Gallery keeps council backing, for now – City of Ballarat council meeting briefs

CITY of Ballarat councillors have voted to again extend the Art Gallery of Ballarat’s General Service Agreement at their regular meeting held online last Wednesday, 28 July.

The six-month extension was granted to allow for a governance review into the gallery’s board and foundation to be completed.

This latest vote comes off the back of a 12-month GSA extension granted by council last year.

The governance review is being conducted by consultancy firm, Positive Solutions, and legal firm, Harwood Andrews, who will present their findings to council this month.

The extended GSA will also be updated to exclude the lease of the cafe, which the City of Ballarat now controls.

The tender for that space will be awarded this month, after remaining vacant since last year.

The costs related to extending the GSA will come out of council’s budget.

 

Work starts on new RAP

Municipal officers will begin work on the City’s next Reconciliation Action Plan after council endorsed the formal conclusion of the 2019-2021 document.

Twenty-six actions from the previous plan will roll over to the new one, across four focus areas: relationships, respect, opportunities and governance.

A total 75 per cent of the previous Plan’s actions were completed, while 18 per cent are still in progress and seven per cent were not started.

COVID-19 was said to have “some impact” on the Plan’s actions, according to the City.

Council also acknowledged the work of the City’s Koorie Engagement Action Group and others to complete Plan actions.

Cr Belinda Coates said the next document will be an extension of its predecessor.

“We’ve got some really great groundwork to build on,” she said. “The new plan will look at employment strategy, procurement, cultural learning and stakeholder engagement, and look at being a stretch Reconciliation Plan.”

 

Kids have a say

The findings of a children’s consultation have been posted on the City’s website, revealing the thoughts and feelings of Ballarat’s young people.

The consultation was conducted last year during Children’s Week, asking those aged three to 13 years old about why adults should listen to them, what makes a good neighbourhood, and why they love the region.

About 150 responses were submitted via the mySay online platform, and the findings were used to inform the draft Community Vision, Council Plan, Municipal Health and Wellbeing Plan and Public Art Policy. The next Municipal Early Years Plan will also draw on the responses.

The 2020 Children’s Consultation Report revealed just over half of the respondents, or 51 per cent, said they had a unique perspective to offer, while 67 per cent said it was important to have friendly people in their community.

Cr Coates said “genuine” consultation with children was a part of the municipality’s work as a signatory to the Victorian Child Friendly Cities and Communities Charter.

 

School gets land

Council voted to sell the unused land adjacent to Invermay Primary School to the Department of Education and Training for a market value of $150,000.

The 2117 square metres at 187A Swinglers Road includes two asphalt tennis courts as well as a 13-space car park.

The school has held a license agreement with the City to use the space since 2004, and council’s vote deemed the land surplus to its needs.

Mayor Cr Daniel Moloney said he hoped the Department could use the land “in great ways” for the growing school community.

“That’s a community that’s going to see a bit of growth in coming years as eventually more people start to move out to the north of our city,” he said.

“When we finish work out in the west, the north is our next growth zone.”

Council did not receive any submissions in response to a public notice of their intention to sell the land.

 

ARC gets pay rise

Money paid to independent members of the Audit and Risk Committee will increase.

The Committee chair’s remuneration was increased by 25 per cent from $800 to $1000 per meeting, while members received a six per cent increase from $800 to $850 per meeting.

CEO Evan King said the increase to the chair’s remuneration was made to reflect a “far more significant responsibility” than other members.

The Committee meets four times per year.

 

Contracts awarded

H Troon will complete the gate 1 entry upgrades at Mars Stadium after council awarded them the $1,773,647 contract.

The company will also see to the construction of a food and beverage zone, behind goal camera platform, and accessible seating upgrades as part of the agreement.

Those works will mark the completion of stage 2 upgrades at the site, with the entire project funded by the State Government.

Meanwhile a $3,559,925 contract was also awarded to CIQ Construction Management to build a range of facilities at Alfredton Recreation Reserve, including the new sports pavilion.

They will also construct new changerooms and amenities, social rooms, a kitchen and public toilets.

The site’s current changerooms do not meet the AFL’s Preferred Facility Guidelines and Cr Peter Eddy said the upgrades will benefit community sporting clubs.

“It certainly helps to replace outdated facilities that have been the subject of probably not being compliant and not being anywhere near adequate for a range of reasons in recent years,” he said.

 

New committee powers

New terms of reference and instruments of delegation have come into effect for the Community Impact Grant Allocations Delegated Committee and the Tourism Events Grant Allocations Delegated Committee.

Both committees were formed after changes were made to the Grants Policy at council’s 23 June meeting, with the CIGA Delegated Committee renamed from the former Grants Allocations Committee.

That renamed committee will oversee Community Impact Grant applications, while the newly formed TEGA Delegated Committee will deal with Tourism Events Grant applications.

Cr Des Hudson the changes were made in line with recommendations from Grants Allocations Committee members.

“In terms of the technical expertise required to assess economic impact, it does sit better with officers and to then report back to councillors,” he said.

He will chair the CIGA Delegated Committee, while Cr Tracey Hargreaves will lead the TEGA Delegated Committee.