Minutes of the Ordinary Meeting of the Greater Geelong City Council held at the Council Conference and Reception Centre - City Hall on9 July 2013, commencing at 7:00pm.
Colin Wallace
Mary Wallace
Peter Poehland
Jonathan Fetterplace from Dacland
Cr K Fagg (Chair)
Crs:
T Ansett
L Ellis
J Farrell *(7:03pm)
K Fisher
B Harwood
M Heagney
E Kontelj
R Macdonald *(7:03pm)
A Richards
S Griffin (Chief Executive Officer)
J Wall (General Manager Corporate Services)
P Bettess (General Manager Economic Development, Planning and Tourism)
B Gaudion (Acting General Manager City Services)
J McMahon (General Manager Community Services)
D Frost (General Manager Projects, Recreation and Central Geelong)
J Brown (Manager Administration and Governance)
R Bourke (Governance Co ordinator)
J Merlo (Co ordinator Communication and Marketing)
The Mayor declared the meeting open at 7:00pm.
The Mayor acknowledged that we are here today on the land of the Wathaurong People and we pay our respects to Aboriginal elders past and present.
Councillors:
J Irvine
S Kontelj
R Nelson
Cr Macdonald moved, Cr Ellis seconded -
That the Minutes of the Ordinary Meeting held on 25 June 2013 be confirmed and signed.
Carried.
Cr Eddy Kontelj declared an Indirect Interest in Agenda Item 1 - Amendment C285 – Consideration and Exhibition of Manzeene Avenue Lara Rezoning, in that he owns more than $10,000 worth of Woolworths shares, and his wife works casually at Woolworths.
Cr Farrell declared an Indirect Interest in Agenda Item 2 - Amendment C203 Trethowan Avenue/Ocean Grand Drive, Ocean Grove, in that one of the landowners who will benefit from the rezoning is a close family friend.
Cr Heagney declared an Indirect Interest in Agenda Item 3 – C265 Flood Overlays in Portarlington East, Corio, Newcomb & Whittington – Consideration of Panel Report and Adoption, in that her in-laws own a property in the area.
Cr Richards declared an Indirect Interest in Agenda Item 8 – Recreation Reserve Advertising Signage Policy, in that he is the President of the Geelong Harness Racing Club.
Question Time is an opportunity for questions to be addressed to Council and while the minutes record the general content, they do not purport to be a transcript of what was said by individuals. Likewise Councillor or Officer verbal responses are in summary form only. Views expressed may not be the views of Council.
Council's practice is to provide a separate document on its website setting out questions and responses including any more detailed written responses which may be provided subsequent to the meeting.
Colin Wallace asked:
I refer to my participation in Question Time at the last Council Meeting, 25 June 2013, in which I brought to Councillors’ notice the belief of my wife and I that, if the parking in First Street, Geelong West were to be removed, it would encourage the use of First Street by cars, whereas the Ropeworks Panel said the use of First Street by cars should be minimised and specifically my Question 1b) which was, ‘Would Councillors note that the traffic engineering advice given to us was that the parking along the west side of First Street reduced traffic volume along First Street?’ Council’s response in the Minutes just-confirmed was, ‘The Mayor advised that he could not recall the specific detail of the advice but noted the comment.’
In relation to this, would you, Mr Mayor, note that you were not present when my wife and I were given directly and face–to-face the traffic engineering advice mentioned above, in fact it happened well before you were elected to Council, also well before Cr Heagney was elected to Council and well before the appointment to the staff of the City of Greater Geelong of Peter Bettess and that this should be borne in mind when it is recalled what happened upon me asking Question 1 b) which was that you, Mr Mayor, referred my question to Peter Bettess who said nothing upon which Cr Heagney intervened to tell you to say noted which you did?
The Mayor noted the comments.
Last Tuesday, 2nd July 2013, my wife and I were given by Council the names of two officers in the Procurement Unit that we could speak to but then we were not allowed to speak to either of them and I am asking the CEO, Stephen Griffin, did you direct or was it otherwise done with your authority that we could not speak to the two officers whose names we were given?
The CEO responded that he gave no such direction.
Mary Wallace asked:
(a) Through the Mayor, to the CEO: Surbo Holdings, in its invoice for removing trees and making a new footpath with fence in First Street referred to a quote for $33,000 including GST and since there is a connection to Section 7f of the Ropeworks Planning Permit and, since at the last Council meeting, 25th June 2013, General Manager Corporate Services Jeff Wall included in his response that it was OK for Council to get a verbal quote for works for $30,000 but Council is not prepared to put that in writing, I am asking, if Council does not have a written quote from Surbo Holdings for removing trees and making a new footpath with fence in First Street, why not?
The Chief Executive Officer took the question on notice and said that he will research the matter further.
(b) Through the Mayor, to the CEO: If Council does have a written quote from Surbo Holdings for removing trees and making a new footpath with fence in First Street, why wasn’t it included in Council’s response to our Freedom of Information request of 31st March 2011?
The Chief Executive Officer took the question on notice and said that he will research the matter further.
(c) Through the Mayor, to the CEO: Have you, Mr Griffin, asked Coordinator Asset and Traffic Management Kevin Battye, whose signature accompanies ‘OK to pay’ on this Surbo Holdings invoice for $33,000 including GST, if Council was ever given a written quote from Surbo Holdings for removing trees and making a new footpath with fence in First Street?
The Chief Executive Officer took the question on notice and said that he will research the matter further.
(d) Mr Mayor, would you ask CEO Stephen Griffin to ask Kevin Battye if Council ever received a written quote from Surbo Holdings for removing trees and making a new footpath with fence in First Street?
The Mayor responded that the Chief Executive Officer had already addressed Mrs Wallace’s question.
Would Councillors and particularly the Mayor in his roles as Chairperson and Governance portfolio holder note that my Question 2b at last Council Meeting, 25th June 2013, which was, ‘Was Council ever given such a quote?’ was not directed to Brendan Gaudion and he gave no response to this question, that it was the Mayor alone who responded but the response attributed to Brendan Gaudion in the Minutes was not the response the Mayor gave to this question and in noting this I remind Councillors they have just voted to confirm the Minutes?
The Mayor responded that he could not recall the specific answer to the question, but noted the opinion.
Peter Poehland raised a number of concerns regarding the Panel Report for C265 Flood Overlays in Portarlington East, Corio, Newcomb & Whittington and requested that Council review some documentation which he provided.
Peter Bettess advised that the most appropriate response is to note the comments made by Mr Poehland, and he agreed to meet with Mr Poehland at a later date to discuss the matter further.
Jonathon Fetterplace from Dacland asked:
Is Council aware that the proposed shopping centre sought to be located in the Lara West PSP area, further west of our site, is unlikely to be able to be constructed and opened, for 12 to 17 years – in other words sometime between 2025 to 2030?
Peter Bettess responded that he agreed with the projected timeline.
Is it acceptable to Council to lose or delay by up to 17 years an envisaged $26 million investment by Woolworths and the supply of over 230 jobs that could be delivered on the Manzeene Village site by 2018? For context, that is an estimated loss of around $200 million spending in the local economy, which Lara and Greater Geelong can ill-afford to lose at present.
The comment was noted.
Cr Eddy Kontelj declared an Indirect Interest in Agenda Item 1 and left the meeting prior to discussion of the item at 7:26pm.
Nil.
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