Agenda papers

 

The agenda for the coming Council meeting to be held on Tuesday, 17 December 2013 is now available here.  The meeting begins at 7.30 pm at the Monash Civic Centre at 293 Springvale Road, Glen Waverley.  The meeting is open to the public.

Key reports to be considered by Council at the meeting are summarised below.

 

Community Development and Services:

 

• A recommendation that Council introduce a youth friendly membership at Council’s aquatic centres.

 

Infrastructure:

 

• A proposal for Council to upgrade street lighting to more energy efficient lighting.

 

City Development:

 

• A proposal to review vegetation across the municipality and to identify appropriate planning controls.
• A recommendation that Council REFUSE a planning permit for a three storey apartment building containing 20 apartments at 1 Kennedy Street, Glen Waverley.

 

Committee Reports:

 

• The awarding of the inaugural Conran Award to recognise outstanding organisational leadership and integrity amongst Council’s staff members.

 

Notices of Motion:

 

• A proposed process to be followed by Council at the January Council meeting to make a decision between short listed parties in relation to Council’s divestment of its residential aged care and retirement living services.

 

My comments

 

This is the last Council meeting for 2013.

Given the short time period between this and the previous Council meeting, this is another fairly light agenda.

 

Public question time

 

There have been 20 questions received for this meeting.  All questions relate to Council’s decision at the October Council meeting to proceed with a sale of its residential aged care and retirement living facilities.

As advised at the previous Council meeting, Council has agreed to suspend standing orders to allow these questions to be dealt with at this meeting despite the provision in Council’s Local Law No 1 on meeting procedures which restricts questions to only those which relate to an item on the current or previous meeting agenda.

As also advised at the November meeting, from this meeting onwards, Council will be observing the 20 minute time limit set down in Local Law No 1 for public question time.  As there are 20 questions submitted for this meeting, it will not be possible to deal with all 20 questions within the 20 minutes which is allowed by our Local Law No 1.  Any questions not dealt with during public question time will be responded to in writing.  Copies of the written answers to any questions not asked will be made available immediately following public question time.

 

Efficient street lighting

 

Council will consider a report from the Director Infrastructure seeking support to replace Council’s ageing and inefficient street lights throughout the city with more energy efficient lights.  This has the dual benefit of reducing carbon emissions and reducing Council’s energy costs in coming years.

Council has been talking about this for years (since at least 2011 when it adopted the Environmental Sustainability Road Map) and it is great to see this project taking another step forward.  This report presents the business case for Council to replace all street lights with more efficient lighting.  It is compelling on both environmental and financial grounds.  In particular, the following benefits will accrue from the project:

• Council’s overall carbon footprint will reduce by 18%;
• Council’s energy consumption on street lighting will reduce by 65%;
• the new energy efficient lights will produce better lighting – including more uniform light and lower glare; and
• the project will pay for itself through the energy savings generated within a six year time horizon.  It will then save Council significant money thereafter.

This project is a no-brainer.  Whether you are an environmentalist or a climate sceptic, this project makes a lot of sense.

If you are a former, you will no doubt strongly support it because of the significant environmental benefits it will bring.  This is why Council’s Environmental Advisory Committee has been a strong supporter of this project over a number of years.  If, however, you think climate change is an elitist-driven conspiracy, then you would still be smart to support it on the basis of the significant money which this project is forecast to save Council over the medium to long term.

The estimated $3.3 million cost will be paid back from the savings generated from the reduction in energy costs within 6 years.  After that, Council will be saving hundreds of thousands of dollars in energy costs every single year.  This is money which Council will then be able to redirect to other needy service areas or for infrastructure maintenance.

You could be forgiven for wondering why it has taken us so long to get moving on this project.  This project has come before Council in February 2012 and February 2013.  We are still yet to get cracking, despite the hard work of Council’s Infrastructure Director, Ossie Martinez who has championed this project from the start.  In fact, he oversaw the roll-out of the first Council to embrace energy efficient lighting, the City of Frankston.  While Monash has been snoozing, many other Council’s have converted, or are in the process of converting, to sustainable street lighting.  These include Glen Eira, Whitehorse, Boroondara, Maroondah and Stonnington.

Because  of our unexplainable delay, I will be supporting a change to the officer recommendation at the Council meeting to move this project along a little faster than the slow and steady approach foreshadowed in the report.  Rather than merely refer this matter to the 2013/14 budget process for funding, I think Council should just bite the bullet and resolve to proceed to tender for the project.  This will allow Council to go to tender as soon as possible and to then be in a position to budget for a known amount generated through a competitive process in our coming budget (estimated to be $3.3 million).

Unlike most other  areas of Council spending, this  one is actually going to generate money for Council (by reducing our future energy costs).  It therefore makes all the sense in the world for Council to proceed as quickly as possible to implement the more energy efficient and cost effective lighting as soon as possible.  It can be left for the budget process to determine whether it makes more sense to fund the required cost in cash or through borrowings – and on the basis of this amount being repaid within 5-7 years.

Of course, if the competitive tender does not achieve the results predicted by the business plan presented to Council, Council can re-consider its commitment to the project at that time and determine whether it is indeed worth proceeding.

 

Kennedy Street over-development

 

I have received a lot of feedback from the local community in opposition to the planning application at 1 Kennedy Street in Glen Waverley.  Council has also received 104 objections to this development from the community.  I am pleased that our officers are recommending that it be refused as I also consider it to be an inappropriate development for the site.

 

Awarding of inaugural Conran award

 

It is now about 18 months since Monash’s first CEO, David Conran, retired after 17 years of dedicated service to Council and the Monash community.

David became the CEO of Monash following the amalgamation of the City of Waverley and part of the City of Oakleigh in the mid-1990s.  He was an outstanding leader and council administrator.

It is appropriate that an award has been established in his honour to recognise exemplary leadership and integrity by a Monash Council employee on an annual basis.

The inaugural winner of the Conran Award is proposed to be Lucas Skelton.

Lucas is Council’s Coordinator, Active and Passive Reserves in the Infrastructure Division.  Although he has only been at Monash since 2011, he has made a big impact during this period.

He leads the team which maintains recreation areas in Monash including the Glen Waverley Golf Course.  He has led various initiatives which have enhanced the quality of our parks and significantly improved the appearance of our active and passive reserves.  During his time at Monash, the amount of positive feedback from the community in relation to these areas has increased substantially.  This is no mere coincidence.

Lucas is a very fitting inaugural winner of the Conran Award.

 

Aged care

 

I predicted in my posts for the November meeting that there would be no items of business relating to aged care on this agenda.  I was wrong.

I have decided to provide a report for consideration at this meeting relating to the process for Council to follow at the January Council meeting (or soon thereafter if there are unforeseen delays) for Council to make a decision between the short listed providers seeking to take over operations at Monash Gardens and Elizabeth Gardens.  This is done in the interests of Council settling and communicating the process to be followed well advance.

Unfortunately, this decision will need to be taken in confidential business due to the nature of the information Council will need to consider in making this decision.  This is the clear advice of the CEO and is based on appropriate external advice.

Nonetheless, if Council supports my recommendation, Council will make the following information publicly available directly after making this decision in confidential business given the community interest in this matter:

• the name of the selected provider;
• information about the arrangement entered into between Council and the successful provider; and
• how each councillor voted on this matter.

Given Council’s obligations of confidentiality to the bidders, I believe and accept that this is an appropriate way for Council to proceed.