Agenda and minutes

In accordance with Chapter 3, Rule 77 of the Governance Rules, the Mayor called for the meeting to be adjourned at 7.04pm and requested members of the public, who had not registered to speak, to leave the gallery.

Cr Child, Cr Higgins, Cr Eastham, Cr Skelton, Cr Todorov, Cr Fullagar and Cr Cox (videoconference) left the meeting at 7.04pm

In accordance with Chapter 3, Rule 83 of the Governance Rules, the Mayor re-convened the meeting via videoconference at 7.25pm with registered speakers in attendance and the gallery closed to the general public.

Cr Child, Cr Higgins, Cr Eastham, Cr Skelton, Cr Todorov, Cr Fullagar and Cr Cox returned to the meeting at 7.25pm via videoconference.

The meeting resumed at 7.25pm with all Councillors present.

There were no Mayoral Announcements for this meeting.

In accordance with Chapter 7, Rule 4, of the Governance Rules developed by Council in accordance with section 60 of the Local Government Act 2020.

In accordance with Chapter 7, Rule 4, of the Governance Rules developed by Council in accordance with section 60 of the Local Government Act 2020.

Cr David Eastham declared a general conflict in respect of Item 10.3, Roads for Community Update, as it relates to his place of residence.

In accordance with Chapter 3, Rules 57 and 59, of the Governance Rules developed by Council in accordance with section 60 of the Local Government Act 2020.

In accordance with Chapter 3, Rules 57 and 59, of the Governance Rules developed by Council in accordance with section 60 of the Local Government Act 2020.

QUESTIONS FROM THE PUBLIC

QUESTION 1

Anonymous of Montrose, asked: 

You say that you welcome the public, but I have noticed over the last several meetings that it has become less welcoming.

We no longer have tea/coffee facilities, we are greeted at the door by security guards, printed copies of the agenda are no longer available, and now the tables separate the gallery, are these measures to intimidate or discourage public from attending the meetings? 

Ben Waterhouse, Acting Director Corporate Services:

Thank you for your question.

These measures are not designed to intimidate or discourage public from attending the Council Meetings.

Due to the large numbers attending Council Meetings and some recent intimidating and anti-social behaviour, we have engaged security and reconfigured the layout of the gallery and chamber for the safety of the public, Councillors and Council staff.

Limited numbers of the printed agenda are available in the foyer each meeting.

QUESTION 2

Megan, a resident of Tecoma, asked: 

There is a group of community members attempting to regain confidence and build trust in the Yarra Ranges Council.

At the Feb 28 2023 Council meeting, Question 4 came from Ian Bergwerf. This question was first answered by the CEO, Tammi Rose and then passed to Damian Closs for further context. Tammi Rose CEO began with ‘So the answer to the question is...’ Tammi Rose completed her response with two sentences, however the CEO’s reply has been left out of the minutes. Please explain this omission?

Ben Waterhouse, Acting Director Corporate Services:

Megan, thank you for your question.

Meeting minutes are not a transcript of the proceedings or a verbatim account; however for completeness, and with the consent of the Chair, the Chief Executive Officer’s response will be minuted. As such, the minutes from the 28 February 2023 Council meeting will be amended.

The Mayor read the following statement:

I consent, that the Minutes of the Council Meeting held 28 February 2023, be amended to include the Chief Executive Officers comment to the Question (Question 4) listed on page 11.

QUESTION 3

David Ricciuti, a resident of Silvan, asked: 

Under the Local Government Act 2020, council is required to be transparent. Can you confirm or deny whether the recorded council meetings are altered or edited before being made available to the public?

Ben Waterhouse, Acting Director Corporate Services:

Mr Ricciuti, thanks for your question.

Council confirms it may edit the recording of Council Meetings prior to them being made available to the public. On occasion, we will make edits to ensure any inappropriate commentary is not made public or to remove any reference to personal information in accordance with our obligations under the Privacy Act 2014.

In accordance with Chapter 3, Rule 3 of the Governance Rules, the Mayor called  ...  view the full minutes text for item 8.

In accordance with Chapter 3, Rule 60, of the Governance Rules developed by Council in accordance with section 60 of the Local Government Act 2020.

In accordance with Chapter 3, Rule 60, of the Governance Rules developed by Council in accordance with section 60 of the Local Government Act 2020.

There were no Petitions received for this meeting.

SUMMARY

Amendment C207 proposes to apply a Heritage Overlay (HO) to 13 new sites in Lilydale and update the existing heritage statements of significance or mapping for 7 places in Lilydale that are already protected by the HO.

 The amendment was placed on public exhibition from 10 November 2022 to 12 December 2022 and five submissions were received. Of those, two submissions oppose the application of the Heritage Overlay, one submission supports the amendment and requested a number of modifications to address accuracy of historical information and the proper acknowledgement of sources in the Statements of Significance for several properties, and two submissions stated that they had no objection to the amendment.

In response to submissions, this report recommends that Council, at the meeting on 11 April 2023, refer the Amendment and submissions to an independent Planning Panel appointed by the Minister for Planning.

In accordance with Governance Rule 58, Sue Thompson spoke in support of the recommendation included in the officer report.

SUMMARY

This report provides a schedule of Council meeting dates for the second half of the 2023 calendar year. Once adopted, the meeting schedule will be formally advertised, and details placed on Council’s website.

The proposed schedule of meetings is included at Attachment 1 to the report.

SUMMARY

On 24 September 2019 Council considered a report on the Federal Government Road Construction Funding Initiative and Addendum to Special Rate and Charge Scheme Policy for Infrastructure improvements.

The report summarised a $150 Million Federal Government funding initiative for Yarra Ranges Council to seal roads within the Dandenong Ranges and surrounding areas, announced as part of the 2019 Federal Budget. The report prioritised a list of approximately 187 km’s of roads to be sealed based on the funding and estimated road construction costs at the time.

The report referenced landowner contributions to roads sealed under the funding initiative be fixed at $7,000 per development unit, while also presenting a priority list of unsealed roads for construction for Council endorsement.

On 10 January 2023 Council received formal notification dated 19 December 2022, from the Federal Government that the $150 Million Federal Government funding initiative would be reduced with Council only receiving total funding in the program of $47.656 Million ($47.7M).

As a result of these funding cuts, Councils ability to construct all roads on the endorsed priority list will not be possible.

This report considers what projects can be delivered based on the funding available in the program and where projects have been committed. It will also examine the future direction of prioritising roads for construction that are not able to be constructed from the available funding.

Council will continue to advocate for the Roads for the Community Initiative funding to be reinstated as one of our priority initiatives. Council Officers are working collaboratively with the Cardinia Shire Council on a campaign and have made submissions to the Australian Government’s budget process to request that the funding be restored so residents can have their road sealed as planned.

Cr Eastham left the meeting at 8:14pm prior to consideration of the item, having declared a conflict of interest in this item.

In accordance with Chapter 3, Division 4, of the Governance Rules developed by Council in accordance with section 60 of the Local Government Act 2020.

In accordance with Chapter 3, Division 4, of the Governance Rules developed by Council in accordance with section 60 of the Local Government Act 2020.

There were no Councillor motions listed on the agenda for this meeting.

There were no Items Through the Chair received for this meeting.

Cr Fullagar:

-           Attended the Eastern Regional Libraries Board Meeting held on Tuesday 4 April 2023 at Maroondah City Council Realm. The Mayor also attended the meeting.

Cr Skelton:

-           Attended the Victorian Local Governance Association Leadership Development Workshop held on Friday 31 March 2023. Cr Todorov also attended the event.

-           Chaired the Sustainable Environment Advisory Committee held on Thursday 6 April 2023 at the Yarra Ranges Council Civic Centre, Lilydale.

Cr Eastham:

-           Attended the Rural Advisory Committee held on Tuesday 4 April 2023 at the Yarra Ranges Council Civic Centre, Lilydale. The Director Planning & Sustainable Futures and Director Communities also attended the meeting.

Cr Todorov:

-           Attended the Health & Wellbeing Advisory Committee held on Thursday 23 March 2023 at the Yarra Ranges Council Civic Centre, Lilydale.

In accordance with Clause 87 of the Meeting Procedures and Use of Common Seal Local Law 2015, as prescribed by Section 14(2)(c) of the Local Government Act 2020.

In accordance with Clause 87 of the Meeting Procedures and Use of Common Seal Local Law 2015, as prescribed by Section 14(2)(c) of the Local Government Act 2020.

There were no Documents for Signing and Sealing received for this meeting.</AI24><AI25>

In accordance with Chapter 3 Rule 24 of the Governance Rules developed by Council in accordance with section 60 of the Local Government Act 2020.

There was no Urgent Business received for this meeting.

In accordance with section 66(2)(a) of the Local Government Act 2020.

In accordance with section 66(2)(a) of the Local Government Act 2020.

There were no Confidential Items listed on the agenda for this meeting.