Minutes of Council Meeting

Council Meeting

18 March 2020

Minutes of the Council Meeting 18 March 2020

Meeting commenced at 6:31pm

Steve Christou (Mayor)	Councillor
Eddy Sarkis (Deputy Mayor)	Councillor
Ned Attie	Councillor
Greg Cummings	Councillor
Paul Garrard	Councillor
Ola Hamed	Councillor
Kun Huang	Councillor
Lisa Lake	Councillor
Joseph Rahme	Councillor
Suman Saha	Councillor
Michael Zaiter	Councillor
Tom Zreika	Councillor
Hamish McNulty	General Manager
Melissa Attia	Director People & Performance
Daniel Cavallo	Director Environment & Planning
Peter Fitzgerald	Director Works & Infrastructure
Richard Sheridan	Director Finance & Governance

Also Present:

Charlie Ayoub	Executive Manager Corporate Services
Carol Karaki	Governance Coordinator
Olivia Shields	Senior Governance Officer

Opening Prayer

The opening prayer was read by the Mayor, Councillor Christou.

Acknowledgement of Country

The Mayor, Councillor Christou opened the Meeting with the following Acknowledgement of Country:

“I would like to acknowledge the traditional owners of this land – the Darug People, and pay my respects to their elders past, present and emerging.”

National Anthem

At this point in the meeting the Mayor, Councillor Christou asked all of those in attendance to stand for the playing of the Australian National Anthem.

Notice of Live Streaming of Council Meeting

The Mayor, Councillor Christou advised that the Council meeting was being streamed live on Council's website and members of the public must ensure their speech to the Council is respectful and use appropriate language.

Min.962 Apologies/Leave of Absence

Resolved (Sarkis/Cummings)

That Councillors Campbell and Elmore be granted Leave of Absence for this Council Meeting.

Declarations of Pecuniary & Non Pecuniary Conflicts of Interest

There were no declarations of interest.

Confirmation of Minutes

Min.963

C03/20-397 Minutes of the Ordinary Meeting of Council - 4 March 2020

Resolved (Sarkis/Garrard)

That Council confirm the minutes of the Ordinary Meeting of Council held on 4 March 2020.

Min.634

MM03/20-25 Mayoral Minute – Council’s Response to Coronavirus (COVID-19)

Resolved (Christou)

That Council:

1. Endorse the actions within the Mayoral Minute; and

2. Delegate authority to the Mayor and General Manager to exercise the powers of Council between meetings for any urgent or critical decisions to be made relating to the minimisation of the spread of the Corona Virus, in accordance with s.226(o) and s. 377 of the Local Government Act 1993.

Min.635

Items by Exception

Resolved (Sarkis/Cummings)

That Council adopt items C03/20-398, C03/20-399, C03/20-404 and C03/20-405 on the Council Agenda in bulk as per the recommendations in the reports.

Min.636

C03/20-398 Legal Report

Resolved (Sarkis/Cummings)

That Council receive this report.

Min.637

C03/20-399 Investment Report - February 2020

Resolved (Sarkis/Cummings)

That Council receive the February 2020 Investment Report.

Min.638

C03/20-404 Cumberland Heritage Committee - Minutes of Meeting Held 25 February 2020, Cumberland Local Heritage Rebate Program for 2020 and Cumberland Local Heritage Awards Program for 2020

Resolved (Sarkis/Cummings)

That Council:

1. Note and endorse the minutes of the Cumberland Heritage Committee meeting held on 25 February 2020 (Attachment 1);

2. Undertake the Heritage Rebate Program in 2020 in accordance with the Heritage Rebate Program Guidelines (Attachment 2) and with a budget of $50,000; and

3. Undertake the Cumberland Heritage Awards in 2020 in accordance with the Heritage Awards Guidelines (Attachment 3).

Min.639

C03/20-405 Request from Fire & Rescue NSW for a Fire Safety Audit on Identified Building

Resolved (Sarkis/Cummings)

That Council resolves appropriately delegated Council Officers conduct a fire safety audit as requested by Fire & Rescue NSW [Ref No: BFS19/1505 (7368)] and take appropriate regulatory action to ensure all essential fire safety measures are in accordance with the National Construction Code Volume One 2019 Building Code of Australia.

Min.640

C03/20-400 Monthly Financial Performance

Resolved (Saha/Sarkis)

That Council receive the information contained in this report and information relating to any financial implications as a result of Coronavirus, be provided to Council in the next quarterly budget review.

	C03/20-401 Rising Star Sports Award - February 2020 Applications
This Item was withdrawn by the General Manager.

Min.641

C03/20-402 Cumberland 2030: Our Local Strategic Planning Statement

Resolved (Sarkis/Attie)

That Council:

1. Note the letter of support from the Greater Sydney Commission on Cumberland 2030: Our Local Strategic Planning Statement;

2. Endorse the updated Cumberland 2030: Our Local Strategic Planning Statement (February 2020), as provided in Attachment 1, for finalisation; and

3. Note the status of the finalisation process for Cumberland 2030: Our Local Strategic Planning Statement, which needs to be completed by 31 March 2020.

A division was called, the result of the division required in accordance with Council’s Code of Meeting Practice is as follows:

Councillor(s) For the Motion: Attie, Christou, Cummings, Garrard, Hamed, Huang, Lake, Rahme, Saha, Sarkis, Zaiter and Zreika.

Councillor(s) Against the Motion: Nil

Min.642

C03/20-403 Nominations for Events Committee 2020 - 2021

Resolved (Attie/Sarkis)

That Council:

1. Adopt the revised Draft Terms of Reference for the Events Committee (included in Attachment 1).

2. Adopt the community members listed in the report for membership on the 2020-2021 Events Committee with the addition of Mr Mohamad Alzoubi.

3. Advise all applicants in writing of the outcome of their nomination for membership.

4. Receive the Draft Minutes of the Events Committee held in November 2019 (included in Attachment 2) and recommend the following amendment to the minutes to the Committee:

That the minutes be amended to reflect that Councillor Saha was not nominated and elected.

A division was called, the result of the division required in accordance with Council’s Code of Meeting Practice is as follows:

Councillor(s) For the Motion: Attie, Christou, Cummings, Garrard,Hamed, Huang, Lake, Rahme, Saha, Zaiter and Zreika.

Councillor(s) Against the Motion: Sarkis

Councillor Rahme left the Meeting at 6:54pm and returned to the Meeting at 6:58pm during the consideration of this item.

	C03/20-404 Cumberland Heritage Committee - Minutes of Meeting Held 25 February 2020, Cumberland Local Heritage Rebate Program for 2020 and Cumberland Local Heritage Awards Program for 2020
This item was dealt with earlier in the meeting.

	C03/20-405 Request from Fire & Rescue NSW for a Fire Safety Audit on Identified Building
This item was dealt with earlier in the meeting.

Min.643

C03/20-406 Update on Council Resolution - 13 John Street, Lidcombe

Resolved (Attie/Cummings)

That Council:

1. Undertake an Expression of Interest process to identify the optimal outcomes and uses for 13 John Street, Lidcombe.

2. Receive a future report on the outcomes of this Expression of Interest process for consideration.

The Mayor, Councillor Christou closed the meeting at 7:01pm.