Clarence Valley Council to do away with dedicated council meeting chamber in Maclean?

OPTION 3, ground floor: Green: civic hall; blue: library; purple: front/desk lobby; orange: CVC administration (10 staff, 30 on new level); white: innovation hub; grey: core (lifts and shared amenities). Image: CVC from Clarence Valley Independent, 10 April 2019

Clarence Valley Council, media release, 28 May 2019:

Your views sought on Maclean community hub

LOWER Clarence residents are being offered the opportunity to shape what the future of community facilities in Maclean might look like.

Currently facilities like the library, council offices, the civic hall and community services are spread across the town, but the Clarence Valley Council is now investigating bringing those together while making improvements to the civic hall.

Mayor, Jim Simmons, said the whole of the Lower Clarence was growing and community infrastructure needed to grow to keep pace with it.

“Maclean is the geographical centre of the Lower Clarence, so it makes sense to have a central hub for many community assets,” he said.

“At the moment we are just investigating, but we would like the community to be involved and to give us their input.

“Council staff has put together a web page (https://www.clarenceconversations.com.au/maclean-community-precinct)

where people can have a look at a range of concept plans and offer their views.

“The more people who put their thinking caps on and offer suggestions the more likely we are to come up with something fantastic.”

Cr Simmons said once a final concept was decided, council would seek funding to take the project to the next step.

Consultation is open until June 30.

Release ends

Clarence Valley Independent, 10 April 2019:

The consultant has estimated costs for each of the three options, any of which, when adopted, will result in the hub being contained within the boundaries of the current CVC chambers and the civic hall.

Councillors were advised that the plan “addresses the current and future usage of council buildings” and that the completed concept would “function as a community hub, where people gather for a range of community activities, programs, services and events”.

OPTION 1: cost $12,963,000 or $4,883 per m2; Modification to the existing civic hall; Demolition of existing offices on site; and, Refurbishment of existing CVC administration building with a library, reducing the size of administration to leave enough space for 40 CVC staff.

OPTION 2: cost $15,945,000 or $4,053 per m2; Modification to the existing civic hall; Demolition of existing offices on site; Refurbishment of existing CVC administration building; and, New build library with car parking under.

OPTION 3: cost $23,739,000 or $5,162 per m2; Modification to the existing civic hall; Demolition of existing offices on site; and, Refurbishment of existing administration building, including a new level and roof, with a library and event spaces – this option the concept plan states, will provide an “expanded innovation hub, compared to other options”.

Options 1 and 3 include “new green space for public events, with buildings activating off the new area”; and, “accessibility upgrades to improve the new library fit-out, [which] will also add accessibility to the administration area”.

The report to council stated: “The Concepts presented are for the purpose of seeking grant funding.

“Prior to any works taking place, further community engagement and situational review (facility usage, sustainability, community need, etc.) would be required to inform final design decisions.

“…The current asset management requires the upkeep of 3 properties and 4 facilities.

“The finalised proposal would reduce this to 2 properties and 2 facilities.”

Even when trying to do the right thing are Morrison Government MPs hampered by the penny-pinching ways of their leader

Lismore City Council, 9 April 2019:

As a result of the significant flood event of April 2017 that impacted Lismore in the wake of ex-tropical Cyclone Debbie, Lismore City Council was successful in securing funding for the repair and remediation of a major landslip located at Beardow Street, Lismore Heights.

The initial works at an estimated and approved cost of $1.12 million were funded by the Natural Disaster Relief and Recovery Arrangements (NDRRA).

Contaminated soil was discovered during the restoration process and the cost of remediation is significantly greater than the currently available funding.

When contamination was discovered, eligibility for compensation through the NDRRA changed outside of Council’s control. Council was initially advised that the remediation was eligible for NDRRA funding. This advice was rescinded in late 2018. Negotiations with State agencies continue on this matter and work has stopped while funding issues are resolved.

The area is still contaminated and material needs to be removed. A schedule of works has been developed for full remediation of the site.

The residents in the vicinity of the landslip rightly seek a resolution to the issues associated with access to property, remediation, repairs to the landslip and the lack of clarity around timeframe for completion.

Residents have worked with Council to manage the issues and need closure. They are acutely aware of the process Council needs to follow and have justifiably reached a point where a solution is both required and demanded.

Council’s estimated cost to complete the remediation works is an additional $2.4 million. Council’s December 2018 quarterly budget review provides $700,000 to address the remediation at Beardow Street. Council has been advised of an alternate estimate to complete the works in the order of $5.7 million undertaken by an affected landowner. To date Council has been unable to source the estimated funding shortfall of $1.7 million from Government.

Council is continuing to negotiate a funding outcome. Council held an emergency meeting with Roads and Maritime Services (RMS) on Thursday, 14 March 2019 to find a solution. RMS management attended the site on Tuesday, 19 March 2019 to discuss options. A steering committee has been formed with Council and RMS staff. RMS has made available their geotechnical and environmental specialists, however no alternate solution has been recommended. RMS has made application to the Office of Emergency Management (OEM) for a review of NDRRA eligibility. OEM have escalated the matter to the Federal Government for review of eligibility, however there is no guarantee of success and no time frame for a response. On 29 March 2019 RMS requested Council make application for a Specific Purpose Grant. The outcome of this application is unknown.

The nearest licenced disposal site for the asbestos contamination is in Queensland. The Queensland waste levy comes into effect on 1 July 2019. The levy will add $2 million to the cost of the project in contaminated soil disposal costs.

Council has engaged litigation specialists to provide advice on NDRRA eligibility and options to secure funding. The current advice is to commence with formal correspondence to RMS and/or OEM. This action is underway.

The solution proposed is for Council to obtain the required $1.7 million shortfall from government. We require support from Council for the actions taken to date as well as support for any legal proceedings instigated to recover the restoration costs associated with this natural disaster event. 

On 26 April 2019 during the recent federal election campaign The Northern Star reported that all the candidates, including sitting Nats MP Kevin Hogan, had been asked to commit $10 million to fully remediate this site.

On 27 May 2019 a Lismore journalist stated that Hogan has committed $2.4 million to remediate the asbestos and chemical contaminated landslip. Although it was not explained how he could do this when the new Lib-Nats Coalition Government is weeks away from being sworn in by the Governor-General or why he was committing to less than a quarter of the money requested.

Council is still considering instigating legal proceedings to progress the eligibility of its initial claim for state funding.

US President Donald J Trump finally admits in writing that Russia helped get him elected in 2016

* My blue highlighting

Only weeks away from mid 2019 and staring into a future where the full force of climate change prevails and still denialists are being given media air time

Here is one of Australia's own 'professional' climate change denialists who allegedly uses a stage name............

.@JoanneNova: Warming is mostly beneficial, especially in Australia. Carbon dioxide feeds plants that are more likely to be drought prone.

MORE: https://t.co/ykweMevBOK #outsiders pic.twitter.com/EZrEh7W2d5

— Sky News Australia (@SkyNewsAust) May 26, 2019

Here is a genuine voice of science and reason (click on thread)....... 

My farming family and I are fed up with all the 'climate sceptic' letters published in the @farmweekly. I'm a palaeoclimatologist and this week I spoke up. My letter was printed.. it goes like this (thread):

— Joel Pedro (@BBQPossum) May 24, 2019

Quote of the Week

“Big corporations can’t operate in a world that remains tethered to the permanent present of  [Australian Resources Minister] Canavan’s imagining, they have to plan for the future, and the future is carbon constraint.” [Political Editor Katherine Murphy, The Guardian, 30 May 2019]

Photoshop of the Week

via @sarahrees

Pampas Grass as decoration for your wedding? Don’t even think about it!

An ACT park ranger spraying the noxious weed Pampas Grass (Cortaderia species)

on a road verge.

According to the NSW Dept of Primary Industries: 

Pampas grass grows in clumps about 1 – 1.5 m across, with fluffy flower heads on tall stems. Common pampas grass is up to 6 m tall when in flower. Pink pampas grass is up to 4 m tall when in flower.  

Pampas grass outcompetes native vegetation, is a fire hazard, harbours vermin and could threaten forestry.

Pampas grass can quickly establish in disturbed urban and bushland areas 

Photographer: N. Monaghan

This plant is not to be sold in all or parts of NSW.

However, it has apparently become popular with brides-to-be...............

ABC News, 29 May 2019:

PHOTO: The demand for pampas grass took off after images from this wedding went viral. (Image: Ivy Road Photography)

Biosecurity officers have raided florists on the north coast of New South Wales to seize an illegal noxious weed popularised by so-called Instagram weddings.

Pampas grass is native to South America and is considered a weed in most Australian states and territories as it competes with native vegetation and is a fire hazard.

It is a highly invasive plant, with each flower head producing up to 100,000 seeds that can spread to a 25-kilometre radius, and is banned from sale in the Greater Sydney, Hunter, south-east and north coast regions of NSW.

Kim Curtis from Rous County Council said officers had seized the outlawed grass from three locations in the Byron Bay and Tweed regions over the past two weeks.

"It's scary, the seeds on pampas grass can travel for kilometres and it could create another outbreak of a high-priority weed that farmers have to deal with for years to come," she said.

A wedding planner in Byron Bay, Che Devlin, said brides started asking for the wheat-coloured decorative grass for their big days after photos from a Byron Bay hinterland wedding, featuring the grass, went viral on Instagram in 2017.

Mr Devlin said after the council had informed florists that the plant was banned on the north coast there had been an attempt to steer people away from the weed towards native plants.

However he said it could be difficult to dissuade a bride who had a certain aesthetic in mind.

"The hard thing is, a lot of these florists, if they say no to a bride then that bride will go to the florist who will say yes, so it becomes an economical thing," Mr Devlin said.

Florist Jaala Mills, who co-owns Bower Botanicals in Byron Bay, has worked on a number of local pampas grass weddings.

She said her business had not been involved in the recent pampa grass seizures and that her team had made every effort to ensure the grass was not harmful to the environment.

"We imported the grass in from California," she said.

"It was quarantined in Australia and it went through a process of irradiation to kill the seeds and then we had documentation from customs saying we were legally allowed to have it."

Ms Mills said most florists wanted to do the right thing but there was confusion in the industry about whether they were allowed to hire out grass that had been treated to kill the seeds.

"I wish someone could come out and say exactly what the deal is," she said.

"We want clarification. We hear rumours you can be slapped with a fine for $60,000 but we don't know for sure."....