Agenda
Ordinary Council Meeting
2 June 2008
The
meeting commences at 6.30pm. If members of the public are
not
interested in any business recommended to be considered in
Closed
Session or there is no such business, Council will ordinarily
commence consideration of all other business
at 7pm.
Notice of Meeting
Dear Councillors
Notice is given of the Ordinary Council Meeting, to be held in the Council Chambers, Lower Ground
Floor, 48 Longueville Road,
Lane Cove on Monday 2
June 2008 commencing at 6:30PM. The business to be
transacted at the meeting is included in this business paper.
Yours faithfully
Peter Brown
General Manager
Council
Meeting Procedures
The Council meeting is chaired by the Mayor,
Councillor Ian Longbottom. Councillors are entitled to one vote on a matter. If
votes are equal, the Chairperson has a second or casting vote. When a majority
of Councillors vote in favour of a Motion it becomes a decision of the Council.
Minutes of Council and Committee meetings are published on Council’s website
wwww.lanecove.nsw.gov.au by 5pm of the Thursday following the meeting.
The Meeting is conducted in accordance with Council's
Code of Meeting Practice. The order of business is listed in the Agenda on the
next page. That order will be followed unless Council resolves to modify the
order at the meeting. This may occur for example where the members of the
public in attendance are interested in specific items of the agenda.
Members of the public may address the Council Meeting
on any issue for a maximum of 3 minutes during the public forum which is held
at the beginning of the meeting. All persons addressing the Meeting must speak
to the Chair. Speakers and Councillors will not enter into general debate or
ask questions.
If you do not understand any part of the information
given above; require assistance to participate in the meeting due to a
disability; or wish to obtain information in relation to Council, please
contact Council’s Manager Governance on 99113525.
Please note meetings held
in the Council Chambers are recorded on tape for the purposes of verifying the
accuracy of minutes and the tapes are not disclosed to any third party under
section 12(6) of the Local Government Act, except as allowed under section
18(1) or section 19(1) of the PPIP Act, or where Council is compelled to do so
by court order, warrant or subpoena or by any other legislation.
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Ordinary Council 2 June 2008
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
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DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST
APOLOGIES
OPENING OF MEETING WITH
PRAYER
ACKNOWLEDGMENT TO COUNTRY
MATTERS
RECOMMENDED BY THE GENERAL MANAGER TO BE CONSIDERED IN CLOSED COMMITTEE
Confidential Items
1. Human Services Division Report No. 9
SUBJECT: Financial Assistance Grants - Variations to
Funds Granted for Lane Cove Choristers
It is recommended that the Council close so much
of the meeting to the public as provided for under Section 10A(2) (a) of the
Local Government Act, 1993, on the grounds that the matter will involve the
discussion of personnel matters concerning a particular individual; it further
being considered that discussion of the matter in open meeting would be, on
balance, contrary to public interest by reason of the foregoing and Financial
Assistance is used by some organisations for the employment of staff and
therefore disclosure of the funding arrangements is not in the public interest.
public
forum
Members of the
public may address the Council Meeting on any issue for 3 minutes.
CONFIRMATION
OF MINUTES
2. ORDINARY
COUNCIL MEETING - 19 MAY 2008
Orders Of The Day
3. Order Of The Day No. 13
SUBJECT: Meeting in the Plaza - Saturday 28th June 2008
4. Order Of The Day No. 14
SUBJECT: Citizenship Ceremony - Wednesday 11 June 2008
Corporate Services Division Reports
5. Corporate Services Division Report No. 35
SUBJECT: Draft Guidelines for Capital Expenditure
Projects
6. Corporate Services Division Report No. 36
SUBJECT: Determination of Local Government Remuneration
Tribunal for Councillors Fees
Open Space and Urban Services Division Reports
7. Open Space and Urban Services Division
Report No. 13
SUBJECT: Street Lighting Status Report
8. Open Space and Urban Services Division Report
No. 14
SUBJECT: Sydney Airport Runway Safety Enhancement Project
QUESTIONS WITHOUT NOTICE
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Ordinary
Council Meeting 2 June
2008
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Order Of The Day
No. 13
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Reference: Order Of The
Day No. 13
Subject: Meeting in the Plaza
- Saturday 28th June 2008
Record No: su1915 - 19150/08
Author(s): Rebecca Ford
Executive Summary
Councillors are next due to meet with the public in
the Plaza on Saturday 28 June 2008 between 10:30am and 12:00 midday.
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RECOMMENDATION
That Council determine whether to resolve a Meeting
in the Plaza for June.
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Craig Wrightson
Executive Manager
Corporate Services Division
ATTACHMENTS:
There are no supporting documents for this report.
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Ordinary Council Meeting 2 June 2008
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Order Of The Day
No. 14
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Reference: Order Of The
Day No. 14
Subject: Citizenship Ceremony
- Wednesday 11 June 2008
Record No: SU28 - 19233/08
Author(s): Anita
Holesgrove
Executive Summary
The Mayor will preside at a Citizenship Ceremony in
the Council Chambers commencing at 7:00pm on Wednesday 11th June
2008.
A Councillor is required to attend the ceremony and
speak to the new citizens about local government.
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RECOMMENDATION
That a Councillor nominates to attend the
Citizenship Ceremony on Wednesday 11th June 2008 and speak to the
new citizens about local government.
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Peter Brown
General Manager
General Managers Unit
ATTACHMENTS:
There are no supporting documents for this report.
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Ordinary
Council Meeting 2 June
2008
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Corporate Services
Division Report No. 35
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Reference: Corporate
Services Division Report No. 35
Subject: Draft Guidelines for
Capital Expenditure Projects
Record No: SU199 - 19071/08
Author(s): Craig
Wrightson
Executive Summary
Council has received
a Circular from the Department of Local Government concerning draft guidelines
for capital expenditure projects and requesting feedback on the Circular. This report outlines the guidelines and
Council’s feedback.
Background
The Department of Local Government has
issued Circular 8-32 seeking comment in relation to proposed draft guidelines for
capital expenditure projects. Under the
guidelines, Councils are not obligated to undertake a capital expenditure
review for projects costing $1m or less, however for all capital expenditure
projects over $1m a review is required in accordance with the proposed
guidelines. There are also additional
requirements for capital expenditure projects where costs will exceed Council’s
annual rate revenue or $10m, whichever is the lesser. Finally, where expenditure is in excess of
$5m it is also a requirement to notify the department.
The guidelines currently apply to all
expenditure projects (buildings, structures, renovations, etc) over $1m. They do not apply to roads, bridges,
stormwater drainage, land purchases and footpaths.
Included in attachment 1 is a copy of the
draft Capital Expenditure Project Guidelines.
In short, the requirements reflect good management practice and require
Council to justify the need, assess the capacity of Council to undertake the
project, consider alternatives, evaluate the financial implications, consult
with the community, develop a Business/ Management Project Plan, Risk
Management Plan, Probity Plan and reporting framework.
In terms of recent capital expenditure
projects proposed by Council, the process undertaken has very much been in line
with the proposed guidelines. The only
notable exception being Council has to date not completed a Risk Management
Plan in relation to projects, however as part of Council’s move to enterprise
Risk Management (ERM), proposed in the 2008 – 2011 Management Plan, this will
be integrated into Council’s high risk activities, which would include large
capital expenditure projects.
The requirement to notify the department of
large capital expenditure projects, no doubt was the result of recent projects
which have received negative publicity, such as the Port Macquarie – Hastings,
Glasshouse Project. It is noted that the
department does not provide approval of such projects.
Conclusion
The departments proposed guidelines will
provide a detailed framework for the consideration of future capital
expenditure projects and it is recommended that Council support the
guidelines.
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RECOMMENDATION
That: -
1. The Report be received and noted.
2. Council advise
the Department of Local Government that it supports the proposed
guidelines.
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Craig Wrightson
Executive Manager
Corporate Services Division
ATTACHMENTS:
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AT‑1 View
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Circular from DLG on
Capital Expenditure Guidelines
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12 Pages
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ORDINARY COUNCIL
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CORPORATE
SERVICES DIVISION REPORT NO. 36
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2
JUNE 2008
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Ordinary Council at the Meeting 2 June 2008
26/05/2008 to Ordinary
Council
Corporate Services Division
Report No. 36
Subject: Determination of Local Government Remuneration
Tribunal for Councillors Fees
Record No: su839 - 19073/08
Author(s): Ian
Naylor
Executive Summary
This report details the
recent determination of the Local Government Remuneration Tribunal for
Councillors Fees.
Discussion
The Local Government
Remuneration Tribunal handed down a determination (see link below for more
detail) on 30 April 2008 under Sections 239 and 241 of the Act on the level of
fees to be paid to Councillors and Mayors from 1 July 2008:-
(http://www.dpc.nsw.gov.au/remtribunals/local_government/2008_report_and_determinations)
The Local Government
Remuneration Tribunal has increased all minimum and maximum fees for Mayors and
Councillors by 4%. This is the same
increase that was determined for 2007-08.
The table below shows the current annual fees paid to Lane Cove
Councillors and the new minimum and maximum annual fees as determined by the
tribunal:-
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Current Annual Fee
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New Minimum Annual Fee
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New Maximum Annual Fee
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Mayor (in addition to the
Councillor Fee)
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$31,740
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$14,610
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$33,010
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Councillors
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$14,540
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$ 6,870
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$15,120
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The program in Council’s
Draft Budget for 2008/09 provides for these increases.
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RECOMMENDATION
That Council determine
the appropriate fee to be paid to the Mayor and Councillors for 2008/2009.
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Craig Wrightson
Executive Manager
Corporate Services Division
ATTACHMENTS:
There are no supporting
documents for this report.
CNL020608CSD_36.doc
***** End of Corporate Services
Division Report No. 36 *****
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Ordinary
Council Meeting 2 June
2008
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Open Space and
Urban Services Division Report No. 13
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Reference: Open Space
and Urban Services Division Report No. 13
Subject: Street Lighting
Status Report
Record No: SU1778 - 19171/08
Author(s): Wayne
Rylands
Executive Summary
Energy Australia
has recently written to Council, firstly on 11 April 2008 and then again on 9
May 2008, regarding a proposal to replace its current standard streetlight for
residential roads with an energy efficient streetlight. These letters are
provided as Attachments 1 & 2 respectively.
On face value this appears to be a worthy proposal.
However, if Council were to concur with this proposal, the additional annual energy cost for replacing all of
the current streetlights would exceed $40,000 (some 2000 street lights by $21
per light). In addition to this, the Independent Pricing and Regulatory
Tribunal (IPART) have now approved Energy Australia’s requested increase for
Public Lighting Service Charges for 2008-09. A letter from Energy Australia
regarding this increase is provided as Attachment 3.
This IPART ruling will see an increase in Council’s
annual network costs of nearly $17,000 (9.37%) for 2008-09. Thus, if Council
concurs with Energy Australia’s
proposal to convert all street lights to an energy efficient variety, Council’s
increased streetlight expenditure would be in excess of $57,000 for 2008-09
alone. It already exceeds $530,000 annually following numerous IPART approved
increases over the past 5 years.
Council has already responded to Energy Australia’s
11 April letter, objecting to the proposed increased costs. Council’s letter is
provided as Attachment 4.
It is proposed that Council respond to Energy
Australia’s 9 May 2008 letter, again strongly objecting to the increased annual
charges for streetlights that are more energy efficient (that is, use less
energy) than those currently provided.
Discussion
As Councillors will be aware, Lane Cove is part of the
Street Lighting Improvement Program (SLIP) that is run by energy consultants,
Next Energy, on behalf of some 33 Councils from metro Sydney,
the Central Coast and the Hunter. These 33 Councils
constitute 90% of Energy Australia’s
streetlights and 40% of all street lights in NSW. These Councils pay Energy Australia
over $45,000,000 per year for the operation of the streetlights and this
expenditure is continually rising, as detailed above, with a near 10% rise for
2008-09 alone.
Councils are in an untenable position with
responsibility for the safety and security of local communities, and with
energy, greenhouse gas and cost implications of having to provide street
lighting, but without any meaningful control of this service. Energy Australia
has a virtual monopoly with no contracts, no NSW regulation covering service
provision and little price regulation.
Next Energy has been in contact with member Councils,
providing information to assist in responding to Energy Australia over the proposed use of
energy efficient street lights for residential roads. Part of this response
highlighted the fact that a smaller competitor to Energy Australia, Integral Energy, charges
far less for the same street lights that Energy Australia is proposing that
Councils adopt. The question has to be asked why Energy Australia charges a higher rate for
a component where they would have a greater economy of scale than their
competitor.
Conclusion
Council reiterate its’ objection to Energy Australia
about being slugged with higher annual charges for energy efficient lights,
particularly whilst their competitors offer the same lights at a lower cost.
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RECOMMENDATION
That Council again write to Energy Australia strongly objecting to
the proposed increased charges associated with adopting more energy efficient
lighting for residential roads.
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Wayne Rylands
Executive Manager
Open Space and Urban Services Division
ATTACHMENTS:
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AT‑1 View
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Energy Australia letter of 11 April 2008
on Energy Efficient Lighting
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1 Page
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AT‑2 View
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Energy Australia letter of 9 May 2008 on
Energy Efficient Lighting
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1 Page
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AT‑3 View
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Energy Australia letter of 20 May 2008
on Service Charge Increase for 2008-09
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1 Page
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AT‑4 View
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Council response to
Energy Australia
letter of 11 April 2008
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2 Pages
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Ordinary Council Meeting 2 June 2008
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Environmental
Services Division Report No. 32
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Reference: Open Space
and Urban Services Division Report No. 14
Subject: Sydney Airport Runway
Safety Enhancement Project
Record No: SU1339 - 19207/08
Author(s): Wayne
Rylands
Executive Summary
The Sydney Airport Corporation Limited has written to
Council regarding the East-West Runway End Safety Area Enhancement Draft Major
Development Plan (MDP) which has been placed on public exhibition until
Wednesday, 16 June 2008. This report is
to highlight the issues faced by Lane Cove residents during the construction
period of the runway end safety area, which will last close to 2 years. In the
main, additional flight movements will occur over Lane Cove during the
construction period, resulting in reduced respite periods and increased noise
levels.
It is proposed that Council’s submission focus on
minimising the additional flight movements over Lane Cove as a result of the
project, requesting the Airport ensure that impacts are shared by the whole
community as much as possible, and that monitoring of extra air pollution
effects be undertaken for the additional flight movements that will occur over
the north track. Additionally, the submission should also request that the
construction period, particularly the full closure of the east-west runway, be
minimised as much as possible to allow normal noise sharing arrangements to
resume as quickly as possible.
Background
Sydney Airport is proposing to build
a larger runway safety area at the western end of the east-west runway. The
larger end safety areas are an essential aviation safety requirement and are
necessary to comply with Australian Government and international aviation
safety regulations.
The new runway end safety area will ensure that the
east-west runway can continue to be used for aircraft noise sharing purposes
for the long term and ensure that Sydney Airport can continue to operate in
adverse weather conditions, particularly when high cross winds prevent aircraft
using the airport’s other runways.
The works associated with the larger runway safety
area will result in the east-west runway being closed for approximately 9
months, and then be confined to restricted use for another year. This will mean
greater use of the north-south runways 16R and/or 34R. This in turn will result
in people living under the existing flight paths of the two north-south
runways, experiencing to varying degrees, an increase in the frequency of
aircraft movements or a decrease in the respite periods from aircraft noise,
and possibly some additional air quality issues. A detailed description of the project is
included in the Major Development Plan (MDP) Summary provided by Sydney Airport
as Attachment 1.
Discussion
In essence, the information provided in the sketch map
and table on page 6 of the MDP Summary provides a concise summary of the
impacts of the maximum daily change in flight movements over the north-south
flight paths whilst the east-west runway is temporarily closed. From a Lane Cove perspective, use of runway
34R (the eastern north-south runway) during the east-west runway closure
minimises the impacts over the north including Lane Cove. It does result in
increased trips over the inner-west and eastern suburbs. It is not clear why
Flight Track I has such dramatic reductions in flight movements when it is
utilised by aircraft travelling on the north-south runways and not the
east-west runway. It is suggested that Council raise this as an issue in its’
response to the Sydney Airport Corporation.
Other than this issue, it would appear that if the two
north-south runways are used on a flight movement sharing basis, then reduced
respite periods and increased aircraft noise will be shared by the Sydney community as much
as possible. The only other issue would
be to request the Sydney Airport Corporation to make its best endeavours to
minimise the construction period of the runway end safety area as much as
possible to reduce the amount of time that those people north and south of the
airport are subjected to increased flight movements and the associated impacts.
Conclusion
The East-West Runway End Safety Enhancement Project
has to be undertaken as an essential aviation safety requirement and as
detailed earlier, is necessary to comply with Australian Government and
international aviation safety regulations.
Lane Cove will be impacted by increased flight movements during the
construction of the runway end safety area with associated noise and air
quality issues.
Council should provide a submission to the Sydney
Airport Corporation requesting that the additional north-south flight movements
be shared amongst the whole community as much as possible, and that all
endeavours be made to minimise the construction period of the runway end safety
area.
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RECOMMENDATION
That Council:-
1.
Provide a submission to the Sydney Airport Corporation Limited on the Runway
End Safety Enhancement Draft
Major Development Plan that highlights the following issues: -
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Greater use should be made of Flight Track I
during the project.
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Shared use of north-south runways 16R and 34R
be programmed during the closure of the East-West runway to ensure the
optimum sharing of traffic movements occurs across all Flight Tracks, thus
maximising the available respite periods and minimising increased aircraft
noise for those affected during the project.
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Monitoring of air pollution be undertaken as
a result of the additional flights, particularly on Flight Track C, and that
appropriate counter measures be investigated and utilised to minimise these
impacts.
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That those responsible for the project ensure
that the construction period, particularly for the full closure, of the
East-West Runway End Safety Enhancement project be minimised as much as
possible.
2. Provide a copy of its’ submission to the
Honourable Joe Hockey MP, as Lane Cove’s Federal
Representative on SACF.
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Wayne Rylands
Executive Manager
Open Space and Urban Services Division
ATTACHMENTS:
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AT‑1 View
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Sydney Airport Runway End Safety Area Enhancement Draft Major
Development Plan - Summary
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8 Pages
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