Council Meeting: July 2018

LAST night’s Council meeting began with a presentation from Russell Griffiths a resident of Murrurundi who is frustrated with the lack of response to dangerous dogs in the town.

“I am here tonight to present to this Council documented victim and witness statements from 37 members of the Murrurundi community.”

Mr Griffiths detailed some of the instances of animals being attacked and people menaced including:

• 42 sheep
• 2 beloved family pet toy dogs
• 4 pet goats
• 5 children’s pet chooks
• 4 pet dogs
• 1 ewe mauled
• 1 lady bitten
• 6 people menaced while walking
• 8 complaints about noise, and
• 2 lady horse riders chased by dogs.

Unfortunately, Mayor Wayne Bedggood called time on the presentation.

Cr Ron Campbell said he understood the issues of dog attacks from his experience as a landholder in Merriwa and said the speed of reporting incidents was paramount.

The Mayor said he was thankful for Mr Griffiths bringing the matters to his attention, but said they were “limited by legislation for how we can act on these reports.” The Mayor acknowledged the community sentiment that they felt Council were not acting and would “take that on board”. He further added that only seven of the 43 matters were reported to Council and that people should “have faith that we do want to act, but that it is difficult to do and we want to work on it.”

Retirement: Steve Pryor the Director of Corporate Services for Council, who has served for 42 years in government, 27 years of which in local government was acknowledged for his services and wished well in his retirement to begin at the end of the week. Mr Pryor said he was thankful for Council’s kind words and enjoyed working with a range of community groups to make the area a better place to live.

Easements: Cr Sue Abbott questioned Council’s move to purchase easements at Makybe Diva Street when access to easements is already covered under legislation. Matthew Pringle, director of environmental services, said it was to prevent buildings and structures from being around the sewer mains and Steve Pryor, director of corporate services said they would take on notice Cr Abbott’s point that this may already be covered under legislation.

Cr Joshua Brown asked is Council seeks out purchase of easements or if it was factored into development applications and asked if Council had a database of pipes and sub-infrastructure. Matthew Pringle, director of environmental services said they do account for easements in development applications. The general manager, Steve McDonald added that Council also look to acquire easements. Steve Pryor, director of corporate services said the database of pipes was “pretty accurate” at the moment.

Special Projects: Cr Abbott said she was disappointed affordable housing was not in the list of special projects as it “should be one of the highest priorities” in the community.

Bridges: Cr Campbell asked for a progress report on the replacement of the Camerons and Junction Bridges, which was taken on notice.

Library Services Committee: Cr Brown voted against point 2 of the motion to endorse the minutes of the Upper Hunter Library Committee, but the motion was carried.

Female Representation: Cr Sue Abbott, who is on the library committee said she was concerned that at the opening of the Merriwa library the female representatives were not properly acknowledged compared to the all male representative which were treated as the dignitaries on the day. Mayor Bedggood took offence to the comments and said Elizabeth Walter was the master of ceremonies and the welcome to country had been performed by a female. Further adding he had acknowledged Cr Abbott’s presence on the day and did not understand what else he could have done to recognise the female representatives. “I resent this being brought up and I am taking you to task on that!” He further said the state member happened to be male and as Mayor he was male but that did not represent a lack of acknowledgement of the female representatives on the day. After the Mayor had finished speaking the formal opportunity in the meeting for Cr Abbott’s response was thwarted by the Mayor and he said “there is no need for you to respond”. The comment was met with gasps from residents present in the gallery and Cr Abbott said she would like the opportunity to respond, to which the Mayor said, “you have to ask me if you may respond!” To which Cr Abbott asked the Mayor “may I respond?” To which the Mayor said, “No!” The gallery was audibly surprised at the Mayor’s behaiour and Cr Abbott continued saying that “occasionally this really looks like a boy’s club”, which was met with applause by the gallery. She went on to question the choice of the dignitaries on the day saying that whilst she understood and supported the state member and Mayor being recognised as dignitaries she questioned Cr Campbell’s role. “Was Cr Campbell recognised because he was a Councillor because he was a member of the library committee? If it was as a Councillor then other Concillors present should also have been included and if it was as a member of the committee then the five women who are part of that committee should have been recognised also.” Mayor Bedggood conceded it was an issue and said, “I take your point.”

Library Opening Hours: Cr Abbott asked why the minutes of the library committee presented to Council for endorsement did not include the recommendation by the Committee  that the Merriwa library be open for the same hours as the Murrurundi library. The general manager, Steve McDonald said it was due to budget constraints, but would be considered. It was noted that the recommendation would be included in the draft budget for the next year and the GM said they were also reviewing the structure of the library.

Merriwa Aged Hostel: An amendment to point three of the recommendation to be passed for reporting of elder abuse was put forward by Cr Abbott to state that “any and all” suspected or alleged assaults are reported to police. Cr Campbell said he had recently been in a facility, “which was a very good facility and people laughed at the recommendation, even directors” and he said he would vote against the amendment because he didn’t want any changes. Cr Brown said he thought the amendment was important to ensure reporting captured everything and also “to protect us.” The motion was passed as amended.

Off Leash Area: Cr Kiwa Fisher put forward a change to the interim off leash dog exercise area at the Bill Rose complex, withdrawing the words “in an area within” the Bill Rose Sports Complex. The amended motion was carried.

Rodeo Donation: A motion to donate $500 to Tani Nash and Chris Wilson to represent Australia and the Upper Hunter at the 2018 National high School Rodeo Finals in Ro Springs Wyoming was passed, with Cr Fisher noting Chris Wilson had won his event “so well done to him.”

Economic Development Corporation: Cr Campbell questioned the costs of the Council being part of a new Upper Hunter Economic Development Corporation established by Muswellbrook Shire and asked what benefits there would be for the Upper Hunter Shire. The general manager, Steve McDonald said it was a skills based board to coordinate local Council working more closely to attract new industry to the area. He further explained each Council can elected to ask the Corporation to work on a project individually or collectively and assess the involvement of the Upper Hunter Shire in each opportunity. Cr Abbott questioned if proper due diligence had been done and if all information held by the corporation would be available to the public. Cr Abbott said she didn’t feel comfortable with the proposal and felt she needed more information. The general manager said Cr Abbott was correct that some information would be held as commercial in confidence and not available to the community. Cr Abbott said the corporation which oversaw the train line in Newcastle had not been transparent with the community and was concerned similar situations could occur with this corporation if there was not full transparency. The general manager said if the Shire was uncomfortable with any project with the Corporation they could opt out and he would take on notice Cr Abbott’s concerns about the public being able to access information.

Drought Donation: Cr Fisher recommended a motion to donate $200 to the Lions Club for drought relief be changed to $2000. The amended motion was carried.

Elder Abuse Prevention: Cr Abbott said she wanted more time to review the policy saying some parts of the policy were “a little ambiguous”. Steve Pryor, director of corporate services said the new policy was part of the facilities accreditation process, so it was made an interim policy until it was further reviewed. The motion was then carried.

Dangerous Dogs: Cr Abbott said the presentation by Russell Griffiths highlighted that the Council was not acting within appropriate time frames to address the dangerous dog issue in Merriwa and she found the breakdown of figures for attacks disturbing.

Bypass: Cr Abbott said she was not comfortable with the answers to her questions regarding the bypass, which was to refer all of her questions to the Roads and Maritime Services.

Disabled Parking: Cr Lorna Driscoll requested a response for the disabled car park at the Aberdeen RSL. Cr Driscoll was informed that the blue space had been painted, but lines were yet to be marked.

Sewerage Fees: Cr Abbott asked how legislation for on-site sewerage fees could be overridden by Council policy. The matter was taken on notice.

Air Pollution: Cr Abbott noted the many recent breaches of air quality and asked if Council can fine someone for painting a house the wrong colour in a heritage area, why they couldn’t fine for air pollution. She further asked for a response from the Environmental Protection Agency. The general manager said he would invite the EPA to a Council meeting.

Quarry: Cr Abbott asked why StoneCo, which has repeated compliance issues had not had their licence removed. The general manager said the matter would be taken on notice

Buckets of Money: Cr Abbott questioned the financing of footpaths as to if funds were being reappropriated. The general manager said money is restricted to the designated purpose. Cr Abbott said she was concerned that if money has been reappropriated in one instance it could occur again.

Virtual Reality: Cr Abbott asked if there were appropriate measures in place for the use of augmented reality machines at the Merriwa Library highlighting health advice on the use of the machines for various age groups and the Council’s duty of care. The general manager said the use of the machines would be supervised and they would look to adopt policy from the state library and customise to the local area.

Rainwater Tanks and Solar Panels: Cr Brown asked if Council intended to expand their rainwater tank and solar panel program to other Shire buildings. Steve Prior, director of corporate services said there were plans.

Adelaide Street Signage: Cr Brown asked if the signage on the New England Highway for a no right turn into Adelaide Street in Murrurndi be made more visible to avoid an accident. The general manager said they would work with the RMS to assess the situation.

Murrurundi Pipeline: Cr Brown asked if there would be community presentations on an update on the Murrurundi pipeline and the Scone bypass. The general manager confirmed there would be.

Marquet Street: Cr Campbell asked on progress with the entrance to Marquet Street in Merriwa. He was advised Council will report back to him.