Agenda of Environmental Sustainability Policy Committee

Environmental Sustainability Policy Committee 4 June 2019

2.1 Minutes of the Tidy Towns Community Committee - 1 May 2019

RECORD NUMBER: 2019/1013

AUTHOR: David Waddell, Acting General Manager

EXECUTIVE Summary

The Tidy Towns Community Committee met on 1 May 2019 and the recommendations from that meeting are presented to the Environmental Sustainability Policy Committee for adoption.

Link To Delivery/OPerational Plan

The recommendation in this report relates to the Delivery/Operational Plan strategy “8.2 Preserve - Develop and promote initiatives to reduce water, energy and waste in consultation with the community”.

Financial Implications

Nil

Policy and Governance Implications

Nil

Recommendation

That Council resolves to acknowledge the reports presented to the Tidy Towns Community Committee at its meeting held on 1 May 2019.

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.

Attachments

1 Minutes of the Meeting of the Tidy Towns Community Committee held on 1 May 2019

2 Agenda Tidy Towns Community Committee 1 May 2019, D19/29636 ⇩

ORANGE CITY COUNCIL

MINUTES OF THE

Tidy Towns Community Committee

HELD IN Committee Room 3, Civic Centre, Byng Street, Orange

ON 1 May 2019

COMMENCING AT 12.00pm

1 Introduction

Attendance

Cr K Duffy (Chairperson), Cr J McRae, Mr C Gryllis, Mr F Maw, Mr T Rodd, Ms W Fisher, Ms K Willoughby, Tidy Towns Coordinator

1.1 Apologies and Leave of Absence

RECOMMENDATION Mr F Maw/Cr J McRae

That the apologies be accepted from Mr T Smith, Ms A Banks (OAM) for the Tidy Towns Community Committee meeting on 1 May 2019.

1.2 Acknowledgement of Country

1.3 Declaration of pecuniary interests, significant non-pecuniary interests and less than significant non-pecuniary interests

2 Previous Minutes

RECOMMENDATION Ms W Fisher/Ms K Willoughby

That the Minutes of the Meeting of the Tidy Towns Community Committee held on 10 October 2018 (copies of which were circulated to all members) be and are hereby confirmed as a true and accurate record of the proceedings of the Tidy Towns Community Committee meeting held on 10 October 2018.

3 Presentations

3.1 Clean Up Australia Day Overview

TRIM Reference: 2019/748

· Elephant/Moulder Parks: 43 participants with approximately 20 bags of rubbish collected as well as tyres and shopping trolleys.

· Clifton Grove: 12 participants with 10 bags of rubbish collected as well as 3 old tyres.

· Rotary Park: 6 participants with 10 bags of rubbish collected.

· Hill Park: 8 participants with 6 bags of rubbish collected.

· Cr Joanne McRae commented that Moulder Park looked fantastic after the event.

· The local Cubs and Scouts also participated in post Clean Up Australia Day, (CUAD) activities targeting Lake Canobolas, Gosling Creek and Pinnacle Reserve.

· Both the Mayor and Deputy Mayor attended Orange High School and presented 10 students who participated in CUAD with certificates of appreciation.

· In regards to the 2020 event the committee would like to see more media leading up to the event including both the CWD and Orange Life and social media. The electronic sign board in the Visitors Centre was also mentioned as a tool to promote the event as well as posters in locations throughout the City.

· Some vacant shops in the CBD detracted from the general appearance of the main street but Committee members acknowledged Orange is a wonderful place to live and the whole community needs to be vigilant in keeping the City looking its best.

RECOMMENDATION Mr C Gryllis/Mr T Rodd

That this committee endorses the Clean Up Australia Day presentation as given by the Tidy Towns Coordinator.

3.2 Tidy Towns Awards for 2019

TRIM Reference: 2019/749

· The committee agreed a media release needs to go out to make all the local community and organisations aware of the upcoming Tidy Towns awards and promote the Tidy Towns concept as well as emailing all the local schools informing them of the various project categories.

Several possible projects were mentioned including:

· OCC program to clean up building sites

· Calare School’s paddock to plate

· Ex-Servicemen’s Club sustainability program

· Community recycling projects

· Carrington Hotel

Some future projects were mentioned including:

· Live Christmas hire

· Purchase and refill your own coffee cup

· Bio-composting toilets

· Providing washable clothes/nappy bags at childcare centres rather than plastic bags

· Nature kids programs

Kate mentioned an innovative recycling program run by Terracycle where non-recycable products such as toothbrushes can be collected and turned into raw material to be used in new products. Bins for specific items, (pens, binders, toothpaste tubes etc) can be purchased and placed in various locations. Once the bins are full they can be sent back to the provider at no cost, (cost is part of the purchase price).

RECOMMENDATION Mr T Rodd/Mr F Maw

That this committee endorses the Tidy Towns Awards as given by the Tidy Towns Coordinator.

3.3 Roadside Litter

TRIM Reference: 2019/751

· The issue of roadside litter remains a problem purely due to safety concerns and WHS restrictions.

· It was agreed to have Orange City Council staff approach the Roads and Maritime Services to provide funding for roadside litter collection especially along high usage roads including the NDR. Litter collection on any road does require traffic control which is expensive but essential.

· Cr McRae mentioned the EPA’s dob in a litterer program, (Don’t be a Tosser) which she has utilised in the past. This program could be encouraged throughout the local community. It is relatively straightforward to use. You can report online or manually.

· Fred had the idea of placing signs in willing businesses who provide food and drinks to promote the thoughtful disposal of litter.

· Tamworth Council have implemented a “look after your local road” program which from all accounts has had reasonable success.

· Wangarang have formed valuable partnerships with organisations including OCC and the Ex-Servicemen’s Club relating to waste management and recycling and perhaps need to be recognised for these important activities.

RECOMMENDATION Cr J McRae/Mr T Rodd

That this committee endorses the Roadside Litter presentation as given by the Tidy Towns Coordinator.

Other Item:

CERTIFICATE OF APPRECIATION

A certificate of Appreciation to be awarded to Canobolas Caravan and Marine for refurbishing the old Shell Service Station site on Bathurst Road.

The Meeting Closed at 1.07pm

Environmental Sustainability Policy Committee 4 June 2019

3 General Reports

3.1 Southern Lights

RECORD NUMBER: 2019/955

AUTHOR: David Waddell, Acting General Manager

EXECUTIVE Summary

This report seeks to provide advice to Council on the status of the Southern Lights project and to gain in principle support for funding negotiations through the Joint Organisation.

Link To Delivery/OPerational Plan

The recommendation in this report relates to the Delivery/Operational Plan strategy “7.2 Preserve - Ensure best practice use of renewable energy options for Council and community projects”.

Financial Implications

Nil

Policy and Governance Implications

Nil

Recommendation

That Council resolves to:

1 Note the report on the Southern Lights Project;

2 Provide, in principle, support for Central NSW Joint Organisation in seeking funding to progress the replacement of Council’s existing street lights with smart-enabled LED lighting; and

3 Monitor the timeframe from Essential Energy for the Bulk Lamp Replacement for street lights.

further considerations

SUPPORTING INFORMATION

As a member of the Central NSW Joint Organisation (CNSWJO), Council has been party to a collaboration across Southern NSW called Southern Lights. Southern Lights is an ambitious project that aims to replace over 75,000 street lights across southern NSW with smart enabled LED lighting. Stretching from Bega to Broken Hill the project encompasses 41 LGAs and will service a population of over one million people. Attached is an information flyer on the project or more information can be found at www.southernlightsnsw.org.au

The Southern Lights Group of Councils (the Group) represented by Riverina Eastern Regional Organisation of Councils (REROC), the Riverina and Murray Joint Organisation (RAMJO), Central NSW Joint Organisation (CNSWJO), Canberra Region Joint Organisation (CRJO), Broken Hill City Council (who are part of the Far West JO) and a highly experienced and qualified consultant, Next Energy, has worked closely with Essential Energy to prepare a robust Southern Lights Business Case.

This Business Case was provided to the NSW Government in October 2018, with the aim of securing $61.4M in funding towards the total $71.2M cost of deployment. The Southern Lights Group are hopeful that the project would meet the criteria for funding through Snowy Hydro 2.0 Legacy Funding.

The Councils of Southern Lights have co-contributed to the development of a business case for every street light across their combined footprint. For CNSWJO member councils, a total of $59,000 has been expended from Centroc reserves for the development of the business case. The funding has been used primarily for specialist consulting services to develop the business case.

Councils across the Southern Lights footprint have strongly indicated their support for smart-enabled LED lighting to be deployed, not just for the savings that it will generate through reduced energy and maintenance costs but also because it will provide enabling infrastructure capable of supporting smart community technologies.

It is anticipated that once commenced, the project will take 2-3 years to roll out. Bathurst and Orange Councils are first on the list of Councils with roll outs due in the 2019/20 financial year. The Southern Lights Group is currently working with Essential Energy on a possible schedule for the rollout, taking into account issues such as the Bulk Lamp Replacement (BLR) timetabling and Council budgeting regimes.

Benefits of the Project

The benefits of the Southern Lights Project are:

· Improved Service Levels and Lower Maintenance Costs - An LED roll out when accompanied by smart controls technology can dramatically improve service levels by notifying the operator of outages and other faults.

· Connectivity - A Backbone for Smart Community Deployments - Networking of smart connected street lights are being increasingly recognised as a key enabler of smart community deployments as, once installed, they are able to support a range of other devices in the public domain at low marginal cost.

· Reduced Electricity Use and Improved Lighting Outcomes - LEDs will reduce the energy used by the lights, substantially reduce the operational cost of the lights and, by delivering high quality white light, increase the efficiency and effectiveness of public lighting which improves safety and reduces fear of crime.

The following images show a ‘before and after’ of a trial site in Bathurst:

Business Case

The Business Case provided to the NSW Government details how the investment in the Southern Lights project will:

· Install approximately 83,000 LED street lights, the project allows for a 10% increase in the number of lights to enable councils to address additional lighting needs such as in-fill and dark spaces;

· Deliver low to medium bandwidth communications that supports smart community deployments, including smart controls for LED lighting;

· Reduce the energy use in street lighting by 57% generating direct savings for rural and regional councils of $46.3M over 10 years;

· Produce significant Greenhouse Gas (GHG) savings by reducing electricity by 20,500 MWh per year and consequently CO2 emissions by 19,500 tonnes per year;

· Dramatically improve lighting reliability while reducing the maintenance cost of lights by 47%, generating direct savings for rural and regional councils of $31.4m over 10 years;

· Increase efficiencies and improve service delivery for the participating councils and others through the use of smart community technology innovations such as remote metering and remote sensing;

· Improve community safety by providing better and safer lighting that allows communities to raise lighting levels in areas where crime or anti-social behaviour is a problem;

· Allow residents to feel safer on the streets at night and support crime detection by providing brighter, whiter lighting with better colour rendition;

· Jump start the 20-year Vision for Regional NSW, by delivering on the promise of providing connectivity to rural and regional areas 10 years ahead of the scheduled time frame; and

· Be a legacy project that empowers rural and regional communities

The Business Case shows a payback period of 8.8 years and a BCR of 1.01, however, this only factors-in the returns delivered through lower energy and maintenance costs from LEDs. The efficiencies that will result from the deployment of smart lighting controls and other smart community technologies will further improve the payback period as the impact that new higher quality lighting is expected to have on crime and anti-social behaviour which have also not been factored in.

Working with Essential Energy

At this time, the Group is working with Essential Energy on the procurement of both the smart-enabled street lighting and the ‘communications backbone’ which is an integral component of smart lighting and will provide access to other smart community technologies. The Group anticipate that procurement processes will have progressed to allow the roll-out of the smart lighting and its supporting technology early in the new Financial Year.

The deployment will be undertaken by Essential Energy and its contractors, with local government determining, in consultation with Essential Energy, local issues relating to the replacement of existing lights with the new LEDs. Information on this process will be forwarded directly to councils by Essential Energy.

Risks

At this stage there are two noteworthy risks. Firstly, that the funding will not be made available. The Southern Lights group are managing this by advocating for the project at this stage to the NSW Government. The Business Case provided to the State Government includes the smart controls capability of the lights and other optimisation such as in fill of lighting of up to 10% to help with historically poorly lit areas. This optimisation may not occur if funding is not available.

The second risk is that Essential Energy may not have the same interest in the smart community applications as Councils and community. To manage this the Southern Lights Group have sought advice on interest and capability from industry through a public Expression of Interest process. This process was well received by industry and undertaken inclusively with Essential Energy with a view to a shared understanding of the opportunity.

Financial Implications

While full funding is being sought from the NSW Government for the project, advice has not yet been received by Southern Lights on whether this application has been approved. If the application is not approved, Councils will need to give consideration on how to fund the project including the debt service ratio implications should Council need to borrow funds. Timing may be a consideration for Council and it is recommended that Council monitor the timeframe for its Bulk Lamp Replacement.

Conclusion

The Southern Lights Project will enable councils to significantly reduce their electricity consumption on street lights where replacing existing lighting with smart-enabled, energy efficient LEDs will reduce electricity consumption by over 57% while supporting smart community deployments.

While enthusiastic about the project, the NSW Government has not yet provided advice on the outcome of the funding request for $71.2M. If funding is not received, Council will need to give consideration to alternate options for the project.

Central NSW Joint Organisation, along with other JOs and ROCs will continue to advocate for the Southern Lights Project.

Attachments

1 Southern Lights Flyer - updated Nov 2018, D19/28484 ⇩