Agenda papers
The agenda for the coming Council meeting to be held on Tuesday, 26 November 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.
Corporate planning and finance:
- A recommendation by council officers for a major overhaul of Council’s website.
Planning:
- A proposal that Council lodge a submission to the Minister for Planning detailing Council’s comments in response to Plan Melbourne (the State Government’s major planning strategy for Melbourne).
- A recommendation that Council REFUSE a planning permit for 25 apartments at 5-7 Dunscombe Avenue, Glen Waverley (estimated value of the development: $10 million+).
- A recommendation that Council APPROVE a planning permit for the development of 29 double storey dwellings and a four storey building comprising 24 apartments at 32 Adrian Street, Chadstone (estimated value $13.5 million).
Chief Executive Officer:
- Proposed appointments of councillors to organisations/committees for the coming 12 months.
In addition to officer reports, there is also a Notice of Motion submitted by Cr Davies in relation to Euneva Avenue.
My comments
This will be the first Council meeting I have chaired in almost 10 years. I’m looking forward to it.
Compared to recent Council meetings, this is a fairly light agenda.
Aged care
There is no item on the agenda relating to residential aged care and Council’s sale process for Monash and Elizabeth Gardens. That matter is next due to come before Council next on 28 January 2014 when Council determines which of the short-listed parties it will transfer operations at the facilities to.
Eueneva Avenue car park
The Notice of Motion submitted by Cr Davies is a little disappointing because it was not prepared in time to go to the Council briefing meeting to enable it to be properly considered by councillors and officers. It also deals with a matter (i.e. parking in Glen Waverley) which has been the subject of a recent report to Council and which is currently the subject of a consultancy being tendered in relation to the preparation of a Transport Plan for the Activity Centre. In my view, the matters raised by Cr Davies would best be considered following a draft Transport Plan being considered by Council (intended for May 2014). It is a shame that councillors and officers have not had an opportunity to discuss these matters further prior to a formal report being put forward.
Committee appointments
Following expressions of interest and discussion amongst councillors, a report proposing committee appointments for the coming 12 months will also be considered. Among the main changes from the previous period is a proposal for:
- Cr Davies to join Cr Nolan as a representative on the Monash Gallery of Art Committee of Management (increasing the number of councillors representing Council from one to two);
- Cr Lo to join Cr Pontikis and Cr Davies on the Monash Enterprise Centre board with Cr Paterson retiring from this board;
- Cr Davies to join me on the Audit Committee; and
- me to join Cr Drieberg on the Disability Consultative Committee.
The Disability Consultative Committee is one of the few committee appointments which I have not previously held during my time on Council. I am looking forward to joining the committee over the coming 12 months.
If you have any comments on the upcoming meeting, please contact me privately or post a comment below.
Hello Geoff,
I am a little stunned to find a private web page where the Mayor gives a personal commentary on a Council agenda. Your comments are incomplete and very misleading to any reader who is not familiar with the (dys)functioning of Monash Council.
Firstly, the aged care issue will arise at tomorrow’s Council meeting as protesters, far from happy with the lack of good governance and lack of democratic processes, are asking questions in Public Question time. This is highly likely to be the case again on 19 December as it appears unlikely you, as Mayor, or some of the other Councillors even care what your constituents think.
Secondly, I was quite breathless at your concern at a lack of process by Cr Davies with his motion re the Euneva car park. You see, many constituents in Monash will be very glad to see such a motion discussed and passed. As you have shown no regard for good governance regarding the aged care issue why should you care about a little slip up on the part of one Councillor? Sounds like double standards to me.
Thirdly, I have no desire to read your views in isolation from fair debate in the Council Chamber by all Councillors. Fair debate means time for all Councillors to fully present their case. I seem to remember on October 29 the Mayor did not allow Cr Davies to complete his presentation on aged care.
Finally, is it appropriate for you to make announcements re Council appointments on a private web site? I think not. The Monash Council web site is where this should happen.
Hi Gayle
Thanks for providing the first comment posted here.
Don’t be too surprised by a representative being open and willing to communicate. Or trying out new forms of communication. There is nothing strange or improper by someone in my position attempting to do that. Many politicians have websites and a number of councillors do for these purposes.
While there are some questions which protesters lodged this morning in relation to aged care and which will be answered at the meeting tomorrow night, my post above refers to the items of business which are listed on the formal agenda and which will be determined by Council. There won’t be any decisions made by Council on aged care until January as I have stated.
My comments about Cr Davies’s Notice of Motion simply note my disappointment that he is not working through proper or usual processes in proposing items for decision. This is a view I have expressed to him privately, however he has chosen to continue with his Notice of Motion which is his right. I am simply expressing the concerns which I and most other councillors hold in relation to this approach. This is particularly relevant given that this matter was before Council a couple of months ago and we are in the middle of tendering a contract for a Transport Plan for Glen Waverley Activity Centre. His Notice of Motion muddles this ongoing business of Council and needlessly confuses people. We will deal with that tomorrow night though.
No one is forcing you to read the information I present here. Feel free to ignore it. I’m unsure at this stage whether a website is worth the effort to maintain. However, it is little different from me having a conversation or exchanging emails with a resident. It is simply just another channel for communicating.
Fear not, I am not making any announcements or disclosing any state secrets here. The committee appointments, along with the other items I touch on above, are reports which are publicly accessible via the link I provide at the beginning of my post. My preview of upcoming meetings are simply provided for the handful of people (maybe) who are interested in reading a ‘digest’ of what is coming up at future Council meetings.
Nonetheless, thanks for provoking some debate. This is what I hope this website elicits in the interests of improving our Council and community. I will see you and others who are attending tomorrow night.