A LAST gasp effort to delay Wodonga council’s hills plan was defeated on the casting vote of the mayor after a 3-all deadlock.
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Councillor Ron Mildren wanted the draft “suspended and deferred” pending a probe by an independent environmental consultant.
He was backed by Libby Hall and Tim Quilty, but mayor Anna Speedie, Kat Bennett and Danny Lowe opposed Cr Mildren’s motion.
Cr Speedie then invoked meeting procedure, which gave her the casting vote and said she had consulted John Watson, who was absent from last night’s meeting due to compassionate leave.
“In using my casting vote to support John’s views on the matter, I’m absolutely certain this is his request to me,” Cr Speedie said.
Cr Mildren said the project had “degenerated into somewhat of a tribal popularity contest broadly at the expense of any semblance of genuine professional rigour in undertaking the strategic planning”.
He said his motion would have been “a golden opportunity to mend fences”.
But Cr Lowe, in moving the motion to adopt the hills plan, said it was time to act.
“I’m really confident that my decision tonight will be overwhemingly in favour of what the majority of the community have asked for,” Cr Lowe said.
“And that is a strategy that respects the balance between use, cultural and environmental values, and to be fiscally responsible in its adaptation.
“Despite what some people …. have tried to imply Trump Tower will not be built on our hills.
“There will be no housing developments, there however may be an eco-toilet, there may even be more walking, mountain biking or horse trails.”
Cr Lowe noted he was a mountain biker, but also said he was “a snow skier, a water skier, a footballer, a cricketer” and had a “love-hate” relationship with golf.
Multiple councillors cited Department of Land, Water, Environment and Planning, Parklands Albury-Wodonga and Aboriginal approval for the plan.
Cr Quilty, who had supported Cr Mildren’s move, switched his vote in the subsequent debate after saying lobby group Protect Wodonga Hills had run an “excellent campaign”.
His shift saw the hills plan adopted 4-2 with councillors Mildren and Hall noes.
An advisory group will oversee the plan, formal agreements will occur with users and the strategy will be reviewed every three years.
Before the 40 minutes of debate, petitions for and against were tabled.
A pro-petition stating “I support the building of an environmentally sustainable walking and mountain bike trail in Wodonga as part of the Wodonga City Council’s Hill Strategy” had 663 names.