Late Items Agenda of General - 28 November 2012

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Late Items

BUSINESS PAPER

General Meeting

Wednesday 28 November 2012

Roma Administration Centre

NOTICE OF MEETING

Date: 28 November 2012

Mayor: Councillor R S Loughnan

Deputy Mayor: Councillor W S Wason

Councillors: Councillor J L Chambers

Councillor R J Denton

Councillor P J Flynn

Councillor W M Newman

Councillor M L Price

Councillor D J Schefe

Chief Executive Officer: Ms Julie Reitano

Senior Management: Mr Tony Klein (Director Community & Commercial Services)

Mr Matthew McGoldrick (Director Corporate Services)

Mr Barry Omundson (Director Infrastructure Services)

Mr Rob Hayward (Director Development & Environment Services)

Officers: Ms Jane Frith (Corporate Communications Officer)

Please find attached agenda for the General Meeting to be held at the Roma Administration Centre on November 28, 2012 at 9.00am.

Julie Reitano

Chief Executive Officer

Maranoa Regional Council

General Meeting - 28 November 2012

Officer Report

Meeting: General 28 November 2012	Date: 27 November 2012
Item Number: L.1	File Number: D12/41477

Subject Heading: Regulated Waste Disposal Fee Adjustment

Classification: Open Access

Name of Applicant:

Location: Roma Sewerage Treatment Plant

Author & Officer’s Title: Troy Pettiford, Manager - Utilities

Executive Summary:

Council has received several requests from Tresed Liquid Waste in regards to reviewing Council’s current fees and charges structure for regulated waste. The purpose of the request is to enable the local waste carting companies to become more competitive against outside companies, and aid in keeping the revenue in the region to benefit the community. The following report outlines the proposals after reviewing all aspects of impacts of regulated waste disposal in the Maranoa Regional Council area.

Officer’s Recommendation:

That Council:

1. Approve the reduction of the current disposal fee from 0.12c per litre to 0.10c per litre.

2. Separate the regulated waste fees for Landfill Facilities and Sewerage Treatment Plants (next financial year), due to different locations and disposal techniques undertaken.

3. Put in place a service agreement for all current and future waste carters that details the service that will be provided at MRC sewerage treatment plants.

4. Written notice be given to all liquid waste carters, that states the adjusted fees will come into effect 1 January 2013, to allow adequate time for client notifications and pricing adjustments.

Body of Report:

The recent rise in the price of liquid waste disposed at the Roma Sewerage Treatment Plant (STP) on Tiffin St has drawn concern from several companies in the Maranoa Region. The change in pricing is seen below in table 1.

Waste Type	2011/2012 Fees	2012/2013
Private Septic Tank Sullage	$.05 per litre	$.12 per litre
Commercial Septic Tank Sullage	$.07 per litre	$.12 per litre
Industrial Septic Tank Sullage	$.07 per litre	$.12 per litre
Grey Water Sullage	$.11 per litre	$.12 per litre

Table 1 Comparison between the liquid waste disposal fees from 2011/2012 and 2012/2013

All liquid waste disposal fees were adjusted to a blanket rate of $.12 per litre. With the previous pricing structure, there was a major loophole. Previously Council had no procedure for inspecting liquid waste disposal loads to ascertain whether the Waste Transport Certificates were matching what was being disposed. It was possible that liquid waste transport companies could declare commercial septic tank sullage was being disposed, however, they may have actually been disposing grey water, and subsequently paying a lower rate per litre.

Concerns have been put forth to Council officers and Councillors with regards the current price of $.12 per litre. Local waste transporting companies have raised concerns that at the current disposal price they will be forced to take their business outside the region.

If this were to happen it would mean that Council would miss out on a revenue stream which would be used to aid in funding upgrades to the sewerage treatment plant.

The cost comparisons between several Councils who charge per litre for disposal of liquid waste, is shown below in Table 2. It is reasonable to state that at $0.12 Council’s fee is adequately priced, though it is however $.02 higher than our neighbouring Council, Western Downs Regional Council (WDRC).

Upon consulting Terry Fagg, WDRC’s Utilities Treatment Manager, WDRC’s liquid waste disposal fee had increased from $.0625 to $.10 per litre in the previous financial year.

It was also noted that Mr. Fagg stated that the increment in liquid waste disposal fees was necessary as WDRC’s STP’s were being heavily overloaded with the increased trucked waste.

Mackay Regional Council	$.15 per litre
Western Downs Regional Council	$.10 per litre
Shire of Broome (Western Australia)	$.20 per litre
Central Highlands Regional Council	$.08 per litre
Ipswich City Council	$.30 per litre
Maranoa Regional Council Proposed Fee	$.10 per litre
Maranoa Regional Council (Current Fee)	$.12 per litre

Table 2. Liquid Waste Charge Comparison Between Councils

Should Council decide to export effluent out of the region, research to date has shown the cheapest option for septic waste disposal is $0.11c per litre.

It is recommended that Council reduce the current liquid waste disposal price from $.12 to $.10 per litre.

Further concern has been expressed on the basis of the rapid increase. The grievances relayed to Council officers, is that there was no communication and consultation carried out between Council and the stakeholders in the liquid waste industry.

Companies have stated that clients will have to be back charged the increased fee as they were unaware of the price increase until Council invoiced the liquid waste companies the charges on a monthly basis.

In some cases liquid waste companies were not inspecting the invoices due to backlogs in paperwork and carried on charging clients the previous liquid waste disposal fee.

For this reason it is recommended that Council incorporate the adjusted fees on the 1^st January 2013, with written notice sent to all affected parties, to enable a smooth transition to the new fee structure.

It is recommended that Council separate the regulated waste fees for Tip Facilities and the Sewerage Treatment Plants (next financial year), due to different locations and disposal techniques undertaken.

The type of liquid waste received at the STP is of different substance to that at the Roma Landfill. Liquid waste received at the STP is treated with a different process and hence the fees should be separated.

It is also recommended that a service agreement for all current and future waste transporting companies be developed to provide certainty in terms of service expectations.

Waste transporting companies will need to sign and agree on the details of the service agreement that will be provided by Council at the sewerage treatment plant. This agreement would cover the following aspects:

· Hours of operation for the STP

· Provision of Billing

· After hours callout policy

· Legislative paperwork requirements

· Notification of incoming loads and frequency projections

· Waste audits – required chemical and biological testing of loads.

Currently callouts do not get charged separately to the waste transporters as the current callout costs are encapsulated in the $0.12 per litre component.

At present afterhours callout officers have to man the STP from 3:30pm to approx. 7pm during week days and from 7am – 7pm on weekends.

In regards to Tresed’s request for Council to directly invoice their clients, the following issues arise:

The process Tresed are asking us to implement shifts part of the workload usually carried out by the carter of the waste to Council, and would most likely incur additional administration charges to cover this workload. Also, a number of signed agreements to deal with issues including proper set up of debtor accounts, provision of required information by the waste carter and Council will need to be created.

In order to implement the system Tresed wishes to pursue, their electronic waste tracking will need to be changed so that unique identification of each load of waste is provided to workers at the site of disposal and a record kept by Tresed to be included with their electronic tracking.

This will ensure that Tresed’s clients are billed correctly by Council. Tresed may also need to sign an agreement stating that they will be responsible for all loads recorded and charged to each company they wish Council to charge directly.

Tresed could also hypothetically be refused entry to the sewerage treatment plant with a load from a client that has been suspended from disposal to our facilities, due to non payment of accounts.

No other company is set up with Council to direct bill the waste generator. Tresed thought Origin Energy gets directly billed from Council, however this is not the case. Toxfree handles all the invoices and uses KL & R Morvell Transport as a sub contractor to Toxfree.

Consultation (internal/external):

Barry Omundson – Director Infrastructure

Paraic Butler – Engineer Utilities

Terry Fagg – Western Downs Regional Council

Risk Assessment (Legal, Financial, Political etc.):

Financial – revenue will reduce by $0.02 per litre (estimated $200,000 per month/$2.4 million per year)

Policy Implications:

Nil

Financial Resource Implications:

Revenue will reduce by $0.02 per litre (estimated $200,000 per month/$2.4 million per year)

Link to Corporate Plan:

Corporate Plan 2009-2013 — 8.5.9(e) To undertake a review of all waste management processes and services with a view to identify improvements and efficiencies in the existing service provision and possible service expansion opportunities.

Supporting Documentation:

Nil

Report authorised by:

Barry Omundson, Director - Infrastructure Services

Maranoa Regional Council

General Meeting - 28 November 2012

Officer Report

Meeting: General 28 November 2012	Date: 21 November 2012
Item Number: L.2	File Number: D12/40923

Subject Heading: Request to lease Council land for proposed telecommunications facility

Classification: Open Access

Name of Applicant: Urbis

Location: Kirkbride Street, Roma (Lot 14 on SP166549)

Author & Officer’s Title: Graham Tiffany, Manager - Development

Executive Summary:

On behalf of Telstra, Urbis are seeking permission to lease a small area of Council owned land east of Kirkbride Street, Roma, to erect a wireless tower.

Officer’s Recommendation:

Council agree to lease part of Lot 14 on SP166549 to Telstra for the purpose of a wireless tower.

Body of Report:

On behalf of Telstra, Urbis have approached Council seeking permission to lease a small area of Council owned land to erect a wireless tower to supply wireless coverage for phones, tablets etc.

The land in question is located east of Kirkbride Street, Roma and is the point of discharge for stormwater drainage from Meadows Estate and all points north. The area required for the facility is approximately 60 square metres.

The establishment of the facility will not require the removal of any existing trees from the site. Any development approval granted for the tower would be conditioned to require the planting of trees around the perimeter of the site in order to provide a buffer from nearby residential premises. The location of the proposed facility is not subject to flooding.

Telstra is offering Council an annual rental fee of $7,000 subject to CPI increase, with a lease period of 30 years. Telstra will formally apply for development approval if Council agrees to lease the land.

Attachment 1 includes a locality map and photographs of similar towers.

Consultation (internal/external):

Nil

Risk Assessment (Legal, Financial, Political etc.):

Policy Implications:

Financial Resource Implications:

Link to Corporate Plan:

Corporate Plan 2009-2013 — 8.3.1(a) Regulate and control development in a consistent and responsible manner that enhances the lifestyle of our community whilst promoting sustainable development.

Supporting Documentation:

1 View

Site Locality Map & Photographs

D12/40936

Report authorised by:

Robert Hayward, Director- Development & Environmental Services

Maranoa Regional Council

General Meeting - 28 November 2012

Officer Report

Meeting: General 28 November 2012	Date: 28 November 2012
Item Number: L.3	File Number: D12/41656

Subject Heading: Letter from Injune Retirement Village

Classification: Open Access

Name of Applicant: Mt Hutton Retirement Village

Location: Injune

Author & Officer’s Title: Julie Reitano, Chief Executive Officer

Executive Summary:

Given the withdrawal of services by Churches of Christ, the Injune Retirement Village is seeking Council assistance towards operating costs. This is with a view to providing the organisation with the time to determine future directions.

Officer’s Recommendation:

That the matter be considered.

Body of Report:

The letter reads as follows:

“I write to you about the Injune Retirement Village Inc formerly known as the Mt Hutton Retirement Village Inc.

Churches of Christ will withdraw their services as aged care providers on 30 November. As a community, we have been unable to find an alternative aged care provider. We are currently exploring further options in the area of independent senior care after the building ownership passes to us. We are a community that is seeking to help ourselves, although currently, we are struggling to come to terms with what lies ahead for us.

On page 11 of the Community Plan for Injune, Section 1.2, the Council outlines their goals for our older residents – in particular 1.2.2. Council obviously values our senior citizens in the community and appreciates the contribution they have made over the years.

In line with the Community Plan, we ask Council to help the Injune community, as they have done with other communities by:

- waiving future rates payable on the building and

- paying the power and telephone bills for the first 6 months of our possession of the building. This will give us the valuable time needed to secure our financial position without the stress of paying those regular bills which must always be accounted for.

- including insurance for the building under the Council umbrella

- including public liability insurance under the Council umbrella

We ask you to please consider our request. Our community is looking to the Council to help us in some way. The situation is urgent.

Consultation (internal/external):

- Manager Major Projects, Economic Development & Tourism

- Director Corporate Services

Risk Assessment (Legal, Financial, Political etc.):

Council will need to consider the risk of the commitment’s duration being extended.

Policy Implications:

The letter pertains to the granting of financial assistance to a community group. It would be separate to the current policy of Council.

Financial Resource Implications:

The Director Corporate Services advises as follows:

- Rates per annum are only service charges and they (at current settings) are $7,158.68 with State Fire Levy of $100.20. Council support would amount to $7,058.48.

- Power and telephone bills for six months support would need to be determined based on the current payments to Telstra and Ergon.

- Insurance for the Building could be undertaken simply by adding the building to our list of buildings to insurance. This would be at a very minor cost to Council.

As long as the building was fully fire compliant (a review by the Fire Brigade might by useful).

- Public Liability cover would not be possible as Council does not run the service. The community organisation insurance cover through JLTA would be the only possibility.

Link to Corporate Plan:

Corporate Plan 2009-2013 — 8.4.12(a) To distribute allocated Council funds to community organisations in a fair, equitable and efficient manner to address identified community need.

Supporting Documentation:

Nil

Report authorised by:

Julie Reitano, Chief Executive Officer