Fillmores is able to continue hosting music, at least for the short term, after a meeting between its owner Morgan Lewis, Kiama Council CEO Jane Stroud and Director of Environmental Planning Jessica Rippon [Fillmores closed by Council: fears for Jazz & Blues fest]   Mr Lewis has told The Bugle that the imposition of the Development Control Order has been postponed until 30 April to allow Council to seek legal advice, after what he describes as a ‘cathartic’ meeting.“It comes down to a difference in the interpretation of the rules and Council now understands our take, which is supported by the people from the Live Music Office who wrote the rules,” he says.“This issue is being watched closely by APRA and other councils, as it has implications for other cafes.”The long meeting allowed for a full and frank exchange of views, and Mr Lewis is looking forward to continuing to work with Council to find a solution. Until then he is allowed to operate as usual, including hosting seven gigs during the Kiama Jazz & Blues Festival, on next weekend.“The great news is that the Festival is no longer under a cloud, and Council is getting right behind it to ensure its success,” he says.“They are 110 per cent supportive, and it is going to be a great weekend.”Check out the program.

A bus has attempted to drive under the railway bridge on Terralong St, pulling part of the air conditioning system off its roof and damaging the bridge’s protective girder.Fire brigade, ambulance and police are on site, with the bus currently sitting along Railway Parade.Cleanup is underway with firefighters pouring dirt over the road under the bridge. 

Despite today’s rain, bargain hunters will be relieved to know that Kiama’s giant community car boot sale - last held in 2019 - is on tomorrow.With 130 registrations, the event is fully booked and Waste Management Officer Josephine St John is expecting up to 3,000 people.Residents are able to sell, trade, swap or giveaway their pre-loved items with everyone welcome to come by to search for a bargain.   “It is something that people, not only in our community but also outside the community, look forward to,” says Ms St John. With the whole idea of the event to help minimize waste going to landfill, anything people can’t get rid of on the day can drop it off to the Household Bulky Waste Drop-off event the following weekend. “Anything we can see be reused or repurposed will be put away into our Up4Grabs shed,” says Ms St John. All gold coin donations accepted at the entrance will go toward funding the Kiama Netball Association, which is the co-host of the event.Saturday 4 March, Black Beach Kiama, 8-12pm

Kiama Lions Club has helped resurrect the Junior Surf Boat Crew of Kiama Surf Club with a generous donation ahead of Lions Awareness Week. Their cheque for $5,000 helped the team purchase a sweep oar, oars for the crew and their summer shirts.“It’s good because it is nurturing the young ones. And in return, over the cooler months they have vowed to do some volunteering and work alongside us,” Secretary of Kiama Lions, Bobbie English, says. To kickstart Lions Awareness Week, Kiama Lions is holding a Shellharbour Bunnings today, and will also be at the Kiama Beach Tag Event at Kendalls Beach, running the car park on Saturday (4 March) accepting gold coin donations. From their iconic Bunnings Barbeques to their Return and Earn Scheme, 100 per cent of the money raised goes towards helping others. “70 per cent of our money stays in our community, 20 per cent goes to our head office in Newcastle to help with disasters and 10 per cent goes internationally, to help with big disasters in the world,” Bobbie says. Their money has helped victims of the 2019/2020 Victorian Bushfires – with a total of $3.5 million from The Lions Club International – and more recently, money has been sent to support Türkyie after the devastating earthquake. Locally, President of Kiama Lions Peter Scifleet says, “What we have done for Kiama over the last 50 years is pretty wide reaching. We have just about supported everything.”Whilst continuing to run their longstanding program, the Cancer Care Trust Fund, which supports local cancer sufferers and their carers, they also to raise money for local organisations and charities.   Coming up, they will be raising money for Homestead of Hope at a Comedy for a Cause night held at Kiama Leagues Club in May.Kiama Lions also support the community through non-fundraising events like their Driver Reviver scheme – which they have been running for 13 years – where they provide free tea or coffee and a biscuit to drivers over long weekends To continue their generous service and donations, Bobbie is urging people to come help their great organisation. “It is the sense of giving back to the community, the friendships you make and the fun you have that make it all worth it,” she says.“Even if you have a couple hours a month to come and help. You don’t have to join, you can just be a volunteer.” To join or volunteer, call Bobbie on 0455 043 043.

While the decision not to include the Terralong St ILUs in the sale of Blue Haven was the focus of attention for many, a number of other pivotal decisions were made unanimously at Council's Extraordinary Meeting on Tuesday - to help Council to meet its Performance Improvement Order (PIO) from the Office of Local Government and restore its financial viability.“Those decisions weren’t taken lightly or off the cuff,” says Mayor Neil Reilly.“Everything was questioned and everything was debated. However once that debate was over, and minor and major amendments made, all were unanimous decisions of Council.“I commend the Councillors and Council staff for their vital contributions to the Meeting. I am pleased that we reached a consensus, with some give-and-take from all sides. Tough decisions were made, the outcomes of which have given us a solid path forward towards a sustainable future for our Council and our Municipality.“The community knows we have wrestled with the issues around our finances and Blue Haven since we were sworn into office back in January 2022. Debates have swung back and forth many times because of the significance of these decisions.“I’ve been speaking all year about the need for compromise and for us to work as a team. This all came together and I’m proud of what we achieved.”The Council Meeting at The PavillionThe decisions, most of which reinforce the need for further asset sales, included:accepting the two year cash flow forecasts, which show that “further asset divestment to clear the full TCORP debt and also leave KMC a respectable unrestricted funds position at June 2024 is required.” Amongst other things, the report says further asset divestments are needed as the sale of Blue Haven Bonaira is expected to result in a net cash injection of just $20 to $25 million, possibly by late 2023, as well as a reduction in current liabilities of $72 million. Capital works expenditure has also been reduced by $5 million for both 2023 and 2024, and operational efficiencies are needed.accepting the Liquidity Plan, which the business paper says, “illustrates, subject to property sales being realised at the values and within the timeframes anticipated, that the concerns with Council’s ability to clear its debts, replenish reserves and build working capital to meet its regular outgoings, may be eased. Council has already identified several reserves (restricted funds) to be replenished, such as Employee Leave Entitlements and property.”approving talks to begin on the early repayment of $30 million of the $45 million debt owned to TCorp, as part of renegotiating the another loan for the remaining $15 million if necessary. Full repayment currently due August 2023.approving the Property Plan, after stressing the importance of considering other factors rather than just financial in deciding whether to refurbish, repurpose, redevelop or dispose of. The Plan lists 29 Council properties and five Crown Reserve properties it manages, with some of the properties already in the process of being sold, eg. Akuna St carpark.deciding on the distribution of the net proceeds of $27.5 million from sale of Akuna Street, including making $1 million available for TCorp loan repayment; topping up the prudential balances needed to be held for the RADS and ILU deposits by $4.6 million (required by the PIO); adding $2.5 million to the Employee Leave Entitlement reserves (required by the PIO) and $8.4 million to the Land Development restricted reserve; and injecting $11 million into operational cash.endorsing completing service reviews into its commercial business areas - waste services, leisure centre, Pavilion and holiday park - as a priority, ahead of rolling out a program of reviews for the other general services it providesauthorising the sale of Blue Haven Bonaira, including appointing specialist consultants for the tender; starting the process of converting it to operational land for the sale; look at subdividing out Havilah Place for a separate sale; continuing work to excise the community garden from operational to community land; and preparing a dilapidation report on the Terralong St assets.CEO Jane Stroud says the documents made public for the Meeting show plainly that because of a structural deficit for the initial two to three year period, in order to remain a going concern, “We must divest where we can to be able to pay our bills when and where they fall due.“This is about restoring those to a healthy balance so that this and future councils don’t find themselves in this cycle of deficits.”CEO Jane Stroud and Mayor Neil Reilly at the Extraordinary MeetingShe’s pleased she has been authorised to proceed with the sale of Blue Haven Bonaira, and that now Blue Haven Terralong is not to be included there is clarity to consider planning proposals for separating the land around the Havilah site (former nursing home) and the community garden.“We can progress with those and consider what the time frame of the process is and what opportunities are presented after that fact,” says Ms Stroud.The Meeting also called for a dilapidation report on the 43 year old Terralong St site to assess what further investment will be needed.“There has never been a strategic asset management plan for those pieces of infrastructure, and they need to be brought up to compliance,” says Ms Stroud, describing the report as a significant body of work to be undertaken and noting there are no reserves held for their replacement.Ms Stroud has already been in touch with TCorp.“Those formal negotiations to refinance are commencing as a matter of urgency, and while TCorp are very positive about the early repayment they are also very aware of the remaining $15 million owed and the challenges around seeking refinancing with our current balance sheet having incomplete financial statements.”Asked by Councillor Warren Steel to explain how the situation has got to this, she ended with, “There is no question that we are in this predicament through a series of complex decisions that have been made in the past that have all caught up with us today.”

The Kiama LGA is to benefit from more than half of the $3.7 million awarded to the South Coast for sports ground improvement, to repair and rebuild damaged facilities that were impacted by the February or June floods.Kiama Council has been allocated $993,600 for drainage and irrigation work on the Gerry Emery Reserve/Athol Noble Oval and $691,120 for the same work at Gainsborough Oval. The funding also covers the replacement of the current cricket pitch with new synthetic pitch at both locations.Secretary of the Kiama and District Sports Association, John Dawson, appreciates the work being done to get the oval back to what it should be. “The drainage there has not been maintained over many years and it has resulted in it getting clogged up. With all the rain last year, it meant the ground was flooded for over a year and hasn’t been used for nearly two years now,” John says. “It will be great to have that sort of work done at Gainsborough. The Gerringong people will also appreciate the work being done there, as their grounds been impacted by the floods as well.”Kiama Tennis Club has also been allocated $220,068 to repair and improve the Blowhole Point Tennis Court. The work includes better drainage, retaining walls, resurfacing the two courts and adding court lighting. The funding comes from The Essential Community Sport Assets Program, jointly funded by the Federal and NSW Governments under the Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements, as part of the broader Community Local Infrastructure Recovery Package (CLIRP).“The grants awarded will not only improve people's experience playing and watching sport but also make damaged infrastructure more resilient in the future,” said the Member for Gilmore, Fiona Phillips, on making the announcement.

With its streets crowded with a range of restaurants, cafes, pubs and clubs, one thing Kiama doesn’t have is its own brewery. Locals Neil Menzies and Sam Haldane are keen to change that. Sam and Neil – along with their partners Britt Jacobsen and Cate – have lodged a DA for a property they own together in Collins St to transform the retired vehicle repair shop that wraps around the Enhance petrol station into Kiama’s very own ‘quirky’ brewpub.“It’s a really interesting and big space with a lot of character that’s not being utilised at the moment,” says Sam, who was lending a helping hand at Stoic Brewing when he met Neil. “We want it to be a meeting point and a hub, not only for tourists as a destination brewery but also for locals to be proud of,” says Neil, a local property valuer who has always wanted to open a brewery. The entrance from Collins St, through what is currently the northern part of the House 2 Home shop, will feature a welcoming outdoor beer garden.Britt Jacobsen and Sam Haldene with son Evan, with Neil and Cate Menzies inside the building as it is nowInside will feature a wide bar, restaurant with local produce, a range of seating, kids play area and a space for functions – both large and small – with of course the iconic large steel tanks of the brewery operation. “We plan to have 20 taps. 12 or so beers and the rest would be house made soft drinks, seltzers and ciders. We will also have some guest taps from other local breweries, including Stoic Brewing,” Sam says.From this... toAndrew Prosser of Stoic Brewing says he is very supportive of another local brewery starting up. Neil, who owns a farm in Jerrara, says their goal is to keep everything as local as possible.“I am hoping to grow some barley for the brewery as well as provide beef from my cattle for the restaurant,” he says. “We’re trying to do something for everyone - different offering to what's currently here and compliment other hospitality offerings. With Wildginger, The Hungry Monkey and Little Betty’s nearby, we’d love this to be a food and entertainment hub.”The proposed beer garden entrance on the northern side of the propertyIn an idea that has been four years in the making so far, the DA for the hotel is on public exhibition now through the Planning Portal.Construction will start as soon as they get the tick of approval, with hopes a grand opening will catch the end of summer next year. They welcome contact from any local producers that are interested in getting involved as suppliers.

Council's CEO Jane Stroud and Director Enironmental Services, Jessica Rippon, are to meet with Morgan Lewis on Friday to try and find a solution to closing down the music at Fillmores [Fillmores closed by Council: fears for Jazz & Blues fest].In a statement, Council reasurred those with concerns about other venues of the Kiama Jazz & Blues Festival, saying, "Local planning regulations allow live music at cafes, bars, clubs and other businesses for special events such as the Festival."The statement also said, "Fillmores is a valued and different space in our community, and we know many in our community love it."However, Council does have legislative compliance obligations that is does have to meet, and sometimes this makes us the unfortunate meat in the sandwich."This doesn’t mean we don’t support the arts or our community to get out and enjoy the festival!"Quite the opposite."In truth, we can’t wait for the festival and will continue to work on finding a solution for Fillmores."Morgan Lewis at the Cafe. Fillmores was to host seven events at the Festival.This year's Festival has received $20,000 in support from Council, plus $18,000 from a Reconnecting NSW grant to create a new hub for the Sunday of the Festival at the bottom end of Terralong St."After many of months of hard work and planning, be assured the Festival has our full and continued support," said the statement, noting that Fillmores issue was separate to the Festival.It explained the venue, "is experiencing some challenges with compliance orders that were issued due to noise complaints and the very restrictive conditions of their current complying development certificate (CDC), which was issued by private certifier."For many months Council staff have been working hard with the owner and stakeholders to try and find solutions and overcomes any hurdles in their way."It’s not been an easy process, and as always, our advice has been to prepare and lodge a development application."Morgan Lewis of Fillmores and his sister Becky Guggisberg are the organisers of the Festival, being held 10-12 March.Check out the program here.

Morgan Lewis is still in shock after being told by Council he can no longer have live music at his café, Fillmores, in central Kiama.The Development Control Order was issued on Monday, stating he had breached conditions of consent regarding noise and operating out of the permitted hours.As the organiser of the Kiama Jazz & Blues Festival (along with his sister Becky Guggisberg), Mr Lewis says that the seven shows organised at Fillmores over 10-11 March will not be able to proceed there, and that he is worried other venues would be affected if there was one rule for all.“There are a lot of cafes approved through change in use [rather than a DA] – are they going to be shut down too? Or is it just that if no one is complaining then Council doesn’t bother checking their conditions?” he says.Ms Guggisberg has written to Kiama councillors seeking clarification on the situation and for the decision to be rescinded.“We ask that the Control Order in relation to Fillmore’s Café be urgently rescinded to enable the contractual responsibilities and obligations of the event organising committee to be met. We also ask that Kiama Council confirm their support of all businesses who are hosting live performances throughout the three-day Festival,” the letter says, noting that the Festival has 36 bands performing a total of 77 times at 34 different venues.“Only 24 of the 77 performances are occurring at venues that have taken a DA consent path, to the best of our knowledge, the festival would require council to clarify consent conditions on all 34 locations.“Fifty-three of the performances (69%) are occurring at venues which do not have planning approval for live music and are instead relying on the 2009 NSW Department of Planning and Environment exceptions.”Fillmores is located down the lane, behind Parfait PattiserieMr Lewis is concerned that his business has been singled out because of the determination of a complainant, who he sees as vexatious, despite the area’s B2 zoning.“The Council keeps listening to this vexatious complainant and, due to the cost brought on with dealing with the complaints, they are feeling the financial pinch and to shut my business gets rid of the complaint,” he says.“They should be listed as a vexatious complainant, and then we be allowed to keep music and they [Council] will save money.”Mr Lewis was told he needed to cease any noise over 5dB above the background noise and trading outside of permitted hours immediately or risk heavy fines. He points out that a coffee grinder is louder than that.Mr Lewis strongly denies trading outside of his hours and says that State planning rules first introduced in 2009 encourage the live music industry give all cafes the go ahead for live music without the need for separate approval, with the noise level a recommendation.“There is a disconnect between what local, State and Federal governments are encouraging and what our local council is enforcing and somehow we need to bridge that gap,” says Mr Lewis.“We’ve been encouraged to have alfresco dining - I’ve received a grant to do it. We’ve been encouraged to have live music - I’ve received a grant to do it.“But I have alfresco dining and live music and I get shut down by the Council.“My approval as a café allows live performances as very clearly stated throughout planning legislation.”Frank Sultana had his homecoming concerts at Fillmores over the weekendHe says the conditions he is alleged to have breached no longer apply to others undertaking a change of use now, but doesn’t want to do a DA given the opposition he knows it would face.“At least now I have something, even though the music has been taken away.”As it was, opposition to his business’ change of use resulted in the capacity of the 300sqm venue being capped at 50 patrons.“In the very detailed and lengthy list of complaints from the neighbours, two of the days where trading beyond permitted hours and above permitted sound levels were reported Fillmore’s was not open,” says Mr Lewis.He points out that Kiama Council’s new Town Centre DCP says, “If you live in the town centre expect to hear sound generated from pedestrians, laughter, dining and live music.”Kiama Council was contacted on Monday for comment.

This afternoon's Extraordinary Meeting of Council has taken the sale of the Blue Haven Terralong St ILUs off the table until the business case for doing so can be compared against other options.In doing so, it unanimously supported moving forward with the sale of all assets and operations of Blue Haven Bonaira, including appointing aged care experts, StewartBrown Advisory, to coordinate the tender and divestment process.After the meeting, Mayor Neil Reilly said, “My big fear was we wouldn’t be able to move forward on the Bonaira site, as I thought that if we reinforced the decision we made in October we would be a lot better off.”Other amendments were for Council to seek a dilapidation report on the condition of Blue Haven Terralong (to establish what needs to be spent on it), look at subdividing Havilah Place (old nursing home from the Blue Haven site (moved by Councillor Matt Brown) and continue progress to excise the community garden from operational to community land (moved by Councillor Mark Croxford).A protester before the Meeting“I think overall it was a really good decision, and it improved councillors understanding of what’s at play,” said Councillor Karen Renkema-Lang.“I also hope it can allow Kiama Council to focus on improving their financial management, fixing their system problems which will allow them to produce better reports, and addressing the rest of the performance improvement order.”Cllr Renkema-Lang was successful in adding an amendment an earlier motion that consideration of possible property sales should not be based on purely financial assessment but involve a quadruple bottom line by also taking into account the community, the environment and civic leadership through community consultation.“The property divestment plan identifies a whole lot of other assets that should be considered in a comparative way with Terralong and the community consulted,” she said.Councillor Mark Croxford, who spoke strongly at the meeting about the need to sell Blue Haven to clear debts and replenish reserves, said after the Meeting, “Removing Terralong wasn’t ideal, but everything else just makes good business sense. We have to improve our financial position.“If we were to have rejected that motion in its entirety, that would have been a fast track into administration. There were bigger downsides at play.”Alan Holder, Chair of the Blue Haven Action Group [Terralong ILU residents oppose sale] is ecstatic but prepared for a long fight."It’s another step along the way," he said. "We have won a small victory today but the war will continue on, I am 100 per cent sure on that. "There is going to be a whole lot more discussion, negotiation, and input from either side along the way."He is suspicious of the quick timing of the meeting, and is glad Councillor Kathy Rice was able to videoconference in from Vietnam, believing the outcome could have been quite different without her.All of the other recommendations at the Meeting were supported by councillors.Further reports on issues discussed at the Meeting will be covered in future posts.

Over 100 people have registered to attend Kiama Council's Extraordinary Meeting, which will vote on whether the whole of Blue Haven should be sold off rather than just Blue Haven Bonaira.This means that the meeting will now be hold at The Pavilion (1pm public access; 2.30pm Extraordinary Meeting). Anyone interested in attending need to register here.An added dimension to the meeting is that Councillor Kathy Rice is unable to attend the meeting, as she will be travelling. This will mean that if the vote is drawn, the casting vote will be up to Mayor Neil Reilly.Former councillor Howard H Jones has written an open letter to councillors urging them to vote against the sale."I am aware of the report to Council and difficulties in making this decision but would like to emphasise that the report you have to base your decisions on doesn’t provide a community/historical context, it doesn’t report on the potential social and economic value of Blue Haven or present alternatives for your consideration, and as an ex-councillor I find this insufficient," he says."We need to reflect on the fact that assets sales are always one-off and not solutions to embedded financial problems."Members of the Community Garden, located on the Terralong land to be sold, are also galvanising support."Our community garden is on the same Lot and DP as Bluehaven Terralong so we are also in danger of losing our treasured community garden," they say in a call to action. The old nursing home site at Havilah Place is also part of the land to be sold.Councillor Mark Croxford has said on social media, "Selling Blue Haven is a proactive step that Council can take to address its financial pressures and avoid the risk of Administration. By taking decisive action to address its financial situation, Council can demonstrate its commitment to good governance and financial management, and ensure the continued provision of essential services to the community."I understand that this is a difficult decision for some in the community, and that some may have emotional attachments to Blue Haven, as do I and a number of my fellow Councillors. However, as your councillor, it is my responsibility to think strategically and in the best interests of our community. I assure you that I will continue to do so, and I welcome any questions or concerns that you may have."

The Kells Kiama Sevens brought teams from across the state and interstate to town over the weekend for fast paced rounds of quality rugby.After beating Norths 38 to nil in the semifinal, the Western Sydney Two Blues triumphed over the fancied Randwick 24 to 12 to win the Cleary Brothers Kiama Sevens Cup for the fourth time.Brian Scott caught some of the on field action here - Around the grounds: The 2023 Kiama Sevens TournamentThe other competitions winners were:Sebel Harbourside Kiama Women's Vase Burraneer 29 def Sydney Uni 0Kiama Inn Hotel Plate (men's semi finalists)Manly 43 Def Northern Suburbs Sydney 5Droppoint Womens 2nd divisionUni Norths ACT 22 def Gungahlin ACT 0Carter Ferguson Solicitors Womens Country CupAlbury Steamers 12 def Braidwood 0Rhino Mens Bowl Shoalhaven 24 def Hunters Hill 5Gates Haulage/Resources NSW Mens Country CupKiama 19 def Lakes 7 The Kiama team did us proud

Beyond Empathy, a cultural arts for community development organisation, is inviting the community to come along to their film night where they will show snippets of two of their films, ahead of their series of workshops for youth.Protection tells the story of children from public housing estates in the Illawarra while Rites of Passage, which has been screened at international film festivals, follows six disadvantaged and marginalised teenagers who respond to the challenges surrounding them.There will be a Q&A with the cast and crew afterwards.The night will also launch a series of workshops for youth, aged 12-24 years old, that involves working with creators of award-winning films and podcasts to create their own work.“Whether it be podcasts or film, it’s something that young people can come together and create collaboratively,” says Beyond Empathy’s Shaniece Igano.“We are very excited to have everyone come and get to know us and see what we do.” Community Film Night, 3 March, Joyce Wheatley Community Hall, 7-9pm

The Federal Stronger Communities Program Round 8 will give each electorate $150,000 to fund projects of up to $20,000 each.It aims to ‘improve local community participation and contribute to vibrant and viable communities’.Yarning circles, surf club upgrades, equipment for emergency services, community gardens and art installations have been funded in the past. “I know how important it is to have high quality local facilities and I want to make sure that our community can take full advantage of this excellent funding opportunity,” says Fiona Phillips MP.Expressions of Interest close Friday 10 March. More information on The Federal Stronger Communities Program Round 8 will give each electorate $150,000 to fund projects of up to $20,000 each.It aims to ‘improve local community participation and contribute to vibrant and viable communities’.Yarning circles, surf club upgrades, equipment for emergency services, community gardens and art installations have been funded in the past. “I know how important it is to have high quality local facilities and I want to make sure that our community can take full advantage of this excellent funding opportunity,” says Fiona Phillips MP.Expressions of Interest close Friday 10 March. More information on fionaphillips.com.au/grants/grants/

The news Kiama Council is to consider selling Blue Haven in its entirety, including the Terralong St ILUs, has raised questions for the Chairman of Blue Haven Action Group, Allan Holder, who believes Council does not have a strategy for when they lose Terralong St’s profitable income. “Terralong St ILUs is currently generating a profit of $4 million on a cash flow basis to Council. That $4 million has been used to fund their library services, their parks and gardens people, their road maintenance and so on,” Allan says.“If they sell this off, that income stream will be gone. How do they replace it?”However, the report on Blue Haven review - on whether Council should keep, go into a partnership or sell - in the Business Papers presents a different view to Mr Holder on the ILUs’ profitability, saying, “The ILU appear on Council financial reports as generating significant surpluses but these results do not include any significant asset upgrading costs from a cash flow perspective and nor do they include any depreciation from an income and expenditure perspective. If these costs were included, the results would be significantly reduced and breakeven at best.”He believes that up to 80 per cent of residents are opposed to Council selling the Terralong St ILUs. “We’ve got people here ranging in age from early 60s right through to late 90s. With that spread of ages, you are going to get that spread of thought patterns. Some people are going to be scared about what they don’t know and that’s just human nature,” he says. “There is a body of support that thinks we will be better off not being owned by Council, given the chaotic and dysfunctional way they have engaged with the committee for the last several years. “But, quite a few of us moved in here knowing it was a Council-run facility and not a for profit facility. Therefore, we felt a sense of safety and security being under the Council banner.”In her Report on the future direction and current state for Kiama Municipal Council in the Business Paper for the Extraordinary Meeting, CEO Jane Stroud says, "The business case has identified that selling Blue Haven property should generate enough funds to extinguish all debts, remove excessive current liabilities and stabilise the Council’s liquidity position; while the transfer of aged care, home care and community transport operations should relieve annual losses, extinguish unfunded asset renewal risk, and minimise any cross subsidy between municipal and business operations."Releasing the Kiama community from its financial responsibility for Blue Haven would free up resources that could be redirected into improving fundamental Council services and facilities. However, there will be several in the community who would consider Council should remain in the aged care/community care domain – even at a loss."Equally, several in the community would object to aged care and residential fees being raised by Council to reach benchmark parity with the sector." According to Allan, residents fear new ownership will mean an increase in their maintenance levy and gives an example of IRT Harbourside Retirement Village. “The two-bedroom residents there are paying something like $365 per fortnight in their maintenance agreement. Correspondingly, we’re paying $230 a fortnight here for a similar facility,” he says. Allan agrees with Council’s decision to sell the Bonaira aged care home simply due to the loss it is making. “They don’t have the people with the knowledge or expertise to run the place properly as things stand. It’s because there is regulation and red tape associated with aged care that is beyond the Council to get themselves as deeply involved as they need to be,” he says. “I have got some sympathy with the CEO’s perspective that it’s not Council’s core business in terms of aged care but this (Terralong St) isn’t aged care, this is retirement village living. We get dragged into the aged care title and it is very unfortunate for us.”The Extraordinary Meeting is being held Tuesday 28 February, 2.30pm (with Public Access earlier at 1pm)Register to attend here.

UPDATED AFTER A CALL FROM THE PMThe Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese, and NSW Labor Leader, Chris Minns, have visited Kiama today to lend their support to Labor candidate Katelin McInerney.Walking along Terralong St, Mr Albanese said he was proud to support such a strong candidate and was looking forward to working with a Minns Labor Government.He noted that winning Gilmore was crucial in the Federal election, and winning Kiama would be just as crucial.Speaking to The Bugle exclusively shortly after the visit, Mr Albanese said all of the reaction he got from people was very positive."Kaitlin is a great candidate and there is chaos on the other side of politics," he said."Kaitlin represents the chance to have a voice in the Minns Labor Government that is constructive and positive."I think that Kiama has always been an important seat historically, and we returned Fiona Phillips in Gilmore at the Federal election in spite of a major campaign."The feedback I’m getting around the state is that it is time for a change. That after 12 years of an O'Farrell/Baird/Berejiklian/Perrottet government it is time for some stability and for adults to be in charge."Chris Minns will be focused on fighting for NSW. The Liberal Party is focused on fighting each other."Long term local Labor branch member Marg Dowl was energised by the visit.“It was great to see two exceptional politicians come down to support Katelin,” says Marg.“This is the most unusual election we have ever had. Theoretically we don’t have a Liberal candidate, but we have an independent candidate who may rejoin the Liberal party. Who can possibly call it?”New branch member Kim Elder says, “It’s the first time in an election we’ve had the Federal and State leaders come down – it is a very good sign.“If anyone can win it, Katelin can.”

While the fate of the Golden Valley Rd DA is still undecided [Rescission motion on Golden Valley Rd decision], there is a ray of hope that an approved development will result in additional sewage connections being available to the whole of Jamberoo.In his presentation at Public Access, Lawson Fredericks, of the developer Fountaindale Group, broke the news that his latest talks with Sydney Water were about bringing additional sewer capacity to the village by installing a bigger main.This has been confirmed by Sydney Water, with a spokesperson telling The Bugle, “Sydney Water has held discussions with the Fountaindale Group regarding the potential to increase the size of the pipe connected to the Jamberoo pumping station, which may accommodate possible growth in Jamberoo.”While stressing that it was still early days, Mr Fredericks said the larger main to the Jerrara pumping station could service “200ish” connections, compared to the 51 lots in the proposed Golden Valley Rd estate.It would then be up to Sydney Water how the connections were allocated.At the moment, there are no additional connections available in the village, halting DAs that require a toilet.Asked who will bear the cost, Mr Fredericks said their expectation was that it would be a cost sharing exercise between Fountaindale and Sydney Water.

The Business Papers for Council’s Extraordinary Meeting next week culminate in a recommendation that it sell Blue Haven in its entirety, rather than just the Bonaira element.The sale of the Terralong St ILUs was strongly opposed by residents when it was first raised, and opposition is likely to continue.To counter this, Council has released previously confidential information and is holding the Meeting in a public session.“I want people to read the facts for themselves,” says CEO Jane Stroud.An Open Letter published in The Bugle (and in full below) gives the reasoning for course of action, including: “The business case, which was developed after a thorough review of Blue Haven, makes it clear that this is what it will take to restore not only our financial sustainability but to allow Council to refocus on the core business of local government.”Residents in the Council lobby protesting the possible sale of their ILUs last yearSpeaking before the release of the Business Papers, Mayor Neil Reilly said, “Next Tuesday we are going to put to councillors an opportunity to change the situation for the better.“We have been caught in the gloom of financial uncertainty for 12 months, and now with the support of staff, consultants and councillors, we believe that we have a sustainable way forward.“We have reached a point where we know what has gone wrong and we know what is going to fix it – that is going to be systemic change in the way we approach our assets, our businesses, our debt and our community.”Asked what would happen if the course recommended wasn’t supported, he says, “The situation will be dire.”People wishing to attend the meeting are being asked to register, so that the venue can be moved to The Pavilion if necessary, given the limited capacity in the Council Chamber.The Business Papers are now online here. Further posts will follow once the information is absorbed. This is the full text of the Open Letter:Dear community members of the Kiama Municipality, During the past 12 months we’ve been openly sharing information about significant financial issues facing Kiama Council. This situation, which involves our aged care business, Blue Haven, has been confirmed by the NSW Auditor General and the issuing of a Performance Improvement Order by the NSW Minister for Local Government. Council is holding an extraordinary meeting on Tuesday 28 February to consider a number of critical matters to help re-establish the path to financial sustainability and meet the requirements of the Performance Improvement Order. The extraordinary meeting agenda includes:Blue Haven business caseLiquidity management planCash flow planTCorp repayment of debtDistribution of proceeds of the Akuna Street saleProperty divestment planService review scope for commercial services Once again, Council will consider stepping away fully from our aged care business. Council has already formally resolved to divest itself of Blue Haven Bonaira and associated assets. An independent business case has now recommended that Council also considers the divestment of the Blue Haven Terralong site and its assets. The business case, which was developed after a thorough review of Blue Haven, makes it clear that this is what it will take to restore not only our financial sustainability but to allow Council to refocus on the core business of local government. Council wants to assure you that, no matter what is decided, Blue Haven will continue as an aged care provider and will remain a loved and valued asset in the community. No one will lose their home, or their place or care in our residential aged care facility. These will simply be operated under new ownership. We know many in our community feel a strong emotional connection to Blue Haven and the business case recommendation to divest it may be hard to hear. It is important to understand the facts. This is why we’ve shared so much information about the operation of Council as a business, the impact the construction of Blue Haven Bonaira and the ongoing costs of running a complex aged care business has had on our financial position. We urge you to read the reports (in the meeting agenda) along with the information and the previous reports we’ve put out over the past 12 months via our website. Truly consider what is best for Kiama Council now and for many years to come. We also invite you all to attend the extraordinary council meeting on 28 February – either in person (registration is essential) or via our livestream. Our livestream recording will also be available via our website after the meeting. The extraordinary meeting is when and where your elected representatives will decide how we move forward. Whatever is decided, this process has enabled us to examine Council’s operations and start to think about who we are, without running a large and complex aged care business. We’ll be consulting with the community extensively over the next 12-24 months on this. We will want to hear from you in the near future about what you want Kiama Municipal Council to be. Which community services, projects, events, infrastructure and facilities matter the most to you, what service levels we need and how we focus our resources where they’re most needed. We look forward to you sharing this journey with us. From the team at Kiama Municipal Council

A mixed use development on Blackwood St, Gerringong, was approved unanimously by the February Meeting of Kiama Council, despite 59 objections by the community about its scale and impact on the neighbourhood.The site is located on the western edge of the B2 zoning for Gerringong Town Centre, the same zoning that has allowed the development of properties on Noble St.The four level complex, adjacent to the Gerringong IGA and leading through to Figtree Lane, includes ground floor commercial premises, 37 residential apartments, five serviced apartments and basement parking for 108 vehicles. The design is in two buildings aligned with Blackwood Street, separated by a garden area.Council’s report recommending approval says, “It is important to note that the application submitted is fully compliant with Council’s requirements.“Design matters including apartment design, housing mix, landscaping, car parking, engineering design, accessibility and waste management have also been addressed.“Whilst concerns of community are understood and acknowledged the site is zoned for higher density development and the applicants have worked to ensure that the development is compliant with Council controls.”Council is committed to undertaking a Gerringong Town Centre Study, the first update since the Gerringong Charette was developed in 1995, but the process appears to have lost momentum.Like the Kiama Town Centre Study, it will result in a Town Centre DCP for the centre of Gerringong to guide future development.