Agenda of Ordinary Meeting - Monday, 22 June 2020

UNCONFIRMED MINUTES

OF THE ORDINARY MEETING OF PENRITH CITY COUNCIL HELD REMOTELY USING AUDIO VISUAL LINKS AND AUDIO STREAMED ON THE COUNCIL WEBSITE ON MONDAY 25 MAY 2020 AT 7:05PM

WEBCASTING STATEMENT

His Worship the Mayor, Councillor Ross Fowler OAM read a statement advising that Council Meetings are recorded and webcast.

STATEMENT OF RECOGNITION

His Worship the Mayor, Councillor Ross Fowler OAM read a statement of recognition of Penrith City’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Cultural Heritage.

PRAYER

The Council Prayer was read by His Worship the Mayor, Councillor Ross Fowler OAM.

PRESENT

His Worship the Mayor, Councillor Ross Fowler OAM, Deputy Mayor, Councillor Karen McKeown OAM, and Councillors Bernard Bratusa, Todd Carney, Brian Cartwright, Robin Cook, Kevin Crameri OAM, Greg Davies, Mark Davies, Aaron Duke, Tricia Hitchen, Kath Presdee and John Thain.

LEAVE OF ABSENCE

Leave of Absence was previously granted to Councillor Marcus Cornish for the period 25 May 2020 to 21 July 2020 inclusive.

LEAVE OF ABSENCE

96 RESOLVED on the MOTION of Councillor Aaron Duke seconded Councillor Todd Carney that Leave of Absence be granted to Councillor Jim Aitken OAM for his non-attendance at tonight’s meeting.

APOLOGIES

There were no apologies.

CONFIRMATION OF MINUTES - Ordinary Meeting - 27 April 2020

97 RESOLVED on the MOTION of Councillor John Thain seconded Councillor Kath Presdee that the minutes of the Ordinary Meeting of 27 April 2020 be confirmed.

DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST

There were no declarations of interest.

Mayoral Minutes

1 Response to COVID-19 and Taskforces for Recovery

98 RESOLVED on the MOTION of Councillor Ross Fowler OAM seconded Councillor Karen McKeown OAM that the Mayoral Minute on Response to COVID-19 and Taskforces for Recovery be received.

Reports of Committees

1 Report and Recommendations of the Local Traffic Committee Meeting held on 4 May 2020

99 RESOLVED on the MOTION of Councillor Karen McKeown OAM seconded Councillor Robin Cook that the recommendations contained in the Report and Recommendations of the Local Traffic Committee meeting held on 4 May, 2020 be adopted.

DELIVERY PROGRAM REPORTS

Outcome 2 - We plan for our future growth

1 Liveability Project - detailed design for Regatta Park, Emu Plains

100 RESOLVED on the MOTION of Councillor Mark Davies seconded Councillor Kevin Crameri OAM

That:

1. The information contained in the report on Liveability Project - detailed design for Regatta Park, Emu Plains be received.

2. The detail design for Regatta Park as shown in Appendix 1 and 2 of this report be endorsed by Council.

2 Planning Proposal - Glenmore Park Stage 3

101 RESOLVED on the MOTION of Councillor Tricia Hitchen seconded Councillor Todd Carney

That:

1. The information contained in the report on Planning Proposal - Glenmore Park Stage 3 be received.

2. Council endorses the Planning Proposal (provided under separate cover and tabled tonight), which is subject to further changes as referred to in resolution 5.

3. Council officers forward the Planning Proposal to the Minister for Planning with a request to issue a Gateway Determination. The submission will include a request to issue Council with Delegation for plan making authority.

4. A report be presented to Council following receipt of the Gateway Determination seeking resolution to publicly exhibit a Development Control Plan and Contributions Plan with the Planning Proposal.

5. Noise attenuation measures along The Northern Road be in place prior to the balance of the subdivision of land and this be further explored during the Gateway process.

6. The General Manager be granted delegation to make any necessary changes to the Planning Proposal referred to in resolution 2:

a. prior to Council's submission of the Planning Proposal to the Minister for Planning.

b. as a result of negotiated changes sought by DPE in the lead up to the Gateway Determination.

c. prior to public exhibition in response to the conditions of the Gateway Determination or negotiations with public authorities and other stakeholders.

d. prior to public exhibition, should there be any major changes with respect to the planning proposal, a further report be presented to Council with the General Manager to advise of those changes.

In accordance with Section 375A of the Local Government Act 1993, a DIVISION was then called with the following result:

For	Against
Councillor Greg Davies	Councillor Kath Presdee
Councillor Todd Carney	Councillor Robin Cook
Councillor Aaron Duke	Councillor Karen McKeown OAM
Councillor John Thain	Councillor Kevin Crameri OAM
Councillor Brian Cartwright	Councillor Mark Davies
Councillor Tricia Hitchen
Councillor Bernard Bratusa
Councillor Ross Fowler OAM

3 Submission to Proposed Amendments to State Environmental Planning Policy (Penrith Lakes) 1989

102 RESOLVED on the MOTION of Councillor Brian Cartwright seconded Councillor Mark Davies

That:

1. The information contained in the report on Submission to Proposed Amendments to State Environmental Planning Policy (Penrith Lakes) 1989 be received

2. The information contained within this report form the basis of the final submission to the Department of Planning, Industry and Environment in relation to the Proposed Amendments to State Environmental Planning Policy (Penrith Lakes) 1989.

Outcome 7 - We have confidence in our Council

4 RFT19/20-07 Chesham Street Road Upgrade

103 RESOLVED on the MOTION of Councillor Mark Davies seconded Councillor Karen McKeown OAM

That:

1. The information contained in the report on RFT19/20-07 Chesham Street Road Upgrade be received

2. The proposal and Lump sum price from Planet Civil Pty Ltd $239,688 ex GST be accepted for the Chesham Street upgrade.

3. The Common Seal of the Council of the City of Penrith be placed on all documentation as necessary.

5 Transfer of Pioneer Church Cemetery Castlereagh – Lot 281 DP752021

104 RESOLVED on the MOTION of Councillor Kevin Crameri OAM seconded Councillor Kath Presdee

That:

1. The information contained in the report on Transfer of Pioneer Church Cemetery Castlereagh – Lot 281 DP752021 be received.

2. Council accept the transfer of Lot 281 DP752021 on the terms and conditions listed within the report.

3. The land be classified as Community Land in accordance with section 31 of the Local Government Act 1993.

4. The Common Seal of the Council of the City of Penrith be affixed to any necessary documentation.

6 Organisational Financial Review - March 2020

105 RESOLVED on the MOTION of Councillor Aaron Duke seconded Councillor Tricia Hitchen

That:

1. The information contained in the report on Organisational Financial Review - March 2020 be received.

2. The Organisational Financial Review - March 2020 as at 31 March 2020, including the revised estimates outlined in this report and detailed in the Organisational Report – March 2020, be adopted.

7 Sundry Debtor Write off

106 RESOLVED on the MOTION of Councillor Kevin Crameri OAM seconded Councillor Mark Davies

That:

1. The information contained in the report on Sundry Debtor Write off be received.

2. The two debts totalling $12,307 GST inclusive outlined above be written off as irrecoverable.

8 Summary of Investment & Banking for the Period 1 April 2020 to 30 April 2020

107 RESOLVED on the MOTION of Councillor Kevin Crameri OAM seconded Councillor Mark Davies

That:

1. The information contained in the report on Summary of Investment & Banking for the Period 1 April 2020 to 30 April 2020 be received

2. The certificate of the Responsible Accounting Officer and Summary of Investments and Performance for the Period 1 April 2020 to 30 April 2020 be noted and accepted

3. The graphical Investment Analysis as at 30 April 2020 be noted.

REQUESTS FOR REPORTS AND MEMORANDUMS

RR 1 Use of Exhaust Brakes in Built Up Areas

Councillor Kevin Crameri OAM requested a memo reply regarding the law that exhaust breaks should not be used in built up areas, noting there are signs on Dunheved Road, and requesting that signs be put on Werrington Road and Park Road area.

Committee of the Whole

108 RESOLVED on the MOTION of Councillor Karen McKeown OAM seconded Councillor Brian Cartwright that the meeting adjourn to the Committee of the Whole to deal with the following matters, the time being 8:17pm.

1 Presence of the Public

CW1 RESOLVED on the motion of Councillor Karen McKeown OAM seconded Councillor Brian Cartwright that the press and public be excluded from Committee of the Whole to deal with the following matters:

Outcome 7

2 Penrith Stadium Lease

This item has been referred to Committee of the Whole as the report refers to information that would, if disclosed, confer a commercial advantage on a person with whom the Council is conducting (or proposes to conduct) business and discussion of the matter in open meeting would be, on balance, contrary to the public interest.

3 Property Matter - Proposed Acquisition

The meeting resumed at 8:46pm and the General Manager reported that the Committee of the Whole met at 8:17pm on 25 May 2020, the following being present

and the Committee of the Whole excluded the press and public from the meeting for the reasons set out in CW1 and that the Committee of the Whole submitted the following recommendations to Council.

CONFIDENTIAL BUSINESS

2 Penrith Stadium Lease

RECOMMENDED on the MOTION of Councillor Brian Cartwright seconded Councillor John Thain

CW2 That:

1. The information contained in the report on Penrith Stadium Lease be received.

2. Council authorise the General Manager to finalise the market review and provide relief to Panthers for their 2020 lease consistent with option 2 as detailed in the report.

3. A further report be provided to a future meeting detailing the final negotiated outcome.

3 Property Matter - Proposed Acquisition

RECOMMENDED on the MOTION of Councillor Mark Davies seconded Councillor John Thain

CW3 That:

1. The information contained in the report on Property Matter - Proposed Acquisition be received

2. Council approve the acquisition of 6-8 Vallance Street, St Marys (Lot 19 DP 975352) for a purchase price of $3,950,000.

3. Council acknowledge that acquisition funds will be drawn directly from the Property Reserve.

4. On completion of the acquisition the property be classified as Operational Land.

5. The Common Seal of the Council of the City of Penrith be placed on any necessary documentation.

ADOPTION OF Committee of the Whole

109 RESOLVED on the MOTION of Councillor John Thain seconded Councillor Kevin Crameri OAM that the recommendations contained in the Committee of the Whole and shown as CW1, CW2 and CW3 be adopted.

There being no further business the Chairperson declared the meeting closed the time being 8:51pm.

Ordinary Meeting 22 June 2020

REPORT AND RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE
Local Traffic Committee MEETING

HELD ON 1 June, 2020

(Note: due to prevailing public health crisis, and related COVID-19 protocols, the Local Traffic Committee Business Paper and reports were referred to members and dealt with via electronic correspondence).

DISTRIBUTED TO

Deputy Mayor, Councillor Karen McKeown OAM (Council Representative), Councillor Robin Cook (Representative for the Member for Londonderry), Councillor Tricia Hitchen (Representative for the Member for Penrith), Councillor Marcus Cornish, Wayne Mitchell - Director Development and Regulatory Services (Chair), Sergeant Matthew Shirvington - Nepean Police Area Command (PAC), Senior Constable Stephen Page - Nepean Police Area Command (PAC), Brana Ravichelvan - Transport for NSW (TfNSW), Charles Choucair - Transport for NSW (TfNSW), David Lance - Transport for NSW (TfNSW), Steve Grady - Busways, Ben Cantor – Busways, Jodie Mallia – CDC Bus NSW, Asith Nagodavithane - Transit Systems, Adam Wilkinson – Engineering Services Manager, David Drozd – Traffic Engineering Coordinator, Graham Green – Senior Traffic Engineer, Daniel Davidson – Senior Traffic Engineer, Kablan Mowad – Senior Traffic Engineer, Anthony Baradhy – Traffic Engineering Officer, Wendy Read – Road Safety Officer, Isaac Mann - Trainee Engineer, Bernie Meier – Signs and Lines Marking Supervisor, Andrew Pierce – Coordinator Ranger and Animal Services, Kiera Murphy – Senior Ranger.

LEAVE OF ABSENCE

Leave of Absence was previously granted to Councillor Marcus Cornish for the period 25 May 2020 to 21 July 2020 inclusive.

APOLOGIES

NIL.

CONFIRMATION OF MINUTES - Local Traffic Committee Meeting - 4 May 2020

The minutes of the Local Traffic Committee Meeting of 4 May 2020 were confirmed.

DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST

Adam Wilkinson – Engineering Services Manager declared a Non-Pecuniary Conflict of Interest - Less than Significant in Item 3 - Towle Close, Emu Plains - Proposed 'No Parking' Restrictions.

DELIVERY PROGRAM REPORTS

In response to the emerging COVID-19 situation, Council has determined that all non-essential committee meetings such as the Local Traffic Committee are to be cancelled through until further notice.

Accordingly, Penrith Council will not be convening the LTC Meeting on 1 June 2020. Instead we would like to complete the scheduled business remotely through electronic correspondence.

So, in relation to the upcoming LTC Meeting for 1 June 2020, and similar to the most recent LTC Business Paper, we again propose a “virtual” process;

1. The Business Paper is prepared as per normal and goes out electronically to the membership – A week before the first Monday of every month

2. Non-essential LTC items are not reported on – but may be emailed to TfNSW, Police and Busways as per normal protocols

3. The membership is given 5 working days to provide comment, from the day the Business Paper is emailed out – with all comments directed through (and compiled by) the David Drozd.

4. Those matters (recommendations) which are not commented on are moved / endorsed after the 5 day period

5. Those matters which are commented on / don’t reach agreement, are deferred for further information or changes to these reports

6. A set of “Minutes” will be prepared as usual based on the comments received from the members

7. Endorsement by the Monday night Council proceeds as usual – (usually three weeks post LTC)

As usual, the minutes will be available to all of the membership post Council meeting on Council’s webpage.

Outcome 3 - We can get around the City

1 IRONMAN 70.3 Western Sydney - Sunday, 27 September 2020 - Sydney International Regatta Centre

Steve Grady of Busways advised that Busways has no issues regarding the IRONMAN 70.3 event. Steve Grady also advised that the IRONMAN 70.3 event will result in the 783 bus services being diverted, however, as in previous years, Busways will have no issues.

RECOMMENDED

That:

1. The information contained in the report on IRONMAN 70.3 Western Sydney - Sunday, 27 September 2020 - Sydney International Regatta Centre be received.

2. The event applicant be advised that this is a Class 2 Event under the “Guide to Traffic and Transport Management for Special Events”, and that all conditions and requirements specified must be complied with prior to the event.

3. As per Appendix 1 and Appendix 2, approval be given for the temporary closure of the following roads:

· McCarthys Lane - Pipe Gate to Castlereagh Road

· Castlereagh Road - Between Andrews Road and Springwood Road

· Brooks Lane - Between Castlereagh Road and Wilshire Road

· Wilshire Road - Between Brookes Lane and Jockbett Road

· Jockbett Road - Between Wilshire Road and The Driftway

· The Driftway - Between Castlereagh Road and Londonderry Road

· Old Castlereagh Road - Between SIRC and Castlereagh Road

· Leland Street - Between Lugard Street and Old Castlereagh Road

· Lugard Street - Between Camden Street and Leland Street

· Borec Road - Between Cassola Place and Lugard Street

· Cassola Place - From Borec Road

from 4.30am to 3.00pm on Sunday, 27 September 2020.

4. The Traffic Management Plan for the “Ironman 70.3 – Western Sydney” be endorsed, subject to the following conditions:

a) A Traffic Management Plan including a Risk Management Plan be lodged by the event applicant with Transport for NSW for approval, prior to the event. A copy of Transport for NSW approval must be submitted to Council prior to the event.

b) The event applicant liaises with NSW Police prior to the event and obtain any approvals if required.

c) The applicant delivers an information letterbox drop and personal communication to all business proprietors, property owners/residents/tenants in the affected streets four weeks prior to the event. Arrangements are to be made for residents who require essential access to/from their properties during the event.

d) The event applicant submits to Council a copy of Public Liability Insurance (usually a Certificate of Currency) of minimum $20 million, 30 days prior to the event. In addition, the event applicant indemnifies Council in writing against all claims for damage and injury which may result from the proposed event.

e) A detailed Traffic Control Plan be prepared by a qualified and certified professional and submitted to Council, Transport for NSW and NSW Police prior to the event. The Traffic Control Plan shall detail how a minimum 4.0m emergency lane is maintained at all times during the event.

f) The event applicant arranges to place barricades and provide Transport for NSW accredited Traffic Controllers where required by the approved Traffic Management Plan. Where the Traffic Management and Traffic Control Plans indicate Traffic Controllers are to be used, all Traffic Controllers must have current Transport for NSW certification.

g) The event applicant provide advice to Council prior to the event that the event complies with the NSW Work Health and Safety Act 2011 & Work Health and Safety Regulation 2017.

h) The event applicant advertises the proposed temporary road closures in local newspapers a minimum of two weeks prior to the event, and provide variable message signs (VMS) in appropriate locations a minimum of two weeks prior to the event, with the locations of the VMS boards submitted to Council for endorsement prior to their erection. VMS boards should be located in accordance with Transport for NSW Technical Direction TDT2002/11c.

i) The event organiser notifies the Ambulance Service of NSW and Fire brigades (Fire & Rescue NSW and NSW Rural Fire Service) and NSW State Emergency Services of the proposed event and submit a copy of the notification to Council prior to the event.

j) The event applicant notifies private bus companies of the proposed event and submit a copy of the notification to Council prior to the event. Bus companies shall be requested to advertise the changed route for affected buses at least one week prior to, and during, the event.

k) Should the consultation process resolve to temporarily relocate bus stops or bus routes that were not indicated in the original Traffic Management Plan, a further report be required to be submitted to the next available Local Traffic Committee meeting.

l) The event applicant ensure that noise control measures are in place as required by the Protection of the Environment Operations (Noise Control) Regulation 2000.

m) The event applicant advises competitors to obey road rules and Police directions during the event.

5. Any proposed speed limit reductions are subject to the separate approval of the Transport for NSW.

6. All works as part of this approval be conducted at no cost to Council.

7. As a requirement of the TfNSW “Guide to Traffic and Transport Management for Special Events” this approval endorsing the Traffic Management Plan is to be considered as Council’s authorisation to regulate traffic on Council’s roads.

8. The applicant be advised of Council’s resolution.

2 Lockheed Circuit and Liberator Way, St Clair - Proposed Double Barrier Line Marking and Give Way Sign

RECOMMENDED

That:

1. The information contained in the report on Lockheed Circuit and Liberator Way, St Clair - Proposed Double Barrier Line Marking and Give Way Sign be received.

2. Consultation be undertaken with affected residents regarding the proposed double barrier line marking and ‘Give Way’ sign at the intersection of Lockheed Circuit and Liberation Way, St Clair as shown in Appendix 1.

3. Subject to no substantial objections being received, the proposed ‘Give Way’ sign and double barrier line marking be installed for a length of 9 meters and 7 meters at the intersection of Lockheed Circuit and Liberation Way, St Clair as shown in Appendix 1.

4. Council’s Rangers and the resident who reported the matter be advised of Council’s resolution.

3 Towle Close, Emu Plains - Proposed 'No Parking' Restrictions

Deputy Mayor, Councillor Karen McKeown OAM (Council Representative) supported the proposed ‘No parking restrictions on Towle Close Emu Plains. However, she requested that the proposed location of the ‘No Parking’ signs on Towle Close, Emu Plains shown in Design Plan AA000 dated May 2020 be located away from resident’s driveways and placed closer to the shared side property boundaries of No. 3 & 5 Towle Close and No. 4 Towle Close & 38 Forbes Street, Emu Plains instead.

David Drozd – Traffic Engineering Coordinator advised that Design Plan AA000 dated May 2020 will be amended to reflect the proposed ‘No Parking’ signs on the shared side property boundaries.

RECOMMENDED

That:

1. The information contained in the report on Towle Close, Emu Plains - Proposed 'No Parking' Restrictions be received.

2. The proposed ‘No Parking’ restrictions be installed along Towle Close, Emu Plains on the shared side property boundaries as shown in the amended Appendix 1.

3. Councillor Karen McKeown OAM, the residents of Towle Close and Council’s Rangers be advised of Council’s resolution.

4 Penrith CBD (South), Penrith - Endorsement of Design Plans for the Extension of 40km/hr High Pedestrian Activity Area Scheme

Brana Ravichelvan of Transport for NSW (TfNSW) advised that in discussing internally with TfNSW officers, the official funding letter for the Penrith CBD (south) High Pedestrian Activity Area Scheme has not yet been signed off by Penrith City Council and TfNSW. As such, TfNSW cannot agree to the programme commencement and consultation etc. within the Local Traffic Committee.

Brana Ravichelvan requested that this item be deferred to the next Local Traffic Committee and/ or until the funding letter has been signed and sent to TfNSW.

RECOMMENDED

That:

1. The report be deferred and Council await the funding acceptance letter to be signed and returned to TfNSW.

2. A report be prepared and presented back to a future Local Traffic Committee meeting.

5 Lakeside Parade, Jordan Springs - Provision of "No Parking - Waste Collection and Removalist Vehicles Excepted" Zone

RECOMMENDED

That:

1. The information contained in the report on Lakeside Parade, Jordan Springs - Provision of "No Parking - Waste Collection and Removalist Vehicles Excepted" Zone be received.

2. “No Parking – Waste Collection and Removalist Vehicles Excepted” zone signage (R5-447 modified) and associated kerb ramp be installed fronting 98 – 116 Lakeside Parade, Jordan Springs in accordance with the plan shown on the attached Appendix 1.

3. All works associated with the implementation of the signposting and associated kerb ramp shall be undertaken by the applicant in accordance with Section 8 of Council’s Engineering Construction Specification for Civil Works including Council standard drawings SD1002, SD11006/1 and SD1006/2 and be at no cost to Council.

4. Council’s Road Reserve Opening Team and Council’s Major Development Engineering Team be notified in order to facilitate works approval and payment of associated fees with the developer.

5. Council’s Asset Section be notified for inclusion of the signage and kerb ramp in Council’s Asset Management records and processes.

6. Council’s Waste Services Section, Council Rangers and the applicant be advised of Council’s decision.

6 Jordan Springs Public School – Provision of School Zones and Associated Line Marking, Signage and Flashing Lights

RECOMMENDED

That the information contained in the report on Jordan Springs Public School – Provision of School Zones and Associated Line Marking, Signage and Flashing Lights be received.

GENERAL BUSINESS

GB 1 Caddens Road & O'Connell Street, Caddens - Speed Limit Reduction

Brana Ravichelvan of Transport for NSW (TfNSW) advised that following discussions with NSW Police and in lieu of development in the Caddens area, TfNSW is reducing the speed limit on the current 60kph sections of O’Connell Street and Caddens Road, Caddens, to 50kph.

A map/plan outlining the areas undergoing speed limit adjustments has been attached.

_________________________________________________________________________

Wendy Read – Road Safety Officer supports the speed limit reduction and seeks ongoing partnership with TfNSW and NSW Police.

RECOMMENDED

That:

1. The information on Caddens Road & O'Connell Street, Caddens - Speed Limit Reduction be received.

2. Council write to TfNSW providing our support regarding the proposed speed limit reduction on Caddens Road and O’Connell Street, Caddens.

3. Council write to TfNSW requesting they provide media and public education activities in partnership with Penrith City Council to target relevant groups (such as Nepean TAFE, Kingswood Campus, Western Sydney University, Kingswood Campus and Werrington South Campus and local schools and businesses) in the community to ensure community awareness of the intended change in speed limits

4. Council write to Nepean Police Area Command (PAC) seeking their support to conduct enforcement as a necessary part of ensuring compliance with a lower speed limit, undertaken with sufficient intensity to achieve the desired change in road user behavior following community education/ awareness campaign.

5. TfNSW and NSW Police to provide promotional support for enforcement using appropriate mass media to maximise its impact on road user behaviour.

GB 2 Oakdale West Estate, Kemps Creek – Construction Traffic Management Plan and Signage and Line Marking Plan

Executive Summary

The purpose of this report is to consider the construction traffic management plan (CTMP) and the signage and line marking plan associated with the stage 2 works of the Oakdale West Industrial Estate (OWE) development at Kemps Creek. The report recommends that the CTMP is endorsed, and the signage and line marking plan be approved for installation.

Background

Council has received a CTMP and signage and line marking plan from Goodman Property Services associated with the Oakdale West Industrial Estate, stage 2 State Significant Development which was approved in April 2020 under SSD 10397. (CTMP Ref: 1086r03v15, Dated: 6/05/2020, and S&L Ref: 15-272, Issue A, Dated: 3/06/2020).

The stage 1 Development (SSD 7348) includes construction of the Western North South Link Road (WNSLR), site-wide bulk earthworks, estate wide basins, and lead-in services, whilst the subject stage 2 works involves establishing a warehouse and distribution facility at Lot 2B. The development consent issued by the Minister for Planning and Public Spaces conditioned in part that:

“Prior to any use of Aldington Road and Abbotts Road for construction traffic, the Applicant must submit a Construction Traffic Management Plan (CTMP) to the satisfaction of Council.”

AND

“The CTMP and any proposed measures must be to the satisfaction of Council and will be subject to Local Traffic Committee and Council approval.”

As such, the CTMP provided in Appendix 1 for the stage 2 works which propose construction traffic access to the OWE via Bakers Lane and Aldington Road. Bakers Lane is the primary access route and was approved as part of the stage 1 consent (Figure 1), however, due to the three schools located along this route, no construction traffic is permitted to arrive during peak school periods. As such, it is now proposed that construction traffic shall use Aldington Road and Abbotts Road (Figure 2) on Monday to Friday between 8:00 – 9.30AM and 2.30 –4:00PM, to minimise interaction with local school traffic and to expedite construction. It is expected that light vehicles and essential rigid trucks (effectively concrete trucks during scheduled pour days) shall utilise Abbotts Road/Aldington Road during these school peak periods. Heavy vehicles (other than concrete trucks) are not to arrive to site within these times.

Upon completion and dedication of the WNSLR, access to the work area from the north becomes available, and all vehicular access shall be restricted to the northern access routes via Lenore Drive and WNSLR.

Figure 1: Construction Vehicle Route via Bakers Lane – Non-Peak Period

Figure 2: Construction Vehicle Route via Aldington Road – Peak Period

Given the current rural area and the low traffic volume nature of Aldington Road and Abbotts Road, infrastructure and signage/line marking measures are necessary to ensure the road is suitable to safely accommodate the added traffic volumes generated by construction traffic. As such, a road safety audit (RSA) was conducted in which the developer and Council settled on the following mitigation measures:

- Reduction of the current 80km/hr speed limit to a 60km/hr work zone for the entire length of Aldington & Abbotts Road;

- Ensure there is at least a 6m seal and 1m shoulders for a total 8m road formation;

- Modify areas on the road where pooling water was found in the RSA;

- Ensure safe space on shoulder for vehicles attempting to overtake a turning vehicle into the site gate, and;

- Install signage and line marking once the seal is achieved.

The signage and line marking plan for Aldington Road and Abbotts Road is illustrated in Appendix 2. In summary, the plan features 60km/hr work zone signage, warning signage, edge (E1) and double barrier (BB) delineation measures, and right turn restrictions at the site access and the Abbotts Road and Mamre Road intersection. The right turn restrictions are only effective during peak school periods and will be removed upon operation of the WNSLR.

At its Ordinary Meeting on 3 April 2006, Council resolved, on the recommendation of the Local Traffic Committee, in part that:

“….delegated authority be given to Council’s Road Network Services Engineer to sign off plans for approval, following concurrence from voting members of the Local Traffic Committee”.

All costs associated with the installation of the signage and line marking shall be funded by the applicant. All works associated with the implementation of the signposting and/or line marking shall be undertaken by the applicant in accordance with Section 8 of Council’s Engineering Construction Specification for Civil Works and Council standard drawings SD1006/1 and SD1006/2 and be at no cost to Council.

_________________________________________________________________________

Steve Grady of Busways advised that there are no issues raised Busways regarding the signage and line marking plan. Steve Grady advised that he notes on the signage plan that during the peak periods, construction traffic will not be using Bakers Lane. Busways operate school bus services to the Mamre Anglican School, Emmaus Catholic College, and Trinity Catholic Primary School.

Brana Ravichelvan of TfNSW Advised that he has no objections with the signage and line marking plan.

Councillor Robin Cook (Representative for the Member for Londonderry) advised that she has no issues or concerns with the signage and line marking plan.

RECOMMENDED

That:

1. The information contained in the report on Oakdale West Estate, Kemps Creek – Construction Traffic Management Plan and Signage and Line Marking Plan be received.

2. The Construction Traffic Management Plan (Ref: 1086r03v15, Dated:

3. 6/05/2020) and the Signage and Line Marking Plan (Ref: 15-272, Issue A, Dated: 3/06/2020) as presented in Appendix 1 and 2 respectively be endorsed.

4. All works associated with the implementation of the signposting and/or line marking shall be undertaken by the applicant in accordance with Section 8 of Council’s Engineering Construction Specification for Civil Works and Council standard drawings SD1006/1 and SD1006/2 and be at no cost to Council.

5. The applicant be advised of Council’s resolution.

RECOMMENDATION

That the recommendations contained in the Report and Recommendations of the Local Traffic Committee meeting held on 1 June, 2020 be adopted.

Ordinary Meeting 22 June 2020

Submission to proposed changes to the Infrastructure Contributions System in NSW

Compiled by: Abdul Cheema, City Planning Co-ordinator

Natalie Stanowski, Principal Planner

Authorised by: Natasha Borgia, City Planning Manager

Kylie Powell, Director - City Futures

Outcome	We plan for our future growth
Strategy	Ensure services, facilities and infrastructure meet the changing needs of our City
Service Activity	Seek to influence planning legislation and related government policies to ensure the best outcomes for our community

Executive Summary

The Department of Planning, Industry and Environment has released a package of information for public exhibition which seeks to improve the transparency and accountability of the current infrastructure contributions system in NSW.

The package includes:

· Draft planning agreements policy framework - practice note.

· Improving the review of local infrastructure contributions plans - discussion paper.

· Criteria to request a higher s7.12 percentage - discussion paper.

· Draft special infrastructure contributions (SIC) guidelines.

· Proposed amendments to the Environmental Planning and Assessment Regulation 2000 (the EP&A Regulation) - policy paper and draft instrument.

It is recommended that Council endorse the attached submission to be forwarded to the NSW Department of Planning, Industry, and Environment.

Background

The NSW infrastructure contribution system is being reviewed via two separate but concurrent processes.

The first, a review of the infrastructure contributions system, will assess how infrastructure is funded in NSW and look at matters in and beyond the planning system. This is being conducted by the NSW Productivity Commissioner. The Commissioner will conduct a holistic review to determine whether it meets the objectives of certainty and efficiency, while delivering public infrastructure to support development. It is expected that this review will recommend options for reform that are aimed at delivering a principles-based system to deliver the infrastructure needed to match growth. This could include proposed changes to the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act and to other legislation that impacts infrastructure funding. A Final Report will be delivered by the Commissioner by the end of this year. Council is currently seeking opportunities to contribute to this process.

The second, more immediate process, is to identify and make improvements to the NSW infrastructure contributions system that will make it more transparent and easier to use. This process is being undertaken by the Department of Planning, Industry and Environment (DPIE) and includes the package of documents referred to in this report.

Improving the infrastructure contributions system

Following is a brief description of the changes being proposed. A summary of key matters raised is included at the end of each section with further details provided in the submission that is provided as Appendix 1.

1. Draft planning agreements policy framework

The DPIE is proposing an update to its planning agreements policy framework. The draft framework was originally exhibited in early 2017. The policy has been reviewed in response to the submissions received as a result of the 2017 exhibition, as well as to address the recommendations of the other review processes and to align it with contemporary policies and practices.

This framework includes a practice note that provides guidance on matters relating to voluntary planning agreements. It sets out the statutory framework for planning agreements and deals with issues such as the fundamental principles governing their use.

Summary of Key Matters Raised

a) The practice notes states that in general, the use of planning agreements for the primary purpose of value capture is not supported and that planning agreements should not be used explicitly for value capture in connection with the making of planning decisions.

Penrith LEP 2010 clause 8.7 allows for variation to FSR on certain sites if community infrastructure is provided (purpose is to capture value for the community). A VPA is the mechanism used to achieve this. The clause has been approved by the Department of Planning, Industry and Environment and therefore a practice note should not override or be at odds with a Local Environmental Plan provision. It is also recommended that the use of value capture for the purposes of infrastructure provision should be explored further.

b) The acceptability test requires that planning agreements are directed towards legitimate planning purposes, that can be identified in the statutory planning controls and other adopted planning strategies and policies applying to development. This is difficult to achieve if it is attached to a planning proposal, where a contributions plan has not yet been prepared and development is out of sequence. Furthermore, works may not be identified in a DCP or Contributions plan but are still reasonable and a direct benefit to the community.

Planning agreements are a tool for delivering innovative or complex infrastructure and public benefit outcomes. They provide a way to negotiate flexible outcomes in respect of development contributions that deliver sustainable development while achieving key economic, social and environmental objectives. Therefore, they should not be limited to matters identified in statutory planning controls.

2. Improving the review of local infrastructure contributions plans discussion paper

The review process is triggered when a local s7.11 development contributions plan exceeds the thresholds set out in the Environmental Planning and Assessment (Local Infrastructure Contributions) Direction 2012 (currently $20,000 per lot/dwelling and $30,000 per lot/dwelling in identified urban release/greenfield areas).

The following changes are being proposed:

I. The following options are being proposed to increase the value thresholds that trigger the review process:

i. Index the existing $20,000 and $30,000 per lot/dwelling thresholds by the ABS Consumer Price Index

ii. Increase the thresholds to $35,000 per lot/dwelling and $45,000 per lot/dwelling in greenfield (urban release areas).

iii. Implement one single threshold of $45,000 for all IPART reviewed contributions plans.

II. Implement an annual indexation mechanism for the thresholds that trigger the review process, based on the CPI.

III. Changes to the IPART terms of reference.

IV. Remove existing exemptions to the review process, known as grandfathered contributions plans.

V. Remove existing requirement for councils to re-exhibit an IPART reviewed contributions plan following the receipt of advice from the Minister’s nominee.

Summary of Key Matters Raised

a) Council’s preference is to have no threshold. This will enable councils to provide for required infrastructure to match the incoming development without going through the lengthy IPART review process and being left with a further shortfall.

b) If the department was of the view that a threshold needs to stay, then our preference would be one threshold of $45,000 for established and release areas. One value is easier to administer, instead of having to apply to DPIE for release areas.

c) The IPART essential works list needs to be reviewed and expanded to match need and expectation of the community.

d) The cost of land acquisition is a major factor in contributions plans which affects housing affordability. The impact of land cost needs to be considered if a threshold is to be maintained. There should be different indexation for land and work.

e) We support the removal of the existing requirement for councils to re-exhibit an IPART reviewed contributions plan following the receipt of advice from the Minister’s nominee.

f) We do not support the removal of the existing exemptions to the review process, known as grandfathered contributions plans. The Claremont Meadow Stage 2 plan is still in operation. This could leave a funding gap for infrastructure in this plan depending on the threshold adopted.

3. Criteria to request a higher section 7.12 percentage discussion paper

The intent of fixed percentage levies (7.12) is to collect contributions from developments in areas where nexus (the connection between proposed development and the demand created) and apportionment (the share of the total demand that the developer must pay) may be difficult to establish.

This review is not proposing to increase the overall s7.12 maximum rate as specified under clause 25K(1)(a) of the EP&A Regulation, this will be maintained at 1% of the cost of development.

The following are principles which higher maximum percentage levies are proposed to be set:

i. The area being proposed for a higher maximum percentage levy must be identified in a strategic plan as a strategic centre, local centre or economic corridor (regional plan, or district plan).

ii. It must have an existing or identified potential for significant employment growth.

iii. Planning controls will need to reflect and support the planned increase in population and employment capacity of the identified area.

Based on the above principles, two sets of potential assessment criteria, for either an increase of the maximum percentage to up to 2%, or up to 3%, have been developed for discussion and feedback.

Summary of Key Matters Raised

a) The overall s7.12 maximum rate has not reviewed since 2005 and may have been based on a different cost ratio between land price and cost of works. The standard maximum percentage should be increased.

b) There are current plans in NSW that are above this percentage. A calculation carried out by council demonstrates that in most cases a percentage of between 5-8% is required to deliver on the infrastructure needed for that community.

c) The additional criteria for the 3% increase required the contribution plan to include funding and delivery of district-level infrastructure, representing at least 10% of total value of the contributions plan. This needs to be flexible as local infrastructure within the percentage levy should take priority.

d) The proposed changes, specifically the cap on the percentage charged (not exceeding 3%) under a s7.12 plan, do not provide a feasible option for Councils to consider their use to facilitate infrastructure provision in greenfield areas, such as the Aerotropolis precinct.

4. Draft Special Infrastructure Contributions (SIC) guidelines

Special infrastructure contributions (SICs) help fund key elements of state and regional infrastructure in growing areas of Greater Sydney and regional NSW. The Department is responsible for the operation and management of the SIC framework, including the preparation of plans and Ministerial determinations, the collection of SIC revenue, investment prioritisation and distribution of funds for infrastructure delivery.

A new guideline is being proposed to improve transparency around the purpose and function of SICs.

Summary of Key Matters Raised

e) The feasibility testing of a SIC should be carried out considering both state and local contributions. Maybe a process involving IPART. If the levy is deemed to be unfeasible, then alternate funding mechanism needs to be explored and formed.

f) The feasibility testing of SIC contribution does not look at what the end user needs, but instead looks at what the feasibility is.

5. Proposed amendments to the EP&A Regulation

It is proposed to amend the EP&A Regulation to require planning authorities to provide additional reporting and accounting information for planning agreements.

Summary of Key Matters Raised

a) We support a contributions system that is transparent and holds councils accountable. We are investing into systems that will improve our reporting capabilities. However, there is lack of clarity as to what the new reporting requirements will be and what purpose will it serve.

b) The proposed reporting may have resource implications specially for VPA reporting.

Next Steps

Council officers have sought and received an extension of 2 weeks subject to a draft submission. A draft submission has been provided to the DPIE before the exhibition closing date of 12 June 2020. A final submission will be forwarded to DPIE subject to Council’s endorsement tonight.

Financial Implications

There are no immediate financial implications resulting from the submission to the NSW Department of Planning, Industry and Environment (DPIE) for the review of the NSW infrastructure contribution system. Council continues to have a funding shortfall for infrastructure as a result of the current cap placed on S7.11 Development Contributions. These proposed changes by DPIE may see a potential continuation of this in the longer term, however there could be positive financial outcomes should our submission responses be accepted.

Risk Implications

There is no risk implication.

Conclusion

The Department of Planning, Industry and Environment has identified changes to improve the NSW infrastructure contributions system to make it more transparent and easier to use. A review of the proposed changes has highlighted that the proposed changes do not address many of the underlying problems with the developer contributions system in NSW. Council officers have (in council’s submission) identified the issues these changes would have and made recommendations to improve the system to deliver the required infrastructure efficiently.

RECOMMENDATION

That:

1. The information contained in the report on Submission to proposed changes to the Infrastructure Contributions System in NSW be received

2. Council endorse the submission provided as Appendix 1 to be forwarded to NSW Department of Planning, Industry, and Environment for their consideration.

ATTACHMENTS/APPENDICES

1. ⇩

Submission - Changes to the Infrastructure Contributions System in NSW

6 Pages

Appendix

Ordinary Meeting 22 June 2020

RFT 19/20-08 Provision of Premixed Concrete

Compiled by: Gowry Gowrythasan, Acting City Presentation Manager - Civil Operations

Hang He, Project Engineer

Authorised by: John Gordon, City Presentation Manager

Brian Steffen, Director - City Services

Outcome	We can get around our City
Strategy	Provide a safe and efficient road and pathway network
Service Activity	Maintain the City’s roads and pathways

Executive Summary

A Tender for the provision of Premixed Concrete, on an as required basis, was advertised in the Sydney Morning Herald on 18 February 2020, and Western Weekender and e-tendering website on 18 February 2020. The tender closed on 11 March 2020.

The report advises Council of the outcome of the tender process and recommends that the tender from Holcim (Australia) Pty Ltd, trading as PF Concrete be accepted as an approved contractor for the supply of premixed concrete, for a period of three (3) years, with an option to extend for a further two (2) x one (1) year periods by mutual agreement, subject to satisfactory performance and allowing for rise and fall provisions.

Background

The purpose of this tender is to establish a panel of suppliers or a sole supplier with the proven ability to supply premixed concrete, on an ‘as required’ basis and delivered within the Penrith Local Government area.

A review of recent usage data indicates that Council used approximately 2,000 cubic metres of Premixed Concrete per annum on a range of maintenance and construction works.

The supplier will be capable of providing various strengths and grades of Premixed Concrete of 25MPa, 32MPa, 40MPa of 20mm and 10mm.

Tenderers were required to complete a price schedule for each of the strength grades offered by their company.

Tender Evaluation Panel

The Tender Evaluation Panel consisted of Hang He (Project Engineer), Matthew Nicholson (Operations Coordinator) and was chaired by Gowry Gowrythasan (Manager-Civil Operations). Allyce Langton from Council’s Procurement team performed the role of tender administration and probity officer for this tender.

Tender Evaluation Criteria

The selection criteria advertised and used in selecting the successful tenderer were:

• Business References

• Demonstrated Ability

• Local Business Preference

• Financials

• Environmental Management

• Quality Assurance Systems

• Work Health & Safety

Tenders Received

A total of four (4) tenders were received by the closing date of the advertised tender and are listed below in alphabetical order.

Tenderer’s Name	Location of the Business	Name of Business Owners / Directors
Boral Resources (NSW) Pty Ltd	4 Peachtree Road, Penrith NSW	Kathryn Fagg Mike Kane Peter Alexander Dr Eileen Doyle John Marlay Karen Moses Paul Rayner
Holcim (Australia) Pty Ltd t/as PF Concrete	Lot 45 Kite Street, Emu Plains NSW	George Agriogiannis, CEO Phil Wallance, CFO Rachel Todd
K&B Harrisdale Haulage Pty Ltd	7 Vistaway Court Donvale VIC	Prabhjeet S Billing Navneet Kalra
Total Concrete Solutions Pty Ltd & South Coast Basalt Pty Ltd, t/as Western Suburbs Concrete	1A Coombes Drive, Penrith NSW	Peter Vicary

Criteria Evaluation

Holcim (Australia) Pty Ltd, trading as PF Concrete, submitted a complying tender.

The tender received from Boral Resources (NSW) Pty Ltd was a non-conforming tender, as they did not comply with Council’s terms and conditions in relation to insurance, liability and warranties. Boral Resources (NSW) Pty Ltd was contacted during the evaluation period and they confirmed that this was the entirety of their submission. Clarification on the omission of this information was made with Council’s Legal Services team and the decision was made to exclude Boral from the evaluation process.

K&B Harrisdale Haulage Pty Ltd did not have their own concrete batching plant to provide the services to meet our operational requirements.

The tender received from Total Concrete Solutions Pty Ltd & South Coast Basalt Pty Ltd, trading as Western Suburbs Concrete, was a non-conforming tender, as they did not supply audited financial statements as specified in Council’s tender documentation.

Price Evaluation

All the tenderers submitted the price schedule as requested.

For comparison purposes only, the unit rates offered by all companies were annualised, based on the estimated volumes as stated in the tender documents. The table below shows the annualised estimate for the premixed concrete from lowest to highest.

Tenderer’s Name	Premixed Concrete	Estimated Annual Expenditure
Holcim (Australia) Pty Ltd t/as PF Concrete	25MPa, 32MPa, 40MPa of 20mm and 10mm. Total = 2,000 cubic metres	$468,041
Boral Resources (NSW) Pty Ltd		$614,983
Total Concrete Solutions Pty Ltd & South Coast Basalt Pty Ltd, t/as Western Suburbs Concrete		$807,855
K&B Harrisdale Haulage Pty Ltd		$976,685

It was also noted that the rates from Holcim (Australia) Pty Ltd t/as PF Concrete have increased by an average of 8.0 percent from the previous contract (period contract from 2014 to 2019). Based on the above information, the Panel considered this to be an acceptable rate increase, as the price increase mechanism in the previous contract (CPI only) had led to price increases, which were lower than general market price increases over the term of the contract.

Therefore, the Holcim (Australia) Pty Ltd, t/as PF Concrete offer represents the best value for Council for the provision of Premixed Concrete as a preferred supplier.

Tender Advisory Group Comment

The objective of the Tender Advisory Group (TAG) is to support the Council to achieve fair and equitable tender processes. The TAG, consisting of Brian Steffen - Director City Services, Glenn McCarthy - Governance Manager and Neil Farquharson – Financial Services Manager were briefed by the City Presentation team about the background and the process followed.

The TAG considered the recommendations in relation to the tender for the provision of premixed concrete, noting that the recommended company has demonstrated their ability to meet Council’s requirements and their proposal was considered to be the most advantageous to Council. The TAG reviewed the evaluation process outlined within the report and is satisfied that the selection criteria have been correctly applied in making the recommendations.

Financial Implications

Included in the assessment of tenders was the commissioning of independent reference checks, financial analysis, and performance analysis on Holcim (Australia) Pty Ltd, t/as PF Concrete. These checks are being completed by Equifax Australasia Credit Rating Pty Ltd but have not yet been returned. The report recommends the acceptance of the tender by Holcim (Australia) Pty Ltd, subject to the return of an acceptable financial report.

Risk Implications

Establishing a preferred list of suppliers capable of providing the premixed concrete to support Council operations will ensure reliable service throughout the term of the contract. However due to non-conformance of two major local supplier’s tenders have resulted to establish with one supplier for the provision of premixed concrete.

However, as PF Concrete has been providing this service in the past five years to meet our requirements, the risk is very minimal when considering the past performance.

In the event that PF Concrete NSW Pty Ltd is unable to provide the service due to various reasons, then quotes will be obtained from other local suppliers suitably able to provide the products at that time.

Conclusion

Holcim (Australia) Pty Ltd, t/as PF Concrete have demonstrated their capability in providing the specified services and as a current supplier, they have proven to Penrith City Council that they are capable of delivering the service as tendered.

Therefore, Holcim (Australia) Pty Ltd, t/as PF Concrete is recommended as the preferred supplier for the supply and delivery of premixed concrete.

RECOMMENDATION

That:

1. The information contained in the report on RFT 19/20-08 Provision of Premixed Concrete be received

2. A three (3) year contract with an option to extend two (2) x one (1) year periods, subject to satisfactory performance, be awarded to Holcim (Australia) Pty Ltd, t/as PF Concrete, as a supplier for the provision of premixed concrete in accordance with the terms and conditions of the Tender

3. The Common Seal of the Council of the City of Penrith be placed on all documentation as necessary

ATTACHMENTS/APPENDICES

There are no attachments for this report.

Ordinary Meeting 22 June 2020

RFT19/20-38 St Marys Art and Craft Studio Refurbishment Works

Compiled by: Mudassar Fayyaz, Major Projects Coordinator

Authorised by: Michael Jackson, Design and Projects Manager

Brian Steffen, Director - City Services

Outcome	We have safe, vibrant places
Strategy	Make our public places safe and attractive
Service Activity	Implement the Building Asset Renewal Program

Executive Summary

Tender reference RFT19/20-38 for St Marys Art and Craft Studio Refurbishment Works was advertised online through Apet360 on 9^th April 2020. The tender closed on 27^th May 2020.

This report advises Council of the outcome of the tender process and recommends that the tender from Rogers Construction Group Pty Ltd for the full scope of works outlined in RFT19/20-38 St Marys Art and Craft Studio Refurbishment Works be accepted for the amount of $254,224.90 (excluding GST).

Background

Penrith City Council has allocated funding for the refurbishment of various Community Facility Buildings in its 19/20 Assert Renewal Program (ARP). Refurbishment works at St Marys Art and Craft Studio was included in this program.

Work at this site features the following

· Refurbishment of ceilings and floors and reinstating all services including fire, security and lighting

· Replacement of air-conditioning units

· Replacement of all windows

· Demolition and installation of new partition walls and doors

· Internal and external walls crack treatment and painting throughout

· Renovation of existing toilets and connection with rainwater tank

· Installation of new joinery and shelving

· Renew damaged sections of concrete footpaths around the building

· All other works as elaborated in RFT 19/20-38 documents and associated addendums

It is expected that the proposed refurbishment works will significantly add to the life span of the centre and enhance the user experience by providing contemporary facilities.

Tender Evaluation Process

The Tender Evaluation Committee consisted of Rosemarie Canales - Architectural Supervisor, Mudassar Fayyaz - Major Projects Coordinator and was chaired by Michael Jackson - Design and Projects Manager. Allyce Langton from Council’s Procurement team performed the role of tender administration and probity officer for this tender.

The evaluation criteria advertised and used in assessing the tenders received included the following:

· Business References

· Demonstrated Ability

· Works Method and Program

· Financials

· Employment Policies and details (Direct labour and Sub Contractors)

· Local Business Preference Policy - Suppliers and Contractors

· Quality Assurance Systems

· Environmental Management Systems

· Work Health & Safety

Initial Tender Review

A full listing of the tenders received is detailed below in price order (ex GST).

Company	Tendered Price	Company Location	Directors/Manager
Rogers Construction Group Pty Ltd	$254,224.90	Unit 3/74 Edward Street Riverstone	Ben Kavo
Westbury Construction Pty Ltd	$257,927.00	PO Box 8301, Baulkham Hills	Darren Price
Reward Interiors Pty Ltd	$262,417.00	PO Box 2132 Taren Point	Jimmy Lee, Senior
Dalski Pty Ltd	$271,869.66	798 Parramatta Rd Lewisham	Jackson Sensicle
Innovatus Pty Ltd	$275,144.35	Suite 3. Level 1, 96 Smith Street, Wollongong	Bruce Kent
Constructicon Pty Ltd	$279,942.61	PO Box 181 Northmead	Monty Nguy
Direct Pty Ltd	$282,167.66	Suite 3, Level 1, 14- 16 Suakin Street, Pymble	Ben Mcleod
Phillip Pty Ltd	$283,218.00	97 Taylor Road Cranebrook	Phil McNamara
Rapid Construction Pty Ltd	$286,978.00	P O Box 2250, North Parramatta	Ian Holswich
SOFC Pty Ltd	$289,577.78	Level 12, 95 Pitt St, Sydney	Keith Sheppard
Greenbrook Pty Ltd	$299,492.60	2a River Street, Birchgrove	Michael Peter Greenwell
JDV Pty Ltd	$304,180.00	Unit 16, 78 Reserve Road Artarmon	Ray Levin
Reitsma Construction Pty Ltd	$308,804.00	19 Bearing Road, Seven Hills	Greg Tisdale
Ckorp Holdings Pty Ltd	$312,707.70	PO BOX 530 Padstow	Ben Stirling
Jalshank Associates Pty Ltd	$314,329.00	46 Barnea Avenue, Caddens,	Amit Patel
Ampro Construction Pty Ltd	$320,000.00	29 Berith Street, Auburn	Francois Brun
Auscare Construction Pty Ltd	$320,405.71	U 2 92-94 Norton St Leichhardt	Mostapha El-Haj
Coverit Pty Ltd	$336,575.00	Unit 18 37-47 Borec Rd Penrith	Shane Comans
MBR Painting and Maintenance Pty Ltd	$362,000.00	6/254 Pitt St Merrylands	Peiman Ghorban Pour
Intermain Pty Ltd	$362,570.00	1 Gillespie Avenue, Alexandria	Jason Sultana
Ibuild Designs Pty Ltd	$425,063.00	6 Goodenia Court Voyager Point	Shaun McDonagh
Trade Wind Pty Ltd	$437,370.34	PO Box 977 Kings Langley	Shane Govender- Director
KMC Pty Ltd	$459,828.00	54 Moore St, Leichhardt	Mathew Curic
Brenic Construction Pty Ltd	$481,770.00	5 Opus Place Cranebrook	Dominic Begley
Kwarel Pty Ltd	$529,795.00	5 Foundry Road Seven Hills	John Mallia
B&G Enterprises Pty Ltd	$534,258.50	14 Altair Pl Jamisontown	Ryan Connor
Versatile Fitout Pty Ltd	$542,576.00	Lv 2, 210 Clarence St Sydney	Rhonda Hussein - Smith
Catalyst Contracting Pty Ltd	$836,182.08	1 / 135 Cornelia Rd Toongabbie	Joseph Sahyoun

The six (6) lowest priced tenders were considered for initial assessment based on available budget and were evaluated using Apet360 software to provide a ranking for conformance with the evaluation criteria. Tenders evaluated were the submissions from Rogers Construction Group Pty Ltd, Westbury Construction Pty Ltd, Reward Interiors Pty Ltd, Dalski Pty Ltd, Innovatus Pty Ltd, and Constructicon Pty Ltd.

The remaining tenders were not considered for the evaluation as their tender price was higher than the expected price range.

Evaluation of the Preferred Tender

Following an initial assessment, the tender from Rogers Construction Group Pty Ltd was considered by the Tender Evaluation Committee to provide the highest value for money in terms of effectiveness and price.

The recommended company, Rogers Constructions Group Pty Ltd was selected based on their:

1) Compliance with the tender evaluation criteria,

2) Demonstrated ability to meet Council’s requirements; and

3) Lowest price for the services offered.

The Tender Evaluation Committee thoroughly reviewed the information provided pertaining to past experience of the proposed tenderer and conducted reference checks.

Recommended Tenderer

Rogers Construction Group Pty Ltd was founded in 2016 and has been operating since. Based in Riverstone the company has undertaken a diverse range of building works in both the commercial and residential sector encompassing a broad area of work from minor maintenance work through to mid-sized refurbishment and fit-out projects. They have recently completed a number of fit-out projects for Sydney City Council, NSW Health and Catholic Education and recently completed a refurbishment project for Penrith City Council.

The company’s services and activities are controlled by documented management systems to meet Safety, Quality and Environmental regulatory requirements. Whilst these systems are internal they operate within industry guidelines including ISO 9002 for quality management and the current WHS act and meet the necessary standards for council projects.

Tender Advisory Group (TAG) Comment

The objective of the Tender Advisory Group (TAG) is to support the Council to achieve fair and equitable tender processes. The TAG, consisting of Brian Steffen - Director City Services, Glenn McCarthy - Governance Manager and Neil Farquharson – Financial Services Manager were briefed by the Design & Projects team about the background and the process followed.

The TAG considered the recommendations in relation to the tender for the refurbishment of St Marys Art and Craft Studio. The TAG noted that Rogers Construction Group Pty Ltd has demonstrated their ability to meet Council’s requirements, their proposal was the lowest cost and considered to be the most advantageous to Council. The TAG reviewed the evaluation process outlined within the report and is satisfied that the selection criteria have been correctly applied in making the recommendations.

Financial Implications

Included in the assessment of tenders was the commissioning of independent reference checks, financial analysis, and performance analysis of the Rogers Construction Group Pty Ltd. These checks were performed recently by Equifax Australasia Credit Ratings Pty Ltd during their engagement on refurbishment works at another Penrith City Council project and are still valid. These financial checks are acceptable to Council and deemed Rogers Construction Group Pty Ltd in a financially stable position to deliver this project successfully. The report recommends acceptance of the tender by Rogers Construction Group Pty Ltd.

The budget was allocated from the 2019-20 Building Asset Renewal Program.

Risk Implications

The tender process outlined in this report includes controls regarding probity and ensuring value for council, overseen by the Tender Advisory Group. The works will be undertaken in accordance with Work Health & Safety systems.

Conclusion

The Tender Evaluation Committee is of the opinion that Rogers Construction Group Pty Ltd provided the most advantageous tender and it is recommended that the Company be awarded the contract for a sum of $254,224.90 excluding GST.

RECOMMENDATION

That:

1. The information contained in the report on RFT19/20-38 St Marys Art and Craft Studio Refurbishment Works be received

2. Rogers Construction Group Pty Ltd be awarded the Contract subject to the execution of a formal agreement for the refurbishment works to St Marys Art and Craft Studio for the amount of $254,224.90 excluding GST.

3. The Common Seal of the Council of the City of Penrith be placed on all documentation as necessary.

ATTACHMENTS/APPENDICES

There are no attachments for this report.

Ordinary Meeting 22 June 2020

Magnetic Places Program 2020-21

Compiled by: Donita Hulme, Cultural Engagement Officer

Lila Kennelly, Neighbourhood Renewal Coordinator

Authorised by: Jeni Pollard, City Activation, Community and Place Manager

Kylie Powell, Director - City Futures

Outcome	We have safe, vibrant places
Strategy	Work with our communities to improve wellbeing and infrastructure in their neighbourhoods
Service Activity	Deliver projects that address local issues and improve the wellbeing of local communities

Executive Summary

This report informs Council of the progress of the 2019-20 Magnetic Places Grants program along with the refocusing of the 2020-21 program, due to recent COVID-19 restrictions. The report recommends 6 new collaborative arts projects for funding in 2020-21.

Magnetic Places is a celebrated grants program that positions Penrith City as an innovator in community-driven placemaking. The grants are an integral component of the Neighbourhood Renewal Program and seek to enrich the City’s older established areas and offer residents valuable opportunities for creative expression and connection.

For the 2020 round, Magnetic Places has been refocused to encourage innovative arts projects that are accessible for our residents as they share positive narratives of the places where they live.

In response to COVID-19 related restrictions, the 2020 program’s guidelines were simplified to attract projects providing creative alternatives to face to face connection. The purpose is to engage residents experiencing social isolation and those with limited access to arts and cultural expression.

This report recommends 6 projects to be funded by the Magnetic Places Grants Program 2020-21 for a total funding spend of $48,270 with the balance of funds up to $50,000 to be used to promote and market projects.

Background

Since it began in 2007, Magnetic Places has funded 93 successful projects that celebrate collaboration, creativity and culture, positively impacting the lives of more than 15,000 residents in that time. Neighbourhood Renewal supports positive change by working with people where they live to enhance the wellbeing of their neighbourhood as a healthy and vibrant place.

Through the Magnetic Places program thousands of local residents in priority areas have contributed their energy and imagination to transformative projects lead by professional artists and community service organisations. The impacts of these projects include greater community cohesion, improved wellbeing, the development of safer and more attractive public spaces and the sharing of local stories.

The projects have also resulted in the installation of permanent and temporary artworks across the city’s Neighbourhood Renewal areas. The total annual available budget for Magnetic Places is $50,000.

2019-20 Magnetic Places projects

In 2019, a total of 6 placemaking projects were funded for delivery in St Marys, Londonderry, Llandilo, North St Marys, Colyton and Kingswood. While significant progress has been made on three of these projects, a number have been granted extensions and will resume activities once current COVID-19 restrictions have been lifted.

The 6 endorsed placemaking projects in 2019-20 were:

1. Faces of St Marys by Fusion Western Sydney (St Marys)

2. Londonderry Magnetic Places by Chistine Huynh (Londonderry)

3. Modified Artist Workshop by Afford (Llandilo)

4. Nganaga- Ask Anything by Chifley College Dunheved Campus P&C Association (North St Marys)

5. Welcome to Colyton by Team Colyton (Colyton)

6. Woven Voices by Rhonda Dee (Kingswood)

Project activities, such as workshops, site visits and community celebrations, were expected to be delivered during the period October 2019 to June 2020. For some projects, these activities have been impacted by recent COVID-19 related restrictions on social gatherings and are currently on hold awaiting changes to the current conditions.

Council officers continue to support applicants and advise on how to best proceed with planned programming. All applicants have been granted an extension to enable them to effectively deliver and conclude their projects.

For Faces of St Marys, community workshops concluded prior to the COVID-19 restrictions coming into effect. In June they will host online celebrations attended virtually by the Mayor. The remaining five projects will resume activity once social distancing measures are lifted.

Significant progress has been made and each of the projects has been positively received by the community. For example, Londonderry Magnetic Places has worked with residents and local RFS volunteers (as seen below) to teach mosaic skills and develop new artworks that will be installed in key locations around the town centre of Londonderry.

Local RFS volunteers participate in the Londonderry Magnetic Places project in March 2020.

2020 Magnetic Places grant applications and assessment

In light of COVID-19 related restrictions on social gatherings, Magnetic Places 2020 seeks to enable meaningful access and participation for residents during these challenging and changing times while uncovering positive narratives of their neighbourhoods through fresh and creative approaches. The program’s outcomes remain the same, to amplify creativity, connection and vibrancy in older established neighbourhoods and to engage residents experiencing social isolation.

Promotion

The promotional campaign and application period ran for three weeks, 6-27 May 2020. The program was promoted via Council’s website and social media, as well as local community networks and interagencies.

To extend the reach of the program's promotional campaign this year, the program also utilised advertising via ArtsHub, the leading online resource for Australia arts. The short but effective campaign resulted in over 30 enquiries from professional artists and organisations discussing a range of interesting project ideas with Council officers.

Eligibility and assessment criteria

All projects must target activities in one or more of Council’s 12 Neighbourhood Renewal areas in order to be eligible for Magnetic Places funding. Eligible applicants include professional artist/s with ABN, non-government organisations, incorporated groups and unincorporated groups that are auspiced by an incorporated organisation.

A total of 15 grant applications were submitted to Magnetic Places 2020. The applications received were of a high quality and together totalled $119,005 in requested funds.

After standard eligibility checks one application was deemed ineligible due to the absence of required information regarding budget, insurance and support material.

Eligible applications were assessed against their ability to meet the following criteria:

1. Attract a variety of local residents

2. Engage safely and innovatively with residents

3. Generate positive narratives about the places where participants live

4. Work with a sound budget and implementation plan

5. Be covered by a current certificate or have a quote for public liability insurance.

Applications were submitted online via SmartyGrants and assessed by a three-person panel of Council officers who reviewed all applications against the selection criteria and ranked the applications to provide a list of recommendations for funding.

When ranked against selection criteria and available funding, the competitive assessment process resulted in 6 projects being shortlisted and represent a total request of $48,270. These projects are shown over the page in Table 1. Appendix 1 provides further information and an outline of each of the projects recommended for funding.

Appendix 2 lists all applications not recommend for funding and provides a brief rationale against each project. Council officers will provide individual feedback to unsuccessful applicants to assist efforts with any future applications. Where appropriate, other funding sources will also be identified.

Project Title	Applicant	Locations	Request	Recommended
Dear Tree	Rose Ertler	Kingswood	$4,250	$4,250
Our Symphony	Luke Hespanhol	Cambridge Park, Colyton, Cranebrook, Kingswood, Kingswood Park, Llandilo, Londonderry, North St Marys, Oxley Park, Penrith (suburb), St Marys, Werrington	$10,000	$10,000
RE-Connection	Laura Bestman	Cambridge Park, Colyton, Cranebrook, Kingswood, Kingswood Park, Llandilo, Londonderry, North St Marys, Oxley Park, Penrith (suburb), St Marys, Werrington	$9,960	$9,960
Postcards from St Marys	Fusion Western Sydney	Kingswood Park, North St Marys, St Marys	$6,700	$6,700
A Cup across the Fence_Clay Symphony	Varuni Kanagasundaram	Cranebrook, Kingswood, Penrith (suburb), Werrington	$7,360	$7,360
WHISPER	William Feuerman	Penrith (suburb), St Marys, Werrington	$10,000	$10,000
*TOTAL REQUESTED*			*$48,270*	$48,270

Table 1.

Financial Implications

Funding for Magnetic Places 2020-21 projects is made available through Neighbourhood Renewal as part of Council’s the 2020-21 Operational Plan. Funding of up to $50,000 is available for successful projects and applicants were able to apply for up to $5,000 or $10,000 for projects. Applicants must provide a detailed budget breakdown as part of their submission and meet eligibility criteria in order to receive funding. The total $48,270 requested to fund 6 recommended projects will allow the remaining funds to be spent on promoting the project activities to residents.

Risk Implications

The 2020-21 round of Magnetic Places has been developed to mitigate the risks of face to face programming being disrupted by factors such as the outbreaks of disease or extreme weather events. All applicants must comply with Council’s policies and procedures as a condition of receiving the grant, including maintaining Public Liability Insurance. Council officers will work closely with successful applicants to ensure project activities mitigate any possible risks to the community.

Conclusion

Through the 2019-20 Magnetic Places Grants Program to date, over 200 residents have collaborated with artists and community service providers on three projects to amplify their own creativity and enhance the vitality of three local locations. This impact will be further enhanced when the remaining projects are able to proceed with their planned activities upon the easing of recent restrictions on social gatherings.

If endorsed by Council, the 6 projects (totalling $48,270) recommended for funding in 2020-21 will provide Penrith residents with new opportunities to participate in exciting projects that utilise different types of spaces and enable people to connect in new ways. This round of Magnetic Places will showcase successful approaches that can used to engage with a diverse range of people and continue to position Penrith City as a leader in community-driven placemaking and creative neighbourhood renewal.

RECOMMENDATION

That:

1. The information contained in the report on Magnetic Places Program 2020-21 be received

2. The 6 projects listed in Table 1 be funded as part of the Magnetic Places Grants Program 2020-21.

ATTACHMENTS/APPENDICES

1. ⇩	Magnetic Places 2020 - Recommended Projects	2 Pages	Appendix
2. ⇩	Magnetic Places 2020 - Projects not recommended	1 Page	Appendix

Ordinary Meeting 22 June 2020

City Centre Corporations Triennial Impact Review

Compiled by: Rebekah Elliott, City Engagement Coordinator

Authorised by: Jeni Pollard, City Activation, Community and Place Manager

Kylie Powell, Director - City Futures

Outcome	We have safe, vibrant places
Strategy	Help make our major centres and important community places safe and attractive
Service Activity	Support the revitalisation of Penrith City Centre and St Marys Town Centre

Executive Summary

Penrith City Council works with the boards of the St Marys Town Centre Corporation (SMTCC) and the Penrith CBD Corporation (PCBDC) to jointly manage the centres to support their ongoing vitality and viability.

As per the current Deed of Agreement with both entities, a three-year review of the SMTCC and the PCBDC was undertaken by consultants, Morrison Low.

The review involved the assessment and analysis of the operations of both Corporations over the past three years and the relationships that they have with various stakeholders, all with a focus on the impact of their operation.

On the 18 November 2019, Morrison Low presented the draft review documentation (Attachment 1) for discussion at a Councillor Briefing. The final report and Key Performance Indicator framework was presented for discussion at the Councillor Briefing on 18 May 2019. The Morrison Low report recommends a range of actions outlined to be implemented to improve the corporations’ operation and reporting, specifically the move to a Service Level Agreement that details the scope of services and agreed performance indicators (Attachment 2).

This report recommends that the information contained in the report on City Centre Corporations Triennial Impact Review be received and that the recommendations of the Morrison Low report, as outlined in Council’s report, be progressively implemented to improve the operation and management of the St Marys Town Centre Corporation and the Penrith CBD Corporation.

Background

Council created the SMTCC and the PCBDC in early 2013 replacing the previous associations with incorporated entities in order to support best governance and maintenance practices. In developing the new corporations, Council was cognisant of the need to provide a guiding structure for their activities that respected transparent management of public funds whilst enabling responsive decision making. Thus Council and the Corporations entered into a Deed of Agreement that required the Corporations to develop a Triennial Business Plan that they would articulate their overall direction with an annual report to Council on progress.

According to the Deed of Agreement between Council and the Corporations, every three years an independent review of their performance is required to be undertaken during the third year of their operation. In 2016, the first triennial review was undertaken which had a focus on fine tuning the corporation model. This current review commenced in 2019 focussed on the impact of the corporations to assess benefit.

Study Objectives and Methodology

The Study’s objectives were to:

• Review the effectiveness of the current Deed of Agreement

• Review the effectiveness of the constitution

• Review the performance of the Corporations in relation to their business plans and actual delivery of projected outcomes

• Review of the performance of Council in relation to its support of the Corporations in the delivery of their projected outcomes

• Develop an impact evaluation framework to be applied to regular reports to Council

• Develop a formula to be able to apply a return on investment figure for each corporation

• Develop consistent approaches and set out consistent expectations and measures on reporting back to Council

• Develop a grants management framework to apply to managing the Deeds of Agreement with the Corporations and Council

The consultant used a range of approaches to collect data about the performance of the Corporations and the relationship that they have with Council.

In summary, the methodology used included the following:

• A review and analysis of all past triennial business plans, annual business plans, annual operations reports and financial statements

• Face to face interviews with the Corporations’ Chairs and operation managers

• Face to face interview with the Chair of Penrith Valley Chamber of Commerce

• Face to face interviews with Council’s Place Management Officers

• Telephone interviews with an ex board member of each Corporation

• Telephone interviews with five business stakeholders, including property owners in each centre (nominated by Council officers).

• Briefing of the Chairs and Boards of the Corporations on the findings and recommendations for each.

Recommendations for the future improvement of the operation of the Corporations and their relationship with Council have also been made.

Study Findings

The thoroughness and complexity of the methodology cited above is reflected by the diversity of the feedback received during the study process. A brief summary of the study’s findings in relationship to the performance of both Corporations and Council is provided below:

1. There is a genuine intention from all Board members and staff within the Corporations of seeking to better their centres and all were conscious that they were funded through public monies.

2. Both Corporations could benefit from some level of board development and training from Council’s legal services or another recommended provider.

3. The greatest benefits from the current model seem to be:

a. The ability to have local business owners and stakeholders actively involved in a meaningful way, driving and supporting the future of their areas.

b. A mechanism to communicate issues affecting the business area.

c. A flexibility in ‘what’ and ‘how’ funds can be spent or allocated.

d. A town centre wide approach to marketing and promotion of businesses, the degree to which this occurs varies between the two centres.

4. There is a lack of clarity across all parties as to what the company model should look like and how it should operate.

5. The compliance and overhead costs of running the Corporations seem reasonably significant in proportion to total expenditure.

6. There are differences in the understanding of each party’s responsibilities, with the Deed of Agreement not providing any clarity because it is too general.

7. The guiding documents do not help clarify expectations of roles and responsibilities nor does the business plan framework, introduced after the last review. There is an awareness of, but little focus on, the Deed of Agreement contents and objectives.

Recommendations

The Morrison Low report recommends a broad range of interventions that over time will improve the operations and management of the Boards and improve their value to Council and the community. In summary they are:

1. Given the nature of the Corporations, Council adopt a purchaser / provider approach through a Service Level Agreement that replaces the Deed of Agreement and:

a. Clarifies the respective role of the Council and Corporations, and the relationship between the parties.

b. Defines and documents the relationship objectives, service requirements and performance requirements in exchange for funding.

c. Determines the proportional or amount of investment that contributes towards satisfying each objective.

d. Requires regular reporting (at least six monthly) and an agreement of future priorities, objectives and performance prior to the commencement of the new funding year.

e. Requires the collection of data that quantifies the outputs and outcomes of the Corporations activities.

2. Given the number of rate funded events and duplication of responsibilities in Penrith City, Council investigate establishing a centralised team who has responsibility for the creation and delivery or contracting of principally rate funded events to improve coordination, risk management and value. At this stage, there is not a view to act on this recommendation, it will continue to be further considered and discussed accordingly with internal stakeholders and the corporations.

3. Council develop a set of standard templates to enable the Corporations to plan, measure and report in accordance with the proposed Service Level Agreement.

4. Given the level of funding provided, Council adopt a role to ensure the Corporations are accountable for delivery of the specific outputs, services and performance, while delivering the best value for the ratepayers who fund them.

5. St Marys Town Centre Corporation be asked to provide a plan that outlines how the surplus funds held will be applied in accordance with any Service Level Agreement OR request the return of all or a proportion of the funds to be applied by Council for the benefit of the Town Centre area. This recommendation is consistent with feedback provided by Council over the last 18 months and is addressed in a separate report before Council this evening.

Consultation

Following the previous briefing, staff have been liaising with both corporations on the proposed service activities and the draft Service Level Agreement. The SLA agreements have been approved and feedback from both corporations has been incorporated in the draft Service Level Agreements, in particular the service activities prescribed in each agreement.

Financial Implications

There are no financial implications for Council associated with this report. The Council collects funds under the Business Sub-Category Rate and pay the Rate collected to the Corporations in accordance with their Agreement so that it can fulfil the Objectives and agreed outcomes of for the city centres. A formal, independent review of the performance of the Corporations in achieving their business plans is required in the third year of the agreement and prior to entering into each new agreement. To facilitate this review, Council has negotiated to withhold 3% of the annual operating funds of the PCBD and SMTCC for this purpose and also to support any corporation training that the board members may attend. The next review will take place in 3 years time.

Risk Implications

In consulting with the Corporations on the draft Service Level Agreement, it was identified that the existing clause within the current Deed of Agreement that did not let the Corporations trade insolvent was not included. The consultant, Morrison Low provided advice that the referenced clause inadvertently exposed Council to some risk.

Advice from Council’s Chief Governance Officer was that the existing clause from the Deed of Agreement could be included in the Service Level Agreement as the individuals who sit on the corporations are unpaid volunteers and cannot under the law avoid personal liability if the corporation were to trade insolvent. The clause protects them against the potential of trading insolvent. It has since been modified to account for the risk and included accordingly in the Service Level Agreement.

Next Steps

To implement what has been recommended by Morrison Low several actions are required. The City Activation, Community and Place Department will continue to work with both Corporations to finalise the service activities, reporting templates and to prepare the business plans.

The finalisation of the Service Level Agreements will continue to incorporate the recommendations of the Review. It is anticipated that the Service Level Agreements will be for a period of 3 years.

Conversations have continued with the St Marys Town Centre Corporation on agreed priority projects for Council to expend a proportion of the surplus funds delivering over the remainder of this financial year and next financial year. This matter is the subject of a report to Council that is in the Business Paper for tonight’s meeting.

Conclusion

The review of the operations and governance of the Corporations by Morrison Low has established that they provide value to the community and Council. There are a number of areas for improvement both for the Board and for Council.

The recommendations coming from the report by Morrison Low will be implemented in conjunction with the Boards with support from the City Activation, Community and Place Management department. Both boards have approved the proposed Service Level Agreement and KPIs.

Over time these changes will strengthen the leadership roles of the Corporations within their respective centres and create stronger partnerships with Council and other community entities.

RECOMMENDATION

That:

1. The information contained in the report on City Centre Corporations Triennial Impact Review be received

2. The recommendations of the Morrison Low report, as outlined in Council’s report, be progressively implemented to improve the operation and management of the St Marys Town Centre Corporation and the Penrith CBD Corporation.

ATTACHMENTS/APPENDICES

1. ⇩	City Centre Corporations Triennial Imact Review Findings Report	23 Pages	Attachments Included
2. ⇩	Key Performance Indicators	2 Pages	Attachments Included

Ordinary Meeting 22 June 2020

Emu Plains Overland Flow Flood Study

Compiled by: Elias Ishak, Senior Engineer - Floodplain Management

Mylvaganam Senthilvasan, Floodplain Engineering Coordinator

Authorised by: Adam Wilkinson, Engineering Services Manager

Wayne Mitchell, Director - Development and Regulatory Services

Outcome	We care for our environment
Strategy	Minimise risks to our community from natural disasters and a changing climate
Service Activity	Manage the risk to and impact on life and property from the existing and potential future use of the floodplain

Executive Summary

The purpose of this report is to advise Council that the Emu Plains Overland Flow Flood Study is complete, and the draft flood study report is ready to go to public exhibition.

This report recommends that the final draft of the Emu Plains Overland Flow Flood Study, May 2020 be placed on exhibition for public comment.

Background

The NSW Government’s Flood Policy is directed at providing solutions to existing flooding problems in developed areas and ensuring that new developments are compatible with the relevant flood hazard and do not create flooding problems in other areas. Under the policy the management of flood prone land remains the responsibility of Local Government. The policy and floodplain management practices are defined in the NSW Government’s Floodplain Development Manual, April 2005.

The State Government, under its policy, provides technical advice and in some instances financial support to councils to manage their floodplains.

Floodplain Risk Management Studies and Plans for various creek systems and the catchment areas within the Penrith Local Government Area (LGA) will be required to effectively manage Council’s floodplains. In 2006 Council undertook an “Overland Flow Flood Overview Study” for the entire LGA. This identified and mapped all major overland flow paths; assessed provisional flood hazard for properties at risk of flooding; and ranked catchment areas in terms of severity of flooding to assist Council for prioritising catchments to undertake detailed flood studies.

The Emu Plains catchment was identified as one of the priority catchments requiring a detailed overland flow flood study and a floodplain risk management plan to effectively manage overland flows.

The Emu Plains catchment study area (Appendix 1) covers the suburbs of Leonay, Emu Plains and Emu Heights. The study area is approximately 1,300 ha (13km²) and is bound by the Nepean River to the north and east and the LGA boundary (with Blue Mountains City Council) to the west and south. The study area is impacted by flows from the upstream catchments (including Blue Mountains LGA) and flows from the Nepean River.

The study area is highly urbanised including residential, commercial and industrial properties and educational institutions. Residential districts within the study area include several open space areas such as Hunter Fields, Darcy Smith Oval, Dukes Oval, Lions Park, Leonay Oval and Leonay Golf Course. There are also several schools including Emu Heights Public School, Penola Catholic College, Our Lady of The Way Primary School, Leonay Public School, Emu Plains Public Scholl, and the Nepean Creative and Performing Arts High School.

The study area is influenced by both local overland flow from the upstream catchment and the mainstream Nepean River. Both flooding mechanisms have been analysed as part of this flood study using the recently adopted Nepean River Flood Study 2018.

The objectives of this local overland flow flood study are to review the studies previously undertaken by various agencies and to establish the local overland flow flood behaviour such as flood extents, flood levels, depths, velocities, flows, hydraulic and hazard categories. The scope of works also includes:

· A review of available information, including previously completed flood studies, rainfall records and topographic mapping of the floodplain;

· A community consultation and participation program to identify local flooding concerns and engage the community in the on-going floodplain management process;

· Definition of flood behaviour such as flood flows, flood levels, depths and velocities for a range of design flood events;

· A comparison of hydrologic assessment using AR&R 1987 and AR&R 2019 guidelines;

· Definition of the Provisional Hydraulic and Hazard categories;

· Flood mapping for all design storm events, flood hazard and hydraulic categories;

· Emergency response classification maps and assessment of the performance of major hydraulic structures to assist the State Emergency Services with emergency response planning;

· Potential impact of climate change on the existing flood behaviour;

· Flood planning area maps including flood planning constraint categories definition; and

· A summary of the preliminary flood mitigation options to alleviate the flooding issues identified.

The Flood Study has been undertaken in accordance with the NSW Floodplain Development Manual, April 2005. The Flood Study was overseen by a Technical Working Group comprising representatives from Council, the Department of Planning Industry and Environment and the NSW State Emergency Services.

The final draft Emu Plains Overland Flow Flood Study, May 2020 report (Volume 1 - Main Report, Volume 2 – Data Appendices and Volume 3 - Mapping Appendices are provided separately to Councillors and are made available to the public via Council’s website) is now complete and ready for public comment.

On 1 June 2020 the final draft Emu Plains Overland Flow Flood Study report was presented to the Floodplain Management Committee. The Committee endorsed the draft flood study report to go to public exhibition.

Public Exhibition

The exhibition process will include direct exhibition through the catchment and public notification of that exhibition period. It is proposed that the following will be undertaken as part of the public exhibition.

· Advertisements will be placed in the local newspaper inviting residents, ratepayers and business owners to review the draft flood study documents and make submissions;

· Letters and factsheet to property owners (approximately 5,560 letters) within the catchment will be sent informing them about the public exhibition and requesting them to review the draft flood study documents and make submissions;

· Council’s website will be used to access the study documents and arrangements will be made for making submissions electronically;

· Printed study documents will be placed as appropriate at Council offices and libraries for viewing by the public;

· A factsheet detailing the flood management process and the steps involved in developing a floodplain risk management plan will be prepared and distributed. This will also be made available through Council’s Website; and

· A community meeting, through video link, is proposed so that the public can ask questions on the relevant documents and discuss as required. Details will be provided in the factsheet to register the interest for the community meeting.

It is proposed to commence the public exhibition in August/ September 2020.

Financial Implications

This report recommends that the flood study be placed on exhibition for public comment. The costs associated with the public exhibition have been included in the project budget.

Risk Implications

Council is required to publicly exhibit the draft flood study and to seek comment before adopting the study. This is to meet the requirements detailed in the NSW Floodplain Development Manual, April 2005 and to meet the grant funding requirement.

Conclusion

The draft Emu Plains Overland Flow Flood Study report is now complete and ready to go to public exhibition. The next step is to publicly exhibit the flood study and bring a subsequent report back to Council detailing the results of the exhibition.

RECOMMENDATION

That:

1. The information contained in the report on Emu Plains Overland Flow Flood Study be received.

2. The draft report for public exhibition of Emu Plains Overland Flow Flood Study, May 2020 be endorsed for public exhibition for a period of no less than 28 days.

3. A further report to be presented to Council on the results of the public exhibition of the draft report for public exhibition of Emu Plains Overland Flow Flood Study, May 2020 addressing any submissions received during the exhibition period.

ATTACHMENTS/APPENDICES

1. ⇩

Study Area - Emu Plains Overland Flow Flood Study

1 Page

Appendix

Ordinary Meeting 22 June 2020

Community Assistance Program Planned Component 2020-21

Compiled by: Michele Mullineaux, Project Officer

Authorised by: Jeni Pollard, City Activation, Community and Place Manager

Kylie Powell, Director - City Futures

Outcome	We are healthy and share strong community spirit
Strategy	Provide opportunities for our community to be healthy and active
Service Activity	Deliver programs and work with government and community organisations to improve health and wellbeing, including the Penrith Health Action Plan

Executive Summary

This report informs Council of the progress of the Planned Component of the Community Assistance Grants program along with the refocusing of the 2020-21 program, due to recent COVID-19 restrictions. The report recommends 6 new collaborative arts projects for funding in 2020-21.

The Community Assistance Program provides small grants to non-profit organisations and community groups to meet local community needs. CAP enables many organisations and groups across the city to deliver activities, programs and events that build community capacity and contribute to the wellbeing of our communities. Each application under the program can be for up to $1,200. The available budget is $41,040.

Council received 47 applications requesting a total of $53,374 from a diverse range of organisations that provide services to residents. Of these, 40 have been recommended with a high ranking for either full or part funding. The total amount recommended for funding is $43,079. It is proposed that the shortfall of $ 2,039 to be taken from the Rolling Component of the Community Assistance Program, which has a total budget in 2020-21 of $8,746.

The report recommends that the information contained in the report on the CAP Planned Component 2020-21 be received and that Council approve funding as outlined in this report for an amount totalling $43,079. The report also recommends that Council increase the maximum funds available through CAP from $1200 to $1500 per application.

Background

After 25 years of providing small grants to enable local groups to deliver hundreds of projects and impact many thousands of residents, CAP’s 26th year is marked by the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. Focused on supporting local groups to meet local community needs, CAP is an ideal way to help groups and the community to adapt to the unexpected challenges of 2020, or any other year.

For relatively small amounts of money, CAP achieves a significant impact. By funding local groups to run local programs and activities, CAP supports organisations to meet local community needs, building community capacity and contributing to the wellbeing of our communities. Perhaps more than ever before, CAP has an important role in recognising and enhancing the value of community connections and the contribution of local community groups across Penrith City.

There are two components of the Community Assistance Program:

Planned Component

Undertaken once a year, the Planned Component supports local community organisations with funds for programs and activities planned for the current financial year. The majority of CAP funds ($41,040) are allocated under the Planned Component.

Rolling Component

Recognising that not all funding needs can be foreseen, the Rolling Component allows for one-off requests to be considered by Council at any time during the year. This provides a flexible supplement to the Planned Component of the program. The Rolling Component has a total budget of $8,746 in 2020-21.

Eligibility and Assessment Criteria

All projects must satisfy the following eligibility criteria to be eligible for CAP funding:

· Community based non-profit organisations providing one off activities

· Direct benefit to, and participation by, Penrith City residents

· Project and project management in line with Council’s Access and Equity Principles.

Fundraising programs or organisations whose main role is to fundraise are not eligible.

Recommendations for funding are made according to the assessment criteria listed below:

· How effectively the proposed project addresses priority social needs of Penrith City residents;

· The expected outcomes and beneficiaries of the project, ensuring the distribution of funds to meet the needs of the diverse communities of Penrith City;

· The willingness of the applicant to work collaboratively with residents and other community groups;

· How effectively the proposed project contributes to capacity in the community or community groups;

· The capacity of the applicant to access alternative resources or funding for the proposed project, including whether the proposed project is a core responsibility of an existing Government funded program;

· How achievable and cost-effective the proposed project is.

All Planned and Rolling Component applications are assessed against these eligibility and assessment criteria, which were reviewed and endorsed by Council in July 2018.

2020-21 Planned Component

Responding to COVID-19

Recognising the challenges that community organisations and groups were facing as COVID-19 impacts increased, Council officers re-oriented the 2020-21 CAP round to bring forward the program so groups could receive funding sooner. The application process was also streamlined to make it less onerous to apply.

This response aimed to support local non-profit community groups to adapt to current challenges and meet community needs. Community groups were encouraged to use CAP funding to stay connected and deliver programs differently, expanding or adapting their services for new and growing needs by purchasing resources or developing their skills.

Promotion

The 2020-21 CAP Planned Component funding round opened for three weeks between 4 May and 26 May, with promotion via the Western Weekender, Council’s website and social media, as well as local community networks and interagencies. To apply, an application form must be submitted, identifying project objectives, population target groups, budget and benefits to the local community.

To support local community groups to access funding opportunities, officers from the City Activation, Community and Place Department hosted a Grant Information Session on 19 March. The session was attended by 18 community members, and the information was also made available online in response to the growing restrictions on gatherings. The session provided information on a range of Council grant programs, including Community Assistance Program, Magnetic Places, Youth Week, Travel Assistance, Hall Fee Waiver and Heritage Grants, as well as the ClubGRANTS program.

In this round, Council received 47 applications requesting a total of $53,374, significantly exceeding the available budget which is $41,040.

Applications Highly Ranked for Funding

Of the 47 applications received, 40 have been recommended with a high ranking for funding, either for the requested amount, or an adjusted amount considering the capacity of the project and the available funds.

Where there is a recommendation for part funding, consideration has been given to information provided in the application form including the project budget and the response to the questions regarding capacity of the project to go ahead with reduced funds.

The total amount recommended for funding is $43,079. Table 2 below is a summary of all projects with a high ranking that are recommended for funding.

Table 2 – Highly Ranked for Funding

No	Group	Project Title	Project Description	Amount Requested	Amount Recommended
1	Barnardos Cranebrook	Barnardos Cranebrook Community Garden	Purchase resources for a community garden program supporting local food security and sustainability.	$1,200	$1,200
2	Cancer Wellness Support	Therapy room revamp	Resources for cancer therapy rooms in Penrith.	$1,200	$1,200
3	Cerebral Palsy Alliance	Technology for therapy for children with disability	Support children with complex disabilities to access technology which supports independent communication.	$1,200	$1,200
4	Check Your Tackle	The Nuts and Bolts of Male Cancers	Promotional cards creating awareness and education around male cancers.	$1,200	$1,200
5	Community Junction Inc- Community and Youth teams at North St Marys Neighbourhood Centre	Healthy Mind and Healthy Young Minds	Program to improve the health and wellbeing of residents in St Marys.	$1,040	$1,040
6	Community Junction Inc. - Learn Play Grow	Learn Play Grow celebrates National Children’s Week	Celebrate National Children’s Week with creative activities.	$1,100	$1,100
7	Community Junction Inc. Youth Team	Outdoor Movie night at Werrington Youth Space	Outdoor movie night re-connecting community after isolation.	$1,200	$1,200
8	Craft Circle - a craft group for women	Craft Circle	Resources for women’s craft group.	$1,150	$1,150
9	EMPOWERability Inc CCSP	EAI Fitness Central	Refurbish and improve sheltered all abilities exercise area.	$1,200	$1,200
10	Emu Plains MOPS (Mothers Of PreSchoolers)	Emu Plains MOPS Play Equipment	Purchase accessible children's play equipment.	$1,178.71	$1,179
11	Enosis	Christmas Lunch	Christmas lunch for seniors group.	$1,200	$720
12	Family Drug Support	Family Drug Support - Stepping Forward	Workshop to develop coping skills, communication and resilience in families.	$1,200	$1,200
13	Fusion Western Sydney	Sound equipment for community events and programmes	Purchasing sound and recording equipment for community programmes and events.	$1,073	$1,073
14	Gifts of Grace Incorporated	St Marys FACS Office Foster Care Packs	Care packs for vulnerable children entering out of home care.	$1,200	$720
15	Golden Oldies Seniors Group	Golden Oldies Birthday Luncheon	Seniors Group 26th Birthday celebration.	$1,150	$1,150
16	Harman Foundation Limited	Covid-19 Senior and Domestic Violence Support	Resources to support vulnerable community groups during isolation and beyond.	$1,200	$1,200
17	Kingswood Park Public School P&C	Moonlight Cinema	Community moonlight cinema for Kingswood Park Public School.	$1,200	$1,200
18	LIFE (Living In Full Empowerment)	Choose Life podcast	Purchase promotional material to help raise awareness and increase reach of mental health program.	$1,200	$1,200
19	Luke Priddis Foundation	Parent Resource Room	Establish a resource room to create a safe space for families in the LFP Therapy Centre.	$1,200	$1,200
20	Mama Lana's Community Foundation	Xmas hampers for the less fortunate Penrith LGA	Christmas luncheon and hampers for people at risk of homelessness.	$1,200	$1,200
21	Me & Bub	Me & Bub	Connecting vulnerable young parents with other families and services in the area.	$1,200	$1,200
22	Nepean Community & Neighbourhood Services - Community Development	In your Neighbourhood!	Workshop series to providing assistance to residents and encouraging community connections.	$1,150	$1,150
23	Nepean Community & Neighbourhood Services - Community Development	Breathe, Talk, Relax	Provide information packs to local schools about mental health.	$750	$750
24	Nepean Community & Neighbourhood Services - Nepean Young Pregnancy Support Group	Sassy Young Mum's Reunion	Catering and resources for Nepean Young Pregnancy Support group reunion event.	$1,200	$1,200
25	Nepean Food Service Inc	New trolley	Purchase resources to assist with delivery of meals to vulnerable clients.	$1,200	$1,200
26	PATH Inc	COVID-19 and Beyond	Resources to support people with a disability, their carers and families to access technology.	$1,200	$720
27	Penrith Baptist Church	Streaming Equipment	Purchasing streaming equipment to reach community members during isolation.	$1,200	$1,200
28	Penrith House	Live Garden	Purchase resources to develop vegetable garden with young people in social housing.	$1,069	$1,069
29	Penrith Valley Community Care Inc	Caddens Festival of Carols and Fun	Family Carols event.	$1,194	$720
30	Penrith Women's Health Centre	Dance & Connect	Multicultural dance classes for women	$1,200	$1,200
31	Rainbow Club Australia	Recover from Covid-19 lockdown	Purchase resources for swimming program that supports children with a disability.	$1,050	$1,050
32	Rotary Club of Penrith Valley Inc.	Care Packages for the Needy	Care packages for less fortunate and vulnerable members of community.	$1,200	$1,200
33	Schools Industry Partnership Penrith	Community SIP & Chat	Purchase resources to establish a mobile coffee cart for youth development program.	$1,200	$1,200
34	St Clair and District Men's Shed Inc.	Taking care of business	Replacement of damaged PPE equipment, ensuring safety of shed visitors and members.	$726.50	$727
35	St Clair and District Men's Shed Inc.	Ensuring Healthy Environment	Update first aid training and purchase first aid safety resources.	$403.88	$404
36	St Thomas' Anglican Church Cranebrook	Carols in the Park	Community Christmas Carols event.	$1,200	$1,200
37	Sunnyfield	Up Skill Me	Purchase resources to expand program delivery for people with intellectual disability.	$1,011	$1,011
38	TAD (Technical Aid to the Disabled)	Freedom Wheels Assessments in Penrith	Assessment and source custom bikes for children with disability.	$1,146	$1,146
39	Taste Of Everything	A Sense Of Giving	Resources to create sensory blankets and clothing items for aged care facilities.	$1,200	$1,200
40	WestCare Community Services	Post-COVID Emergency Relief	Installation of COVID-19 safe equipment for clients/volunteers.	$1,000	$1,000

The remaining seven applications did not sufficiently meet the assessment criteria. These are listed in Appendix 1 with a rationale for the low ranking.

Financial Implications

Funding for Community Assistance Program – Planned Component 2020-21 projects are made available through City Activation, Community and Place as part of Council’s 2020-21 Operational Plan. Funding of up to $41,040 is available for successful projects and applicants were able to apply for up to $1,200 for projects. Applicants must provide a budget breakdown as part of their application and meet eligibility criteria in order to receive funding. A total of $43,079 was requested to fund 40 recommended projects with $41,040 allocated from the Planned Component and $2,039 allocated from the Rolling Component.

Risk Implications

The 2020-21 Community Assistance Program – Planned Component has been developed to mitigate the risks of face to face programming being disrupted by factors such as the outbreaks of disease or extreme weather events. All applicants must comply with Council’s policies and procedures as a condition of receiving the grant, including maintaining Public Liability Insurance. Council officers will work closely with successful applicants to ensure project activities mitigate any possible risks to the community.

Proposed Changes to CAP in 2021-22

CAP has a long history of providing small grants for good outcomes. The program has been in operation for 26 years and in that time has funded over 800 projects. Whilst the available funds for the CAP program were increased in 2018 through a resource bid, the maximum funding available in the program, $1200 has not increased since 2008. It is timely to consider raising the maximum amount available to $1500 per application in the 2021-22 program. Whilst this means that less projects overall will be funded, it will support the viability and sustainability of projects that are funded.

Conclusion

Council received 47 applications requesting a total of $53,374 for CAP funding in the 2020-21 Planned Component. The available budget for the CAP Planned Component is $41,040. After careful consideration against the identified criteria, 40 projects totalling $43,079, have been ranked highly and are recommended for funding. It is proposed to take the additional $2,039 from the available Rolling Component budget of the Community Assistance Program.

The projects recommended for funding cover a range of target groups and suburbs across the city. These projects address many different social needs, including several city-wide initiatives as well as projects targeted to improve access to opportunities for disadvantaged community members.

An online celebration of successful recipients is planned for July 2020 to showcase the many, varied groups and their positive impact in the community.

RECOMMENDATION

That:

1. The information contained in the report on Community Assistance Program Planned Component 2020-21 be received

2. Council approve funding the highly ranked applications and amounts totalling $43,079 as outlined in Table 2 of this report with $41,040 allocated from the Planned Component and $2,039 allocated from the Rolling Component of the 2020-21 Community Assistance Program.

3. Council endorse an increase in the maximum project amount to $1,500 per application in the 2021-22 program.

ATTACHMENTS/APPENDICES

1. ⇩

Low Ranked Community Assistance Program Planned Component 2020-21 Applications

1 Page

Appendix

Ordinary Meeting 22 June 2020

Youth Needs Consultation Survey

Compiled by: Katerina Tahija, Youth Development Officer

Authorised by: Jeni Pollard, City Activation, Community and Place Manager

Kylie Powell, Director - City Futures

Outcome	We are healthy and share strong community spirit
Strategy	Help build resilient, inclusive communities
Service Activity	Support community service organisations working in our City

Executive Summary

This purpose of this report is to inform Council of the outcomes of a youth consultation and engagement process that is the first step in the development of a Youth Action Plan for Penrith City.

To ensure young people’s voices are heard, Council has reached out and engaged with a diverse range of young people, representing different ages, subcultures, interests and priorities. As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, this engagement was undertaken via an online survey on Council’s Your Say Penrith website.

280 young people participated in the survey which was promoted using a number of innovative online activities and platforms. Whilst some young people do not have access to online resources, for many this is the ideal way to communicate. They are part of the most technologically literate and socially empowered generation ever and are very comfortable engaging this way.

The survey has identified several broad themes that are important in young people’s lives and this process will inform the development of a Youth Action Plan 2020-25. This action plan will identify and prioritise needs, thoughts and aspirations of young people as our City changes and to develop responsive and innovative actions to address these needs.

The report recommends that Council receive the information.

Background

Penrith City Council is committed to engaging with all members of the community in decisions that impact their lives and their future. One group, young people aged 12-25 years face many challenges in their day-to-day lives and it is timely that Council has taken the opportunity to listen to, understand and develop innovative, responsive actions to meet their needs.

Council officers regularly coordinate or participate with community and government partners in consultations with young people across the city to ensure that their needs and aspirations are embedded in project outcomes. Recent examples of consultations with young people include the design of local parks through the annual Mayoral Challenge program and the design and location of skate parks across the City.

Other examples of ongoing consultation that show Council and other partners decision making processes consider the views of young people include participation in Youth Week funded projects such as the Mondo Monumental and Skate Clair events

Additionally, through both the monthly Penrith Youth Interagency forum for youth workers and Youth Week which Council officers coordinate, young people are given the opportunity to participate and take lead roles in the planning, implementation and evaluation of local activities. Local youth services regularly run surveys, focus groups and consultations to inform their practice and program delivery and this information influences the Penrith Youth Interagency and sector development.

Current Situation

The results of the youth consultation and engagement process is the first step in the development of the Youth Action Plan 2020-25. This is a big-picture plan that will see Council work in consultation with the community, government and private sector partners to facilitate opportunities to work together to improve the future of young people in our community.

The plan will identify and prioritise needs, thoughts and aspirations of young people as our City enters an era of unprecedented growth and progress. It will demonstrate responsiveness and innovative actions to address identified needs and importantly build trust amongst young people that Council is not only listening but also acting on their concerns.

The importance of developing a plan to accommodate the needs and concerns of our youth is clear when Penrith’s youth profile is examined. There is a total of 34,658 young people aged 12-25 years in Penrith City that makes up 17.7% of Penrith’s total population. 17,655 of these are female and 17,007 are male.

Closer examination of the data shows that Penrith’s diversity continues to grow and this is reflected in the demographic profile of young people. There are increasing numbers of young people born overseas or who speak a language other than English. It also shows the percentage of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders is high in comparison to Greater Sydney,

The figures also show that more young people were disengaged from employment, education and training than the rest of Greater Sydney. Further, 3.4% of all young people aged 12-15 in Penrith have one or more children and it is estimated a further 3.2% of those aged 18 and above identify as homosexual or bisexual and 2.4% as not sure/other orientation. Whilst the percentage of young people with a disability is lower in Penrith City, we should not underestimate the significant challenges faced by this group.

What the profile clearly identifies is that Penrith City has a number of vulnerable young people living in the community who may face additional challenges in terms of engaging in community life, employment and training or being able to access services that meet their needs.

Consultation Methodology

The COVID-19 pandemic significantly changed the approach to how young people were engaged in this process. The online survey, that would normally have been one element of a more comprehensive consultation process became the primary means of engagement.

The online survey was designed and placed on Council’s Your Say Website and a promotional campaign was undertaken to reach a diverse range of young people that live, work or study in the City.

While the target audience (the general youth population 12-25 years of age and all the groups within it) remain unchanged, it was acknowledged that not all young people would have access to participate in the survey. To minimise this as best as possible Council staff actively worked with members of the Penrith Youth Interagency including local youth services and State departments such as Health, Education, Police and Juvenile Justice to support a wide range of participants that may otherwise not have had access to participate.

Promotional Campaign

Once the online survey was designed and uploaded onto the Your Say Penrith website a comprehensive promotional campaign was undertaken to raise awareness of the survey and encourage participants to complete it.

The campaign utilised Council’s traditional communication channels including a media release, promotion on Council’s social media channels, Council’s e-signature on emails to both internal and external customers, internal promotion to Council staff under 25 years of age via the staff bulletin and emails as well as sharing posts on other community groups social media channels.

Information was also distributed on a regular basis to inter-agencies and community groups as well as through schools as available, noting that during this time many school students were learning remotely from home.

Young people were also invited to enter a competition to win one of fifteen $50 gift vouchers from their local small business of choice. This served as both an incentive for young people to fill out the survey and to support local small businesses across Penrith City.

In addition, a number of other communication strategies were developed that proved successful:

· Facilitated online group discussions – youth organisations incorporated an online session with young people during a program to fill out the survey as a group exercise

· Live podcast - Council officers worked with Choose Life, a mental health and suicide prevention community group, to promote the survey on their live podcast

· Live stream discussion with Fusion radio where Council officers promoted the survey

· Paid promotion on the TikTok app to promote the survey.

There was a noticeable increase in survey participation following each of these strategies. Appendix 1 provides statistics on social media use.

The survey opened 4 May and closed 1 June 2020.

What young people said

Responses were received from a range of groups within the targeted age group from 12-25 years of age including those identified as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander, the CALD and LGBTIQ+ communities.

The main themes identified as important in their lives were as follows:

1. Social connections - fulfilling connections and strong relationships with family, friends, partners and social networks both now and in the future. Many also spoke about how important their pets were in their lives.

2. Education, training and employment - access to education and training, to have meaningful connection and positive outcomes leading into their future and access to casual employment and longer lasting sustainable careers.

3. Recreation and events - availability and access to recreational opportunities with the emphasis on being with friends, meeting new people and connecting with services. More events in public spaces and low cost or free activities were desired as was playing both informal and formal sports, access to sporting fields and team sports, gaming and online interactions.

4. Health and wellbeing - being healthy and having access to appropriate services. This included opportunities to exercise and be active in safe and appropriate spaces. As well as mental health wellbeing and having support for mental health issues.

5. Personal beliefs and values - being happy, living in a safe community, faith, being valued, having a secure future, happy relationships, meaningful social connections and a hopeful future.

6. Environment and sustainability - current environmental concerns and environmental sustainability into the future and to have clean and well-maintained outdoor areas to enjoy.

7. Safety - to feel safe in the community, in public spaces and at home.

8. Access to services - the need to know what services are available, how to access them, where to go for help and what services were appropriate.

9. Accommodation and housing - access to affordable, secure and safe places to live. Being able to rent or buy locally and homelessness and the need to know how to access services.

10. Arts and culture - the love of music, playing in bands, hobbies and artistic pursuits was linked with the opportunity to connect with others with similar interests and to have social opportunities to attend events relating to their areas of interest.

Next steps

The Penrith City Council Youth Action Plan 20-25 will be developed following endorsement of this report by Council. It will develop a series of strategies and actions that will address the themes and issues identified in the youth survey.

To effectively develop the plan, negotiations will take place with key stakeholders including relevant Council departments, Penrith Youth Interagency, the community sector, government agencies and the private sector so that outcomes can be delivered in the most productive way for young people and the community.

There will also be follow up engagement with young people who nominated they are interested in contributing further to identify what are the important issues in their lives.

Once finalised and endorsed, youth friendly appropriate resources will be developed to promote the plan.

Financial Implications

There are no financial implications for Council associated with this report. However, when finalised the plan will identify projects that need to be undertaken to deliver outcomes to young people and the community.

Risk Implications

There are no risk implications for Council associated with this report.

Conclusion

Including young people in decision making about issues that affect their lives is a vital ingredient in the creation of strong and caring communities. It is essential that young people between 12-25 years of age who account for nearly 18% of Penrith City’s total population have an effective voice in our social, cultural and political lives.

Council recognises that it is in an excellent position to achieve effective youth participation and using information obtained from the online survey to develop a five year plan that address issues of concern to young people will ensure that they continue to offer their valuable and diverse perspectives and opinions. Their input is important to ensure that decisions about services, programs and events are responsive and appropriate to their needs.

The survey responses have given Council a number of strong themes that will inform the development of the Youth Action Plan 2020-25. This action plan will identify and prioritise needs, thoughts and aspirations of young people as our City changes and to develop responsive and innovative actions to address these needs.

RECOMMENDATION

That the information contained in the report on Youth Needs Consultation Survey be received.

ATTACHMENTS/APPENDICES

1. ⇩

Youth Survey Post Campaign Analysis

1 Page

Appendix

Ordinary Meeting 22 June 2020

Penrith Events Strategy 2020-2024

Compiled by: Colin Dickson, Events Team Leader

Authorised by: Jeni Pollard, City Activation, Community and Place Manager

Kylie Powell, Director - City Futures

Outcome	We are healthy and share strong community spirit
Strategy	Help build resilient, inclusive communities
Service Activity	Conduct and support events that include all members of our community

Executive Summary

The purpose of this report is to present Council with the final Penrith Events Strategy 2020-2024. Updates on the progress of this project have been provided to Councillors at Councillor Briefing in December 2019 and May 2020 and the final document that is included as an attachment in tonight’s business paper reflects comments made by Councillors and other stakeholders.

The Penrith Events Strategy 2020-2024 document is the culmination of an extensive engagement process, research and the refinement of strategies that respond to the unique challenges and opportunities for our Penrith context. The strategy will provide the right platform for Council to make informed decisions on event attraction and support in the future and will further consolidate Penrith’s reputation as an innovative and creative destination that is renowned for its world class events. Importantly, it will also deliver a balanced portfolio of events across the year that will maximise the economic, social and community benefits for the City.

The report recommends that the Penrith Events Strategy 2020-2024 be endorsed.

Background

Aware of the important role events play in the social and economic fabric of a community, Council has for many years provided support to events deemed to generate significant economic benefit for the City or were considered valuable to our community. In what has now become a highly competitive market it is critical that we understand and respond to the events that best suit our attributes as a City and optimise our resource use. The new Penrith Events Strategy 2020-2024 will ensure that happens by providing the necessary tools to determine which events to support and attract.

Following Tilma’s engagement around the middle of 2019 they have undertaken extensive desktop research and review. They also visited Council to conduct meetings and workshops with invited key stakeholders that included major and community event organisers as well as relevant Council staff and tourism operators.

Additionally, workshops were held with external community event organisers and a wide range of relevant Council staff were involved in meetings with the consultants.

It has been this extensive stakeholder driven approach that has been fundamental to the success of the delivery of the events strategy.

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant and profound effect on the events industry and local operators have also felt the impacts. Whilst we have seen events cancelled until the end of the year we are now starting to see enquiries for events for February and March of 2021. This is heartening and also an ideal opportunity to align our expenditure with events that will support our aspirations as a city.

The new Penrith Events Strategy 2020-2024 is timely as it provides us with the missing link that will provide a practical framework for Council to make calculated assessments and decisions on event attraction and support now and in the future. It also compliments the Visitor Economy Strategy that is being developed and is aligned with the destination brand and visitation KPIs defined in this document.

The Strategy’s event assessment framework will outline a pathway to identify the best fit events to attract and the existing events to develop to build a balanced and sustainable portfolio that will enhance the liveability of Penrith and grow the visitor economy.

The Penrith Event Strategy

At the Councillor Briefing of 18 May, Councillors provided feedback on the Penrith Events Strategy 2020-2024 document. As a result of this feedback, the Events Strategy has been amended to incorporate that feedback. The Strategy includes recognition of the significance of canoe/kayak slalom and the Penrith Whitewater Stadium as an ongoing major event opportunity for our City.

The Strategy also acknowledges the importance of working with our neighbouring destinations in cross promotion of events and activities. The benefits that proactive acquisition of women’s sports events will bring to the annual events calendar is also highlighted within the Strategy and seen as one of the clear points of difference for Penrith.

As a result of their research and engagement the consultants identified a series of key findings and recommendations. These include:

Key Findings

· Penrith’s high quality sporting infrastructure retains the capacity to host local, state, national and international sporting events that draw elite athletes to the City

· Penrith’s excellent sporting infrastructure highlights the need to maintain our rich and diverse sports events and culture, but to balance it with more arts/culture, business and community events that will deliver a balanced portfolio that drives economic and social outcomes

· An opportunity exists to increase the number of business events in the City. Penrith is already home to quality conference facilities with additional facilities planned or already under construction. The prospect also exists to leverage new and existing business precincts and the Western Sydney Airport to attract new business events in the future.

· Penrith’s outdoor spaces and range of adventure activities encourages visitors to extend their stay

· Penrith is home to an emerging food and cultural scene

· City-wide activation during and around events is key to increasing length of stay and expenditure, and enhancing the experience for visitors and residents

· Increased event infrastructure across Western Sydney has seen more destinations bid for events. There is now greater competition for attracting events to Penrith City.

Key Recommendations

It is noted that the significant body of work was done prior to COVID-19 and as we implement the recommendations will continue to explore opportunities to respond proactively to the impacts of the pandemic on the local visitor economy and events organisations.

· Penrith City Council to continue to develop Real Festival into a significant flagship event for the City. There is positive local brand recognition of the Real Festival and the success of the creative programming coupled with the unique location will result in increased visitation regionally over coming years.

· Develop a 10-year plan for Real Festival that includes satellite events and community activations around the City in the lead up to Real Festival. For the Real Festival to continue to grow and flourish we need to understand and establish a growth trajectory with goals and align our resources accordingly.

· Establish an event acquisition fund to proactively bid for major events across all sectors including arts, culture, leisure, sport and business related events. The funds will leverage our capacity and willingness to work collaboratively with event organisers.

· Support the acquisition and retention of major events over a three-year period that are proactively acquired. Events that build over a number of years are more likely to be self-sustaining over time and build reputation and visitation that has a positive multiplier effect for local operators.

· Create an Event Sponsorship fund for Regional events to support the growth and sustainability of homegrown and external regional events via an annual fund

· Build on the current Community Events fund to seed these important local events for our community. Many local organisations already deliver a range of events across the City, these could be further grown or targeted with support from Council.

· Identify off-season event opportunities to better utilise infrastructure year-round and balance visitation across the year. Currently, the City has infrastructure that is under utilised particularly over the winter months - events during these times will assist in building a year round calendar.

· Identify opportunities to proactively acquire women’s sports events to further capitalise on our canoe slalom and rowing infrastructure assets whilst looking to build local capacity in these sports.

· Review our staff resources as we implement the Penrith Events Strategy 2020-2024 and grow our events portfolio.

Choosing the Right Events

A key area of focus of the Events Strategy is to identify the right events - those that will deliver a maximum return on investment and/or make the greatest contribution to the Penrith brand and the Penrith community. Ultimately, it is the aim of the strategy to create a balanced portfolio of events across arts/culture/leisure, sports, community and business that drive the visitor economy and support a vibrant and sustainable community.

The assessment framework forms the key part of the strategy, establishing clear parameters around decision making by ensuring resources are allocated strategically to attract, support and leverage events that deliver the economic and social outcomes that will achieve the overall vision and objectives of the strategy.

The framework categorises events for Penrith as major, regional and community and outlines the resource allocation required for each.

Two funding sources totalling $385,000 are recommended to achieve the objectives of the strategy and activate Penrith as a competitive regional events destination:

1. A Penrith Events Partnership Program with three separate funding streams will provide Council with a transparent and systematic means to support events that meet assessment criteria and Key Performance Indicators (KPIs).

a. Strategic Partnerships ($200,000) - this funding is to support the acquisition and retention of major events over a three-year period. Events will be proactively acquired, with a strategic partnership agreement developed that supports the achievement of the major event’s strategic goals and KPIs

b. Regional Events Sponsorship ($100,000) - This sponsorship fund is to support the growth and sustainability of homegrown and external regional events via an annual application process with desired KPIs and criteria

c. Community Events Fund ($60,000) - The Community Events Fund is for community events external to Council, offering one funding round per year (and one floating round) for events that satisfy the assessment criteria and KPIs.

2. An Event Acquisition Fund ($25,000) will enable Council to develop bids and undertake marketing to attract external events to Penrith e.g. attendance at Asia Pacific Incentives Meetings Events (AIME), develop customised bid documents and travel to undertake the bid and marketing campaigns to position Penrith as the place to host your next event.

Assessment Framework Tool

A transparent and robust assessment framework tool will provide Council with the ability to make decisions on event attraction and support that align with the strategic direction of the City and leads to the achievement of the City’s vision for events. The assessment framework is a critical tool to providing Council with the clear parameters around decision making for future success.

The assessment framework tool will track and collate data on all events occurring within Penrith City The real benefit of this tool will not be seen until at least 12 months of data has been gathered both before and after events are held. Then it will be of significant assistance in forecasting and planning ahead to make decisions that will create a balanced portfolio of events that drive the visitor economy and support a vibrant and sustainable community.

The assessment framework tool is divided into three main sections:

· The General Data Entry section is where information on the event is entered and populates the entire spreadsheet via pre-set formulas. This information typically includes the category of event, event dates, number of days, number of participants - both local and non-local plus the cash and in-kind resources provided to the event

· The Assessment Calculation section automatically calculates the ROI values and other monetary values for the event. This includes information such as the value of monetary and in-kind support from Council, total event visitor numbers - local and non-local, estimated numbers of day trippers, overnight visitors, Council’s cost per visitor who attends the event and the economic impact per day from day trippers, overnight visitors and locals which when calculated give a total estimated economic impact

· The KPI section has a Weighted Score section that automatically calculates a KPI score for the event based on pre-set weightings outlined in the KPI scorecard worksheet. The higher the KPI score the higher the likelihood that this event reflects most closely what Penrith is aiming to achieve within the Penrith Events Strategy 2020-2024.

The data collection outlined above is generated from event organisers, application forms and event surveys. It is also important to note that the three categories of events - major, regional or community are assessed within the framework against a different set of criteria. Their KPIs and funding parameters are designed to give clear direction on how each of the event types are assessed. This ensures that all events are not dropped into the same basket, e.g. business events will not be assessed against the same criteria as local community events.

Financial Implications

The strategy has identified additional financial and human resources to ensure that we can deliver the Penrith Events Strategy 2020-2024 action plan. In addition to the ongoing funding for the REAL Festival, the strategy identifies that future budget developments would need to consider the allocation of additional funding of $385,000 to secure, retain and support major, regional and community events as well as a specific fund to proactively bid for major events for Penrith City.

Ongoing Council funding of $402,000 is included in the 2020-21 Operational Plan for the REAL Festival Event budget. In addition, ongoing Council funding of $74,500 is currently committed within existing budgets for various event sponsorships for 2020-21.

It has been identified that it may be appropriate to deliver, through a staged approach, any funding, which is in addition to Council's existing budgets.

Risk Implications

There are no identified risks associated with this report.

Conclusion

The events sector is a highly competitive space and as a City we need to have an events strategy that sets us apart from the crowd as a significant events destination by focusing on a delivering a diverse calendar of events that enhance and embrace Penrith’s distinct character.

The Penrith Events Strategy 2020-2024 focuses on quality over quantity as a targeted investment approach, a consideration to event timing, the types of events and locations so as to spread the benefits as widely as possible across the calendar year.

With its robust assessment framework, the Events Strategy will provide clear direction on the events for Council to seek, support and attract. It will also identify measures to determine the level of support for the large variety of events that are brought before Council for consideration each year.

RECOMMENDATION

That:

1. The information contained in the report on Penrith Events Strategy 2020-2024 be received

2. The Penrith Events Strategy 2020-2024 be endorsed.

ATTACHMENTS/APPENDICES

1. ⇩

Penrith Events Strategy 2020-2024 Final

30 Pages

Attachments Included

Ordinary Meeting 22 June 2020

Adoption of Delivery Program 2017-22 and 2020-21 Operational Plan

Compiled by: Neil Farquharson, Financial Services Manager

Allegra Zakis, Corporate Planning Lead

Geraldine Brown, Strategic Finance Coordinator

Matthew Saunders, Rates Coordinator

Kamil Janji, Acting Business Transformation Manager

Authorised by: Andrew Moore, Director - Corporate Services

Outcome	We have confidence in our Council
Strategy	Manage our money and our assets to be sustainable now and into the future
Service Activity	Support financial sustainability through financial planning and budget management

Executive Summary

Council is required to prepare and adopt the 2020-21 Operational Plan and Fees & Charges by 30 June 2020. The Operational Plan is a sub-set of the Delivery Program and is the fourth annual plan to be adopted as part of the 2017-22 Delivery Program, which has been extended by one year due to the delay in the Local Government elections. As part of preparing its annual Operational Plan, Council must also review the Delivery Program to ensure it is still moving in the right direction and adjust any necessary changes in service delivery or operational priorities. Changes are recommended to the draft plan to include information on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and update the organisational performance indicators, along with other minor changes and correction required to keep the Delivery Program consistent with the organisational structure.

The 2017-22 Delivery Program, and 2020-21 Operational Plan and Fees and Charges were presented to Council on 27 April 2020 and were placed on exhibition, under Section 405(2) of the Local Government Act 1993, from 4 May 2020 to 1 June 2020. Fifty-eight submissions were received during the exhibition, with an additional 89 received prior to the exhibition starting. The Community Participation Plan was exhibited at the same time, with one submission received.

There were a small number of budget adjustments required to be made to the 2017-22 Delivery Program (incorporating the Operational Plan 2020-21) such as the inclusion of the March 2020 revotes, COVID-19 Impact adjustments, and the fine-tuning of a number of budget assumptions and allocations that have been confirmed during the exhibition period. The more significant budget adjustments are detailed later in this report and a complete list is provided in Attachment 1. A balanced budget is proposed for 2020-21 after incorporating these adjustments.

This report seeks Council’s adoption of the 2017-22 Delivery Program including the 2020-21 Operational Plan (Attachment 3), and 2020-21 Fees & Charges (provided as a separate enclosure), approval for the expenditure of the budget outlined in this report, and endorsement for the Making of the Rates and Charges for 2020-21 under Section 535 of the Local Government Act. Additionally, the report recommends that the Council agree to underwrite the operations of Penrith Whitewater Stadium Limited and Penrith Performing and Visual Arts Limited until the presentation of the respective Annual Reports for 2020-21.

Public Exhibition of the 2020-21 Operational Plan

The 2017-22 Delivery Program incorporating the 2020-21 Operational Plan and the 2020-21 Fees and Charges was exhibited from 4 May to 1 June 2020 through Council’s central online engagement portal – www.yoursaypenrith.com.au.

The public exhibition process provided stakeholders across Penrith LGA an opportunity to view and provide feedback on the documents before they are officially adopted by Council.

In previous years physical copies of the draft have been made available to view at Council buildings, however due to COVID-19, Council transitioned to virtual services. In all advertisements about the exhibition, residents were encouraged to contact the Customer Experience team or Corporate Planning team via phone, letter or email to arrange a viewing if they could not access the documents online. While the documents were only ever viewed virtually, it was intentionally promoted through hard and soft copy advertisement to capture the widest audience. This included:

· Ad in the Western Weekender

· Media Release

· Social media posts

· Corporate News Page ad in Western Weekender

· iConnect story

· Council Website

· Your Say Penrith Newsletter

During the exhibition period, activity on the exhibition website was as follows

· 451 ‘aware’ visitors - unique visits to the project page

· 222 ‘informed’ visitors - someone looked at information on the project page such as the FAQ sections, draft Plans etc.

· 187 document downloads

· 58 ‘engaged’ visitors - someone actively participated by commenting on the exhibition

· 14 May heaviest traffic date – correlates with Western Weekender advertisement

Submissions by Suburb

In most categories these statistics are significantly lower than last year, with this years’ exhibition attracting just over half the ‘aware’ visitors and just under 1/3 of the ‘informed’ visitors; however, the number of formal submissions made through the website is only slightly lower – 58 this year compared to 64 last year. The lower awareness is quite possibly a reflection of other community priorities during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic but also potentially the absence of physical exhibition points in the libraries and Civic Centre. Similar submission numbers, however, suggests that people who were actively interested were still able to access the exhibition material.

Prior to the exhibition period 89 submissions were received in relation to the rating structure and which have already been reported to Council. There were also an additional four submissions made via email, bringing the total for the Operational Plan, Fees and Charges and Community Participation Plan to 151 official submissions, across 11 suburbs in the 3 wards. The table below summarises the number of times a topic was raised in a submission and indicates where commentary can be found in this report. As there were several documents included in this exhibition, the content of each submission was looked at to ensure that the issues raised are responded to appropriately (for example, submissions to the exhibition of the Fees and Charges that raised issues around rates have been grouped below as ‘rates’ not ‘fees and charges’). Three submissions have been referred to the exhibition of various amendments to planning instruments, which was occurring at the same time.

Topic	No. of times raised	Commentary provided in…
Rates – increase in rates, rating structure, value for rate dollar	138	The making of rates and charges for 2020-21
Community Participation Plan	1	Community Participation Plan
Fees and charges	2	Changes to fees and charges
Operational Plan	5	Public exhibition of 2020-21 Operational Plan
No objection, no specific comment or referred to exhibition on amendments to the DCP and LEP	5	A report on the changes to LEP and DCP is planned for August 2020.
TOTAL ISSUES RAISED	151

Issues raised with regard to the Operational Plan were:

· Request for installation of a footpath or cycleway along Llandilo Road and St Marys Road, to provide safer access for pedestrians and cyclists to the park at Berkshire Park, local schools and shops at Llandilo and Penrith CBD.

Comment

A shared pathway of this length would exceed the annual shared pathway budget and would need to be constructed over several years. Other areas within the City that are more highly travelled will remain a priority over Llandilo Road for some time to come. Pedestrian safety is however an important issue and Council will look into other options to improve it in this area.

· Request for various improvements in Berkshire Park including stormwater drainage, pedestrian and cyclist access to the bridge crossing South Creek near Second Road, Berkshire Park, raising the causeway on St Mary’s Road crossing South Creek and installing safety rails, and improving the amenities in the park (lighting, toilets, exercise equipment, bubbler).

Comment

Concerns raised with maintenance of stormwater drains will be investigated, with a report to be presented to Council soon on increased grader maintenance in rural areas, which will also target stormwater drainage. Several letters have been sent to residents over recent years regarding the causeway at St Marys Road, as raising the causeway is cost prohibitive at this time and Blacktown Council are constructing an alternative crossing point. The requested upgrades to the park are extensive and not consistent with Council’s recently adopted Sport and Recreation Strategy. Upgrades are planned for Wilson Park, Llandilo and Londonderry Park. A more detailed direct response was provided.

· Stop wasting money on unnecessary projects, like waste collection in Jamison Park that is already a service that is provided by Council

· Request that Council look at other ways to save money to reduce the burden on ratepayers

Comment

Electronic waste (EWaste) and household hazardous waste (Chemical Clean Out) collections which run from Jamison Park are State Government initiatives which are supported by Council, with EWaste co-funded by Council and the Chemical Clean Out only hosted by Council. These collection days are in addition to the provision of the Community Recycling Centre (CRC) at North St Marys which accepts a selection of electronic waste items and household hazardous waste items. The CRC is a State Government initiative and is entirely funded by State Government.

Collections of Household Recycling and Real Christmas Trees from Jamison Park in the December/ January period support a number of households who may find they generate these waste items or additional volumes of items during this season. This collection enables best management and resource recovery of such times for this peak period.

Council has had a concentrated focus on improving productivity and reducing reliance on rate income since the Fit for the Future application in 2014. We continue to identify system and process improvements that will increase our efficiency and effectiveness.

Recommended changes to the Delivery Program and Operational Plan

Two new sections are recommended for inclusion in the Delivery Program and Operational Plan following the exhibition. The first is additional information on the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on our community and on Council, and the initiatives that have been implemented to continue service delivery and support community needs. This includes information on the creation of the Economic Recovery and Community Recovery Taskforces to help Penrith recover from the effects of both the pandemic and the measures introduced to minimise health risk.

The second section recommended for inclusion are revised organisational performance indicators. These will provide clearer guidance on how council is performing in key areas including financial management and customer experience.

Structural and staff changes

Names and responsibilities within the draft plan will be updated to reflect staff changes and to ensure our Delivery Program and Operational Plan accurately reflects the organisational structure as well as staff responsibilities.

Community Participation Plan

Changes to the Community Participation Plan, in Council’s Community Engagement Strategy, were publicly exhibited in conjunction with the draft Delivery Program, Operational Plan and Fees and Charges from 4 May 2020 to 1 June 2020. This report seeks that Council adopt the minor amendments to the Community Participation Plan, within the Community Engagement Strategy, provided as Attachment 4.

The Community Participation Plan sets out how the community can be involved in planning and development decisions.

Changes to the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 (the Act) were enacted on 29 November 2019 through the Environmental Planning and Assessment Amendment (Community Participation Plans) Regulation 2019. These changes were made after Council adopted the Community Engagement Strategy and Community Participation Plan at the Ordinary Meeting of 25 November 2019. As a result, the Community Participation Plan needs to be updated.

Updates proposed to the Community Participation Plan:

· set out the minimum public exhibition periods for certain development consent

applications and certain modification of development consent applications,

· set out the mandatory notification or advertising periods for the review of certain

determinations and decisions of consent authorities,

· clarify what information is required to be included in mandatory development notifications under the Act, and

· make minor wording changes to improve readability.

Two submissions were received during the public exhibition. One submission requested that the recipient be included in a consultation list for their area. Council has no lists for this purpose, however the submitter has subscribed to Council’s Your Say page, and can receive notifications of exhibited materials through this established system. The final submission expressed support for the changes, saying the document was well set out and clearly explained how the community could participate in Council decisions.

No additional changes are recommended to the Community Participation Plan following the exhibition.

Changes to Operational Plan - Budget Adjustments

The financial estimates included in the exhibited revised 2017-22 Delivery Program (incorporating the 2020-21 Operational Plan) were based on information that was available at the time. During the Exhibition period, further budget adjustments have been required as a result of Council decisions and additional information that has been received.

The exhibited draft 2017-22 Delivery Program (incorporating the 2020-21 Operational Plan) presented a balanced budget. During the Exhibition period adjustments have been made and a balanced budget will still be achieved should Council choose to adopt all the proposed recommendations contained within this report.

At the Ordinary Meeting on 25 May 2020, Council adopted the March 2020 Quarterly Review which included revotes totalling $8.8m for capital works and operating projects which have now been incorporated into the 2020-21 Budget.

Budget Adjustments impacting available funds

Provided in Attachment 1 is a complete list of all budget changes that have occurred during the exhibition period. The more significant changes to the budget not previously reported to Council, are detailed below with their impact on the budget surplus, indicated where applicable – (favourable (F), unfavourable (U), allocation (A).

Employee Costs – net decrease of $48,028 F

Employee cost budgets have now been updated to reflect the most current information and to take into account additional funding. The net impact of these budget adjustments is a $48,208 increase to General Revenue.

During the first quarter of 2020-21 all employee cost budgets will be reviewed to incorporate the results of the new Award, with the impact being reported to Council as part of the September Quarterly Review.

Other – $171,445 U

Other variations totalling $171,445 (unfavourable) have combined with the above budget variations to maintain a balanced budget.

Transfer to Reserve – decrease of $123,417 A

A balanced budget for 2020-21 Budget is presented tonight. Within this balanced budget it is proposed to retain an amount in Council’s internal reserves to provide for any significant movements that may arise in the current assumptions. This strategy provides capacity to respond to variations that may occur in assumptions and estimates within the 2020-21 budget, address emerging priorities in future quarterly reviews, and make provision for future year projects. The surplus funds available in 2020-21 to transfer to Reserve have now been decreased by $123,417 from the draft 2020-21 Budget, resulting in a total of $1.7m transferred to the Financial Management Reserve in the final 2020-21 Budget.

Budget Adjustments with no impact on available funds

A number of other budget variations, proposed as part of this review, do not have an impact on the available funds. Details of the more significant of these variations are provided below.

Local Roads Package round 2 – increase of $8,152,703

· Allocation of additional approved grant funding for the completion of Erskine Park Road section.

ICT Projects – increase of $2,339,474

· This increase is funded from Reserve with the majority of this increase due to the impact of additional staff accessing systems which are now being empowered by technology including: all Childcare Staff, all Depot Staff and Staff at Ripples Leisure Centre. The increase in staffing numbers required additional licenses to access Council’s business applications.

· In addition, there has been an increase within the Azure Data Centre to meet demands which in turn led to an increase in hardware costs, such as mobile devices and PCs. The ability to run additional staff on these platforms, and additional hardware, has meant that Council has projected an increase in mobile services such as 4G driven by new starters and the Field Services Mobility Project, as well as Cloud- based server capabilities for information sharing and Cloud storage.

Resource Allocation Requests (RAR) – increase of $2,261,662

· The March 2020 RAR process reviewed resourcing needs in the short and longer term which have impacted on the final 2020-21 Budget. These additional resources are either funded from existing operational or project budgets, or from Reserve funds for the period of appointment.

Plant Replacement Program – increase of $1,125,439

· Additional funding is required for the timely replacement of ageing plant assets in line with the recommendations from the Plant Replacement Plan with funding provided from Reserve.

Section 7.11 Development Contributions Income- decrease of $919,670

· Section 7.11 Development Contribution income is heavily linked to the rate at which development occurs in the marketplace and has been adjusted to reflect income levels received in recent years.

2020 Council Election Budget – decrease of $900,000

· Postponement of the 2020 Local Government Elections which are now to be held September 2021, with funds for 2020 Council Election Budget now returned to Election Reserve.

Nursery Redevelopment – increase of $750,000

· The $750,000 budget for the nursery redevelopment now included in the 2020-21 financial year represents the anticipated timing for the project which is expected to result in a number of efficiencies and benefits for Council and the broader community with funding provided from Reserve.

COVID-19 Impact

During the exhibition period all revenue lines have been reviewed to determine the budget impact of COVID-19 for 2020-21 including:

· Rates income

· Interest on investments

· Infrastructure and Inspection fees

· User and facilities fees

· Development Services

· Sportsgrounds

· Ripples

· Commercial rents and activities

· Potential additional subsidy requests from Entities.

The COVID-19 negative impact on Council’s general revenue that is proposed to be incorporated in the final 2020-21 Budget is $3.8m, with further details provided in Attachment 1 – Changes on Exhibition. As reported in the March Quarterly Review in order to track the actual impact of COVID-19 on Council’s operations and revenue a separate COVID-19 Impact Reserve has been created. This new Reserve will initially result in a deficit balance and at this stage we are only notionally funding this deficit against Council’s other internal unrestricted reserves. The impact will continue to be reviewed as events unfold over the coming months and will reflect government stimulus and support packages and regulatory changes.

Future discussions are planned with Councillors over the coming months as the impact of COVID-19 continues to be understood and an agreed strategy for recovery can be embedded in Council’s Long-Term Financial Plan, including the repayment of the internal loan that has been established.

Changes to Fees and Charges

During the exhibition period the following changes have been proposed to the draft 2020-21 Fees and Charges:

· The Office of Local Government Circular 20-19 announced maximum Interest Rate on overdue rates and charges decreased by 0.5% from 7.5% to 7.0%. It is further noted that due to COVID-19 pandemic, the 7.0% interest rate is only applicable to overdue rates between, 01 January 2021 to 30 June 2021. The Circular advised that there will be no interest incurred on overdue rates and charges, between 01 July 2020 to 31 December 2020.

· Minor changes were done to update the GST codes on three fees and charges.

Attachment 2 provides a list of these proposed changes.

The Making of Rates and Charges for 2020-21

Submissions from Ratepayers during the Draft 2020-21 Operational Plan exhibition period about council rates

During the exhibition period, Council received a total of 135 separate formal submissions from unique property owners in relation to Council rates with 7 being urban owners, 125 being rural property owners and 3 not identifying their property or suburb. Two submissions were in support of the proposed rates, with the remainder not in support. The submissions were received via three main channels with some sending multiple submissions via multiple channels:

· 43 unique submissions received via Council’s dedicated form on our website for responses to the Draft Operational Plan;

· 111 unique submissions to Councillors or Council Officers through direct email representations. 20 of these submitters also made a submission via Council’s website (so only have been counted as 1 submission in the 135 total submissions received).

· There was also 1 submission received by letter to Council.

Some of the submissions from rural owners were received leading up to the Ordinary Meeting on Monday 27 April 2020 before the 2020-21 draft rates information had been released. These submissions made references to rates increases, despite some of them being subject to a rates decrease in 2020-21. Of the 135 submissions received that were opposing rates increases, 59 will receive rates decreases in 2020-21, should the proposed rates be endorsed at tonight’s meeting.

A summary of the number of submissions received by suburb are:

Suburb	Number of Unique Submissions received
Berkshire Park	5
Castlereagh	23
Cranebrook	7
Glenmore Park	1
Jamisontown	1
Kingswood	1
Llandilo	24
Londonderry	6
Luddenham	1
Mount Vernon	50
Mulgoa	6
Orchard Hills	3
Penrith	2
South Penrith	2
Not disclosed	3
Total Submissions	135

The main focus of the submissions from the rural property owners, including the three submissions received that did not disclose their property or suburb were:

· Council rates are too high in rural areas;

· A change to a Base Rate structure would be more fair;

· Urban owners are closer to services so should pay more;

· Council expenditure is of a higher proportion in urban areas;

· Rural owners receive less Council services than urban owners including kerb and guttering, streetlights and parks;

· Rates are cheaper in other council areas;

· Rural owners are not wealthier than urban owners;

· No improvements in their suburb;

· Rates increases higher than inflation;

· There should be a rural rate;

· There should be a maximum rate.

· Streets not maintained.

· High rates are not sustainable for self-funded retirees or pensioners in rural areas.

The main focus of the submissions from the urban property owners were:

· 2 owners believed the rates are fair and equitable (Penrith and Glenmore Park);

· 1 owner was against the 2.6% rate peg increase (Kingswood);

· 1 owner wants Council to freeze rates and make efficiency gains (Jamisontown);

· 1 owner wants Council to stop spending money on unnecessary projects (South Penrith);

· 1 owner was against proposed changes to lot sizes that may impact the value of properties (Penrith).

· 1 submission supported the waiving of hiring fees of sport fields in 2020-21 so was not directly related to rates (South Penrith).

Rating Increase - IPART Announcement

From 2011-12 onwards the responsibility for determining and announcing the rate peg was transferred from the Minister for Local Government to IPART. Under this regime IPART developed a Local Government Cost Index (LGCI). This index now forms the annual rate peg announced by December each year for the following financial year. Council may decide how this total is shared between business, residential, and farmland sectors. IPART announced the 2020-21 Rate peg was 2.6% on 12 September 2019.

Ordinary Rates

Each year Council must determine a Rating Policy for the next financial year. The Local Government Act 1993 provides for a number of rating structures, so councils have the flexibility to develop a structure that best provides equity for their Local Government Area.

Council currently applies a rate structure in which rate assessments are based on property valuations (Ad Valorem) with a Minimum Amount. This means that rates are predominantly based on the land value of the property as determined by the NSW Valuer-General.

Council charges rates on three types of Land Categories:

a. Residential

b. Farmland

c. Business – with the following sub-categories

i. Penrith CBD

ii. St Mary’s Town Centre

The maximum rate revenue for the next financial year is calculated by:

a. Taking last year’s revenue and adding an inflation adjustment announced by IPART or an approved SRV amount;

b. Adding rates on new properties created by subdivision, and on new strata-titles; and

c. Adding income lost due to valuation objections.

The differentiation between Rating Categories and Sub-categories is:

· the rate in the dollar for all Residential properties are the same (subject to a Minimum Amount);

· the Farmland rate is 50% of the Residential rate;

· all Business Minimum Amounts the same; and

· two Business rating sub-categories for Penrith CBD and St Marys Town Centre which have different Ad Valorem rates to the Ordinary Business category.

Every three years Council receives updated valuations for all properties in the Local Government Area. The Valuer General has recently provided the General Valuation of land for the LGA with a Base Date 1 July 2019 and these will be first used for rates purposes from 1 July 2020.

The revaluation does not impact Council’s overall rates income. It does however redistribute the rates income throughout the City with property owners’ change in rates payable in 2020-21 dependent on their relative change compared to the average change.

At the ordinary Meeting on Monday 27 April 2020 Council resolved to write to the NSW Premier and NSW Local Government Minister to seek permission to defer the use of the 2019 Valuations for one year, to alleviate the sharp increases on some ratepayers resulting from the use of the new valuations during the COVID-19 crisis. The NSW Local Government Minister, The Hon. Shelly Hancock has informed Council that the deferring of the use of land valuations is unable to be approved as the Minister for Local Government has no powers under the Local Government Act to intervene in the land valuation process.

Whilst the average valuation increase for all residential properties was 19%, different residential suburb valuation increases ranged from 1% for Jordan Springs up to 78% for Kemps Creek. The change to the amount that property owners will pay for rates in 2020-21 will depend on how their valuation change compared to this average. Some property owners will have rates decreases, some will stay the same and others will increase.

NSW councils have limited options under the NSW Local Government Act to be able to change the way that rates are assessed. Council has explored the limited alternate options many times over the years to try to limit the impact of increasing rates and land valuations, particularly for rural property owners.

The options available include:

A. Setting a different and lower rate for Rural Residential properties; or

B. Changing the way that the rates are structured.

In considering each option, Council must take into consideration who is impacted by any changes from the current method, particularly vulnerable property owners such as pensioners.

Option A: Unfortunately, the option of using a different rate for Rural Residential properties restricts eligibility depending on the size and occupation of the land with less than half of rural properties owners actually being eligible. This means that a majority of rural owners would actually increase by even more to fund the discount for the eligible rural owners. Under the current rules, Council believes that this option is not viable or equitable.

Option B: NSW councils have three options with the way that rates are structured. Under each option, the total amount of rates collected by Council is the same, however the rates are shared differently among property owners:

1. Ad Valorem (only) -Land value multiplied by a rate.

2. Base Rate plus Ad Valorem - Combination of a part Base (fixed) amount plus Part land value multiplied by a rate.

3. Ad Valorem with a Minimum Rate (Council’s current method) - Land value multiplied by a rate, but properties under a certain land value threshold subject to a minimum rate.

The Ad Valorem only method was not considered by Council as it would result in even greater increases for rural property owners and couldn’t be supported. Council did however investigate the likely impact of changing to a Base Rate option in 2020-21. When a comparison was done between the two different methods, the impacts of the Base Rate method showed the following adverse impacts (when compared to continuing with the current method of Ad Valorem with a Minimum Rate):

• 20,000 more property owners with rates increases greater than $200

• 4,000 more pensioners with rates increases greater than $200

• Average rates increase for pensioners of 10% (compared to 2% under current method)

• 60% of properties would pay greater than $100 rates increase (compared to only 10% under current method).

Despite significant representations from rural property owners who are calling on Council to change the rates structure to alleviate high rates in rural areas, due to these adverse impacts and particularly the impacts on pensioners, and despite Council’s genuine efforts, Council was unable to support a change from the current rating method at this time. The existing rate structure of an ad valorem rate with a minimum rate is proposed to continue for 2020-21.

Review of Rating Components of Local Government Act

The rating components of the NSW Local Government Act are under review by the NSW Government. In 2015 the NSW Government directed IPART to review the rating legislation and IPART delivered their Final Report to the Government in December 2016. The Final Report was released by the NSW Government on 21 June 2019.

Penrith City Council lodged many formal submissions over the term of the Review and on the recommendations that have been made, and we have also written to the NSW Premier, Local Government Minister and Local Members on many occasions to ask for an update on the implementation of the reforms. The NSW Government has not indicated if or when the recommendations will be implemented, only that due to the large-scale, complexity, and potential impacts of the recommendations, the Government will not rush the process of carefully considering these matters in order to develop a formal response to the Final Report.

Rates for 2020-21

Council currently has 76,709 rateable properties contributing approximately 50% of Council’s total revenue. It is expected that both the Penrith CBD Corporation and the St Marys Town Centre Corporation will request a continuation of Business Sub-category rates to fund their respective activities. A total of $468,429 will be raised from Penrith CBD rates and

$356,528 will be raised from St Marys Town Centre rates.

Council provides eligible pensioners a pensioner subsidy. Council’s policy provides for a 50% rebate of rates and domestic waste charges to a maximum of $250. In addition, pensioners are not subject to the Stormwater Management Service Charge.

The 2020-21 Budget includes initial estimates for rates income with a net increase of $6.6m for Rates Income over the original estimate for 2020-21 included. This includes the 2.6% rate peg announced for 2020-21. Also factored into estimates is a prediction for growth of both Residential and Non-Residential rates.

2020-21 RATES LEVY INCOME

Rate Category	Ad Valorem Rate in $	MINIMUM RATE		Total Anticipated Gross Revenue $’000s	Number of Properties
Rate Category	Ad Valorem Rate in $	2020-21 $	Increase $	Total Anticipated Gross Revenue $’000s	Number of Properties
Residential	0.00323715	1,133.00	20.00	103,914	72,907
Farmland	0.001618575	1,133.00	20.00	1,886	318
Business	0.00523805	1,381.20	35.00	22,584	2,842
Business - Penrith CBD Rate	0.00734112	1,381.20	35.00	3,208	408
Business - St Marys Town Centre Rate	0.0788458	1,381.20	35.00	974	234
Total				$132,566*	76,709

*N.B. The revenues identified in this section represent the gross anticipated revenues from the Rates Levy on 1 July 2020 prior to the application of Pensioner Subsidies, Part year growth, Provision for Doubtful debts, and other subsidies and abandonments.

Stormwater Charges

The Stormwater Management Service charge proposed to be applied on all urban residential and urban business land is outlined below. This is in accordance with Council’s Policy outlined in the 2020-21 Operational Plan and Fees & Charges (except land which is exempt from the Stormwater Management Services charge as outlined in Section 496A of the Local Government Act 1993).

For the 2020-21 year, the Stormwater Management Service charges will remain unchanged from 2019-20:

· Residential non-strata properties	$25 per annum
· Residential strata properties	$12.50 per annum
· Urban business properties	$22.80 plus an additional $22.80 for each 350 square metres or part of 350 square metres by which the area of the parcel of land exceeds 350 square metres.

Domestic Waste Charges

Domestic Waste Service charges are proposed to be applied to each parcel of rateable land and each occupancy for which the service is available, including vacant land, in accordance with Section 496 of the Local Government Act 1993. The charges will be at the amounts specified in the 2020-21 Operational Plan and 2020-21 Fees & Charges.

Effluent Charges

It is proposed that the annual charges for effluent removal services are applied to each residential occupancy with a single or shared pump out septic tank system at the rates specified in the 2020-21 Operational Plan and 2020-21 Fees & Charges.

Interest on Overdue Rates and Charges

For the purpose of calculating the interest on overdue rates and charges in accordance with Section 566(3) of the Local Government Act 1993, it is proposed that an interest charge of 0% per annum be charged from 1 July 2020 until 31 December 2020 and then 7.0% per annum from 1 January 2021 to 30 June 2021 as permitted by the Minister for Local Government be used for 2020-21.

Pension Rebate

Council will provide a mandatory pension rebate to a maximum of $250 for eligible pensioners in accordance with Section 515 of the Local Government Act 1993. In addition to the mandatory pensioner rebate, it is proposed that Council will continue a voluntary rebate under Section 582 of the Local Government Act 1993. The voluntary rebate will be equivalent to the annual stormwater charge applicable to the property. Properties that do not receive a Stormwater Management Service Charge will not receive a voluntary rebate. Pro-rata calculations will be applied to rebates that start or cease within the financial year according to Sections 575 and 584 of the Local Government Act 1993.

Rates Hardship

Council’s Rates team will continue to deal with everyone experiencing hardship with compassion.

To help assist Ratepayers in financial hardship due to the COVID-19 health crisis or from rates increases due to the use of new land valuations, the following measures will be used:

1. No interest charges will be levied on overdue rates from 1 July 2020 to 31 December 2020 in line with the interest charges set by the NSW Office of Local Government.

2. Payment arrangements and extensions for ratepayers to suit their individual circumstances.

3. Where ratepayers have faced rates increases due to a sharp increase in their land valuation, a ratepayer can apply in writing to defer payment of the increased amount (above their prior year rates) for a period of up to two years where the rates have increased by 25% or more. Additionally, any interest that accrues as a result of a deferment will be waived. Whilst a deferment of the increase will not reduce the amount that is payable (other than the interest waived), it will give the ratepayer time to adjust to their higher rates.

Financial Implications

This report and attachments include information regarding the financial position for the final 2020-21 Budget that is presented tonight for Council’s approval. The impact on Council’s financial position as a result of the current global health crisis has been assessed and all budget adjustments incorporated into Council’s final 2020-21 Budget.

The Budget preparation and setting process aims to deliver a balanced or surplus Budget that funds the service level needs of the community, with a balanced budget position now established for the final 2020-21 Budget. As in previous years it has been considered prudent to retain some surplus funds ($1.7m) in Reserve for significant movements in the current assumptions during 2020-21, which is considered especially relevant given the current economic climate.

Risk Implications

In developing the Annual Budget, Council is required to comply with two important pieces of legislation, i.e. the Local Government Act 1993, and the Local Government (General) Regulation 2005.

Section 405 of the Local Government Act 1993 has been temporarily modified in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Councils are not required to have copies of the plan physically available provided the document is published on the website and made available in electronic from. Additionally, an extension has been granted of one month for adoption of the Operational Plan. Other requirements which are still in place are:

· A Council must have a plan (its "Operational Plan") that details the activities to be engaged in by the Council during the year as part of the Delivery Program covering that year.

· An Operational Plan must include a statement of the Council’s Revenue Policy for the year covered by the Operational Plan. The Statement of Revenue Policy must include the Statements and particulars required by the regulations.

· A Council must prepare a draft Operational Plan and give public notice of the draft indicating that submissions may be made to the Council at any time during the period (not less than 28 days) that the draft is to be on public exhibition. The Council must publicly exhibit the draft Operational Plan in accordance with the notice.

· In deciding on the final Operational Plan to be adopted, a Council must consider any submissions that have been made concerning the draft plan.

· The Council must post a copy of its Operational Plan on the Council’s website within 28 days after the Plan is adopted.

On the 17th April the NSW Government made a series of regulatory changes to ensure council resources continue to be focused on frontline COVID-19 response efforts and allow councils to provide financial relief to businesses and residents. Regulations have been made under section 747B of the Local Government Act 1993 to temporarily modify the application of the Act in response to the COVID‑19 pandemic. The impact of these changes has been reviewed and incorporated into the final 2020-21 Operational Plan.

As part of the Operational Plan, Clause 201 of the LG Regulation states that a statement of Council’s Revenue Policy be produced each year including:

· Estimated income and expenditure

· Ordinary rates and special rates

· Proposed fees and charges

· Council’s proposed pricing methodology

· Proposed borrowings.

The Long Term Financial Plan has been reviewed and updated as part of the Annual Budget process to ensure that forward projections reflect the most current assumptions. Long term forecasting minimises financial risk by supporting financial sustainability, transparency, and accountability.

Conclusion

This report seeks Council’s adoption of the final 2020-21 Operational Plan (with proposed changes outlined in this report and the associated attachments), following Council’s consideration of the submissions and the budget variations proposed for 2020-21.

Once Council adopts the revised Delivery Program 2017-22 (incorporating the 2020-21 Operational Plan and Fees & Charges), the adopted Plan will be available on Council’s website within 28 days as outlined in the Local Government Act 1993 section 405(6).

The documents provide a clear commitment to a shared vision for our City’s future and provide a solid foundation that will be built upon in subsequent reviews.

This report also recommends that that Council make the Rates and Charges for 2020-21 as required under Section 535 of the Local Government Act 1993, as detailed in this report. Additionally, that Council agree to underwrite the operations of Penrith Whitewater Stadium Limited and Penrith Performing and Visual Arts Ltd until the presentation of the respective Annual Reports for 2020-21.

The public exhibition of the Community Participation Plan did not result in any amendments to the publicly exhibited document. This report seeks that the proposed minor amendments to the plan be adopted.

RECOMMENDATION

That:

1. The information contained in the report on Adoption of Delivery Program 2017-22 and 2020-21 Operational Plan be received.

2. In accordance with the Local Government Act 1993 under section 405, Council adopt Council's Delivery Program 2017-22 and 2020-21 Operational Plan, including proposed changes outlined in this report, any amendments made at tonight’s meeting; and any additional corrections to responsibilities for delivery of agreed actions.

3. The General Manager be granted delegation to carry out minor changes to the Community Engagement Strategy document before it is published on Council’s website.

4. Council adopt the attached Community Engagement Strategy, including the Community Participation Plan.

5. The Department of Planning, Industry and Environment be notified of the adopted updates through the Planning Portal.

6. Council agree to underwrite the operations of Penrith Whitewater Stadium Limited and Penrith Performing and Visual Arts Ltd until the presentation of the respective Annual Reports for 2020-21.

7. Council adopt the following to make the Rates and Charges for 2020-21:

a. Ordinary Rate: Council make its Residential, Business and Farmland rates for 2020-21 in accordance with Section 535 of the Local Government Act 1993 such rate to be as follows:

Category	Minimum Amount	Ad Valorem (cents in the dollar)
Residential	$1,133.00	0.323715
Farmland	$1,133.00	0.1618575
Business	$1,381.20	0.523805
Business subcategory – Penrith CBD	$1,381.20	0.734112
Business subcategory – St Marys Town Centre	$1,381.20	0.788458

b. Stormwater Charges: Council make its Stormwater Management Service charge to be applied on all urban residential and urban business land as outlined in the report.

c. Domestic Waste Charges: Council make its Domestic Waste Service charge in accordance with Section 496 of the Local Government Act 1993 and the 2020-21 Operational Plan and 2020-21 Fees & Charges.

d. Effluent Charges: Council make its annual charge for effluent removal services as outlined in the report and the 2020-21 Operational Plan and 2020-21 Fees & Charges.

e. Interest: Council make the interest charge of 0.0% per annum from 1 July 2020 to 31 December 2020 and then 7.0% per annum from 1 January 2021 to 30 June 2021 as allowable under Section 566(3) of the Local Government Act 1993.

f. Pension Rebate: Council provide a mandatory pension rebate in accordance with Section 575 of the Local Government Act 1993 and in addition provide a voluntary rebate under Section 582 of the Local Government Act 1993. The voluntary rebate will be equivalent to the annual stormwater charge applicable to the property, and includes pro-rata calculations according to Sections 575 and 584 of the Local Government Act 1993.

8. Service of Rate Notices: The General Manager be and is hereby authorised, to prepare and serve Rates and Charges Notices for and on behalf of Council.

v	Meeting at which the draft corporate planning documents (Delivery Program and Operational Plan) are endorsed for exhibition
*	Meeting at which the draft corporate planning documents (Delivery Program and Operational Plan) are adopted
#	Meetings at which the Operational Plan quarterly reviews (March and September) are presented
@	Meetings at which the Delivery Program progress reports (including the Operational Plan quarterly reviews for December and June) are presented
^	Election of Mayor/Deputy Mayor
ü	Meeting at which the 2019- 2020 Annual Statements are presented
∞	Meeting at which any comments on the 2019-2020 Annual Statements are adopted
+	Meeting at which the Annual Report is presented
>	Briefing to consider Budget, draft fees & charges and corporate documents

Company	Tendered Price	Company Address	Owners/Directors
RMA Contracting Pty Ltd	$531,478.88	6-20 Braidwood St, Strathfield South NSW 2136	George Jabbour
Beasy Pty Ltd	$882,008.00	16 Orchardleigh St, Yennora NSW 2161	Bret Baker

Folio Identifier	Lot/Section/Deposited Plan
7A/38950	Lot 7A DP 38950
1/567225	Lot 1 DP 567225
1/38628	Lot 1 DP 38628
2/38628	Lot 2 DP 38628
3/38628	Lot 3 DP 38628
4/38628	Lot 4 DP 38628
1/ DP228331	Lot 1 DP228331

Outcome	We can work close to home
Strategy	Provide access to lifelong learning to maximise opportunities for our community
Service Activity	Deliver high quality children’s services

1. ⇩	A Snapshot of the Ageing Population in Penrith	18 Pages	Attachments Included
2. ⇩	Health Snapshot	12 Pages	Attachments Included