Full Council meeting: Jan 27th 2015

Well it's back to business with a very full agenda. Seems like a long time since the caretaker period started in September 2014, meetings since that time have not had very meaty agendas. This meeting was long and complicated and as the Mayor is still on holiday I chaired the meeting. It's a bit stifling not being able to enter the debate.
Items this month included;

• Centennial Park Cemetery Authority Charter; a recent report was commissioned into the functioning of the Board and has made 21 recommendations for change. These include what seem to be quite sensible changes but are also an attempt to reduce the influence of elected members in the Boards decision making. Most were supported  but many changed to allow the majority of Board members to still being the hands of the Councils that own the authority. Decisions on many items were also put off while further information is sought. Mitcham must agree with our position or the matter will bounce back to Council until we can agree. 
• Funding for Eastwood Community Centre: Council currently funds the Eastwood Community Centre to tune of $12,700 a year. This historically has been to offer some support to the centre in recognition of the use that Unley citizens make of centre programmes. However, Burnside Council who usually fund the centre  have decided to cut funding this financial year. This begs the question then as to why Unley should be giving them any money at all? This motion was PASSED and funding will cease at the end of this financial year.
• Changes to Encroachments Policy;This motion attempts to clarify and simplify the current policy and to also include overhanging balconies (as on King William Rd).PASSED
• Final Expert Panel on Planning Reform: This reform as been widely written about in the press and all I can say is that they didn't listen to the people who know the most and I doubt that this is the reform that anyone one wants except the government an developers.PASSED
• Unley Central Development Plan Amendment; This will allow staff to further develop  a plan that would allow for more intense development in and around the Unley Shopping Centre area.PASSED
• Unley Corridor Development 246-252 Unley Rd; This is the first high rise development proposed for Unley Rd, Council has little say in this development as the current government have made themselves the planning authority. PASSED
• Forestville and Everard Park Local Area Traffic Management Study; Unfortunately, I feel there will be very few people in Black Forest  (and maybe Millswood and Clarence Park as well) who read this report and are happy. It does not recommend the removal of the speed cushions in Leah St or to replace the humps in Everard Tce. Instead it recommends a number of options to reduce the diversion of traffic that occurred when these devices were either installed or removed. This was PASSED but only with serious amendment. At least 3 options are to be further developed and then it will go to consultation.
• Appointment of Deputy Mayor; Bob Schnell will be deputy again until Jan 2016. We agreed on one year terms for this position.
• Appointment of Elected Members to Centennial Park Board: Anthony Lapidge and Luke Smolucha will take a place on the Board.
• Appointment of  Development Assessment Panel Members: Robin Sangster, Rufus Salaman and Jennie Boisvert will be on this committee
• Review of Committee Structure; This is to recommend that Council again have 4 Section 41 committees that have independent and elected members. There will an Infrastructure Committee, Development and Strategy Committee, Community and Culture Committee and the Unley Business and Economic Development Committee. Each councillor is on at least one of these committees, chairpersons will be Peter Hughes (Community and Culture), don Palmer (Development and Strategy), Michael Hewitson (Infrastructure) and John Koumi (UBED).
• Nominations-LGA President and Board Members; the Mayor wishes for Council to renominate him for this committee. Council also get to lodge a vote for the LGA President, this time they must come from a  country council.Council nominated the Mayor for this position.
• Nomination-Development Assessment Commission;Don Palmer is again going to have a shot at  this.