Goulburn Mulwaree Council has had two breakthroughs with the state’s roads authority following a tense stand-off.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Discussions about the swapping of responsibility for Auburn and Sloane Streets are back on track following a meeting with the Roads and Maritime Service. In addition, talks will recommence about Goulburn Mulwaree undertaking maintenance on state roads on its patch. Currently, Upper Lachlan Shire does the work under a longstanding agreement with RMS.
Councillors at their meeting on Tuesday were ready to lobby Roads Minister Melinda Pavey on the both issues. In his recommendation, general manager Warwick Bennett described it as an “unacceptable impasse after three years of positive negotiations.”
But this action was aborted following a meeting between RMS executive director regional and freight division, Roy Wakelin-King, Mr Bennett and Mayor Bob Kirk on Tuesday.
Instead, councillors agreed to accept that “good faith negotiations” with the RMS on both issues would continue.
Goulburn Mulwaree wants to take control of Auburn Street, a state road, while handing over responsibility to the RMS for Sloane Street. The latter is a council road but with heavy vehicles increasingly using the thoroughfare, management says it makes sense for the state to assume responsibility for maintenance. This in turn would allow the council to continue its CBD beautification program unfettered.
An agreement was due to be finalised by June 30 this year. But in a letter this month, the RMS advised it did not have the funds to swap the road and undertake maintenance on Sloane Street. It contradicted subsequent RMS media statements and sparked an angry response from Cr Kirk who accused the Authority of lacking respect.
The reaction appears to have hit home.
Cr Kirk said Mr Wakelin-King said had heard the “noises in the media.”
“It wasn’t the way they wanted or intended it to be construed on our part and they’ve said their intention wasn’t made clear enough in their letter. They were happy to continue the discussions,” he said.
“The way we interpreted it is one thing - the fact is we’re moving on. It got a result.”
Mr Bennett did not believe the council had misinterpreted the letter, which was tendered to Tuesday’s meeting. In his report, the GM said the correspondence “defied logic.”
“I don’t know what’s happened but it’s quite fair to say we put together an agenda for a meeting (with RMS) in 2015 and six out seven of those matters that we started are still unresolved,” he said.
They include the Auburn/Sloane Street swap and the state road maintenance contract.
Mr Bennett said the former RMS regional manager had told him there was “no way” he would entertain negotiations with Goulburn Mulwaree on the work. But in the recent meeting between the parties, the Authority had backtracked on this stance.
“We had a very profitable meeting,” Mr Bennett said.
The contract is awarded on an annual basis but has not been thrown out to tender. Upper Lachlan Shire maintains Braidwood and Crookwell Roads. Goulburn Mulwaree decided not to vie for the contract in 2004. It now argues the times and political will are changed and it should have the opportunity.
Asked how lucrative this would be to to the council if secured, Mr Bennett replied it was not about profit.
“We want to do everything at cost so that the emphasis is on doing as much work on the roads as we possibly can,” he said.
“...We believe that our works staff would be very committed to doing a high quality job in our own council area.”
Upper Lachlan’s works director Mursaleen Shah said the contract was based on a single invitation.
“It is a paid for services contract therefore the financial impact on the Upper Lachlan Shire Council is considered insignificant,” he said.
“There will be a staff impact (if the work is lost) however, it is yet to be known until a revised contract is offered to Council for consideration. Upper Lachlan Shire Council is happy to continue to provide services at its current level if required by the NSW State Government for the foreseeable future.”
While negotiations with Goulburn Mulwaree are underway on both issues, RMS has said it would consider further beautification initiatives for Auburn Street, provided they didn’t jeopardise safety.
Asked by Cr Leah Ferrara for a timeframe on discussions, Mr Bennett said he hoped for a resolution by the end of this year.
“There is light at the end of the tunnel; I just hope it’s not a train,” he said.