A new Toondah Harbour master plan will be discussed by Redland City Council on Wednesday – in closed session
Master plans for Toondah Harbour and Weinam Creek are on Redland City Council’s meeting agenda for Wednesday, listed for discussion as confidential items without media and public present.
Five items are listed for confidential discussion:
- Redland Investment Corporation – Dividend Policy
- Fees Register 2018-19
- Weinam Creek Master Plan
- Capalaba Town Centre Revitalisation Brief
- Toondah Harbour Master Plan
The confidentiality of discussion about the Fees Register is because it deals with the Council’s budget which will be submitted for approval at a special council meeting on 21st June.
The other four items are confidential because the Council considers that “public discussion would be likely to prejudice the interests of the local government or someone else, or enable a person to gain a financial advantage.”
It might often seem to many in the community that someone is more likely to get a financial advantage when discussions are not public.
Russell Island boat ramp
2016 election promise by Mayor Karen Williams
It seems that residents who petitioned in August 2017 for a boat ramp at Rocky Point on Russell Island won’t be launching boats any time soon.
The officers report says:
Current demand and future population forecasts indicate that there is no priority for a formalised recreational boat ramp at the Rocky Point site.
A recent State government report identified that the highest priority locations for new boat ramps in Redland City were at:
- William Street, Cleveland,
- Southern ramp, Wellington Point
- Helen Street, Thorneside
- Southern ramp, Victoria Point
- New facility at Lamb Island
- New facility at Dunwich sand mine wharf
The State Government funds recreational boat ramps throughout Queensland, say the officers.
So why did Mayor Karen Williams make an election promise in 2016 to build more boat ramps?
Station Master’s Cottage
The Station Master’s Cottage in its former location in Middle Street, next to the RSL Club
The historic Station Masters Cottage, gifted to Redland City Council by the RSL, was relocated by Council to a site near the Old Schoolhouse Gallery in June 2017.
Council officers are now proposing that the Council decide that this building be approved for use as a ‘community facility’.
If this is agreed to, the council would then seek expressions of interest from community groups who are interested in using the building.
Council’s total cost of moving this building and getting it ready for use as a community facility is currently budgeted at $692,250, making this a very attractive opportunity for one or more community groups.
Funding for upgrade of SMBI ferry terminals
This issue is listed on the agenda but the report wasn’t finalised when the agenda was issued.
Operation Plan Quarterly Report
Councillors have been told that pretty much everything the Council is supposed to be doing is being done jolly well.
Of the 67 significant activities defined within the 2017/18 Operational Plan:
- 60 activities are on track
- 7 activities are being closely monitored, indicating that they are slightly behind target with their progress.
The draft new City Plan, put out for public consultation in 2015, is still unapproved in 2018. But this part of Council’s commitment to ‘wise planning and design’ is designated as “monitor”.
Is Toondah “on track”, really?
Migratory shorebird foraging habitat from report by BAAM (consultants to Walker Corporation and Redland City Council)
Despite the fact that Walker Group has walked away from the Weinam Creek Priority Development Area and its proposal to dredge wetlands at Toondah conflicts with Australia’s international obligations under the Ramsar convention, councillors have been told that plans for ’embracing the bay’ are all “on track”.
The Federal Government recently finalised an environmental approval of the controversial Shoreline housing project (in southern Redlands) which includes a number of conditions to protect critically endangered migratory shorebirds (eastern curlew).
Shoreline is required to ensure that its activities don’t result in any decline in eastern curlew density, foraging habitat quality, or foraging habitat extent.
Until it obtains ministerial approval for an eastern curlew impact management plan, Shoreline is not allowed to do any construction within 250 metres of the Moreton Bay Ramsar site during the seven months of each year that eastern curlews live in Australia.
If the Federal Government were to apply similar conditions to the Toondah Harbour priority development area, large areas of shorebird foraging habitat would be protected.
Commonwealth lands in Birkdale
The Commonwealth lands in Birkdale
Another activity which has not been achieved (scores a “monitor”) is planning for the future use of the Birkdale Commonwealth lands, where nothing has been achieved since May 2016.
Councillors are being told that the Redland Investment Corporation acting on behalf of Council has continued to pursue discussions and negotiations with the Commonwealth Government agencies (ASA and ACMA) regarding the potential land acquisition.
Given that there seems to be a clear community consensus from the Mayor down that this land should be used for “community purposes” it’s questionable why the Redland Investment Corporation should be involved in negotiations over these lands. Or is there a secret agenda?
There’s never been a satisfactory explanation from a handful of councillors (and a few others) who lobbied for this area and the neighbouring Howeston golf course to be moved from Division 10 (Paul Bishop) to Division 9 (Paul Gleeson) in the 2015 local government electoral redistribution.
The area redistributed is very large, but largely uninhabited with only five voters. The average number of voters in a Council division is 10,000.
Attend the meeting
Council chambers in Bloomfield Street Cleveland
Some of the councillors appreciate community attendance at the Council’s public meetings. It’s an opportunity to see democracy in action (except for agenda items discussed in closed session or at non-public meetings).
The meeting is on Wednesday 23 May commencing at 9:30am in the council chambers, Bloomfield Street Cleveland.
Here’s a link to the meeting agenda.
If anything really exciting happens, during the public part of the meeting, you might find out first from redlands2030 on Twitter @redlands2030
Redlands2030 – 22 May 2018
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2 Comments
After many requests to Deputy Premier, Planning Minister, Steven Miles re the Memorial Park, Mt Cotton Rd Capalaba, we finally received a letter from head of Redland City Council’s Civic and Open Space that new playground equipment would be installed. After more than a decade of locals denied use of the park, it is good to see work is now taking place. However, the caravan is still in place, and needs to be moved to a more suitable location as it is presently being used by mentally ill young people and does not belong in a children’s playground.
As Betty, whose late husband Keith, planted trees in the park for her to view through kitchen window said recently, “buildings are not permitted in Memorial parks” ..but wouldn’t put anything past this council. We look forward to a restored Memorial park with equipment for local families of all ages…long overdue.
Capalaba Town Centre Revitalisation Project.
What can be done when news about Capalaba Cr Paul Gleeson’s inappropriate behaviour (pictured in RCB 05-16-2018 with a gleeful smile standing by gate to Commonwealth land) is of major concern to environmentalists and general community at large who do not want to see, as promised by our Federal Member for Bowman Andrew Laming, a massive housing development to please local developers attached to Council’s Development Investment Corporation? So now we hear, after meeting this past week with Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, that 400 houses are to built on the land. Mr Laming can’t be believed in whatever he has to say … only it seems to me supporting the building industry.
Under Cr Gleeson’s watch, we have witnessed pathway along man-made Coolnwynpin Creek bank, after tonnes of earth bulldozed into it to build tavern and bottle shop, needing new fence, existing one being metal with 2 timber rails between of untreated wood. Replacement, on request of Central manager, believing it to be the same, was instead a tall, non-see through timber fence effectively preventing locals from using the walkway, as it became too high risk for locals to use, including me as I loved walking from Crotona Rd with my dog, plus neighbours, through to Old Cleveland Rd. Our once lovely creek walkway is now off limits having turned the area into an unfriendly place for locals. The filthy cement lining the central creek bank with ugly timber fence behind is now vandalized with pieces of timber broken off in places. Cr Gleeson has much to smile about while we, the ratepayers, have much to cry about in the way our environment is treated in & around Coolnwynpin Ck, Capalaba Central area that includes Charles Winter Memorial Park (oppos apt bldg. Mt Cotton Rd) I worked to establish as a volunteer with help from elderly on the park, KAG, & Council workers now unused by local families due to a sometimes used caravan planted in the dead of night on one corner RSL no longer needed, was to be dumped but Council found a use for it while at the same time effectively depriving locals using it. Revitalisation of Capalaba CBD? We would all like to see that!