One of the strangest (and longest) Noosa Council meetings

The Noosa Council general committee meeting of Monday, October 15th.

Noosa had received a year’s rainfall in a single week, so it was no surprise to walk into the foyer of the Council chambers and see water damage caused by a leaking roof. Just one of many repair jobs across the shire that need attention.

With the mayor and CEO overseas on leave, Cr Frank Wilkie was stand-in mayor and Alan (Fox) Rogers acting CEO. At the press table as usual was Peter Gardiner (Noosa News) and Margaret Maccoll (Noosa Today). Is there a frosty relationship there or was it my imagination? In the public gallery there were three citizens and a few council staff.

More pokies? You can bet on that

The Tewantin Noosa RSL has increased its previously approved 180 poker machines to 195 and, while the council can’t stop this, it does have the formal duty of rubber-stamping the additional (what we used to call) one-armed bandits.

Cr Joe Jurisevic moved a motion to approve the RSL’s application to amend their building approval to include the additional machines while laying off with a comment that the community was aware of the problems of gambling. Cr Brian Stockwell expressed concern about the extra machines and said he would not support the motion. Cr Ingrid Jackson confirmed with staff that the council had no authority to vary the number of extra machines.

The staff director present said that if the council rejected the additional 15 machines, the Tewantin Noosa RSL could appeal to the Planning Court – and win. There followed some confusing and nonsensical discussion amongst councillors. Characteristically, Cr Stockwell claimed centre stage and talked in a language I think was Semantics. Despite it being now clear that the council could not influence this matter, Cr Wilkie nevertheless allowed the farce to continue.

Perhaps it was because he had prepared a speech, which he now read, which said gaming machines were not a planning matter and the council’s view was irrelevant. The decision would be symbolic. He also said he was against gambling and wouldn’t support the motion. Cr Jackson said she felt she had to support the motion because it was obvious an appeal would fail and waste ratepayer funds.

And the motion passed 3-2 (for – Jurisevic, Jackson, Glasgow; against – Wilkie, Stockwell.

Two RSL managers, there to observe the debate, exited, presumably satisfied with a vote that meant the council wouldn’t waste its money. But would Cr Stockwell have another go at Thursday’s ordinary meeting. (Will be covered in the next thrilling episode.)

Age shall not weary them nor councillors condemn

Noosa has 25% of its population over the age of 65 and this proportion is accelerating upwards. The shire has one of the oldest demographics in Queensland and there is a need for more aged care facilities to cope with this reality. Thus it was that the council came to debate a development application for a 90 bed aged care facility on Goodchap Street, Noosaville.

Cr Wilkie, in the chair, questioned whether there was sufficient need to recommend this development because it was contrary to the planning scheme. He thought other facilities would prevent a shortfall, which he claimed wouldn’t occur until 2031. (Council staff say there will be a shortage as early as 2021; where does the deputy mayor get his data?)

Cr Jackson said she felt there was some confusion in the debate – aged care facilities are not retirement villages. A staff member explained the difference for the benefit of other councillors. Cr Stockwell said he was not happy with the design of the facility (he rarely likes a design). Cr Glasgow added a clause to the motion allowing more provision for motorbike and scooter parking.

Cr Jackson quoted future aged care bed requirements and said even with the added 90 there would be a shortfall. Cr Stockwell said there was an over-riding community need for retirement villages (I think he meant aged care facilities), this was a suitable site and he supported deviating from the town plan. Cr Pardon said he agreed with Cr Stockwell’s comments and approvingly expressed a belief the facility would make Goodchap Street “more commercial”.

Cr Jackson said she supported the development, saying she was satisfied the proposal addressed the planning issues identified by staff as well as the concerns raised by nearby residents. She reiterated that more aged care facilities are needed and said the development will improve the local area. Cr Jurisevic also spoke in support as did Cr Glasgow. (My own view is that residents will suffer and entry to the hospital will become more chaotic).

Cr Wilkie again read from a prepared script and said the development is outside the planning scheme, he understood the residents’ complaints and that he would vote against this application. But he was alone and the application passed 5-1. My view is that this site is unsuitable and traffic congestion will cause lots of problems.

The amazing kids’ playground – $3 million & counting

Cr Jackson sought clarity on the money allocated for a children’s playground at Cooroy, which had been listed in the budget at $1.25 million. Out came a new number – $2.4 million. But that wasn’t all, additional parking and roadways look like popping the number up to around $3 million.

But, wait, there could be more. A staff member said there were maintenance costs which had not been finalised. The whole project budget was by this time looking extremely fuzzy so it was a moment for Cr Stockwell to clarify matters by calling it “a nature-based project”. I didn’t get it. He said “I wrote about this years ago when I was learning about trunk infrastructure at uni”. I didn’t get that either. He added it will be a great asset for the community and a major attraction for Cooroy. At $3 million, you’d hope so.

Cr Jackson asked for a project update plus a request for an additional report on ongoing costs. She reiterated the initial cost in the budget papers was $1.25 million and it was now known to be $3 million. She pointed out that the council was under-resourced in a number of areas, using the transport strategy as an example, and said she was concerned by the cost blowout and believed the total cost should have been flagged earlier.

Cr Jurisevic didn’t agree, saying “we should accept the cost” and said he likes the project, which he believes will draw people away from Hastings Street and Main Beach (I don’t think so). Cr Stockwell said a water feature is most important. And on that note a vote was taken and passed accepting the update. The council is hoping for a grant. We live in hope.

From the chair Cr Wilkie called for a five minute break and I overheard Cr Jurisevic expressing concern to two staff members at their lack of a transport strategy. He asked ‘where are we spending our money?’ Very interesting, pity I’m not a fly on the wall more often.

The councillors’ ‘let’s design a building’ playgroup

Next on the agenda was a development application for a four-unit complex at Cooroy. Cr Stockwell was into the fray early saying he was not happy with the design which he said didn’t reflect the character or culture of Cooroy. It certainly looked OK to me as a standard presentation for a block of units.

There was some toing and froing between Cr Pardon and Cr Stockwell about eaves. Then Cr Stockwell said there was a lack of trees and there was considerable discussion about where a mango tree was in relation to the front of the building. Then the discussion resumed about what Cooroy looks like – heritage, or traditional, or something else. Cr Stockwell was adamant this building was out of character. Cr Jurisevic said the setbacks weren’t compliant. A staff member said they were consistent with the street and complied with regulations.

Then Cr Stockwell asserted the skyline was not appropriate and moved an amended motion that there be a six metre setback, additional design features, structural changes to the building, a preserved mango tree, gable redesign and a one-way driveway. He said this was an important site and the design was “ordinary” and “bulky” before returning to his theme that the design did not reflect the character of the town.

It was at this point (or probably earlier) that Cr Wilkie should have curtailed this nonsense. But Crs Jurisevic and Stockwell had ignited their after-burners and decided to return to the driveway and entrance. Now Cr Wilkie was getting interested and asked if the building complied (yes, said the staffer), if setbacks conformed to standards (he’d not been paying attention – yes they did), if we could keep the mango tree (yes, but not without considerable changes to the driveway).

Cr Pardon then said he couldn’t support Cr Stockwell’s amended motion; there were too many variations and councillors should not seek to make subjective changes (exactly, thought I). Cr Wilkie asked a question about the planning scheme and a staff member said it’s already in the planning scheme. It was all getting wearisome.

Acting CEO ‘Fox’ Rogers said there was no heritage overlay and Cr Stockwell interjected saying, “I’m a town planner.” Cr Jackson said the discussion was not relevant. So Cr Glasgow asked if the unit design conformed and was consistent. Yes it was similar to other unit blocks in Cooroy. To which Cr Glasgow responded, “I’ve changed my mind, I was going to support Brian [Stockwell] but now I’m not!”

Cr Jackson, desperately trying to bring this fiasco to an end, said she wouldn’t support the amendment, the staff report was valid and good, setbacks and design were okay, streetscape was fine, gables were good and the mango tree was not assessable. The engineers had approved the proposal, so what was the problem?

But it wasn’t enough. Someone said (my interest was transforming to horror) perhaps we can change the planning scheme. Cr Pardon asked a question about the two metre footpath; Cr Jurisevic said the two metre footpath was appropriate. Cr Wilkie thanked Cr Stockwell for his interventions but said the development was outside the heritage overlay and Cr Stockwell was adopting a piecemeal approach. Cr Stockwell said he supports good design but this was a bad design, it’s bulky (ground hog day had arrived). He said the council needed to support the Cooroy planning scheme and shouldn’t support low cost construction.

The amendment was duly lost 5-1 and Cr Stockwell asked for his for ‘no’ vote to be recorded, to which Cr Jackson responded saying she would also have her ‘yes’ vote recorded.

Unless they read this epistle, ratepayers will have no knowledge of this farce, no knowledge of how some councillors behave stupidly – by this time the media had long gone.

But – but – Cr Jurisevic was not finished. He wanted to move an amendment about the driveway and wanted staff to clarify exactly where the mango tree was situated before Thursday’s Ordinary Meeting.

In a surprising outburst Cr Glasgow questioned the reason for this amendment saying that the town planner saw no reason to change. Cr Jurisevic said he was concerned about safety surrounding the entrance and he wanted to keep the mango tree. Cr Pardon said he would speak against the motion: we can’t save the mango tree and we can’t dissect this motion by piecemeal ideas. He said councillors aren’t planners and should not believe they can remove just one piece of the puzzle.

Cr Pardon said that if the engineers thought the development needed only one driveway then that’s the way it should stay. He wouldn’t support the amendment. Cr Stockwell said he accepted that things were piecemeal but it the design was bad and needed drastic changes. He couldn’t leave it alone. In a last throw of the dice, Cr Jurisevic said four units on one block creates challenges (has he ever been to a capital city?).

The amendment lost 4-2 (Jurisevic and Stockwell voting for it) and the original motion then also passed 4-2 (Stockwell and Jurisevic voting against). What a waste of time. Why was this charade allowed to continue? I can understand the need for scrutiny but perhaps the mavericks need to spend more time with engineers and planners.

On hard questions and the struggle for answers

Referring to the July – September capital budget report, Cr Jackson said there had been changes but the numbers didn’t add up nor relate to the previous year. The asset manager attempted to answer the question but didn’t persuade me he knew the answer. Cr Jackson said this year’s figure was wrong, it didn’t add up, the maths were wrong. The manager, still trying, confusingly said they “stand alone”.

A finance staffer came to the table to assist acting CEO Rogers who explained there could be different aspects to a project: three contractors could have had separate purchase orders; commitments could have been contracted but not invoiced. The experts seemed to be struggling and Mr Rogers (who is about to retire) tried to save the situation by saying it was difficult to explain but there had been a lot of staffing issues.

Cr Jackson asked why there were problems with the council just three months into a capital works budget. The acting CEO reiterated there had been staffing issues – absences and transfers – and also warned of a delay in recruitment.

“I’ve worked in many organisations all my life but have never seen project delivery slowed down like this due to staffing issues. Are we understaffed?” Cr Jackson asked. From the chair, Cr Wilkie looked at staff and they looked at the acting CEO. No-one wanted to answer! The asset manager then gave the answer of the day: ‘We over-commit because we are optimists’.

I need to interpolate here that, in effectively managed organisations, the budget has to be correct, it has to be achievable, there must be sufficient funds and resources to complete within the timeframe. Failures are accountable. These capital works reports are a nonsense; they are not a correct record, constantly changing and confusing.

The asset manager continued making excuses. He said recruitment is a problem because of our regional base and low salaries. And that old chestnut “we are a new council with new strategies which require lots of planning.” This is after more than five years. The manager added that asset management programming is difficult and the council is “working through it but still has a long way to go”. This sounded to me like a damning indictment.

Cr Pardon joined in saying the council had lost too many people and bad weather would also impact. He admitted there had been bad planning and the council needed extra resources to cover holdups and to push out some projects over a longer period. I believe this is wrong and should not be allowed. He added that the council does need to improve its salary structure. It occurred to me, not for the first time, that this council inherited many problems in finance and staffing from the Playford era which haven’t been fixed.

Cr Wilkie said the program just keeps getting bigger – a strangely defeatist statement by the deputy mayor (and perhaps would-be mayor). It struck me that Noosa Council needs a major clean out to get rid of the Playford culture. Cr Pardon said there is a disconnect in maintenance resources. But what will they do about this mess? How will they fix the problems? Will they admit mistakes and take assertive action to get the council on an even keel?

Cr Pardon rambled as he tried to explain bad planning. Cr Jurisevic said we need to plan for holdups and added that we don’t have the right staff (how can a councillor make such damning statements without a comeback from the CEO?)

Cr Jackson then referred to the 2016-17 Budget where the allocation to seal gravel roads went from $500,000 to $250,000 to $391,000 and now shows $300,000 annually for five years. A staff member said the federal roads to recovery grant had been reduced from $500,000 to $300,000 and that there is no priority program for unsealed roads. The council is working to list the top 20 gravel roads for sealing; it’s a new program yet to be presented. There are 170 km of gravel roads in the shire.

In summary, this has been a long report and reads like a script from ‘Yes Minister’, to some extent reflecting the woeful chairmanship of the meeting. As usual, it was obvious that some councillors had not done their homework. I felt Cr Stockwell wasted a lot of our time. The RSL pokies matter was beyond council’s mandate and the discussion was unnecessary. The Arcare aged care facility development sounded dodgy to me. The Cooroy playground – a $3 million luxury – is out of control and seems not to have been properly planned. The Cooroy units debate was a farce.

And the capital program status presented to me as a shambles. I asked myself, how can you have a $30 million plus capital budget and after the first quarter show expenditure of $17,000? To me, the capital program bears little resemblance to reality.

I was glad to get out of the meeting alive.