October Council Meeting news bites

Published on 04 October 2021

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Northern Grampians Shire Council held a scheduled council meeting on Monday, 4 October 2021 via Teams at 12:30pm and resolved a number of matters including:

Walkers Lake Advisory Group

Council resolved to appoint members to the Walkers Lake Advisory Group to fill current vacancies. The advisory group was established by Council in 2014 to assist with the management of Walkers Lake, a natural resource near St Arnaud. Community members sit on the advisory group for a term of four years.

The advisory group reviewed the applicants who responded to the call for expressions of interest in North Central News and NGSC social media and recommended to Council to appoint Carol Campbell, Debra Meagher, Haviva Perkal and Russell Steel as incoming committee members. Council also appointed Andrew Borg, Facilitator of Buloke and Northern Grampians Landcare Network, as the Landcare representative.

Council thanked the outgoing members of the advisory group for their contribution to the management of Walkers Lake.

Audio-Visual Recording Policy

Council resolved to adopt the Audio-Visual Recording Policy. This document aligns with Council’s Governance Rules 2020 and sets out a framework for live streaming and audio-visual recording of public council meetings. The recording of council meetings also aims to improve transparency and accessibility and increase public trust in Council decision-making.

The policy outlines how Council will use available technology and systems to allow the community to interact with council meetings and implications regarding privacy, recordkeeping compliance, equality and inclusion and have been included.

Public Question Time

Several members of the public participated in Public Question Time.  The participants expressed their concerns regarding recent rate notices and the current property valuation and posed questions about the rating system.

Outcomes of Closed Council Section

Council discussed five items in camera. Two of these items related to contract extensions regarding cleaning services and banking and one related to a tender for replacing some of Council’s plant. Council has resolved to undertake the Grampians Gate Caravan Park amenities block upgrade using its own in-house depot staff and contracted panel contractors instead of appointing a tenderer and a tenderer has been appointed to carry out the Great Western Oval sports lighting.

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