Christmas decorations cause divide – City of Ballarat council meeting briefs

THE municipality’s Christmas and Easter decoration style guide was approved by councillors at last week’s ordinary meeting after debate over whether they should contain traditional Christian elements.

The guide provides a framework for officers about the selection, purchase, maintenance, repair, storage and deployment of creative installations.

An alterative motion was introduced by Cr Ted Lapkin on behalf of Cr Damon Saunders who was unable to attend most of the meeting due to personal circumstances.

The motion called for councillors to adopt the style guide and include decorations that celebrate traditional Christian and floral themes.

“I am pleased to join my friend and colleague Cr Damon Saunders in this push to restore the Christian character of what essentially originated as religious holidays,” Cr Lapkin said.

However, Cr Ben Taylor said he felt it was not the role of the municipality’s style guide to specify the inclusion of Christian decorations.

“I think we are jumping the gun a bit, I think we are stepping over the line,” he said.

“Let’s let the churches lead what they see the vision as instead of us going down the path of trying to put something in the centre of Sturt Street.

“The other thing is, what does traditional Christian mean? It opens up a whole lot of questions.”

Mayor Cr Tracey Hargreaves agreed and said she would like to see public consultation surrounding the issue.

“I’m uncomfortable when we as councillors feel like we sort of know what people are going to think or feel,” she said.

The alternative motion was not carried, with Crs Lapkin, Saunders, Samantha McIntosh and Jim Rinaldi voting for and Crs Des Hudson, Hargreaves, Taylor and Jay Morrison voting against.

The original motion which called for councillors to adopt the Christmas and Easter style guide was carried.

 

Road maintenance panel decided

A panel of 14 suppliers have been awarded a road maintenance contract for the next three years.

The panel arrangement aims to prevent suppliers from repetitively submitting similar information for multiple procurements.

After three years there will be an opportunity to extend the contract for a further three years, and after six years, another three years again.

To make changes to the panel, the City of Ballarat will need to go out to tender.

“When I first looked at this, I had some queries on it… but I think it’s great in every sense for everybody involved,” Cr Rinaldi said.

 

Engagement report noted

The annual Community Engagement Report for last financial year was noted by councillors.

During this time, the City of Ballarat had 32 engagement projects which is a decrease of 13 from the previous year.

This is largely due to the caretaker period during last year’s Local Government elections.

Following the election, changes to engagement occurred including the review of the Community Engagement Policy, the introduction of the Let’s Chat Ballarat Expo, the Let’s Chat Councillor Roadshow, additional staff onboarded, and increased face-to-face opportunities.

“The Let’s Chat program was… out of this world in terms of my previous experience,” Cr Des Hudson said.

 

Annual Report provides overview

The Annual Report, which includes the activities, highlights and challenges of the municipality last financial year, was noted by councillors.

Highlights noted during the period include the reopening of Her Majesty’s Theatre, the Bridge Mall redevelopment, the Ballarat Airport runway extension, and the new approach to community engagement.

“It’s set out so our community can really understand the things that council does, because we do have that question quite often,” Cr Hargreaves said.

 

Airport performance update

Councillors were updated on progress at Ballarat Airport with an annual performance report.

This included the 550-metre extension of the runway, although the original 1250-metre runway is noted as being in poor condition.

This may inhibit attracting new businesses or airline passenger services.

The Federal Government will contribute $1.1 million to the $2.3 million project of upgrading the terminal and apron.

A submission has also been made to the Federal Government for funds to upgrade the original, however, the application has not yet been assessed.

A new schedule of fees and charges for airport users and increased property leasing charges based on market valuations have been introduced.

 

Grants report noted

The annual Partnerships and Grants Report for last financial year was noted with information on the municipality’s four grant programs: city partnerships, community impact, tourism events, and creative inspiration grants.

Existing partnerships for the Strategic Partnership Program continue to be funded although no new applications were accepted as it has been discontinued and replaced by the City Partnerships Program.

The funding amount was more than $1.9 million to 72 groups, organisations and individuals.

 

Sebastopol Community Hub named

The new community hub and kindergarten in Sebastopol will be named Vickers Street Community Hub and Vickers Street Kindergarten respectively.

Community engagement undertaken between August and September showed most respondents supported these names.

Objections related to a lack of cultural inclusion or the use of First Nations languages.