D Tout
G Davies
D Hayes
M Henderson
R Foley
R Kendall
T Koschel
J McKinnon
A Parkins

Motions Of Which Due Notice Has Been Given

NOM-1      NOTICE OF MOTION - Australian Local Government Association (ALGA) ‘Don’t Leave Local Communities Behind’ Campaign

22/148       RESOLVED:

On the Motion of Councillors D Hayes and R Kendall

That Council:

a       supports the national funding priorities of the Australian Local Government Association (ALGA), which would contribute an estimated $6.46 billion per year to Australia’s GDP and create 43,444 jobs; and

b       agrees to support and participate in the Australian Local Government Association’s advocacy for their endorsed national funding priorities by writing to the local Federal Member(s) of Parliament, all known election candidates in local Federal electorates and the President of the Australian Local Government Association to:

i         express support for ALGA’s funding priorities;

ii        identify priority local projects and programs that could be progressed with the additional financial assistance from the Federal Government being sought by ALGA; and

iii       seek funding commitments from the members, candidates, and their parties for these identified local projects and programs

CARRIED

RECORD OF VOTING ON THE MOTION

For the Motion	Against the Motion
D Tout
G Davies
D Hayes
M Henderson
R Foley
R Kendall
T Koschel
J McKinnon
A Parkins

PROCEDURAL MOTION - ENGLOBO

22/149       RESOLVED:

On the Motion of Councillors J McKinnon and R Kendall

That the standing orders be varied for the meeting as set out hereunder:

• Items where councillors wish to speak
• Items where no councillors wish to speak
• Confidential
• Matter of urgency
• Closure of Meeting

That RP-1 and RP-2, be adopted as recommended in the business papers.

CARRIED

RECORD OF VOTING ON THE MOTION

For the Motion	Against the Motion
D Tout
G Davies
D Hayes
M Henderson
R Foley
R Kendall
T Koschel
J McKinnon
A Parkins

Reports from Staff

RP-1          DELEGATION OF AUTHORITY TO THE GENERAL MANAGER

22/150       RESOLVED:

On the Motion of Councillors J McKinnon and R Kendall

That Council delegates the following  powers, authorities, duties and functions of the Council to the General Manager, Mr Peter Thompson, as shown in the Schedule hereto, subject to the limitations and exceptions as shown:

SCHEDULE

a       All powers, authorities, duties and functions of the Council conferred or imposed on the Council by or under the Local Government Act, 1993 other than the functions listed in Section 377 of that Act as matters incapable of being delegated

b       All powers, authorities, duties and functions conferred or imposed on the Council by or under any other Act

LIMITATIONS

a       A power, authority, duty or function the subject of this delegation shall not be exercised by the General Manager in relation to any matter if the Council, by resolution, gives a direction to that effect to the General Manager

b       These delegations may be exercised only in accordance with prescribed standards, codes, policies and decisions of the Council

EXCEPTIONS

a       The determination of any development application that proposes development that would contravene a development standard imposed by Wagga Wagga Local Environmental Plan 2010 or any other environmental planning instrument and that is accompanied by a written request from the applicant seeking to  justify the contravention of the development standard

b       Determination of any development application that is required to be referred to Council for determination in accordance with the Wagga Wagga Development Control Plan 2010

c       Determination of any development application that is required to be referred to Council in accordance with policy “POL 046 Processing Development Applications Lodged by Councillors, Staff and Individuals of Which a conflict of Interest May Arise, or on Council Owned Land”

d       Determination of any development application that is required to be referred to Council for determination in accordance with any directive issued by the Department of Planning, Industry and Environment

CARRIED

RECORD OF VOTING ON THE MOTION

For the Motion	Against the Motion
D Tout
G Davies
D Hayes
M Henderson
R Foley
R Kendall
T Koschel
J McKinnon
A Parkins

RP-2          RESPONSE TO QUESTIONS/BUSINESS WITH NOTICE

22/151       RESOLVED:

On the Motion of Councillors J McKinnon and R Kendall

That Council receive and note the report.

CARRIED

RECORD OF VOTING ON THE MOTION

For the Motion	Against the Motion
D Tout
G Davies
D Hayes
M Henderson
R Foley
R Kendall
T Koschel
J McKinnon
A Parkins

QUESTIONS/BUSINESS WITH NOTICE

Councillor Hayes asked what traffic treatments have Council decided for Pine Gully Road.

Councillor Hayes requested dogs on leash signs to be installed at the wetlands.

Councillor Foley requested further advice pertaining to the MOFFS and VOFFS and in particular would like to know how this will affect current and new builds in Uranquinty.

Councillor Henderson requested information on how Council determines what roads require maintenance or resealing and what is the scale on which they are chosen.

The General Manager, Peter Thompson provided a response advising the Scale is 1-5 and there is a report returning to Council in June 2022 following a Notice of Motion from Councillor Hayes.

Councillor Koschel directed a question to the Mayor in relation to a Councillor making a statement last week towards the Mayor and demonstrable falsehood in regards to comments the Mayor provided to the media in relation to the airport and requested an update on which candidates the Mayor has heard from in relation to the recent Mayoral Minute and contacting candidates.

No response has been received from Richard Orchard - One Nation, Steve Karaitiana – Shooters, Fishers and Farmers or Dean Mcrae - Liberal Democrats  

Councillor Koschel asked if the Mayor was able to elaborate and if any of those have  committed Funding?

Mayor, Councillor Tout responded that he was not willing to release any emails however there was discussion in relation to infrastructure, lobbying for funding, the state of infrastructure, tenure and the state of the lease and a range of other matters, but none of the emails has any commitment to funds. 

Councillor McKinnon requested advice surrounding ‘free tip days’ and excessive traffic would like to know if the council has investigated or considered voucher systems.

Mr Scott Gray provided an interim response vouchers were considered in the past with the role out of the new bin collection system. ‘Free tip days’ are no longer a option. Council now offers bulky goods collection.

Councillor Davies advised that at the new cycling complex at Pomigalana on the BMX Track there is scooters going over the jumps causing damage to the jumps. Would like to know if we can install ‘no scooter signs’ as the scooters are ruining the jumps.

Councillor Koschel asked if Council has a regular cleaning service for the plaques along the main street as some are dirty and illegible.

closed COUNCIL

22/152       RESOLVED:

On the Motion of Councillors T Koschel and R Foley

That the Council now resolve itself into a Closed Council, the time being 6.30pm.

CARRIED

AT THIS STAGE OF THE MEETING THE PRESS AND PUBLIC GALLERY RETIRED FROM THE COUNCIL MEETING.

Confidential Mayoral Minutes

General Manager, Mr P Thompson declared a Significant Pecuniary Interest and vacated the Chamber the time being 6:30pm

All Council Staff vacated the Chamber the time being 6.30am

MM-CONF-1      CONFIDENTIAL MAYORAL MINUTE - GENERAL MANAGER'S CONTRACT

22/153       RESOLVED:

On the Motion of Councillor D Tout

That Council:

a receive and note the letter from General Manager, Mr Peter Thompson dated 21 February 2022 seeking renewal of his contract

b endorse renewing the contract of employment with Mr Peter Thompson for a further five years commencing 30 November 2022, based on the terms and conditions outlined by Mr Thompson in his letter

c delegate authority to the Mayor and Deputy Mayor to finalise the contract of employment in accordance with the standard contract required by the Office of Local Government

CARRIED

RECORD OF VOTING ON THE MOTION

For the Motion	Against the Motion
D Tout
G Davies
D Hayes
M Henderson
R Foley
R Kendall
T Koschel
J McKinnon
A Parkins

General Manager, Mr P Thompson re-entered the Chamber the time being 6:42pm.

All Council Staff re-entered the Chamber, the time being 6.42pm.

Confidential Reports

CONF-1    2021/22 Loan Facility

22/154       RESOLVED:

On the Motion of Councillors R Kendall and T Koschel

That Council:

a       authorise the General Manager or their delegate to enter into a Loan Facility with the Commonwealth Bank of Australia for up to:

i         $472,578 to fund the projects identified as part of Tranche 1 in the body of the report

ii        $2,067,707 to fund the projects identified as part of Tranche 2 in the body of the report

iii       $5,774,316 to fund the projects identified as part of Tranche 3 in the body of the report

b       authorise the affixing of Council’s Common Seal to all necessary documents as required

c       enter into a Loan Facility in a future financial year to fund the project identified as part of Tranche 4 in the body of the report, when the project has completed and the contribution for the project is required.  A subsequent report will be presented to Council for this project’s loan borrowings

d write to the Minister for Local Government seeking authorisation to source the loan facility in (c) above from the Sewer Fund and to seek approved terms for accessing the Sewer Reserve for property investment

CARRIED

RECORD OF VOTING ON THE MOTION

For the Motion	Against the Motion
D Tout
G Davies
D Hayes
M Henderson
R Foley
R Kendall
T Koschel
J McKinnon
A Parkins

Reversion to open COUNCIL

Recommendation

That this meeting of the Closed Council revert to an open meeting of the Council, the time being 6.45pm

THIS COMPLETED THE BUSINESS OF THE COUNCIL MEETING WHICH ROSE AT 6.50pm.

…………………………………………………..

                                                                                                      MAYOR