Environmental Sustainability Policy Committee
Agenda
4 February 2020
Notice is hereby given, in accordance with the provisions of the Local Government Act 1993 that an Environmental Sustainability Policy Committee meeting of ORANGE CITY COUNCIL will be held in the Council Chamber, Civic Centre, Byng Street, Orange on Tuesday, 4 February 2020.
David Waddell
Chief Executive Officer
For apologies please contact Administration on 6393 8218.
Environmental Sustainability Policy Committee 4 February 2020
2.1 Minutes of the Companion Animals Community Committee of 2 December 2019
2.2 Minutes of the Environmental Sustainability Community Committee Meeting - 9 August 2019
2.3 Minutes of the Environmental Sustainability Community Committee - 18 October 2019
1 Introduction
1.1 Declaration of pecuniary interests, significant non-pecuniary interests and less than significant non-pecuniary interests
The provisions of Chapter 14 of the Local Government Act, 1993 (the Act) regulate the way in which Councillors and designated staff of Council conduct themselves to ensure that there is no conflict between their private interests and their public role.
The Act prescribes that where a member of Council (or a Committee of Council) has a direct or indirect financial (pecuniary) interest in a matter to be considered at a meeting of the Council (or Committee), that interest must be disclosed as soon as practicable after the start of the meeting and the reasons given for declaring such interest.
As members are aware, the provisions of the Local Government Act restrict any member who has declared a pecuniary interest in any matter from participating in the discussion or voting on that matter, and requires that member to vacate the Chamber.
Council’s Code of Conduct provides that if members have a non-pecuniary conflict of interest, the nature of the conflict must be disclosed. The Code of Conduct also provides for a number of ways in which a member may manage non pecuniary conflicts of interest.
Recommendation It is recommended that Committee Members now disclose any conflicts of interest in matters under consideration by the Environmental Sustainability Policy Committee at this meeting. |
RECORD NUMBER: 2019/2718
AUTHOR: Rosemary Reid, Draftsperson
EXECUTIVE Summary
The minutes of the Companion Animals Community Committee held on the 2 December 2019 are provided 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 “6.1 Live - Provide services and facilities that enable Council to fulfil its obligations under the Companion Animal Act”.
Financial Implications
Within planned budget.
Policy and Governance Implications
Nil
1 That Council acknowledge the reports presented to the Companion Animals Community Committee at its meeting held on 2 December 2019. 2 That Council determine recommendations 3.1 and 3.2 from the minutes of the Companion Animals Community Committee meeting of 2 December 2019. Item 3.1 That Council provide Responsible Cat Ownership brochures to the Ploughmans Wetlands Care Group for distribution. Item 3.2 That Council progresses the naming of this new parkland area including the Off Leash Area. 3 That the remainder of the minutes of the Companion Animals Community Committee at its meeting held on 2 December 2019 be adopted.
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Attachments
1 Minutes of the Meeting of the Companion Animals Community Committee held on 2 December 2019
2 CACC 2 December 2019 Agenda, D20/3461⇩
ORANGE CITY COUNCIL
MINUTES OF THE
Companion Animals Community Committee
HELD IN Councillors Workroom, Civic Centre, Byng Street, Orange
ON 2 December 2019
COMMENCING AT 5.33pm
Attendance
Cr S Nugent (Chairperson), Mr Neil Jones, Mrs Anne Reith, Mrs Susan Sanders, Ms Jan Tallents, Acting Director Development Services, Companion Animal Registrar
1.1 Apologies and Leave of Absence
1.3 Declaration of pecuniary interests, significant non-pecuniary interests and less than significant non-pecuniary interests
RECOMMENDATION Ms A Reith/Mr N Jones That thanks be extended to the Companion Animal Registrar Rosemary Reid on her involvement in managing the North Orange Off Leash Area project. |
TRIM Reference: 2019/2620 |
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RECOMMENDATION Mr N Jones/Ms A Reith
That the report be accepted. |
Meeting dates for 2020 were discussed with a change made to the week held. Dates for 2020 Monday 10 February 2020 Monday 11 May 2020 Monday 10 August 20202 Monday 9 November 2020
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The Meeting Closed at 6.46pm
Attachment 1 CACC 2 December 2019 Agenda
RECORD NUMBER: 2020/96
AUTHOR: David Waddell, Chief Executive Officer
EXECUTIVE Summary
The Environmental Sustainability Community Committee met on 9 August 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 “7.1 Preserve - Engage with the community to develop plans for growth and development that value the local environment”.
Financial Implications
Nil
Policy and Governance Implications
Nil
1 That Council acknowledge the reports presented to the Environmental Sustainability Community Committee at its meeting held on 9 August 2019. 2 That Council determine recommendations of Matters Arising from the minutes of the Environmental Sustainability Community Committee meeting of 9 August 2019 being: MATTERS ARISING 1 Council should investigate the heating side of the airconditioning units on the Council building now that the chillers have been replaced to increase efficiency in the cooler months. The Acting General Manager (now CEO) will put Robert Alford in touch with Damian West in regards to this. 2 Committee to speak to Essential Energy regarding the street light control wire, the point where they trim trees back, and if this will change due to the Southern Lights Project. MATTER ARISING That Council staff follow up on the recommendation from ESCC to reduce Council’s Energy use by 20%, which was adopted by Council at the Environmental Sustainability Policy Committee Meeting, and report back to the Committee with a progress update. 3 That the remainder of the minutes of the Environmental Sustainability Community Committee at its meeting held on 9 August 2019 be adopted.
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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 Environmental Sustainability Community Committee held on 9 August 2019
2 ESCC 9 August 2019 Agenda, D20/3426⇩
ORANGE CITY COUNCIL
MINUTES OF THE
Environmental Sustainability Community Committee
HELD IN Committee Room 3, Civic Centre, Byng Street, Orange
ON 9 August 2019
COMMENCING AT 8.00am
1 Introduction
Attendance
Cr S Nugent (Chairperson), Ms Shahreen Alford, Mr Robert Alford, Mr Ronald Finch, Mr Gavin Hillier, Mrs Kate Hook, Mr Nick King, Mr Cyril Smith, Ms Kate Willoughby, Mr Ken Freedman, Acting General Manager, Manager Waste Services and Technical Support
1.1 Apologies and Leave of Absence
Mrs Melissa Brown handed in her resignation for the Environmental Sustainability Community Committee due to conflicting commitments. The Committee would like to thank Mel for her contributions during her time as a member.
RECOMMENDATION That the apologies be accepted from Mr Andrew Kennedy, Cr J McRae, Cr M Previtera, Mrs Neina Campbell, Miss Anwen Carney, Mr Daniel Fock, Dr David Mallard, Ms Melanie McDonell, Mrs Anne Salter and Mr Peter West for the Environmental Sustainability Community Committee meeting on 9 August 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 That the Minutes of the Meeting of the Environmental Sustainability Community Committee held on 14 June 2019 (copies of which were circulated to all members) be and are hereby confirmed as a true and accurate record of the proceedings of the Environmental Sustainability Community Committee meeting held on 14 June 2019. |
3 Presentations
TRIM Reference: 2019/1647 |
That the report presented to the Committee, by Mr John Mills of Rotary, be acknowledged. |
MATTERS ARISING 1 Council should investigate the heating side of the airconditioning units on the Council building now that the chillers have been replaced to increase efficiency in the cooler months. The Acting General Manager will put Robert Alford in touch with Damian West in regards to this. 2 Committee to speak to Essential Energy regarding the street light control wire, the point where they trim trees back, and if this will change due to the Southern Lights Project. |
4 BIODIVERSITY
TRIM Reference: 2019/1658 |
RECOMMENDATION Cr S Nugent/Mr D Waddell That the discussion by the Committee on Biodiversity be acknowledged. |
5 ENERGY
TRIM Reference: 2019/1660 |
RECOMMENDATION Cr S Nugent/Mr D Waddell That the verbal report from the Acting General Manager be acknowledged. |
That Council staff follow up on the recommendation from ESCC to reduce Council’s Energy use by 20%, which was adopted by Council at the Environmental Sustainability Policy Committee Meeting, and report back to the Committee with a progress update. |
7.2 Transitioning to a Water Sensitive City - By Cyril Smith TRIM Reference: 2019/1643 |
A report was distributed and discussion had regarding this item. |
That the report distributed to Committee Members and the verbal discussion lead by Mr Cyril Smith be acknowledged |
**Mr Cyril Smith left the
meeting with the time being 9.30am**
6 WASTE
The Global Climate Strike is on Friday 20 September 2019. |
7 WATER
TRIM Reference: 2019/1663 |
ECCO has made a submission against the Macquarie Pipeline and Summer Hill Creek decisions (See item 3.2). More discussion next meeting (Item 7.4). Currently the Cadia Mine case regarding the receival of water is in the Courts, however the case is addressing whether they should be paying for it rather than whether they should be getting it at all. The Committee has requested more information in relation to the above in order to make an informed decision regarding item 7.4. The Committee has suggested gearing the Climate Emergency talk towards water to try and engage more of the active Council. Currently only 3 are on board with the Climate Emergency, with the other 9 having been unable to attend briefing sessions regarding the matter. The Committee has requested that contingency plans for the day when we may hit ground zero with water be developed and advertised to the community. This could help in calming fears members have about what will happen if we do run out of water. A Networking group, facilitated through ESCC by Members Robert Alford and Nick King be created, engaging members of the community to be involved in the discussion in water and climate etc. Robert to send invitations to Council Staff, John Francis and Wayne Beatty. Kate Hook will be the representative from Future in Orange. |
That the verbal information presented to the committee be acknowledged. |
DUE TO THE QUORUM NO LONGER BEING MET THE MEETING CLOSED AT 9.50AM.
THE REMAINING ITEMS HAVE BEEN DEFERRED TO THE NEXT MEETING.
TRIM Reference: 2019/1662 |
TRIM Reference: 2019/1664 |
TRIM Reference: 2019/1666 |
8 OTHER BUSINESS
TRIM Reference: 2019/1665 |
TRIM Reference: 2019/1667 |
TRIM Reference: 2019/1640 |
TRIM Reference: 2019/1668 |
TRIM Reference: 2019/1648 |
Deferred to next meeting |
Environmental Sustainability Policy Committee 4 February 2020
Attachment 1 ESCC 9 August 2019 Agenda
RECORD NUMBER: 2020/97
AUTHOR: David Waddell, Chief Executive Officer
EXECUTIVE Summary
The Environmental Sustainability Community Committee met on 18 October 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 “7.1 Preserve - Engage with the community to develop plans for growth and development that value the local environment”.
Financial Implications
Nil
Policy and Governance Implications
Nil
1 That Council acknowledge the reports presented to the Environmental Sustainability Community Committee at its meeting held on 18 October 2019. 2 That Council determine recommendations 3.3 and 3.4 from the minutes of the Environmental Sustainability Community Committee meeting of 18 October 2019 being: Item 3.3 Particle Pollution That Council’s Chief Executive Officer follow up regarding placing a link for the Air Quality Monitoring data on Council’s Website The Council’s Trainee Aboriginal Environmental Health Officer contact Public Health in regards to Orange v Bathurst particle pollution levels. Item 3.4 Water Matters That: 1 The verbal report presented by Council’s Water and Sewerage Strategic Manager be acknowledged. 2 The Committee request Water Update Signs, like those in Dubbo, are put in place in Orange to keep the community informed. 3 That the remainder of the minutes of the Environmental Sustainability Community Committee at its meeting held on 18 October 2019 be adopted.
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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 Environmental Sustainability Community Committee held on 18 October 2019
2 ESCC 18 October 2019 Agenda, D20/3406⇩
ORANGE CITY COUNCIL
MINUTES OF THE
Environmental Sustainability Community Committee
HELD IN Councillors Workroom, Civic Centre, Byng Street, Orange
ON 18 October 2019
COMMENCING AT 8.01am
1 Introduction
Attendance
Cr S Nugent (Chairperson), Cr J McRae, Cr M Previtera (8.14am), Ms Shahreen Alford, Mrs Neina Campbell, Miss Anwen Carney, Mr Ronald Finch, Mr Gavin Hillier, Mr Andrew Kennedy, Ms Melanie McDonell, Mrs Anne Salter, Mr Cyril Smith, , Ms Kate Willoughby, Mr John Mills (Guest Presenter - Rotary), Chief Executive Officer, Acting Director Development Services, Manager Waste Services and Technical Support, Water and Sewerage Strategic Manager, Senior Planner, Health and Building Surveyor, Trainee Aboriginal Environmental Health Officer
1.1 Apologies and Leave of Absence
RECOMMENDATION Cr S Nugent/Mr D Waddell That the apologies be accepted from Mr Robert Alford, Mr Daniel Fock, Mrs Kate Hook, Mr Nick King, Dr David Mallard, Mr Peter West and Mr Ken Freedman for the Environmental Sustainability Community Committee meeting on 18 October 2019. |
1.2 Acknowledgement of Country
1.3 Declaration of pecuniary interests, significant non-pecuniary interests and less than significant non-pecuniary interests
Nil
2 Previous Minutes
RECOMMENDATION K Willoughby/Ms S Alford That the Minutes of the Meeting of the Environmental Sustainability Community Committee held on 9 August 2019 (copies of which were circulated to all members) be and are hereby confirmed as a true and accurate record of the proceedings of the Environmental Sustainability Community Committee meeting held on 9 August 2019. |
3 COUNCIL UPDATES
**Councillor Previtera arrived with the time being 8.14am**
3.2 Waste Management Facilities Tour TRIM Reference: 2019/1664 |
The Private Committee Tour was facilitated by Kylie Tomlinson with four members of the Committee on Friday 27 September 2019. The members who attended said the Tour was very informative and allowed them to come away knowing more, and being able to be an advocate for the Resource Recovery Centres run by Council. There was also a Public Tour, facilitated again by Kylie Tomlinson, on Thursday 10 October 2019 at 9.15am. 18 People responded to the Event and 13 showed up on the day. They were shown the entire process of the waste recovery from receiving the materials at the centre, to the end product. Two notable processes are the Red Waste materials and Green Waste materials. Red waste is collected, sorted and bailed. Bailed waste is stacked in a pyramid form and covered in dart. Items that need to go to landfill but are too large for bailing are put in amongst the bail pile. Approximately 50% of the material that comes to the centres in the Red Bins is “resource loss” materials, i.e. materials that should have been put in the Yellow or Green bins instead. This is a similar statistic to what most Councils would report. Council has previously had a report regarding reducing the frequency of Red Bin collection to fortnightly, rather than weekly. Originally, 60% of the Community were accepting of this proposal, however at the time it wasn’t resolved. The Manager Waste Services and Technical Support will present a report on Waste Diversion to the Council in 2022/23, at the end of the 5 year period that was proposed when the change was first recommended, which will assess whether Council is meeting State standards and reducing the collection frequency if not.
Green Waste is collected, processed and tested before being sold in bulk or locally by the Recovery Centre and JR Richards. The processing involves the collected waste being shredded and pasteurised, being heated to 55°C to kill any insects or germs etc. Moisture and air is then added and the “compost” spends about 3 months in the sun, where it is churned intermittently. Once it has broken down, the compost is sent to a facility to test against the Australian Standards and can be sold if it meets these. Buyers include vineyards and orchards as well as individuals. Bioplastics are another area of concern. They require being heated to 50°C to break down, so they are hard for people to utilise in their own backyard compost piles. In terms of Council’s process there are a few issues integrating bioplastics into the system. Many businesses had keyed onto the idea of bioplastics and are marketing regular plastic as such. The actual bioplastic products are hard to distinguish from regular plastic to be sorted effectively and avoid contaminating the compost. Bioplastics also take a lot longer to fully breakdown, therefore increasing “visible contaminates” in the compost for longer. This means that the time in the sun composting etc. would need to be longer to allow for these products to decompose. A suggestion was made to try and integrate separate waste “streams” into the current collection system, similar to Sydney Councils, i.e. paper and cardboard stream, other plastics stream, bioplastics stream etc. At the moment, cost is a factor in assessing this proposal. The current contract for Waste Recovery was established in 2012 and will be up for renewal in 2022/23. |
RECOMMENDATION Mr A Kennedy/Ms M McDonell That 1 The efforts of the Staff involved in the Private Tour of the Facility, particularly Council’s Research and Projects Officer, Kylie Tomlinson, for running the day, be acknowledged by the Committee 2 The verbal report by Council’s Manager Waste Services and Technical Support be acknowledged |
ACTION ITEM That the Manager Waste Services and Technical Support extend the acknowledgements from the Committee to Kylie Tomlinson on their behalf. |
ACTION ITEMS That Council’s Chief Executive Officer follow up regarding placing a link for the Air Quality Monitoring data on Council’s Website
The Council’s Trainee Aboriginal Environmental Health Officer contact Public Health in regards to Orange v Bathurst particle pollution levels. |
3.4 Water Matters TRIM Reference: 2019/1666 |
Council has established an operational team and comprehensive management strategy to focus on the current water situation. The team is comprised of Council staff from various areas, such as Tech Services, City Presentation and the Communications Team, and will assist with community engagement for both residential and business sectors in town in regards to reducing their water usage, particularly coming into the warmer months. Council has done presentations on water usage internally, to inform all staff, and externally to organisations such as ECCO and at events like Sustainable Living Week. Community engagement efforts have also been made via our website. The biggest gains in terms of water saving measures etc. are to be had in the Residential Sector. The current usage is 130-140L/person per day, the aim over summer is to keep this down, i.e. reduce water use. In terms of new Developments in town, conditions are issued on the consent to ensure build sites are adhering to the water restrictions. Swimming pools are still being approved however they cannot be filled or topped up from the town water supply. In terms of compliance, the current process is as follows: 1. A complaint is made and an internal investigation conducted 2. A letter is sent to the complainant acknowledging the issue and an initial warning letter is sent to Infringer 3. If they continue to infringe, the Rangers are sent for a face to face meeting/verbal warning 4. If the behaviour continues after the Rangers warning, a fine of $2200 is issued. An Enforcement/Compliance Officer position has also been established and should be filled in the next 12 months. All effluent water currently goes Cadia. The purple taps (dual water) is treated potable water. A fact sheet is available on Council’s website regarding the Dual Water system. Moving forward, it is advised that is people witness someone doing the wrong thing regarding water restrictions that they report it to Council for action to be taken. A request has been made for more regular updates on the current water situation be put more prominently on the website. Also that town signs (like those in Dubbo) regarding water, are implemented in Orange. |
RECOMMENDATION Ms S Alford/Mrs A Salter That 1 The verbal report presented by Council’s Water and Sewerage Strategic Manager be acknowledged. 2 The Committee request Water Update Signs, like those in Dubbo, are put in place in Orange to keep the community informed. |
ACTION ITEMS That the Dual Water Fact Sheet be distributed to Committee Members |
5.1 Sustainable Living Week TRIM Reference: 2019/1667 |
The Committee moved to deal with Item 5.1 earlier in the meeting, as the Guest Speaker, Mr John Mills, had prior commitments to attend. Sustainable Living Week is scheduled to run from 27 October 2019 to 16 November 2019. In that time frame, a variety of events will take place such as a Wetlands Walk, School Cooking Competition, Reducing Plastic Waste Workshop at the E.L.F on 31 October 2019, Waratahs Revegetation etc. The big event is the Sustainable Living Expo. A copy of the program for the Expo was presented to Committee members, and is also available on the Rotary Facebook Page, as is their Sustainable Living Week Brochure. This event has been established in partnership with Orange City Council. The hope is for it to become an annual or bi-annual event, with Council’s support. It has been requested that Committee members take the time to check the Social Media related to this event and to share and advocate. |
RECOMMENDATION K Willoughby/Mr C Smith That the report presented by Mr John Mills be acknowledged. |
**The Acting Director Development Services left with the time being 9.00am**
**The Health and Building Surveyor left with the time being 9.04am**
**The Trainee Aboriginal Environmental Health Officer left with the time being 9.09am**
**Mr John Mills left with the time being 9.13am**
4 PRIORITY PROJECTS
4.1 Combined ESCC Projects Report TRIM Reference: 2019/1665 |
The Chair informed the Committee that in terms of the Priority Project Groups, these were formed in order to have more detailed discussions within themselves at intervals between the meetings and then report back to ESCC. A request was put forward to assist in obtaining an OCC Mentor for each sub-committee as a point of call within Council. It was also requested that each sub-committee organise to meet before the next meeting and prepare a report on their current status to present at the next ESCC Meeting. |
RECOMMENDATION Mr A Kennedy/K Willoughby That 1 The Committee reaffirms commitment to the priority project model and determines project areas/groups for 2019/20 2 The Committee clarifies role of priority projects compared to other items in formulating meeting agendas. 3 That the report presented by the Education Project Group be acknowledged. |
MOTION Cr S Nugent/Mr C Smith That the Water Report, as circulated by Committee Member Mr Cyril Smith in 17 October 2019, be noted. |
5 EVENTS
**Ms Shahreen Alford left the meeting with the time being 9.25am**
**The Senior Planner left the meeting with the time being 9.30am**
**The Acting Director Development Services returned to the meeting at 9.33am**
**Miss Anwen Carney left the meeting with the time being 9.34am**
5.2 Climate Behind the Headlines Public Talk Series TRIM Reference: 2019/1668 |
The Futuring Orange Facebook page is the best starting point for people wanting to be involved in the series. There has been good turn outs so far. LGNSW passed a motion to declare a Climate Emergency on Tuesday 15 October 2019 |
RECOMMENDATION That the verbal report presented by Councillor Stephen Nugent be acknowledged. |
The Meeting Closed at 9.44AM