COUNCIL AGENDA
Extraordinary Council Meeting
13 August 2024
You are hereby notified
that an Extraordinary Council Meeting of Liverpool City Council will be
held at the Liverpool Civic Tower
on Tuesday, 13 August 2024 commencing at 11:00am. Doors to the Liverpool
Civic Council Chambers will open at 10.30am.
The item called to be
considered is:
•
For Council to deliver the results of the Land & Environment Court
hearing of the matter of the Liverpool City Council v Minister
Local Government &
Ors to be heard on 8 & 9 August 2024
Urgent Council reports have
also be moved forward to be tabled at this meeting.
Liverpool City Council
Meetings are livestreamed onto Council’s website and remain on
Council’s website for a period of 12 months. If you have any enquiries, please contact Civic
and Executive Services on 8711 7441.
Jason Breton
ACTING CHIEF EXECUTIVE
OFFICER
Statement of
Ethical Obligations
Oath or
Affirmation of Office
In taking the Oath
or Affirmation of Office, each Councillor has made a commitment to undertake
the duties of the office of councillor in the best interests of the people of
Liverpool and Liverpool City Council and that they will faithfully and
impartially carry out the functions, powers, authorities and discretions vested
in them under the Local Government Act 1993 or any other Act to the best of
their ability and judgment.
Conflicts of
Interest
A councillor who has
a conflict of interest in any matter with which the council is concerned, and
who is present at a meeting of the council when the matter is being considered,
must disclose the interest and the nature of the interest to the meeting as
soon as practicable. Both the disclosure and the nature of the interest must be
recorded in the minutes of the Council meeting where the conflict of interest
arises. Councillors should ensure that they are familiar with Parts 4 and 5 of
the Code of Conduct in relation to their obligations to declare and manage
conflicts of interests.
Opening
Acknowledgement of Country and Prayer
National Anthem
Apologies
Condolences
Declarations of Interest
Mayoral Report
Chief Executive Officer Report
Customer Experience &
Business Performance Reports
CEBP 01 Reopening
of level 6 of the Moore Street building........................................... 5......... 1
Operations Reports
OPER 01 Mandaean
Community Engagement................................................................ 8......... 2
Questions Taken on Notice
Presentations by Councillors
Notices of Motion
Council in Closed Session
The following
items are listed for consideration by Council in Closed Session with the public
excluded, in
accordance with the provisions of the Local Government Act 1993 as listed
below:
CONF 01 Land
and Environment Court Proceedings
Reason: Item
CONF 01 is confidential pursuant to the provisions of s10(A)(2)(g) of
the Local Government
Act because it contains advice concerning litigation, or advice that would otherwise
be privileged from production in legal proceedings on the ground of legal professional
privilege
CONF 02 Hammondville
Park
Reason: Item
CONF 02 is confidential pursuant to the provisions of s10(A)(2)(d ii) of
the Local Government Act because it contains commercial information of a
confidential nature that would, if disclosed confer a commercial advantage on
a competitor of the ....................................... Council.
Close
Extraordinary
Meeting
13 August 2024
Customer Experience & Business Performance Report
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CEBP 01
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Reopening of level 6 of the Moore
Street building
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Strategic
Objective
|
Visionary,
Leading, Responsible
Demonstrate
a high standard of transparency and accountability through a comprehensive
governance framework
|
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File Ref
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260412.2024
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Report By
|
Michelle
Mcilvenny - Director Customer & Business Performance
|
|
Approved
By
|
Jason Breton
- Acting CEO
|
In
June, the organisation was notified of a number of cases of cancer in staff
that worked in close proximity to each other on level 5 and 6 in the Council
building at Moore Street Liverpool.
A
number of steps were taken immediately, these included contacting NSW Health
seeking guidance on steps to investigate the matter, discussions with staff
occupying the floors, closing level 6 at Moore Street and relocating staff,
discussions with tenants of the building including the University of Wollongong
(UoW), the engagement of suitably qualified organisations to undertake the
required testing and the establishment of a crisis response group with the UoW.
Three
companies were engaged to undertake the necessary testing, informed by NSW
Health and a leading expert from the University of Sydney. The most
relevant test to be undertaken in relation to the specific form of cancer was
for levels of ionising radiation. These tests have been completed and
preliminary results indicate that there are no levels of ionising radiation above background
levels detected in the building.
A “town hall” style
meeting will be held to provide staff the opportunity to ask questions of the
experts and the testing companies, to close out the matter and allow the levels
of Moore Street to be made available for staff to return to.
That Council receives and notes this report.
In early June the organisation was notified of several
current and previous staff that had suffered from a similar form of cancer and
worked in proximity at Council’s Moore Street building. The
organisation undertook a number of actions immediately, these included
· Contacting NSW Health seeking guidance on steps to investigate the
matter.
· Reviewing the NSW Health guidelines Responding to cancer clusters in NSW.
· Holding an Extraordinary meeting of the Executive Leadership Team to
discuss.
· Closing the level 6 in the Moore Street building.
· Holding discussions with staff occupying the floors and all staff.
· Commencing engagement of suitably qualified organisations to
undertake testing.
· Contacting Civic Risk Mutual to discuss mitigation strategies.
· Discussions with tenants of the building including the University of
Wollongong (UoW),
· Establishing a crisis response group with UoW and NSW Health.
Several other actions continued once the initial
response was undertaken, these included.
· Regular stand ups with the crisis response group, starting daily
then moving to biweekly and now weekly.
· Developing a register of people who notified of illness or concerns
about the matter, to ensure that they were appropriately cared for throughout
the crisis.
· Establishing communication protocols with the people on the register
including seeking consent, where required, for passing on contact details to
NSW Health.
· Providing notifications to NSW Health of the people who had
indicated they had the cancer.
· Notifying Council’s Audit Risk and Improvement Committee.
· Holding an all staff question and answer session with NSW Health.
· Contacting Professor Tim Driscoll, Professor of Epidemiology &
Occupational Medicine, School of Public Health, University of Sydney. Professor
Driscoll’s area of interest relates to occupational cancer and exposure
to occupational carcinogens, to seek expert advice on approach.
· Responding to SafeWork NSW questions.
· Establishing a Reference Group with NSW Health including NSW Health
experts, Professor Driscoll, UoW and Council representatives, to discuss the
matter, communications and any steps needed to be taken.
Three organisation’s, that are experts in their
field, were engaged to undertake the environmental testing to determine if
there were any hazards on the site. The organisations engaged were: The
Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO) for ionising
radiation testing, Tetra Tech Coffey for occupational hygiene testing, such as
water and air quality and Total Radiation Solutions (Dr Phillip Knipe) for
radiofrequency electromagnetic energy (non ionising) radiation testing.
At the time of preparing this report, interim findings
from ANSTO have indicated that there are no levels ionizing radiation above
backyard levels detected. The occupational hygiene testing results from Tetra
Tech Coffey indicated that the building is fit for occupancy. Dr Knipe’s
report for non ionising radiation indicates that levels are below the general
regulatory exposure limits specified by the Australian Radiation Protection and
Nuclear Safety Agency (ARPANSA).
Based on the above information, level 6 of the Moore
Street building will be cleared for reoccupation.
A series of Town Hall meetings will be scheduled that
will be attended by NSW Health, Professor Tim Driscoll and the testing
companies for the results to be discussed and any questions from staff
answered.
The financial
impacts of this matter relate to the unbudgeted costs for the testing and legal
advice, and tenancy challenges. The costs for the testing and legal
support was approximately $76,000. Advanced negotiations with
potential tenants also ceased after the matter was made public.
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Economic
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There are no economic considerations.
|
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Environment
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There are no environmental and sustainability considerations.
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Social
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There are no social and cultural considerations.
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Civic
Leadership
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There are no Civic Leadership considerations.
|
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Legislative
|
There are significant legislative considerations
relating to this report, including WHS matters.
|
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Risk
|
The management of this matter initially
was treated as an extreme risk due to the impact on employees. A member of
the Executive Leadership Team oversaw this matter.
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Nil
Extraordinary
Meeting
13 August 2024
|
OPER 01
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Mandaean Community Engagement
|
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Strategic
Objective
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Healthy,
Inclusive, Engaging
Support an
inclusive community by fostering access and equity for all
|
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File Ref
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260311.2024
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Report By
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Peter
Scicluna - Acting Director Operations
|
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Approved
By
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Jason Breton
- Acting CEO
|
This report seeks to update the
Mayor and Councillors on Council’s engagement with the Mandaean Community
in relation to the Light Horse Park Redevelopment and the Kayak Launch
Facility.
That Council receives and notes this report.
The following information is provided to update on Council’s
engagement with the Mandaean Community in relation to Light Horse Park
Redevelopment and the Kayak Launch Facility.
Council has met with the Mandaean Community on two occasions:
• Onsite at Light Horse
Park on 17 July 2024
• Follow up on 30 July
2024
The requested outcomes for the Mandaean Community, provided by Professor
Brikha Nasoraia, are summarised below.
Related to Stage 1:
A. Extend the steps and the extreme right side of the
curve on riverbank to accommodate more than one priest and more than one person
at a time to be able to access the river.
B. If possible, increase the number of steps that goes
into the river for the people who perform the baptism to safely stand in the
river (at least) up to their knee level.
C. A big and wide step (in the water) at the end
that work as a platform to safely stand on.
D. The preference is to use concrete materials,
however if that is costly then sandstone will also do the job providing it can
cater for the intended use.
E. Create a backup access/steps entrance in the easier
access area next to kayaking access point (which could be used for either male
or female separately, as per the Mandaean system). This will give additional
options during peak times.
Related to Stage 2:
F. Extend the car park to accommodate for cars on
Sundays and the four major festivals (2 major events in March and May of each
year). This could also be in the form of a temporary car park.
G. Permanent storage room that can be hired by the
spiritual community to store items that will be used during baptism.
H. Electricity power point and tap water points for
community use
I. Shaded space for Baptist to set under and
also to be used by spiritual priests as they start spiritual activities as
early as dawn on Sundays and during religious festivals in March and May.
J. Access to the community centre where there
is multifunction hall that can be used by the community.
K. Facilities to accommodate toilets, change rooms and
showers for before and after the baptism.
Council is looking to accommodate the Stage 1 works within the current
kayak launch facility (KLF) works package via variation for the contract works,
along with the necessary riverbank stabilisation works needed for environmental
reasons and human health safety.
Note the “back-up” step (E) is already accommodated as a
safety measure of the main pontoon.
In relation to Stage 2 requests, Council put to Professor Brikha that
these works would form part of later stages of the LHP works. Aspects requiring
later stage development works, already planned for in the park include:
·
Car park extension in lieu of the community
garden extension (the Mandaean’s have expressed interest in holding their
4 main festivals in the park which would need to accommodate 300+ people at any
one time)
·
Permanent storage (the extent of which will
require completion of the community hub building)
·
Electrical connectivity and water (forms part of
the car park works electrical package for food truck parking bays in the car
park)
·
Toilets, change facilities and showers (form
part of the community hub building design suite)
In relation to sunshade cloths for overhead protections in the vicinity
of the KLF, as well as potable water, Council explained that they will look to
accommodate these once the KLF is complete. Council noted the difficulties in
providing a shade structure as the ground conditions mean that a substantial
structure below ground would be required to hold the structure up. Water being
more able to be accommodated in the near vicinity with future works.
Costs
associated with this recommendation have been included in Council’s
budget for the current year and long-term financial plan.
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Economic
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Facilitate the development of new tourism based on local attractions,
culture and creative industries.
|
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Environment
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Protect, enhance and maintain areas of endangered ecological
communities and high quality bushland as part of an attractive mix of land
uses.
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Social
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Support community organisations, groups and volunteers to deliver
coordinated services to the community.
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Civic
Leadership
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Encourage the community to engage in Council initiatives and actions.
|
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Legislative
|
There are no legislative considerations relating to
this report.
|
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Risk
|
There is no risk associated with this
report.
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Nil
