Summary of Ordinary Council Meeting Thursday 24 April 2025

Mayoral Minute

New meeting processes are being implemented to more closely align meetings with the Standing Orders and to ensure consistency, sound governance and fairness.

CEO Report

The CEO report provided a monthly update on key initiatives including solar panel installation, asphalt overlay program, Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements road maintenance and betterment work, Wongabel Road rehabilitation, Lakeside toilet block reroofing and water valve replacement in Ravenshoe and Tolga. The report mentioned the difficult process of preparing next year's budget, especially in regard to historic federal funding arrangements, and highlighted the outstanding service provided by the Local Laws Team. The CEO's first industry forum will be an Agricultural Forum at 10am-2pm Monday 12 May at the Mount Garnet Town Hall.

Aged Housing Policy Review

The Aged Housing Policy has been updated and renamed the Community Housing for Seniors Policy in line with feedback from regulatory agencies and changes in legislation. The policy establishes a formal process to ensure there is a consistent approach to managing community housing facilities for seniors.

Renewal of Leases

A lease with the Queensland Fire Department over part of the Coordination Centre will be renewed for a further two years.

With regard to Lot 260 on K103695 (in Tumoulin), Department of Natural Resources and Mines, Manufacturing, and Regional and Rural Development will be advised:

• TRC is unable to commit to the grant of a trustee lease or trustee permit
• TRC has no objections to the state renewing the term lease over the land while the department considers the concerns previously raised by TRC
• should the department determine not to renew the current term lease, the lessee could contact TRC to request a trustee lease or trustee permit.

If an application for a trustee lease or trustee permit is received, TRC will invite written tenders and a report will be brought to Council.

Delegation of Statutory Powers

Under Section 257 of the Local Government Act 2009, the CEO was delegated the statutory powers contained in the Public Records Act 2003 (Qld).

Capital Projects Report

The received and noted Capital Projects Report provides a monthly summary of the financial position of capital budget expenditure and the status of projects.

Millaa Millaa Falls Stairs Compliance

The design and construction of the new stairs at Millaa Millaa Falls were deemed compliant with Australian Standard AS2156 for Walking Tracks by a Registered Professional Engineer Queensland certified engineer.

IGEM Severe Weather Review

The Office of the Inspector General Emergency Management (IGEM) conducted a review of the 2023-24 Severe Weather Season. The review encompassed severe storms, tropical cyclones, tropical lows, flooding and bushfires. The observations, insights and recommendations identified in the report are relevant to the TRC Region and a local implementation action plan will be delivered.

Review of Road Maintenance & Resheet Programs

A report providing a comprehensive review of the road maintenance and resheet programs, systems and processes was received. The report identified that prioritisation of road maintenance and gravel road resheeting is based on risk and constrained by budget. This could be alleviated by increasing budgets and/or changing service standards and will be considered during budget development.

Tree Management Review

A report on the policy position relating to trees in road reserves in urban areas and its application to Mountainview Drive was received and noted. Costs to remove the Cadaghi trees on Mountainview Drive will be considered in the 2025-26 budget.

Battery Park Project

Approval was provided for additional land contamination investigations for the Battery Park Project. A comprehensive gap analysis and updated project costing be presented to Council for approval prior to proceeding with any required rehabilitation works and detailed design.

Millaa Millaa Falls Tour Bus Use

The top car park at Millaa Millaa Falls will be designated for bus and general visitor vehicle parking, and parking will be restricted in the bottom car park to exclude class 3, 4 and 6 vehicles.

Financial Report

Operating revenue is on target with a variance of just 0.7%. Capital revenue is also on target with a variance of just 0.3%. Neil Castles will be added to the sole and specialised service provider list for local government sustainability review and advice services. $60,860.20 of unspent capital funds will be reallocated to the Malanda Majestic Theatre facade project.

Quarterly Report

The Q3 Quarterly Performance Report provides an overview of customer request response performance, progress against Operational Plan initiatives, and after-hour call responses.

Customer Request Management Review

A report on the comprehensive review of the Customer Request Management system and processes presented the data in the nine months to 31 March 2025 and showed:

• the top three reasons for customer requests (2930 out of 12,765 requests) are applications associated with rates (1227 requests), enquiries about rates (911 requests) and reporting water leaks (792 requests)
• out of 12,765 requests, only 7766 (or 60.8%) required a response
• only 41 customers (or 0.6% of the 6737 customers) have made repeated (more than 10) requests and contribute to 8.1% (1029) of all requests (12,765 request).

Ongoing staff training will focus on prioritising timely and consistent responses and efficient use of the systems.

Shed at Priors Creek Parklands

The CEO will commence negotiations to realign the boundaries between TRC's freehold lot 3, which is adjacent to Priors Creek Parkland, and state land (Lot 154 on SP120085) to resolve the encroachment of a shed onto TRC's land.

Acquisition of Interest

The CEO will liaise with Aurizon, Department of Transport and Main Roads and Department of Natural Resources and Mines, Manufacturing, and Regional and Rural Development regarding the acquisition of an interest in a landlocked parcel of land adjacent to the Priors Creek Parklands.

Tenders

Tender T-TRC2024-10 for management services of Malanda Falls Caravan Park was extended with E and N Dunstan Contracting for a period of three years for $455,400.00 including GST plus 10% of gross revenue commission fee.

Contract T-TRC2023-03 for traffic control services was extended with the current empanelled contractors for 12 months.

Tender T-TRC2025-09 for the 2024-25 Asphalt Overlay Program was awarded to NQ Asphalt Pty Ltd for $280,122.44 including GST.

Software Supplier

The SCADA software package proposal from Inductive Automation to automate, control and monitor operation of water, wastewater and waste sites, was endorsed.

EV Charging Station

TRC will commence negotiations to enter into a commercial licence agreement with Yurika Pty Ltd for the installation, operation and maintenance of an electric vehicle charging station in Yungaburra.

Agendas, Minutes & Next Meeting

The next ordinary Council meeting will be at 9am Thursday 22 May at the Coordination Centre, 15 Vernon Street in Atherton. The meeting is open to the public and will be live streamed and recorded.