Carol Altmann – The Terrier

Update: A $30,000 corporate sign installed at Lyndoch Living last year has been denied a permit by the Warrnambool City Council planning unit.

The 5m-long sign was installed on the side of the new Swinton Wing last November without a permit.

A permit was lodged retrospectively in December by consultants, Fastnet, on behalf of Lyndoch Living.

Several objections* were lodged in January on a number of grounds, including that the sign was double the 3sq/m area size permitted under planning laws for what is classified as a “sensitive” residential zone.

After nine months of back and forth with Fastnet, the WCC planning team has now rejected the sign on the grounds of its size.

The sign was also originally illuminated at night, until that was found to be flat out illegal under planning laws.

Lyndoch Living now has 60 days to appeal the decision to VCAT.

If there is no appeal, the sign must be removed.

*As an East Warrnambool resident, I was among the objectors.

Carol Altmann – The Terrier

What does an illegal sign, a half-built tavern and being woken by trucks at 6.30am on a weekend all have in common?

They are shining examples of the failings of planning laws that are supposed to help protect the rights of Warrnambool residents.

I am sure you have examples of your own, but let me pick out three, including two I know well, because they stem from my own neighbourhood.

The first is a textbook case of “just do it, and ask later”.

It’s the 5m-long, illuminated sign that was installed on the side of Lyndoch Living last November without a permit.

You know the one – Lyndoch didn’t bother to apply for a permit, perhaps thinking nobody would notice, even when it was switched on at night.

Such an illuminated sign is illegal in a residential area, so after complaints to the Warrnambool City Council, it was switched off.

The sign, however, is still there.

It’s still awaiting a decision on a permit lodged belatedly in December.

That was nine months ago*.

“The non-compliant sign remains an open enforcement matter which Council continues to work on,” is how the WCC spokesman put it.

Why hasn’t it been taken down in the meantime? Nobody from the council staff can tell me.

And what have been the consequences for Lyndoch acting without a permit in the first place? Zero.

Just as the penalty for Lyndoch digging a road through a public reserve was zero.

And just as the penalty for Lyndoch failing to apply the parking and traffic plan for its medical hub was zero.

Laws, schmaws. Who cares? Move aside.

All of this has unfolded at Lyndoch while WCC director Andrew Paton sits on its board and former councillor Sue Cassidy is chair. Have they not noticed?

The latest battle for residents around Lyndoch is construction noise from the new medical clinic.

At least five times in the past seven weeks, nearby residents – including a 90 year old widow and a frontline shift worker  – have been woken by noise before 7am weekdays and 9am on Saturday.

This is against the noise laws.

The council, which enforces these laws, has been alerted and has in turn alerted the construction company, Nicholson, but still the breaches go on, including this morning.

Consequences so far? Nothing.

A spokesman for Nicholson said this afternoon that it “places the utmost importance in complying with all regulations including EPA and local Government.”

“We would like to re-assure all residents on Hopkins Road that (we)  take any and all complaints very seriously and would encourage any residents with concerns to engage in direct dialogue with us.

“Nicholson Construction will be contacting neighbouring residents in the coming days….”.

Let’s shimmy across to north Warrnambool and the running sore of the Northpoint tavern/hotel on Hayley Drive which has been unfinished for 15 years.

Fifteen years – is this a record?

This half-built project has been through four councils and is about to ask for yet another extension from a fifth.

Any consequences or penalties after 15 years?

Zero.

What a complete failure of planning laws and what a complete failure to protect residents from a half-built eyesore.

Meanwhile, the average Warrnamboolian is cut no such slack for breaking the rules.

Imagine any of us trying the same arguments as above to avoid, say, an $80 parking fine:

You: “Sorry, I forgot I need to pay for parking.”

Local laws: “Okay. No problem.”

You: “Oops! I need a bit more time. Just another hour and I am on to it, promise”.

Local laws: “No stress. Chill!”

You: “Actually, something has come up, do you mind if I park my car here all day and sort it out tomorrow?”

Local laws: “Great idea. See you then!”

In your dreams.

* I was co-signatory to an objection to this sign in January. In the interests of full disclosure, you can read the objection here.

Carol Altmann – The Terrier

A tip-off has landed in the terrier kennel that Lyndoch Living is set to further expand its executive by hiring former Warrnambool City Council Acting CEO Vikki King.

Until recently this tip-off was a persistent rumour, but I now have every reason to believe it’s on the cards, although it’s impossible to provide rock solid confirmation at the moment, because Lyndoch doesn’t talk to me.

(An emailed question to the Lyndoch media unit has gone unanswered.)

But Ms King, according to my sources, is set to be employed to a new, senior executive position within Lyndoch Living.

The number of executives and administration officers within Lyndoch Living has ballooned in the past five years, although the most recent figures are hard to come by.

The last time Lyndoch provided a breakdown was in 2018 when there was 60 admin staff, up from 37 in 2016.

In 2020, administration cost Lyndoch $3.07 million for the year.

If my sources are right, Ms King will soon be added to this payroll.

As we know, Ms King was director of Community Services at the Warrnambool City Council for six years, and Acting CEO for almost 12 months after the illegal sacking of CEO Peter Schneider.

Ms King resigned from the council on June 16 – just five days after Mr Schneider won his Supreme Court case and was reinstated.

Little has been heard about Ms King since, until this “rumour-turned-tip-off” bubbled to the surface.

One thing is certain, Ms King has already developed firm links to Lyndoch Living via her work at the council and separately.

As the string map published here a year ago shows (thanks to a reader), Ms King is deputy chair of the South West Primary Care Partnership that is chaired by the Lyndoch CEO.

Both Ms King and the Lyndoch CEO were also involved with Beyond the Bell/South-West Local Learning and Employment Network.

Ms King’s role as council’s director of Community Services naturally also included links with Lyndoch, especially via the council’s 2040 plan, of which Lyndoch is a partner.

And as it happens, one of the last public statements made by Ms King before her resignation from council was to announce that Lyndoch was taking over the Regional Assessment Service for elderly people wishing to stay in their homes.

We shall see in due course if my tip-off is right, or if I am barking up the wrong tree.

Carol Altmann – The Terrier

Lyndoch Living bulldozed – illegally – a dirty great track through the back of Scoborio Reserve.

The road was cut through several weeks ago so trucks could drive in and out of the construction site for the $22m medical clinic.

No permit.

No authority.

No shame.

I recently asked the Warrnambool City Council if this road sliced through a public reserve had been approved by council officers.

No, it was not:

“The short roadway cut into Scoborio Reserve was done without Council consent. Council expects the affected area to be reinstated,” a WCC spokesman said.

There you have it.

The illegal roadway has now been shut off.

For those keeping count, this is the fourth time Lyndoch Living has failed to meet planning and permit laws in the past eight months.

That’s all for now, but rest assured the terriers are still digging.

Carol Altmann – The Terrier

What a difference a year makes.

This time a year ago, the Warrnambool City Council was in the absolute doldrums, with community satisfaction at an all-time low.

The annual satisfaction survey clearly showed Warrnambool was fed up with what had been years of suffering under a deeply divided council and a toxic internal culture – the good ol’ mate’s club – that had been allowed to flourish.

It’s two years, almost to to the day, since I wrote my first piece on the council credit card abuse.

Last year’s shocking survey result was not a consequence of just one bad year, but years of wobbling off course.

In seven of the past 10 years, for example, the council struggled to score any better than 50/100 for “overall direction”.

In 2015, it fell to just 38/100 on that score.

Last year, it bottomed out at 32/100.

As was said at the time of CEO Peter Schneider’s arrival in 2019, he inherited a shit show.

But this week, just days before Mr Schneider resumes his role after being removed illegally on 13 July, the council has bounced back big time.

The latest survey shows it has improved on every single measure.

The biggest leap was in “overall direction” which skyrocketed from 32 to 59 points.

[At this point, I have to dip my hat to the long-suffering WCC customer service team who, despite everything that has been thrown at them, have consistently scored really well in these surveys.

Being on the front line at the WCC cannot be easy.]

Enormous change has swept through the WCC these past 12 months, including the election of a brand new council in October and a change of several senior officers, right up to this week’s resignation of former Acting CEO Vikki King.

The latest Acting CEO Gary Gaffney also made an instant impact, despite only being in the place for a few weeks.

Not only was Mr Gaffney direct and decisive, he made a point of getting to know the people who worked for him – the staff – and the people he worked for, the citizens of Warrnambool.

The challenge for Mr Schneider is to maintain this momentum.

There can be no going back now.

The people have made it clear what they want and expect and the WCC is clearly tracking in the right direction.

Mr Schneider now has 12 months, before his contract will be up for renewal, to show his strengths and the next community survey results – also due in 12 months – will be a true test of his success.