MAYOR PATTISON: Alrighty.
Good evening.
I'd like to welcome everyone watching this
Special Council Meeting.
My name is Councillor Liz Pattison and I'm the Mayor of the Surf Coast Shire.
The Surf Coast Shire local government area spans the traditional lands
of the Wadawurrung people, the Gulidjan and Gadubanud peoples of the Maar Nation.
The main Council office is in Torquay on Wadawurrung Country.
The Wadawurrung people have nurtured and protected these lands and waterways
for thousands of generations.
I'm so grateful that we can be here today living and working
in such a beautiful part of the world.
The Surf Coast Shire Council is committed to walking with traditional owners
of these lands on a journey of genuine reconciliation.
Tonight we will be hearing for those who wish to speak
to their written submissions regarding the Draft Budget '23'24.
To facilitate public access, this meeting is being livestreamed and the recording
will be available on Council's website.
If a submitter does not wish to be videorecorded,
it's their responsibility to turn off their video function
and use only the audio.
Live captioning will accompany the livestream.
Councillors are bound by the behaviour and obligations under our Code of Conduct.
Please direct any questions or comments through me as the Chair and I
will endeavour to ensure that everybody has
an opportunity to speak whilst also making sure
we stick to time.
The following procedures will apply during the meeting.
Speakers will be given five minutes to present their submission.
When the timer on the screen reaches 5 minutes,
please stop your presentation.
The timer will turn orange when you have 1 minute
left as a bit of a warning and then red when there's 10 seconds
remaining.
Councillors will then be invited to ask questions directly related
to the submission if needed.
This Special Council Meeting is not a workshop
and it should not be necessary for Officers to be asked to make comment
on the submissions.
However, if there are any questions of Officers, they should be directed
through me as the Chair.
Councillors will not be making any decisions
in relation to what we're hearing tonight and decision making will occur
at a future Council meeting once all relevant information has been
received and reviewed.
I will now recite the pledge.
As Councillors, we carry out our responsibilities with diligence
and integrity and make fair decisions of lasting value for the wellbeing
of our community and environment.
Are there any apologies for this meeting tonight?
Noone has been notified of apologies?
No.
And just in the context of conflicts of interest,
if a Councillor or Officer has a conflict of interest, they need
to declare it now and then again when the matter is discussed.
Does anybody have a conflict of interest?
No?
Now we'll get on to hearing from our submitter.
There were 14 submissions received for our Draft Budget Report
and only one submitter has asked to speak, and that's Annette Dwyer.
Annette, would you be able to come into the meeting and put on your video
and unmute yourself, please.
Can we have Annette Dwyer come into the meeting, please?
Hi, Annette.
If you wanted to turn your video on and unmute yourself, that would be great.
Great.
We can hear you now.
Thanks, Annette.
MS DWYER: I'd just like to thank the Mayor and the other Councillors
for the opportunity to make suggestions as a resident of Surf Coast Shire in terms
of the 2023/2024 budget.
I've been a fulltime resident of Anglesea, Surf Coast, for the last 16 years.
My submission comes in under area 6, which is Council Plan: Arts
and Creativity.
Eleven years ago, the Anglesea Community House Committee
of Management wanted to showcase what was unique
to Anglesea via an artform that could be produced by residents
for visitors that travel through our town via the Great Ocean Road.
Six mosaic artforms were designed and templated
by a professional mosaic artist.
The tiling was completed by residents from school age to seniors.
The project took 18 months to complete.
Funding was primarily from grants both within the Shire and statewide.
Once the sculptures were completed, the brochure produced to allocate and
to explain their importance, they were handed over
to the Surf Coast Shire.
Since then, the artworks have needed minor repairs
and this has been financed by the groups responsible
for the initial work: the Anglesea Men's Shed and one by the Arts Department
of the Surf Coast Shire.
Now the Clydesdale horse and wagon are in need of repair
from constantly being ridden.
On discussion, I have become aware that there
is no official register of artworks in and belonging to the Surf Coast Shire.
This shocked me, as there are amazingly talented people in
all forms of art in our Shire that should be recognised.
Therefore, I am requesting two ideas for consideration
into the 2023/2024 budget.
One: that a register of all artwork belonging
to the Shire be recorded and updated annually; two, that an amount
of money be set aside annually to maintain these artworks.
Any unused funds would roll over to the following year's budget.
The Anglesea Community House believes that this initiative,
where the community work together, is worth preserving
and support this proposal.
Thank you.
MAYOR PATTISON: Thank you very much, Annette, for presenting to us.
Do any Councillors have an question for Annette?
Councillor Hodge?
CR HODGE: Thanks, Annette.
That was a good video of your hat, your nice beanie!
MS DWYER: Oh!
CR HODGE: You've moved the camera now.
Thank you.
The other Councillors might know that Annette
and her husband were Shire People of the Year.
So long ago now, Annette.
That was a fair MS DWYER: Yes, I think it was about 10 years ago.
CR HODGE: Thank you for that.
I think we will take it back to our art expert but it is a good idea
because I know most of us agree with you that our art is really,
really important.
So thank you for giving your time and effort for telling us
and writing in a submission.
Thanks.
MAYOR PATTISON: Thank you.
And Councillor Bodsworth?
CR BODSWORTH: Thanks, Mayor.
Thanks, Annette, for your submission.
I'd just like to ask if you've discussed that with others and,
if so, who around the Shire, both in the Anglesea ward and
in other wards?
MS DWYER: Yes, I've spoken with oh, what's her name?
She's in charge of that she took over from Julie Dwyer.
It's really awful I can't think of her name.
Harriett?
CR BODSWORTH: Harriett, yes.
Discussed it with Harriett?
MS DWYER: Yes, discussed it with her because I thought that was the area that
she would be she's involved with.
And I think she was quite convinced that certainly there should be a register
of all the artwork because it's amazing when you just look up
and see it in the Anglesea shopping centre area, all that beautiful steelwork,
which is just amazing, and I think we just don't want them
to be not in good shape, and I just think this
is one way we can just step ahead.
Maybe in the first case only a small amount of money might be needed,
say, for ongoing maintenance because we're not sure what that will be,
but we can always see at the end of each year how much is needed.
It may only be a small amount but if we get on to it early
because particularly in the example of the Clydesdale horse, I don't believe
they could ever be replaced because the cost would be enormous.
So if we can keep things looking great and minimum repair, that's the way to go.
CR BODSWORTH: Thanks, Annette.
Good on you.
MAYOR PATTISON: Councillor Stapleton, did you have a question?
CR STAPLETON: Thanks, Mayor, and thanks, Annette, for your submission
and suggestion.
I think it's been received very positively , albeit obviously we need
to have our budget discussions.
But my understanding is that the Draft Creative Places Strategy
which I'm not sure if you've had an opportunity to respond
to that, but feedback has now closed on that but I think there
is an allocation or a suggestion in there for an audit of all public art.
So hopefully that part of your suggestion will be realised through the audit
through the Creative Places Strategy that will identify what we have in the Shire,
which I agree with you is really important.
So thank you for that.
MS DWYER: Thank you.
MAYOR PATTISON: That's great.
Well, thank you, Annette.
And you're the only submitter that wanted to speak at our hearing tonight,
so we'll now move on to finalising the Hearing of Submissions.
Do I have a Councillor to move a motion in relation to noting these submissions?
Councillor Hodge, is it as per the recommendation?
And Councillor Stapleton, do you second that?
Thank you.
We'll now put the motion to a vote.
All those in favour?
And the motion is carried unanimously.
Thank you very much and that is the end of our very short Hearing of Submissions
on the '23/'24 Draft Budget.
So there's no further business and I now declare the meeting closed
at 6.13pm.
Thank you very much.
And, Councillors, if you wish, there's the budget debrief
on a different Zoom link which will happen after this,
so if Councillors can hop across to that, that would be wonderful.
And thank you, Annette and anyone else that's listening,
for tuning in tonight.
See you.