THE sale of 109 FORESHORE Drive, Salamander Bay has been permitted.

Put forth in a Mayoral Minute by Mayor Ryan Palmer and seconded by Councillor Chris Doohan, the sale of 109 Foreshore Drive was permitted following a heated debate in the Council Chambers.

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The basis of the motion was to fund the urgent community works from the sale of the residentially zoned land.

These works included the following: Port Stephens Koala Plan of Management ($200,000), foreshore improvements and drainage pipes for a number of sites across the Tilligerry Peninsula including the Tanilba Foreshore and Lemon Tree Passage Foreshore ($150,000), construction of a pathway along Kirrang Drive, Medowie ($400,000), conversion of the croquet court in Boomerang Park ($25,000), 7 Day Makeover in Raymond Terrace ($180,000), 7 Day Makeover in Karuah ($180,000), resealing, sealing and/or rehabilitation of priority roads including some car parks, re-sheeting of gravel roads and new pathways across Port Stephens to ensure the safety of our residents including school children (minimum $1,000,000 or balance of sale), replacement of the toilet block at Fly Point ($140,000), replacement of the toilet block at Shoal Bay boat ramp ($130,000), pathway connections for school children and the community in Hinton ($200,000) and continuation of the pathway through the Mallabula Sports Complex ($50,000).

109 Foreshore Drive, Salamander Bay is a standalone parcel of 557m2 of operational land which is immediately adjacent to a property of community land which extends from Foreshore Drive to and along the beachfront.

Following Council assessments of the parcel of land, it was determined that one koala feed tree exists on the property, with approximately fifteen trees on adjacent properties.

The motion was supported by Councillors Chris Doohan, Steve Tucker, Glen Dunkly and Matthew Bailey, whilst Councillors Giacomo Arnott, Peter Francis, Peter Kafer, Leah Anderson and Jason Wells voted against the sale.

Mayor Ryan Palmer utilised both his personal and Mayoral votes to pass the sale.

“We don’t have a lot of residential-zoned blocks of land across the Tomaree Peninsula in particular, and this is one here that can provide funding for a lot of urgent community projects across the Port Stephens area and that’s why I’ve raised this motion.

“I acknowledge that not everyone wants to sell this, but there’s a lot of good that can come from a tough decision.

“I just want to fund some projects across our community; I’m not sitting around in some evil cave thinking about how I can screw the community overall,” Mayor Palmer said.

This action was not taken lightly, with five councillors lodging a rescission motion.

At the same Council meeting, Councillor Giacomo Arnott proposed to redirect funding from the sale of land at Fingal Bay to the urgent community works program.

“At the next Council meeting we will be trying to reverse the decision of 109 Foreshore Drive, and in the meantime, Council staff will be unable to proceed with the sale.

“I’m hoping that reversing the decision will be made much easier now that an alternate funding source has been identified and approved,” Cr Arnott said.

Newly elected Councillor Leah Anderson voted against the motion, believing it to be a betrayal of community trust.

“What a shocking betrayal of community trust – I’m learning fast about the power of the Mayor and a mayoral minute.

“I could not be more disappointed for the community to not be able to make decisions around the sale of this property to fund these very important projects,” Cr Anderson said.

A notice of rescind will mean that the resolution cannot be carried into effect until the motion of rescission has been dealt with at the next Port Stephens Council meeting.

“You don’t hurt the community in order to say that the Council will give to them what they’ve been asking for for years.

“There’s a right way and then there’s an easy way, and unfortunately, an easy way is what was proposed tonight,” Cr Arnott said.

By Tara CAMPBELL