Council Meeting: January 2020

COUNCIL have begun reporting motions from closed Council sections of the meeting and listing a reference to the items on the agenda papers. The three items in this month’s Council meeting were the village reticulation tender contract and the Omadale Brook Bridge tender contract. They also passed a motion to examine future options for the management of Gummun Place Hostel (Read: Gummun Place Could Have Brighter Future). The change following a complaint to the Office of Local Government for confidential matters not being properly disclosed to the public. (Read: Letter: No Confidence in Council Compliance.)

Present: Mayor Wayne Bedggood, Cr Joshua Brown, Cr Lorna Driscoll, Cr Kiwa Fisher, Cr Maurice Collison and Cr Lee Watts.

Apologies: Cr Sue Abbott and Cr James Burns.

Public Participation

Development Application Allan Cunningham Road

Stephen Lodge spoke to the Council in relation to a development application for dwelling and shipping containers in Allan Cunningham Road, Scone. Mr Lodge said he was unable to move the shipping container further from the boundary due to the position of the driveway and while he could adjust it an extra 2 or 4 metres, he did not want to move the container into the middle of the property. Cr Ron Campbell asked if perhaps a shed in the same position may be an alternative, but Mr Lodge explained he was also a bee-keeper and needed something solid, free of other insects, for which a shipping container was better suited. Later in the meeting Councillor Watts asked for an amendment to the motion, to vary the distance from the boundary from 8 metres to 12 meters. Cr Collison said he was “happy with that as long as the applicant is happy with that.” Cr Watts said the 20 metres proposed was a “fairly large stretch”, 12 was a better compromise and the applicant had previously said he would be open to moving the container another 4 metres. The motion was carried.

James Frost 20 years of service

James Frost was awarded for 20 years of service with the Upper Hunter Shire Council. James has worked at the Aberdeen and Scone tip and is the longest serving member of the waste team. Mayor Bedggood described him as innovative in finding practical solutions at the local facilities and has heard he makes good shortbread biscuits.

Cassilis Waste

Cr Campbell said feedback from Jan Wilton was opening the facility from 10am until 2pm went well and “a lot of people used the facility on Saturday”.

Murrurundi Hospital

Cr Brown recommended a motion requesting a heritage impact was not longer required since the Council had moved to have an assessment previously. Cr Brown also asked for the Review of Environmental Factors, which Council staff said they had requested, but was no publicly available and they would request again.

Scone Town Revitalisation

Mayor Bedggood said he didn’t think it was necessary to include a recommendation that Transport for NSW not hand back the road to Council until it was fit for purpose as they already had much correspondence on the matter and visits with Ministers. Cr Brown said it was still a good idea to retain it in the motion as Transport “can be hard of hearing from time to time.”

Merriwa Aged Hostel – Gummun Place

The report to Council noted a $120,000 loss, with the last financial year described as “challenging in terms of resident vacancies, a reduction in interest and investment revenue as well as additional costs incurred to address non-compliances identified during accreditation.” Ms Deirdre Peebles was appointed as chairperson, with other committee members including Ross Bishop, Margaret Whitney, Edith Shipway, Barry Ghersi and Jan Cronin. While standard accreditation is three years, due to non-compliance issues the facility is only accredited until September 2020 subject to further assessment. An additional inspection was conducted in October and another will occur in March. The report notes, “ongoing failure to meet the new standards in aged care can result in sanctions.” Two new sub-committees were formed to assist with clinical compliance a medication advisory committee and a clinical review committee.

Later in closed Council and agenda item of Gummun Place Hostel – future options was listed for discussion. When closed Council finished, it was reported Council had passed a motion to examine future management options for the facility. (Read: Gummun Place Could Have Brighter Future)

Scone Cup Holiday

A half day public holiday was granted for the Scone Cup from midday to midnight. Cr Watts said she was “very sad” that only 131 people responded to the survey, noting it was an additional 30 to last year, but said it was a shame that it is such a big day in the area and not many people responded. Mayor Bedggood said he personally prefers an option of midday to 6pm as a better compromise for the whole business community.

Oration Named After Adams and Watts

The Council passed a motion to name the International Women’s Day Oration as the Adams-Watts Social Justice Oration, after Bev Adams who was the first female president of the Shire and Lee Watts was the first female Mayor of the Upper Hunter Shire Council. Cr Campbell asked if the name of the award would change each year and was advised it would not. Mayor Wayne Bedggood congratulated both women on their leadership and said it was a “well deserved accolade”.

Closed Council Matters

The Council awarded the design for village reticulation tender contract to TDW Johnson for $250,855 and the Omadale Brook Bridge tender contract to Bridge and Engineering. They also passed a motion to examine future options for the management of Gummun Place Hostel (Read: Gummun Place Could Have Brighter Future)