Minutes of the Ordinary Meeting of the Greater Geelong City Council held at the Council Conference and Reception Centre - City Hall on 10 June 2014, commencing at 7:00pm.
Anthony Aitken
Evan Hardie
B Harwood (Acting Mayor)
Crs:
T Ansett
L Ellis
J Farrell
K Fisher
M Heagney
J Irvine
E Kontelj
S Kontelj
R Nelson
A Richards
D Frost (Acting Chief Executive Officer)
M Kelly (Acting General Manager Corporate Services)
P Bettess (General Manager Economic Development, Planning and Tourism)
G Van Driel (General Manager City Services)
J McMahon (General Manager Community Services)
P Jane (Acting General Manager Projects, Recreation and Central Geelong)
J Brown (Manager Administration and Governance)
A Grant (Property Advisor)
D Chiller (Senior Co-ordinator Communication & Marketing
A Paterson (Mayoral Advisor)
The Acting Mayor declared the meeting open at 7:00pm.
Council acknowledges Wadawurrung Traditional Owners of this land and all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People who are part of the Greater Geelong community today.
Cr D Lyons (Leave of Absence)
R Macdonald
Cr Irvine moved, Cr E Kontelj seconded –
That Leave of Absence be granted to Cr Heagney from 26 June to 14 July, 2014.
Carried.
Cr Irvine moved, Cr Ellis seconded –
That Leave of Absence be granted to Cr Richards on 17 June 2014.
Carried.
Cr Richards moved, Cr Ellis seconded -
That the Minutes of the Ordinary Meeting held on 27 May 2014 be confirmed and signed.
Carried.
Cr E Kontelj declared an Indirect Interest by a Conflicting Duty in Agenda Item – Consideration of Tender Submissions for Tender T1400025 – Supply of Concrete and Concrete Works in that the successful tenderer is a customer of his employer.
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.
Anthony Aitken asked the following questions:
I refer to the current issue of misuse of publicly funded travel expenditure by elected officials and wish to ask the following questions:
Under what policy did Council authorise the Chauffeur Drive publicly funded travel expenditure program for Cr Lyons?
Michael Kelly responded Cr Lyons opted not to receive the entitlement of a fully maintained vehicle which includes private use privileges.
What guidelines have been established for Chauffer Drive to protect this public expenditure from misuse?
Michael Kelly responded the use of a driver for the current Mayor has been agreed under arrangement by the City of Greater Geelong and is cheaper than a fully maintained vehicle.
Has Cr Lyons been advised that Chauffer Drive cannot be used for private purposes?
Is Chauffeur Drive being used by Elissa Friday, Alister Paterson and other members of Cr Lyon’s entourage?
Has Council clearly defined what Public use is and what Private use is? eg. If Elissa Friday used Chauffeur Drive to attend the Christopher Pyne Liberal Party Fund Raiser held at the Lord of The Isles on May 21, I believe that such usage is clearly private and not public and should be articulated in the usage guidelines for Chauffeur Drive.
What recording and reporting proposes have been established to ensure Chauffeur Drive is only being used for public purposes and not private travel?
Will Council release expenditure associated with Chauffer Drive as part of the transparency of Councillors Expenditure that is regularly released by The City?
Is Council confident that Chauffeur Drive authorisation and its recording and reporting process to protect against misuse will stand up to investigation by the Local Government Investigations and Compliance Inspectorate and/or the Independent Broad-Based Anti-Corruption Commission?
Has or will Council seek a ruling from the Australian Tax Office in relations to possible Fringe Benefit Tax implications for Cr Lyons and Alister Paterson for using Chauffeur Drive?
Michael Kelly advised the remainder of questions will be responded to in writing.
Evan Hardie addressed Council as follows:
Is it normal procedure for significant verbal responses given during question time to not be recorded in the minutes, as happened re my questions put to Council on 13 May 2014? And, is it reasonable and within normal time limits for questions to be given written responses after more than one month has elapsed?
Cr Harwood responded that where possible a response is given on the night, however if only comments are made, no written response is provided.
Following a statement by Mr Paul Jane at the Council Meeting of 13 May 2014, at what stage of review is Council at regarding policy on open space strategic planning, and when does Council anticipate that such a policy will be established and implemented?
Will such a policy be in line with other Victorian country regional councils, which already have such policies in place, such as Ballarat, Golden Plains, Colac/Otway and Surf Coast?
Regarding the possible rezoning to residential and sale of the Ocean Grove old netball reserve, will Council take into consideration this impending implementation of an open space strategy?
Is it wise to hurriedly sell this valuable land before a fully functional open space strategy is activated?
How will Council compensate, in future, for the loss of this informal open space and be in line with current guidelines as exampled by the recent investigative report of the Victorian Environmental Assessment Council?
At what cost would such compensation be, eg as has been incurred by the Whitehorse Council, where houses have been recently purchased and removed to create the required amount of open space?
Has Council, recently this year, consulted with the Ocean Grove Football and Cricket Clubs re their intended, ongoing active sport usage at Memorial Reserve Oval?
Are recent suggestions from some Council quarters that Memorial Reserve will be converted to an informal, passive open space, correct?
Does Council intend to treat their future open space strategy as a ‘living document’, as is the case with other regional Councils, eg Golden Plains, where review will be undertaken annually?
Will local community groups be encouraged to participate in the planning and management of future informal open spaces, and could this possibility occur with the Ocean Grove Netball Reserve, if it is retained?
In fairness to our local Ocean Grove Neighbourhood Community, as distinct from more distant sections of Ocean Grove beyond the safe, walkable catchment of approximately 400-500 metre radius, would Council be willing, at a moderate cost, to engage an independent Leisure and Open Space Auditor/Consultant to properly assess the open space needs of this neighbourhood?
Has Council considered the possible need of an audit for potential heavy metal contamination re Ocean Grove Netball Reserve owing to its history of possible rubbish tip activity, and also as an old Bellarine Shire Depot for various unspecified activities, as indicated by old local residents and aerial photo of 1966?
Cr Harwood tabled the remainder of questions for a written response.
Questions asked by Frank Thompson (Rotary Club Geelong) and Simon Stewart (Geelong Radio and Electronics Society) in relation to the Sale of the Old Geelong Gaol were addressed during debate of the item.
Cr E Kontelj presented a petition from Bell Post Hill residents asking Council to not proceed with the building of a public toilet on Beauford Avenue Carpark.
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