Minutes (Open Portion)

City Infrastructure Committee Meeting

Page 2

25/7/2018

Minutes (Open Portion)

City Infrastructure Committee Meeting

Page 3

25/07/2018

HARVEY

The minutes of the Open Portion of the City Infrastructure Committee meeting held on Wednesday, 20 June 2018, be confirmed as an accurate record.

MOTION CARRIED

VOTING RECORD

6.1      Stormwater System - Control of Flow Impacts from Property Development

LORD MAYOR

That the recommendation contained in the memorandum of the Group Manager Infrastructure Planning and the Director City Infrastructure of 20 July 2018, be adopted.

MOTION CARRIED

VOTING RECORD

COMMITTEE RESOLUTION:

That the information contained in the memorandum titled ‘Stormwater System – Control of Flow Impacts from Property Development’ of 20 July 2018 be received and noted.

6.2      Hobart Bicycle Advisory Committee - Meeting Notes

HARVEY

That the recommendation contained in the memorandum of the Director City Infrastructure of 16 July 2018, be adopted.

MOTION CARRIED

VOTING RECORD

COMMITTEE RESOLUTION:

That the draft notes of the Hobart Bicycle Advisory Committee meeting of

20 June 2018 be received and noted.

7.1      Shared Ownership and Control of Davey and Macquarie Street

THOMAS

That in accordance with Council’s policy, the following Notice of Motion which was adopted by the City Infrastructure Committee , be considered by the Council, amended by an additional clause to read as follows:

“2.     The report to include research on the potential impact that clearways will have on street amenity, business impact and property values, with a view that the Council develops its own vision for Davey and Macquarie Streets.”

MOTION CARRIED

VOTING RECORD

COMMITTEE RESOLUTION:

Motion:

“1.     Following the notification by the State of its intention to proclaim their takeover to state control, an urgent report be prepared to advise Council on the value of seeking state government approval for a shared ownership and control of Davey and Macquarie Streets given their strategic importance to the City of Hobart.

2.    The report to include research on the potential impact that clearways will have on street amenity, business impact and property values, with a view that the Council develops its own vision for Davey and Macquarie Streets.”

Rationale:

“The decision to take over from city control of our major streets, Davey and Macquarie streets by the state government has occupied almost no time by the council notwithstanding the imminent gazettal. Whilst the council has briefly considered an advisory committee with the State but a committee without any power to influence to finally influence a state decision which joint ownership and control would afford council.

History provides us with many lessons and few are as pronounced as what the loss for community might mean for our capital. These two streets, named after British forebears with links to the then colony [with no recognition afforded the indigenous owners and custodians] have always loomed large in civic and community activity.  When Queen Victoria’s second son, Prince Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh came to Hobart, in January 1868 the city, ‘festooned with flags and several arches’ greeted the prince warmly, with the civic highlight being the quaintly-named ‘Colonists’ Ball’ at the Town Hall, which had been specially illuminated for the occasion. The dancing continued ‘with great spirit’ until the early dawn. During his Hobart visit, the Duke laid the foundation stone of St David’s Cathedral, on the corner of Murray and Macquarie streets.

The visit of the popular Prince of Wales (later King Edward VIII) in 1920 prompted lavish displays of affection, including a municipal welcome arch, illuminated decorations and civic entertainment. In both our Macquarie Street was a focus for the people as it has been on countless Anzac days and innumerable public events. Over all this time the City of Hobart has been the responsible custodian of these two significant city assets.

These two roads much debated for the possibilities of being adapted and made more people friendly by city futurists such as Gehl the globally renowned city sculptor will shortly become state highways and over a hundred years of municipal stewardship will be gone forever.

The takeover raises a number of significant questions including the telling point of whether sole state control make any real difference to the reality of increasing congestion in these two streets and after a century plus of city stewardship is there any doubt that Hobart with its professional traffic engineers working closely with the state is not capable of working collegially in the community’s best interest?

During this administration as for those before the council was as owner, and subject to good planning and public support the custodian of these streets with a number of well thought through designs and improvements, particularly to the means by which pedestrians could move between the Mall and the waterfront. Lest we not end up with a Parramatta road Sydney style thoroughfare in our city with potential for clearways, increased speed, unstable Georgian building foundations as a consequence and curb side traders left with no parking access to their businesses without solid and reliable input, and moreover agreement from council  I seek approval for an urgent report into seeking from government a new accommodation and joint concert between the State with its greater Hobart mandate and our city constituted by a joint authority responsible for the ownership and management of these arterial roads. The report could look at the authority having equal responsibility for funding and for decision making. By formalising the arrangements, the intimate knowledge each has can be combined in the communities’ best interest and all issues of traffic management worked through collaboratively. The time for urgent consultation and negotiation with the government is now.”

The General Manager reports:

“In line with the Council’s policy in relation to Notices of Motion, I advise that the matter is considered to be within the jurisdiction of the Hobart City Council as it concerns the ownership of Davey and Macquarie Streets.”

7.2      Tap Water Refill Program

REYNOLDS

“That a report be provided on whether the Council's Zero Waste Strategy could benefit from:

1.    The introduction of a tap water refill program, inspired by the 'Refill' or ‘Choose Tap’ programs.

2.    Opportunities for the installation of more public water refill stations and drinking fountains across the city.

3.    The possibility of partnerships with other organisations such as TasWater to assist in resourcing these programs.”

MOTION CARRIED

VOTING RECORD

COMMITTEE RESOLUTION:

Motion:

“That a report be provided on whether the Council's Zero Waste Strategy could benefit from:

1.    The introduction of a tap water refill program, inspired by the 'Refill' or ‘Choose Tap’ programs.

2.    Opportunities for the installation of more public water refill stations and drinking fountains across the city.

3.    The possibility of partnerships with other organisations such as TasWater to assist in resourcing these programs.”

Rationale:

“A million plastic bottles are bought around the world every minute and it’s predicted that figure will rise by another 20% by 2021. Efforts to collect and recycle the bottles to keep them from creating waste and polluting the oceans, are not keeping up. 480 billion plastic bottles were produced globally in 2016 and less than half of those were recycled.

The alternative to plastic water bottles is people carrying their own water bottle and refilling it, but the take up of this option is not widespread enough yet. Additionally, the provision of water fountains to allow people to fill their bottles can be expensive to install and maintain for local government.

In the UK a program has taken off around the country called ‘Refill’ - www.refill.org.uk – it enlists friendly cafes, shops and businesses to promote themselves as a place where people can refill their water bottle for free.  Participating businesses simply put a sticker in their window – alerting passers-by to the fact they’re welcome to come on in and fill up their bottle.

An app also allows consumers to see where they can refill. Many local Councils are partners in starting and promoting the Refill program in their cities.

The program is a simple yet effective way to raise awareness with both customers and businesses about the waste impact of plastic bottles and the alternatives to it.

Because most plastic water bottles are manufactured outside Hobart, this major source of plastic waste is unlikely to be captured by the proposed single use take away containers by-law.

A program like Refill could however help to increase awareness and use of refillable water bottles and decrease the amount of water bottles being purchased in Hobart.”

The General Manager reports:

“In line with the Council’s policy in relation to Notices of Motion, I advise that the matter is considered to be within the jurisdiction of the Hobart City Council as it relates to the City of Hobart Waste Management Strategy 2015-2030.”

8.1      Committee Actions - Status Report

LORD MAYOR

That the information be received and noted.

MOTION CARRIED

VOTING RECORD

9.1      Alderman Harvey - Removal of Bottled Water

Question:    Could the Director please advise if further exploration can be undertaken throughout the organisation to remove bottled water at Council run events together with the removal of bottled water from Council owned properties and provide advice on appropriate alternatives?

Answer:       The Director Parks and City Amenity took the question on notice.

9.2      Alderman Burnet - Post Storm Subsidence

Question:    Due to the subsidence post storm, could the Director please advise if it has become apparent if any areas have become more noticeable or of further concern?

Answer:       The Director City Infrastructure took the question on notice.