Agenda of Infrastructure Policy Committee

Infrastructure Policy Committee 6 December 2016

2.1 Current Works

TRIM REFERENCE: 2016/2809

AUTHOR: Chris Devitt, Director Technical Services

EXECUTIVE Summary

The purpose of this report is to update Council on construction and maintenance works which have been carried out since the last current works report to Council.

Link To Delivery/OPerational Plan

The recommendation in this report relates to the Delivery/Operational Plan strategy “14.1 Our Environment – Design and construct new infrastructure assets as specified with the Asset Management Plan to agreed levels of service”.

Financial Implications

Council has been advised that as a council included in the NSW Government’s merger proposals under consideration by the Office of Local Government since referral on 6 January 2016, Council must comply with the merger proposal period guidelines issued under S23A of the Local Government Act 1993.

The guidelines instruct Council it should expend money in accordance with the detailed budget adopted for the purposes of implementing the Delivery/Operational Plan for the 2015/16 year.

Any expenditure outside the adopted budget requires the identification of clear and compelling grounds and must be approved by Council at a meeting that is open to the public. The guidelines indicate the resolution of Council for increased expenditure must specify the reasons why the expenditure is required and warranted.

If increased expenditure is greater than $250,000 or 1% of the Council’s revenue from rates in the preceding year, whichever is the greater, Council is required to exhibit the increase to the budget and consider comments received.

Council must also avoid entering into contracts or undertakings where expenditure or revenue is greater than $250,000 or 1% of the Council’s revenue from rates in the preceding year, whichever is the greater, unless the contract or undertaking is as a result of a decision or procurement process commenced prior to the merger proposal period or where entering into a contract or undertaking is reasonably necessary for the purposes of meeting the ongoing service delivery commitments of the Council or was previously approved in the Council’s Delivery/Operational Plan.

Policy and Governance Implications

Nil

Recommendation

That the information provided in the report on Current Works be acknowledged.

further considerations

Consideration has been given to the recommendation’s impact on Council’s service delivery; image and reputation; political; environmental; health and safety; employees; stakeholders and project management; and no further implications or risks have been identified.

SUPPORTING INFORMATION

ROADWORKS

Road Maintenance

Whilst continuing with routine pothole patching works, maintenance crews have begun to address some areas of ongoing concern with more durable treatments including hot mix and gravel patching works. Examples include:

· Ploughman’s Lane near the Escort Way

· Isaac Drive near Stirling Avenue

· The roundabout at Anson and Phillip Street

· A section of Dean Drive

· Linda Crescent

Road Resealing

Road resealing is booked with Council’s contractor to commence in December. Streets to be treated include:

· Matthews Avenue

· Laurel Avenue

· Banjo Patterson Way

· Edward Street

· Churchill Avenue

· March Street

· Lone Pine Avenue (2 sections)

· Bletchington Street

· Hill Street (2 sections)

· Gardiner Road

· Anson Street

· Forest Road (4 sections)

Some sections identified for reseals have had heavy patching work undertaken to address defects in advance of the programmed works.

Road Rehabilitation

With regard to our road rehabilitation and heavy patching, works have been undertaken and sealed on:

· Paling Street

· Austin Street

· Summer Street East

· Winter Street

· Ophir Road

· Endeavour Avenue

· Gardiner Road

· Anson Street

· Hill Street (2 sections).

Road Upgrading

Clergate Road

Tenders have been received for the reconstruction and widening of Clergate Road. It is anticipated that Council will award the contract in December with works to commence in January 2017.

Burrendong Way

Tenders have been advertised for the reconstruction of Burrendong Way north of the Northern Distributor Road (NDR) to the recently upgraded section. It is anticipated that Council will award this contract in December.

Bloomfield’s Internal Roads

Works are continuing on the upgrading of sections of the Bloomfields internal road network by Council crews. Trial sections of kerb mix to suit heritage colour and texture requirements were tested in the works depot yard to ensure compliance in the field.

New Works

Waratahs Link Road

Works are continuing with Council’s contractor progressing well at the western end of the job site. Some additional works have been identified to address soft spots on the eastern end but it is not anticipated that this will overly delay the roadworks component of the project which is expected to be completed in January 2017.

CONCRETE AND DRAINAGE

Maintenance

Kerb and Gutter

Restoration of road and hotmix footpath was completed adjacent to kerb and gutter repairs in Lords Place.

Traffic Facilities

Works began on the first of Council’s National Blackspot funded works at the intersection of March and Sale Streets with the pouring of the pedestrian blister islands.

Drainage

Spraying of cumbungi and blackberry was undertaken in advance of open drain clearing activities between Kearneys Drive and Matthews Avenue.

WATER MAINTENANCE

New Water Services

· 16 Connemara Drive

· 14 Connemara Drive

· Mitchell Highway sewer pump station

· 3 Glasson Drive

· 5 Glasson Drive

· Lot 101 Glasson Drive

· Lot 102 Glasson Drive

· Lot 103 Glasson Drive

· 64 Phillip Street

Water Service Renewal

· 35 Gardiner Road - 20mm renewal

Construction

· Renewal of the Nile Street water main is continuing with two blocks complete and works programmed for the remaining two blocks.

· New water services to the blisters being installed at Sale and March Streets

· Council is undertaking an active hydrant and valve maintenance program with a focus on South East Orange. These works have allowed easier access to the hydrants and Valves within the area.

Category	July 2015 – June 2016	October 2016
Leaking meters	515	16
Faulty meters (incorrect readings)	216	0
No supply	45	0
Water pressure complaints	26	0
Meter box/lid replacements	105	6
Water quality	32	2
Service break	8	1
Service leak	62	3
Main break	92	4
Main leak	231	21
Valve leak	14	1
Hydrant leak	52	4
Total Water Requests	1398	58

WATER STORAGE

Water Storage Levels

Location	Date	Level Below Spillway (mm)	% of Capacity
Suma Park Dam	21 November 2016	36	99.68%
Spring Creek Dam	21 November 2016	0	100.0%
Gosling Creek Dam	21 November 2016	41	98.80%
Lake Canobolas	21 November 2016	0	100.0%

Water Quality

Water samples are collected as a component of the Orange City Council’s Drinking Water Quality Monitoring Program which forms part of the NSW Health requirements. Samples are collected regularly and sent to a National Association of Testing Authorities (NATA) accredited laboratory for analysis. Samples analysed between 1 October (as last reported to Council) and the end of October 2016 complied with the Australian Drinking Water Guidelines, 2011.

The final “filter to waste valve” on the eight standard filters at the Icely Road Water Filtration Plant has now been installed, enabling greater control over the backwash process. This further enhances the city’s water quality, particularly during turbidity increases in Suma Park Dam following rainfall events.

Water Consumption

Average daily water consumption during the week ending 17 November 2016 was 192 litres per person per day.

SEWER MAINTENANCE

Category	July 2015 – June 2016	October 2016
Sewer blockages	357	34
Odour	9	1
Overflows	196	17
Total Sewer Requests	562	52

Construction

· 45 Molloy Drive - new sewer junction

· 3 Glasson Drive - new sewer junction

· 5 Glasson Drive - new sewer junction

· Works are commencing on the renewal of five sewer vents across orange. This work is expected to be completed by February 2017.

· Works on Council’s sewer rehabilitation program are set to commence in January 2017. These works are expected to be complete by May 2017.

EAST ORANGE CHANNEL – BYNG STREET TO MCLACHLAN STREET

The contractor on this work has completed 30m of base slab and 12m of walls and is currently forming up for the next 18m section of walls. Several discussions have been held with the contractor to discuss the slow progress on this work which is now unlikely to be completed within the allocated time for this contract.

NEW EMERGENCY HELICOPTER HANGAR

The project is 95% complete. A final project team meeting and facility hand over inspection will be undertaken with Toll on 28 and 29 November. The carpark is being finalised and finishing touches applied to the building.

Completion is within the NSW Ambulance and TOLL Lease requirements of February 2017. TOLL may seek early access to the building to assist with facilitating the transition with the current retrieval service.

The project is currently meeting its budget, quality and time requirements.

OLD HOSPITAL demolition

The demolition tender is currently out with four pre-approved tenderers. The mandatory site meeting has been completed and additional site visits undertaken by various demolition subcontractors. Council’s Major Projects Team are managing the tender process and reporting through the Project Committee including Health Infrastructure representatives.

To date nothing unexpected has been encountered, however the scale of the project may test the preliminary Health Infrastructure budgets. Tenders close on Friday 2 December.

250 PEISLEY STREET DEMOLITION

The demolition preparation works have commenced by Forefront Services. The internal minor items have been removed and asbestos removal is scheduled for this week.

Approvals have been provided by Essential Energy for high voltage electrical shut down in the area. Approval is still being sought for rail corridor access to erect a temporary security fence. The approval process has taken three months to date.

With approvals in place and the asbestos removed the process is to remove the shed sheeting, then the steel frame structure prior to Christmas. The concrete floor will be removed in the New Year and the significant timber sub floor will be taken and stored at the works depot for future sale. The site will then be cleared including monitoring and validation clearance of potential contamination. The works should be completed by March 2017.

NARRAMBLA STAGE 8

The contractor for this project recommenced works on site on Tuesday 15 November 2016 and is hauling material to the western face of the Resource Recovery Centre to provide the capping layer to that area. It is expected that the majority of these works will be completed prior to Christmas.

CENTRAL TABLELANDS REGIONAL WATER SECURITY PROJECT – Orange To Carcoar Pipeline

Orange City Council is continuing the development of the Central Tablelands Regional Water Security Pipeline Project from Orange to Carcoar. This project is funded under the Restart NSW Water Security for Regions Program to improve water access and security in the areas serviced by Orange City Council (OCC) and Central Tablelands Water (CTW).

Cabonne Council is also developing a pipeline project under the same Restart funding program, and to achieve economies of scale it has been agreed to work with Cabonne and submit concurrent tenders. The tender for the Orange to Carcoar Project has been awarded to Leed Engineering and Constructions. The tender for the Cabonne project has closed and will be awarded in November 2016 with construction for both projects proposed to commence early 2017.

Orange City Council and Central Tablelands Water are continuing consultation with their respective affected landowners in relation to acquiring easements which includes access agreements, acquisition of easements and rehabilitation plans.

This project is within budget and on track to meet the completion date of December 2018.

Aquatic Centre Attendance

	August 2016	September 2016	October 2016
Adult	547	846	913
Concession	314	392	604
Child	470	983	1,511
Child Under 5	205	338	463
Family	29	73	182
School	0	5	450
Swipe Entries	2,356	2,529	2,733
Adult Multi Pass	40	43	38
Child/Concession Multi Pass	47	43	54
Carnival Spectators	0	0	0
Fitness Passport	1,484	1,721	2,767
Shower	4	10	8
Non Swimmers	0	231	172
Aqua Aerobics	48	55	61
Super Pass	0	0	0
Total	5,544	7,269	9,956

AIRPORT PASSENGER NUMBERS

Passenger numbers for October 2016 were 4,803 compared with 4,498 during the same month in 2015.

ENERGY USE

The following information is sourced from E21, Council’s energy software.

20 November 2016

Infrastructure Policy Committee 6 December 2016

2.2 Airport Initiatives

TRIM REFERENCE: 2016/2836

AUTHOR: Chris Devitt, Director Technical Services

EXECUTIVE Summary

The capital investment at the Orange Airport in recent years has resulted in significantly improved facilities for operators, pilots and passengers. As well, these works have created the opportunity to utilise this improved infrastructure to actively increase the level of aviation activity at the airport. In order to achieve the full potential at the airport, Council should pro-actively explore new means of encouraging aviation related activity at the airport to provide further service improvements and increase overall utilisation by passengers, commercial operators and general aviation pilots. The development of Council owned hangars for commercial lease as land and hangar packages, the provision of paid secure parking and a more flexible approach to landing fees and passenger charges to attract new operators and services to the airport, are three key initiatives which could enhance the overall functionality of the airport, increase utilisation and improve the long term viability of this key regional facility.

Link To Delivery/OPerational Plan

The recommendation in this report relates to the Delivery/Operational Plan strategy “11.4 Our Economy – Ensure the commercial facilities, programs and activities provided by Council enhance the economic base of the City and are effectively and efficiently managed”.

Financial Implications

The guidelines instruct Council it should expend money in accordance with the detailed budget adopted for the purposes of implementing the Delivery/Operational Plan for the 2015/16 year.

Implications in this report

The current Capital Works program for the airport is being reviewed in light of recent funding grant of $1,460,000 being received for the resurfacing of the runway and rehabilitation of taxi-way “bravo.” In undertaking this review opportunities to fund capital projects which create an ongoing income stream at the airport need to be considered as a priority.

The recommendation includes the direction of the remaining $85K in the Jobs Creation program budget to the incentives required to implement the development of a new service from the Orange airport in 2016/17. The Jobs Creation funds would revert to other sectors support in the 2017/18 year.

Policy and Governance Implications

Nil

Recommendation

1 That Council commit to actively promoting improved service levels and increased aviation activity at the Orange Airport through a detailed assessment of the demand for:

a Provision of a secure paid parking area at the Orange Airport

b Construction of hangars by Council at the Orange Airport for commercial lease as land/hangar packages

with the aim of developing detailed business cases and identifying capital funding options within current or future Delivery Plans to develop these opportunities.

2 That Council note that where new aviation related activities at Orange Airport which create new jobs through the provision of new services and business opportunities be based on an agreement negotiated by the General Manager with any revenue shortfall to be funded from the Jobs Creation Program budget in 2016/17.

3 That Council consider amending the fees and charges in 2017/18 to include the ability to negotiate commercial agreements at the Airport for new operators.

further considerations

SUPPORTING INFORMATION

Council has invested significant funds in recent years to upgrade the Orange Airport and provide improved facilities for users. This has resulted in increased activity on the airport, including the construction of the new $3M NSW Ambulance Aero-Medical retrieval service base nearing completion, new aviation fuel facilities proposed as well as a number of enquiries for new hangars on the airport.

In order to capitalise on these opportunities, as well as look to develop further activity, it is proposed that Council take a more pro-active approach to promoting the airport through a number of key initiatives. These would include:

· Council constructing new hangars on the airport for long term lease to General Aviation pilots or commercial aviation operators.

There has been ongoing interest from a number of operators for the provision of new hangars at the airport. In consultation with airport users, it has been further identified that, as Council owns the land at the airport, if Council were to take a pro-active role in offering to also build hangars for commercial lease, this would facilitate a greater level of uptake of hangar usage.

Council is more able to take a long term approach to hangar development than individual operators who are often reluctant to take on the commercial risk of constructing hangars on land they do not own. As well, hangar ownership creates an additional up-front cost burden on businesses looking to establish at the airport.

If Council can offer a ready-built solution through the provision of hangars, this would facilitate the establishment of new enterprises, as well as giving Council a long term income stream to assist with the ongoing operation and development of the airport. Prior to committing to building any hangars Council should, wherever possible, seek to establish binding lease agreements with potential tenants as well as undertake an appropriate level of commercial risk assessment and the development of a sound business case before embarking on any hangar construction. However this initiative would allow Council to become a significant initiator of development activity at the airport, meeting the needs of both current and future pilots and commercial operators.

· Assessing the demand for the provision of paid secure parking at the airport.

The majority of larger regional airports, such as Dubbo and Tamworth, offer secure long-term parking areas for customers. Council sought funding for such a facility in a recent Tourism funding program focussed on increasing passenger numbers in regional NSW, but was unsuccessful, however the need still exists.

A secure paid carpark would meet the needs of a wide range of users, especially business passengers and those who currently have to leave vehicles at the airport for extended periods.

As well, an additional carpark area would help relieve the congestion at the existing carpark.

Such a facility would provide a higher level of service to airport users therefore justifying a user-pays parking fee, which should be kept at a modest level to encourage usage whilst covering appropriate costs of the facility.

· Consideration of jobs creation impacts of new businesses at the airport

It is recommended to Council that a provision for the General Manager to be able to negotiate individual commercial agreements with prospective new operators at the airport in regard to landing fees or passenger charges on the basis that these businesses create jobs growth either through the establishment of new commercial operations on the airport or associated with the development of new passenger routes be created.

A number of councils (e.g. Armidale and Coffs Harbour) include in their fees and charges a line that enables negotiation of commercial agreements at their airports be entered into. This approach can be considered when the new fees and charges are proposed for 2017/18.

There have been a number of new air routes established in NSW in the past 12 months or so, with many of these, such as the Dubbo to Brisbane service, bypassing the traditional focus on Sydney airport and enabling new opportunities to be explored. Council needs to try and build on these opportunities and send a strong signal to the aviation industry that Orange is very interested in pursuing new routes to/from Orange. Similarly there is potential for new commercial businesses to establish at the airport, bringing new job opportunities as well as increased aviation activity.

Given the commercial risks associated with establishing new aviation routes or businesses, Council should utilise the existing jobs creation strategy to specifically target opportunities at the airport. This would enable the General Manager, under his existing delegations, to being able to respond to such opportunities and, based on the new jobs created, negotiate specific commercial agreements in regard to landing fees and/or passenger charges. A similar approach has been taken by a number of other regional councils, such as Tamworth and Coffs Harbour, which have been successful in attracting new operators to their airports. This approach needs to be viewed as a medium to long term investment in the airport, with little up-front risk to Council. However, the potential for sustained jobs growth associated with a higher level of aviation-related activity, plus the resulting increase in income for the airport in the longer term, ensures that this investment delivers an ongoing benefit to Council and the broader regional community through sustained economic activity.

These proposed initiatives provide a range of short to long term means of maintaining and improving the long term financial viability of the Orange Airport. As is currently the case, all funds generated by these activities will be returned to the airport to meet ongoing operational needs as well as future capital expenditure on key areas, such as additional aviation parking areas, new hangar reserves, extended taxi-ways and further improvements in and around the terminal building.