Full Council: 10th December 2012

The last meeting for 2012.
The following items were on the Agenda;

• CEO  Recruitment policy;This was adjourned last month. The main changes from the existing are to ensure that as far as practicable the selection committee of 4 plus the Mayor has equal numbers of men and women and at the very least have at least one man and one woman. The panel would have 5 members which is nearly half of members. However, the final decision allowed just enough wriggle room to enable Councillors to choose an all male(or all female) panel if they wish. After all, according to the debate, some women are incompetent (despite being elected) and should not be on a Panel !!!
• 671 South Rd, Black Forest; This was also adjourned last month.The motion passed in an attempt to ensure the annexed Council land at the location is rented for a fair price rather than for free as is the current arrangement.
• Conservation Grants; Over$182,000 of project applications were received. Council budgets $50,000 each year or this initiative. After extensive review the staff have recommended $38,000 worth of grants to eligible homes. Only one application was from Goodwood South and this has been recommended for refusal. Staff will address the flaw in the policy that does not allow for retrospective tree pruning. Passed.
• Goowood Community Garden; A signing of a Memorandum of Agreement with The Education Dept will allow this project to proceed further. Passed.
• 39 Oxford Tce-Lease Options; This report attempted to justify why the Unley Community Sports Club  (Sturt)should pay as little as $12,000 per annum to lease a lesser portion than the currently do at Jack's Bar. The independent assessed rental is $45,275 and the current rental $30,000. I'm going to find it hard to support this one?While I did not support this most of my colleagues did. The missing $100,000 in revenue is unlikely to ever be realised, that which can be will be the subject of a further report but not until April. Passed.
• Road Closures- for street parties;There have been recent questions asked by persons wishing to have street parties or other similar events. The current hurdles put in place are now so complex (think risk management) that most people decide not to proceed. In the old days we simply lined up the rubbish bins and blocked off part of the street for an hour or two without Council consent. A propose structure to do this will make the process easier and Council will carry some of the costs. Given the few number of requests each year this is unlikely to be a huge financial burden. Then again if you live on Goodwood Rd your application is not likely to be approved.
• DAP Delegations; These are set to be simplified to reduce the workload of the Development Assessment Panel. Public notification will still occur and unresolved representations will still be heard by the DAP.
• Leah St Speed Cushions; I  put a Motion On Notice for these to be reviewed and data collected as to their effectiveness. There is widespread community concern that the timing for the installation of these was flawed and that public notification did not occur over a wide enough area. Council will hear a Deputation from one very concerned resident. The debate on this was lively and the deputation excellent.Passed.
• Road Rule198; Motion for the Local Government Association endorsement; This affects the rules regarding parking in front of your own driveway in some circumstances. Passed
• Disposal of Stormwater; This would be an amendment to our current Development Plan to have more stringent rules around the disposal of stormwater on site.Passed.
• Australia Day Awards; CONFIDENTIAL
• East Waste Kerbside Waste Contract; CONFIDENTIAL

The full agenda can be found at;
http://www.unley.sa.gov.au/webdata/resources/files/Council%20Agenda%20December%202012.pdf