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City
of Launceston council 2019 year ender
It
was a year of change, milestones and growth for the City of Launceston council.
Local government reporter TARLIA JORDAN takes a look back over the council's
year.
Restructure
For
the first time since 1958, the operations of the City of Launceston council was
overhauled.
In
the document first obtained by The Examiner, then general manager
Michael Stretton shared a proposal for the organisation's future.
The Organisational
Alignment Project Seriously Entertained Change Discussion Paper said
the council would consider the future of its major assets: UTAS Stadium and Queen
Victoria Museum and Art Gallery.
It
also proposed a number of staff changes, with a full list of redundancies
included, along with new position titles.
The
change saw Mr Stretton's title change from general manager to chief executive,
and then have three general managers below him.
The
changes came into place at the start of December.About $1.3 million in
redundancies was paid out by the council as part of its restructure.
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Invermay
Traffic master plan
It
was a critical piece of work for the council, Mr Stretton said.
Despite
deferring the project for the new council in 2018, the council took more than
12 months to bring the plan back to the table for a vote.
The
council said work on the plan was still happening in the background of the 12
months, meaning that once the plan came back for a vote many projects were are
the design and build stage.
The
plan outlines 14 priority projects, aimed at improving the safety and movement
of people and freight through the area.
"We're
fully aware of the pressures on the existing intersections in and around
Lindsay and Goderich Streets, and across the Charles Street Bridge," Mr
Stretton said.
"Those
projects include a new link road behind Bunnings to ease congestion at the
Bunnings intersection, a new intersection at Goderich and Gleadow
streets."
Included
in this body of work was details of traffic signal upgrades to be undertaken by
the Department of State Growth, in partnership with the federal government and
the council.
"We
expect a number of the initiatives outlined in the master plan will be
delivered during the 2019-20 financial year," Mr Stretton said.
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STORIES:
Riverbend
Park opening
It
was the most talked out event of the year for parents and children. Thousands
flocked to the long-awaited opening of Riverbend Park.
The
official opening was pushed back a number of times, but the council said it
would be worth the wait and it has now been dubbed the best in Tasmania.
It
is divided into four zones including the River Play area, Gorge Play area, Wild
Core area, and the Urban Plaza. There are ball courts, barbecue facilities and
something for everyone - young and old.
Work
was also completed on the Seaport pedestrian bridge across the North Esk.
Meaning the whole North Bank region has been completely transformed - from an
unattractive, unappealing industrial site to a brand new community space that
will bring people back to the river, Mr Stretton said.
The
Gorge playground was also completed about March. The area features an
all-abilities playspace, a water play zone, a sand pit, a giant mouse-wheel
treadmill and a nature-based play zone.
Through
considered planning, it now means the play area has been designed to provide
better flood protection to those facilities, where previously the equipment was
always seemingly damaged in some way when the Gorge flooded.
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STORIES:
Shopping
in the City report
The
Shopping in the City report aimed to examine why people choose to shop in
Launceston, and some of the factors that prevent them from doing so.
The
council commissioned a study into the retail sector with expert and University
of Tasmania marketing lecturer Dr Louise Grimmer.
Dr
Grimmer recommended improved parking, an integrated city marketing campaign,
and skills development workshops for modern retail requirements.
She
also made recommendations regarding the negative sight of empty shops in the
CBD.
The
report cost ratepayers about $16,650.
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STORIES:
Building
heights report
A
report to look into the acceptable height limits for the central business area
was commissioned by the council.
Paul
Davies completed the report, with the council approving the report
recommendations, meaning minimum heights will now be 14 metres before the plan
has to be released for public consultation, and a maximum of 24 metres.
The
Launceston Chamber of Commerce said it was "desperately unhappy" with
the first iteration of the report, but was happier with the changes.
Councillors
around the table agreed the report would give clear direction for future
developers.
The
plan to regulate the city's building heights was approved unanimously by the
council.
"While
work on a much larger piece of work in that space continues, I believe we will
have an excellent reference for dealing with building heights across the city
that gives both certainty for developers as well as protecting the social
fabric of what makes Launceston unique," Mr Stretton said.
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STORIES
Tomorrow
Together
A
move to get the community and business industry to work together to tackle the
challenges facing Launceston was also launched.
Tomorrow
Together is new way for the council to engage with the community. Rather than
getting the feedback from proposals, the council up front asked what was
important to the community and helped find solutions.
The
conversations are now about building a resilient, well-designed and a unique
and prosperous city. Along with an accessible, inclusive and sustainable city.
"The
response from the community so far has been encouraging and we will continue to
roll out this innovative approach to engaging with the our residents into the
New Year," Mr Stretton said.
Free
parking
As
part of mayor Albert van Zetten's 2018 election campaign, and councillor Alan
Harris', the pair rallied for free parking.
Cr
van Zetten said he would move a motion to look into it, and Cr Harris would aim
for free parking in the multi-storey parks.
In
November 2018, the council supported a motion to look into free parking.
The
council looked into offering 60-90 minutes free, but its evidence-based
research showed the proposal was not likely to entice more people into the
city, with the opposite effect likely.
A
cashless parking option was introduced early in 2019, which Mr Stretton said
has been a success. The EasyPark app allows people to pay for their on-street
parking without the need for coins.
"The
EasyPark app has been very well received by the public and has been used more
than 300,000 times since its launch in January," Mr Stetton said.
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STORIES:
Climate
emergency
Declaring
a climate emergency created a large amount of heat for the council.
Residents
and ratepayers spoke out in support and against the item, however the motion
was passed.
The
council was the first in the state to declare an emergency.
The
motion was put forward by councillor Nick Daking who said he did not believe in
climate change for years until the wettest winter in 100 years damaged his
house.
Cr
Daking said future generations deserved to grow up in a healthy climate.
In
light of the council declaring a climate emergency, it prioritised the
development of a council-wide Sustainability Strategy, which was delivered
later in the year.
"As
a Local Government Authority, we're committed to reducing our carbon footprint
and finding practical, effective ways to improve our energy use, while reducing
greenhouse gas emissions," Mr Stretton said.
"This
strategy outlines our direction forward to create a more sustainable city now
and into the future."
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STORIES:
Macquarie
House opening
It
took about six years since the idea was first touted, but the historic
Macquarie House was officially re-opened in September.
It
is one of Launceston's oldest buildings, and had been in a relatively run-down
state before being redeveloped.
The
circa-1829 building had not been used for permanent activity since the 1940s,
and has mostly acted as storage space for the Queen Victoria Museum and Art
Gallery, along with a restaurant based in its basement in the 1990s.
The
first two floors are a shared space for start-up venture Enterprize, with a
cafe space planned for the basement.
In
total, the federal government provided $2.8 million, the City of Launceston
$600,000 and the state government gave seed funding to Enterprize.
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STORIES
QVMAG
audit
The
audit of the Queen Victoria Museum is progressing. The audit was a response to
the council announcing it had lost one of its paintings.
"The
collections audit at the Queen Victoria Museum is an extremely important
project for council," Mr Stretton said.
"It's
an enormous project for our museum staff and a lot of planning work has gone on
behind the scenes for a number of months in the lead-up to the audit starting,
and we expect that project to be gaining a lot of momentum next year and for
several years to come."
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STORIES:
Federal
election
Mr
Stretton said the council fared pretty well during the 2019 federal election,
with significant funding pledged for the region.
"Specifically
as a council, we were successful in lobbying for more than $27 million in
funding for a range of projects, including $15 million for the Northern Suburbs
Community Hub, funding for a feasibility study for an Eastern Bypass, $10
million for upgrades to the Albert Hall and feasibility studies for an new
indoor sports centre and QVMAG," he said.
UTAS
Stadium resurface
For
the first time in 20 years, UTAS Stadium has a new surface.
The
$3.5 million project was completed ahead of schedule despite tight time frames
in between the football and cricket season.
The
entire surface, drainage, irrigation system and fencing at UTAS Stadium was
removed and replaced.
The
playing surface was reduced in size by about three metres from the eastern
side, while pockets will be realigned to create a truer oval shape and the
interchange area will shift to closer to centre wing.
A
22,000 square metre turf farm was built at Dilston to grow the turf because of Tasmania's
quarantine laws.
"There
was an element of risk involved in this project, given the pretty tight
deadlines everyone was working to - squeezing a really significant civil
project in between the end of the AFL season and being in a position to deliver
a national-quality playing surface before the first Big Bash League match in
December," Mr Stretton said.
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STORIES
Australia
Day
The
City of Launceston council voted to scrap its Australia Day celebrations and
instead hold them on a less contentious day, becoming the state's second
municipality to do so.
The
council will now hold its citizenship ceremony, which is usually held on
Australia Day, on January 25.
The
council's National Australia Day Awards program will also be replaced with a
community recognition awards ceremony, that will also be held on January 25.
RELATED
STORIES:
Gorge
Hotel
The
council approved about 650 development applications during 2019, including JAC
Group's Gorge Hotel proposal.
It
was advertised three times in total due to council error, got more than 30
representations, and approved.
However,
the hotel was appealed, and the Resource Management Planning Appeals Tribunal
disagreed with the council's decision, basically stopping the project in its
tracks.
RELATED
STORIES:
Consultancy
data
The
council is implementing changes to its reporting systems to make information
about its use of external consultants available.
The
change came after repeated requests for The Examiner for the
data.
Data
on external consultants engaged by the council had no been previously recorded,
Mr Stretton said.
In
2019, the council has used external consultants to look into free parking,
shopping in the city, organisational restructure, building heights, and has
requested an external consultant be used for a review into Cityprom.
RELATED:
Tourism
and events
For
the first time, Launceston played host to the Qantas Australian Tourism Awards
in the Cataract Gorge. It was a spectacular coup for the city, with more than
800 of the country's most influential tourism operators together in the heart
of Launceston in what was an incredibly successful event.
The
potential spin-offs of that type event can't be underestimate, Mr Stretton
said.
"Tourism
is an extremely important industry for Launceston with the potential for
considerable growth and it's important we continue to leverage every opportunity
possible to grow that market," he said.
"It's
events like the awards that put Launceston on the map in terms of other major
events. For example, during the year - in conjunction with Tourism Northern
Tasmania, we secured both the junior and senior national Special Olympics in
2020 and 2022 respectively."
These
major events will see thousands of athletes, their supporters and families
coming to Launceston and injecting millions of dollars into our economy -
whether that's staying in hotels, buying meals and food, spending money in our
retail stores.
"From
the council's perspective, securing the rights to host these type of events is
extremely important and goes well beyond simply providing a sporting event for
people to attend for entertainment purposes. That economic injection also
provides an employment boost to the region," Mr Stretton said.
IN
2020
Mr
Stretton said his team will certainly hit the ground running.
"There's
a renewed sense of enthusiasm and a clear direction following the strategic
restructure we began earlier this year," he said.
Work
will start on rolling out the recommendations of the My Place My Future
strategy that focuses on the northern suburbs.
"It's
an exciting project and a key aspect of
the Launceston City Deal, which was extended out to 10 years as a commitment
from the Liberal Government during the 2018 federal election campaign," Mr
Stretton said.
"We
will begin looking at new and exciting ways we can leverage off this deal
moving forward and identifying new strategies and projects we can submit for
possible funding.
"We
already have a couple in mind, but the next 12 months will be about cementing those
initial ideas and plans into plausible projects that will greatly benefit the
city both in the short and long term."
Other
aspects of the City Deal, such as the Cultural Strategy, planning for stage two
of the City Heart Project, the development of University of Tasmania Stadium
and future governance planning, the River Health Action Plan and locking in a
direction for future sediment management of kanamaluka/Tamar Estuary are
projects the council will focus on in 2020.
"One
of the hot-button issues in Launceston is traffic so we will be looking to
progress our transport vision with the aim of collaborating with the state and
federal government around the Eastern Bypass project, which we received federal
funding to complete a feasibility study," Mr Stretton said.
"And
finally, we will be looking forward to the first sod being turned on the first
stage of the University of Tasmania redevelopment early in the year. That's a
project we have worked collaboratively on with the University and we firmly
believe there are many positive outcomes both for Launceston and the wider
region of having a uni campus in the city."
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