Council meetings switch to new time

For the frst time in 20 years Clarence Valley Council ordinary meetings have moved from Tuesday afternoons to Thursday mornings.

From the time of the frst meeting of the amalgamated council on April 27, Tuesday afternoon on the third and then fourth Tuesday of the month was meeting day.

But the council elected on September 14 has put an end to that, moving the meeting date to Thursday and going a step further moving the meeting time forward to 11.30am.

The second step might be short lived as anonymously a couple of councillors have said the late morning start would create issues if meetings extended into the afternoon beyond lunch time.

Councillors might be asked to consider moving the start time to 1pm to get avoid hunger pangs mid debate.

Thursday’s meeting has a meaty agenda with more than 30 items up for resolution.

The frst item of ordinary business, after Mayoral Minutes and Notices of Motion, of which there are one each, is the selection of the council-appointed member of the general manager’s performance review panel.

The current general manager, Laura Black was installed in October 2022, although she had been acting general manager from late 2021.

The newly elected council in 2022 decided to stick with her and earlier this year controversially awarded her a 2% pay increase after a glowing review of her performance.

But it was a controversial decision which split the council and the decision was made during a highly charged extraordinary meeting which split the council 5-4 in favour of the pay rise.

It also revealed some strongly held views about the general manager, which included allegations from Cr Karen Toms that there was a group of councillors “out to get the general manager”.

The general manager has also been involved in other controversial matters including allegations of legal action taken against Yamba community group Yamba CAN.

The make up of the review panel must conform to equal opportunity employment principles.

As well as the mayor and deputy, the policy suggests gender balance must be a consideration.

The mayor, Ray Smith and deputy Greg Clancy are automatic selections with the council and general manager to select one each.

Current councillors Debrah Novak and Karen Toms have been council and general manager picks on the panel in the past.

Once the council has resolved who will be appointed, Ms Black will announce her pick for the panel.

The panels decision was scheduled for October, but due to the elections has been tentatively set for December.

Other items include a proposal to endorse the hat Council Endorse the Audit Risk and Improvement Committee terms of reference, internal audit charger, four-year Strategic Internal Audit Plan 20242028 and Annual Internal Audit Plan 2024-2025.

Council will also be asked to note the Audit, Risk and Improvement meeting minutes for August 8 2024 and note the ARIC’s Annual Report 2023-2024.

Later in the meeting, councillors will learn November’s big wet has delayed the opening of the controversial Clarence Valley Regional Aquatic Centre.

From October 1 to November 12024, Grafton recorded 164.2mm of rainfall, which has resulted in delays to critical construction delays to concrete pours, clockwork construction and electrical work.

Even with allocation of additional resources it has not been enough to meet the original opening deadline of December 2024 for the opening of the centre.

But council’s contractor, Hines Construction believes a partial opening in

December of the Grafton Olympic Pool and surrounds.

The company said the Grafton Cub Scout Memorial Indoor Pool and splashpad was expected to be open in early 2025.

It was anticipated that the construction team will fnalise works before Christmas and resume in January, so the revised expected completion for the aquatic centre in its entirety is February, 2025.

This will delay the offcial opening of the centre to February 2025, which also allows time for the event to be planned and arrangements made for the attendance of dignitaries, in accordance with grant agreements.

A workshop with councillors will be held in early December to gather ideas for the opening.