CITY of Ballarat councillors have voted to again extend the Art Gallery of Ballarat\u2019s General Service Agreement at their regular meeting held online last Wednesday, 28 July.<\/p>\n
The six-month extension was granted to allow for a governance review into the gallery\u2019s board and foundation to be completed.<\/p>\n
This latest vote comes off the back of a 12-month GSA extension granted by council last year.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
The extended GSA will also be updated to exclude the lease of the cafe, which the City of Ballarat now controls.<\/p>\n
The tender for that space will be awarded this month, after remaining vacant since last year.<\/p>\n
The costs related to extending the GSA will come out of council\u2019s budget.<\/p>\n
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Work starts on new RAP<\/strong><\/p>\n Municipal officers will begin work on the City\u2019s next Reconciliation Action Plan after council endorsed the formal conclusion of the 2019-2021 document.<\/p>\n Twenty-six actions from the previous plan will roll over to the new one, across four focus areas: relationships, respect, opportunities and governance.<\/p>\n A total 75 per cent of the previous Plan\u2019s actions were completed, while 18 per cent are still in progress and seven per cent were not started.<\/p>\n COVID-19 was said to have \u201csome impact\u201d on the Plan\u2019s actions, according to the City.<\/p>\n Council also acknowledged the work of the City\u2019s Koorie Engagement Action Group and others to complete Plan actions.<\/p>\n Cr Belinda Coates said the next document will be an extension of its predecessor.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve got some really great groundwork to build on,\u201d she said. \u201cThe new plan will look at employment strategy, procurement, cultural learning and stakeholder engagement, and look at being a stretch Reconciliation Plan.\u201d<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n Kids have a say<\/strong><\/p>\n The findings of a children\u2019s consultation have been posted on the City\u2019s website, revealing the thoughts and feelings of Ballarat\u2019s young people.<\/p>\n The consultation was conducted last year during Children\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n The 2020 Children\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n Cr Coates said \u201cgenuine\u201d consultation with children was a part of the municipality\u2019s work as a signatory to the Victorian Child Friendly Cities and Communities Charter.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n School gets land<\/strong><\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n The 2117 square metres at 187A Swinglers Road includes two asphalt tennis courts as well as a 13-space car park.<\/p>\n The school has held a license agreement with the City to use the space since 2004, and council\u2019s vote deemed the land surplus to its needs.<\/p>\n Mayor Cr Daniel Moloney said he hoped the Department could use the land \u201cin great ways\u201d for the growing school community.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s a community that\u2019s going to see a bit of growth in coming years as eventually more people start to move out to the north of our city,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen we finish work out in the west, the north is our next growth zone.\u201d<\/p>\n Council did not receive any submissions in response to a public notice of their intention to sell the land.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n ARC gets pay rise<\/strong><\/p>\n Money paid to independent members of the Audit and Risk Committee will increase.<\/p>\n The Committee chair\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n CEO Evan King said the increase to the chair\u2019s remuneration was made to reflect a \u201cfar more significant responsibility\u201d than other members.<\/p>\n The Committee meets four times per year.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Contracts awarded<\/strong><\/p>\n H Troon will complete the gate 1 entry upgrades at Mars Stadium after council awarded them the $1,773,647 contract.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n Those works will mark the completion of stage 2 upgrades at the site, with the entire project funded by the State Government.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n They will also construct new changerooms and amenities, social rooms, a kitchen and public toilets.<\/p>\n The site\u2019s current changerooms do not meet the AFL\u2019s Preferred Facility Guidelines and Cr Peter Eddy said the upgrades will benefit community sporting clubs.<\/p>\n \u201cIt 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,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n