Supplementary AGENDA  1R

 

Distributed on 9 June 2020

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Council Meeting

                            

TUESDAY 9 JUNE 2020

 

6.30pm

 

 

 In the spirit of open, accessible and transparent government, this meeting of the Inner West Council is being streamed live on Council’s website. Any part of this meeting that is held in closed session will not be recorded.

 

 

 

   


Council Meeting

9 June 2020

 

 

 

MEETING AGENDA – PRECIS

SUPPLEMENTARY ITEMS

 

 

The following reports appear as late items with Mayoral approval as information required for the preparation of the reports was not available at the time of distribution of the Business Paper.

 

1          Mayoral Minutes

 

ITEM                                                                                                                                          Page

 

C0620(2) Item 10     Mayoral Minute: Council Staff's Bushfire Response                                3

C0620(2) Item 11     Mayoral Minute: Leichhardt Oval and Henson Park upgrades                5

C0620(2) Item 12     Mayoral Minute:Stronger Community Grants shortfall                          12

 

  


Council Meeting

9 June 2020

 

 

Item No:         C0620(2) Item 10

Subject:         Mayoral Minute: Council Staff's Bushfire Response           

From:             The Mayor, Councillor Darcy Byrne  

 

 

Motion:

 

THAT Council:

 

1.   Expresses its thanks and gratitude to Council officers Cameron Gray, Conor Wilson, Asher Richardson and Ellen Shannon who temporarily joined Eurobodalla Shire Council’s team of development assessors to help process existing applications and fast track new ones from bushfire-affected residents; and

 

2.   Receive a report on establishing a “Sister City” assistance program with Eurobodalla Shire Council, which is to be tabled at the 23 June Council meeting.

 

 

Background

Four Council officers received a big thank you from The Beagle, an Eurobodalla news website, when journalists were told the officers were heading back to Inner West Council after their secondment at the South Coast Council. The article is included below.

 

Willing workers bolster recovery

Eurobodalla Shire Council has said goodbye to a group of good Samaritans, who have been speeding up processing of development applications from bushfire-affected residents.

 

After the fires, four employees from Inner West Council – Cameron Gray, Conor Wilson, Asher Richardson and Ellen Shannon - temporarily joined Eurobodalla’s team of seven development assessors to help process existing applications and fast track new ones.

 

The extra hands, paid for by their own council, were joined by Bob Steedman from Canterbury Bankstown Council in March, and helped process 83 DAs in that month alone.

 

Manager of development services Gary Bruce said the generous contribution from both Sydney councils had made all the difference.

 

“I had staff directly affected by the fires too, so having this team arrive was like having the cavalry turn up,” Mr Bruce said. “It not only helped the community by getting through the assessment work quickly, the generosity also provided a big morale boost for my team.

 

Mr Bruce said there were also some unexpected benefits for the teams themselves.

 

 

“The planners from Sydney are used to dealing with urban issues, so they did a crash course on bushfire assessment before they came down,” he said.

 

“Since being here, they have gained a better understanding of ecological issues and bushfire-related matters facing our shire. Our team has learnt a lot from them about issues in urban areas.

 

“It’s just a shame it’s taken a disaster to have this sort of exchange of information and ideas.”

 

Mr Bruce said a steady stream of development applications and enquiries were coming in now for bushfire rebuilds.

 

“We’ve set up an internal team to fast track these enquiries and applications,” he said.

 

“53 bushfire rebuild applications have been lodged to date, with 27 approved already in an average turnaround time of 15 days. Approvals include 14 outbuildings, seven houses, three commercial buildings, and three alterations.

 

“In some cases Council has been able to facilitate a rebuild without the need for a DA, and simply issue a construction certificate. So far 23 have been issued by Council or private certifiers, indicating strong intent to commence rebuilding.”

 

Mr Bruce said enquiries are still going strong, with 95 development applications lodged last month – 25 more than the April five-year average.

 

For those rebuilding after the fires, the NSW Government has waived a number of fees associated with DAs, and Council is providing bushfire attack level certificates free of charge.

 

 

 

ATTACHMENTS

Nil.


Council Meeting

9 June 2020

 

 

Item No:         C0620(2) Item 11

Subject:         Mayoral Minute: Leichhardt Oval and Henson Park upgrades            

From:             The Mayor, Councillor Darcy Byrne   

 

 

Motion:

 

THAT Council:

 

1.   Notes the correspondence the Mayor received from Peter V’landys, Chair of the Australian Rugby League Commission (ARLC), in response to his letter dated 2 March (Attachment 1);

 

2.   Notes the Schedule of Works for Leichhardt Oval (Attachment 2);

 

3.   Consults with Wests Tigers, Sydney FC and relevant sporting organisations on the adopted Schedule of Works and seeks their priorities for the upgrade of Leichhardt Oval; and

 

4.   Submits the Schedule of Works for Leichhardt Oval and the sporting codes priorities to the ARLC and seeks its advocacy for State and Federal funding for Leichhardt Oval.

 

 

 

 

ATTACHMENTS

1.

Letter from the Mayor to Peter V'Landys and Letter from Peter V'Landys to the Mayor

2.

Schedule of Leichhardt Oval Upgrades

  


Council Meeting

9 June 2020

 

 


 


 


Council Meeting

9 June 2020

 

 


Council Meeting

9 June 2020

 

 

Item No:         C0620(2) Item 12

Subject:         Mayoral Minute:Stronger Community Grants shortfall            

From:             The Mayor, Councillor Darcy Byrne  

 

 

Motion:

 

THAT Council:

 

1.   Notes that Inner West Council received no funding in the second round of Stronger Communities Grant funding, which was designated to help Councils that were forcibly amalgamated by the NSW Government in 2016; and

 

2.   Writes to the Premier for New South Wales and the Minister for Local Government requesting that Inner West Council receives its fair share of the Stronger Communities Grant funding.

 

 

Background

On 27 May, Channel Nine News published a story highlighting the distribution of the Stronger Communities Fund grants to amalgamated Councils, and some that didn’t even end up amalgamating.

 

The report was critical of the way the State Government allocated the funds and noted there was a potential bias of funding towards Councils in Coalition-held State seats. In fact, the Channel Nine reporter obtained data that showed 80 per cent of the Government funding went to Councils in seats held by Government members.

 

The reporter also alleged that $200 million in funding was diverted to Councils in Government- held seats while just $5m was given to Councils in Labor/Green electorates.

 

The funding from this element of the Stronger Communities Fund was to be made to Councils that were forcibly amalgamated in 2016. So, it is incredible that Hornsby Council, whose Mayor is former Federal Minister and NSW Liberal Party President Phillip Ruddock and a Council that wasn’t amalgamated with another Council, received a massive $90 million in funding.

 

 

 

 

 

ATTACHMENTS

Attachment 1 – Link to Channel Nine Story

https://www.facebook.com/251142965231407/videos/281513496328714/