In December 2023, the Minister for Local Government released Good Practice Guidelines for Service Rates and Charges. The guidelines do not allow the cost of operating transfer stations to be included in the waste services charge calculation. As a result, the gate fees at the councils transfer stations have been increased to reflect the cost of providing this service. These changes were included in the Draft Budget 2024/25, which was released for community consultation in April/May of this year, with the budget being adopted at the June Council Meeting.

Traffic counters have been installed at all Transfer Stations (as well as other Council facilities) to gauge how these services are being utilised and to support and drive improved decision making.

Regarding bin collection, residents outside the kerbside collection route are eligible for a Domestic Waste Card. Please see Councils website for further information here.

The planning application can be viewed at this link, click https://eservices.latrobe.vic.gov.au/ePathway/Production/Web/default.aspx then “planning applications registers” and “planning application on notification”. 

The childcare application planning permit application has been put out on advertising twice due to the required notice not being correctly acted upon during the first period. The second advertising period concluded on 11 September 2024. Objections to applications can still be considered up until the point a decision is made. The 11 September date provided to the community is just a date prior to which it is guaranteed that officers will not finalise the application.

Objections about planning permits can be emailed to latrobe@latrobe.vic.gov.au. Objections need to include the objector’s name, address and reason for the objection (i.e. how they will be negatively impacted by the proposal). If an objection is received, Officers will acknowledge receipt of the objection to the community member. 

Approximately 12 months ago, Council Officers met with the Latrobe Valley Umpires Association (LVUA) about their future plans and the potential Commonwealth Games legacy opportunities. At this meeting, the LVUA requested Council undertake some infrastructure upgrades at Maryvale Reserve, including oval lighting and AFL goal posts.  

The above request prompted a discussion about the possibility of the LVUA relocating to the West End Sporting Complex in Traralgon, as they are currently the only winter user at Maryvale Reserve and small numbers of participants and would be unlikely to be a high priority for recreation needs projects particularly for sports lighting. This option was discussed as a portion of the LVUA were already training at the West End complex and the venue has the required infrastructure. The complex also has sufficient changeroom and social room space for the entire LVUA and would provide a central location for a majority of their current and future users.  As such, Officers commenced informal discussions with the current users for the West End Complex, namely West End Junior Football Club and the Traralgon West Cricket Club, around how this might work.

Officers were, and remain, of the opinion that this facility could easily be shared with another user, however in recent weeks there have been issues raised by the Traralgon West Cricket Club that were unforeseen (liquor license restrictions) and need to be worked through before the LVUA would be able to use the reserve how they require. It’s also recently become apparent that a cohort of the LVUA do not wish to move from Morwell as these members are from Morwell.  

In the interim, plans for the renewal of the changerooms and social rooms at Maryvale Reserve have progressed to the concept stage. With all the existing users in mind, it was considered that undertaking these renewal works in winter would have the least impact on all stakeholders and therefore was the time of the year chosen for this work. Officers are now investigating alternate options for next winter for the LVUA. including the use of Northern or Keegan Street reserves (both located in Morwell) which could be suitable options.  

Officers will continue to work with the LVUA to ensure they have a suitable facility for training next season and into the future and are very confident about finding a training location for the LVUA for next winter.  In relation the Baseball Club, that funding was secured through the Local Sports Infrastructure Fund for improved lighting at Toners Lane Baseball Facility and as such there are no current plans to relocate the Baseball Club away from that venue.
 

I provide the following information in response to your request:

Has there ever been or is there still a plan to relocate the Baseball Club to the Peter Siddle Oval?

There is no formal plan or adopted position of Council to relocate the Morwell Baseball Club to the Peter Siddle Oval.

Were there ever discussions between one/or all the LVUA, CFA & Latrobe Cricket Club to rearrange the facility to include the Baseball Club?

Yes, there has been informal discussions with the above-mentioned groups due to recently obtained external funding associated with the cancellation of Commonwealth Games Legacy Funding. It has been considered how that funding could be maximised for users of Maryvale Reserve, if it was supported and endorsed by Council, as well as the existing user groups of the reserve.

It is noted however that external state government funding has been recently secured to improve the lighting at the Toners Lane Baseball Facility and Council are progressing that project to assist the Baseball Club.

Is there not also a 'cohort' of LVUA from Moe Newborough Trafalgar who do not wish to move from the Morwell training facility?

Yes, officers understand that there are some Latrobe Valley Umpires Association (LVUA) members that do not want all of the associations training sessions to be moved to Traralgon. This permanent move is not currently proposed or formalised. 

Following a community request, a speed survey was completed in August 2023 to the north and south of the Wirraway Street pedestrian priority crossing.  It showed the 85th percentile speeds were between 58-60 km/h.  The 85th percentile speed is utilised to determine if any action should be implemented.  As this speed is within the existing speed limit it does not meet the relevant standard for further infrastructure treatment under the adopted Latrobe City Council Local Area Traffic Management Policy.

Victoria Police are the lead agency for moving vehicle enforcement of instances of speeding. If the community observe instances of speeding, or repeatedly witness road users behaving in a way that endangers others, they can be reported directly to crime stoppers on 

www.crimestoppersvic.com.au or 1800 333 000 for hooning behaviour.  Community reports of hoon driving generate the data to help Police target repeat offenders, focus on specific locations, and prioritise enforcement activities such as speed cameras.

Council Officers are compiling potential projects for additional Safe Systems treatments as part of the upcoming TAC funded Safe Local Roads and Streets Program in 2025.  Additional treatments of this pedestrian priority crossing will be included for consideration as part of this program.

Federation University has been working directly with the Latrobe Regional Hospital, on a Health Education Hub concept that, if funded by the State and Federal Government, would be co-located at the Hospital. The concept would be to support increased educational outcomes, assisting the skilled workforce gap in health in the region.

Federation University will be in a position to make a funding application shortly, with support from Latrobe Regional Hospital. Council is supporting the concept through advocacy to the State and Federal Government Budget processes.

Council Standing Order effective 18 September 2017 requires all cat owners to keep their cats securely confined to the property and not allow the cat to wander at large outside the premises between the hours of 09:00 pm to 06:00 am, seven days a week.

In addition, the curfew hours have been included in several ad-hoc social media responsible pet ownership posts which were rolled out over the past few months.  Officers are working with the Communications team to investigate additional opportunities to raise awareness of the curfew in the community.

For your reference, the information regarding the municipalities cat curfew can be found at by entering ‘cat curfew’ into the search tab on the opening page of Council’s website and clicking on the Animals and Pets page: https://www.latrobe.vic.gov.au/Home/Animals_and_Pets.

Officers have investigated the properties identified (Moe Courthouse, Rocklea Mill, Old Horizon Police Station, Baw Baw Hotel and land behind Old Gippstown) and found the following information which may be of assistance:

Moe Courthouse

Court Services Victoria advised Officers on 4th September 2024 it does not currently have plans to change the status of the old Moe Courthouse. If a member of community observes issues with the maintenance of the building they are encouraged to contact Court Services Victoria directly.

Rocklea Mill

Council approved a planning permit application for storage units on the site of the old Rocklea Mill in 2022 but has not observed that the permit has been acted on. Separately, Officers are already undertaking an assessment of the site to determine if it is being maintained in accordance with Community Amenity Local Law 2.

Old Horizon Petrol Station

The site of the Old Horizon Petrol Station is owned by VicTrack. Council has not been made aware of any plans by VicTrack to develop the site at this point in time.

Baw Baw Hotel

Council approved a planning permit application for use and development of an emergency services facility on the site of the Baw Baw Hotel in 2022. Officers are anticipating the proponent will be submitting a building permit to demolish the hotel before they can commence works however one has not been received as of yet. Separately, the site has already been rated as a dilapidated property in accordance with Community Amenity Local Law 2 which means penalty rates are being charged to the owner due to the condition of the property until the matter is resolved by the owner.

Council Powers

More generally, Council cannot force private landowners to develop their land, and can only use their powers under the Building Act 1993 to demolish a building if it is assessed as structurally unsound which poses a high risk to the life, health or safety of persons occupying land, or the public. Poor amenity of the building is not a measure of structural safety.  

Council may also be able to impose increased rate charges on the property owner under the Community Amenity Local Law No. 2 where the property is unoccupied, unfit for occupation and not secure from unauthorised access.  That said, if there are concerns about amenity impacts associated with a site, those concerns should be referred to Council’s Local Laws team who can investigate further in accordance with Community Amenity Local Law 2. 

Camping activity in behind Old Gippstown 

Officers are aware of camping activity occurring close to Old Gippstown however the land is owned by VicTrack and the Department of Transport who are State Government agencies.  Officers will make contact with the individual(s) and provide them with information about available support services.  

Those who sleep rough are among the most vulnerable and disadvantaged members of the community. They experience a range of harms such as violence, extreme weather conditions with lasting impacts on their health and wellbeing that can worsen over time. Council works with several service partners to address rough sleeping and homelessness in our community. This includes referring individuals for support to Community Housing Limited, Quantum or Orange Door support services. 

Rough sleeping is an issue for the community and Council advocates for social and affordable housing and provides support to emergency relief providers.

If anyone in the community would like to learn more about Council’s role or seek specific advice about this issue they can contact the Community Safety Officer by telephone on 1300 367 700 or via email: communitysafety@latrobe.vic.gov.au.

Cleanup works continue following the 2 September Storm Event and to date, City Presentation remains on schedule to complete these works within the eight-week cleanup period previously advised, which commenced Monday 9 September 2024. 

There are two aspects of the cleanup works, these being: 

1.         Road reserve cleanup; and

2.         Open Space Area (e.g. parks and reserves) cleanup. 

Regarding the road reserve cleanup, we anticipate this aspect to conclude prior to Friday 25 October 2024, whilst the Open Space Area cleanup is currently forecast for completion prior to Friday 1 November 2024 (weather permitting). 

The explanation for the road reserve cleanup finishing earlier is that this component of work is claimable through Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangement (DRFA), whereby Council can claim the costs involved with engaging contractors to assist, through the joint State and Federal Government DRFA Scheme to perform road reserve cleanup. 

Unfortunately, the DRFA Scheme does not cover fallen material within Open Space Areas, and this has resulted in this component of work having to be conducted by internal Tree Maintenance Teams. For context, we have had up to six contractors working through the road reserve element, with the equivalent Council internal Tree Maintenance resource for Open Space Area cleanup being three teams.

An updated progress map of the cleanup program can be found here (green marking complete, red markings still to complete).

With regards to a particular update on the cleanup of Open Space Areas, I can provide the following priorities that we have started cleaning up from the start of this week (Monday 14 October 2024). These are:

• Waterhole Creek, Morwell
• Cutler Crescent, Churchill
• Walker Parade, Churchill
• White Parade, Churchill
• Wattle Crescent, Churchill
• Glendonald Park, Churchill
• English Reserve, Churchill
• Billy’s Creek, Churchill
• Maryvale Road Reserve, Morwell
• Agnes Brereton Reserve, Traralgon
• George Street, Traralgon
• Bert Thompson Reserve, Traralgon
• Eric Taylor Reserve, Traralgon
• John Turnbull Reserve, Traralgon
• Anzac Park, Traralgon

Latrobe City’s rehoming and returning rates for stray/abandoned/wandering cats are currently higher than several neighbouring municipalities.  Council Officers are working to manage our higher rates more effectively in an effort to reduce the number of stray/abandoned/wandering cats in the City.

Latrobe City Council’s practice of offering a cat cage loan program, actively engaging with community to retrieve abandoned, stray, and feral cats, after-hours collection of abandoned or feral cats as well as addressing typically two to three instances of animal hording annually, and are different to a number of other municipalities.

The Morwell Pound process up to 1000 cats annually, and Council has over 20 active 84Y agreements in place for the holding, rehoming or disposal of dogs and cats. These volunteer groups provide an incredibly valuable community service, however, they are often at capacity and finding on-going options for dogs and cats can therefore be challenging.  Officers continue to explore options to extend and enhance the re-homing network.    

 Council's Animal Welfare Advisory Committee is not a decision-making body and has been established as an advisory Committee to Council.  The endorsed Terms of Reference requires a minimum of three community representatives along with two Councillors.  The current community representatives have many years of experience in the management and health of animals, specifically 25 years’ experience with a State Government position on Animal Ethics Committee and trained in animal welfare (POCTA) code, Dip Applied Science (Animal Tech) Senior Animal technologist & Colony Supervisor and founder/president of a local animal rescue group. 

 Council is currently meeting its’ statutory obligations regarding the reporting of animal management data, which can be found at:

• https://www.vic.gov.au/know-your-council-comparison-dashboard#compare-councils-dashboard

• https://agriculture.vic.gov.au/livestock-and-animals/animal-welfare-victoria/domestic-animals-act/animal-fate-data-set

Officers continue to work with Local, State and Federal organisations to improve our community’s capacity to responsibly manage their pets and are reviewing opportunities to raise awareness of the issue of responsible pet ownership across the community.

The Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT) directed that a planning permit be issued for the development of 50 dwellings and the subdivision of the land into 50 lots at 23 Dunbar Road Traralgon on 16 September 2024 and Council has issued the planning permit in accordance with VCAT’s Order. 

There is no further action for Council to take on this matter at this time and VCAT has notified all parties to the proceeding of their decision.

Council has not received any recent correspondence or media statements from Opal regarding their ongoing or future operations.

Opal released a number of media statements over the past few years since the closure of the Native Timber Industry by the State Government.

The media statements can be found on their website at the following link: https://opalanz.com/news-media/

Council is not privy to any further information regarding the ongoing financial viability of the Maryvale Mill and further questions would be best addressed to Opal directly.