agenda - City of Stirling

AGENDA OF THE ORDINARY MEETING OF COUNCIL
13 NOVEMBER 2012
A3. The City of Stirling has been debt free for approximately 15 years and ratepayers
have benefited by not having to fund annual interest payments on loans through their
rate accounts. An equity position in a Local Governments financial statements does
not provide any indication of its financial capacity to undertake large capital projects
or raise loans to undertake them. The majority of equity lies in the huge infrastructure
investment made in previous years (Roads, Parks, Drainage, Footpaths etc.). This
infrastructure cannot be sold or used as collateral for loans and is a source of
ongoing expense requiring extensive maintenance to ensure it continues to provide
appropriate services to the community. Current legislation allows any Council to
increase rates to any level and based on this alone, the City is capable of delivering a
Coastal Aquatic Facility. Whether this is financially prudent and acceptable to the
community is a matter for the Council to decide.
5.1.10 PUBLIC QUESTION TIME - H VIVIANI
The following question was submitted by Mr H Viviani, 2 Park Street, Trigg WA 6029 at
the Council meeting held 30 October 2012.
"Q1.
My question relates to the proposed coastal boardwalk. Given that the current
options in the report are going to cost between $1 million and $3.8 million for not only
the design concept but the alternatives of widening the path four (4) metres how
much would that cost please?"
A1. The Mayor advised the question would be taken on notice and a written response
provided.
Additional Information
A1. The City advises that the safe provision of shared paths is predicated on the fact that
there is a suitable alternative on road route for fast cyclists. In this location, West
Coast Highway does not provide that safe on road route. This is explained in the
report (in the first paragraph of page 299 of the minutes of the meeting available
online) with the following wording: “The section of Recreational Shared Path between
the southern Trigg car park and The Esplanade at Scarborough Beach is very
substandard, in that it barely achieves a 3.0m standard and, alongside a busy West
Coast Highway (road speed limits between 60 and 80 km/hr), fails to have a viable
alternative on-road route.” Consequently the minimum requirement, to provide
essential segregation, is that of option. The cost of doing this would be close to the
cost of Option 1 at $1 million.
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