community forum notes

Community Forum – Tangambalanga

Mission Statement:

To support and develop a sustainable, thriving and resilient community

through leadership and partnership.

HELD: / 8 March 2016
LOCATION: / Tangambalanga Community Centre
attendEES:
Councillors / Mayor James Trenery, Deputy Mayor Peter Croucher, Cr Barbara Murdoch, Cr Jenny O’Connor, Cr Roberta Horne, Cr Bernard Gaffney, Cr Emmerick Teissl
Officers / CEO Gerry Smith / Director Corporate and Community Services Greg Pinkerton / Director Infrastructure Services Ian Ellett / Manager Planning and Statutory Services Ian Scholes
Manager Communications Roberta Baker
PLEASE NOTE: These notes are not verbatim and some editing has been done for clarity.
Community Participants: / 13
1 / WELCOME / Mayor Cr James Trenery
2 / APOLOGIES / Mark Florence
/ ITEM / ACTION / DONE /
3 / Junior Council presentation
Junior Councillor Eloise Hall, a grade 5 Kiewa Valley Primary School student spoke confidently about her role on Junior Council. Each primary school has one junior councillor and their first junior council meeting was on the bus to Melbourne on the way to the Young Leaders conference recently. Eloise is very excited to be part of Junior Council this year and is looking forward to being an active voice for fellow students and all students in Indigo Shire. She has lived in Tangambalanga for 5 years and has been involved in many community events. The Young Leaders conference she attended in Melbourne focused on various leadership styles. Her favourite speakers were Kate Austin and Dylan Parker. Kate struggled through a difficult early life. One of her initiatives was to assist homeless people. Dylan is a paper plane thrower, and a recent movie is based on him. Through him Eloise learnt you can achieve anything. She was honoured to have such an inspirational time at the conference. She is hoping to make a positive contribution such as providing a voice for all local youth.
4 / Draft Rating Strategy – Greg Pinkerton
Council has rating strategy which is currently under review. State Government has capped rates at 2.5%. The rating determines how rates are allocated across the different categories. Community consultation ongoing at the moment. Get involved and have your say. The Draft is on the website. Some changes are: 1. changing the name of the residential rate to the general rate. 2. Where an accredited retirement village with multiple units, provide their own roads, own lights, etc those properties shouldn’t all be charged the municipal and waste and environment charge. Suggestion is that there be only one charge for the whole site. 3. Change to B&Bs. Small BBs will pay 100% not 120% as now. Key message to get involved and provide feedback by 1 April.
Kel Schofield -rating cap is about total rate revenue?
Greg – average ratepayer will see rates go up 2.5%. This is the first year of rate capping. It is also a re-evaluation year, which is independent of council. This will impact on rates.
5 / Significant Tree Register – Ian Ellett
This is something new. We are in the early stages of establishing a shire-wide significant tree register. Couple of different tree groups in Beechworth - community group and the council-appointed Beechworth Trees Consultative Committee who guide Council on tree matters. Between them there is a real enthusiasm to find a way of protecting our significant trees. Just a handful of councils including Melbourne and Ballarat have similar things. We have developed some criteria which is on our website including location, rare, special, curious growth form, cultural value, etc. Nomination forms on website also, have a look, encourage you to nominate any trees or call us and we can help. No end date.
Cr Peter Croucher – mentioned a tree opposite town sign, and a tree at school, as examples of trees that could be registered.
6 / Coulston Park oval car parking improvements – Ian Ellett
Key work we are doing in this region. $90k in budget this year, follow up to land purchase behind scoreboard, works in recent weeks now nearing an endpoint. Initial plan was to create a car park, but now a road around the oval towards the netball courts after consultation with the Committee of Management.
Jenny Larkin – member of the Committee of Management, thanks to Council for all the work here. Negotiations on adjoining land have been fabulous, opened up that area for us. Looking to erect a 3 bay shed - footy club, Lions and Coulston Park committee. Also received a community grant.
7 / Murravale Development Plan approval, Gentle and Beartooth Estate Plans – Ian Scholes, Manager of Planning
Ian Scholes - passed around a plan showing estate developments, each in different stages. Lots in Beartooth Estate are mostly now sold. First stage application for Gentle Estate, running a couple of months behind Beartooth. These are a long term proposition for Tangambalanga. No real certainty how long it will take to develop the estates. Murravale is a mixture of types of blocks. Gentle Estate is all residential. Would expect the development of these estates to take up to 10 years if not longer
Jenny Larkin – do council impose any financial restrictions on developers to assist with community infrastructure?
Ian Scholes – legislation provides for 5% of the value of subdivision to be paid to Council as open space contribution. Can be cash or land. We required worked on site and immediately around the site. Also negotiated a levy which will be imposed as each block is released, levy on each block to fund road infrastructure upgrades on Kiewa East Road and Kiewa Huon Road.
Jenny – is there additional parkland?
Ian Scholes – not in the larger rural living but in Murravale – each stage has a public open space reserve.
State legislation provides open space to be provided within a certain distance from development. Coulston Park is inside this distance and some contribution towards this central facility could be made.
Kel – which would be developed first, large rural blocks or those facing road?
Ian Scholes – our experience is that rural living blocks are easier to sell.
Aaron Wallace – Emily close area, drainage and flooding problems. All water off 90-house lot site will come and end in one pit. In years to come, Council will have to update this. Already had houses flooded.
Ian – run off has to be held to the pre development rate. Development of the Beartooth estate – won’t make Emily Court problem any worse.
Comment - Beartooth estate - gum trees, wonder why they are starting up where the native trees are?
Ian Scholes – economics of residential development is developers seek to minimise costs by building next to existing infrastructure. They have to submit a native vegetation plan and there are strict state government rules around trees. If they have to remove trees, they have to establish legally protected areas of revegetation. Have to plant sufficient plants to compensate for the loss of the old. One medium tree = 150 seedlings to replace this.
Aaron Wallace - 90 house lots, 2 cars, 180 cars impacting on intersection near school, and school crossing. Can’t see why they don’t come out of Kiewa East road?
Ian Scholes – Council requires a levy on each block as they are created, part of that levy goes to upgrading that road, construction of a roundabout and drainage. $850,000 worth of upgrade proposed for that intersection precisely because of the expected increase of use there. Won’t happen straight away. Current application is for 30 lots. Council will hold money in trust and contribute some money of its own.
Jenny Larkin – are there plans to ashphalt Gentle Road further east to the estate?
Ian – estate designed so houses in residential component will exit on constructed part of Gentle Rd.
8 / Your Say
Rob Jenkins, Yackandandah - Rail trail Beechworth to Huon – bit concerned what side of creek near Yackandandah it will go – Racecourse Road side or Rowdy Flat side. Can’t see why you wouldn’t go on the Rowdy Flat side, all bush, fire risk. We have had five foot of water along the proposed trail near us, it would wash any trail out.
People have been through my property and surveyed it.
CEO Gerry Smith - there has been preliminary work done on routes, but that’s also the subject of more detailed work. Any notion that the route has been marked wouldn’t be something to be too concerned about. Still to be refined. State Government has announced funding to do detailed design around the routes plus a business case. Ultimate costs will be substantial, and will need state and Federal Government funding and community funding. We are not at a point yet where we can say this project can start now. The underpinning work will be done by the end of April. Then look for funding for detailed design after that. It is not about earth moving equipment moving in. There will be detailed consultation with all landowners.
Ian Ellett – in response to a query - Hard waste voucher can be taken to Tallangatta or Wodonga.
we made reciprocal arrangements with Wodonga and Towong for hard waste weekends. Not sure if they have any restrictions on Indigo shire ratepayers without vouchers. Will follow this up.
Cr Peter Croucher – lack of policeman here – not a Council issue but I did ask Council to advocate for our community.
CEO Gerry Smith - we did prepare a letter to District Superintendent for the Mayor’s signature to ask that question.
Merv Fennel – in the special council minutes Cr Gaffney asked question about assessing bridges for funding.
Did this get up to Council?
Mayor – it related to a specific bridge, which was inspected after funding expired, another bridge that qualified for that funding was already being fully funded by Roads to Recovery funding. More of a timing issue. Full inspection of bridges costs a fortune. Would take 4 years to go around all our bridges.
Jenny Larkin – lucky to have Kiewa River. Appreciate work done by Council in trying to acquire land on Kiewa River.
Ian Scholes – we are back discussing possibilities. Ultimately the Gentle Estate will provide access to the river, but that is in the long term.
Merv - In behind cricket ground there is 15 acres used for grazing, it is a continuous course of water and at the moment its flow is intermittent but its flow could be controlled. Could be an outstanding piece of environmental land, could include walks up both sides, all sorts of things.
Cr Jenny O’Connorr – has your committee put forward a project to us?
Merv – that’s my proposition, not many others see my point of view.
Forum closed at 8pm / Mark Greene

Tangambalanga Community Forum 080316 Page 5