5 things at Council: Tip odours, property sales and sports development dominates
Will Councillors sell off public assets to pay for the building that shall not be named? Will an athletics track be built in Park Beach? Will I die and be reincarnated as a consultant? Find out all this and more in our council wrap.
Opinion
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Four words. Cultural and Civic Space.
That’s right, headlining tonight’s agenda are a couple of items relating to that green lightning rod of controversy. Given it usually makes for a great meeting and even better social media response, I am excited. Are you?
Deal or no deal?
Council have been trying to consolidate their property portfolio to raise cash for the CCS, expecting approximately $20 million for the combined sales of Rigby House, Castle St, the museum and Rose Avenue. After rejecting a couple of low-ballers, Council have received new and improved offers for the chamber in Castle St and the Museum which come to $8.25 million combined.
Interestingly, Council will then lease the building back for a few years while the finishing touches are put on the CCS. So fingers crossed those construction workers don’t stumble upon a dinosaur skeleton or two.
RAC or no RAC?
Not to be outdone by the CCS, the complex issues surrounding the placement of a Regional Athletics Centre are enough to make anyone question their involvement in government, there really is no easy answer and somebody will likely lose out.
Build at York St and you have a specialist piece of sports infrastructure in a residential area and prime beachside location. Build at Bruce Barnier Oval and you potentially lose sporting events that have been coming to the region for more than 15 years. Build at York St and displace a football club. Build at Bruce Barnier Oval and displace cricket and hockey.
Once again, Coffs Harbour’s geography makes things supremely difficult. Unless of course we are happy to stump up the cash.
Rebate or no rebate?
Here’s something I didn’t know, since 1997 Council has offered pensioner rebates on environmental levy and domestic waste charges. Doesn’t that make retiring at 85 look all the more appealing for Generation Z?
Not only that, Council have to resolve to do it annually, offering them a real Sophie’s choice every year. I can just picture the debate: Do we take a leaf out of the National Party playbook and delight regional pensioners with a rebate? Or, do we endure the ‘Pensioner penny pinch’ headlines, waste this pre-written press release and save the $656,000 for something else? Tough call.
To sniff or not to sniff?
While most people commuting past the Englands Road Waste Facility don’t need to be told to leave their windows up, a report being tabled at Thursday’s meeting examines the extent of the smell in some detail.
Excessive rain and a capping failure have led to a great increase in complaints, prompting councillors to ask for updates on how the smell will be fixed. If you want to jazz up your afternoon ahead of the meeting, read the report in the voice of Patrick Stewart as Jean Luc Picard in Star Trek.
“Captains Log: The site inspection commenced at approximately 3.30pm. There was a light, almost imperceptible, southerly breeze. At the weighbridge, four distinctly different odours could be identified.”
To consult or not to consult?
After reading some of the reports in this week’s agenda, it became clear to me that when I die I would like to be reincarnated as the head of a consultancy firm. Now this is no slight on important work that must be carried out – like finding out if it smells at the tip weighbridge – it's a celebration of the human race’s incredible job-creating ability.
I’m not sure about anyone else, but when Cr Keith Rhoades urged everyone impacted by the potential Regional Athletics Centre to get around one table and sort out their differences, I imagined a few people having a yarn over a cup of tea and some iced vo-vos.
It’s fair to say I wasn’t expecting a near 50-page thriller entitled ‘Regional Athletics Centre Stakeholder Consultation Report’ by Locale Consulting. But weren’t we all pleasantly surprised?