News Update: Media Responses 15/03/2019 - 21/03/2019

Media Response – 15/03/2019 - Cars

I understand the council purchased a number of Kia fleet cars (about 6) in October/November last year. Can I please get comment from the council, and a few other questions:

Council did purchase six fleet vehicles in November 2018.

What was the winning tender amount for this purchase?

The winning tender was valued at $177,327

Is it available to the public online?

It is currently not available on Council’s website.

Section 237 of the Local Government Regulation 2012 requires Council to publish details of contracts worth $200000 on the council website.

Refer https://www.gympie.qld.gov.au/tenders

There is no requirement to publish contracts of a lesser value.

What exactly was purchased?

Hyundai Tucson Go Diesel AWD’s

Which company got the contract?

Pacific Gympie

Does the council have a buy local policy?

At its meeting of 12 December 2018 adopted the attached procurement policy.

Section 4 Local, Social and Environmentally Sustainable Procurement, reads as follows;

“ Council is committed to contributing to social and sustainability outcomes through its procurement processes. Council may consider selection of products or services that maximise these outcomes provided other evaluation criteria are met”

Local supplier/components weighting varies depending on the contract and is specified in the tender documents.

For Vehicles, Local Suppliers are given a 5% weighting in the overall scoring as well as a dollar margin, to ensure they do not miss out if the local price is close. Council ensures that local dealers are given the opportunity to provide a quotation if they can supply the vehicle.

If so, under what guidelines is it allowed to buy outside the region?

Section s104(3) of the Local Government Act 2009 (QLD) sets out sound contracting principles. Gympie Regional Council, when seeking quotations and inviting tenders for the carrying out of work, the supply of goods and services or the disposal of assets will have regard to the sound contracting principles which are:

• Value for money;

• Open and effective competition;

• The development of competitive local business and industry;

• Environmental protection; and

• Ethical behaviour and fair dealing.

Is it correct the council purchased a number of fleet cars from Ken Mills Toyota in the past two years?

The last vehicle purchased from Ken Mills Toyota was in 2015

Do unsuccessful tenderers receive any feedback as to why they failed?

Tenderers are advised if they are unsuccessful and are welcome to call Council to receive feedback. Council has met with Local Car Dealers as group in the past to give feedback.

Is there any comment or response to criticism that the council does not spend enough with local businesses on tender purchases and contracts, and should weight local business heavier in the decision process?

Local businesses are given the opportunity to provide quotations or tenders to supply good and services to Council in open and transparent processes.

Media Response – 20/03/2019 – Show’s Portable Grandstands

Why have they been condemned? What is wrong with them? And when were they identified as being a safety problem?

The safety of community is the highest priority; Council is required to ensure any seating/infrastructure on Council property is safe for public use.

Gympie Regional Council commissioned a structural engineer to assess the condition of the three stands and found a number of safety issues including (and not limited to) the following:

Corrosion in welded connections and steel sections Damaged, rotten and splitting timber sections on seating area Bends in the frame

The advice provided by the engineers :

“To maintain their structural integrity, the seating units require maintenance, reinforcing and some members should be replaced. Works should include:

Replacement (50mm deep) hardwood timber seating should be provided, and each plank should be bolted to a with a galvanised steel unequal angle (nominally 90mm x 40mm) to allow any point loading to be shared. Bent or damaged steel sections should be replaced with equal size steel sections Steel showing corrosion and loss of section should be rectified by site welding new steel section patch repairs Exposed steel that poses a threat to the public must be covered with patch repairs and steel end caps. The reinforced and maintained seating units should have a new paint system applied to protect the seating”

Can they be repaired? How much work is needed to be done to them?

Yes.

Council is looking at all options, including both repair or replacement in-conjunction with the Gympie Show Society to address the issue and ensure safe seating is available for the upcoming show.

Council is also actively pursuing grant opportunities to purchase new seating.

As the Show is less than two months away, is the council going to be assisting in any way to ensure the event does not suffer as a result of this problem? Has any assistance been promised to the Show Society?

Gympie Regional Council 2019 sponsorship (Show Society): $34,000.

Council also budgets $40,000 per annum for maintenance work on (but not limited to) maintaining arena surfaces and access paths around the site. Plus $67,500 annually towards management and operation of the whole site.

Media Resposne 21/03/2019 – Dog Attacks

Are these figures up or down from previous years/months?

In 2018, there have been 63 recorded animal attacks to date. In 2017, a total of 145 attacks have been recorded.

What is council’s due process in dealing with these reports/complaints?

Once Council is contacted, Council staff will immediately contact the customer to understand the circumstances of the incident. The investigating officer will then attend the location of the incident to gather evidence. This can be in the form of photographs of the injuries to the customer, or customer’s animal, seizure of any appropriate physical evidence at the scene, seizure of the offending dog, if still at large at the scene. The dog may be seized from owner if deemed to be a threat to public safety.

Witnesses statement may also be taken and the owner of the animal maybe invited for a formal interview.

A decision will be made on the appropriate course of action. The wishes of the customer making the complaint are also considered here.

It is important to Council to work with all parties involved to ensure a positive outcome is reached.

The options to deal with these matters are generally as follows:

If the attack allegation is unsupported by evidence and the customer does not wish further action, no further action will be taken. If the attack allegation is supported by evidence, but the incident is relatively minor, and the dog owner has not been involved in any previous incidents this issue may be resolved by way of advice and education. If the attack allegation is supported by evidence, the customer wishes to continue action, or there is a history of incidents with this dog owner/dog, then consideration may be given to declaring the attacking dog ‘menacing’ or dangerous’. Council will consider a compliance notice issued to the owner. Prosecution may also be considered at this stage. Serious attacks involving serious injuries to a person or the death of an animal and supporting evidence exists, this may become a matter for the Magistrates Court. If the attacking dog has been seized during the investigation, it may remain impounded while due process is completed.

What measures does council take to respond to animal attacks?

Gympie Regional Council views dog attacks as a serious matter. Rangers view wandering dogs as potentially dangerous, and respond to wandering dog complaints as soon as possible, to ensure the community members feel safe. Council rangers also work to educate and advise members of the public on dog-related matters through programs such as the Pet Pep program, which discusses ways to prevent dog attacks, minimize wandering, and information about maintaining fences and gates.

Gympie Regional Council also runs an after-hours animal pick up service that will pick up animals that customers have ‘contained’ on their properties. To report an animal you’d like picked up after hours, please call 1300 307 800.  

It is also important to note the importance of responsible pet ownership for both the safely of the animal and the safety for local community. Dogs should always be well cared for, enclosed within the resident’s yard, and when out – must be on a lead.

For more information on responsible pet ownership: https://www.gympie.qld.gov.au/animal-management