Minutes of Special Council Meeting

Special Council Meeting Minutes 30 March 2020

MINUTES OF CIty of Vincent
Special Council Meeting
HELD AT THE Administration and Civic Centre
244 Vincent Street, Leederville
ON Monday, 30 March 2020 AT 6.00pm

PRESENT: Mayor Emma Cole Presiding Member

Cr Susan Gontaszewski South Ward

Cr Alex Castle North Ward

Cr Joanne Fotakis North Ward

Cr Jonathan Hallett South Ward

Cr Dan Loden North Ward

Cr Joshua Topelberg South Ward

Cr Sally Smith North Ward

Cr Ashley Wallace South Ward

IN ATTENDANCE: David MacLennan Chief Executive Officer

Andrew Murphy Executive Director Infrastructure & Environment

John Corbellini Executive Director Strategy & Development

Virginia Miltrup Executive Director Community & Business Services

Meluka Bancroft Executive Manager Corporate Strategy & Governance

John Paton Strategic Advisor

Wendy Barnard Council Liaison Officer

1 Declaration of Opening / Acknowledgement of Country

The Presiding Member, Emma Cole, declared the meeting open at 6.13pm and read the following Acknowledgement of Country statement:

“The City of Vincent would like to acknowledge the Traditional Owners of the land, the Whadjuk people of the Noongar nation and pay our respects to Elders past, present and emerging.”

2 Apologies / Members on Leave of Absence

Nil

3 Public Question Time and Receiving of Public Statements

The following questions and statements were submitted prior to the Meeting and were read out by the Chief Executve Officer. Administrations’ responses will be provided in the Agenda for the 7 April 2020 Ordinary Council Meeting.

3.1 Dudley Maier

Item 6.1 - COVID-19 Urgent Relief Measures

1. Clause 1: Attachment 1 point 3: The ‘Relief Measure’ refers to the waiving of interest on outstanding rates but the ‘Comment’ states ‘immediately applies a waiver on outstanding rates from 23 March”. Should this be ‘immediately applies a waiver on the interest on outstanding rates’ or ‘immediately defers collection of outstanding rates’?

2. Will the waiving of interest on outstanding rates be extended to 2020-21 rates?

3. Clause 2: In her letter, the Minister states “Specifically, I would encourage all local governments to fast-track the assessment of development applications for non-controversial development” (Attachment 2). Why is the City simply removing the need to get approval rather than actually fast-tracking the assessment process as is done by other local governments such as the City of Perth?

4. Why aren’t the delegations referred to in Clause 3 of the recommendation time-limited in a similar manner to the changes proposed in Clause 2 of the recommendation?

5. Given that waiving of interest on outstanding rates has budget implications, why isn’t there wording in the recommendation indicating that the council approves the change by an absolute majority as there is for Clause 3 of the same recommendation?

Item 6.2 - Arts Relief Funding

6. Why doesn’t Clause 5 of the recommendation clearly state that the funds will only be available to ‘City of Vincent artists and creatives’ as is indicated under the ‘Background’ section and reiterated in ‘Details’ section of the report?

7. Can you confirm that the funds will only be made available to artists/creatives living in the City of Vincent?

8. Why doesn’t the Arts Relief Working Group contain any community members with expertise in the field such as members of the former Arts Advisory Group?

Item 7.2 – COVID-19 Relief and Recovery Committee

9. Why aren’t the delegations in Clause 5 by an absolute majority as required by Section 5.16 of the Act?

10. Given that the terms of reference state that members of the public are required to submit any questions for COVID-19 Relief Committee meetings at least 3 hours before a meeting, when will agendas for the committee meeting be made public so that community members have sufficient time to read the agenda and submit questions?

11. Will members of the public be able to make statements, as opposed to asking questions, about items on the committee agenda? If so, what is the mechanism?

12. Given that the published meeting schedule for the committee shows 8 of the 13 committee meetings coinciding with dates for council meetings, briefings or workshops; and given that all meetings will be conducted electronically; and given that most council members are likely to be confined to home, why isn’t the city simply scheduling special council meetings at which all community representatives (i.e. council members) can participate and at which some decisions can be made straight away without needing to come back to a council meeting?

Item 7.3 - Leederville Gardens Trust COVID-19 Relief Funding

13. Given that the Rules of Association for Leederville Gardens stipulates that the trust money can only be disbursed to public benevolent institutions which are located in the city why does the EOI simply state that they must be ‘active’ in the city?

14. Will projects be limited to those where 100% of the funds are spent in the City?

15. Was the Board of the Leederville Gardens given the courtesy of being informed of the intention to use the trust money in the proposed manner?

Public Question Time closed at approximately 6.20pm.

4 Declarations of Interest

Nil

ANNOUNCEMENTS BY THE PRESIDING MEMBER (WITHOUT DISCUSSION)

This Special Council Meeting was called to discuss the City’s response to COVID-19, during an unprecedented time in our country’s history. It has been the toughest few weeks in the City’s history, with changes on a daily basis and businesses closing every day. There is incredible financial pain in our community. The City is working to understand all the issues and trying to deal with them as quickly as possible as we move forward.

The City of Vincent has had to close Beatty Park, which has been hard on the staff and the community. The Library has also closed, but the staff are finding ways to do their work remotely. These measures are necessary to save lives and flatten the curve. The way people are rising to the challenge in such a short period of time has been incredible. The City has been working through a range of measures and this meeting is about focussing those efforts and putting them into a plan that everybody is working to.

The initial focus has been putting in place the changing health directives. The Manager Built Environment and Wellbeing has done an outstanding job in this space, offering a cool head and wise counsel in this time. The Executive Manager Information and Communication Technology and his team have been critical in the successful move of the organisation to remote working.

The City is reprioritising services and updating the budget to be able to deal with the most vulnerable in our community. A Committee of three members is required to ensure that fast decisions can be made, with backup members in case of illness. Regular Council meetings will continue for the duration, and the plan will be regularly reviewed as we move through COVID-19. An urgent review of the City of Vincent budget is being undertaken, concentrating on staffing impacts, reviewing discretionary expenditure and unlocking specific trusts to use in this time of need.

We are facing this together. Although the City is working remotely it is still working for the community. It is critical that the City’s governance is transparent and that the community remains involved in decision making.

Special Council Meeting Minutes 30 March 2020

6 Community & Business Services

6.1 COVID-19 Urgent Relief Measures

Attachments: 1. Urgent Relief Measures

2. Letter from Minister for Planning dated 25 March 2020

3. 16.1.1 (Development Applications) of Council Delegated Authority Register (in mark up)

Recommendation:

That Council:

1. APPROVES a range of urgent relief measures to support the community and small businesses impacted by COVID-19 as outlined in Attachment 1.

2. AGREES that temporary uses and temporary changes to uses shall be permitted to operate up to three months after the current State of Emergency declared for Western Australia has ended or until 15 September 2020, whichever is the earliest, without the requirement for development approval, pursuant to Schedule 2, Part 7, Clause 61(2)(d) of the Planning and Development (Local Planning Schemes) Regulations 2015, subject to the following:

2.1 The subject property is zoned commercial, mixed use, district centre, regional centre, or local centre under the City's Local Planning Scheme No. 2;

2.2 The proposed land use is permissible in Table 1 of Local Planning Scheme No. 2;

2.3 Not more than two food businesses are registered at the property;

2.4 Business owners provide written notification of the change to the use and details of modified operation to residents prior in accordance with 1.3 of Appendix 3 of the City's Community Consultation Policy to the use commencing. Written notification shall include the business owner's contact details in the case of any issues arising; and

2.5 Written notification is provided to the City prior to the use commencing, detailing the extent of changes to the operations that are being introduced in response to COVID-19; and

3. APPROVES BY ABSOLUTE MAJORITY the following amendments to the Council delegations in 16.1.1 of the Council Delegations Register, as shown in mark up in Attachment 3:

3.1 Amendment of Express Power or Duty Delegated and condition 12 to enable the CEO to determine applications to amend a development approval that was determined by Council, provided the amendment meets all of the standards set in the City’s local planning policies and State Planning Policy 7.3 Residential Design Codes, and would not change the impact of any condition imposed;

3.2 Clarification in the Express Power or Duty Delegated that the CEO is delegated the power to determine amendments to Development Assessment Panel applications made under regulation 17A of the Planning and Development (Development Assessment Panels) Regulations 2011;

3.3 Inclusion of a new delegation to enable the CEO to determine all applications proposing a car parking shortfall under the minimum parking requirements of Table 1 of Local Planning Policy 7.7.1 Non-Residential Development Parking Requirements; and

3.4 Amendment of condition 9 to allow the CEO to determine uses not listed in Table 1 of Local Planning Policy 7.7.1 Non-Residential Development Parking Requirements.

Council Decision Item 6.1

Moved: Cr Fotakis, Seconded: Cr Gontaszewski

That the recommendation be adopted.

carried by absolute majority (9-0)

For: Mayor Cole, Cr Gontaszewski, Cr Castle, Cr Fotakis, Cr Hallett, Cr Loden, Cr Topelberg, Cr Smith and Cr Wallace

Against: Nil

Special Council Meeting Minutes 30 March 2020

7 Chief Executive Officer

7.1 COVID-19 Relief & Recovery Strategy & Implementation Plan

Attachments: 1. City of Vincent COVID-19 Relief & Recovery Strategy

Recommendation:

That Council:

1. ENDORSE the City of Vincent COVID-19 Relief and Recovery Strategy, included as Part 1 to Attachment 1; and

2. NOTE the City of Vincent COVID-19 Relief & Recovery Implementation Plan included as Part 2 to Attachment 1 will be updated and reported as required to the City’s COVID-19 Committee and Council.

Moved: Cr Gontaszewski, Seconded: Cr Hallett

That the recommendation be adopted.

Amendment

Moved: Cr Topelberg, Seconded: Cr Gontaszewski

That the recommendation be amended as follows:

That Council:

Instructs the Chief Executive Officer to formulate a budget and financial strategy assuming a 0% rate increase and 0% increase in fees and charges for the 2020/21 financial year.

REASON:

In an effort to respond to and reduce the public health impacts of COVID-19, a Public Health Emergency and State of Emergency has been declared in Western Australia. As a result of fast-moving physical distancing measures, many of our local businesses have closed or reduced services, community members are experiencing changing work conditions and this may lead to financial stress through underemployment or unemployment, and the City of Vincent’s budget is being significantly impacted by decreasing in revenue and reprioritisation of services. Whilst the full impacts are yet to be known, it is important that the City of Vincent demonstrate that all steps are being taken to relieve financial pressure on households and local businesses. Freezing any increase in rates, fees and charges in 2020/21, combined with a raft of other measures in the COVID-19 Relief and Recovery Strategy and Implementation Plan, is an important measure and commitment to our community at this time.

Amendment carried (9-0)

For: Mayor Cole, Cr Gontaszewski, Cr Castle, Cr Fotakis, Cr Hallett, Cr Loden, Cr Topelberg, Cr Smith and Cr Wallace

Against: Nil

Council Decision Item 7.1

Recommendation:

That Council:

1. ENDORSE the City of Vincent COVID-19 Relief and Recovery Strategy, included as Part 1 to Attachment 1; and

2. NOTE the City of Vincent COVID-19 Relief & Recovery Implementation Plan included as Part 2 to Attachment 1 will be updated and reported as required to the City’s COVID-19 Committee and Council.

3. INSTRUCTS the Chief Executive Officer to formulate a budget and financial strategy assuming a 0% rate increase and 0% increase in fees and charges for the 2020/21 financial year.

carried Unanimously (9-0)

For: Mayor Cole, Cr Gontaszewski, Cr Castle, Cr Fotakis, Cr Hallett, Cr Loden, Cr Topelberg, Cr Smith and Cr Wallace

Against: Nil

Special Council Meeting Minutes 30 March 2020

7.2 Establishment of a COVID-19 Relief and Recovery Committee

Attachments: 1. Covid-19 Relief and Recovery Committee - Terms of Reference

2. Covid-19 Relief and Recovery Committee Meeting Schedule

Recommendation:

That Council:

1. APPROVES BY ABSOLUTE MAJORITY, in accordance with section 5.8 of the Local Government Act 1995, the establishment of the COVID-19 Relief and Recovery Committee, comprising of 3 persons, to provide oversight of the City’s COVID-19 Relief and Recovery Strategy, provide advice to Council on actions under the strategy and make timely decisions under delegation from Council;

2. ADOPTS the Terms of Reference for the COVID-19 Relief and Recovery Committee as at Attachment 1;

3. APPROVES BY ABSOLUTE MAJORITY, in accordance with section 5.10 of the Local Government Act 1995, the appointment of the following Elected Members to the COVID-19 Relief and Recovery Committee as committee members, effective 31 March 2020;

1. Mayor Emma Cole

2. Cr Gontaszewski

3. Cr Castle

4. APPROVES BY ABSOLUTE MAJORITY, in accordance with section 5.11 of the Local Government Act 1995, the appointment of the following Elected Members to the COVID-19 Relief and Recovery Committee as deputy committee members, effective 31 March 2020;

1. Cr Topelberg

2. Cr Smith

3. Cr Hallett

4. Cr Wallace

5. Cr Loden

6. Cr Fotakis

5. In accordance with sections 5.16 and 5.17 of the Local Government Act 1995, DELEGATES BY ABSOLUTE MAJORITY the following powers and duties to the COVID-19 Relief and Response Committee:

5.1 Power to accept tenders over $250,000 in accordance with section 3.57 of the Local Government Act 1995 and regulation 18 of the Local Government (Functions and General) Regulations 1996;

5.2 Power to dispose of property in accordance with section 3.58 of the Local Government Act 1995;

5.3 Power to waive fees or grant concessions or write-off debts over $5,000 in accordance with section 6.12 of the Local Government Act 1995;

5.4 Power to grant licences under regulation 17 of the Local Government (Uniform Local Provisions) Regulations 1996;

5.5 Power to determine an application for development approval under clause 68 of Schedule 2 of the Planning and Development (Local Planning Scheme) Regulations; subclause 29(2) of the Metropolitan Region Scheme; and subsection 31(2) of the State Administrative Tribunal Act 2004, where that power is not delegated to the Chief Executive Officer; and

5.6 Power to determine applications to amend a development approval previously determined under delegated authority, where that power is not delegated to the Chief Executive Officer.

6. In accordance with regulation 12(1) of the Local Government (Administration) Regulations 1996, PROVIDES local public notice of the dates, times and places of the COVID-19 Relief and Recovery Committee meetings, as at Attachment 2.

Council Decision Item 7.2

Moved: Cr Topelberg, Seconded: Cr Gontaszewski

That the recommendation be adopted.

carried BY ABSOLUTE MAJORITY (9-0)

For: Mayor Cole, Cr Gontaszewski, Cr Castle, Cr Fotakis, Cr Hallett, Cr Loden, Cr Topelberg, Cr Smith and Cr Wallace

Against: Nil

Special Council Meeting Minutes 30 March 2020

8 Closure

There being no further business, the Presiding Member, Mayor Emma Cole, declared the meeting closed at 7.26pm with the following persons present:

PRESENT: Mayor Emma Cole Presiding Member

Cr Susan Gontaszewski South Ward

Cr Alex Castle North Ward

Cr Joanne Fotakis North Ward

Cr Jonathan Hallett South Ward

Cr Dan Loden North Ward

Cr Joshua Topelberg South Ward

Cr Sally Smith North Ward

Cr Ashley Wallace South Ward

IN ATTENDANCE: David MacLennan Chief Executive Officer

Andrew Murphy Executive Director Infrastructure & Environment

John Corbellini Executive Director Strategy & Development

Virginia Miltrup Executive Director Community & Business Services

Meluka Bancroft Executive Manager Corporate Strategy & Governance

John Paton Strategic Advisor

Wendy Barnard Council Liaison Officer

These Minutes were confirmed by the Council as a true and accurate record of the Special Meeting of the Council held on 30 March 2020.

Signed: Mayor Emma Cole

Dated