It was the first time the seven relatively new aldermen sat in council chambers, with their mayor Athina Pascoe-Bell at the helm, wondering exactly where they would go.

Pascoe-Bell was an alderman on the previous council, which was wholly sacked by the NT Government in January 2018 following a six month investigation into its “poor governance”.

Investigators were critical over council signing a $13.5 million contract to develop a multistorey carpark without the funds to pay for it and with no “subject to finance” clause.

Pascoe-Bell fought against the carpark contract and reported possible issues of misconduct.

She was the only member of the previous council to be re-elected.

EMBRACING THE COMMUNITY

Engaging with the community and restoring its trust was a big goal council had when they were elected and one council can tick off … just.

Council has made an effort with two meetings in the community — one at Gray Community Hall and one at Mother Teresa Catholic Primary School.

Council has also looked at how they can make the community a friendlier place to be, with the introduction of community gardens and the proposal of a recreational lake from Damian Hale among the big ideas.

“We have got plans for a major community centre in Zuccoli. They’re useful but something like a recreational lake will be a major infrastructural part of the future,” he said.

“At the moment, we could do with having a few ideas around major social infrastructure.

“Obviously, there will be a lot of questions about the make-up of the lake, but at this stage I think it’s important to have discussions with the NT Government …. Hopefully, they’ve got an appetite to investigate the possibility with a community impact statement and environment impact statement.”

While the idea of a lake was deemed to be up to the Government to establish and follow, the initiative from council showed they meant business and will work for the constituents.

Often aldermen, and in particular Sarah Henderson, have come to council with anecdotal evidence of exactly what constituents want and what they are concerned about.

She’s recognised around the community, showing she’s been keeping in touch with her constituents.

Some aldermen on the other hand don’t seem to have a similar connection to the community and in a business where popularity is a key performance indicator, at this rate they may not survive the next election.

THE PINELANDS DEBATE

Council had their largest showing from the community in a December meeting when plans for the proposed new youth detention centre were brought to a meeting.

A rather rowdy contingent of Pinelands business owners turned up in opposition of the plans, threatening to dominate the public forum and run into the meeting.

At the time, MMC owner Owen Pike said local business owners would be fighting as far as they could to ensure the detention centre wouldn’t be built near their businesses.

“The best use of the park is for business like development,” he said.

“We’ve employed a town planner and legal adviser to oppose the DIPL plans to the DCA and we have confidence our position will get up.”

While council listened to the public, they were also aware of the potential benefits such a facility could bring, including a $36 million injection into the local economy.

“These types of facilities, bring economic value in ­regards to people moving and working here,” Hale said.

“Our business community is suffering and only have to walk through and see the amount of empty shops and empty houses … (Palmerston) businesses could be involved in building.”

While council opposed the proposals, they said they were open to a facility being built in the municipality — a strong position to stand with concerned residents but not closing the door completely on future investment.

In the end, the decision was made by the NT Government to withdraw the proposals. Council’s handling of the issue was professional and reflected the will of the community.

PR6JECT

SIX major projects dubbed Pr6ject were announced to lead Palmerston council into the future. Smart technology, a solar farm, and upgrading swimming pool, power saving street lights, a new community hub and a beautification project will be among council’s biggest priorities for the next 10 years.

Palmerston Regional Business Association president Wayne Zerbe said the projects were all positive signs for Palmerston and showed maturity in council’s direction.

“It’s all very, very good, I do believe they are setting their agenda and direction — we must encourage them,” Zerbe said.

“It is ambitious, of course, with these things.

“We’ve got to fund them but I’d rather the council was more ambitious than not.”

At this stage only two of the projects have had significant work undertaken, with the Smart Cities project in the late planning stages.

Smart lighting, increased Wi-Fi and Smart Waste Management are expected to be installed by the end of the financial year.

Palmerston resident Lynne Hurley said the Smart Cities project would hopefully give residents a greater sense of safety in their homes and the Palmerston suburbs.

“I think the more security you offer people can’t be a bad thing — hopefully the CCTV will help to curb some anti-social issues,” she said.

“It’s a tiered process, first of all prevention, working with people at risk, things like introducing CCTV, that’s a start.”

As for the Making the Switch initiative, it has seen a tender announced for the installation of LED lights worth $3 million, with 4700 lights to be replaced starting this month.

Hurley said it was another great idea not just to create efficiencies in implementing efficient light globes but also to providing another level of security service to the community.

“Yes, it’s a really good initiative,” she said. “There’s a lot of dark laneways and areas people can congregate in and I’m sure they aren’t there, planning to help the elderly.”

The remaining projects hav been funded and allocated but many are still a long way off.

ANTI SOCIAL BEHAVIOUR AND LIQUOR

Long has anti-social behaviour been associated with Palmerston but council has been active in trying to remove the trait from their reputation.

A number of instances have seen council put the wishes of the community at the front of mind in a battle against anti-social behaviour including restricting access to alcohol and creating safer spaces in the community, where vigilantes would otherwise loiter. On February 6, a liquor application was brought to council requested the transferral of a liquor license from an old Pinelands business to the Oasis Shopping Centre.

However deputy mayor Sarah Henderson, who also heads the Palmerston Seniors Advisory Group, stood against the application saying Oasis had become a safe place for seniors to shop because it didn’t have a Bottle-o.

“With all the seniors of Palmerston, they were all terrified but somebody said to them ‘go to Oasis at five in the afternoon and you can do your shopping without having drunks fall all over you’ so that’s where they go now … it’s a dream to shop there,” she said. “If you go and put another liquor outlet in there, where are they going to go, they’re all terrified to shop.”

Later that month on February 25, Alderman Tom Lewis took to the streets with a number of Mackillop College students in attempts to remove graffiti.

In council he later lobbied for a graffiti removal trailer to be supplied by council to allow members of the community to remove graffiti in an affordable and accessible manner.

More recently, a laneway trial has been dominating Palmerston’s agenda.

Three laneways were closed off for nine hours every night in a bid to reduce crime, however it came with mixed responses from locals.

“There are people in those communities who might not be affected by the anti-social behaviour but still have a legitimate use of the laneways … walking their kids to school, catching the bus and going to the shops, as well as recreational activities like riding a bike and taking their dog for a walk,” Mayor Athina Pascoe-Bell said as the decision was made to close the laneways for just the night, rather than permanently.

“As a parent I would hate if my kids had to walk an extra kilometre to school because the council decided to close a laneway.”

However Moulden resident Cliff Walton said a laneway bordering his property would be better off permanently closed, with local residents more likely to use other access ways to navigate the neighbourhood.

“Having this partial closure makes no sense to anyone … it’s a waste of money and the worst thing you could possibly do,” he said.

“All of the issues are daytime issues … I think more crime happens in these suburbs during the day and at night-time it moves up to the businesses and industrial areas.”

The laneway trial, which has been in place for only a few weeks, will continue for three months.

CAR PARKING

A decision in 2016 saw parking go up to $1.80 per hour, with a number of CBD businesses suffering.

During the election it was one of the biggest issues, along with regaining community trust, council wanted to deal with.

It saw a number of businesses, including the Palmerston Tavern, take matters into their own hands. The tavern elected to pay for parking for any customers who spent over $15.

Finally, on March 27 council announced 365 car parks would be made free in a bid to increase city centre business and visitation.

Bakewell resident Judith Ritchie was rapt to see free parking come to Palmerston’s city centre and she would be coming more often as a result. “We probably come up here three or four times … so you’re saving $7 or $8 a week,” she said. “We usually park underground, you don’t have to pay under there, so it’s a bit of a handy hint.”

Wayne Zerbe said it was a good move for businesses.

“Anything making it easier for businesses and retailers is a good thing,” Zerbe said.“Obviously, the easier you make it for people to get around the city centre, particularly at this time of year when it’s hot and wet, is a good thing.”

Council is also looking to introduce a parking app to make it easier for residents to park in the city.

THE VERDICT

Slowly but steadily council has begun to move.

While a lot of planning took part in the first six months of council’s term, it wasn’t until the last six months when things started happening. Similarly, council’s voice and debate seemed apprehensive at first but eventually grew.

It’s too early to tell whether this council will have impressed at the end of its term but so far it seems to be doing okay for a bunch of newbies.