Minutes of the Ordinary Meeting of the Greater Geelong City Council Held virtually by Zoom and broadcast on the City's website on 25 August 2020, commencing at 7:00pm.
Jacqueline Edge
Carolyn Bird
David Le Lievre
Cameron Steele
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)
G Smith (Director Planning, Design and Development)
R Leonard (Director Governance, Strategy and Performance)
P Smith (Co Ordinator Strategic Implementation)
J Hurse (Manager Planning and Growth)
The Mayor declared the meeting open at 7:00pm.
Council acknowledges Wadawurrung Traditional Owners of this land and pays its 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.
The Mayor, Councillors and staff of the City of Greater Geelong offered their sincere condolences on the passing of Geelong restaurateur and tourism figure Graeme Goldsworthy. Mr Goldsworthy was also the inaugural chair and driving force behind the creation of Geelong’s Regional Tourism Board, previously known as Geelong Otway Tourism. In recognition of his service to the tourism industry, numerous boards and enterprises, Mr Goldsworthy was awarded an AM in the Australia Honour System.
Mr Scholes was Minister for Territories from 1984 to 1987, Minister for Defence from 1983 to 1984 and Speaker of the House of Representatives from 1975 to 1976. He represented the Federal Seat of Corio in the House of Representatives from 1967 to 1993. Mr Scholes was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia in 1993 for service to Australia.
Nil.
Nil.
Councillor Grzybek moved, Councillor Mason seconded -
That the Minutes of the Ordinary Meeting held on 28 July 2020 be confirmed.
Carried.
Councillor Kontelj declared a Conflict of Interest in Agenda Item 1 Amendment C395 – Settlement Strategy and Northern and Western Growth Area Framework Plan – Adoption.
Councillor Murnane declared a Conflict of Interest in Agenda Item 11 – Contractual Matter.
The following questions were submitted prior to the Council meeting from Jacqueline Edge, Carolyn Bird, David Le Lievre and Cameron Steele Responses addressing their concerns have been provided via email.
Jacqueline Edge submitted:
The property situated at 120 Elizabeth Street is derelict, unsightly, and full of asbestos and other material that blows on neighbouring properties. It houses stray cats and at times homeless people. The house now is surrounded by young families and a raft of individuals who are investing in the improvement of their properties and the local region at large. I understand the Council have made some efforts to have the structure (you could hardly call is a ‘house’), demolished without success. We appreciate the effort to improve the unsightly graffiti and make ‘safe’ with a large temporary fence, however the unsightly derelict structure remains our focal. It has been at least 10 years we have endured this sight and social risk (30 years for others). What progress has Council made/planned to alleviate the social and environmental hazard of 120 Elizabeth Street Geelong West?
Thank you for your questions Jacqueline:
The property at 120 Elizabeth Street has been under investigation and action from Council’s Building Services Team and Local Laws Team over a long period of time. Council does not have the authority to require demolition of the building due to it being unsightly. Council can only require that the building is safe in regard to community access. The site is fenced to ensure there is no community access and safety is maintained.
The Urban Forest Strategy 2015-2025 will provide a world class and signature experience to visitors and residents of Geelong. It is contemporary, forward thinking and clever. Realising this vision will differentiate Geelong from other regional destinations. The streets of Geelong will:
Reflect our cultural identity (for example: Melbourne links its identity to Plane trees);
Be cooler;
Encourage calmer behaviour; and
Foster a strong sense of community, custodianship, and connection to country.
These are the foundation building blocks of a flourishing culture.
Is Council on track to realize the Urban Forest Strategy 2015-2025?
Yes, we are on track in terms of implementing the Urban Forest Strategy 2015-2025.
Since the Strategy was adopted, we have planted over 10,000 advanced street and park trees across the City including 3255 trees that have been planted this year. Thank you for your interest and support for this important work.
Carolyn Bird submitted:
For some time the residents of Elizabeth Street Geelong West have been petitioning Council for the improvement of safety and amenity along Elizabeth Street and adjoining cross roads. Recently we welcomed the attention of Eddy Kontelj to join Sarah Mansfield and Peter Murrihy in our efforts. What united and comprehensive approach is Council planning to alleviate the very busy, high risk residential zone? I’m looking forward to hearing the progress on these matters.
Thank you for your question Carolyn:
The City are aware of the previous correspondence regarding Elizabeth Street. Traffic speed and volume counts undertaken in October 2018 shows that drivers are behaving safely and driving below the posted speed limit of 50km/hr.
There have been no changes in the area that suggest traffic patterns have changed, however the City will undertake additional traffic speed and volume counts as part of their commitment to monitoring the matter.
COVID-19 has seen changes to typical movement patterns and this data collection will occur post COVID-restrictions as movements return to normal.
David Le Lievre submitted:
The Reserve Bank Governor Philip Lowe asked Premiers to commit another $40 billion to major projects. In Geelong we should be asking for funds to develop the Aqueduct park and turn our iconic ovoid aqueduct into a major tourist attraction. The beautiful “Firth of Forth look-a like” should be the feature attraction.
Why does not COGG put a proposal to the Premier to ask for funds to take over the Aqueduct from Barwon Water and develop the Aqueduct Park that Barwon Water first proposed in 2017. Various people have been talking about it for years, let’s do it now. Barwon Water in their submission to Heritage Victoria said they are looking for someone to take control of the heritage listed aqueduct?
What projects are COGG seeking funds from the state to help the State spend part of its $40 billion that Philip Lowe suggested it should spend in the next two years?
Thank you for your questions David:
The City regularly advocates for state and federal government funding for major projects and programs in Geelong. A recent example is the City’s participation in a Geelong COVID Recovery Collective which collaborated to advocate for a range of projects to create economic stimulus.
As well as advocacy efforts, the City regularly applies for government grant funding for eligible projects.
With regards to the Aqueduct and adjacent lands managed by Barwon Water, the City does not propose to take over the responsibilities associated with these Barwon Water assets.
The City would support any future Barwon Water funding submissions that endeavours to develop this particular Barwon Water land for the benefit of the community.
Cameron Steele submitted:
The CCMA has recently released a study into the water losses from the Moorabool River into the Fyansford Quarry.
It found the losses to be order of 5.14 million litres per day, or over 1800 million litres annually. This is orders of magnitude higher than the 102ML per year which was put by experts to the Panel assessing Amendment C395.
Simply switching the pumps off when the quarry ceases operation will have a devastating impact. This water has been pivotal in maintaining some linkage between the Moorabool and Barwon Rivers to on the estuarine environment of the RAMSAR wetlands, vital to important but declining migratory species within the Moorabool system.
The study also found that even when full the quarry will continue to draw water from the Moorabool River due in part to the serious disrepair of the 1930s concrete recourse north of the quarry.
Will Council show environmental stewardship by supporting the following?
A modified pumping regime continuing after the quarry is decommissioned designed to match the current losses from the river.
No net water from the Moorabool River, the most flow stressed in Victoria, be used to fill the quarry.
The 1930s diversion is replaced with an impervious structure capable of preventing further losses of river flows to the underlying substrates.
The outlet of the pumped water from the quarry be moved from its current position to a site upstream of the first recourse.
Thank you for your questions Cameron on water management for the Moorabool River.
It is premature for Council to commit to these specific outcomes at the moment and there is further strategic planning and state-wide strategy to be resolved.
The framework plan and amendment C395 provide the high-level land use direction for the area and confirms the further work that is necessary for the planning of the area. Key aspects of this further work are the Integrated Water Management Strategy (IWM) and the more detailed Precinct Structure Plans.
There will be further opportunities for People for a Living Moorabool to continue to participate in the IWM process for the Western Geelong Growth Area, managed by Barwon Water. The IWM strategy is nearing completion. It would be premature to pre-empt the outcomes of the IWM plan at this stage.
While the IWM plan has options to consider pumping regimes, the overall amount of water released from the top of the Moorabool catchment is outside of the scope of the study but rather a state level project. A larger project underway called Central Regions Sustainable Water Strategy will consider this on a more appropriate scale. The IWM plan will inform detailed master planning of the Moorabool River corridor that will occur as part of the preparation of the Batesford South Precinct Structure Plan.
Nil.
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