Minutes of the Ordinary Meeting of the Greater Geelong City Council held at the Council Conference and Reception Centre in City Hall, 57 Little Malop Street, Geelong on 30 June 2020, commencing at 7:00pm.
Phil Baulch
David Le Lievre
Terry Fahey
Christine Le Lievre
Councillors:
S Asher (Mayor)
A Aitken
K Grzybek
B Harwood
E Kontelj
S Mansfield
J Mason
P Murnane
P Murrihy
R Nelson
T Sullivan
M Cutter (Chief Executive Officer)
R Leonard (Director Governance, Strategy and Performance)
The Mayor declared the meeting open at 7:00pm.
Council acknowledges the Wadawurrung Traditional Owners of this land and I pay my respects to all Elders past and present and to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People who are part of the Greater Geelong community today.
Nil.
Councillor Grzybek moved, Councillor Mason seconded -
That Leave of Absence be granted to Councillor Stephanie Asher (Mayor) from 6 – 18 July 2020, inclusive.
Carried.
Councillor Asher moved, Councillor Kontelj seconded -
That Councillor Grzybek be appointed as Acting Mayor for the period 6 – 18 July 2020, inclusive.
Carried.
Councillor Sullivan moved, Councillor Nelson seconded -
That the Minutes of the Community Focus Meeting held on 26 May 2020 be confirmed.
Carried.
Nil.
A council that was truly 'leading' would recognise the realities of, not just climate change, but also resource depletion, rising energy costs, the largest debt bubble in history and now, pandemics, It is now reasonably foreseeable that global just-in-time supply chains for food and other goods may become less reliable or even fail completely in coming years.
The Federal Government's push to increase our liquid fuel reserves suggests this kind of scenario, once unthinkable, is now a real possibility.
The rush on seeds, compost and local veg box delivery schemes that followed the lockdown was a sign of public anxiety about the reliability of their food supply. For some, the threat was more psychological than real, as supermarket supplies are now returning to normal, but it raises real questions about our daily dependency on food imports and the importance of local food production.
Doubling Geelong's land disturbance and population every 23 years without planning for a degree of local self-sufficiency will surely affect the prospects for future generations meeting their own needs.
According to a new report by the University of Melbourne, our remaining peri urban food bowl is at serious risk of disappearing to housing development unless significant planning changes are made.
Making land available to demonstrate the viability of local food production will reduce our reliance on long food supply chains as they become unreliable due to the impacts of climate change, over indebtedness, ecological collapse and rising energy costs.
Will Council 'reveal what land has been set aside for local food production initiatives and, if not, why not'?
Response:
Thank you for your question Phil.
The City’s Settlement Strategy directs housing growth to within planned settlement boundaries and areas outside of the urban areas are generally used for farming. Our aspiration is to provide 50% of new housing in greenfield estates and 50% in fill areas.
Non rural uses in the farming areas and small lot excisions are guided by our local planning policies that seek to protect our agricultural land and green breaks from non compatible urban uses and fragmentation.
This is a very contested planning space and we welcome reforms being considered by DELWP through the Protecting Melbourne’s Strategic Agricultural Land project to provide greater certainty on the role and management of agricultural land. We understand that consultation on this project will be conducted by DELWP in August and we encourage your input to this work.
The City’s response to this reform will be informed by our Rural and Peri-Urban Advisory Committee who advise Council on rural land management and agriculture.
David Le Lievre asked the following question in relation to Tourism and the Barwon River Ovoid Sewer Aqueduct:
As the Victorian Government is encouraging people to travel and holiday within Victoria, what is COGG doing to encourage people to come to Geelong and the Bellarine?
Response:
Thank you for your question David.
The City of Greater Geelong, through the regional tourism board Tourism Greater Geelong and The Bellarine, will support a range of activities to build the visitor economy in the region following the COVID-related shutdown of the tourism industry. These activities will be staggered in line with government advice on the appropriateness of travel, with several specific campaigns to support the local tourism industry.
Visiting Friends and Relatives:
A local campaign aimed at residents of the Greater Geelong region, encouraging additional visitation from out-of-town friends and family and encouraging those visits to extend to experiences outside the home, supporting the venues and businesses in the region who have suffered significant downturn during the COVID restrictions.
Short Break Campaign:
Targeting Melbournians and regional Victorians with emotive messaging about the value of having a short break in this region, highlighting the experiences on offer being greater than what they have been doing at home. It will tap into the post-COVID desire to escape, but will also reassure Victorians that having those short breaks in familiar areas, not too far from home, is the ideal.
Business Events:
Business Events Geelong, a division of Tourism Greater Geelong and The Bellarine, is undertaking pro-active marketing with incentives for corporate event organisers to connect with venues in the region able to deliver COVID-safe meetings.
The City of Greater Geelong is tonight considering funding support for additional programs to boost the reach and effectiveness of local tourism campaigns.
Geelong is extremely fortunate to have the iconic Barwon River Ovoid Sewer Aqueduct, the last remaining early reinforced concrete structure in Australia; a beautiful structure aesthetically, based on the Firth of Forth railway bridge, it is some 756 meters long. There is only one in the world and it is in Geelong!
What is COGG doing to promote the aqueduct as a tourist attraction?
As the Barwon River Ovoid Sewer Aqueduct has recently appeared in the Geelong Advertiser several times in the last few weeks, has COGG considered it as an iconic structure worthy of appearing in next year’s COGG calendar?
Response:
Thank you for your question David.
The Barwon River Ovoid Sewer Aqueduct is a unique structure located in Breakwater which currently divides 66 hectares of Barwon Water owned land.
Barwon Water has been working on understanding next steps in an effort to open up safe access along a section of the Barwon River and surrounding land in Breakwater, which has been closed to the public for decades due to safety risks associated with the degraded historic aqueduct at the site. This has led to an application to Heritage Victoria for a permit to remove five of the 14 spans of the heritage-listed, 100-year-old Ovoid Sewer Aqueduct, which has been deteriorating in condition since the 1970s.
Since 1995, areas around the aqueduct, including on the river, have been closed to the public due to the risk of falling concrete, which has prevented movement along the river and land.
As part of exploring opportunities for improving the surrounding land to make it a valuable community asset, Barwon Water plans to engage with Wadawurrung Traditional Owners to gather information about the landscape and water, and seek input from all other interested stakeholders to develop a plan for the area.
Barwon Water intends to work with interested stakeholders, including the City of Greater Geelong to create public open space that is unique for its high ecological, historical, cultural and recreational values.
The Barwon River Parklands project, which includes the area of Breakwater along the Barwon River where the Ovoid Sewer Aqueduct is located, is included as a priority infrastructure and enabling project in Tourism Greater Geelong and The Bellarine’s Tourism Development Plan.
The City of Greater Geelong, through its partnership with Tourism Greater Geelong and The Bellarine, will consider future promotional opportunities when Barwon Water progresses this current work to create public access to the area.
Terry Fahey asked the following question in relation to Dogs on Ocean Grove/ Collendina Beaches:
How much money has Council/BCCM, i.e. ratepayer’s money, been spent over the last few years on the "Share our Shores" campaign and the various surveys and forums etc. related to this, and will the final outcome provide equity to all?
At the present time there is literally nowhere on Ocean Grove/Collendina beaches where I can walk, swim, relax or generally recreate personally, with friends or our grandchildren without being negatively impacted by the presence of dogs.
What is the point if at the end of this process many of us still don't feel safe on our beaches?
Why is it that the Council messaging is so poor that dog owners believe it is "a dog only beach" and those of us without dogs are not invited to share this public space?
Response:
Thank you for your questions Terry.
The City has invested approximately 170 labour hours in the “Share our Shores” campaign, which has included four community engagement sessions, data analysis and reporting as well as communications and marketing Support. Material costs for the campaign include hall hire and stationary which equates to approximately $600.
We acknowledge the concerns you have raised in relation to the interests of beachgoers without dogs. Any proposed orders to regulate dogs on beaches attempts to strike fair and equitable balance for the use of public beaches by all interested parties.
Christine Le Lievre asked the following question in relation to the Barwon River Ovoid Sewer Aqueduct:
Geelong is extremely fortunate to have the iconic Barwon River Ovoid Sewer Aqueduct, the last remaining early reinforced concrete structure in Australia; a beautiful structure aesthetically, based on the Firth of Forth railway bridge, it is some 756 meters long. There is only one in the world and it is in Geelong!
What is COGG doing to promote the aqueduct as a tourist attraction?
As the Barwon River Ovoid Sewer Aqueduct has recently appeared in the Geelong Advertiser several times in the last few weeks, has COGG considered it as an iconic structure worthy of appearing in next year’s COGG calendar?
Response:
Thank you for your questions Christine :
The Barwon River Ovoid Sewer Aqueduct is a unique structure located in Breakwater which currently divides 66 hectares of Barwon Water owned land.
Barwon Water has been working on understanding next steps in an effort to open up safe access along a section of the Barwon River and surrounding land in Breakwater, which has been closed to the public for decades due to safety risks associated with the degraded historic aqueduct at the site.
This has led to an application to Heritage Victoria for a permit to remove five of the 14 spans of the heritage-listed, 100-year-old Ovoid Sewer Aqueduct, which has been deteriorating in condition since the 1970s.
Since 1995, areas around the aqueduct, including on the river, have been closed to the public due to the risk of falling concrete, which has prevented movement along the river and land.
As part of exploring opportunities for improving the surrounding land to make it a valuable community asset, Barwon Water plans to engage with Wadawurrung Traditional Owners to gather information about the landscape and water, and seek input from all other interested stakeholders to develop a plan for the area.
Barwon Water intends to work with interested stakeholders, including the City of Greater Geelong to create public open space that is unique for its high ecological, historical, cultural and recreational values.
The Barwon River Parklands project, which includes the area of Breakwater along the Barwon River where the Ovoid Sewer Aqueduct is located, is included as a priority infrastructure and enabling project in Tourism Greater Geelong and The Bellarine’s Tourism Development Plan.
The City of Greater Geelong, through its partnership with Tourism Greater Geelong and The Bellarine will consider future promotional opportunities when Barwon Water progresses this current work to create public access to the area.
Cr Kontelj presented three petitions from Cameron O’Keefe in relation to Reducing Industrial and Commercial Rates; Extending Free Parking in the Geelong CBD and Reducing Parking Fines.
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