10 big items on the Whitsunday council agenda
A hotel development, climate change adaptation and a hospital bus service are all set to be discussed
Whitsunday
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THE Whitsunday Regional Council will meet for an ordinary meeting in Proserpine today.
Here are 12 interesting things set to be discussed:
Reefo's Resort and the Royal Cannonvale Hotel application
The council will discuss an application for a temporary food and drink outlet in the form of a mobile food vehicle, a tourist park and a hotel earmarked for a vacant lot near Bunnings Warehouse in Airlie Beach.
The site was previously developed for a hotel and short-term accommodation, known as Reefo's Backpackers, which had more than 300 beds and 80 cabins.
The new application to come before the council is for stage two of the development, which will include 25 cabins and the construction of a hotel, which will be known as the Royal Cannonvale Hotel, that includes a bar and bistro, outdoor dining area, TAB, games room and children's playroom.
There is a recommendation for councillors to approve the applications subject to several conditions.
Amendments to the planning scheme
Council officers proposed a change to the planning scheme that would provide a new definition for landscaping works.
The current scheme has no definition for what 'landscaping work' is, which means issues have arisen when work done by developers has not lined up with the infrastructure of the council.
According to the agenda, this creates a "consistency issue" when landscaping works are handed over to the council.
Officers proposed including a new definition in the planning scheme amendments and changes to assessments that would allow the council to apply relevant landscaping standards without development approval.
Hospital bus service
Under the proposal, up to 80 residents from Proserpine and Cannonvale could be driven to their appointments in Mackay every week.
The service would provide door-to-door transport for 16 people a day from Monday to Friday, 8am to 4pm.
If the donation is approved by the council, Mackay Hospital Foundation will contribute $24,716 to the project and maintain the vehicle as well as providing volunteers to help residents.
Collinsville Aerodrome upgrade
The council will discuss an opportunity to apply for funding that will allow upgrades to the Collinsville aerodrome.
Council officers recommended the council apply for $456,500 under the Queensland Government's Remote Airstrip Upgrade Program to upgrade the lighting at the Collinsville aerodrome.
If successful, the council would commit to a co-contribution of $456,500 from the 2021-22 capital works budget or airport reserve.
There is lighting already installed at the Collinsville aerodrome, however the spacing of the lighting infrastructure does not conform to CASA's Manual of Standards.
The existing lighting system is also at end of life and is at risk of operational failure.
Without the lighting upgrades, the council fears there is an increased risk of infrastructure failure, which could reduce aircraft using the aerodrome at night and potentially cause delays for aeromedical retrievals from Collinsville.
Collinsville Community Association
The Collinsville Community Association requested a $2100 donation to help host the Collinsville Lights Up Christmas competition.
The event aims to bring families and the community together to make streets, buildings, houses and trees light up with unique displays over the Christmas period.
The funding will be used to buy prizes for the six categories, including best house and best street.
Whitsunday Community and Education Centre
The Whitsunday Community and Education Centre houses the Art Society, Potters Group and Family History Group and have requested $8300 in funding to help with an upgrade to their facility.
The refurbishment project will include painting the walls and ceiling of the gallery space and installing new floor coverings and blinds.
The space has previously been used for art exhibitions and if successful in the council donation, centre members will contribute $2050 to hang rails and complete a fit-out of the area.
Gloucester Sports and Recreation Association
Gloucester Sports and Recreation Association members submitted an application to the council for $9750 in funding to help install a brick retaining wall.
The retaining wall was part of a previous Works for Queensland project to install additional rainwater tanks for the public toilets and the club house, which has been completed.
However, there was not enough money to complete the wall.
The Gloucester Sports and Recreation Association will contribute $4000 towards the overall project.
Historical society sign upgrade request
The Collinsville Scottville and District Historical Society requested $7046.50 to help upgrade 17 historical signs throughout the Collinsville, Scottville and Mt Coolon districts.
The group argued the upgrades would help preserve the history within the communities and enhance the existing tourist infrastructure.
Society members hoped if successful in the funding, they could develop brochures and a map of the town showing the locations of the signs complete with QR codes.
They also hoped the project would attract more visitors to the region and offer an understanding of the places of historical significance.
Climate change report
The Queensland Government and the Local Government Association Queensland developed the QCoast2100 program to help coastal councils to assess and prepare for climate change and a rising sea level.
The program began in 2016 and is set to finish in April 2021 with $13.234 million committed to help councils to advance coastal hazard adaptation planning.
Whitsunday Regional Council was granted $513,500 in QCoast2100 funding to develop its Resilient Whitsunday: Coastal Hazards and Response project.
As part of the program, a report on the ability to source future funding has been prepared.
There is a recommendation the council receive the report and publish it on its website.
Four other reports were also prepared exploring climate change adaptation options.
As part of the reports, experts from Griffith University reviewed the sea level rise adaptation options and modelled the cost and benefits for Bowen and Wilson Beach.
Councillors will review these reports today.
Corporate plan amendment
The council must adopt its corporate plan with time to allow a budget and annual operational plan to be adopted.
The current plan was adopted during the early phases of the pandemic and originally forecast to carry the council over for another year.
However, changes brought about by COVID-19 mean the council is also reviewing its direction.
Council CEO Rod Ferguson floated two options, the first suggesting the council prepare a further 12-month extension of the current plan under the assumption COVID-19 infections and restrictions are under control in late 2021 and early 2022.
Under this option, the council would go out to the community to begin development of a new plan.
The second option is to prepare a new draft plan at council and officer level now and release a draft in February 2021 to the community through both virtual and limited face-to-face engagement.
Under this option, the council would adopt the new plan in March or April for use in development of the 2021-22 budget.
Mr Ferguson recommended the council "engage a facilitator to spend a day with Council/ELT reviewing the current Corporate Plan (and) assess what is still relevant, what is no longer relevant and what new issues you want included".
From there, he suggested a draft be developed that would then be released for community feedback.
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