Council Decided - 6 September 2016

Election of Deputy Mayor

Councillor Roy Bendall was elected as Mosman Council’s Deputy Mayor for the 12-month term to September 2017. Councillor Bendall also served as Mosman‘s Deputy Mayor from 2012-2015, with Councillor Carolyn Corrigan serving as Deputy Mayor in 2015-16.

Resource Recovery Facility – Kimbriki

Council considered a Mayoral Minute regarding the tender process for the proposed Resource Recovery Facility at Kimbriki. Mosman Council is joint shareholder of Kimbriki with the Northern Beaches Council. The debate on this item focussed on concerns over the tender process, which has been formally agreed to by the Northern Beaches Council, issues of transparency and governance in relation to that process, and potential increased costs.

Council resolved that it not agree to proceed to tender for the Resource Recovery Facility at Kimbriki and that the Northern Beaches Council be advised accordingly. Council also resolved to request an immediate and full briefing on the economic and technical modelling for the tender process as well as a detailed report on the benefits and costs of any tenders received, agreeing to only accept a tender if the economic costs and environmental benefits are acceptable to Mosman residents and sit within a suitable risk framework.

Committee Membership

Council had previously resolved to maintain current membership on various Committees and other groups until September 2016 – being the date of the next anticipated local government election. As the NSW Government‘s local government reform process has resulted in the postponement of elections in Mosman until September 2017, Council resolved to extend current membership on Committees and other groups for the remainder of the current term.

Council also resolved to invite independent members of its Audit Committee, Brian Halstead, Kath Roach and Louise Scambler, to extend their appointment to that Committee until 30 September 2017, offering Council‘s thanks for the valuable contributions they have made to the Committee.

Webcasting of Council Meetings

In July 2016 Council resolved to consult the community on amendments to its Code of Meeting Practice to allow the transmission and broadcast of Council meetings via webcast. With the consultation period having been concluded and investigations conducted into appropriate systems, Council resolved to proceed with arrangements for webcasting of Council meetings, including the allocation of relevant funds, system implementation and the necessary amendments to the Code of Meeting Practice. At this stage it is proposed to implement webcasting at the Council meeting of 4 October 2016. Further investigations will also continue regarding ways to improve the ease of access to webcast records and to extend the time webcast records are available.

Financial Statement 2015/16

Council‘s Financial Statement for 2015/16 was tabled. Mayor Peter Abelson congratulated Councillors and staff on the excellent financial management over the past four years which has delivered an operating result turnaround over the period of approximately $4 million. Council‘s Operating Surplus (before capital grants and contributions) at 30 June 2016 was $1.038 million.

Flora and Fauna Survey 2016

Council considered a report on the latest comprehensive Flora and Fauna Survey for Mosman, conducted earlier this year. The last survey of this kind was carried out in 2007. Some of the survey‘s key environmental findings for Mosman included:

• Identification of 490 indigenous native plant species, compared to 454 in 2007
• Confirmation of the presence of bandicoots
• Identification of an additional threatened fauna species in Mosman. The presence of the large-footed myotis, a type of fishing bat, was initially recorded in Sydney Harbour in 2014 and has now been officially recorded in Mosman‘s 2016 Flora and Fauna Survey

Heavy Vehicles on Mosman Roads

In considering a report referred from the July 2016 Traffic Committee regarding heavy vehicles on Council roads, Council noted that it supports the current regime for truck usage in Mosman and resolved to seek a commitment from the State Member for North Shore, the Hon. Jillian Skinner MP that she will also commit to the maintenance of this regime in the suburb of Mosman.

Council also resolved to notify Roads and Maritime Services that it does not consent to the operation of ‘eligible Scheme vehicles’ under the recently announced SPECTS scheme which aims to provide eligible vehicles with improved road network access in return for meeting higher environmental and safety standards. These vehicles include truck and dog combinations (6 and 7 axles), semi-trailers up to 20 metres in length, and concrete agitators.