Community facility arrangements reviewed

Gosford Council's arrangements with committees managing Council-owned community facilities will be reviewed at a public meeting to be chaired by Cr Lynne Bockholt.

Committees managing council facilities on the Peninsula include the Umina Community Hall Inc and the Woy Woy Peninsula Neighbourhood Service Inc.

The council made the decision to call the public meeting after it was told that groups had been given free use of the buildings in return for covering the building's running costs including, in some cases, paying rates.

In an officers' report, council was told that "with the introduction of the GST, Council undertook an extensive consultation process with Section 355 committees to facilitate the signing of leases".

"However, when leases were found to be unsuitable, Council resolved to replace the leases with licences.

"Not all facilities could be leased due to legal constraints but facilities are able to be licensed.

"Although under the Section 355 system committees had been required to pay all rates and service charges, this clause was not made explicit in the lease agreement but was made explicit in the licence agreement.

"t has come to light since the sending out of the licence documents that, despite the requirement that Section 355 committees pay rates, Council previously had given some groups special consideration by paying their rates for them.

"Some of these groups have objected to the licence, particularly the clause requiring them to pay rates, and to other clauses which are the same as in the lease they signed last year."

The council decided not to require licensees to pay rates and to refund this year's rates to any organisation that had paid.

It decided to hold a public meeting, to be chaired by Cr Bockholt, to determine the form of written agreement and "other relevant matters".

Council agenda SF.050, November 27